Illegal street advertising stickers a sticky situation for cities across the nation

BELMAR, N.J. — Roll up to an intersection in many places and the sign you see might not only tell you to stop, yield or turn in a certain direction, it might also feature unwanted ads for a taco joint, surf shop, miracle diet, a political candidate, or urge tourists to go home.

Discount carrier JetAmerica delays launch, cites problems obtaining landing slots at Newark

NEWARK, N.J. — A fledgling discount airline is having trouble getting off the ground.

Keep the meat, leave the veggies: NJ man says bear mugged him for his Italian sandwich

VERNON, N.J. — A northwestern New Jersey man said he was mugged in his driveway by a sandwich-craving bear. Henry Rouwendal said he was packing his car last Friday when he was hit from behind and knocked to the ground. He said the culprit was a black bear who took his Italian sandwich.

How 1 immigrant high schooler soared, despite detainment

TRENTON, N.J. — He was born on the Fourth of July, an irony he would learn to appreciate later, during the dark period of his life, when liberty and freedom came to mean something far more real than words in his high school history book.

Lagging in polls for re-election, NJ governor to get an early campaign visit from Obama

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine is getting some in-person campaign help from President Barack Obama as polls show him lagging behind in his re-election bid.

BMW Group May US sales decline 20.3 percent on soft demand for BMW and Mini models

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — German automaker BMW Group said Tuesday that June U.S. sales declined 20.3 percent because of soft demand for its various models.

NJ man pleads guilty to 15th drunken-driving offense; license has been suspended 78 times

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — A New Jersey man whose driver’s license has been suspended 78 times has pleaded guilty to his 15th drunken-driving offense.

Child, woman drown off NJ resort beach where vacationers cited strong rip currents, big waves

NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. — A woman and a child have drowned off a popular south New Jersey resort community, where vacationers say rip currents were strong enough to have swept them away.

New law in New Jersey aims to close the book on school districts without schools

HADDONFIELD, N.J. — The school districts in such New Jersey hamlets as Hi-Nella (population 1,029), Teterboro (population 18) and Victory Gardens (population 1,546) will be history by the time schools open in fall 2010 under a bill signed by the governor Tuesday.

Immigrants who wired their wages home are now asking their families to send them money

FAIRVIEW, N.J. — For five years, immigrant day laborer Leo Chamale wired money twice a month from New Jersey to his family in Guatemala. Recently, he stepped up to the money transfer window for a different purpose — to ask that his family send some of his savings back to him.

Immigrants who once wired money from home are asking for remittances to stay afloat in the US

FAIRVIEW, N.J. — Money transfer agencies have been noticing for months a decline in the wages immigrants are sending back to their home countries.

Transformer explosion causes underground fire, power failure in NJ’s largest city

NEWARK, N.J. — A utility spokeswoman says power has been restored to most of downtown Newark after a transformer explosion that injured three people.

Confessed hit man now says NJ rabbi didn’t hire him to kill wife in their home in 1994

CAMDEN, N.J. — The man who has long claimed that a southern New Jersey rabbi hired him to kill his wife in 1994 has now recanted his story.

High school breaks with tradition and becomes a Camden, NJ, rarity: it has no dropouts

CAMDEN, N.J. — Angelo Drummond wears a pressed white shirt and a red power tie for his two-hour presentation to his harshest critics — a panel of fellow students at Camden’s MetEast High School.

Magic land another offensive weapon in trade with Nets for Vince Carter

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Vince Carter is going home to Orlando, and to the Eastern Conference champion Magic.

NJ blogger accused of threatening 3 Chicago federal judges denied bail

NEWARK, N.J. — A judge denied bail Thursday to a New Jersey blogger charged with threatening to assault or murder three Chicago-based federal judges.

Judge denies bail for NJ blogger accused of threatening 3 Chicago federal judges

NEWARK, N.J. — A judge denied bail Thursday to a New Jersey blogger charged with threatening to assault or murder three Chicago-based federal judges.

White supremacist NJ blogger accused of threatening 3 Chicago federal judges due in court

NEWARK, N.J. — A white supremacist blogger is due in a New Jersey court on charges he threatened to assault or murder three Chicago-based federal judges.

GOP nominee for NJ governor will testify before House panel on settlement oversight contracts

TRENTON, N.J. — The Republican candidate for governor will tell a congressional subcommittee about white-collar crime settlements he approved as a federal prosecutor, including a deal potentially worth $52 million to his one-time boss, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Dun & Bradstreet hires new North American customer manager

SHORT HILLS, N.J. — Business analytics provider Dun & Bradstreet Inc. said Tuesday it has hired a new manager to oversee its North American customer businesses.

14-year-old NJ girl who posted nude pics of herself online avoids child pornography charges

TRENTON, N.J. — A 14-year-old New Jersey girl who posted nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com will have child pornography counts dropped.

Lawyer: Legal concerns led CBS not to air interview with boy in US-Brazil custody battle

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — Two Brazilian family members of a boy at the center of an international custody battle were in the United States on Tuesday to make their case that the boy is better off in Brazil than returning to New Jersey to live with his father.

Brazilian family: Boy at center of international custody dispute wants to remain there, not NJ

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — The Brazilian family of a boy at the center of an international custody battle said Tuesday the boy wants to remain in Brazil, where he feels safe and loved.

Co-founder of Fla. charter jet company admits running commercial flights without license

NEWARK, N.J. — The co-founder of a Florida-based charter jet company that operated a plane that crashed on takeoff at Teterboro Airport in 2005 has admitted that the company flew for a year without proper certification.

Police: Man seeking to buy marijuana inadvertently sends text message to NJ police officer

SALEM, N.J. — A man who allegedly wanted to buy some marijuana was arrested after he mistakenly sent a text message to a southern New Jersey police officer. Salem Police Cpl. Christopher Pew was off-duty when he received the message on his personal cell phone this week.

From fundraising to Facebook, Obama’s methods are tested in governor’s races

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — President Barack Obama sent an e-mail endorsing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds to hundreds of thousands of Obama supporters in Virginia last week, the latest indication that the lessons of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign are playing out in key state races in 2009.

APNewsBreak: GOP nominee for NJ governor will testify on questionable settlement deals

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey’s Republican candidate for governor has agreed to testify before a congressional subcommittee on white-collar crime settlements he brokered as U.S. attorney.

Wife of Continental pilot who died mid-flight says he was healthy, crew thought he was asleep

NEWARK, N.J. — The Continental Airlines pilot who died on a trans-Atlantic flight from Brussels to Newark was in “perfect health” and fellow crew members initially thought he had just fallen asleep, his wife told a Houston television station.

Passengers on trans-Atlantic flight didn’t know pilot had died until plane landed in Newark

NEWARK, N.J. — The passengers on Continental Airlines Flight 61 didn’t know anything was wrong with their trans-Atlantic crossing until they landed and were met by fire trucks, emergency vehicles and dozens of clamoring reporters.

Judge says boy should stay with his American dad, but in Brazil, until custody case sorted out

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — Lawyers in the U.S. and Brazil are preparing to respond to the latest court order in an international custody case.