Maryland Ranks High Among 'Happiest States' In US, New Study Found Maryland Ranks High Among 'Happiest States' In US, New Study Found
Maryland Ranks High Among 'Happiest States' In US, New Study Found Don't worry, be happy. Maryland is the second happiest state in America, according to a newly released ranking by Wallethub.  To determine where Americans are most satisfied with their lives, researchers keyed in on which states "exhibit the best combination of good economic, emotional, physical and social health."  All 50 states were measured across 30 key metrics, according to WalletHub, including things such as the share of adult depression, number of work hours, and ideal weather. Maryland landed in the top 10 in each category:  Emotion and physical well-being rank: T…
Single Again, Hillsdale 'Bachelorette' Confronts Ex After Phone Call Breakup Single Again, Hillsdale 'Bachelorette' Confronts Ex After Phone Call Breakup
Single Again, Hillsdale 'Bachelorette' Confronts Ex After Phone Call Breakup After a month-long engagement, Bergen County native Jenn Tran is single again. The 26-year-old former Hillsdale resident's season of "The Bachelorette" on ABC came to a heartbreaking end Tuesday night, Sept. 3 when audiences learned that she got engaged to contestant Devin Strader in Hawaii. But Strader ended the engagement in a 15-minute phone call, said Tran, who confronted Strader, 28, during the "After the Final Rose" special. Tran said Strader told her he didn't love her anymore and felt that something had been "off" since the proposal. Disney/John Fleenor She also called…
Popular Italian Restaurant Chain Files For Bankruptcy, Closing Multiple Locations Popular Italian Restaurant Chain Files For Bankruptcy, Closing Multiple Locations
Popular Italian Restaurant Chain Files For Bankruptcy, Closing Multiple Locations Buca di Beppo is Buca di bankrupt. The popular Italian eatery chain announced it had filed for Chapter 11 this week and would close several underperforming locations, including restaurants in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.  Like many other restaurant chains, Buca di Beppo said the business hadn't bounced back since the COVID-19 pandemic. Customer spending is lower than expected, and supply costs remain high, according to court documents. It's a common tale for several "fast-casual" dining restaurants that have failed to thrive in recent years.   Revenue for…
Victim Killed In Route 1 Crash, Freehold's Dennis Frick, Was US Navy Vet, 65 Victim Killed In Route 1 Crash, Freehold's Dennis Frick, Was US Navy Vet, 65
Victim Killed In Route 1 Crash, Freehold's Dennis Frick, Was US Navy Vet, 65 Services have been set for Dennis John Frick, of Freehold Township, who died in a crash on Route 1 Wednesday, March 6. He was 65 years old. Visitation is on Sunday, March 10 for Dennis, who became a senior vice president with Heller Construction where he worked for 35 years, according to his obituary published by Freeman Manalapan Marlboro Funeral Home. The funeral liturgy is on Monday at noon at St. Rose of Lima Church in Freehold. Dennis was a U.S. Navy veteran serving from 1977 to 1981 aboard the USS Preserver, his obit said. "Dennis was a lifelong New York Mets fan, traveling to …
Support Swells For Long Island Man Following 'Tragic' Surf Accident Support Swells For Long Island Man Following 'Tragic' Surf Accident
Support Swells For Long Island Man Following 'Tragic' Surf Accident The community has rallied around a Long Island man fighting for his life after he was the victim of a surfing accident that put him on life support. Austin Gibbons, a 25-year-old man from Long Beach, spent Monday, Feb. 5 surfing at Hawaii’s Banzai Pipeline, as he might on any day. However, as he went to take his last wave of the day, the unthinkable happened. “He was held under by the brute force of two waves of whitewater, which unforgivingly filled his lungs with seawater,” wrote Traci Johnson Kilduff, who set up a GoFundMe for Austin and his family. Fellow surfers and lifeguards ru…
Scott Bartlett, Navy Veteran, Sussex County First Responder, Dies At 49 Scott Bartlett, Navy Veteran, Sussex County First Responder, Dies At 49
Scott Bartlett, Navy Veteran, Sussex County First Responder, Dies At 49 Scott Bartlett, who spent many years in Vernon volunteering as a first responder, died on Friday, Dec. 29 at the age of 49 in Honolulu, according to his obituary on the Pinkel Funeral Home website. Barlett was born in Ridgewood and moved to Vernon, his obituary reads. He served in the Navy from 1993 to 1997 as a disaster recovery specialist, according to his obituary. After leaving the navy, he served in the Pochuck Volunteer Fire Department, as an EMS tech for the Glenwood Pochuck Volunteer Ambulance Corps and as a dispatcher for the Pequannock Police Department. It’s with heavy heart…
Ex-Jersey Shore Man Gets 20 Years, No Parole For Serial Threats Against Police, Judges, Others Ex-Jersey Shore Man Gets 20 Years, No Parole For Serial Threats Against Police, Judges, Others
Ex-Jersey Shore Man Gets 20 Years, No Parole For Serial Threats Against Police, Judges, Others A former New Jersey resident with a cockamamie political history must spend the next 20 years in federal prison for threatening to kill police officers, lawyers and judges, among others, in and around Monmouth County. Eric G. Hafner, 32, formerly of Fair Haven, also made calls and sent messages to state officials while phoning in bogus bomb threats to local and state government offices, a police department, two law firms and the Monmouth Park Racetrack during a two-year terror campaign, federal authorities in Trenton said. Hafner told newspaper reporters in 2018 that he was on the lam for d…
Westwood Native, U.S. Army Officer Alyson Garino Dies, 30 (TRIBUTE) Westwood Native, U.S. Army Officer Alyson Garino Dies, 30 (TRIBUTE)
Westwood Native, U.S. Army Officer Alyson Garino Dies, 30 (Tribute) Alyson Garino, a Bergen County native and highly-respected First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, died on Dec. 2, 2023. She was 30 years old. A graduate of Immaculate Heart Academy, Alyson went on to attend Penn State University, State College, and graduated with honors in 2015, according to her obituary on the Becker Funeral Home website. A Schreyer Scholar, she majored in English and minored in Military Studies. A distinguished military graduate of the ROTC Nittany Lion Battalion, she received the highly respected American Veterans of WWII award. Alyson served with distinction as a First Lieu…
NJ Murder Victim April Duncza Remembered As Professional With 'Creative Brilliance' NJ Murder Victim April Duncza Remembered As Professional With 'Creative Brilliance'
NJ Murder Victim April Duncza Remembered As Professional With 'Creative Brilliance' April Duncza, the 39-year-old New Jersey woman believed killed by her ex-boyfriend is being remembered for her creative brilliance and professional success. Duncza, a Nebraska native, was found during a welfare check at a home on Paul Street in the Fords section of Woodbridge with serious head trauma around 4:50 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. She was later pronounced dead and her ex-boyfriend, Kevin Bacon, 46, of Keanesburg, has been charged with murder, Ciccone previously announced. Duncza's obituary on the Higgins Home for Funerals website says…
COVID-19: Brand-New Study Reveals Percentage Of Americans Who've Had Long COVID COVID-19: Brand-New Study Reveals Percentage Of Americans Who've Had Long COVID
Covid-19: Brand-New Study Reveals Percentage Of Americans Who've Had Long COVID A new study has revealed just how prevalent cases of so-called Long COVID are among Americans. According to the investigation by Dartmouth College and the University College London, one in seven Americans -- about 14 percent -- had Long COVID by the end of 2022. Long COVID occurs when symptoms of the virus persist for more than three months after the initial infections. Those symptoms typically included extreme fatigue, breathlessness, muscle weakness, and cognitive dysfunction or "brain fog." Those who report having experienced Long COVID said they also experienced more anx…
NY AG James Joins Lawsuit Against Meta With 32 Other States: 'They Must Be Held Accountable' NY AG James Joins Lawsuit Against Meta With 32 Other States: 'They Must Be Held Accountable'
NY AG James Joins Lawsuit Against Meta With 32 Other States: 'They Must Be Held Accountable' New York Attorney General Letitia James and a group of attorneys general from 32 other states have filed a federal lawsuit against Meta for contributing to a mental health crisis among young people, officials announced. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the social media company knowingly designed and implemented features on Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms that purposefully take advantage of children and teens, James' office announced on Tuesday, Oct. 24.  Additionally, the lawsuit also charges Meta with collecting…
Former VA Football Captain, Paratrooper Addison Cadang Dies Days Before 22nd Birthday Former VA Football Captain, Paratrooper Addison Cadang Dies Days Before 22nd Birthday
Former VA Football Captain, Paratrooper Addison Cadang Dies Days Before 22nd Birthday A paratrooper in the US Army, former standout football player, and associate member of a Virginia fire department, Addison Cadang, died days before turning 22. Addison Cadang, a US Army soldier, died while stationed in Fort Liberty, NC on Sept. 21. He would have turned 22 on Oct. 8, his obituary says. A spokesperson for the 82nd Airborne Division, where Cadang was assigned, said that he died of injuries suffered in a vehicle crash in Fort Liberty. "An investigation is ongoing by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division," Anthony M. Clas, Ed.D. said. "Our thoughts a…