Fair 42°
Police & Fire
SEEN HER? Search Continues For Runaway Bergen Teen SEEN HER? Search Continues For Runaway Bergen Teen
Seen HER? Search Continues For Runaway Bergen Teen A 14-year-old runaway from Ridgefield Park has continued to refuse to return home. The good news is that Jasmine Medina Ortiz spoke with her mom, texted friends that she's OK and has reportedly remained active on social media, all within the past 24 hours. Loved ones and authorities still hadn't found her as of Monday night Dec. 4, however. Ridgefield Park police confirmed that they're actively searching for the high school freshman. The New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency also reportedly is involved. The last adult to reportedly see Jasmine said she was headed to schoo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SEEN HIM? Man Wanted For Beating Popular Cliffside Barber In His Shop SEEN HIM? Man Wanted For Beating Popular Cliffside Barber In His Shop
Seen HIM? Man Wanted For Beating Popular Cliffside Barber In His Shop A man who police said severely beat a well-known barber in his Cliffside Park shop more than a month ago has remained a fugitive. Ray Qassis, 33, entered The Way Barber Shop on Anderson Avenue across from the NJ TRANSIT bus garage and beat barber Willie Ocampo with a metal baton on Nov. 2, authorities said. Ocampo had to be hospitalized with two large cuts on both his forehead and the top of his skull. Qassis, who lives in Cliffside Park -- and, before then, North Bergen -- has remained elusive since then, authorities said. An arrest warrant charges him with aggravated assault with a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
'Sushi Sanctuary' Opens In Bergen County 'Sushi Sanctuary' Opens In Bergen County
'Sushi Sanctuary' Opens In Bergen County Sushi enthusiasts, you've got a new spot to try in Bergen County. Maru Sushi held a soft opening at 94 N Maple Ave., in Ridgewood last month. ✨Step into Maru Sushi where luxury meets gastronomy!🍣 🥢Immerse yourself in the allure of our meticulously crafted... Posted by Maru Sushi on Friday, November 24, 2023 Maru bills itself as a "sanctuary for sushi enthusiasts" that combines the "rich heritage" of Japanese cuisine with modern innovation. The sushi chef, Ian, has 20 years of experience in the craft of sushi, the Maru website says. He began working in a sushi restaurant under a "…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Chocolate Coins Sold In NJ Recalled Over Mislabeling Issue Chocolate Coins Sold In NJ Recalled Over Mislabeling Issue
Chocolate Coins Sold In NJ Recalled Over Mislabeling Issue A popular chocolate product has been recalled due to a mislabeling issue. Manischewitz Dark Chocolate Coins may contain undeclared milk and people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume the products, according to an announcement by the company. The recall comes days before Hannukah, when the popular coins are commonly consumed. The product was distributed to stores nationwide, predominately located in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut from Tuesday, Sept. 26 through Tuesday, Nov. 28. This recall w…

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by Joe Lombardi
Lifestyle
'Naked In New York:' SNL Sketch With Emma Stone Stars Bergen County Cast Member 'Naked In New York:' SNL Sketch With Emma Stone Stars Bergen County Cast Member
'Naked In New York:' SNL Sketch With Emma Stone Stars Bergen County Cast Member Chloe Troast is naked in New York with Emma Stone. Well, she was for a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, at least (scroll for video). Troast, a 26-year-old Ho-Ho-Kus native, joined the comedy show cast this year, for its 49th season. She's starred several sketches this season including "Little Orphan Cassidy" with host Timothee Chalamet, and "Rome Song" with host Jason Momoa. So now, she's "Fully Naked In New York" with Emma Stone, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, and more. The Saturday, Dec. 2 episode marked award-winning actress Stone's fifth time hosting SNL. Troast was sel…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NO CHOICE: Ex-Con Who Shot Two Victims Five Days Apart In Newark Takes Guilty Plea NO CHOICE: Ex-Con Who Shot Two Victims Five Days Apart In Newark Takes Guilty Plea
NO Choice: Ex-Con Who Shot Two Victims Five Days Apart In Newark Takes Guilty Plea UPDATE: There’s no trying to present a defense in court when the prosecutors have a video of you shooting someone, as well as the loaded gun you were carrying when they arrested you. So ex-con Antoine Hawkins, 31, of Newark, took a deal from the government, admitting in federal court in Newark this week that he shot two victims five days apart in the Brick City in August 2020. Hawkins also pleaded guilty to possessing a 9mm Springfield Armory XDM pistol loaded with 19 rounds and 626 heroin folds for sale when they arrested him a month later, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
NJ Murder Victim April Duncza Remembered As Professional With 'Creative Brilliance' NJ Murder Victim April Duncza Remembered As Professional With 'Creative Brilliance'
NJ Murder Victim April Duncza Remembered As Professional With 'Creative Brilliance' April Duncza, the 39-year-old New Jersey woman believed killed by her ex-boyfriend is being remembered for her creative brilliance and professional success. Duncza, a Nebraska native, was found during a welfare check at a home on Paul Street in the Fords section of Woodbridge with serious head trauma around 4:50 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. She was later pronounced dead and her ex-boyfriend, Kevin Bacon, 46, of Keanesburg, has been charged with murder, Ciccone previously announced. Duncza's obituary on the Higgins Home for Funerals website…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
NJ Professor Nailed These 'Jeopardy!' Questions: Can You? NJ Professor Nailed These 'Jeopardy!' Questions: Can You?
NJ Professor Nailed These 'Jeopardy!' Questions: Can You? Brianne Barker has returned to "Jeopardy!" for the Champions Wildcard Tournament Friday, Dec. 1. The Drew University biology department chair from Madison was one of 105 past winners called up to play against each other. Barker's prior episodes aired in July 2022. Barker — who is Harvard and Duke educated — was seated on a beach in Mexico when producers called, she said.  She played in the Hearts Group against Bryce Hwang, an ophthalmology resident from Philadelphia, and Garett Marcotte, a software engineer from Colorado. Here are some of the questions that Barker…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Police Vehicle In South Jersey ID'd Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Police Vehicle In South Jersey ID'd
Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Police Vehicle In South Jersey ID'd Authorities identified a man who was struck and killed by a police car in South Jersey before dawn on Thanksgiving as a 44-year-old resident of Berlin. Christofe “Christopher” Wita was hit on the White Horse Pike (Route 30) near Whispering Pine Drive in the Atco section of Camden County's Waterford Township at 2:19 a.m. Nov. 23, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.  Wita was pronounced dead at the scene, Platkin said. Driving was Sgt. Richard Sbarra of the Waterford Township Police Department, who was on duty, he said.  State law and his own guidelines req…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Events
Orgies, Addiction: Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Signs Copies Of New Tell-All Memoir In NJ Orgies, Addiction: Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Signs Copies Of New Tell-All Memoir In NJ
Orgies, Addiction: Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Signs Copies Of New Tell-All Memoir In NJ Mike Sorrentino's public unraveling and subsequent sobriety had "Jersey Shore" audiences captivated for years. Now, eight years into sobriety with two kids and another on the way, the 41-year-old MTV "Jersey Shore" star is detailing some of the wildest years of his life in a new tell-all book: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mike"The Situation"Sorrentino (@mikethesituation) "Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation — How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison."  Big Daddy Sitch will be at signing copies at Bookends B…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Mover From Waldwick Charged With Teen Sexual Assault Mover From Waldwick Charged With Teen Sexual Assault
Mover From Waldwick Charged With Teen Sexual Assault A longtime moving company warehouse manager from Waldwick was jailed on charges of sexually assaulting an underage teen, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Ryan Malillo, 37, “sexually assaulted a child between the ages of 13 and 16 in Waldwick,” Musella said on Friday, Nov. 1. Malillo was arrested on Thursday and charged with aggravated sexual assault and child endangerment following an investigation by detectives from Musella’s Special Victims Unit and Waldwick police, the prosecutor said. The Glen Rock native, who has two children of his own and has worked for the same Mahwah mo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Politics
And Just Like That: Lock Changed, Website Scrubbed Following George Santos’ Historic Ouster And Just Like That: Lock Changed, Website Scrubbed Following George Santos’ Historic Ouster
And Just Like That: Lock Changed, Website Scrubbed Following George Santos’ Historic Ouster Well, that didn’t take long. Now-former New York Rep. George Santos has been all but erased from the halls of Congress following his historic expulsion from office on Friday, Dec. 1. The disgraced Long Island Republican – whose former 3rd District includes parts of Nassau County and Queens – made a hasty exit from the House chamber once it was clear that the required two-thirds majority had been secured to seal his ouster. Earlier Report: US House Expels NY Rep. George Santos In Historic Vote He did not address the throng of reporters who followed him to a waiting car, though CNN …

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by Michael Mashburn