Gruesome Murder/suicide

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Tuesday:

⬛ Mega Millions tops $1 billion

Mega Millions ticket (Dan Alexander, Townsquare Media NJ)

A estimated $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot will again be up for grabs, giving lottery players a chance to snap an unlucky streak that has stretched on for months.

No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since April 18.

That has enabled it to grow for months, and it now is tied for the seventh-largest in U.S. history.

⬛ NJ man shot ex-wife, dog in Ocean County murder-suicide, cops say

Kimberly Hoffman and Carl Schulz Jr. (via Facebook)

LITTLE EGG HARBOR — A woman shot to death in her apartment Saturday morning has been identified as the mother of two sons and authorities say her ex-husband is her killer.

Police found the body of Kimberly Hoffman, 49, after they forced down the door of her Little Egg Harbor apartment on Whitemarsh Court, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. The officers were responding to a 911 call from Hoffman around 5:10 a.m. reporting that someone was breaking into her apartment.

⬛ Who's in charge of NJ? Murphy's on vacation, his No. 2 is in hospital

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver (Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver), Senate President Nick Scutari (Sen. President Nick Scutari) Gov. Phil Murphy (Gov. Phil Murphy)

Senate President Nicholas Scutari is New Jersey's acting governor while Gov. Phil Murphy is out of the country and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver is hospitalized.

The governor and his family left for a vacation to Italy on Friday, leaving Oliver as the acting governor. She is hospitalized at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston and is unable to carry out her duties, according to a tweet from Mahen Gunaratna, the governor's communications director.

Gunaratna did not disclose the reason for Oliver's hospitalization.

⬛ The unsolved 2006 murders of Atlantic City, NJ sex workers

ATLANTIC CITY — The discovery of four dead women in a drainage ditch just outside Atlantic City was shocking news in 2006.

International media flocked to the seaside gambling resort. More than 100 detectives and prosecutors were assigned to investigate. Casino guests worried about safety, and the victims’ fellow sex workers began carrying hidden knives.

But as the years passed, the public’s attention and fear faded, and the case of the “Eastbound Strangler” – so named for the direction the victims’ heads were facing – remained unsolved.

⬛ Demand for Jersey tomatoes is high and the season looks good

Jersey tomatoes at Muzzarelli Farms, Vineland

Nothing says summer like a juicy, red Jersey tomato.

The state is in the heart of tomato growing season, which generally kicks off in mid-June and lasts through the first frost in October.

On average, there are roughly 3,600 acres of tomatoes growing in New Jersey between grape, cherry, round, and plum tomatoes, Viereck said.

Dennis Malloy's easy, delicious Jersey tomato flatbread

This is the best time of year to make use of the abundance of jersey tomatoes while they last.

How much you need to earn to be in each state's Top 1%

This is how much you need to earn to be in the Top 1% of income owners in each state of these two states, including New Jersey, according to a study by SmartAsset. For the full list of states, see the study at SmartAsset.