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

⬛ Hot sauce used as punishment? NJ school accusations rock parents

🌶️ After online accusations of hot sauce discipline on non-verbal, special needs kindergarteners, a substitute teacher was let go in NJ.
🏫 Paterson schools confirmed an investigation but declined to address specifics, prompting criticism from parents and advocates.
⚖️ Affected families and an advocacy group are asking why police and child protection were not immediately involved.

PATERSON — A substitute teacher has been fired by the Paterson Public School District, after accusations that hot sauce was being given to young non-verbal, special needs children as an in-class discipline.

A spokesperson for Paterson Public Schools did not directly address the accusations, but said that an individual no longer worked in the district.

“The District is aware of the allegation regarding an incident at Dale Avenue Elementary School and immediately initiated an investigation in accordance with established protocols,” according to a written statement sent to New Jersey 101.5 on Tuesday.

“We are committed to ensuring that every student feels safe, respected, and supported,” the district spokesperson added.

⬛ Republicans sound alarm as NJ makes voter registration automatic

✅ New Jersey now automatically registers all eligible voters unless they opt out.
✅ Democrats say it boosts access and turnout.
✅ Republicans warn the change could allow non-citizens onto voter rolls.

Automatic voter registration is now opt-out at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, which has Republicans worried that non-citizens could get ballots.

On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed 77 new laws, including one that overhauls the Automatic Voter Registration System at the MVC. The bill (S1636) passed in the State Legislature on party lines.

It'll have an impact anytime an individual gets or renews their driver's license or Real ID. The old system gave eligible citizens a prompt to register to vote or update their voter registration information.

Sponsor state Sen. Andrew Zwicker, D-Somerset, said the law updates the AVR to remove that prompt; every eligible citizen is now automatically registered to vote, and that information is sent to the secretary of state. A notice will then be sent to the individual to either choose their party affiliation or opt out entirely.

The New Jersey Assembly GOP raised concerns that the law allows automatic voter registration without a signature and lacks accountability if a non-citizen slips through the cracks and is registered to vote.

⬛ NJ parents now face jail and fines for teen fights and parties

🔴 New Jersey will now hold parents legally responsible for teens arrested in public brawls.
🔴 The law responds to violent pop-up parties, shore riots, and mall fights involving juveniles.
🔴 Parents could face up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

After years of chaotic pop-up parties and violent teen brawls, New Jersey is holding parents responsible for their rowdy children.

On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a new law (A4651/S3508) that creates legal penalties for parents of juveniles arrested for "improper behavior." That includes kids damaging property and inciting public brawls.

A parent or legal guardian can be charged with a disorderly persons offense if they demonstrate "willful or wanton disregard in the exercise of the supervision and control" of a minor. That offense carries a penalty of up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine, depending on what their child has done wrong.

Assemblyman Dan Hutchison, D-Camden, introduced the bill in July 2024 after a spree of chaos down the shore and riots at community days. At the time, he said it's a parent's responsibility to raise children who can behave in public.

⬛ NJ Girl Scout turns cookie sales into viral pop music sensation

🍪 Girl Scout cookie season returns across New Jersey
🎶 Denville student turns pop parodies into viral cookie pitches
⭐ She's looking to top last year's cookie box sales with your help

DENVILLE — Girl Scout cookie season has officially kicked off.

Time to stock up on those Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Trefoils, Do-si-dos, and even the newest cookie this year — Exploremores, a rocky-road-inspired sandwich cookie with chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted almond-flavored crème filling.

ALSO READ: Your Christmas tree can help save a NJ shoreline
But, whatever cookie you buy, consider purchasing a few boxes from a 10-year-old New Jersey girl who has taken cookie sales to the next level.

Denville Girl Scout creates viral music videos to boost cookie sales
Fifth-grader Lily Testa, a Denville Girl Scout, has created a brand-new music video, “Pantry’s Empty (Buy Buy Buy),” a whimsical play off NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.”

This is the fourth year in a row Lily has filmed a music video to drum up cookie sales on social media, her dad, Andrew Testa, said.

⬛ Luxury spending, anger and a deadline: Jurors hear Caneiro calls

💰 Prosecutors detailed Paul Caneiro’s mounting debts, luxury spending and drained trust accounts.
📞 Jurors heard recordings of Keith Caneiro angrily demanding access to his $3 million life insurance policy trust, just hours before his death.
⚖️ Financial crime testimony and tense courtroom exchanges underscored the prosecution’s motive theory.

FREEHOLD BOROUGH — A lengthy day of testimony on Tuesday laid out mounting financial issues facing accused killer Paul Caneiro in the months before his relatives were slain in their Colts Neck home over five years ago.

Prosecutors have shared financial desperation as a chief motive in the quadruple murder trial now unfolding in Monmouth County Superior Court. Caneiro is accused of killing his brother, Keith, who was also his business partner, as well as Keith's wife and two children.

Starting Tuesday morning, a detective with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office who specializes in financial crimes took the witness stand.

Just before a lunch break for the jury, Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Wallace introduced recordings of the final two known phone calls between Paul Caneiro and Keith Caneiro.

Following the break, jurors heard both recordings from Nov. 19, 2018, made by a security camera system in Keith Caneiro's Colts Neck home.

Only Keith’s side can be heard.

“I need it — I need it. Give me the f***ing login, Paul!” Keith Caneiro is heard demanding in the second call, around 6 p.m.

“An hour or two, Paul, by 8 o'clock," Keith adds, giving a deadline for providing the login for the trust account.

By the next afternoon, Keith Caneiro, his wife, Jennifer, their 8-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son were all found viciously killed as their Colts Neck house burned around them.

Start your day with up-to-the-minute news, traffic and weather for the Garden State.

The New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show airs 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

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.