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

⬛ NJ launches driver crackdown in these towns

🚨NJ has launched its annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown
🚨125 police agencies are funded to ramp up DWI patrols & checkpoints
🚨The number of fatalities on NJ roads has decreased in 2025

New Jersey's annual "Drive sober or get pulled over" campaign is underway.

The 125 agencies will share a $703,500 grant from the Division of Highway Traffic Safety to cover patrols and checkpoints through New Year's Day, targeting drivers who are impaired behind the wheel. Bay Head, Camden, Lakewood, Montclair, Newark, Passaic and Paterson top the list of grants with each department receiving $10,500. Most departments receive anywhere between $1,400 and $7,000.

⬛ Federal judge throws out Trump order blocking development of wind energy

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of wind farms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capricious” and violates U.S. law.

Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful.

Saris ruled in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., including New Jersey, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, that challenged Trump’s Day One order that paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects.

Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, and prioritizes fossil fuels to produce electricity.

The coalition includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington state and Washington, D.C. They say they’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars collectively to develop wind energy and even more on upgrading transmission lines to bring wind energy to the electrical grid.

⬛ Residency rules upheld in NJ's assisted suicide law

A federal appeals court has upheld New Jersey's requirement that you must be a state resident in order to be prescribed medications to end your own life.

Since 2019, New Jersey's Medical Aid in Dying law has allowed terminally ill residents to request a drug cocktail they would take themselves that would result in death.

A terminally ill woman from Delaware and another from Philadelphia sued the state arguing they should be allowed to travel to New Jersey to obtain the medications.

The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the suit, claiming while the prescription may be legal in New Jersey, it may be illegal in other states. That, the court said, could expose doctors to criminal prosecution.

Both women who brought the suit have since passed away.

The number of people requesting the suicide drugs has been steadily increasing to an average of about 100 per year. Since the medication is self administered, it is not known how many have actually used the cocktail to end their lives.

⬛ Lumberton Mayor appears in court on child abuse charges

Mayor Gina LaPlaca, dubbed the 'Queen of Toxicity', entered a not guilty plea to child endangerment and abuse charges.

A grand jury indicted the 46-year old LaPlaca following her arrest on drunk driving charges.

On police bodycam video, LaPlaca can be seen stumbling after getting out of her car. She appears to admit she had been drinking before picking her two-year-old child up from day care. An open container of booze was found in her car.

A growing number of top Democrats have urged her to resign, including Gov. Phil Murphy, but she has remained defiant and often attacks her critics on social media.

This is not LaPlaca's first legal entanglement. She has a history of assault and domestic abuse allegations.

Her next court date is set for February.

⬛ Hamilton’s ‘Santa Mark’ faces graphic child image charges

🚨Ex-Hamilton teacher known as “Santa Mark” faces child porn charges
🚨Prosecutor says hundreds of illegal images were in his possession
🚨The longtime educator and holiday performer has worked with children for years

HAMILTON (Mercer) — A retired teacher who grew a big white beard to appear at parties and other holiday events as "Santa Mark" was charged with possessing images of child sexual exploitation.

Mark Paulino, 64, was arrested on Friday after the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit received information from the State Police ICAC Unit that an individual residing in Hamilton had uploaded multiple files of suspected child pornography to the internet.

Because of his frequent interaction with children, detectives prioritized getting a search warrant for his home, Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey said on Monday.

The search warrant was executed on Friday afternoon at Paulino's home with assistance from the Hamilton police SWAT.

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

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