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

⬛ Connie Francis, 'Pretty Little Baby' from NJ, dies at 87

Connie Francis, the wholesome pop star of the 1950s and ‘60s whose hits included “Pretty Little Baby” and “Who’s Sorry Now?” — the latter would serve as an ironic title for a personal life filled with heartbreak and tragedy — has died at age 87.

Her death was announced Thursday by her friend and publicist, Ron Roberts, who did not immediately provide additional details. Earlier this month, Francis posted that she had been hospitalized with “extreme pain.” Francis had gained renewed attention in recent months after “Pretty Little Baby” became a sensation on TikTok, with Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner among the many celebrities citing it.

“I’m flabbergasted and excited about the huge buzz my 1962 recording of ‘Pretty Little Baby’ is making all over the world,” she said in a video on TikTok, which she had joined in response to the song's unexpected revival. “To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is captivating new generations of audiences is truly overwhelming for me.”

Concetta Rosemarie Franconero was born on Dec. 12, 1937, in the Ironbound section of Newark.

At age 9 she began appearing on television programs, including “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” and “The Perry Como Show.” It was Godfrey who suggested she shorten her last name. She also performed at community festivals and talent shows.

She attended the city's Arts High School before the family moved to neighboring Belleville, where she graduated at the top of her class in 1955.

⬛ Relax and unwind at New Jersey's new cannabis lounges

❎ NJ regulators approve first 'consumption lounges'
❎ Customers can consume cannabis in café-like settings
❎ Hailed as a 'major milestone' in NJ cannabis industry

The state's top cannabis regulator hailed a "major milestone in New Jersey's cannabis industry" as the first so-called consumption lounges were given preliminary approval.

Sales of recreational marijuana began in 2022 in New Jersey. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) has granted licenses to 235 dispensaries that provide cannabis products for both recreational and medicinal purposes.

On Tuesday, the CRC approved licenses for existing dispensaries to open consumption lounges.

The dispensaries will allow customers to smoke weed in a café-like setting. Additional approvals are expected in the months ahead.

Commission chair Dianna Houenou said after the approval, "Whether individuals cannot consume cannabis inside their homes or simply wish to consume cannabis legally and responsibly, these areas provide a practical solution"

Houenou added, "We are proud to support this next phase of safe-use infrastructure in our state.”

⬛ NJ man with gun arrested after road rage shooting in Ocean County

LACEY — An Ocean County man has been accused of firing a gun at another car in an alleged road rage incident Thursday morning.

At 8:10 a.m., Lacey Township Police were called to the incident along Lacey Road.

Officers said a male driver got out of his vehicle, pulled out a firearm and shot at a victim’s car before driving off.

Police said the vehicle was damaged consistent with a gunshot. The driver was unharmed.

Officers combed the area for the possible gunman and found Paul R. Cacciola, of Bayville, in a parking lot in Lanoka Harbor along Route 9.

The 39-year-old Cacciola had a pistol with him, Lacey Township Police said.

He has been charged with terroristic threats, certain persons not to have a weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, criminal mischief, and interference with transportation.

⬛ NJ police seek help to identify driver in car window shatterings

🚨 Northfield police are looking for a car involved in projectile incidents
🚨 Car windows in several neighborhoods have been shattered by projectiles
🚨 There is video footage of the car in question

NORTHFIELD — Police are investigating multiple incidents in the Atlantic County city where victims have reported that one of their car windows had been shattered by a projectile.

Ring video surveillance obtained from the area and posted to the Northfield Police Department’s Facebook page shows a silver two-door vehicle with a modified exhaust and a small car spoiler in the vicinity on Monday, July 14, at 9:35 p.m.

Similar incidents of car windows being blown out by a projectile were reported in the areas of Sutton Woods, Zion Road, and Jenny Lynn Drive, police reported.

⬛ ICE protester also charged after NJ woman hit him with car

🚨Giancarlo Pontecorvo approached 2 people during a protest against ICE
🚨Both incidents were captured on video

FAIRVIEW — A man who is accused of spitting at two people during an anti-ICE protest was charged with two counts of assault.

Fairview police said Giancarlo Pontecorvo, 26, of Ridgefield, approached Linda Roglen, 62, of North Bergen, who pulled her SUV up to the intersection of Fairview and Anderson avenues as protesters in the Walk of Solidarity crossed the street in the crosswalk on July 12.

After an argument, Pontecorvo spat directly into Roglen's face, according to police.

Video of their encounter shows the SUV at first surrounded by protesters but then moving forward and striking his foot, knocking him to the ground.

For her part, Roglen was charged with four counts of assault by auto resulting in bodily injury, and with multiple motor vehicle violations, including careless driving, reckless driving, failure to stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injuries, and failure to report a motor vehicle crash.

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

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