Spencer Kent

1 week ago | nj.com | Spencer Kent

The candidate rolled his eyes at the question. Ras Baraka — mayor of Newark, son of activist poet Amiri Baraka and one of only two people of color running for governor — clearly has gotten this before. Can you appeal to enough white, suburban voters to win the general election? But it’s the wrong question, Baraka retorts after his playful gesture. “You know what’s interesting? That’s not my problem. You put it on me. It’s really a Democrat problem,” he said, sitting in a restaurant in downtown Newark.

2 weeks ago | nj.com | Jeff Goldman |Spencer Kent

The Powerball jackpot for Saturday’s lottery drawing has increased to an estimated $168 million, with a cash option of $77.6 million. The drawing will be held at 10:59 p.m. and televised on WABC-7 in New York City and Fox 29 in Philadelphia. NJ.com will publish the winning numbers after the drawing. No one across the country hit Wednesday $151 million jackpot. A second-prize ticket worth $1 million was sold at ShopRite on Oxford Avenue in Philadelphia. It matched five numbers but not the Powerball.

2 weeks ago | nj.com | Spencer Kent

Authorities on Saturday discovered a body in a vehicle submerged in a retention basin in Manalapan Township, according to a statement from police. At around 1:45 p.m., Manalapan police arrived at the retention basin off Comtois Road after a report of a vehicle in the water. The vehicle’s front end was submerged while its open trunk remained visible above the water, the statement said. When water rescue teams got to the scene, they discovered a body inside the vehicle.

2 weeks ago | nj.com | Spencer Kent

Rowan University has taken efforts to secure parts of its campus Saturday evening after recent “flash mob activity,” the university said in a statement. On Friday night, a large group of people who weren’t Rowan students had gathered on campus and were acting “unruly,” said Joe Cardona, a spokesperson for the university. There was a lot of activity, and it was an “overwhelming” size crowd, he said, adding that there were no injuries or damage reported. He referred other questions to police.

3 weeks ago | nj.com | Spencer Kent

The razor wire runs like menacing ivy through a long cyclone fence. Imposing concrete walls rise just beyond it, punctuated by a few thin slits for windows. Officers look down on it all from behind tinted glass in a soaring guard tower looming over the 84-acre complex. Each morning, Nick Mucci wakes up behind these walls, another day to ponder the anger and confusion that led him to South Woods State Prison.