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

With a little over two weeks before Election Day in New Jersey, Barack Obama is trying to energize Democrats to come out and support Mikie Sherrill.

The former president posted his endorsement of Sherrill on X over the weekend and released a 30-second video touting her military, legal background and commitment to families.

Even with Republicans gaining in terms of the number of registered voters, Democrats still hold about an 850,000 voter edge.

Sherrill still holds a lead in most recent polls, and getting the party faithful to turn out in big numbers is a critical key to victory.

Republican Jack Ciattarelli has also been trying to shore up his base at campaign events and rallies around the state. He will also need GOP voters to turn out in large numbers to try and blunt the advantage held by Democrats.

Each candidate is also trying to appeal to independent/unaffiliated voters who will likely provide the margin of victory to the winning candidate.

Keep scrolling for the latest on the race for governor and for the rest of today's top stories.

⬛ New Jersey Turnpike crash kills 4 people

🚨Four people were killed in a crash on the New Jersey Turnpike early Sunday
🚨The Lakewood Scoop reports 3 of the victims were teens from Lakewood
🚨It is New Jersey’s 434th fatal crash of 2025, according to State police records

CARNEY'S POINT — Four people were killed in a crash at the southern end of the New Jersey Turnpike early Sunday morning.

State police Sgt. Charles Marchan said a pickup heading north in the southbound lanes hit a Mazda SUV headed south head-on around 12:42 a.m. near Exit 1 north of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. A Freightliner tractor trailer then struck the Mazda. Driver Yaakov Kilberg, 19 and passengers Aharon Lebovits, 18, and Shlomo Cohen, all from Lakewood and Chaim Grossman,18, from Fallsburg, NY were all killed in the crash.

The driver of the pickup, Christopher Neff, 41, from Westminster, CO suffered serious injuries in the crash while the driver of the tractor trailer, Harpret Singh Sandhu, 29,from Nova Scotia was not injured, according to Marchan.

The circumstances of the crash and the identities of those involved were not disclosed or if any charges were filed.

The Lakewood Scoop reports Neff was driving under the influence.

⬛ Obama dives into NJ governor’s race, backs Mikie Sherrill

🗳️ Former President Obama endorses Mikie Sherrill in NJ governor's race
🚁 Obama touts her military, legal background and commitment to families
💸 Sherrill, Murphy, and Obama joined forces at a $1.5M fundraiser this summer

The New Jersey governor’s race has gained attention from former President Barack Obama, who has backed Democratic U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

“Mikie Sherrill's integrity, grit, and commitment to service are what we need right now in our leaders,” Obama says in the video ad, as recapped by the official Democratic party account on X.

"Mikie is a mom who will drive down costs for New Jersey families. As a federal prosecutor and former Navy helicopter pilot, she worked to keep our communities safe,” Obama says in the video, which runs 30 seconds long.

⬛ Ghost tapping scam targets tap-to-pay users in New Jersey

⚠️ A new scam is haunting New Jersey shoppers and draining accounts.
📱 Fraudsters can steal your card info just by standing near you.
💳 One NJ expert says skip “tap-to-pay” and go back to old-school swiping.

The latest credit card scam is scary, with a Halloween-sounding name that New Jersey residents and those around the country need to be aware of, according to The Better Business Bureau.

It’s called ghost tapping, a tap-to-pay fraud scheme that lets scammers steal money directly from a person’s bank account without any physical contact with a debit or credit card, which is unlike previous scams.

How ‘ghost tapping’ works — and why it’s so dangerous
The cyber-thief just needs to be a few feet from their target, said Paul Oster, president and owner of credit management firm Better Qualified, in Eatontown.

“Scammers are stealing credit cards that a person has in a digital wallet, putting that information into a ghost phone, and then using that ghost phone at point-of-sales retail stores, committing millions of dollars in retail fraud,” Oster said.

They are taking the digital credit card information by tapping your phone with their concealed-card reader, or ghost phones, especially in crowded places, he added.

“They are literally able to steal the cards in your digital wallet just by standing right next to you,” Oster said, or they ask you to “tap to pay” for some fake product, service, or donation and steal your banking information.

⬛ Propeller-mangled whale dies after storm blocks euthanasia attempt

🐋 Heartbreaking loss: Young humpback whale dies near Long Beach Island after failed rescue
💔 Euthanasia plan stalled by storm-damaged beaches and rising tides
🚁 Whale first spotted by NJDEP aerial team, later died overnight

A 29-foot juvenile humpback whale that became stranded in shallow waters off the southern tip of Long Beach Island has died after officials were unable to euthanize it in time, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) confirmed Sunday.

The whale was first spotted Friday afternoon by a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection aerial team west of Beach Haven. Officials described the animal as lethargic, emaciated, and bearing deep wounds on both sides—injuries likely caused by a boat propeller.

Rescuers from the MMSC, assisted by the Coast Guard and Sea Tow of Atlantic City, initially hoped to humanely euthanize the whale to end its suffering. However, heavy beach erosion from a recent storm rendered local landing sites inaccessible, and the incoming tide and falling darkness Saturday evening thwarted alternative plans.

⬛ Rutgers hazing claim sparks fury from Penn State victim’s family

🔴 Rutgers student found critically injured in house
🔴 Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity chapter suspended amid hazing investigation
🔴 NJ parents of Penn State hazing victim demand appropriate justice

NEW BRUNSWICK — A 19-year-old Rutgers University student remained in critical condition on Saturday and a fraternity house was shut down as onlookers tensely waited for answers on just what happened days earlier.

After a disconnected 911 call just after 12:30 a.m., Wednesday, the young man was found unresponsive and hurt at a home in New Brunswick, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said on Friday afternoon.

As the details were made public, residents of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house at 106 College Ave. were seen packing their personal items and leaving, ABC 7 New York reported.

It was the same house that was the hub of police and EMS activity on Wednesday, students told News 12.

The local chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi has been suspended as the nationwide fraternity condemned hazing.

“Hazing has no part in the Alpha Sigma Phi experience. It is not condoned nor is it tolerated, Alpha Sigma Phi President and CEO Gordy Heminger said in a statement on Friday.

Few details of what actually happened have been made public.

NJ.com is quoting the parent of another student who was in the frat house when where the incident occurred. She claims this was not hazing, but an accident caused by shoddy conditions inside the house.

She says the injured student came in contact with a live wire and was electrocuted while he and other students were listening to music in the dark.

Investigators have not confirmed any of those details.

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

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