Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show on Tuesday:

With one week to go before Election Day, more New Jersey residents are deciding to vote early.

Polls have shown Democrat Mikie Sherrill is still holding about a 5-point lead over her Republican Challenger. Four straight polls have put her over 50% in thier surveys.

Early voting has been popular this election cycle with more than 635,000 votes already cast by mail-in ballot or early in-person voting.

Democrats are leading in each category in terms of turnout.

Roughly 200,000 more votes have been cast by registered Democrats than Republicans.

While that should signal a positive trend for Sherrill, early ballots cannot be tabulated or reported until polls close on Election Day, Nov. 4.

Keep scrolling to learn more about what early voting numbers say about this race:

⬛ Fire erupts at Perth Amboy home — lithium batteries suspected

⚡Perth Amboy firefighters battled a blaze possibly sparked by lithium-ion batteries
⚡Investigators say improper storage of lithium batteries may have fueled the fire
⚡Officials urge residents to use only certified batteries and proper chargers

PERTH AMBOY — Lithium-ion battery packs and batteries could be to blame for a Saturday morning fire.

The fire under the rear deck of the home on Wagner Avenue was reported around 8 a.m., according to the Perth Amboy Fire Department. A passerby noticed the flames and used a garden hose to keep the fire from spreading to adjacent homes.

After the flames were extinguished, Lithium-Ion battery packs and batteries were found stored under the deck, where investigators believe the fire started. A hazardous materials team was called to remove the batteries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but fire officials urged residents to always use lithium batteries that are certified, to properly store them and to use the charger and batteries that come with a device.

⬛ NJ races to grab the 2025 Hess Toy Truck before it sells out

🚗 The 2025 Hess Toy Truck is back with a sleek 2-in-1 Stock Car Racers set.
💡 Packed with 67 LED lights, racing sounds, and a pull-back motor for high-speed fun.
🎄 Limited-edition collectible available now for $49.99 with free shipping.

A longtime holiday tradition is back---the return of the Hess Toy Truck.

For 2025, collectors will be treated to a pair of Hess Stock Car Racers, a modernized 2-in-1 race car duo, loaded with 67 dazzling animated LED lights, roaring sound effects, and a speedy pull-back motor.

Styled in classic Hess green and white, the stock car racers feature a sparkling chrome trim and dark-tinted windows.

The larger white stock car is a showstopper---a race car toy with 42 illuminated, multicar LED lights, and four trunk-mounted buttons, each triggering a different realistic racing sound—Start/Go, Horn, Countdown, and Drive By. Each is perfectly synchronized with unique flashing light patterns.

⬛ Teen girl, 15, gunned down in car — 17-year-old charged as adult

💔 Cianna Lee, 15, was fatally shot while in a car in Jersey City.
⚖️ 17-year-old Willie Shuler is tried as an adult, faces murder and weapon charges.
🌎 From Jamaica to Jersey: Teen moved to the U.S. for a better life, before her death

JERSEY CITY — A 17-year-old male accused of shooting and killing a 15-year-old girl as she sat in a car with a relative has been waived up to criminal court and will be tried as an adult.

Willie Shuler, of Jersey City, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder, as well as second-degree counts of aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Cianna Lee, of Jersey City, was struck by a bullet just after 11 p.m. on Jan.18, while sitting in a car on Oak Street, Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello said.

Jersey City police were called to the scene and Lee was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center where she was pronounced dead just over two hours later.

⬛ Retired NJ cop who killed jogger has second DUI dismissed

🚔 Drunk-driving charge dismissed against retired police Sgt. Kevin Betyeman
⚖️ He previously served jail time for killing jogger Celeste Andresen while driving drunk.
⚖️ A lawsuit filed by the victim's husband was settled out of court

RARITAN BOROUGH — A retired police officer who went to county jail for killing a jogger in Somerset County while driving drunk has seen a separate, second DWI charge dismissed.

Kevin Betyeman, of Bridgewater, pleaded guilty last week to three offenses: careless driving, likely to endanger person or property and failure to remove snow or ice from a vehicle, Patch reported.

He was issued fines as a penalty, according to the same report, citing Betyeman's defense attorney James Wronko, and the DUI charge was " dismissed for lack of prosecution," Municipal Court Administrator Jenni Peterson also said to Patch.

In fall 2020, Betyeman struck and killed 60-year-old Celeste Andresen while she was trying to cross a street in Raritan.

He was pulled over months later and less than a mile from the first incident for a separate DUI in February 2021.

⬛ FBI and police swarm Cherry Hill neighborhood near school

🚨 Police and FBI surrounded a Cherry Hill home in a tense Monday morning standoff
🚨 Nearby Horace Mann Elementary School went into lockdown as a precaution
🚨 A man was seen handcuffed and taken away as investigators called the scene 'fluid'

CHERRY HILL — Police and the FBI were involved in a standoff in a Camden County town late Monday morning.

Cherry Hill police issued an alert about an "active investigation" around Walt Whitman Boulevard and Baldwin Road at 11:40 a.m. Video posted by 6 ABC Action News showed a heavy police presence outside a home across from the Horace Mann Elementary School.

The FBI's Philadelphia office said it was conducting "court-authorized law enforcement activity." The situation was described as "fluid" and no additional details were available.

Cherry Hill police, in a statement at 1:15 p.m., said they had cleared the scene.

⬛ Heavy early turnout in NJ gov race

Over 600,000 votes have already been cast in New Jersey's tight race for governor, putting turnout at over 10% ahead of Election Day.

More than half of all requested mail-in ballots have been returned (471,555) and more than 163,000 early in-person votes were cast over the weekend.

An analysis by VoteHub puts turnout at 10.3%, so far.

Democrats and Republicans are returning mail-in ballots at about a 55% rate, but nearly 63% of all the ballots returned are from voters registered with the Democrat party.

Although we can see the number of early votes cast, we do not know who these voters chose. Ballots cannot be tabulated or reported until polls close on Election Day Nov. 4.

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You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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