16 players from New Jersey are among the Top 150 recruits according to national ranking

See which New Jersey hospitals ranked highest in this high-profile survey.

Police are looking for a 'suspicious' man who was seen near the Kiss of Ink Tattoo studio the morning it went up in flames Watch video

Trenton police are looking for the public's help in identifying a man caught on security footage near the Kiss of Ink Tattoo shop the morning the building was suspiciously engulfed in flames. 

Police are looking to ID this man seen near Kiss of Ink Tattoo the morning of the fire. (Trenton police)

Earlier this month, city firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at the shop on the 500 block of Hamilton Ave just before 5 a.m. City firefighters were able to bring it under control about an hour later, but the building was gutted.

After looking through security footage around the shop, Trenton police are now looking to identify a man "behaving suspiciously near the Kiss of Ink Tattoo studio just prior to an early morning fire at that location," a police statement said. 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by Trenton fire and police investigators.

Trenton police did not immediately comment on the man's exact relationship to the investigation.

Anyone with information about the man can contact the Trenton Police Department Criminal Investigation Bureau at 609-989-4155, Detective Gregory Hollo at 609-989-3753, or Detective Sgt. Lisette Rios at 609-989-4014.

Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross. 

They're deep, talented and experienced

The Princeton University football team averaged 38 points a game last season. This year they may score even more.

Last season the Princeton defense allowed 265 points in their 10 games. Much of that was due to an injury list, one that was longer than the grocery list for the Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe.

The season ended with a 5-5 overall record, 2-5 in the Ivy League. It also ended with optimism, and that was evident Friday morning when Princeton held its preseason Media Day inside the football stadium.

While this team has the potential to be among the best in the nine years Bob Surace has been head coach, he is quick to apply the brakes on any runaway train.

"I don't want to live in the potential world,'' he said, "but I do like the group we have. We have a lot of senior leaders, and the guys reported in the best shape we've ever been in.''

The team has so far worked out six days, with the season opener three weeks away against Butler in Indiana. The home opener is Sept. 22 against Monmouth, the Ivy League opener Sept. 29 at Columbia.

In a preseason media poll, Yale was voted as the team to beat, but four other teams received at least one vote to win it. That included Princeton, picked to finish second.

Senior defensive end Kurt Holuba, who missed nearly half of last season with a knee injury, is not about to concede the title.

John Lovett 

"We had a ton of injuries last year,'' he said, noting that younger guys had to step up, "so with the valuable experience (of returning replacements) I'm looking for that to pay off. Our offense has great tempo; it's the best I've ever played against. We have a lot of weapons. And we have strong leadership, on both sides of the ball.''

Offensively the Tigers have a quarterback who two years ago was the league's Offensive Player of the Year. John Lovett missed last year with offseason surgery, but he's in the best shape of his life - "I'm bigger, faster and stronger,'' he said. A dual threat, Lovett will throw more than he will pass, but like most quarterbacks Surace has developed, he can tuck it and go.

He will be throwing to the team's top three returning receivers, headlined by senior Jesper Horsted. First team All-Ivy, he caught 92 passes last season for an average of 122 yards per game. He and senior end Stephen Carlson combined for 25 touchdowns, and junior WR Tiger Bech finished with just under 600 yards in receptions.

Charlie Volker

When it's time to run, the top three backs are also back. Senior Charlie Volker, sophomore Collin Eaddy and junior Ryan Quigley ran for more than 1200 yards last season, providing the team an average of 132 yards a game on the ground.

If there is an unproven unit on the offense, it's the line.

"I feel good about our development,'' Offensive Coordinator Sean Gleeson said about the O-line. "I'm confident. I feel really good. We're settling for nothing but the best.'' Helping him feel that way is junior Andre Guest, 6-3, 305.

For as good as the offense appears to be, the defense might be even better. Depth, talent and experience define the front seven, with linebackers Mark Fossati, brothers Tom and James Johnson, John Orr and Jackson Simcox leading the way.

While the secondary remains relatively young, senior Ben Ellis and junior T.J. Floyd have the safety positions locked up, with senior Ben Novelio and soph C.J. Wall leading the way at the corners.

"The game is about depth,'' veteran Defensive Coordinator Steve Verbit said. "Experience and great knowledge means you're going to play with confidence. Up front, we have a lot of bodies where you need big bodies. And we're deep.''

Deep on both sides of the ball. Maybe deep enough to find a championship.

The first 'Baby Trump' balloon withstood a test inflation Monday afternoon in New Jersey.

A "yuge" baby took its first steps -- or, flight -- in New Jersey Monday afternoon.

And there's more on the way. 

President Trump may have left his Bedminster golf course for the summer, but the first of six "Baby Trump" balloons were inflated just a few miles away in Califon in Hunterdon County. 

A New Jersey Hills Media Group video posted to YouTube shows a giant orange baby, holding a cellphone in one hand and wearing nothing but a safety-pinned diaper, tethered to the ground and hovering in the air.  

Local activist and Baby Trump tour organizer Jim Girvan said the test went well, with several people learning how to properly care for the big baby and get it up in the air. 

"The next appearance will be a live one, in front of a live audience," he told NJ Advance Media Tuesday morning. "We're not quite sure if it's going to be in New Jersey."  

So far, two of the balloons have arrived in New Jersey, and four others are expected to ship in this week, Girvan, of Branchburg, said.

Girvan, who organizes the People's Motorcade, launched a GoFundMe last month along with Didier Jiminez-Castro, an activist from Hillsborough.

7 things to know about the 'Baby Trump' balloons

Under the Baby Trump Tour moniker, they sought donations to purchase an oversized, inflatable balloon, much like the one used to taunt the president during his visit to the United Kingdom earlier this summer.

In an effort to bring the protest closer to home -- or very close, in the case of Trump's National Golf Club at Bedminster -- they planned to raise $4,500. But donations far exceeded their expectations, allowing the organizers to buy six Baby Trumps, who will be available for adoption. 

Girvan said Tuesday that around 15 people have applied for the balloons from about 10 different states. Some of those applicants are in New Jersey. 

Organizations, rather than individuals, will be favored in the selection process, as they can likely host multiple large events with the babies to draw attention. 

He hopes to get the balloons in the air near Bedminster ahead of November's midterm elections, but notes they must find a property and adhere to certain regulations regarding flying objects near the president. 

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

The suspect took his damaged car to a Trenton auto glass shop the next day, police say

Emanuel Weintraub was 70 and walked with a cane.

The retired postal employee had just bought his favorite ice cream treat at Jo-Jo's Ice Cream and Water Ice in Falls, Pennsylvania last Tuesday evening when he started to cross New Falls Road on foot. His car was parked across the street.

Emanuel "Manny" Weintraub, courtesy photo

A passing car stopped for him.

He entered the crosswalk.

Anthony Woods, 41, lived off the road a little farther north. He was driving north that night, and had just bought heroin in Philadelphia. He later told police he'd immediately started shooting heroin as he drove home.

As Woods approached the crosswalk, he saw the car in front of him stop, but he swerved around it.

He knew he'd hit somebody - Woods later told a detective he thought it was "a kid" - but he kept driving. He knew he'd have drugs in his system.

Anthony Woods 

Weintraub, a Bucks County native and regular at Jo-Jo's who went by Manny, died not an hour later at a hospital.

The next day, Woods drove to a Trenton auto glass shop and had his broken windshield replaced. He knew cops would be looking for his banged-up car too.

Woods surrendered to Falls police Tuesday and was charged with third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle and numerous related charges for the death of Weintraub on Aug 21.

He appeared in district court later in the day and a judge ordered him held without bail.

Falls police said the criminal complaint against Woods speaks for itself.

In the document, written by Detective Stephanie Metterle, she says police have the entire crash on tape from a local surveillance system, plus multiple witnesses who watched in horror as a car struck Weintraub - including the driver who stopped for him.

Metterle also spoke to the Trenton shop, Nick's Auto Glass. The complaint says Woods, right after talking with Falls police earlier in the investigation, had called the shop and asked them to tear up his receipt.

Metterle learned this when she contacted the shop just after she talked to Woods, and moments after Woods hung up with the shop.

During a search of Woods' home Monday, police found the glass receipt, dated Aug. 22, as well as empty bags of heroin scattered about. Woods' parents told police their son had confessed to them that he'd struck a pedestrian, and they urged him to surrender.

He did, the next day. Woods was formally interviewed Tuesday and confessed to being the driver that fatally struck Weintraub, and driving away due to his drug use, the complaint says.

Weintraub's wife and daughter last week described him as a loving man who never missed church. "He was loved and would never say a bad word about anyone," daughter Jeanette Riker told LevittownNow.com.

In his obituary, Weintraub's remembered this way: "He enjoyed the simple things in life, like doing Sudoku puzzles, reading his newspaper, and eating ice cream, but there was nothing he liked better than going out to support a local event. He went to every fundraiser, senior event, and church outing."

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Puerto Rican veteran of Korean War gets 5 medals Watch video

Miguel Hernandez, a native of Puerto Rico, has a life-long history of service, including 40 years as a teacher.

Tuesday, however, he was honored for his military service from decades ago.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., presented the Korean War veteran with five service medals during a surprise lunchtime visit to Active Day Adult Day Health Center, in Hamilton.

Smith, along with other officials, praised and honored Hernandez, who served with the U.S. Army's 65th Infantry Regiment, based in Puerto Rico.

Hernandez served in the unit - known as the Borinqueneers (an original name of the island) - from Feb. 1952 to March 1954, and then as a reservist for seven years.

The 65th was one of the last segregated units in the military.

Smith called the Borinqueneers, "a group of Puerto Rican warriors who fought tenaciously, so much so the General MacArthur singled out the 65th and said how brave and how magnificently you performed in the Korean War."

"We have nothing but admiration and respect for you," Smith said.

Family members in attendance included Hernandez' two daughters, Elena Hernandez and Hilda Alverado, his granddaughter Melissa DeJesus and her twin boys Dominic and Isiah Rivera, 8, and daughter Jalissa Rivera ,6.

He also got a Facetime call from his son, Miguel Hernandez, Jr. who lives on the west coast and is himself a veteran, having served in the Marines for two years and in the Army for 10, and served in Grenada and the Gulf War.

"And this man in front of you? He's the greatest. My dad! He makes me a proud Puerto Rican and overall a very proud American," Hernandez Jr. said, speaking through a microphone held to the phone's speaker.

The medals conferred were: the National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal and two state medals - The NJ Korean Service Medal and The NJ Distinguished Service Medal.

Michael Mancuso may be reached at mmancuso@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @michaelmancuso

Gov. Phil Murphy traveled to Paramus Borough Hall to sign a bill requiring all New Jersey school buses to have lap and shoulder seat belts. Watch video

As the state's children gear up for their fall semester over the next days and weeks, one of the most important changes they'll encounter will take place before they even set foot in the classroom.

On Saturday, Gov. Phil Murphy traveled to Paramus Borough Hall to sign a bill requiring all New Jersey school buses to have lap and shoulder seat belts.

The choice of venue for the signing was no coincidence. The measure, which moved through both houses of the Legislature with uncommon urgency, was motivated by a horrific school bus accident which took the lives of a fifth-grader and a middle-school teacher in a Paramus school, and left scores of passengers injured.

The driver, Hudy Muldrow Sr., faces two second-degree counts of vehicular homicide. Police say he had passed an exit on Interstate 80 and had tried to make an illegal U-turn through a break in the median when his bus and a dump truck collided.

The youngsters and their chaperones were headed to Waterloo Village, a restored 19th Century town, for a class trip.

Three-point seat belts now the law for N.J. school buses

In the aftermath of the crash, Peter Caminiti III, one of the injured youngsters, posed a question to his father while he was still recuperating in the hospital: Why are the seat belts in our cars different from the ones in our school buses?

Why indeed? wondered his father, Peter Jr. So did state Sen. Joseph Lagana (D-Bergen) and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D-Middlesex).

The two lawmakers responded to the Caminitis' reasonable query with a measure requiring all school buses to be equipped with three-point harnesses at each seat, rather than the simple lap belts they now carry.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has urged parents to work with their local school districts to make this change with new school buses, a position also taken by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services.

In 2015, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reversing the agency's longtime stance, issued a statement saying that "NHTSA's policy is that every school bus should have a three-point seat belt."

Mark Rosekind added that his agency would use "All the tools at our disposal to help achieve that goal."

The deaths of fifth-grader Miranda Vargas and teacher Jennifer Williamson left their families and their communities in deep mourning. The bill Murphy signed last week won't change that.

But we are grateful to the governor and the Legislature for taking this important step to prevent other families and other communities from sharing the same sad fate.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

The 2018 hunt, which Gov. Phil Murphy had vowed to halt, starts on Oct. 8.

There could be just as many bear hunters in the woods as in 2017, and maybe more, even though state land this time is off-limits.

The N.J. Department of Environmental Protection is offering 11,000 bear hunting permits for sale starting Sept. 10, four weeks before the hunt will begin.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Aug. 20 issued an executive order barring the hunt from state land, where just over four out of every 10 bears killed during the last eight hunts were located.

Hunters bought 8,790 permits for the 2017 hunt. That year, 409 bears were killed in 16 days.

Rob Jennings | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

The price, $2 per permit, is unchanged from 2017.

This year's hunt is scheduled from Oct. 8-13, and Dec. 3-8 in eight northern counties. Advocates both for - and against - the hunt are predicting additional hunting on private land, county parks and other locations unaffected by Murphy's executive order.

Murphy, who took office in January, campaigned on a pledge to end the hunts that occurred annually under former Gov. Chris Christie through approvals by the N.J. Fish and Game Council.

He said he he subsequently determined that banning hunting on state land was the "greatest extent" of his authority.

Murphy renews vow to stop bear hunt on all N.J. land

New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel, who says Murphy could cancel the hunt if he wants, questioned the effectiveness of the executive order, and said it might not result in fewer bears being killed.

"I think it's almost going to be impossible to enforce," Tittel said.

"If someone shoots a bear on Hamburg Mountain and says they got it in the Newark Watershed, who's going to know the difference," added Tittel, referring to the state-owned mountain that borders municipal-owned property.

Phil Brodhecker, a Fish and Game Council member who supports the hunt, said he hopes someone will challenge Murphy's executive order.

"Hunting is the only way to reduce the population," said Brodhecker, adding that farmers are concerned about property damage.

Murphy has urged the Democrat-controlled Legislature to take action to stop the hunt, though a proposed five-year moratorium on bear hunting has lingered in Trenton for nearly two years without a vote.

The day after issuing his executive order, Murphy, during his television call-in show, said it is "frustrating" that he cannot do more, and referenced the Fish and Game Council, which approved the 2018 hunt as part of a five-year bear management plan adopted three years ago.

"Bless their hearts, they're not with me on this one," Murphy said of the council during "Ask the Governor" on News 12 New Jersey. "And they had done, legally, the right thing. They had submitted a five-year plan. I didn't have the legal authority to override that five-year plan."

"So we did the next-best thing," Murphy added, referring to banning the hunt on state land.

Rob Jennings | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

Of the 3,429 bears killed in the eight consecutive hunts starting in 2010, a total of 1,376, or 40.1 percent, were killed on state land.

The state's bear management plan is currently being challenged in court by animal rights activists. Doris Lin, attorney for the plaintiffs, said a hearing is scheduled Sept. 27 before a state Appellate Division panel.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A complete breakdown of the 93-team West Jersey Football League

All-State and All-Group girls soccer players returning in 2018

A person walking along an island in the Delaware River made an unexpected discovery Tuesday when they found skeletal human remains.

A person walking along an island in the Delaware River made an unexpected discovery Tuesday -- skeletal human remains.

The person found the remains on a "flood-susceptible island" and reported their finding to the Frenchtown Police Department, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns said in a statement Wednesday.

Investigators from the prosecutor's office, the New Jersey State Police, Hunterdon County Medical Examiner's Office and the State Park Police are working to identify the remains and determine a cause of death, the office said.

The prosecutor's office did not say exactly where the remains were found, but there are at least two small islands just south of the Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge which connects the two towns.

"I want to reassure the community that we have no reason to believe there is a safety risk to the public," Frenchtown Mayor Brad Myhre said on the Frenchtown, NJ Facebook page.

No other details were divulged Wednesday night, but the prosecutor's office said more information would be released "when available."

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The hard working folks that kept New Jersey going.

It's a safe bet that, good or bad, everyone remembers their first job.

Some folks have had the good fortune to enjoy working for one employer for their entire career, and then there are people like me who have had so many jobs that there's a really long pause after the question 'And what do YOU do?'

But whether you had only a handful of employers or were on your way to working for everyone in New Jersey, you'll likely enjoy this gallery of the hard working people of New Jersey over the years.

Folks in fields like education, law enforcement and public safety will be covered in different galleries, so keep an eye out for them in the future.

And here are links to more galleries you'll enjoy.

Vintage photos of people hard at work in N.J.

Vintage photos of jobs and workers in N.J.

Vintage photos of working people in N.J.

Greg Hatala may be reached at greghatalagalleries@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

New Jersey's Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency is partnering with hospitals in the state to help fund up to three new supportive home developments.

Hospital administrators and affordable housing advocates have one goal in common: Both are committed to helping people lead safe and healthy lives.

A new collaboration in New Jersey takes a welcome step in that direction.

The state's Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency is partnering with hospitals in the state to help fund up to three new supportive home developments.

The undertaking, the first of its kind in the Garden State, is based on the logical premise that permanent and stable living arrangements hold the key to better health.

A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation offers dramatic statistics bearing that out.

The nonprofit found that where people live has a dramatic impact on their wellbeing. Trenton residents, for example, have a life expectancy of 73 years. Less than a dozen miles away, people living in Princeton Junction can expect to celebrate their 87th birthdays - a gap of 14 years.

Cathy Bennett, president and CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association, says the research speaks for itself.

N.J. needs to build 155,000 affordable housing units

"Those experiencing housing instability are likely to be hospitalized more frequently, with longer lengths of stay, and require more care than patients with stable living conditions," Bennett says.

Under the new initiative, the state agency will provide funds, which will be matched by participating hospitals, to develop homes near the facilities. Representatives of the state and from the hospital association are meeting with hospitals to determine possible participants.

The officials can seek guidance from Columbus, Ohio, where the Nationwide Children's Hospital has linked hands with a community-development group to bring new life to the city's South Side, long a victim of blight and decay.

Or they can look north to New York, whose leaders have poured half a billion dollars of Medicaid funding into rental subsidies and supportive-housing construction.

The visionaries can also set their sights closer to home, specifically on Camden, where the Cooper Foundation, the philanthropic and community outreach division of Cooper University Hospital, has bought up and renovated houses around the hospital and sold them to area residents.

The state-healthcare collaboration just getting under way makes solid sense from a financial as well as a public-health standpoint.

Hospitals stand to benefit as their property values go up, and their patient base is healthier, observed Donald F. Schwarz, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

It also helps to have a high public official on your side. The fact that Gov. Phil Murphy made affordable housing one of his key issues during his campaign can only add urgency and gravitas to the undertaking.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

The eight groups will see four teams compete home and away with each other, with the group winner and runner up both advancing

(Updated with Carabao Cup draw and UEFA Champions League picks.)

With the qualifying and playoffs finished Wednesday, the UEFA Champions League group stage draw took place Thursday in Monaco.

Real Madrid, the first team to win three straight UEFA Champions League titles under the new format, will attempt to win a fourth in a row (and fifth in six years) in its own city. The final will be played June 1 at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, home of Atletico Madrid, the reigning UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup winners.

The eight groups will see four teams compete home and away with each other, with the group winner and runner up both advancing into the pots for the knockout stage draw in December.

2018-19 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE DRAW

Group A

Atletico Madrid

Borussia Dortmund

AS Monaco

Club Brugge

Prediction: Atletico winner, Dortmund runner up.

Group B

Barcelona

Tottenham

PSV Eindhoven

Internazionale Milan

Prediction: Barcelona winner, Tottenham runner up.

Group C

Paris Saint Germain

Napoli

Liverpool

Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade)

Prediction: PSG winner, Liverpool runner up.

Group D

Lokomotiv Moskva

Porto

Schalke 

Galatasaray

Prediction: Porto winner, Schalke runner up.

Group E

Bayern Munich

Benfica

Ajax

AEK Athens

Prediction: Bayern winner, Ajax runner up.

Group F

Manchester City

Shakhtar Donetsk

Olympique Lyon

Hoffenheim

Prediction: Man. City winner, Lyon runner up.

Group G

Real Madrid 

AS Roma

CSKA Moskva

Viktoria Plzen

Prediction: Real Madrid winner, Roma runner up.

Group H

Juventus

Manchester United

Valencia

Young Boys

Prediction: Juventus winner, Man. United runner up.

Wolverhampton proves it belongs in Premier League; red cards galore

* Luka Modric, midfielder for Real Madrid and Croatia, the World Cup runner up, was named the UEFA Player of the Year at the ceremony.

It was the first time since the 2012-13 season (Franck Ribery) that a player other than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi won the award.

Modric also won the FIFA Golden Ball at the 2018 World Cup, as the top player of the tournament.

* This season will see changes to the coverage, and the start times, of the Champions League matches.

There will be two start times each match day, 12:55 p.m. EDT and 3 p.m. EDT. Coverage will be on TNT, which takes over from Fox. TNT will show one match in each time slot, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The remaining games will be streamed on the new B/R Live service.

The first match day games will be Tuesday and Wednesday, September 18-19. Match day two will be October 2-3, followed by match day three October 23-24, match day four November 6-7, match day five November 27-28, and match day six December 11-12.

The top two teams from the eight groups will go into the knockout stage draw December 17, with the round-of-16 first leg matches taking place February 12-13 and 19-20, with the second leg coming March 5-6 and 12-13.

The quarterfinals take place over two legs, April 9-10 and 16-17, while the semifinals will be April 30-May 1 and May 7-8.

* The draw for the third round of the Carabao Cup took place as well Thursday.

There will be 16 matches on the week of September 24. Manchester City is the defending champion, and the Citizens were drawn on the road with League One side Oxford. The game of the round pits Liverpool at home against Chelsea.

West Ham United will play the lowest ranked team left in the tournament, League Two's Macclesfield Town.

The competition is made up of the 92 teams that represent the top four leagues in England, the Premier League, the English Football Championship, League One, and League Two.

CARABAO CUP THIRD ROUND DRAW

West Brom vs Crystal Palace

Arsenal vs Brentford

Burton vs Burnley

Wycombe vs Norwich 

Oxford vs Manchester City

West Ham vs Macclesfield 

Millwall vs Fulham 

Liverpool vs Chelsea

Bournemouth vs Blackburn

Preston vs Middlesbrough

Wolverhampton vs Leicester

Tottenham vs Watford

Blackpool vs QPR 

Everton vs Southampton

Manchester United vs Derby

Nottingham Forest vs Stoke

Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean His weekly podcast, Box to Box Football, can be found on iTunes here https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/box-to-box-football/id1208561351?mt=2

The early morning crash killed a man who was crossing Brunswick Pike in Lawrence Township

No charges are being filed in the fatal Monday morning crash that killed a motorcyclist, who was trying to cross Route 1 in Lawrence Township, police said Thursday afternoon.

Police have since identified the victim as Walter Harris Jr., 58, of Hamilton.

His motorcycle was struck by a Volkswagen Jetta sedan while he was crossing the intersection of Franklin Corner Road and the Brunswick Pike stretch of Route 1. The sedan was driving southbound on Brunswick Pike. 

Harris died at the scene of the 12:21 a.m. crash.

The driver of the car, a 35-year-old Hamilton resident whose name has not been made public, was not injured.

Anyone who witnessed the incident are still encouraged to call Lawrence Township Detective Daniel Gadney at 609-844-7133. 

Gianluca D'Elia may be reached at gdelia@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @gianluca_delia. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The haircuts were free, and the connections with the community will hopefully last longer, organizer say Watch video

The sun was beating down on the streets of Trenton, but under canopies and with fans misting the air, it was as good a day as any for a back-to-school haircut for local kids.

These were free.

"We want to encourage them, motivate them, so they can start a positive school year" said Rosa Rosado who along with her husband Freddie own the McDonald's restaurant on the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Chambers Street, where the event took place.

The free event was the brainchild of the Rosados, Trenton Police Officer Angel Turner and Trenton Firefighter Naseeb "New" Washington.

"It's very humbling how everyone just stepped up and says 'I'll be there. I'll help,' Rosa Rosado continued.

In addition to the Trenton police and fire departments, and Mercer County Sheriff's Office donated their time too. Mercer County Undersheriff Jason Salvatore even started giving haircuts until the local volunteer barbers from Hamilton Avenue shops arrived.

Other social and commercial organizations were also represented.

Officer Angel Turner said, "I see these kids every day."

"Numerous people donated their time and also items to make this happen, to give back, so kids can feel good about going back to school for the first day and have that fresh haircut and a bookbag with supplies in it," she said.

Speaking of the event, Washington said: "We're trying to come back and bring community love back... Look for more things from us. I promise you're not going to be disappointed."

Michael Mancuso may be reached at mmancuso@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @michaelmancuso, Instagram @michaelmancuso and Facebook @michaelmancuso

Find out which teacher from your county made the cut.

See which teams are expected to make a run in each of N.J.'s six groups this fall.

The victims were in front of a residence when they were wounded early Friday

A man and woman were wounded early Friday when a masked gunman clad in dark clothing fired on them in the 1100 block of East State Street in Trenton, police said.

The victims told police they were in front of a residence shortly before 2 a.m. when they heard shots coming from nearby Cuyler Avenue, police spokesman Capt. Stephen Varn said.

A 29-year-old man was shot in the hand and had a graze wound to his chin and a 42-year-old woman suffered a gunshot wound to the hip. Both were taken to a hospital in the city for treatment.

The victims only described the shooter as an apparent male wearing a mask and dressed in dark or black clothing.

No charges or arrests have been made, Varn said Friday. The department's Shooting Response Team is investigating.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.