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

⬛ Will this happen more in NJ? Garbage trucks exploding in fire

🚨 Smoke was pouring out the back of a garbage truck
🚨 The driver pulled over and alerted the utility about the truck
🚨 Investigators were grateful a judge stepped on

LAKEWOOD — A large number of lithium-ion batteries exploded in the back of a garbage truck, causing smoke to pour out while on its rounds Wednesday morning.

The driver of the truck pulled over into a parking lot on Ocean Avenue in Lakewood and dumped out its load and found dozens of the batteries, Fire Chief John Yahr said. Firefighters were able to quickly put out the fire.

While still wearing their gear in the 90-degree heat and humidity, firefighters had to kneel down and disassemble the remains of the battery pack it into a container for proper disposal.

⬛ Immigrant activists demand NJ money goes to ICE detainee families

🔴 16 people in Princeton detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
🔴 Migrant justice activists want their families to be supported by taxpayers
🔴 State constitution has rules about donations from municipalities

PRINCETON — As immigration enforcement activity rises in New Jersey, a group of activists is requesting that taxpayers directly support the families of people rounded up by ICE.

It's a demand that's in direct response to ICE agents detaining 16 people in Princeton, including 15 people at a landscaping company on Harrison Street.

The grassroots migrant justice group, Resistencia en Acción NJ, operates in Princeton.

Its stated mission is to "defend the migrant community," and it offers them programs and English classes.

Now, its organizers are asking the municipality of Princeton to directly help the families of the detained individuals.

⬛ 9 minor earthquakes in NJ in 3 weeks. Is 'the big one' coming?

☑️ New Jersey has had 9 earthquakes over the past two weeks
☑️ Is NJ on track for 'the big one?'
☑️ The number of earthquakes had slowed down since 2024

It has been an active three weeks in New Jersey with nine minor earthquakes in two weeks. Is this setting the state up for something bigger?

Kenneth Miller, a geologist in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers, said the Aug. 5 magnitude 2.7 earthquake in Hillsdale was likely an aftershock of the Aug. 2 earthquake in Hasbrouck Heights. They both took place on the Ramapo Fault, which runs from Rockland County in New York, southwest through New Jersey into eastern Pennsylvania.

Miller says that while earthquake activity has increased in the past two year, the "big one," a devastating earthquake of a magnitude 5 or more on the Richter scale is unlikely to happen in New Jersey.

"What causes really big earthquakes is when plates come together. New Jersey sits in the middle of a plate called the North American Plate, and generally mid-plate earthquakes are small. New Jersey earthquakes are relatively small compared to our friends in California or Oregon or Washington," Miller told Eric Scott during the NJ 101.5 Morning Show.

⬛ Do these look like real guns? Imitation firearms spark concern

✅ Imitation and toy guns are more detailed than ever
✅ Police sometimes have to quickly decide if a gun is real
✅ They are supposed to be specially marked

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — The end of a South Jersey town's National Night Out event was marred by the discovery of imitation weapons that looked so real they impressed the officers handling the case.

Egg Harbor Township police Capt. Cherie Burgan told New Jersey 101.5 that an officer directing traffic out of Veterans Memorial Park after the fireworks show was told about someone in a gray Mustang pointing a gun at people. Police found the Mustang in the heavy traffic leaving the park.

The weapons turned out to be a handgun-shaped lighter with a laser attachment and an Airsoft-type handgun.

"We actually had one officer who was attempting to clear it, believing that it was and by clearing and making sure that there were no rounds in the chamber, and they still couldn't believe that it was actually a lighter, because it looked so much like a real gun," Burgan said.

⬛ Idiots refuse warnings to stay out of the ocean

With the first tropical storm of the season approaching, many shore officials worry Erin could turn deadly even if the storm remains well off the coast of New Jersey.

New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow says the latest storm track keeps Erin's center several hundred miles southeast of New Jersey, but her influence will still be felt.

"Any time a powerful storm like Erin passes between the U.S. mainland and Bermuda, it pushes out massive swell and surge — always a recipe for dangerous rough surf along the Jersey Shore," Zarrow warned, "There will be no mistaking the angry seas next week, with up to 10-foot waves battering New Jersey's beaches."

There have been multiple rescues in recent days due to people getting caught in the rough surf and rip currents. Partly because the water didn't look dangerous.

Zarrow explains, "The ocean looked calm but its pull was surprisingly strong due to a persistent on-shore breeze."

Lifeguards are trained to identify rip currents and other dangers in the water, and will warn people away when conditions are not safe. Far too few heed those warnings.

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.

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

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