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

⬛ Sweet disaster: Route 80 shuts down after M&M spill

🚛 Tractor-trailer crash spilled peanut butter M&Ms across Route 80
⏱️ Cleanup took about two hours before the highway reopened
🚒 No injuries were reported

KNOWLTON — A tractor-trailer rear-ended another on Route 80 Monday night, causing a load of M&M packages to spill all over the highway.

State Police Trooper Christopher Postorino said the Cascadia truck carrying the candy had an issue with one of its tires at 10:17 p.m., causing the driver to lose control and hit a truck parked on the shoulder two miles from the Delaware Water Gap bridge.

The Cascadia overturned, tearing open the side of the trailer, dumping boxes of bagged peanut butter M&Ms on the highway.

⬛ NJ layoffs near 10,000 mark as 143 workers cut at brewery

💼 Nearly 10,000 layoffs announced in NJ by mid-September 2025
🏭 Big names like Mark Anthony Brewing and Claire's make cuts
📉 Companies cite industry slowdowns, sales and restructuring

Will New Jersey stay ahead of the curve in the final months of this year, with less total mass layoffs than 2024?

By mid-September, the number of layoffs announced in New Jersey in 2025 has stacked up to 9,714 across 71 notices through the “Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.”

Last year, more than 13,300 layoffs were announced by less than 80 New Jersey companies combined, public records show.

Several companies made multiple announcements.

Of those, about 12% of the total layoffs were announced in the final three months of 2024 — a combined 1,594 by 13 companies.

Not everyone actually wound up out of work, NorthJersey.com reported. After a layoff notice filed for 157 in Wayne at the Metropolitan YMCA, many workers were rehired.

In the past three months across New Jersey, at least six companies have announced more than 100 layoffs each.

⬛ Man guides possibly rabid black bear out of dollar store

🐻 Black bear wandered into a Vernon Dollar General, biting a woman in the leg before being guided out.
🚨 Officials say the bear acted erratically earlier on Route 94 and may have had rabies.
⚠️ The 175-pound bear was later euthanized, sparking concern over open dumpsters attracting wildlife.

VERNON — It's not unusual to see a bear in Sussex County. It is unusual, however, to see one inside a store.

A female black bear wandered into a Dollar General store on Route 94 on Tuesday afternoon and bit a 90-year-old woman in the leg, according to state Fish & Wildlife officials. The woman was taken to a hospital.

Bear spotted behaving erratically on Route 94
The 175-pound bear will be tested for rabies but the results will not be known for three to five days.

Earlier in the day, the bear had been spotted on Route 94, where the DEP says it was "behaving erratically and moving in and out of traffic," which is a sign of rabies. Vernon police fired rubber bullets at the bear, causing it to flee into the woods.

⬛ Howell tried to kick minorities out of their homes, lawsuits say

🔴 Two Howell Township managers accuse officials of housing discrimination
🔴 They faced retaliation after refusing to enforce discriminatory rules, lawsuits say
🔴 The explosive accusations have already led to suspensions and resignations

HOWELL — In a pair of stunning lawsuits, the mayor and another elected official of this Monmouth County community are accused of trying to kick certain minority groups out of town.

The whistleblower lawsuits were filed separately by Howell's former Township Manager Joe Clark and Deputy Township Manager Matthew Howard. Both say they faced retaliation for pushing back against racial profiling.

Clark and Howard both accuse Mayor John Leggio and Councilman Ian Nadel of housing discrimination.

In some instances, Leggio and Nadel are accused of trying to target homes "owned by Jews" or lived in by "Mexicans."

Leggio and Nadel did not respond to requests for comment.

⬛ Failing to connect with voters, Ciattarelli trails in NJ Gov race

❎ Heading into the final stretch, Ciattarelli trails Sherrill for governor
❎ GOP nominee lags on character issues
❎ More independents support Mikie Sherrill

With just over two months to go before voters decide on who will be the next Governor of New Jersey, a new poll shows Republican Jack Ciattarelli still failing to connect with voters on key issues.

The Quinnipiac University Poll shows Democrat Mikie Sherrill with an overall eight point lead, but also leading among critical independent voters.

Sherrill was favored by 49% of likely voters surveyed by Qunnipiac, while Ciattarelli was favored by 41%.

The survey also found support split by gender. 48% of men supporting Ciattarelli and 55% of women backing Sherrill.

Results from the Quinnipiac Poll are in line with other recent polls.

Ciattarelli has questioned the methodology of recent polls that show him trailing Sherrill, and claims his own internal polling has the race as a dead heat.

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.

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

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