The following information is preliminary and subject to change. Updates will be shared as they become available. Current incidents will be shared as they are received throughout the day.
16th District – Shooting
On August 29, 2026, at approximately 2:59 a.m., 16th District officers responded to a police radio assignment for a person with a gun/report of a shooting at 40th and Poplar Streets. Upon arrival, officers located a 45-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound to his right leg. Police transported the victim to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition. No arrest has been made, and the motive remains unknown at this time. The investigation is ongoing with the Shooting Investigation Group.
Gloucester City, NJ (August 30, 2026)(CNBnews)-Our photo of the day is a butterfly. The butterfly that we saw is on the left. The image on the right was taken from the poster below, “Butterflys of New Jersey
Early Sunday morning around 7 AM I walked Sweetie to our backyard. As we were coming up our steps, I saw a funny shape that looked like it was alive. But it was hard to distinguish what it was. Walking slowly up the steps, I could see it was a butterfly as it spread its wings. The delicate movements of its wings caught my eye, creating a mesmerizing dance in the morning light. While I was filming it, Sweetie came running up the steps, filled with excitement, and the butterfly took off, landing gracefully on the side of our house. It stayed there for a minute, seemingly unbothered, allowing me to appreciate its beauty before it flew away into the vast sky. Doesn’t it look like it has two heads?
This encounter brought back a profound memory of my brother, George. He said on his deathbed in 2014 that he would be back one day as a butterfly. His words resonated with me, as they combined both humor and a sense of hope. He also mentioned that he buried his gold coin collection somewhere behind his old house on Broadway, a little secret he held close. Up until his last breath, he maintained his playful spirit, joking around as he drifted in and out of a deep sleep. I often reflect on those moments and hope I can do the same when my turn comes up, facing the end with laughter and grace.
Intrigued by the butterfly I had seen, I decided to conduct a Google search to try and find out what kind it was. A couple of images caught my attention, showcasing some of the same blue coloring that is shown in the butterfly we saw, which also had some orange coloring. But, they were not a perfect match. The reason for that could be that this butterfly wasn’t fully grown. The variety in butterfly species is astounding, and it felt like a small puzzle I wanted to solve. If anyone knows what type it is, please comment below; I’m eager to learn more about the beautiful creatures that share our world.
The closest that I found was the The spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) is a common black butterfly native to North America, famous for its unique caterpillar stages and mimicry defense mechanisms. [1, 2]
Appearance and Identification
Adults: Black or dark charcoal wings with a wingspan of 3 to 4 inches. The hind wings feature prominent pale blue or green patches and orange spots. Females often show a brighter blue wash on their upper wings.
Do you have a photo or video you would like to share with our readers? Forward it and a caption to wecleary@gmail.com.
Butterflies of New Jersey Poster Print/Field Guide
JACKSON TOWNSHIP NJ(August 28, 2026)(CNBNews)–Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on August 28, 2026, Maria CobonGuzman, 20, of Trenton, was charged with Manslaughter, Operating a Motor Vehicle Without Ever Having Possessed or Been Issued a Valid Driver’s License While Involved in a Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash, and two counts of Assault by Auto, all in connection with an incident that occurred in Jackson Township on August 28, 2026. Additionally, Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, of Toms River, was charged with Knowingly Engaging in Conduct Creating a Substantial Risk of Death to Another, in connection with the same incident.
On August 28, 2026, at approximately 11:55 a.m., Officers from the Jackson Township Police Department responded to the area of the Jackson NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road for a report of a motor vehicle crash involving pedestrians.
Responding Officers discovered that a mother and her two minor children – a five-year-old female and a nine-month-old male – had been struck by a motor vehicle in the store’s parking lot. All three victims were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment of their injuries. The mother and her five-year-old daughter remain hospitalized in stable condition; her nine-month-old son was pronounced deceased at the hospital.
A subsequent investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad, Jackson Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that CobonGuzman was operating a Ford Fusion in the parking lot of the NPGS grocery store when she struck the mother and her baby carriage carrying both children. Further investigation revealed that CobonGuzman did not possess, nor had she ever possessed, a valid driver’s license in this or any other state. Continuing investigation further revealed that Lazaro-Flores was aware of that fact, but nevertheless permitted CobonGuzman to operate the motor vehicle.
CobonGuzman and Lazaro-Flores were taken into custody and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where they are presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
The crash remains under investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit- Vehicular Homicide Squad, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad, Jackson Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
The charges referenced above are merely accusations and the press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia, a former IT specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), pleaded guilty yesterday to transmission of national defense information to a foreign government.
“U.S. government employees entrusted with our nation’s secrets must always protect our nation’s security, not cavalierly toss aside this responsibility out of disagreement, selfishness or greed,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Laatsch faces serious consequences for violating his position of trust. This case shows that if you unlawfully disclose national defense information, we will find you and hold you accountable to the fullest extent the law allows.”
Jimmy was the Beloved Son of Edward and Sandy (nee Fithian) McColligan. He is survived by his Brothers, Ed (Tracey), Steven (Kristen), and Dave (Maria) McColligan. He was a Loving Uncle, Nephew, & Cousin and had many lifelong Friends that he was close to. He was also very lucky to have his “Sister”/ Loving Neighbor” Arlene Batezel who spent countless hours at the house with him.
Jimmy, AKA “Jimbo”, “Bo”, and “Radar,” was a Graduate of the Gloucester City High School Class of ’85. He was a NASCAR Fan and an avid motorcycle enthusiast who later became a Harley Davidson Mechanic. He worked briefly at Barb’s Harley Davidson and was a long time employee at Salem County Harley. He was a fun loving guy who always made time for his family and friends. He enjoyed riding and camping and made lots of memories on many trips and adventures over the years.
In Jimmy’s honor, please come out in your favorite Harley shirt or your favorite rock band T-Shirt and be comfortable as Jimmy would want. No need to dry clean the suits! He will be missed by all who knew and loved him. He is finally at peace and no longer in pain!
Relatives an friends may call on Tuesday morning, September 1st at McCANN-HEALEY FUNERAL HOME, 851 Monmouth Street, Gloucester City, NJ from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Interment will be private.
Our Gloucester Township Police Park Patrols recently observed vehicles parking on the grass and in other non-designated areas at Gloucester Township Community Park, especially during busy games, practices, and events.
As a reminder, vehicles must be parked in designated and posted parking areas. This requirement applies throughout Gloucester Township parks and recreation areas.
Under the First Amendment, we the people are given Freedom of Speech. This is a gift from our founding fathers. At Thursday night’s, August 26, Gloucester City Council meeting I proposed installing a CITIZENS
PODIUM equipped with a microphone in order for the public to express their concerns to our elected officials.
This podium will be dedicated in the memory of Theresa Graham. Theresa served as the president of the Gloucester City Board of Education for many years. She was also the president of the Gloucester City Senior Citizens Association. She was a watch dog for our community for many years. And, she attended many council meetings always expressing her opinion on matters pertaining to the operation of the City that she loved dearly.
She told like it was. I know this because she called me out a few times when I was the City’s mayor.
Donations for this citizens podium can be sent to : Theresa’s Freedom Podium, c/o Bob Bevan, 522 Jefferson Avenue, Gloucester City, NJ 08030
For decades, a diagnosis of metastatic pancreatic cancer left patients and physicians facing the same harsh reality: limited options, difficult treatments and too little time. Now, a pill tested in a global clinical trial may begin to change that.
The oral targeted therapy helped patients live nearly twice as long as those who received standard chemotherapy, marking a major advance for one of cancer’s most difficult diseases. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, participated in the global study and was the only South Florida site to offer the trial.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Rasonque, the brand name for daraxonrasib, a first-in-class targeted therapy for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The approval was based on the phase 3 RASolute 302 trial, which enrolled 500 patients across 59 sites in six countries.
Patients who took the pill lived a median of 13.2 months, nearly twice as long as those who received standard chemotherapy.
A Milestone Years in the Making
“This is a monumental shift in the treatment of pancreas cancer,” said Peter Hosein, M.D., co-leader of Sylvester’s Gastrointestinal Cancer Site Disease Group. “It’s a historic day for pancreatic cancer.”
The approval was wider than investigators expected. The trial required KRAS mutation testing, but the FDA approved the therapy for eligible patients regardless of KRAS mutation status.
“For a drug to be approved that has the potential to benefit a broad range of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, this is unprecedented,” Dr. Hosein said.
“This approval is a landmark for patients, but it is also an important scientific milestone because it demonstrates that RAS, one of the most important drivers of pancreatic cancer, can be successfully targeted. At the Sylvester Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute, our goal is to build on advances like this by bringing together clinical trials, patient-derived biospecimens and laboratory investigation to understand why some tumors respond, why resistance develops and how we can make these responses deeper and more durable,” said Nipun Merchant, M.D., founding director of the Sylvester Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute (SPCRI) and the Alan Livingstone Professor in the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery.
A Patient Experience
For Julian Itzkowitz of Port St. Lucie, Fla., the impact is personal. In 2022, the 80-year-old had severe back pain. An MRI revealed a pancreatic tumor. He underwent a Whipple procedure that September, but soon after, the cancer had spread to his lungs. Chemotherapy made him too sick to continue.
Three months ago, he began taking daraxonrasib through Sylvester’s Expanded Access Program while FDA review was underway.
“My appetite is good. I feel good about myself, and I can travel without any problems,” he said.
His mother died of pancreatic cancer 20 years ago, when patients had far fewer options.
“I hope I can stay on this drug for a long time,” he said. A recent scan showed his tumors had shrunk since starting treatment.
“Despite having some side effects, their quality of life was better because their cancer was better controlled,” Dr. Hosein said of patients on the drug during the clinical trial. “And the thing that has the biggest impact on quality of life is cancer control.”
More Than a New Treatment
For Dr. Hosein, the approval offers patients something less easily captured in clinical data: hope.
“A lot of times when people come in with a new diagnosis of pancreas cancer, they are depressed and their whole world is turned upside down,” he said. “Knowing that there’s something like this, which is such a big breakthrough, which is also not chemotherapy, is a big deal.”
Sylvester’s role grew from its participation in multicenter clinical trials and pancreatic cancer research programs. The cancer center became the first Florida site to open an Expanded Access Program for daraxonrasib, allowing eligible patients to receive the therapy before approval. More than 80 patients enrolled in approximately three months.
Dr. Hosein has also helped design RASolute 304, a new study testing whether daraxonrasib can prevent pancreatic cancer from returning after surgery.
The Next Scientific Question: Resistance
A biospecimen initiative is collecting blood and tumor samples to study why some tumors evade RAS inhibition. RAS is a family of proteins that drives the growth of most pancreatic cancers and has long been one of the most difficult targets in cancer biology.
That effort is closely integrated with laboratory research at the SPCRI aimed at defining the mechanisms that allow pancreatic cancers to escape RAS inhibition. Dr. Merchant, Jashodeep Datta, M.D., the DiMare Family Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy and co-leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Site Disease Group, and Nagaraj Nagathihalli, Ph.D., associate professor in the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery and assistant director of basic science research at the SPCRI, are working collaboratively to understand how tumor-intrinsic changes and interactions within the tumor microenvironment contribute to treatment resistance and to identify strategies to prevent or overcome it.
“FDA approval is an extraordinary milestone, but it is also the beginning of the next set of scientific questions,” Dr. Datta said. “The challenge now is understanding why some tumors eventually evade RAS inhibition and how we can develop new strategies to prevent or overcome that resistance. Through ongoing collaborations with Revolution Medicines and other industry partners, we are laser-focused on understanding and targeting factors in the tumor microenvironment that provoke and sustain resistance to RAS inhibition in pancreatic cancer.”
What Comes Next
Sylvester is enrolling patients in the RASolute 304 study, a phase 3 trial testing whether daraxonrasib can reduce recurrence after pancreatic cancer surgery.
Researchers also opened a study for newly diagnosed patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer that combines chemotherapy with a KRAS-targeted therapy.
“With other ongoing trials, it is conceivable that in the future, we will recommend this pill for someone with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer rather than chemotherapy infusions, which have been the standard for decades,” Dr. Hosein said.
It also shows how today’s breakthrough can seed tomorrow’s research. Research underway across SPCRI is already focused on the next phase: understanding why tumors adapt, identifying mechanisms of resistance and developing strategies to overcome them, and building on the progress now reaching patients.
For patients like Itzkowitz, that future is no longer an abstract scientific goal. It is already beginning to take shape.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP), the world’s most prestigious brand in poker, awarded $3,053,585 during its most recent Circuit tour stop at Harrah’s Atlantic City, which ran August 13-24 and hosted 18 WSOP trophy events. The poker festival drew some of the best players on the East Coast, including Quantitative Trader Brian Luo, who won the biggest title of the series, and 2015 WSOP World Champion Joe McKeehen, who won two events, adding two rings to his ample trophy case.
The marquee $1,700 buy-in Main Event at Harrah’s drew a field of 698 entrants, generating a prize pool of just over $1 million. Luo, 29, ultimately finished as the last man standing, earning the grand prize of $189,145.
LYON, France – An eight-month operation targeting West African organized crime groups has led to 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects.
Operation Jackal IV (November 2025 – June 2026) aimed to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets, and support arrests and prosecution.
The operation, which brought together 22 countries from six continents, is a response to the escalating global threat posed by West African criminal networks – such as the Black Axe and other similar groups. These groups are responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams or business email compromise fraud, as well as other serious and violent crimes.
