NJ braces for pre-Thanksgiving storm: First News Wednesday

NJ braces for pre-Thanksgiving storm: First News Wednesday

New Jersey Transit is taking steps to ease the holiday commute this morning.  NJ Transit buses and trains are cross-honoring tickets system wide today. Trains will operate on a weekday schedule on all lines. Additional "early getaway" service will be available from New York, Newark and Hoboken terminal starting at 1 p.m.

United Airlines is already cancelling flights, about 50-departures out of Newark airport this afternoon and evening have already been cancelled.  Other airlines are doing the same.  Check with your carrier to make sure your flight is still scheduled.

The timing of this coastal storm couldn't be worse for travelers, but it's also bad news for New Jersey towns. They set aside a certain amount of money for snow prep and removal and this will eat up a lot of their budget right away.

As New Jersey braces for the nor'easter, the state's two biggest utilities say they're ready.

44 people were arrested in a second night of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after it was announced that a city police officer would not be indicted in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Monday night brought looting and fires to vehicles and commercial buildings. But there were three times as many National Guard troops out last night.

Al Sharpton's group did march in Newark on Monday.  A few hundred protesters were loud, but peaceful.

Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson reveals what he says happened leading up to the fatal shots fired, killing 18-year-old Michael Brown. Wilson opened up in an exclusive interview Tuesday with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.

In Trenton, two civil rights groups want to restore a mural that depicted Missouri teenager Michael Brown and the words, "sagging pants is not probable cause."  police asked the mural be removed as they tried to build better ties with residents beset by drug, gang, and gun violence.

A hiker who was killed and partially eaten by a bear in West Milford had snapped half a dozen photos of the bruin not long before the attack.  Police have released the images from Darsh Patel's phone, which was found near his body in the woods.  He had been hiking with friends when they got separated.

Some scary moments for passengers aboard a flight bound for Atlantic City.  The plane was hit by lightning and had to be diverted to Ft Lauderdale.  It landed safely and no one was hurt.

Another seven million dollars in federal Sandy money has been approved for buyouts in central Jersey.  The money will be used to close on flood-prone homes in Woodbridge and Sayreville.

If you're a fan of hitting the stores and malls on Thanksgiving, you may need to spend the holiday outside New Jersey come next year. If a state lawmaker gets his way, retailers would be banned from opening before 9pm on Thanksgiving Day.

A lawmaker in Ohio wants stores in the state to pay triple wages for employees who work on thanksgiving. State rep. Mike Foley, a democrat from Cleveland, says his bill also would allow employees to bow out of the holiday shift without job sanctions. A federal complaint filed earlier this year accused Wal-mart of illegally firing, disciplining or threatening more than 60 employees in 14 states for participating in protests over wages and working conditions.

The wife of Cooper Hospital CEO John Sheridan was a homicide according to the official ruling coming from prosecutors.  This has been a vexing case.  Relatives say Joyce Sheridan was brutally stabbed and her husband john was found under an armoire that had been set on fire.  But investigators in Somerset County will confirm no details.

New Jersey's huge pension debt puts our state finances in peril and a wall street rating company has again offered a negative outlook on the state's credit rating.  That impacts the state's plan to offer half a billion in bonds next week.  Fitch ratings says unless there is dramatic improvement, the state's credit rating will drop again -- for the 8th time in two years.

The chair of the assembly budget committee has a plan to put more cops on the streets, but it would mean allowing towns to go over the two-percent cap on property tax hikes. He says without the change we're jeopardizing public safety.

Billionaire Carl Icahn says buying Atlantic City's Taj Mahal casino would be "a bad investment,"  but in a letter to the president of its main union, Icahn says he's willing to do it anyway to save the casino's 3,000 jobs.  However, he renewed his call for the union to agree to end pension and health benefits for it's workers.  The union hasn't responded.  The casino is due to close in two weeks.

As you get ready to hit the stores this holiday weekend, do you think you'll be making some impulse purchases?  If you are, you certainly won't be alone.

Bruce Springsteen apparently thinks Brad Pitt would make a good boss.  He has always sunk movies about his life but Springsteen is rethinking that now that Pitt has expressed interest in playing Bruce on the big screen.  What do you think?

After being extinct in New Jersey for over a hundred years, wild turkeys have made a strong comeback in the state in the past 30 or 40 years.

WEATHER from chief meteorologist Dan Zarrow:

TODAY... Rain changing over to snow. Gusty winds. Snow accumulation: 8+ inches in NW NJ (Sussex/Warren Co.)... 4-8 inches NW of New Brunswick... 1-4 inches in Middlesex and Mercer Co... Mostly rain, with a coating to an inch possible, in South Jersey and along the coast... Afternoon temps 35-43

TONIGHT... Snow showers ending by midnight. Breezy and cold. Lows 26-31

THANKSGIVING... Partly sunny. Chance for a shower or flurry. Highs 37-42

 BLACK FRIDAY... Mostly sunny and cold. Highs 35-40

To view Dan’s extended 5-day forecast, click HERE.

Lottery

Pick 3: 0-8-9

Straight pays $238. Box pays $39.50. Pair pays $23.50.

Pick 4: 1-4-9-5

Straight pays $2,004. Box pays $83.50.

Cash 5: 02-13-29-34-43

5 of 5 pays $0. 4 of 5 pays $733. 3 of 5 pays $20.

Here are the winning numbers selected Tuesday In the midday New Jersey State Lottery drawing:

Pick 3: 0-9-4

Straight pays $316.50. Box pays $52.50, Pair pays $31.50.

Pick 4: 3-7-6-3

Straight pays $2,888. Box pays $240.50.

New Jersey’s First News, hosted by Eric Scott, written and produced by Matthew White and Patrick Lavery. Digital support, with additional links, by Dan Alexander.
Filed Under: First News Plus, New Jersey's First News
Categories: New Jersey News

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