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Saturday, nov 23
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COVID-19
Politics
Trump Taps Congressional Ally Elise Stefanik For UN Ambassador Post, Picks Border Czar
President-elect Donald Trump has picked one of his strongest allies in Congress to serve as United States ambassador to the United Nations and a former member of his first administration as border czar. Rep. Elise Stefanik, age 40, was first elected to New York's 21st District in 2014 and is the House Republican Conference Chair, the youngest woman to hold that post. "Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter," Trump said in a statement to CBS News. CNN first reported the news late Sunday, Nov. 10. Trump also decided on another native New Yorker for a…
Business
TGI Fridays Files For Bankruptcy Weeks After Sudden Closures Of At Least 12 Restaurants
Casual dining chain TGI Fridays has filed for bankruptcy several weeks after at least 12 of its restaurants suddenly closed. The company filed the Chapter 11 petition on Saturday, Nov. 2, in Texas, near its Dallas headquarters. Founded in New York City in 1965, TGI Fridays has 95 restaurants in the US, 39 of which the company owns and operates. The other 56 are independent franchises not involved in the bankruptcy petition. The company said that all those locations will remain open. According to the TGI Fridays website and other reports, the following locations are now listed as permanent…
Schools
Rutgers President To Resign At End Of School Year After Historic, Turbulent Tenure
Jonathan Holloway will resign as president of Rutgers University at the end of the 2024-25 academic year, the school announced. The university's 21st president will step down after finishing his fifth year in office on Monday, June 30, 2025, Rutgers said in a news release on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The U.S. historian plans to take a sabbatical during the 2025-26 year for research projects before joining the Rutgers faculty full time. In a letter to the Rutgers community, Holloway said he made the decision to resign on his own and believes it's how he can best help the university. "Serving as th…
News
Sean Higgins Worked At Substance Abuse Center, Was Member Of NJ National Guard: Reports
More information about Sean Higgins, the suspected DUI driver who killed Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau last week, is coming to light. The 43-year-old Woodstown resident who police say struck 31-year-old Johnny and 29-year-old Matthew in Oldmans Township last week, was a New Jersey National Guardsman who worked at a substance abuse treatment center. Photos on the Department of Defense website show Higgins receiving a COVID-19 vaccination in January 2021, and embracing a child in Kosovo in 2019. A state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs spokesperson confirmed Higgins is a f…
Obituaries
Atlantic Air Flight Nurse Jay McChesney Dies, 55: 'All American Hero'
Medical professionals across New Jersey are mourning the loss of Jay McChesney, a longtime nurse being remembered for his humility and genuine concern. Jay, whose birth name was James Paul, died on Friday, Aug. 30, according to his obituary on the Hillsborough Funeral Home website. He was 55 years old. A GoFundMe launched for Jay's family had raised more than $8,000 as of press time. Known affectionately by loved ones as the "All American Hero," Jay grew up in West Orange and went on to work at the Parsippany Pathmark, where he met his wife, Jenette Reilling, with whom he shared three chil…
News
Whooping Cough Cases Just Tripled In NJ, Health Department Says
The New Jersey Health Department has issued an advisory due to an increase in whooping cough cases across both the United States and New Jersey. Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by bacteria that live in the mouth, nose, and throat of an infected person, the NJDOH said. Preliminary data show case numbers have tripled as of early August in the U.S., compared to the same time in 2023, which is higher than what was seen at the same time in 2019, prior to the pandemic. New Jersey is experiencing a similar increase in pertussis cases, the …
Politics
'We're Not Going Back': Harris, Walz Lay Out Vision For Future In First Rally Together
Kamala Harris introduced her new running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the "Vice President America deserves" during their first campaign stop at Temple University in Philadelphia. Speaking together on Tuesday, Aug. 6, in their first joint rally since Harris tapped Walz as her running mate, Vice President Harris, age 59, said this election will come down to one thing: freedom. "The freedom from gun violence, freedom to vote, freedom to love who you wish to with pride, and the freedom for women to do what they wish with their body and not have the government tell them what to do," she…
Politics
NY County Criminalizes Mask Wearing Amid Bump In
Covid-
19 Cases
Lawmakers in a New York county approved a controversial bill criminalizing mask wearing amid a summer bump in COVID-19 cases. On Long Island, the Republican-controlled Nassau County Legislature passed the “Mask Transparency Act” by a vote of 12-0 on Monday night, Aug. 5. All seven Democrats abstained from voting. The bill makes it a misdemeanor for anyone 16 and older to wear a face mask in public spaces in the county. It also gives private businesses the right to prohibit masks on their premises. It grants exceptions for health or religious reasons, though that distinction will be determ…
News
Once-Thriving Celeb Messaging Site 'Cameo' Violated Federal Guidelines: New Jersey AG
Cameo, message site that allows you or someone you care about to receive a video message from a range of celebrities, admitted to violating Federal Trade Commission endorsement guidelines, Matthew Platkin, the New Jersey Attorney General said. The website, features a diverse group of celebrities like former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, British politician Nigel Farange and legendary professional wrestler Mick Foley, reached a settlement with the state after it alleged Cameo failed to provide appropriate disclosures to consumers purchasing these personalized videos for business or product endors…
News
Police ID Drowning Victim At Dangerous NJ Lake As 18-Year-Old Trespasser
A teen swimmer has died after being pulled from a notoriously dangerous and privately owned lake in Manchester Township. Victor Arias-Peralta, 18, of Perth Amboy drowned at Crystal Lake on Monday, July 29, the Manchester Township Police Department said in a news release. Investigators said Arias-Peralta was with a group that trespassed on the Heritage Mineral property at around 6 p.m. Arias-Peralta and a friend tried to swim across the lake when Arias-Peralta suffered from "severe fatigue" and became distressed about 20 yards from the shore. Friends…
Politics
Biden Withdraws From 2024 Presidential Race, Endorses VP Kamala Harris To Be New Nominee
President Joe Biden has just announced he is pulling out of the 2024 race against Republican nominee Donald Trump. In a letter to "My Fellow Americans" released just before 2 p.m. Sunday, July 21, Biden said: “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president. “And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.” The news comes amid concerns over the 81-year-old Biden's health, which were loudly …
Politics
Fully Vaxxed, Boosted President Biden Gets
Covid-
19 Again
Despite being fully vaccinated and boosted, President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 — again, White House officials announced on Wednesday, July 17. The 81-year-old Biden has tested positive for COVID while in Las Vegas, Nevada ahead of the DNC, officials with the White House explained. His symptoms are mild. His doctor noted that he presented with upper respiratory symptoms, such as a runny nose, a non-productive cough, and "general malaise," as stated in the release. Since his condition did not improve throughout the day, a COVID test was conducted on Wednesda…
News
Sussex County Man Raked In Millions In Bogus PPP Loans, Feds Say
A 44-year-old Sparta man was indicted on fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities said. From April 2020 through November 2022, Nikenson Jean Mathurin participated in a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration to obtain COVD-19 emergency relief money by submitting several fraudulent PPP applications on behalf of fake businesses, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said. Mathurin’s fraudulent applications included false information concerning monthly payroll, gross revenue, and number of employees, and fake…
Police & Fire
Giant Among Volunteers, Ramsey's Charles Schucht, 75, To Be Laid To Rest
𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗘: It's a measure of Charles Schucht's well-known dedication to helping others that he volunteered for the Ramsey Ambulance Corps in his late 60s. "Many people knew Chuck volunteered at RAC, but few realized the extent of his involvement due to his humility," Corps Chief Marc Greenwood said. "Chuck prided himself on participating in almost every single birthday drive by during COVID," Greenwood said. "When he wasn’t spreading cheer, he was helping transport critically ill COVID patients when many other volunteers had to step back for their families." Schucht was on duty in uniform wh…
News
Middlesex Man Gets 2½ Years For COVID Unemployment Scam
A Middlesex County man was sentenced to a plea-bargained 2½ years in prison for conspiring to illegally obtain nearly $450,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, federal authorities said. Christopher Valerio, 33, of Perth Amboy, must serve a little over two years before he can be released because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Valerio and co-conspirators submitted bogus unemployment applications to the New York Department of Labor through "fictitious online profiles that they created using personally identifiable information, including names, dates of birth, and Social…
Police & Fire
Notorious NJ Consultant Used COVID Rules To File Fake Petitions For Partner, Indictment Charges
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A controversial New Jersey political consultant was indicted by a state grand jury for filing nearly 2,000 bogus petitions in what authorities called a transparent attempt at getting his life partner on the Democratic primary ballot for governor. James Devine, 62, of Lambertville, initially received a summons last May after state authorities said he filed 1,948 fraudulent petitions with the Secretary of State’s office to get Lisa McCormick on the ballot for the June 2021 primary. Grand jurors in Trenton, in turn, returned an indictment charging Devine with offenses concerning nomin…
News
Covid-
19: Change In Isolation Guidelines For Those Infected With Virus Announced By CDC
New isolation guidelines for those infected with COVID-19 or other respiratory infections have just been announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency said there is no longer a need to isolate for five days before returning to work or school in a statement issued Friday, March 1. The CDC said it's making updates to the recommendations now because the US is seeing "far fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19 and because we have more tools than ever to combat flu, COVID, and RSV." Three "core prevention tips" were also detaile…
Police & Fire
Kickbacks Convinced Doc To Scam Medicare Out Of Nearly $21 Million: NJ Feds
A doctor pocketed cash kickbacks from lab companies and others for filing more than $20.7 million in bogus Medicare claims for medically unnecessary -- and often expensive -- COVID and cancer genetic tests, among other scams, a federal grand jury in Newark has charged. Alexander Baldonado, 68, of Queens already was awaiting trial dating back to charges brought a few years ago when grand jurors in Newark this week returned a superseding indictment that digs deeper into the allegations. Baldonado approved lab tests billed to Medicare in exchange for cash payoffs "from a laboratory representat…
News
Yet Another Renowned NJ Catering Venue Passes: The Woodcliff Lake Hilton Closes
Yet another North Jersey hotel that rings with decades worth of fond memories is biting the dust -- and raising the anxiety levels for customers forced to find another venue for their weddings, proms, bar mitzvahs and other special events. The Hilton Woodcliff Lake is closing within the next two weeks, having been sold at auction to a company headed by a New Jersey-bred billionaire developer. "I personally have been going to events there since I was a teenager. My own Sweet 16, proms, fundraisers were all held there," New Jersey State Sen. Holly Schepisi said. “I’m sorry to see such a long-…
Police & Fire
Disgraced Owner Of Failed NJ Nursing Home Chain From NY Admits Stiffing IRS Out Of $39M: Feds
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A onetime insurance broker from Rockland County who ran a nationwide network of nearly 100 nursing homes into the ground from an office over a Bergen County pizzeria admitted that he purposely shorted the IRS nearly $39M, federal authorities said. Joseph Schwartz, 64, of Suffern, owned Skyline Management Group, which was based in the Wood-Ridge and amassed 95 nursing homes across 11 states. These once included Hudson View Care & Rehab Center in North Bergen, Brookhaven Health Care Center in East Orange and the Voorhees Care & Rehabilitation Center. Over a period of only sev…
News
'AI Moonshoot' Among Murphy's Ideas To Make Life More Affordable For NJ Residents
Gov. Phil Murphy sees New Jersey as a future global leader in artificial intelligence, while balancing the urgent financial needs of families during his 2024 State of the State Address. In his speech on Tuesday, Jan. 9, Gov. Murphy spoke about "an era of unease and uncertainty" defined by economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with wars in Israel and Ukraine. He also talked about how higher costs of living are the biggest challenges for many families. "Making life more affordable for more families is our highest priority," said Gov. Murphy. "We need to recognize t…
News
New Year, Old Rules: These NJ Hospitals Are Bringing Back Mask Requirements
As COVID-19, RSV, and the flu continue to spread after the holidays, some healthcare systems are bringing back mask requirements. Inspira Health Network said as of Thursday, Jan. 4, it will mandate masks in its facilities "due to an increase in respiratory virus positivity rates throughout the area." Inspira Health has hospitals, urgent care clinics, and other medical facilities across South Jersey. 🚨Effective Thursday, January 4, Inspira Health is implementing mandatory masking in our facilities due to an increase in respiratory virus positivity rates throughout the area.🚨 Posted by In…
News
New
Covid-
19 Variant Comprises 56% Of Thousands Of New Cases In New Jersey: CDC
COVID-19 is on the rise in New Jersey with more than half of the cases being comprised of a new variant, according to data from the state and the Centers for Disease Control. New Jersey's COVID-19 information hub shows a steady increase in cases since early November, when there were nearly 1,100 cases reported across the state. For the week ending in Dec. 23, there were 4,100 cases reported — a slight drop from the week before where more than 5,000 cases were reported. According to the CDC, new variant JN.1 (Omicron), which has been tracked since October, comprises 56.9% of cases in New Je…
News
Surge In
Covid-
19, Flu, RSV Hospitalizations Leads To Winter Virus Warning By CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is sounding the alarm, warning that low vaccination rates for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) could strain healthcare systems across the nation in the weeks ahead. Hospitalizations among all age groups in the last month increased by 200 percent for influenza, 51 percent for COVID, and 60 percent for RSV, the CDC said. Meanwhile, coverage for the seasonal 2023-2024 flu shot is low in all age groups compared with the same period of the 2022–2023 season. Just 17 percent of adults had received the updated COVID vac…
Police & Fire
$2M NJ Scammer Who Claimed Dead People As Biz Partners Gets 3 Years, No Parole
UPDATE: A scammer from Sussex County who fraudulently collected more than $2 million in federal funds by identifying people who'd been dead for more than a decade as business partners must spend the next three years in federal prison. John Jhong, 54, of Sparta, actually submitted bogus applications for more than $15 million in federal pandemic aid earmarked to help struggling companies during COVID-19, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Jhong "turned these vital relief programs into his personal ATM," spending the more than $2 million he illegally collected on personal expenses, the U.…
Police & Fire
Update
: Jurors Convict Bergen County Man Of Gunning Down Newly-Released Killer
A 25-year-old South Hackensack man was convicted of gunning down a convicted killer who’d only just been released from prison after serving his time. Rather than accept a plea deal, Naszhere Marquette Jones took his chances with a jury – and lost – in connection with the March 2021 shooting death of ex-con Jaquan Harrison, 35, in Paterson. Jurors in Paterson found Jones guilty of reckless manslaughter and weapons offenses following a day and a half of deliberations, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said on Friday, Sept. 29. Harrison had spent more than four years in state prison…
Police & Fire
NJ Veterans Homes Where Pandemic Deaths Soared Violated Residents' Civil Rights, Feds Find
UPDATE: State-run veterans homes in Paramus and Menlo Park violated the civil rights of their residents during the COVID pandemic and must correct policies and procedures going forward, federal authorities said Thursday. COVID killed more than 200 residents and staff at New Jersey's veterans’ homes, which was among the highest in the entire country. The pandemic claimed a total of 103 residents at the Memorial Veterans Home in Edison and 89 at the Paramus Veterans Memorial Home, according to New Jersey's Department of Health. The state to this point has paid nearly $70 million to settle la…
News
Covid-
19: These Are Most Likely Symptoms Of New Pirola Variant Identified In Five States
The most likely symptoms of a new COVID-19 variant with around 30 mutations are expected to be similar to the highly contagious Omicron strain based on reports so far. COVID-related hospitalizations have increased in the US for six straight weeks, with a 19-percent increase reported in the most recent week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The BA.2.86 strain, known as Pirola, has now been identified in five states: New York, Texas, Michigan, Virginia, and Ohio. The strain was first detected in Israel around Sunday, Aug. 20, and cases have also been identif…
News
Covid-
19: First US Case Of Pirola Variant With 30 Mutations Confirmed
The first case of the newly identified COVID-19 variant with 30 mutations has been identified in the United States. The World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded BA.2.86 to a “variant under monitoring," citing the "large number of mutations it carries." BA.2.86, which has now been nicknamed "Pirola," was first detected in Israel, and cases have also been identified in the United Kingdom and Denmark. The initial case in the US has been detected in Michigan. The patient, an older person with mild symptoms, is from Washtenaw County, the Michigan Department of Health and Hu…
Police & Fire
Holland Tunnel Driver With Loaded Gun, $17K Toll Debt Impersonated Officer: Port Authority PD
A woman who once made headlines for an alleged COVID scam was carrying a loaded gun -- and owed $17,000 in unpaid tolls -- when Port Authority police stopped her at the New Jersey end of the Holland Tunnel, Daily Voice has learned. Sharita T. Patterson, 36, of Brooklyn was stopped in Jersey City for having a bogus temporary Georgia license tag on her car just before noon Tuesday, July 25, said Port Authority Public Information Officer Lenis Valens. PAPD officers spotted the gun "in plain view" and seized it, Valens said. They also seized Patterson, a single mother of three who Valens said…
Obituaries
Integral Part Of Sparta's Business Network Hratch Kechishian Dies
Sparta is mourning the loss of a local business owner after what loved ones call a “difficult medical battle.” Hratch Kechishian died Saturday, July 15, his obituary says. He was 63. An integral part of Sparta’s business network, Hratch was the owner of The Leather Zone in Sparta — a business “he put his whole heart and resources into,” reads a GoFundMe launched by Melissa Prestipino for his family’s support. “Hratch was a generous man who would donate the shirt off of his back,” Prestipino writes. “He gave the community and healthcare workers many of his own supplies during the pandemic…
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