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Police in Westampton, New Jersey investigate teen chaos after rec center gathering:

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Police in Westampton, New Jersey investigate teen chaos after rec center gathering:


A South Jersey neighborhood was thrown into chaos Friday night after a large group of teens poured out of a party at the Westampton Recreation Center and into the nearby Spring Meadows development, disturbing residents and damaging property.

Tatiana Iglesia had just put her newborn to bed when her partner, Eric Rodriguez, ran in, alarmed by the noise outside.

“He’s like, ‘call the cops — call the cops! They’re on top of the cars — they’re destroying them…they’re fighting,’” Iglesia recalled Rodriguez saying. “They were just on top of the cars — it was a riot outside.”

That chaos was captured on a video the couple shared from their Ring security camera. The footage showed dozens of teens running through the streets and jumping on cars. At one point, what sounded like a taser could be heard in the background.

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“When I look out the window, I just see hundreds of kids everywhere…on my lawn, in my driveway, in my neighbor’s driveway…in the middle of the street,” Iglesia said.

Police helped disperse the crowd, but Iglesia and Rodriguez soon realized both of their vehicles were damaged. The roofs and hoods were all dented in. The mirrors and lights were also damaged, and footprints were visible the next day.

CBS News Philadelphia.

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Westampton Township police said they responded to the neighborhood and are now investigating the incident, which they say appears to have started at the recreation center.

Fourteen-year-old Mikaela Barclay said she was at the party, which drew students from at least four different area high schools. She said the evening started off without issue — there was music and dancing — but things escalated once the party ended and the crowd left the building.

“That’s when it went all sorts of crazy,” Barclay said. “There were kids trying to fight in the middle of the road…jumping on cars.”

Barclay, who lives in the neighborhood, said most of the teens involved didn’t live nearby and showed little regard for the people who did.

“They were so disrespectful,” she said.

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Other South Jersey towns that have experienced similar incidents are now taking measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again. 

The incident unfolded the same weekend Gloucester Township Day was postponed due to what officials described as “credible threats of violence and unlawful activity.” Last year, ten teens were arrested during the event following reports of large groups causing disturbances.

In another preventative move, Wildwood officials recently announced they would strictly enforce a 10 p.m. curfew for minors ahead of the busy summer season, warning that any violations would result in arrests — not only of the teens but also their guardians.

In Westampton Township, police say they’re now reviewing how the situation unfolded and are working to ensure similar disruptions don’t happen again. CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the mayor and the recreation department to learn what additional measures may be put in place.

Iglesia said she wants accountability.

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“We came here after we started having our kids, trying to have a better life,” she said. “We worked really hard to get our cars, and for kids just to come out and do things without repercussions is so, so frustrating.”



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New Jersey

14 New Jerseyans won big playing Mega Millions NJ Lottery games last week

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14 New Jerseyans won big playing Mega Millions NJ Lottery games last week


Fourteen players in New Jersey won $10,000 or more last week playing Mega Millions and New Jersey Lottery games.

The New Jersey Lottery announced its weekly winners on Monday. Here’s a look at where these tickets were sold from April 21 to April 27, as provided by the lottery agency:

  • $30,000, Mega Millions, April 25: Minit Mart on the Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights

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New Jersey winners

  • $944,619, Jersey Cash 5, April 26: sold at Walmart on Teterboro Landing Drive in Teterboro (Bergen County)
  • $600,000, Colossal Crossword, April 23: sold at Krauszer’s on Woodbridge Avenue in Highland Park (Middlesex County)
  • $200,000, Jersey Pop, April 21: sold at Walmart on Highway 9 in Old Bridge (Middlesex County)
  • $200,000, Sizzling Hot 7’s, April 25: sold at Xpress Mart on S Main Road in Vineland (Cumberland County)
  • $50,000, Jumbo Bucks, April 21: sold at Summit Grocery on Summitt Avenue in Jersey City (Hudson County)
  • $50,000, Jumbo Bucks, April 21: sold at Gretna Store on Route 9 in New Gretna (Burlington County)
  • $50,000, Jumbo Bucks, April 24: sold at 7-Eleven on Morris Avenue in Summit (Union County)
  • $30,000, Big Money Spectacular, April 24: sold at 7-Eleven on River Road in Fair Lawn (Bergen County)
  • $25,000, Crossword Bonanza, April 21: sold at &-Eleven on St. George Avenue in Colonia (Middlesex County)
  • $20,000, Red Hot 7’s, April 24: sold at ShopRite on Route 9 in Howell (Monmouth County)
  • $10,000, Mega Hot 7’s, April 22: sold at Village Express Food Store on W. Broad Street in Hopewell (Mercer County)
  • $10,000, Mega Hot 7’s, April 24: sold at 7-Eleven on Route 9 in Pine Beach (Ocean County)
  • $10,000, Lucky 13, April 27: sold at Lucky 7 Deli & Convenience Store on Skyline Lakes Drive in Ringwood (Passaic County)



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Best place to dine with a view at the NJ shore? This one among top 10 in U.S.; see where

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Best place to dine with a view at the NJ shore? This one among top 10 in U.S.; see where


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New Jersey has its fair share of eateries with breathtaking views and diverse dishes — no arguing there — but one has earned a spot among the best waterfront restaurants in the country, according to a recent ranking on USA TODAY’s 10BEST 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards.

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Through flooding and fire damage, this historic, family-owned Jersey Shore restaurant has stood the test of time, dating back three centuries and drawing crowds year-round. Readers of USA TODAY voted to crown the nation’s top 10 best restaurants with exceptional views, whittling down a nomination list crafted by 20 experts who weighed heavily on “outstanding service, meals with high-quality, fresh ingredients and stunning views.”

Here’s what to know about New Jersey’s top waterfront restaurant down the Jersey Shore. Would you recommend it?

The Lobster House, Cape May

There’s nothing like enjoying some freshly caught seafood at the Jersey Shore, and The Lobster House in Cape May is just the place to be, according to readers. The “legendary” eatery was top ranked for its picturesque views of the Cape May Harbor.

The family-owned business is renowned for their whole lobsters and signature seafood pasta, embracing “a casual yet festive vibe, ideal for seafood aficionados of all ages,” according to USA TODAY. Their dockside is usually bustling with its own fleet of fishing boats, serving millions of pounds of fresh catches year-round.

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Tourists and locals have dined there for decades; the restaurant was established around the 1950s and its operation includes a dining room, raw bar and a deck, with diners also fond of sipping cocktails aboard The Schooner American, a 130-foot sailing vessel moored alongside the restaurant since 1965. 

Do you need a reservation at The Lobster House in Cape May? Here’s how to eat at The Lobster House

The Lobster House’s main dining room is open for lunch and dinner, and its Raw Bar opened for the season on Friday, April 25. The Lobster House has a coffee shop open early that serves breakfast on the weekends and also has a fish market and take-out. The website indicates the Schooner is closed for the season, so best to check with the restaurant.

Go: 906 Schellengers Landing Road; 609-884-8296, thelobsterhouse.com. They do not take reservations.

Top 10 waterfront restaurants in the U.S.

More a fan of American fare and headed to Florida, or taking in the views of Niagara Falls this summer? Here are the 10BEST waterfront restaurants ranked in the U.S.

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  1. Beach House Grill: Chatham, Massachusetts
  2. Moshulu: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  3. The Strand House: Manhattan Beach, California
  4. Canoe – Atlanta, Georgia
  5. Top of the Falls – Niagara Falls, New York
  6. The Lobster House – Cape May, New Jersey
  7. Six Seven Restaurant – Seattle, Washington
  8. Jetty’s Waterfront Restaurant – Jupiter, Florida
  9. Angèle Restaurant & Bar – Napa, California
  10. Prost Haus – San Antonio, Texas

Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.





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NJ high court to hear case between Catholic diocese, prosecutor over investigating sex abuse claims

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NJ high court to hear case between Catholic diocese, prosecutor over investigating sex abuse claims


TRENTON, N.J. — A Catholic diocese wants to stop New Jersey from trying to empanel a grand jury to investigate allegations of clergy sexual abuse, with arguments before the state’s high court set for Monday.

After a Pennsylvania grand jury report found over 1,000 children had been abused since the 1940s, New Jersey formed a task force in 2018 and intended to empanel its own grand jury to investigate allegations of abuse there. But the Diocese of Camden pushed back in court in 2021, arguing that state law doesn’t permit having a grand jury investigate possible abuse by private church officials.

That legal battle has happened away from public view for years, as courts had sealed the proceedings in New Jersey and the attorney general’s office didn’t share updates. But last month, the state Supreme Court unsealed a handful of documents between the diocese and the attorney general after the Bergen Record obtained records detailing the court battle.

The diocese argues that such grand jury investigations are only for governments and public officials.

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In 2023, a trial court judge sided with the diocese, finding that such a grand jury would lack authority because it would be focused on “private conduct,” rather than a government agency’s actions. An appeals court affirmed that judgment last year, and Attorney General Matt Platkin appealed to the state Supreme Court.

The documents that the high court unsealed in March sketch out some of what the state’s task force has found so far but don’t include specific allegations. The papers show that 550 phone calls alleging abuse from the 1940s to the “recent past” came into a hotline the state had set up.

The diocese argues a grand jury isn’t needed in large part because of a 2002 memorandum of understanding between New Jersey Catholic dioceses and prosecutors. The memorandum required church officials to report abuse and said authorities would be provided with all relevant information about the allegations. One of the court documents says abuse had been “effectively eradicated” in the church.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, N.J., Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

But the Pennsylvania grand jury report in 2018 touched off a reexamination of statute of limitations law in New Jersey, which overhauled its civil statute of limitations on childhood sex abuse claims in 2019. The new law allows child victims to sue until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realization that the abuse caused them harm. The previous statute of limitations was age 20 or two years after first realizing the abuse caused harm.

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Also in 2019, New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses listed more than 180 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors over a span of several decades, joining more than two dozen other states that have named suspects of abuse in the wake of the landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report.

Many priests on the lists were deceased; others were removed from ministry.

The Camden diocese, like others across the country, filed for bankruptcy amid a torrent of lawsuits — up to 55, according to court records — stemming from the relaxed statute of limitations.

Then in 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 accusers in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States.

The agreement by the diocese, which encompasses six counties in southern New Jersey on the outskirts of Philadelphia, exceeded the nearly $85 million settlement in 2003 in the clergy abuse scandal in Boston, but was less than other settlements in California and Oregon.

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