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Police & Fire
North Bergen Man Charged With Collecting Child Porn: Prosecutor North Bergen Man Charged With Collecting Child Porn: Prosecutor
North Bergen Man Charged With Collecting Child Porn: Prosecutor A 25-year-old North Bergen man was caught collecting pornographic images of children, authorities said. Nicholas Sanchez, 25, was taken into custody by members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force following an investigation, they said. He's charged with child endangerment through the possession of sex abuse material, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. A tip last December led task force members to an account controlled by the defendant on an online server that Suarez said contained “child sex abuse material.” She didn't say whether …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
6-Car Crash Kills 41-Year-Old On Garden State Parkway: State Police 6-Car Crash Kills 41-Year-Old On Garden State Parkway: State Police
6-Car Crash Kills 41-Year-Old On Garden State Parkway: State Police A 41-year-old North Carolina man was killed in a multi-car crash on the Garden State Parkway in Essex County early Wednesday, April 17, authorities said. Tarron Francis was heading north in a Nissan SUV when he was struck by a Dodge passenger vehicle around 12:45 a.m. in Irvington, said Jeffrey Lebron, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Police. The impact caused a chain reaction crash involving four other vehicles, two Toyota SUVs, a GMC SUV and a Kia passenger vehicle, Lebron said. Francis died as a result of the crash, and the driver of the Dodge sustained moderate injuries and was tak…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial A Mercer County high school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student several times at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve was released from jail to await her trial, authorities said. A judge denied a request on Wednesday, Apr. 17 to keep 37-year-old Jessica Sawicki of Point Pleasant Beach in jail through her trial, a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson said. She was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Sawicki was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, according to an affidavit obtai…

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by Chris Spiker
Business
Trader Joe's Recalling Basil Sold In New Jersey Due To Salmonella Outbreak Trader Joe's Recalling Basil Sold In New Jersey Due To Salmonella Outbreak
Trader Joe's Recalling Basil Sold In New Jersey Due To Salmonella Outbreak Trader Joe's is recalling Infinite Herbs-brand organic basil that was sold across the country in 2.5-ounce clamshell packaging due to concerns of Salmonella contamination. This week, the supermarket giant issued an alert cautioning shoppers in 29 states, as well as Washington, DC, not to consume the product as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigates a reported outbreak of Salmonella. Trader Joes is recalling Infinite Herbs Organic Basil FDA According to the FDA, "Trader Joe’s has already voluntarily removed all Infinite Herbs-brand organic basil packed in 2.5-oz clamshell pa…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
'Not Pretty, Can't Act:' Sydney Sweeney Slams NJ Producer Who Publicly Insulted Her 'Not Pretty, Can't Act:' Sydney Sweeney Slams NJ Producer Who Publicly Insulted Her
'Not Pretty, Can't Act:' Sydney Sweeney Slams NJ Producer Who Publicly Insulted Her A film producer from New Jersey is under fire after saying Sydney Sweeney can't act and isn't pretty. Carol Baum, who graduated Columbia High School in Maplewood, disparaged the "Euphoria" star during a Q-n-A at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY, on Thursday, April, 11.  Baum, who has produced movies like "Father of the Bride" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," was on hand to discuss her experiences producing the 1988 David Cronenberg film "Dead Calm," which came out nine years before Sweeney was born. "I don't get Sydney Sweeney," Baum reportedly said. "I was watching on …

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Bergen Man Charged With 2010 Pre-Teen Sex Assault Bergen Man Charged With 2010 Pre-Teen Sex Assault
Bergen Man Charged With 2010 Pre-Teen Sex Assault A Midland Park man was charged with sexually assaulting a pre-teen in Wyckoff in 2010. Donato Avolio, now 35, was in his early 20s when he sexually assaulted the youngster, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Wyckoff police notified his Special Victims Unit of the allegation on March 27, Musella said. An arrest warrant was drawn up the following day charging Avolio with second-degree sexual assault of a victim under 13, he said. A manhunt that lasted nearly three weeks ended with the single, Italian-born Avolio’s arrest in Clifton on Tuesday, April 16, the prosecutor said. He has…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Sports
NJ Golfer Returning To U.S. Women's Open After Reaching Leaderboard While In High School NJ Golfer Returning To U.S. Women's Open After Reaching Leaderboard While In High School
NJ Golfer Returning To U.S. Women's Open After Reaching Leaderboard While In High School A Monmouth County golfer who was in high school while on the leaderboard of an LPGA major tournament's final round is returning to the event three years later. Megha Ganne qualified for the 2024 U.S. Women's Open after winning a U.S. Golf Association qualifying tournament on Monday, Apr. 15. The Holmdel native finished six under par in the two-round event in El Macero, California. Ganne shared pictures on Instagram of the official invitation to her third LPGA major. "US OPEN BOUND!!" Ganne posted. "[It's] been a while since one of these, grateful for another U.S. Women's Open opp…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die
License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die UPDATE: An ER doctor had her medical license permanently revoked by the state of New Jersey for allowing a 20-year-old patient to die on her watch and then trying to cover it up, authorities said. Shar Kennett, 66, of Wayne was on duty in the emergency room at Overlook Medical Center in Summit when the patient was brought in with urgent "respiratory distress" on June 29, 2017, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Kennett failed to examine him and didn't order any diagnostics, "despite his parents' urgent requests for assistance," Platkin said on Thursday, April 18. The patient died in…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
NJ Student Hospitalized After 'Blackout Challenge' NJ Student Hospitalized After 'Blackout Challenge'
NJ Student Hospitalized After 'Blackout Challenge' A student at an Essex County middle school was hospitalized on Tuesday, April 16, after he tried the "blackout challenge." Two students at South Orange Middle School took part in the dangerous stunt, popular on social media, which involves holding one's breath to the point of passing out, Lynn Irby Hill, the principal, said in a letter to parents. The first student passed out but was treated by the nursing staff, Irby Hill said. The second student had difficulty resuming breathing and was taken to a hospital by ambulance for further evaluation, Irby Hill said. Assistant Principal Jim Waldro…

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by Sam Barron
News
WINNER! Bergen County Quick Draw Player Wins Big $$ WINNER! Bergen County Quick Draw Player Wins Big $$
Winner! Bergen County Quick Draw Player Wins Big $$ A Bergen County lottery player got a nice treat on Tax Day. The lucky player purchased a winning Quick Draw Progressive ticket on Monday, April 15, netting $80,950, 20 percent of the progressive jackpot. In Quick Draw, a set of nine “Your Jackpot Numbers” (01-80) are randomly selected and printed at the bottom of every Quick Draw ticket. If all nine of the player’s numbers are selected in any of the Quick Draw drawings the ticket is eligible for, the ticket wins a portion of the Progressive Jackpot based on the amount wagered per draw. The winning ticket was sold at Boulevard Bar & Gri…

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by Sam Barron
News
Ford Recalls Over 450K Of Some Of Its Most Popular Models Over Safety Concerns Ford Recalls Over 450K Of Some Of Its Most Popular Models Over Safety Concerns
Ford Recalls Over 450K Of Some Of Its Most Popular Models Over Safety Concerns Ford announced that it would recall over 450,000 Bronco Sport SUVs and Maverick vehicles because of an issue with the battery that can cause the drive train to lose power and increase the likelihood of wrecks.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report on Friday, April 12, saying sensors in the car could fail to notice a change in the battery's power. If the power drops too low, the vehicle could turn off or lose important components such as hazard lights if the car breaks down.  The Broncos were produced from February 2020 until March 2024. Ford Maveric…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Sixth Defendant Charged In Armed Edgewater Robbery Being Held In Westchester Sixth Defendant Charged In Armed Edgewater Robbery Being Held In Westchester
Sixth Defendant Charged In Armed Edgewater Robbery Being Held In Westchester 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: The broad-daylight holdup of an Edgewater shopper last fall was committed by an armed robbery crew that included a Bronx man who was arrested this week in Westchester, authorities said. Jose A. Santana Torres, 22, and his partners followed the victim from Hudson County to an unidentified shopping center on River Road in last Oct. 24, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Two of them approached the victim and stole a watch at gunpoint while a third member of the crew served as lookout. The robbers then hopped into getaway vehicles driven by companions. The mid-afternoon holdu…

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by Jerry DeMarco