Tragic NJ connections to NOLA attack

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Friday:

⬛ New year means new round of flu, RSV, COVID in New Jersey

Canva

You're done with the countdown to the new year. Now, you can begin the countdown until viruses potentially take over your home.

Respiratory illnesses are circulating throughout the Garden State. As of now, health professionals aren't detecting anything unusual this cold-and-flu season — but that doesn't mean much to residents who are burning up and in pain.

Medical facilities are bracing for a spike in patient appointments and drop-ins over the next few weeks, as the holiday season winds down and germs from all the gatherings find countless new hosts.

⬛ NJ lawmaker flown to hospital after venomous bite

NJ Senator Parker Space bit by venomous rattlesnake (nj.gov, fws.gov Shaughn Galloway/USFWS)

A North Jersey lawmaker and lifelong wildlife enthusiast ended 2024 in the hospital, treated for a venomous snakebite at his family’s zoo complex.

Sen. Parker Space, R-Sussex, said he was on the mend after being bit by an eastern massasauga rattlesnake while feeding it on Monday — NJ.com first reported and Space confirmed the encounter for New Jersey 101.5.

Space and his family live in Wantage, also home to their Space Farms Zoo and Museum, which opened in 1927.

⬛ NJ worst in the nation for folks moving out, according to survey

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Once again, New Jersey ranks No 1. ... for folks wanting out.

At the same time, West Virginia appears to be seeing a greater share of inbound moves than any other state.

According to a state-by-state survey from United Van Lines, the Garden State recorded the highest share of outbound moves in 2024. Of all the New Jersey moves tracked by the company, 67% were outbound.

⬛ Former Princeton Tiger football player dies in New Orleans attack

Tiger Bech while playing for the Princeton Tigers football team (Princeton Athletics)

One of the victims of an act of terrorism in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the early hours of New Year's Day was a Princeton University football player.

Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette, Louisana, told KLFY TV and other outlets that Tiger Bech was taken to a hospital after the attack where he was kept on life support until his family arrived.

⬛ Holmdel High graduate killed in New Orleans terror attack

AP/Facebook/Townsquare Media illustration

A second person connected to New Jersey has died in the terror attack in New Orleans French Quarter in the early hours of New Years Day.

Billy DiMaio, 25, a graduate of Holmdel High School was in New Orleans to celebrate New Year's Eve and see friends who planned to go to the Sugar Bowl, his parents Tracie and Bill DiMaio told NOLA.com. DiMaio grew up on Long Island, New York, before the family moved to New Jersey. He was a member of the Holmdel High School Class of 2017 and graduated from Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill College.