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N.J. using millions from opioid settlement to expand support for people in recovery

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N.J. using millions from opioid settlement to expand support for people in recovery


From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday unveiled what he described as a historic effort to combat the opioid crisis in the Garden State.

During a visit to the North Jersey Community Research Initiative, Murphy said over the next three years, more than $95 million will be invested into a range of evidence-based strategies to expand care and support individuals in recovery.

“The funding is not coming from the pockets of New Jersey’s taxpayers. Instead, this funding is actually coming from settlement payments we are receiving from the opioid industry itself,” he said.

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In 2022, New Jersey began receiving money from a major nationwide litigation settlement that holds opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers accountable for creating and fueling the opioid epidemic, by aggressively marketing prescription opioids while downplaying their risks.

New Jersey will receive over $1 billion in total settlement funds, which will be allotted over the next 14 years.

The governor said the money will be used to expand harm reduction centers and community peer recovery centers, as well as medication-assisted treatment programs, a program focused on keeping families together during drug recovery and expanded housing assistance for individuals with substance abuse disorders.

“Expanding support for our neighbors struggling with addiction, rather than throwing them behind bars saves lives, and improves community health more broadly,” said Murphy.

Sarah Adelman, the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services said the fight against the opioid epidemic touches her personally.

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“I have lived every day of my life impacted by addiction, as the daughter of someone who struggled with substance use and for years with opioid use disorder, until I lost them from complications from addiction,” she said.

She said as a child and a caregiver, “I have experienced the hope and devastation that comes with the high and low points of that journey, and I have witnessed and felt acutely the impacts of stigma and shame that take their toll and rob people of their dignity, it is heartbreaking.”

“It’s not right,” said Adelman, “and it is so much worse knowing there are many people in the healthcare industry who perpetuated this crisis for profit.”



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New Jersey

Today in History: July 12, riot erupts in New Jersey over police beating of Black taxi driver

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Today in History: July 12, riot erupts in New Jersey over police beating of Black taxi driver


Today is Sunday, July 12, the 193rd day of 2026. There are 172 days left in the year.

Today in History:

On July 12, 1967, rioting erupted in Newark, New Jersey, over the police beating of a Black taxi driver; 26 people were killed in the five days of violence that followed.

Also on this date:

In 1543, England’s King Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr.



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New Jersey

Ex-NJ GOP aide accused of staging slashing attack shows off horrific scars — and mystery man — in new snap

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Ex-NJ GOP aide accused of staging slashing attack shows off horrific scars — and mystery man — in new snap


The unhinged ex-GOP aide who claimed she had been viciously attacked and labeled “Trump whore” — but who authorities say staged the assault and hired a fetish artist to carve her up — showed off her jaw-dropping scars in a new photo, along with a heavily-tattooed mystery man. 

Natalie Greene, the Ocean City, NJ woman accused of faking a gruesome politically-driven assault while working for Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, shared a glimpse into her life for the first time since the scandal broke nearly a year ago.

The 26-year-old updated her Facebook profile picture on the Fourth of July to a smiling selfie of herself and the new pal.

Natalie Greene updated her Facebook profile photo on July 4. FaceBook / Natalie Greene

She wore a knitted tank top – exposing multiple thick, pink scars across her shoulder, chest and neck. 

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Her dark hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, and her manicured hand covered her mouth as she laughed. 

A man wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap with tattoos up his neck and arm smiled next to her. 

Greene, a Masarati-driving ex-Rutgers Law student, was charged with conspiracy to falsely report a violent attack and giving false statements to law enforcement after claiming she was repeatedly slashed by three masked gunmen in a local park because she worked for Van Drew, a pol who had switched from Democrat to Republican in 2020.

Greene was found after the allegedly staged attack with “Trump whore” written on her stomach. U.S. Attorney’s Office

Authorities found Greene on the ground with her hands and ankles zip-tied on a trail at a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township on the night of July 23, 2025. She had dozens of bloody surgical-like slashes across her back, shoulder, chest and face. The words “Trump whore” were written across her stomach in black marker. 

But the attack was nothing but a hoax, according to the Department of Justice, which said Greene hired a Pennsylvania-based “scarification” fetish artist to cut her up. Detectives even discovered a reference photo that Greene showed the artist – and her cuts matched the image exactly, investigators said. 

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Greene had her arms and ankles zip tied when she was found. U.S. Attorney’s Office

Greene was granted supervised release in January as she awaits trial.

Childhood campmate Kristin Haughton James —  who was previously busted for cocaine possession and riding an unlicensed vehicle in the streets, a Camden court heard in January — welcomed her into her Florida home and has been acting as her custodian. 

Before moving in with Haughton James, Greene had already cycled through two other guardians – including her mother – and had been ordered to attend inpatient treatment. 

Greene was a law student when the scandal broke out. Instagram / Natalie Greene

But the arraignment quickly descended into a nightmare, Haughton James revealed. 

“I have never met chaos incarnate until I met this person,” she told NJ.com. “Lives for the drama – wants everything to be about her.

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“She just feeds off attention.”

She claimed Greene left her home a wreck, tried to get her evicted and falsely told cops that she was dealing drugs and threatened her with a gun. 

Haughton James said she kicked her out in March. It is unclear where Greene is currently living.

Haughton James, Greene and Greene’s attorney did not return messages seeking comment.

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Husband of slain New Jersey mom begs for help in newly released 911 call | Fox News Video

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Husband of slain New Jersey mom begs for help in newly released 911 call | Fox News Video


Former homicide detective Brian Foley provides expert insights into the newly released 911 call from Conor Hanlon, whose wife, New Jersey therapist Brooke Hanlon, was found stabbed to death. Foley analyzes the husband’s emotional state and the police’s approach, noting the case’s ‘suspicious’ designation 13 minutes into the call.



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