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

⬛ NJ Transit to reduce rail service by 50% in February

🚅 NJ Transit will cut service by 50% for 4 weeks starting Feb. 15
🚅 Crews will crossover track and equipment to the new Portal North Bridge
🚅 Only one track will operate between Newark and Secaucus

NJ Transit riders will have to endure some commuting pain before enjoying the benefits of the new Portal North Bridge on the Northeast Corridor, as service will be cut by 50% for four weeks starting on Feb. 15, according to NJ Transit.

The final phase of construction of the new $1.5 billion Portal North Bridge is to switch over the signals, switches, and overhead wires from the old bridge to the new one.

NJ Transit officials said only one track will be available between Newark and Secaucus, which will require the temporary reduction in service and adjustments to the schedules of NJ Transit's trains running in and out of Penn Station New York.

NJ Transit President & CEO Kris Kolluri said the Portal North Bridge is the largest capital project ever undertaken by the agency.

"Currently, we have 332 trains that use the Northeast Corridor between Newark and Penn Station New York. The disruption for a four-week period will reduce our traffic by 50%. We understand what an impact that will have for our riders," Kolluri said at a briefing on Thursday.

The new schedules are now available on the NJ Transit website and at stations. Officials said all NJ Transit lines will be affected except the Atlantic City Line.

⬛ NJ's next governor faces brutal budget math and ticking costs

🚨 NJ Policy Perspective warns Mikie Sherrill inherits a budget hiding billions in future costs.
🚨 Stay NJ, school aid, and health benefits are driving sharp spending increases.
🚨 A projected $1.5B revenue drop and expiring pandemic aid threaten state finances.

Gov. Phil Murphy is leaving behind a state budget filled with "time bombs" that Mikie Sherrill will have to defuse within her first six months as governor, according to a new report.

Trenton lawmakers have long tried to cover up budget weakness with gimmicks and by raiding the rainy day fund, said Senior Policy Analyst Peter Chen, who wrote the New Jersey Policy Perspective report. Those past mistakes have left New Jersey with higher bills without a long-term solution.

"The governor-elect is inheriting a budget that looks healthy on the surface, but underneath there are these time bombs that are ticking with billions of dollars in costs that are going to require difficult decisions to try to defuse," Chen said.

⬛ Lakewood dad pleads guilty to aggravated manslaughter of newborn

🚔 A Lakewood father pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the death of his 3-month-old daughter.
⚖️ Prosecutors say the baby suffered a skull fracture, brain bleed, broken ribs, and a healing wrist fracture.
🚔 The baby's mother remains jailed, with her charges pending.

LAKEWOOD — A Lakewood man has admitted to causing the violent death of his newborn daughter.

On Thursday, 36-year-old Ruben Santiago pleaded guilty in Ocean County Superior Court to aggravated manslaughter of his 3-month-old baby nearly a year ago.

Santiago and 28-year-old Caitlin Gibson were both arrested about two days after the death of their baby in May 2025.

Charges against Gibson are pending, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.

According to the Ocean County medical examiner, the infant died from extremely violent injuries, including a brain bleed and skull fracture.

An autopsy also showed seven broken ribs and a broken wrist, which had already begun to heal, revealing they had happened sometime before the baby’s death.

⬛ Caneiro murder trial testimony covers horrors found in Colts Neck

⚖️ Jurors heard more details about the fires at both homes.
⚖️ Officers testified that the Caneiro children were both stabbed before flames engulfed the home.
⚖️ Paul Caneiro family heard of their relatives' fate while with Ocean Township police.

FREEHOLD BOROUGH — After testimony piecing together the moments when police realized that two same-day Monmouth County house fires could be connected, jurors also heard of the gruesome scene that unfolded in Colts Neck.

On Thursday, the first witnesses in the quadruple murder trial of Paul Caneiro detailed more of the early response to the 5 a.m. fire in Ocean Township on Nov. 20, 2018.

A Colts Neck police officer was the last witness of the day, sharing the awful discovery that Keith Caneiro, his wife, Jennifer, and two children had all perished — and not just from fire.

Colts Neck Police Officer Richard Zarrillo, who retired in 2020, testified to seeing stab wounds on both child victims, Sophia and Jesse Caneiro, as they were pulled from their charred home.

He said a medical examiner later confirmed that the 8-year-old girl had been stabbed in the head and one eye, among more than a dozen knife wounds.

As the testimony unfolded, defendant Paul Caneiro, the children’s uncle, was seen wiping his eyes in court.

⬛ Verizon outage in NJ: What caused it and how to get a credit

⚠️ Verizon outage snarls calls across New Jersey on Wednesday
⚠️ The issue was declared to be 'resolved' at 10:20 p.m.
⚠️ Verizon is offering a $20 credit to those affected

Verizon's massive outage on Wednesday may have originated in New Jersey as the company offers a token of its regret over the interruption in service.

Data and voice service came back slowly during the evening as the company vowed to work until service was restored. One of the biggest problems encountered was the ability to make a regular phone call. Only SOS, or emergency calls, could be made.

A tweet on its support X account around 10:20 p.m. declared that the issue was "resolved." Customers who were still having an issue were urged to restart their device to rejoin the network.

A Verizon spokesperson told New Jersey 101.5 that a "software issue" was to blame, but didn't disclose additional details. ABC News reported that a "server failure in New Jersey" was the cause.

Verizon is offering an account credit to those affected by the outage.

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