Terrifying home invasions at the Jersey Shore

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Tuesday:

⬛ Powerball jackpot rises to $1.09 billion

Canva/Townsquare Media illustration

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.09 billion after no one matched the latest numbers. That continues a three-month winless streak for the game's top prize.

The $1.09 billion prize is for a sole winner who makes the rare decision to be paid over 30 years through an annuity. Nearly all winners take the cash option, which for the next drawing would be an estimated $527.3 million.

⬛ NJ mayor says search warrants involve 'private family issue'

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, center, speaks at a news conference in Atlantic City, N.J., Monday, April 1, 2024, flanked by his daughter Jada, left, and his attorney Edwin Jacobs, right. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

ATLANTIC CITY (AP) — Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said Monday that a search of his home last week by prosecutors involved “a private family issue,” not a crime.

The Democratic mayor held a news conference at City Hall to respond to the execution last Thursday of five search warrants by the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office naming the mayor and his wife, LaQuetta Small, the city's superintendent of schools.

⬛ More home invasions in NJ: Residents robbed at gunpoint

Toms River (Toms River police) Lakewood police (Lakewood police) shields

Police are investigating early Saturday home invasions in Toms River and Lakewood.

Thieves stole an entire safe from a Lakewood home on Columbus Avenue early Saturday morning while the residents slept, according to The Lakewood Scoop.

Residents of a home on Hundred Oaks Drive in the Walden Woods neighborhood of Toms River woke up early Saturday morning to a masked man pointing a gun at them demanding money, according to Toms River police Lt. Gene Bachonski.

⬛ Two injured in shooting at Newark restaurant and nearby car crash

Newark police vehicle (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEWARK — Police were very busy on the first day of April dealing with a shooting at a restaurant and a nearby car crash just a short time later in Essex County.

Police arrived at the Family Manor Restaurant and banquet hall on 795 Sanford Ave. shortly after 3 a.m., according to Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé.

⬛ NJ gas prices expected to make a huge jump in April

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Enjoy this while it lasts: the average price of gasoline in New Jersey is significantly lower than the national average.

That'll change later this month, when you may end up paying as much as 40 cents more per gallon in the Garden State.

"The worst is yet to come for New Jersey," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told New Jersey 101.5.

⬛ Rutgers makes about-face on COVID vaccination policy

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Students and staff on Rutgers University campuses no longer need to be vaccinated for coronavirus.

The state university says online that as of April 1, the university no longer requires students, faculty, staff, and university affiliates to be immunized against COVID-19.

The decision comes four years after the pandemic took hold of New Jersey and forced businesses and schools to shut down.