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Search For Missing NJ's Lauren Cho Intensifies After Gabby Petito Case Search For Missing NJ's Lauren Cho Intensifies After Gabby Petito Case
Search For Missing NJ's Lauren Cho Intensifies After Gabby Petito Case A search is ramping up for a New Jersey native who disappeared in California. Lauren Cho, 30, was last seen in the Yucca Valley last June. Her disappearance gained interest following the Gabby Petito case. Cho left Flemington, NJ's Diamond Heart tattoo and piercing shop last fall to travel with her boyfriend, the business said. Her friends and colleagues created the social media hashtag #findelcho in an effort to spread awareness. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SB Body Arts (@sbbodyarts) The Riverside County Sheriff’s Depart…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
NJ Couple Killed In Crash Returning From Cross Country Trip NJ Couple Killed In Crash Returning From Cross Country Trip
NJ Couple Killed In Crash Returning From Cross Country Trip A New Jersey community is mourning the loss of a young couple who died in an Illinois crash while returning home from a cross country vacation last Friday. Cole Young, 19, was behind the wheel of a 2008 Honda Odyssey on Interstate 70 when a westbound tractor trailer veered onto the median and then into oncoming traffic, according to Illinois State Police. Our condolences to the families and friends of Sadi Connors and Cole Young. We will cherish their memories forever. Posted by Point Pleasant Education Association on Sunday, August 22, 2021 View this post on Inst…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
Report: Murphy To Announce NJ Teachers Must Be Vaccinated Report: Murphy To Announce NJ Teachers Must Be Vaccinated
Report: Murphy To Announce NJ Teachers Must Be Vaccinated A recent news report says that Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to announce that New Jersey teachers must be vaccinated against COVID-19. Two anonymous sources confirmed the pending announcement exclusively to NJ Advance Media. Washington and California are the only other two states to require teachers be COVID-19 vaccinated. A spokesperson with the New Jersey Education Association said teachers have been preparing for a possible mandate. Murphy will hold his weekly COVID-19 briefing Monday morning. Click here for more from NJ Advance Media.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports
Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports Call it a statistical oddity: Despite an historic spike in drug overdose deaths across the United States last year, the total reported for New Jersey ticked up barely 1% over 2019 – compared with an increase of more than 32% in New York, over 17% in Pennsylvania and more than 10% in Connecticut, the CDC reported. More than 93,000 people across the country died from drug overdoses amid last year’s COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. That total represented a 29.4% increase from the 72,151 deaths projected nationwide for 2019, according to an annual…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
PA Family's Adopted Dog From Middle East Tests Positive For Rabies PA Family's Adopted Dog From Middle East Tests Positive For Rabies
PA Family's Adopted Dog From Middle East Tests Positive For Rabies The CDC has initiated a multi-state investigation after a Chester County family adopted a dog from the Middle East that was later determined to have a previously eradicated variant of rabies, reports say. The dog was one of 34 animals that were flown from Azerbaijan to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport by an animal rescue group on June 10, CBS reports. The animal had been acting oddly after being placed with its new family in East Whiteland Township and later tested positive for the variant, according to ABC. The 6-month-old mixed breed dog possibly exposed the virus variant —which pr…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
WANTED: Atlantic City Man, 29, Used Casinos To Launder $107K In Meth Money, State Police Say WANTED: Atlantic City Man, 29, Used Casinos To Launder $107K In Meth Money, State Police Say
Wanted: Atlantic City Man, 29, Used Casinos To Launder $107K In Meth Money, State Police Say New Jersey State Police are seeking the public’s help locating an Atlantic City man they say used local casinos to launder $107,000 of money gained through meth distribution. Jordan Ragland, 29, is facing various drug, weapon and money laundering charges following an active investigation started in September 2020 by the New Jersey State Police Special Investigations Unit Casino Gaming Bureau. Ragland is accused of receiving several shipments of methamphetamine in the mail at a residence on Connecticut Avenue in Atlantic City, the bureau said. Ragland was later linked to about $107,000…

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by Valerie Musson
News
NJ, PA Strip Club Owners Sue Feds Over Withheld Stimulus Money NJ, PA Strip Club Owners Sue Feds Over Withheld Stimulus Money
NJ, PA Strip Club Owners Sue Feds Over Withheld Stimulus Money There's nothing socially distant about a lap dance, which is why most strip clubs had to completely shut down during 2020. Now they want to government to pony up. Denied small business stimulus funds, owners of adult entertainment businesses in Pennsylania and New Jersey have joined colleagues from five other states in suing the federal government. The owners claim the U.S. Small Business Administration has denied them “Restaurant Revitalization Fund” grants for moral reasons, which they say is a clear violation of their constitutional rights. Among those now participating in the…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash A large-scale drug trafficker from Somerset County who led investigators on a high-speed chase was dealing major quantities of heroin laced with deadly fentanyl, federal authorities said. William T. Bouza, 46, of Watchung, initially eluded police during a chase but was captured a week later, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Authorities targeted Bouza after intercepting 33 pounds of heroin stashed in a secret compartment of a Mercedes shipped to New Jersey from California on a car carrier in February 2019, authorities said. Bouza was waiting for the drugs in Union but bolted afte…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Most Wanted' Fugitive From Westchester Captured By Fair Lawn Police 'Most Wanted' Fugitive From Westchester Captured By Fair Lawn Police
'Most Wanted' Fugitive From Westchester Captured By Fair Lawn Police An ex-con was removed from Westchester County’s "Most Wanted Fugitives" list after Fair Lawn police found him strung out on heroin, authorities said. Officers responding to a March 8 call of a man going in and out of consciousness in parking lot next to a Broadway (Route 4) check cashing business found Jordan Seacor, 31, of Ossining, sitting in his car, Sgt. Brian Metzler said. “He was sweating profusely and having difficulty staying awake,” the sergeant said. As the officers watched, Seacor dug into his pockets, pulled out a bundle of heroin bags and stuffed them into a backpack, Metzler…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Racist Hackers Zoom Bomb Rider University Black Sorority Event Racist Hackers Zoom Bomb Rider University Black Sorority Event
Racist Hackers Zoom Bomb Rider University Black Sorority Event Officials at Rider University in Lawrenceville are condemning racism and hatred after a Zoom event for a black sorority was interrupted by dozens of individuals chanting racial slurs and content. The virtual "Galentine's Day" event was hosted by Zeta Phi Beta sisters and another Greek organization on Feb. 11, as part of the university's Black History Month celebration, NJ.com reports. Just five minutes before the party began, hosts noticed an "unusual number of users" waiting to enter the Zoom meeting, NJ.com says. A number of uninvited users then changed their Zoom names to racist phrase…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Feds: NJ Teacher, Soccer Coach Caught Making Child Porn After Sending Hard Drive For Repairs Feds: NJ Teacher, Soccer Coach Caught Making Child Porn After Sending Hard Drive For Repairs
Feds: NJ Teacher, Soccer Coach Caught Making Child Porn After Sending Hard Drive For Repairs A Union County fifth-grade teacher from Morristown who also coaches youth soccer was arrested by the FBI after sending a hard drive containing child porn that he’d created to a California company to recover his files, authorities said. Steven Brooks, 34, who recently taught at Washington Elementary School in Summit and has helped run the Livingston Soccer Club the past 10 years, used a fake online profile to get underage boys to send him videos and photos, authorities said Tuesday. Brooks had emailed an employee at a California company that he had “sensitive and private” information on a ha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Senate Approves Bill Aimed At Preventing OD Deaths NJ Senate Approves Bill Aimed At Preventing OD Deaths
NJ Senate Approves Bill Aimed At Preventing OD Deaths The New Jersey Senate on Thursday approved a proposed law that would require doctors to prescribe Narcan when writing opioid pain management prescriptions for high-risk patients. At least seven states now require co-prescribing Narcan (naloxone) with opioids: Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Laws in California and Ohio require prescribers to offer naloxone co-prescriptions in certain circumstances. “It can make a difference in New Jersey, as well,” said state Sen. Anthony M. Bucco, R-Boonton, a co-sponsor of the measure, which had bi-partisan su…

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by Jerry DeMarco