Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show with Eric Scott on Friday:

⬛ NJ cops drag man away seconds before train smashes into car

🚆 A sedan became stuck on the train tracks in Piscataway
🚆 Police said the driver was impaired and did not hear officers yell to get out
🚆The driver was dragged on his back away from the crossing

PISCATAWAY — Dramatic video shows two police officers pulling an impaired man from a car on railroad tracks seconds before a train passed through.

Piscataway police said the car was stopped on NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line tracks on New Brunswick Avenue around midnight on May 12.

As the lights flashed and the gate arms came down, two officers ran toward the car and told the driver to get out.

"We're dragging him out of the car. The car's stuck," one of the officers tells the dispatcher as the train blows its horn.

The man was impaired and did not respond to the officers' voices, forcing one of the officers to drag him out.

⬛ NJ car thieves get prison for massive, $1M auto theft ring

🚘 Cars stolen in 6 NJ counties
🚙 Stolen vehicles worth $1M
🚨 3 NJ men, 2 teens sentenced

Three young men and two juveniles have all been sentenced after admitting to a massive auto theft ring that involved nearly $1 million in stolen high-end vehicles.

On May 9, 19-year-old Tikeem Shearin, 20-year-old Carlos Espinal, and 21-year-old Sincere Sims were each sentenced to five years in state prison.

The young men, all Newark residents, had each pleaded guilty in Superior Court in Union County to second-degree leader of an auto theft trafficking ring.

Around the same time, two juvenile co-defendants were both sentenced in Union County Family Court to three years in Jamesburg Juvenile Detention Center for their roles in the same operation.

All five individuals were arrested last fall by a task force of municipal and county law enforcement members.

A 15-year-old New Jersey boy is in trouble in two states after police say he stole an elderly New York woman’s car and then led police on a chase near the George Washington Bridge.

A four-month investigation that ended in September revealed the juveniles, aged 16 and 17, would drive stolen Kia, Honda and Hyundai cars to look for high-end luxury vehicles, including BMWs, Mercedes, Range Rovers and Audis.

⬛ NJ tax burden: How it compares to Northeast and the rest of the nation

💲 NJ has among highest tax burden in the nation
💲 Years of bad policy takes a toll on residents
💲 State and local tax burdens highest in Northeast

(The Center Square) — Northeast taxpayers continue to shoulder some of the highest state and local tax burdens in the nation, according to a new report.

The report, released on Tuesday by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation, said on average, New Yorkers paid $12,685 in combined state and local taxes in 2022, the most recent year the foundation studied.

That's the second-highest tax burden in the nation after the District of Columbia, where taxpayers shelled out an average of $14,574 in per capita tax collections.

New York's neighbors, Connecticut ($9,718 per capita taxes in FY22) and New Jersey ($9,366), were ranked #3 and #5, respectively, in the Tax Foundation report.

Likewise, Massachusetts was ranked 6th highest in the nation for state and local taxes in FY22, or $9,341 per capita, according to the report. Vermont was ranked 8th highest in the country, with a per capita tax burden of $8,158 in FY22.

⬛ Edison drops Murphy's trans policy in school

🔴 One of NJ's largest districts cancels trans policy in school
🔴 New school board voted to end '5756'
🔴 Vows trans students will still be protected

Seven months ago, the Edison school board voted to continue with Gov. Phil Murphy's controversial policy on transgender students.

Now, with new board members elected and a new school board president, there was a 6-3 vote to end the policy known as '5756.' Among the more controversial elements of 5756 was a ban on school officials informing parents if a student changed gender.

Serving nearly 17,000 students, Edison is New Jersey's fifth largest school district.

Edison School Board President Jingwei Shi insisted the vote does not mean transgender students will be in danger.

The new policy, Shi said before the vote, allows school officials to handle each students situation on a case-by-case basis.

If and when a student feels safe to share and identity or name change request, "that trust should also include confidence that the staff member will act in the student’s best interests."

The policy allows for staff members to share such a change with the students parents, but does not require them to do so.

⬛ Popular Toms River bar cancels Springsteen band over Trump comments

❎ Springsteen began European tour with anti-Trump rants
❎ NJ bar owner cancels Springsteen cover band
❎ Sent text to band: "Toms River is red and won’t stand for his bull----."

A Bruce Springsteen cover band is paying the price for the Boss's harsh comments about President Donald Trump.

Springsteen went on an anti-Trump rant as he kicked off a European tour last week. Trump responded on social media, saying the New Jersey artists should 'keep his mouth shut."

Instead, Springsteen doubled down and released a six-track EP that starts with the Boss declaring America "is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”

The local band No Surrender has been covering Springsteen for more than 20 years and was booked at Riv’s Toms River Hub for May 30.

NJ.com reports the bar owner expressed concerns about Springsteen's comments to bandleader Brad Hobicorn and eventually cancelled the band's show.

Rivoli and other band members provided copies of text messages to NJ Advance Media they say they received from bar owner Tony Rivoli.

One message reads: "Because Bruce can’t keep his mouth shut we’re screwed."

Another read, "Whenever the national anthem plays, my bar stands and is in total silence, that’s our clientele. Toms River is red and won’t stand for his bull----."

The band was set to receive $2,500 for their May 30 appearance at Riv's.

Start your day with up-to-the-minute news, traffic and weather for the Garden State.

Eric Scott hosts the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show from 6 - 10 a.m. on New Jersey 101.5.

Join the conversation by calling 1-800-283-1015 or download the NJ101.5 app.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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