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Business
Store Closings Surge To Highest Level Since Pandemic: Why 2025 Could Be Worse Store Closings Surge To Highest Level Since Pandemic: Why 2025 Could Be Worse
Store Closings Surge To Highest Level Since Pandemic: Why 2025 Could Be Worse Retail store closures surged in 2024, reaching their highest levels since the start of the pandemic, a new study said. A total of 7,325 U.S. stores closed in 2024, driven by inflation and an increasing shift toward online shopping, according to retail data firm Coresight Research. The closings marked the steepest decline in brick-and-mortar retail since nearly 10,000 stores closed in 2020. While 5,970 stores opened—the highest yearly number since 2012—closures outpaced openings by a net loss of 1,355 stores.  "Retailers that were unable to adapt supply chains and implement t…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Middlesex County Man Ran $1 Million Bogus Sugar Investment Scheme: Feds Middlesex County Man Ran $1 Million Bogus Sugar Investment Scheme: Feds
Middlesex County Man Ran $1 Million Bogus Sugar Investment Scheme: Feds A 64-year-old Middlesex County man admitted on Thursday, Jan. 23, to defrauding people in South Korea via a bogus investment scheme involving sugar, authorities said. Mohammed Rahman, an Iselin resident, ran Caltech Trading Corporation, through which he purported to buy and sell commodities, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna said. Rahman and other individuals in South Korea persuaded approximately 60 victims there to invest funds purportedly towards the purchase of $1 million of sugar from Brazil, which Caltech would then sell for a substantial profit, Khanna said.  Rahman and his…

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by Sam Barron
Business
Recall Issued For Popular Cookie Product: Here's What To Know Recall Issued For Popular Cookie Product: Here's What To Know
Recall Issued For Popular Cookie Product: Here's What To Know A popular cookie product has been recalled due to undeclared almonds, posing a serious risk for individuals with nut allergies. D. Coluccio & Sons is recalling its 300-gram packages of "Colussi Cantuccini Chocolate Drops" cookies. The affected cookies were sold nationwide in blue bags with UPC code 8002590006020. The recall applies to the following lot numbers: 3540152 (Best By Date: 15-01-2025) L354150 (Best By Date: 29-05-2025) The issue was flagged by the product’s Italian manufacturer, citing a temporary packaging error that omitted almonds from the ingredient label. No illnesses …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Edison Siblings Champion Sports For Kids With Special Needs Through 'Buddy Ball' Edison Siblings Champion Sports For Kids With Special Needs Through 'Buddy Ball'
Edison Siblings Champion Sports For Kids With Special Needs Through 'Buddy Ball' Aidan and Catelyn Yam are proving that it doesn’t take a big team to make a big difference. The high school siblings from Edison have become champions of Buddy Ball, a non-profit organization offering children with special needs the chance to play sports in a welcoming and supportive environment. Using their connections in school sports teams and clubs, Aidan and Catelyn have led the charge to recruit volunteers for Buddy Ball’s programs, which include soccer, basketball, baseball, and bowling. These programs pair children ages six and up with “Buddy” volunteers who help with skill-building,…

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by Vira Mamchur Schwartz
Politics
Trump Orders JFK, RFK, MLK Secret Assassination Files To Be Released Trump Orders JFK, RFK, MLK Secret Assassination Files To Be Released
Trump Orders JFK, RFK, MLK Secret Assassination Files To Be Released The declassification and release of all remaining federal records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have been ordered to be released by President Trump, who called it “long overdue” and in the public interest. The executive order, issued on Thursday, Jan. 23, mandates the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General to present plans for the release of these secret records. Files concerning the JFK assassination on Nov. 22 1963 are to be addressed within 15 days, while records related …

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Cop Illegally Used Computer Database To Look Up Woman's Info: Monmouth County Prosecutor Cop Illegally Used Computer Database To Look Up Woman's Info: Monmouth County Prosecutor
Cop Illegally Used Computer Database To Look Up Woman's Info: Monmouth County Prosecutor A 29-year-old police officer in Monmouth County was arrested and charged on Thursday, Jan. 23, with using computer databases to look up personal information about a woman and then traveled to her home, authorities said. Joshua James, a Neptune Township officer, was working a detail outside a local elementary school earlier this month when he noticed a woman picking up her child, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said. He then looked up her license plate and home address in two law enforcement databases intended strictly for policing purposes, Santiago said. James then drove to the…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Cop Illegally Used Computer Database To Look Up Woman's Info: Monmouth County Prosecutor Cop Illegally Used Computer Database To Look Up Woman's Info: Monmouth County Prosecutor
Cop Illegally Used Computer Database To Look Up Woman's Info: Monmouth County Prosecutor A 29-year-old police officer in Monmouth County was arrested and charged on Thursday, Jan. 23, with using computer databases to look up personal information about a woman and then traveled to her home, authorities said. Joshua James, a Neptune Township officer, was working a detail outside a local elementary school earlier this month when he noticed a woman picking up her child, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said. He then looked up her license plate and home address in two law enforcement databases intended strictly for policing purposes, Santiago said. James then drove to the…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Dog Rescued After Falling Into Pond: Montgomery PD Dog Rescued After Falling Into Pond: Montgomery PD
Dog Rescued After Falling Into Pond: Montgomery PD A dog is on the mend after they fell into a pond in Montgomery on Tuesday, Jan. 21, authorities said. At 10:33 a.m., officers, fire and EMS responded to a pond behind Avalon Lakes Court after the dog's owner got out of the backyard and fell into the pond, Montgomery police said. Officer Salvatore Intili donned a personal flotation device with a safety rope held by Sergeant John Colucci and walked out onto the frozen ice, where he was able to grab the dog’s harness and pull the dog from the water, police said..  The dog was taken to a local animal hospital for evaluation and …

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by Sam Barron
News
Purdue Pharma To Pay $7B+ In Historic Opioid Settlement: 'A Symbol Of Greed' Purdue Pharma To Pay $7B+ In Historic Opioid Settlement: 'A Symbol Of Greed'
Purdue Pharma To Pay $7B+ In Historic Opioid Settlement: 'A Symbol Of Greed' Purdue Pharma will pay more than $7 billion for the corporation's role in fueling the opioid epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. The Sackler family and Purdue Pharma reached a $7.4 billion settlement with attorneys general from 15 states on Thursday, Jan. 23. The Sacklers have owned the company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, for decades. The settlement includes $6.5 billion from the Sackler family, with $1.5 billion to be paid immediately, and nearly $900 million from Purdue Pharma. Funds will be distributed to states, local governments, and victims ov…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Elementary School Evacuated Due To Large Structure Fire In Franklin Township: Authorities Elementary School Evacuated Due To Large Structure Fire In Franklin Township: Authorities
Elementary School Evacuated Due To Large Structure Fire In Franklin Township: Authorities A massive structure fire in Gloucester County has resulted in the evacuation of an elementary school on Thursday, Jan. 23, authorities said. The fire is at the 600 block of Harding Highway in Franklin Township, Franklin Township Police Department said. Students are being relocated from Main Road School to Reutter School, police said. The Franklin Township school District will be putting out a message to parents shortly regarding the reunification process, police said. Harding Highway is closed from Main Road to Blue Bell Road, Gloucester County Emergency Management said. County ha…

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by Sam Barron
News
Yankees' Mariano Rivera, Wife, Covered Up Sexual Abuse In NY, Lawsuit Says Yankees' Mariano Rivera, Wife, Covered Up Sexual Abuse In NY, Lawsuit Says
Yankees' Mariano Rivera, Wife, Covered Up Sexual Abuse In NY, Lawsuit Says Baseball icon Mariano Rivera and his wife are both named in a new lawsuit alleging that the couple did not protect a young victim from being sexually abused by members of a Westchester-based church, some of which happened at their home.  The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in Westchester County on Thursday, Jan. 16, alleges that a child referred to as "Jane A Doe" because of her young age was sexually abused by two people affiliated with New Rochelle-based Refuge of Hope Church.  The church began as a small ministry in Rivera's home and his wife, Clara, still works a…

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by Ben Crnic
Business
Burn Hazards Cost Fitbit $12M+ After Delayed Smartwatch Recall: CPSC Burn Hazards Cost Fitbit $12M+ After Delayed Smartwatch Recall: CPSC
Burn Hazards Cost Fitbit $12M+ After Delayed Smartwatch Recall: Cpsc Fitbit will pay more than $12 million for failing to promptly report that its Ionic smartwatches posed serious burn risks, officials said. Fitbit LLC, which is now owned by Google, has been fined $12.25 million to settle claims by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency said in a news release on Thursday, Jan. 23. The defect caused the Ionic smartwatches to overheat, leading to second- and third-degree burns for some users. Between 2018 and 2020, Fitbit received multiple reports of its Ionic smartwatches overheating and injuring users, the CPSC said. In ear…

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by Chris Spiker