A new state program will send trained mental health professionals and people with lived experience to respond to adults who contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The Mobile Crisis Outreach Teams, which consist of one peer and one professional, will be dispatched through the state’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline centers to help adults struggling with mental illness and substance use disorder, without the need for police. “Today’s announcement underscores that — in New Jersey — help is truly only a phone call or text message away," Gov. Phil...

One night in April 1985, Mark Singleton and two friends walked into the kitchen at the Hoboken Shelter with their own recipe for feeding the hungry. The meal that Singleton, Eddie Lopez and Declan Carney cooked for the homeless that night – chicken, rice, and salad – became a Wednesday night tradition and earned the trio the nickname The Chicken People. Forty years later, The Chicken People is down to The Chicken Man, Singleton, who’s still cooking that same meal at the Hoboken Shelter on the second Wednesday of each...

Three police officers in New Jersey each have a new, four-legged sidekick after helping rescue — and becoming immediately charmed by — a litter of abandoned puppies. Back in December 2024, the three Clark Police Department officers responded to a call from a Good Samaritan about puppies who had been abandoned in a five-gallon bucket, according to a news release from the Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS). When they arrived, they found eight puppies, all just a couple of weeks old, cuddled together for warmth amid the frigid winter temperatures....

An updated weather alert was issued by the National Weather Service on Saturday at 7:42 p.m. for gusty showers until 8:15 p.m. for Berkshire County. Residents can anticipate wind gusts of up to 40 mph. "At 7:42 p.m., Doppler radar tracked gusty showers along a line extending from near Hoosick Falls to near Berne to near North Blenheim. Movement was east at 60 mph," states the weather service. "Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects." Locations impacted by the alert include Shakers, Bleecker Stadium, East...

A South Jersey wildfire has fanned out to an additional 200 acres as of Saturday afternoon but first responders have made significant headway, state officials announced. The blaze in the Peaslee Wildlife Management Area in Vineland began Friday and the response extended into Easter weekend. The wildfire, dubbed “Danny’s Fire,” has now burned at least 1,200 acres — up from 1,000 acres Saturday morning. In an update at 3:27 p.m., the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said crews have “made substantial progress” and the blaze is now 75% contained. That’s...

A wildfire burning through a forest in South Jersey has spread to 1,000 acres as of late Saturday morning, but the blaze is about 50% contained, officials said. The fire broke out about 12:25 p.m. Friday in the Peaslee Wildlife Management Area in Vineland, Cumberland County, and initially burned 20 acres. That number jumped to 500 acres Friday evening before growing to 800 acres at 10 p.m., then to 1,000 acres as of 10 a.m. Saturday, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. In its latest update, the forest...

Have you ever wanted to go shopping, ride a roller coaster, go down a ski slope and have a nice dinner all in one day? Then, you better make your way to the American Dream Mall. The East Rutherford shopping and entertainment center is home to DreamWorks Water Park and Nickelodeon Universe, luxury stores, like Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci, and eateries that you cannot find in many other malls. Going to the American Dream Mall can seem overwhelming so what you need is a plan, and we are here...

No records are expected to be broken on Saturday, but it’s shaping up to be the warmest day so far this year in some areas of New Jersey. Temperatures are forecast to rise into the low to mid-80s in many towns and cities, and it could get as warm as 86 degrees in Newark, according to the National Weather Service. If Newark hits 86 degrees, it would be the warmest day of the year by one degree. The city hit 85 on March 29, but hasn’t gotten warmer than 75...

A 20-acre wildfire in the Peaslee Wildlife Management Area in Cumberland County has forced a road closure Friday afternoon as fire crews investigate, officials said. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service responded to the blaze in Vineland shortly before 2:30 p.m. The fire has forced the closure of Union Road between Route 49 and Mays Landing Road. Forest Fire Service officials said the wildfire is 0% contained, but no structures are threatened. The firefighting effort includes an air tanker capable of dropping 600 gallons of water and a helicopter that...

Locked brakes on a freight train traveling through South Jersey on Thursday sparked several wildfires along the rail line, threatening a building storing dangerous materials while disrupting traffic near the Rowan University campus. The train on Thursday afternoon was hauling cargo through Gloucester County, where fires in Pitman, Glassboro and Wenonah were reported. The train passed through the area around 1 p.m., according to county officials and local police. Glassboro police said it investigated “numerous” brush fires along the railroad tracks passing through town.