Pack your patience if you’re traveling this Fourth of July, AAA reports – NJ Top News

Here are the top stories on NJ 101.5 for Monday, June 30, 2025

⬛ Woman and her granddaughter killed in a tragic house fire in Hamilton, NJ

HAMILTON (Mercer) —A grandmother and her granddaughter died after a house fire that started around dawn on Thursday.

Hamilton police Sgt. Mark Wilson said a neighbor helped a girl who also lives in the house on Lynwood Avenue escape the flames through a window just after 6 a.m.

The girl alerted arriving first responders about two other people inside and firefighters went inside to find them.

The victims were found in two separate bedrooms. They were taken to Capital Health at Fuld, where they both died on Friday, according to Wilson. He did not identify the victims.

⬛ Pack your patience if you're traveling this Fourth of July, AAA warns

Over two million New Jerseyans plan to travel 50 miles or more for the Fourth of July holiday, according to AAA’s predictions.

The volatility at the gas pump is not keeping people away from hitting the road, said AAA spokeswoman Tracy Noble. AAA is predicting that 1.6 million residents will drive to their destinations, a 1.5 percent increase over last year. Drivers, however, are getting a break at the pump with prices the cheapest they’ve been since 2021.

AAA also found that 187,000 New Jerseyans plan to fly to their destinations. Traveling by bus, train, or cruise ship is up nearly 8% compared to 2025.

Pack your patience!

⬛ Menopause costs women sleep, work, and money. NJ may finally fix that

TRENTON — A bill (A5278) moving through the Assembly would make insurance companies pay for all necessary menopause and perimenopause treatments in New Jersey.

Primary bill sponsor, Assemblywoman Heather Simmons, D-Gloucester, says about 6,000 women reach menopause in the United States every day, yet there is little support around it

What makes this bill different from ones in other states is that this bill calls for blanket insurance coverage from all insurance carriers in New Jersey for perimenopause and menopause services and approved treatments, Simmons said.

⬛ Manchester man charged with beating his mother with her cane, police say

MANCHESTER — An Ocean County man has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault after beating his 71-year-old mother with her cane.

According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, officers from the Manchester Township Police Department responded to the Pine Acres Manor Mobile Home Community on Friday, June 27, at approximately 12:15 p.m.

They found a woman in distress with injuries to her face and body. She was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune in critical but stable condition.

The investigation found that Joseph Cavallaro, 44, of Manchester, had beaten his mother with her cane.

Cavallaro was being taken into custody when he suffered a medical episode and had to be taken to a separate hospital, where he is listed in stable condition. Upon his release, Cavallaro will be lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

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