Local News - The Star-Ledger

A robbery suspect shot by a Lakewood homeowner last week has died, authorities said. Eric Tucker, 31, was pronounced dead Wednesday, five days after he was shot in the head, authorities said.

This boy's brother was shot before his eyes. In that flash, everything changed for his child. He lost his sense of humor. He lost his playfulness. Formerly outgoing, full of impish mischief, he now shies from other children, preferring to spend long hours alone with his dark thoughts.

Health Net Inc. has agreed to pay $215 million and make $40 million worth of improvements in its business practices to settle three class-action lawsuits that alleged the health insurer systematically underpaid 2 million customers in several states, including New Jersey.

At least 1,000 people nationwide died from overdosing on fentanyl created in illegal laboratories, according to a federal investigation that began after a cluster of the deaths was reported in New Jersey two years ago.

A convicted drug trafficker was sentenced to more than 30 years in federal prison yesterday for supervising a cocaine distribution ring that was based in Jersey City.

A three-judge panel of a state appeals court yesterday upheld a lower court ruling affirming a developer's approvals to build 104 townhouses in West Milford.

A judge yesterday denied the state's request to throw out a lawsuit by female inmates who allege they are held in "lock-down condi tions" at New Jersey's maximum- security prison, finding the claim, "if later found to be true, consti tutes cruel and unusual punishment."

Before 9/11, Port Authority police proudly referred to the World Trade Center as their "house," because they had control over security at the site. But under a plan the bistate agency approved yesterday, they will now share those duties with the New York Police Department.

A Northern State Prison guard suspected of running a cocaine trafficking ring in Newark and East Orange was arrested yesterday following an 11-month investigation that began after he fatally shot another man, the state attorney general announced.

REHOVOT, Israel -- The trip ended just like it started at a sprint. Gov. Jon Corzine's five-day trade mission to Israel wrapped up yesterday with a flurry of tours, meetings and a test-drive so quick he never left the parking lot.

Becoming an Eagle Scout is no easy feat. Fewer than 5 percent of those who join the Boy Scouts achieve the organization's highest honor. For John Bergamini and Michael Dowd, the difficulty of making Eagle Scout was compounded by their mental and physical limitations.

From laptop computer screens to the little red light at the tip of your TV remote, light-emitting diodes have made their way into our everyday lives. Now, there is a growing possibility these energy-efficient lights will illuminate our streets and neighborhoods.

For more than five years, the families of Jeff Eresman and Erik Rewoldt waited for justice, together.

Thunderstorms moved across New Jersey yesterday, flooding streets, causing scattered hailstorms and providing additional relief from an already weakened heat wave.

One of the defendants accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix has sent the trial judge a letter stating his innocence and praying for a just outcome. "One of the noblest acts of a human being is to be just," Eljvir Duka wrote to U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler.

The Port Authority has agreed to a land swap and a $20 million payment to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church to help the congregation rebuild nearly seven years after the original structure was destroyed in the World Trade Center collapse, according to agency officials familiar with the deal.

VisionQuest, once the state's largest privately run treatment center for troubled teens, is much safer than it was 15 months ago because it dramatically reduced the number of children it serves and retrained its staff, according to a report released yesterday by the Office of the Child Advocate.

Federal authorities in New Jersey say they have broken up a drug trafficking ring that was a major supplier of marijuana to Bermuda -- in the process touching off a political scandal on the island.

AJ Seabra Supermarket has been selling lottery tickets for about three years, but it never had anyone win the big one until Tues day night. That's when somebody came into the Newark store and bought what would be the single winning ticket for the $126 million Mega Millions drawing.