Mark T. Nicholas, 51, is charged with death by auto and leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the death of Zachary Simmons Watch video

HOBOKEN -- A Brooklyn man has been indicted in the hit & run death of 21-year-old Zachary Simmons in Hoboken last summer, the Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced Thursday.

A county ground jury returned the indictment against Mark T. Nicholas, 51, on Feb. 28, charging him with death by auto and leaving teh scene of a fatal accident, both second degree crimes, Suarez said.

Simmons, who lived in Ramsey, was struck and killed by a black Cadillac Escalade SUV while running across Willow Avenue at 6th Street, at 3:30 a.m. on June 25.

A security camera posted outside a nearby store captured the fatal strike on video.

Nicholas was arrested in New York two weeks later by NYPD officers.

The incident drew increased attention when the victim was identified as the cousin of basketball standout Ben Simmons, who a week earlier was the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. 

The SUV struck Zachary Simmons, of Ramsey, as he ran across a crosswalk at Willow Avenue and 6th Street around 3:30 a.m. on June 25. Video footage released by the prosecutor's office shows the driver speeding away immediately after the crash.

Suarez said Nicholas is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in Jersey City on Monday.

Legislation to create a "Zack Alert," inspired by Simmons' death, was introduced last fall by Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro (D-Hudson). It would send an alert to police departments and electronic highway message signs following a fatal or serious hit-and-run incident that would a description of the vehicle involved. 

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

'The Greatest Show on Earth,' which is folding up its big tent for good in May, makes its last pass ever through Brick City on March 9-12. Media and local students got a special performance Thursday at Prudential Center

NEWARK -- The circus is in town for the last time.

Well, the circus, anyway.

After 146 years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is folding up its tent for good this spring. And for a leg of its farewell tour this week, "the Greatest Show on Earth," will give its final performances ever in Newark, with a total of nine shows at Prudential Center, Thursday through Sunday.

"We're sad to go," Ringmaster Jonathan Lee Iverson said during a special mini-performance for media and several hundred local school children at the Rock on Thursday afternoon. "But hey, we never say 'Goodbye.' We say 'See you down the road.'"

The circus moves on to Trenton next week, with seven shows at the Sun National Bank Center from March 17-19.

Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, the circus' owner since 1967, made what he said was the "very difficult decision for me and for the entire family" to close down the circus last month. He blamed rising operating costs, falling attendance linked to changing public tastes, and protracted legal and public relations battles with animal rights groups that included a $25 million payout and the dropping of the circus' signature elephants from performances.  

Thursday's special show included a male figure skater and aerialist who performed on and above the New Jersey Devil's ice, plus a troupe of jump-roping unicyclists who rode on a single ring laid atop the ice.

Yasmina Oudrago, who will turn 11 on Tuesday, and Blessing Mgbemere, 12, were at the performance with other fourth and fifth graders at the Gray Charter School in Newark.

Both were dazzled by the flying skater.

"I love to skate," Yasmina said. "Anything that has to do with ice, I love."      

Blessing added, "His talent was real good, the he was skating."

"And the lights were awesome," she said.

Mayor Ras Baraka, who was on hand to bid the circus farewell, said he was impressed by the wheeling jump-ropers.  

"I can't even jump without a bike," Baraka said.

The closing of the circus on May 21 means countless clowns, trapeze artists, tiger tamers and and roustabouts have a potentially heart-rending choice to make.

"Find another circus, or find something else," said Asa Walker, a 24-year-old Kansan and Ringling Bros. clown for the past four years, who was warming up the young crowd on Thursday.

Walker was sad to say goodbye Ringling Bros. But he said it wasn't true that, behind their painted-on smiles, clowns are depressive types. And he looked forward to working on his acting, writing and other talents if he doesn't land another clown job.

The skating aerialist was Ammed Tunisiani of the Flying Tunizianis, a 26-year-old Venezuelan who lives in Las Vegas with his wife and fellow troupe member Estefani Tuniziani, and their two children, ages 3 and 5.

"We're both fliers," noted Estefani, who is from Brazil, boasting that her husband had recently mastered a quadruple somersault, while she could perform a triple. 

Like many circus families, the Tunizianis take their children with them on tour, and Ringling Bros. provides child care and schooling.

With their repertoire, Ammed said the troupe could likely find work in Europe. But he is waiting to hear back from another circus in the United States, where the couple would like to stay.

"We love it here," she said. 

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Rasheedah Dunell, 48, of Newark, was found guilty of third-degree insurance fraud for a claim she filed in a 2011 traffic accident involving a bus she was riding in the city.

Rasheedah Dunell. (Photo courtesy of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office)

NEWARK -- An Essex County jury has convicted a 48-year-old woman of fraudulently claiming to an insurance company that she was injured in a bus crash.

Rasheedah Dunell, of Newark, had claimed she sustained neck and back injuries when she was thrown against the rear of a Coach USA bus she was riding when it was involved in a minor accident on Aug. 12, 2011, on South Orange Avenue, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray said in a statement Thursday.

But the jury found Dunell guilty of third-degree insurance fraud after video footage from the bus showed Dunell was sitting calmly in her seat at the time of the crash, laughing with another passenger, according to Assistant Prosecutor John Russell, who tried the case. 

Authorities said Dunell is scheduled to be sentenced on April 3.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The school is among several institutions closing or reporting delayed openings

CALDWELL -- Caldwell University has cancelled classes Friday due to a snowstorm expected to hit overnight. 

No day or evening classes will be held. 

A number of schools have announced delayed openings or cancelled classes. 

Much of northern New Jersey, especially areas north of Interstate 80 should receive 3 or 4 inches of snow by midday Friday. Projected totals decrease to around 2 inches in Central Jersey, perhaps an inch in the Philadelphia suburbs and mainly rain in the Atlantic City area. 

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

ESSEX COUNTY - Some Essex County schools have announced they'll have delayed openings Friday, March 10, 2017 due to a March snowstorm. The following schools will have a delayed schedule:

ESSEX COUNTY - Some Essex County schools have announced they'll have delayed openings Friday, March 10, 2017 due to a March snowstorm.

The following schools will have a delayed schedule:

• Essex County Vocational District - delayed opening

Shamsuddin Abdul-Hamid of Newark was a powerful and promising young actor whose life ended to soon. He was 25. Watch video

"Knock-Knock."

The rap on the door is from his family, friends, and a performing arts circle in mourning. They want Shamsuddin Abdul-Hamid of Newark to answer.

They'd love to hear him recite that poem - "Knock-Knock - '' in person again and not on YouTube, where tears stream down his face. He mastered it in 2010 to win the New Jersey Poetry Out Loud competition, a crown that took him three years to capture.

"Knock-Knock."  If he could just respond, they'd give anything to see the 25-year-old promising actor perform monologues, from Moliere to William Shakespeare to August Wilson, his favorite playwright.

"Some people you can teach it, but some people are born with it,'' said Leonora Brazell-Rafua, his mentor and retired Newark Arts High School drama teacher.

"He was born with it.''

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns  

But there won't be any more poetry for Abdul-Hamid, whom everybody calls "Sham." He died suddenly last Friday, his body discovered about 8 a.m. by a passerby at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Grant Avenue in Jersey City. Authorities would not release further details, other than saying his death did not appear suspicious. A  medical examiner's report is pending.

"You think they live forever, but when God wants you back that's what happens,'' said his mother Jamillah Lawson, of Newark. "I wasn't prepared for this.''

No one was.

Sham, a 2010 graduate of Arts High School and Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, was developing his theatrical gift, maturing with each performance.

He recently landed the lead role at The Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. for "Wig Out," a play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, who won an Academy Award last month for co-writing "Moonlight,'' itself an Oscar winner for best picture.

Several months ago, he taped an episode of "Blue Shades," a television series starring Jennifer Lopez. Last year he was in "Fences" at Triad Stage in North Carolina and in "The Brothers Size" at Luna Stage in West Orange.

"His work was so fresh and so vibrant, so full of that life force of a promising young actor,'' said Cheryl Katz, artistic director at Luna Stage. "I think he was on his way to a fine career.''

His artistic experiences were many, filling up nearly every minute of his short life. In high school, Sham was a Star-Ledger Scholarship recipient. He went on to perform plays at Rutgers, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and  Shakespeare's Globe in London.

Acting, poetry and theater was everything to him. The performance arts community said he loved exploring characters, or attending a lecture or scraping together enough money to see a Broadway play. On his way to auditions or rehearsals, friends and family said, Sham read books on self-improvement, theater, history, anything to better himself as a person or an artist.

And it showed wherever he went.

"Sham could step on stage and before he even spoke, you were immediately glued to him because he just had that much presence,'' said Naja Selby, a classmate and actress. "And when he opened his mouth, my God. Absolutely breathtaking.''

Sheer, voluminous power erupted from every inch of his 6-foot-tall frame. Whatever the part called for, he could go from down and dirty slang, then pivot to a southern dialect, and regale you with the crisp, snappy diction of Elizabethan English.

Sham, one of nine children, was bound for the stage. Lawson, his mother, said he was talking by age 1, writing his long name by age 3 and making up his own stories by studying customers at her hair salon.

He was 8 years-old when he met Brazell-Rafua, a playwright who at the time didn't want to work with children. But his grandmother kept bringing him back to the summer theater program in Newark that Brazell-Rafua was conducting for high school students.

In three days, the young Sham not only impressed Brazell-Rafua with his ability to learn his lines, she gave him three parts for "Macbeth in the Hood,'' a play she wrote and directed. By sixth grade, Sham completed his first play - "Troubled Waters" -  which featured his classmates at Lady Liberty School. It was such a well-done production, that Sham even had the maintenance crew build the set.

"Knock-Knock.''

It's his senior year and he's mesmerizing the crowd with that poem by Daniel Beaty. Sham loves the piece about a son whose father awakens him in the morning with a "Knock-Knock" at his bedroom door. They play this game with the child pretending to be asleep until the father's knocks disappear because he's in jail. The son misses his dad, but he makes up an imaginary father, who tells him that a parent's choices in life do not define him, that goodness lives within him.

Newark misses Sham.

MORE CARTER: Business in the Ironbound is suffering as Newark's fearful immigrant community hides 

The news of his death was louder than any monologue Sham could have performed or any thunderous knock at a door that loved ones wish he could answer.

Everyone who knows Sham is looking for his boyish charm again, his stadium-size personality and a laugh so ginormous, you couldn't help but crack up right along with him.

"He's so vibrant and big that he wasn't able to hide it,'' said Jasmine Mans, his classmate and performance artist.  "He could walk into a room and people had no choice but to accept him and fall in love with him.''

That was evident Tuesday night when hundreds gathered in front of Newark's Arts High School for a candle light vigil. Among them were his principal, his teachers, debate team members and fellow poets, who are now actors, actresses and performance artists. City officials, including the mayor, were there along with Marques-Aquil Lewis, a board of education member and classmate who organized the gathering.

Speakers amused the crowd, telling stories, some tearfully, about the friend they adored. Sham, they said, was a genuine, endearing "old soul'' who made himself a part of your life.

"He was the son I never had,'' said at-large Councilman Carlos Gonzalez, who had Sham as an intern at Newark City Hall.

Ameer Natson said he is still waiting on that call from his younger brother to help him with an Uber ride for an audition or rehearsal. He called him a bright star whose life should be celebrated.

That happens Monday at the Metorpolitan Baptist Church on Springfield Avenue in Newark. His viewing is from 10 a.m. to noon. The funeral will immediately follow.

"Knock-Knock."

It's Sham tapping us on the shoulder the way he once said a good poem is supposed to do.

"It's all inside of you and says 'See me, hear me. I'm here. I will not be ignored,' '' he said.

Sham never was.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com barry carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

A 19-year-old woman said she was attacked at the Broad Street light rail station in Newark

The sexual assault charge filed against a former Montclair State University student in 2015 has been dropped, according to a report on News 12 New Jersey.

Charles Jones, then a 20-year-old Randolph resident, was accused of sexually assaulting the 19-year-old fellow student at shortly after midnight Sept. 25 at the Broad Street light rail Station.

Jones was arrested two days later and charged with second-degree sexual assault.

The woman told police at the time the assault was recorded and witnessed by several other students, according to the student newspaper, the Montclarion.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The Trump Muslim nation travel ban is expected to cost the U.S. almost $11 billion in tourism revenue this year, but the governor isn't concerned.

AVENEL -- Gov. Chris Christie said he's not worried that New Jersey will take the same economic hit that President Donald Trump's Muslim-majority nation travel ban is expected to deliver to New York.

New York City's tourism bureau had reportedly anticipated an increase of 400,000 foreign visitors this year, but is this week forecasting 300,000 fewer foreign tourists in 2017, resulting in losses of $600 million for city businesses catering to overseas visitors.

"New York, from a travel perspective, is significantly different from New Jersey," Christie said Thursday. 

The governor, who was visiting the Sansone Automall's Toyota dealership to  highlight its work with prisoner reentry and job training, said he was not concerned that the president's recently reissued executive order restricting international immigration would affect the summer tourism rush at the Jersey Shore.

"Our tourism is predominantly focused on one time of the year and is not focused on international travel, beyond Canada," Christie said. "New York, obviously, much different. But my sense is that I don't think a six-nation Middle Eastern travel ban -- in any form -- would have a significant effect on Jersey Shore tourism numbers."

International visitors to New Jersey accounted for 7 percent of all visitors last year, spending $2.9 billion in 2016 and directly supporting more than 320,000 New Jersey, jobs according to Tourism Economics' most recent report.

ISIS will 'unleash hell' without Trump travel ban, Rogers says

However, that same report also forecasts the number of foreign travelers in the U.S. will drop by 6.3 million this year due to Trump's rhetoric and border control policies, a decrease of 8.2 percent, or costing more than $10.5 billion in tourism revenue nationally.

According to Forward Keys, a global travel consultancy that tracks daily data from all the major global reservation systems worldwide, international trends in bookings to the U.S. are down 6.5 percent compared with the equivalent period the year before.

Meanwhile, the governor declined to comment on Wednesday reports in the Washington Post and Politico that Trump planned to help pay for the construction of a wall on the border of Mexico with a flood insurance surcharge.

More than 230,000 New Jersey residents currently buy federal flood insurance.

During his campaign, Trump had claimed that Mexico would pay for the construction of the wall, which he said would cost $12 billion.

Draft memos from Homeland Security obtained by Politico and other news organizations put the cost of the wall at more than $25 billion.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

BLOOMFIELD -- Zuko is a young male boxer mix at the Bloomfield Animal Shelter. Rescued as a stray in Teaneck, shelter volunteers describe him as "a very friendly boy who isn't shy about giving out tons of kisses." Zuko, who has learned basic commands and walks well on a leash, has been neutered and is up-to-date on shots. To meet...

Zuko 

BLOOMFIELD -- Zuko is a young male boxer mix at the Bloomfield Animal Shelter.

Rescued as a stray in Teaneck, shelter volunteers describe him as "a very friendly boy who isn't shy about giving out tons of kisses."

Zuko, who has learned basic commands and walks well on a leash, has been neutered and is up-to-date on shots.

To meet Zuko and other adoptable pets, visit the Bloomfield Animal Shelter at 61 Bukowski Place in Bloomfield. The shelter is open every day from noon to 5 p.m. (Wednesdays until 6:30 p.m.) For more information, call 973-748-0194 or go to njhumane.org.

Shelters interested in placing a pet in the Paw Print adoption column or submitting news should call 973-836-4922 or email essex@starledger.com.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

 

Which players and teams had big nights during the state tournament?

School officials are planning a town hall meeting to discuss the debate over the assignment.

SOUTH ORANGE -- School district officials are planning a community meeting to discuss the implications of and social issues surrounding a slave auction poster assignment for fifth grade students.

The controversy erupted this week when parents at the South Mountain Elementary School in South Orange visited the school for teacher conferences and saw the students' slave posters hanging up in the halls.

Parents took to social media to express outrage and organize a movement against the project.

"It is completely lost on me how this project could be an effective way to teach any student in any age group about American history," one parent wrote on Facebook.

"Educating young students on the harsh realities of slavery is of course not the issue here, but the medium for said education is grossly insensitive and negligent."

District officials say the project, part of a larger Colonial America unit for fifth grade students and one of several options students could choose to complete, has been in place for the past 10 years. Parents raised concerns after the assignment was sent home this year, Superintendent John Ramos said in a note, prompting district officials to consult education experts about it.

"One of the anti-bias experts highlighted the fact that schools all over our country often skip over the more painful aspects of American History, and that we need to do a better job of acknowledging the uglier parts of our past, so that children learn the full story," Ramos said in the note.

School bathroom graffiti investigated as hate crime

Still, Ramos said the projects hanging in the hallway should have been accompanied by explanations of what the children made, and why.

"We completely understand how disturbing these images are, and why parents were upset. This was exacerbated by the fact that the displays did not include an explanation of the assignment or its learning objectives," he said.

The posters have been removed from the elementary school's hallways, and the district apologized in the letter to parents who took offense. The school is planning a town hall meeting to discuss the project, district officials said, as reactions to it have been split.

"Some families are supportive of the example of a slave auction poster included in the assignment, because they see it as an important opportunity to examine this shameful and too-often ignored chapter of American history," Ramos said.

"Others are disturbed that elementary students were being asked to put themselves in the virtual shoes of people who subjugated others."

The district has not yet decided if the assignment will be part of the curriculum next year, a school spokeswoman said.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Catalino Guerrero, an undocumented immigrant from Union City, met with immigration officials Friday. Guerrero has an order of deportation but the community has fought to keep him in the U.S.

NEWARK -- The Union City grandfather who galvanized clergy leaders across the state -- including the Archbishop of Newark -- to fight his deportation, will be able to stay in the U.S. for at least another two months.

Immigration officials gave Catalino Guerrero, 59, a 60-day extension Friday morning as they review his request to stay his deportation order. The news came as at least 100 supporters rallied in his defense outside the Peter Rodino Federal building, chanting "let him stay."

"I want all the people through this, to fight," Guerrero told a crush of media reporters in Spanish as he sat inside Grace Church, visibly exhausted. "I wish the president with all this news would dig into his heart and change laws and change sentiments because what he is doing is unjust."

Guerrero, who was ordered deported back to Mexico in 2009, will have to report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on May 22. His attorney, Cesar Martin Estela, said ICE is reviewing their request for a stay of removal that would allow Guerrero to remain in the country for another six months. ICE has previously granted Guerrero temporary stays of his deportation order, requiring he check in every six months.

"Catalino is still under a threat of deportation," said Richard Morales, immigration policy director for PICO National Network, a network of faith-based groups. "What Catalino is going through should not be happening to anyone in this country now; this is wrong."

Supporting himself on a cane, Guerrero stepped into the federal immigration building on Broad Street shortly after 9 a.m. as supporters and his family waitied outside in the snow, worried he would be detained and deported.

BREAKING: Catalino gets extension and is released. Will come back in May to meet with ICE pic.twitter.com/z1MtE4Wc8s

-- Karen Yi (@karen_yi) March 10, 2017

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, joined the throng of clergy members and advocates.

"It's important to put a face on people," Tobin told NJ Advance Media. "I can't accompany the 11 million undocumented people in this country, what I hope to do is say look they've got faces, they've got histories and there's a lot of advantage to leaving them alone."

"I hope President Trump is watching because Catalino is not a 'bad hombre,' he's a good man," Menendez said referring to the way Trump has characterized some undocumented immigrants. "If he can be deported then we truly are on the verge of mass deportations."

Menendez said he was pleased with the 60-day extension but that the "peace of mind was only temporary."

Jennie Medina, who is also representing Guerrero, said they were seeking a stay of removal for six months to give Guerrero time to apply for a U-Visa. A U-Visa allows undocumented immigrants who have been victims of crimes and who have helped authorities investigate remain in the U.S. legally. Guerrero was a victim of a home invasion in 2007.

"He has grandchildren, he owns property in this country, he's never been convicted of a crime," Medina said. 

ICE spokesperson Lou Martinez said in a statement Thursday that Guerrero is "a Mexican national unlawfully present, was ordered removed from the United States in 2009 by an immigration judge. Guerrero remains free from custody and must periodically report to ICE as a condition of his release."

Guerrero has lived in the U.S. for more than 25 years. He has four children and four grandchildren.

His granddaughter Elizabeth Perez, 7, cried as she waited in the snow for her grandfather to come out. She wore a hat that read "Stay" in different colors.

"I don't want my grandfather to leave because he is the only grandfather I have and he is very good to me," she said as tears streamed down her face. "He always makes me happy."  

Before he want into his ICE meeting, Perez said she told her grandfather, "I love you and everything is going to be OK." 

Low hanging fruit

Guerreo filed for asylum in 1992. His case was denied and in 2009 he was ordered deported. He was arrested by ICE in 2011 and granted a stay of removal and an order of supervision.

"People that are being targeted for removal now is concerning," said Medina. 

"I ask that you help me, I have my family here, with my granddaughters, my health is poor, I have heart problems, diabetes and high blood pressure," Guerrero said last week on a call with reporters. "With all these worries and the appointments and all this stress it's not good for my health and the nurses are concerned. I ask that you help me so I can stay in this country."

Guerrero works as a delivery man and Uber driver.

"Everything that I've earned, everything that I've worked for, I've invested here," he said. 

Last month, more than 100 clergy members rallied to his defense. 

"Basically, this is low hanging fruit," said Richard Morales, immigration policy director for PICO National Network, a network of faith-based groups. "This verifies what we know is already happening in the country that every undocumented immigrant is a target for this Administration for deportation. It's clear, it's written in black and white that this administration wants to deport as many undocumented immigrants from this country."

The Department of Homeland Security issued guidelines last month about how it planed to implement Trump's executive orders on immigration. The rules widen the net of who can be detained and deported -- and include hiring 10,000 more ICE officers.

Among those prioritized for deportation are those who have prior orders of removal and who "in the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security," one of the memos reads.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Gov. Chris Christie is cutting charity care payments to hospitals by $50 million in the next budget because fewer people lack health coverage.

TRENTON -- With more than 800,000 fewer uninsured people in the state, the amount of charity care New Jersey hospitals provided to patients who are unable to pay their bills has declined by $550 million since Obamacare took effect in 2014, according to a new state health department analysis.

Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett late Thursday disclosed how much the state's 72 nonprofit and for-profit hospitals would be getting to offset some of their costs treating lower-income people who qualify for charity care.

But the annual announcement -- always a source of consternation for many hospital executives who rely on the funds to make ends meet -- was met with added apprehension.

The bill repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act cleared two congressional committees after contentious, marathon hearings Thursday. The legislation calls for halting enrollment in the expanded Medicaid program after 2019 and cap the federal funds that now pay more than 90 percent of the tab for the roughly 550,000 working poor people in New Jersey who qualified for coverage under the landmark, bitterly contested health care law.

7 big numbers from Christie's state budget 

Gov. Chris Christie has been able to cut state and federal charity care payments to hospitals by $373 million in charity care as the number of uninsured people plummeted, New Jersey Hospital Association President and CEO Betsy Ryan said. 

The new budget cuts $50 million more, she said.

"For the most part, they've been able to absorb those cuts because they were caring for more insured patients. Now we have the added threat of an ACA replacement proposal that would erode coverage and change the Medicaid program as we know it," Ryan said.

"If this becomes our new reality, we could be back to the pre-ACA days when greater than one in every 10 New Jersey residents lacked health insurance," Ryan said. "Our hospitals would be facing an even deeper unfunded obligation in caring for the uninsured. The erosion of coverage combined with years of funding cuts would be a staggering one-two punch for hospitals."

In 2013, the year before Obamacare took effect, hospitals documented $1,023,668,000 in charity care payments; by 2015, the amount was $479,634,777, according to the state report.

Using a formula based on charity care billings, 44 hospitals will see their charity care payments dip and 28 will see them rise, according to the report.

When taken into account the increase the Christie administration is providing to train medical residents to become doctors, 32 of the 72 hospitals will receive an increase in financial assistance, while the remaining 40 will get less.

State spending on graduate medial school programs has increased $158 million since Christie took office in 2010, Bennett said. 

"This proposed funding furthers the state's investment in a strong healthcare workforce and healthcare quality and reflects the governor's ongoing commitment to the growth of New Jersey's medical schools and the expansion of hospital-based teaching programs," Bennett said in a statement.

"This budget also recognizes that documented charity care to the uninsured at our hospitals declined by 53 percent over a two-year period, but continues to provide support for this care," Bennett's statement said. 

University Hospital in Newark, a quasi-state supported facility, provided the most documented chair care, at $50 million, and will receive $48.2 million in payments to offset it, according to the report.

Christie's budget also contains $43.8 million to support University Hospital, which has historically been dependent on the state for financial assistance. It is the main teaching hospital for the medical and dental schools at Rutgers University, and operates the only level one trauma center in north Jersey. 

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Man, 57, pronounced dead at University Hospital.

NEWARK -- A 57-year-old man was fatally struck in a hit-and-run Thursday night in Newark's West Ward, authorities said.

The pedestrian was hit near South Orange and Munn avenues. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

The prosecutor's office planned to release more information Friday.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Douglass Byrd, 27, is charged with reckless manslaughter in the death of Larry Adams, of Elizabeth, after an argument.

ELIZABETH -- A 65-year-old Elizabeth man died Tuesday after a Newark resident struck him in the head after an argument, authorities confirmed Friday.

Douglass Byrd, 27, hit Larry Adams with his fist and caused him serious head injuries that ultimately killed him, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said. 

The incident took place shortly after noon on the 1100 block of Magnolia Avenue in Elizabeth, Park said. Authorities brought Adams to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 9 p.m., Park said. 

Byrd is charged with second-degree reckless manslaughter. He was arrested Thursday evening and is being held in Union County Jail, pending a court appearance.

Authorities ask anyone with more information to call Homicide Task Force Sgt. Michael Manochio at 908-966-2287 or Detective Christopher Scuorzo at 908-472-0492.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The driver was badly burned in the Pennsylvania crash that killed three passengers.

Terrell Barclay has a week to decide:

Do I admit that I was driving drunk when I crashed a car in Bethlehem Township, killing three passengers and permanently disfiguring myself in the ensuing fire?

(That choice comes with a 15- to 30-year prison sentence.)

Or, do I go to trial and contest the charges but expose myself to even more prison time?

The 28-year-old Orange, New Jersey, man has until Friday, March 17, to take the deal. Otherwise his trial will start May 1.

He appeared in court with a bandage over one hand and burn wounds visible on his face and the other hand. He asked for permission to be released on bail to continue physical therapy and to receive pain medications, neither of which he claims to have received in the last month-and-a-half in prison.

"He's in constant pain," said defense attorney Tim Prendergast.

Northampton County Judge Michael Koury didn't say whether he would lower Barclay's $250,000 bail, but he didn't appear inclined to do so during Friday's court proceeding.

Barclay is reluctant to admit his guilt because he doesn't remember what happened, Prendergast said.

"I lost a lot of memories, maybe like a month before (the crash)," he said. Prendergast said he showed Barclay a video of the crash.

Barclay was the driver at 1:22 a.m. May 6 in the fiery crash that killed three passengers. He allegedly struck three parked cars while speeding in the 1800 block of Willow Park Road.

Peek inside the case (and mind) of Easton's taunting murderer

Killed were Amanda Martin, 26, of New Ringgold, Schuylkill County, Pa.; Ashlee Mosher, 29, of Easton; and Joshua Edwards, 28, of Easton.

Witnesses said Barclay was running around screaming after the crash. Later he was put in a medically-induced coma at the hospital. He was discharged and claims he turned himself in immediately when he learned police were looking for him.

Barclay said he wants to talk to his mother before making up his mind. He said she moved from New York to be closer to him.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.

'All the hits' are coming to Newark this summer

NEWARK -- A huge heap of hits are headed for the Brick City after all. 

Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey announced Friday the rescheduled date for their upcoming All The Hits tour, which was originally scheduled to visit the Prudential Center in Newark March 17, but was postponed for medical reasons. 

The duo will now instead visit New Jersey Aug. 18. See the tour's full new schedule here. 

Richie, 67, is recovering from knee surgery and said on Twitter Feb. 24 "unfortunately my recovery from a knee procedure will not have me 100 percent ready to start the tour."

"I look forward to being back onstage so we can all be 'Dancing on the Ceiling' together again."

All tickets purchased for the original March date will be honored. 

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Both drivers stayed at the scene, according to prosecutor's office.

NEWARK -- A 57-year-old Irvington man died after he was struck by two vehicles in Newark's West Ward Thursday night, authorities said.

Melvin Thomas was hit by a BMW as he tried to cross South Orange Avenue, near South Munn Avenue, around 8:10 p.m., Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement.

Seconds later, Thomas was struck by a GMC Yukon, according to the prosecutor's office. He was pronounced dead shortly before 9 p.m. at University Hospital.

'Selfless' cop thanked by suspect after frigid river rescue

Both drivers remained at the scene and no charges have been filed, the prosecutor's office said.

An investigation by the prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force Crash and Fire Investigations Unit was ongoing, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas S. Fennelly added.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Attacks occurred near Irvington-Newark line, according to police.

Samuel Reed (Photo: Irvington police) 

IRVINGTON -- The man suspected in a rash of sexual assaults in Irvington surrendered to police Friday morning, according to township Public Safety Director Director Tracy Bowers.

Samuel Reed, 41, faces charges including aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping and weapons offenses, police said. Reed has addresses in Irvington and Newark.

Reed is suspected in a series of attacks in the Grove Street and Nye Avenue area between Jan. 17 and Monday, according to police. In the assaults, the women were threatened with a gun as they walked in the area between 3 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Murders, shootings drop in Irvington

Irvington police boosted patrols and issued an alert to help locate Reed this week. Reed indicated the intense public attention led him surrender, Bowers added.

"I am gratified that he turned himself in," the public safety director said.

The investigation was ongoing, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Vincent Ascolese pleaded guilty to disorderly persons charges the deal over the 2015 incident.

BLOOMFIELD -- An animal control officer accused of slitting a baby deer's throat two years ago has pleaded guilty to disorderly persons charges related to the animal's death, the New Jersey SPCA announced Friday.

Ascolese in a file photo. (John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

According to the animal advocacy group, Vincent Ascolese, 50, also had to pay $3,500 to the NJSPCA as restitution for the 2015 incident.

"No animal should have to die cruelly at the hands of someone entrusted with their safety," NJSPCA President Steve Shatkin said in a release about the plea deal.

"The NJSPCA will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone who brings harm to an animal, regardless of their title."

While working as the animal control officer in Bloomfield in June 2015, Ascolese, who is also the owner of Bergen Humane and director and supervising animal control officer at the North Jersey Humane Society Shelter, was charged with animal cruelty after killing an injured fawn, the organization said.

Officials said exsanguination, or blood draining, was not an approved method of animal euthanasia in New Jersey.

But James Lisa, the attorney representing Ascolese, said Friday the deer was already dead when the officer found it. He pleaded guilty to improper disposal of a dead deer, Lisa said, a plea that will not impact his licenses.

"All kinds of (aspersions) were cast against my client," Lisa said.

"This is a guy who spent his entire professional life helping these animals. ... If it's 3 in the morning, if there's an animal I trouble, he'll get out there to rescue it."

Despite Lisa's assertions that Ascolese acted in a humane manner in the situation, Bloomfield severed its animal control contract with him later in 2015.

As part of the plea deal, the NJSPCA said, additional animal cruelty charges against Ascolese, stemming from an August 2015 state health department inspection of his shelter, were dismissed. Those charges included failing to provide necessary vet care to a dog and a baby squirrel at the shelter, the group said.

"Over the last 18 months NJSPCA has worked closely with local prosecutors to bring this case to a resolution," said NJSPCA Chief Colonel Frank Rizzo.

"We were confident when we filed the charges back in 2015 and remained confident as we moved this case through the judicial process. We are satisfied with outcome."

Lisa, too, said he was satisfied with the outcome of his case.

"Now he can go on with his life," he said.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.