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

⬛ May Day protests in NJ against Musk and Trump

🔷May Day rallies in NJ
🔷Protest feds putting profits over people
🔷 At least 15 events around NJ

Grassroots protests against Elon Musk, President Donald Trump and more unfolded around the Garden State this week to coincide with May Day.

Pushback against the Trump administration’s interest in cutting federal money from programs that benefit New Jerseyans was a key focus on the May Day Strong website, which said: “Trump and his billionaire profiteers are trying to create a race to the bottom—on wages, on benefits, on dignity itself.”

“We are demanding a country that puts our families over their fortunes—public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, prosperity over free market politics.”

Demonstrators had already gathered on Wednesday in Trenton to support divesting pension funds tied up in Tesla stock.

Attendees, some holding signs, stood outside the New Jersey Treasury Building while the State Investment Council held a regular meeting.

New Jersey's public worker pension system has more than $210 million invested in Tesla stock, according to an online petition from Action Network.

“Elon Musk is actively attacking the public sector, including firing workers who keep our national parks clean, make air travel safe, and help low-income families afford their utility bills," the petition read.

⬛ Cranford Theater evacuated after ceiling collapses

🚨 The ceiling collapsed into an empty theater, according to ABC 7 Eyewitness News
🚨 The building is off-limits for the time being
🚨 The theater first opened in 1926

CRANFORD — A nearly 100-year-old theater was evacuated after a suspended ceiling collapsed inside one of the building’s six auditoriums Wednesday night.

First responders were called to the Cranford Theater around 7:30 p.m. and found that everyone in the theater on North Avenue had been evacuated, according to Cranford police. No one in the theater or any of the firefighters was injured.

“It was a suspended ceiling inside the building in one of the theaters. That was actually the collapse, not the roof or the structure itself,” Police Chief Matthew Nazzaro told News 12.

ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported that the auditorium with the ceiling was not occupied at the time. Two tickets purchased for the auditorium were not used.

The building has been declared uninhabitable and the cause of the collapse remains under investigation.

⬛ NJ senior scammed out of $200,000 worth of gold bars

💲A man was contacted by someone claiming to be an AppleCare representative
💲He fell for the scam and lost $200,000 worth of gold bars
💲When they called a second time police were waiting to hand over more gold

BARNEGAT — A 76-year-old man fell victim to a scam that popped up on his iPad and lost nearly $200,000 worth of gold bars.

Barnegat police said that after the man legitimately bought $200,000 worth of gold in Las Vegas, he got a message from someone on April 16 purporting to be with AppleCare claiming his bank account was hacked.

The scammer told the man that the only way to protect his account was to convert the cash into bars. The man believed what he was being told, including that a courier from the Federal Reserve would come by his home and pick up the gold.

The scammers contacted the man a second time and successfully got him to make a second purchase of gold bars for $550,000. The bars would be delivered to him on Monday. The couriers were greeted this time by State Police troopers.

⬛ Howell L.E.A.D. Fest carnival welcomes families, not unruly teens

👮‍♂️ Howell holds annual LEAD fest
👮‍♂️ Carnivals in NJ have been ruined by unruly teens
👮‍♂️ Security measures are in place

HOWELL — The annual LEAD Fest begins an 11-day run in a Monmouth County township on Friday, open to but with a message for those looking to cause trouble.

Spring carnivals and fairs are a New Jersey tradition for community groups to offer a fun night out and to raise money. Monmouth County-based nonprofit Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence for years has held events around New Jersey in support of their mission to protect youth and communities from drug crimes, bullying, and violence. The group has trained over 6,000 instructors in 47 states at no cost.

Several spring carnivals, including a LEAD carnival in East Brunswick in 2023, have been marred by the appearance of large numbers of teens showing up in response to social media invitations.

Middlesex Borough has permanently canceled their Fireman's Festival after police said they were overwhelmed. Gloucester Township has postponed this year's Gloucester Day carnival while planning an alternative event. DeMauro says LEAD Fest is prepared and encourages families to attend.

"I don't know what their security plan was but we have strict security. We cater to the people who want to have fun. And if it means that someone who wants to cause problems wants to be there, they're not gonna be allowed in. It's that simple," DeMauro said. "It's a fun event. We're raising a lot of money for charity."

⬛ NJ man, Rutgers students arrested in ‘rowdy’ anti-Israel protest

🔻Anti-Israel protest at Rutgers
🔻4 people arrested
🔻2nd arrest in days for NJ man

NEW BRUNSWICK — Tensions flared during a pro-Palestinian protest setup outside a Jewish student union event at Rutgers University, leading to four arrests, authorities said.

Three Rutgers students and a 25-year-old Cranford man who is not a student or employee of the university were charged with rioting and other offenses after their arrests at the New Brunswick campus.

The same Union County man was arrested last week in Hudson County after making inflammatory pro-Palestinian comments during a Jersey City Council meeting.

On Tuesday evening, Rutgers Police had a designated protest area outside of Rutgers Hillel on the College Avenue Campus during a roundtable event with Congressman Josh Gottheimer.

Before 8 p.m., four protesters allegedly refused repeated requests from police to clear the public sidewalk.

Officers formed a protective line to try and restore access, but some protesters tried to breach the line, prompting police to say that the protest was unlawful and was over.

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

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

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Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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