NJ businesses looking for a clue about summer capacity — Top News 3/19

As we approach the warmer months, the state's business and nonprofit leaders are begging for more clarity and freedom from Gov. Phil Murphy and company in the way of coronavirus restrictions.

Indoor dining, gyms, casinos, salons, and indoor amusements all increase to 50% capacity Friday. Outdoor interstate sports are resuming as well. Nearly 1.1 million people in New Jersey are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Another four correctional police officers are facing criminal charges stemming from a brutal incident in January at the state's only all-women's prison.

New Jersey unemployment applications were up 4.4% in the last week, following a month of declines.

President Joe Biden said as of Friday, his administration would exceed its goal of 100 million COVID vaccine doses well before his first 100 days in office.

The U.S. has doses of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine on hand, even though it is not approved here, and will now send 4 million of them to Canada and Mexico, a move New Jersey U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew disagrees with.

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Federal charges are filed against yet another person with a Jersey connection for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and this time it's the son of a well-known soap opera actor.

It's been a historic 12 months of challenges for Atlantic City, and the COVID impacts have been quantified in a new report out of Stockton University.

The Jersey City MVC vehicle center is now closed until April 1 due to an employee's positive COVID test, making for 11 MVC facilities currently closed around the state.

A new study published in the journal Science suggests the coronavirus pandemic likely sprouted in the Hubei province of China a month or two prior to December 2019, when a cluster of cases associated with a wet market in Wuhan first garnered attention.

They're not getting human doses, but at the San Diego Zoo, five bonobos and five orangutans have received at least their first shots of an experimental COVID vaccine following a January outbreak among a troop of gorillas.

AMC, the movie theater chain which became a darling of small stock traders at the beginning of the year, says as of Friday, 98% of its theaters nationwide will be open, with more to follow next Friday.

Patrick Lavery is New Jersey 101.5's afternoon news anchor. Follow him on Twitter @plavery1015 or email patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com.