A return to mask mandates?

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Tuesday:

⬛ NJ woman charged with stealing fundraiser money for injured man

Canva

TINTON FALLS — A borough woman has been charged with organizing an online fundraiser for a Florida man severely injured in a car accident last year, and then stealing the more than $15,000 she raised, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago.

Nicole C. Weidelman, 46, of Tinton Falls was charged with third-degree theft by deception.

⬛ NJ teacher jabbed student's behind with broomstick, report says

Perth Amboy Magnet High School (MCPO, Google Maps)

PERTH AMBOY — New court documents say a Middlesex County carpentry teacher slapped one student's buttocks and used a broomstick to prod another student's rear, according to a published report.

Edward White is banned from school grounds at the Perth Amboy Magnet School campus, Superintendent Jorge Diaz said on Thursday.

⬛ Terrifying source of applesauce recall: NJ sends urgent alert

FDA/Townsquare Media illustration

The New Jersey Department of Health is sounding a new alarm over toxic applesauce sold for kids.

Three million pouches of applesauce have been the target of a recall by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to contamination with lead.

The potential source of the contamination is horrifying.

⬛ What a nasty storm: NJ's top rainfall totals and wind gusts

Severe flooding in Clark, Union County. (Fatima Rizzo Calhoun, Facebook)

For the fourth "weekend's end" in a row, the heavens opened up, pouring rain upon New Jersey. This time around, the culprit was a powerful coastal storm system, which soaked the entire Atlantic seaboard from Florida to Maine. The atmosphere was unusually dynamic, convective, and ... wet.

⬛ Here We Go Again: Is a new mask mandate looming for NJ?

Canva/Townsquare Media illustration

Are masks back in New Jersey?

A growing number of people seem to be wearing them in public. You have probably seen them in grocery stores, retail shops, airports and train stations.

Will NJ mandate masks again?

⬛ NJ Transit now selling merchandise to capitalize on bull celeb

Plush Ricardo the Bull (NJ Transit Shoppe)

Get your Ricardo the Bull plush at the NJ Transit Shoppe.

NJ Transit announced on its Facebook page that pre-orders are now open for the “showstopping Ricardo the Bull” plush. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to support Ricardo.

Top 30 schools in NJ with the biggest bullying problem

These are the schools in New Jersey with the highest rates of bullying. The rankings are based on the annual School Performance Reports for the 2021-22 school year. New Jersey 101.5 ranked the schools based on the rate of reported bullying incidents per 100 students. Schools with enrolment less than 100 are excluded.

Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5