Two missing in house explosion

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Friday:

⬛ Explosion reduces NJ house to rubble — two remain unaccounted for

House on Northwest Boulevard in Buena after a fire and explosion 8/3/23 (6 ABC Action News)

BUENA — An explosion blew the roof off a house Thursday morning sending two people including an infant to a burn center.

Franklin Township police Chief Matthew DeCesari said a fire started at a house on Northwest Boulevard in Buena around 10:35 a.m. triggering an explosion that left debris all over the yard and reduced the house to rubble. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

⬛ Funeral services announced for Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver (Gov. Phil Murphy)

The body of Sheila Oliver will lie in state at the Statehouse next Thursday. The public is invited to pay respects.

Gov. Phil Murphy and Oliver's family have announced details of a celebration of life.

Flags will remain at half-staff for 30-days.

⬛ NJ seeing more harmful algal blooms, and they're hanging around

Photos of harmful algal blooms submitted for NJDEP's HAB dashboard

Right now, dozens of waterbodies throughout the Garden State are under some kind of alert level related to harmful algal blooms.

And some are producing toxins at a level so high that individuals are being advised to avoid the water, even on boats, and avoid eating fish from the area.

New Jersey is on pace for another intense HAB season, following a record number of confirmed blooms in 2022.

⬛ New Jersey's venomous snakes — and how to avoid them

Canva/Townsquare Media illustration

If news of a Somerset County woman ending up in the hospital after being bitten by a venomous snake sent shivers down your spine, take heart that it was a rare occurrence.

While New Jersey is home to about 22 different species of snakes, most of them are harmless and all of them are beneficial to the ecosystem.

There are only two species that are venomous:

The Timber Rattlesnake

The Northern Copperhead snake

A bite from either of these snakes is considered a medical emergency.

⬛ Birth control pills recall — FDA warns of 'reduced effectiveness'

Federal regulators are warning consumers that now-recalled lots of the Tydemy birth control pill “may have reduced effectiveness” due to decreased levels of a key ingredient of the product.

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures Tydemy, notified customers on Saturday that it was voluntarily recalling two batches of the oral contraceptive — after one lot tested low for ascorbic acid and high “for a known impurity.”

Check out this landmark Jersey shore breakfast and lunch spot

How much you need to earn to be in each state's Top 1%

This is how much you need to earn to be in the Top 1% of income owners in each state of these two states, including New Jersey, according to a study by SmartAsset. For the full list of states, see the study at SmartAsset.