Coyote alert: What to do if you see one

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Thursday:

⬛ College student from Lincroft, NJ killed in skiing accident

View from the top of Snowbowl in Missoula, Montana.

A Monmouth County college student died Tuesday after a tragic skiing accident in Hancock, Massachusetts, according to authorities.

The student, 19-year-old Alex Kemp of Lincroft, graduated from Christian Brothers Academy last year. He was a first-year student at Williams College, also in Massachusetts, where he competed on the cross-country and men’s track and field team.

According to media reports, Kemp was skiing down the Cutter Trail route at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort when he crashed around 2:39 p.m.

⬛ Nutella sourced in NJ: Rutgers gets $170K for hazelnut research

Rutgers Ferrero hazelnuts research (Rutgers University, Ferrero, Canva, Townsquare Media Illustration)

NEW BRUNSWICK — Imagine opening a jar of Nutella, harvested from hazelnuts grown in the Garden State.

That’s an ultimate vision of Rutgers University researchers working with a $170,000 research grant from Ferrero Group.

The Italian-based company, which also owns Ferrero Rocher, announced the funds in November to be disbursed over a four-year span.

⬛ NJ officials announce 'staggering' gun violence stat for 2024

Canva

Nearly 780 people were victims of gunfire in New Jersey in 2024.

And that's a number worth applauding, according to officials who've been tracking the statistic for years.

With the final numbers in for 2024, Gov. Phil Murphy was able to announce on Wednesday that last year hosted the lowest number of shootings in the state's recorded history (going back to 2009), at 778.

⬛ Flu/cold medicine sold by NJ store could make people sicker

Canva

Arctic-like temperatures, frigid winds, one snowstorm behind us, and another on the horizon in New Jersey—welcome to January, when it’s also flu and cold season in the Garden State.

If you haven’t done so, it’s a good time to stock up on flu and cold medicine just to be safe.

But check your home medicine cabinets first before taking any meds.

⬛ Coyote sightings rise in NJ — What to do if you see one

Canva/Townsquare Media illustration

If you see an animal with large, pointed ears and a long bushy tail lingering on the edge of your property, there is a good chance it is a coyote.

For the last 30-years coyote sightings have been on the rise in New Jersey and that increasingly includes more densely populated parts of the Garden State.

Coyotes have been spotted in every one of New Jersey’s 21 counties and in more than 400 municipalities.

According to the NJDEP, coyotes have been spotted on 94% of the state’s land.