See which players stood out above the rest in boys soccer this week.

The right lane of Route 78 is currently blocked

An accident on the Newark Bay Bridge has westbound traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike's Hudson County Extension slowed to a crawl. 

511NJ.org, a traffic alert and advisory website, is reporting that the right lane of Route 78 is currently blocked because of the accident in Bayonne. 

The bridge spans the Newark Bay and connects the state's largest city with Bayonne. 

No additional details about the accident were immediately available. 

The chase started at Ocean Avenue and Forrest Street, traveled through Bergen-Lafayette and Greenville before ending on Fowler Street, police said.

A group of teens in a stolen state-owned minivan led Jersey City police on a wild chase through the city late Monday night before two of the teens were caught ditching the vehicle, police said.

The chase started at Ocean Avenue and Forrest Street, traveled through the Bergen-Lafayette and Greenville neighborhoods before ending on Fowler Street, police said.

Along the way, the juveniles -- in a state Department of the Treasury Dodge Caravan -- struck three parked vehicles, lost a door, blew a tire, nearly struck a marked police cruiser and drove on the sidewalk for nearly a block of Bidwell Avenue, police said.

A 16-year-old from Newark and a 17-year-old from Carlstadt were charged with receiving stolen property, possession of burglar tools, eluding police and resisting arrest. Their names were not released because they are minors.

The teens were released to their parents and will be given a court date. Police believe the other teens in the minivan jumped out when police halted the pursuit. 

It could not be immediately determined where the theft of the vehicle occurred. 

When police first noticed the minivan -- five or six juveniles in a marked state vehicle at 11:50 p.m. on a holiday (Columbus Day) raised their suspicions -- they made a U-turn to follow it, the police report said.

Seeing the police cruiser make the U-turn, the juveniles turned east on Forrest, south on Clerk Street, west on Carteret Avenue, south on Ocean Avenue, then east against one-way traffic on Bidwell Avenue, where they drove on the sidewalk and struck a Honda, lost a door and then hit a BMW, the police report said.

When the stolen vehicle turned south on Garfield Avenue, police in pursuit saw the right rear tire was blown out and smoking, police said. As the minivan approached Cator Avenue, the pursuit was terminated, but police canvassed the area to keep an eye on the vehicle, the police report said.

The teens were seen going west on Cator, north on Ocean, west against one-way traffic on New Street and south on Rutgers Avenue, also against one-way traffic, police said.

Back on Cator Avenue, the minivan nearly struck a marked police car before heading north on Old Bergen Road. The vehicle was found on Fowler Avenue and it struck a Lincoln Town Car, police said.

The two teens fled, but were caught after brief chases, police said. Police found that the minivan's ignition had been broken and a screwdriver, apparently used to start the engine, was discovered on the ground outside the vehicle, police said.

Glen Ridge real estate professional Sebastian Voltarelli downed eight bowls in 15 minutes, out-eating Jersey City food Instagrammer Lori Luo, to win the second annual Slurp, Sip, Repeat Ramen Eating Contest at Ani Ramen House in Jersey City last night.

The reigning champion defended his title, but it certainly wasn't easy.

Glen Ridge real estate professional Sebastian Voltarelli downed eight bowls of ramen noodles in 15 minutes, out-eating Jersey City food Instagrammer Lori Luo, to win the second annual Slurp, Sip, Repeat contest at Ani Ramen House in Jersey City last night.

For his victory, Voltarelli retained the Ani Ramen Golden Chopsticks (good for one year of free ramen at either Ani Ramen location) and an all-inclusive celebratory chef's tasting dinner for 10 people ($1,000 value). Last year Voltarelli downed 9.25 bowls of ramen.

His total this year was just enough to defeat Luo, who polished off seven bowls of ramen and earned a $300 gift card to Ani Ramen.

Jersey City resident Rich Cush, a music teacher, ate six bowls and finished third out of the 10 competitors. He was awarded a $150 gift card to Ani Ramen.

The contest was also sponsored by Sun Noodle. Proceeds from the event will benefit No Kid Hungry. 

Voltarelli was one of three second-time contestants, along with Rich David and "El Guapo," who dressed in a Lucha Libre-inspired wrestling costume.

"We were thrilled with the turnout and the enthusiasm at our second Slurp Sip Repeat Ramen eating competition," Ani Ramen owner Luck Sarabhayavanija said.  "It was great to have prior competitors back to compete and exciting that the stakes were higher for even bigger prizes this year while raising funds for a good cause."

Hoboken man, 30, was killed in carjacking at upscale mall in 2013.

NEWARK -- The two remaining defendants -- including the shooter -- pleaded guilty Tuesday in the carjacking and murder of a 30-year-old Hoboken lawyer, who was gunned down at the Short Hills mall as he returned from shopping with his wife in December 2013.

Karif Ford, 35, of Newark, and Hanif Thompson, 32, of Irvington, admitted their roles in the events leading to the slaying of Dustin Friedland at the mall parking deck, said Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino.

Dustin Friedland, 30 (Submitted photo) 

Ford pleaded guilty to carjacking while Thompson, the gunman, pleaded to felony murder and weapons offenses, according to prosecutors. The pleas came after Basim Henry, 36, of South Orange, was convicted at trial and sentenced to life in prison. A fourth man, Kevin Roberts, 39, of Newark, pleaded guilty in July to carjacking.

Under a plea agreement, Ford must serve 85 percent of a 20-year prison term before being eligible for parole, while Thompson must serve 30 years behind bars before he could be paroled, said Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Matthews, who handled the case.

"The resolution of the remaining cases spares the victim's widow from having to testify on two more occasions and brings some finality to this case which has been an unspeakable nightmare for the family," the assistant prosecutor said.

The assailants were at the Millburn mall in a scheme to steal high-end cars and found Dustin Friedland, who was returning to his father's Range Rover with his wife after a shopping trip Dec. 15, 2013.

While Friedland helped his wife, Jamie Schare Friedland, into the SUV Thompson confronted him and demanded the newly-married lawyer's keys as he walked to the driver's side, according to prosecutors. A struggle broke out and Thompson shot Friedland in the head.

The carjackers ordered Jamie Schare Friedland out and escaped with the Range Rover, which was later discovered behind an abandoned house in Newark.

Jamie Schare Friedland testified in the case, detailing the horrific scene that unfolded at the upscale mall parking deck.

"I saw the taller man who was beside the driver's side door -- I saw him put the gun to Dustin's head," Friedland said in March testimony. "I saw Dustin lying in a pool of blood."

At trial, she spoke of how her life was "permanently altered" by the slaying.

"A beautiful life and a beautiful future ... that was taken away in the blink of an eye," she said. "It wasn't just someone's car -- it was someone's life."

Sentencing for the three remaining men is expected Jan. 18 before Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin.

NEWARK -- A city man has been arrested for a shooting last week that left another person wounded, police said. Around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 3, a man was found shot in the 200 block of South Orange Avenue. He was later treated at University Hospital and released. Kareem C. Bronson, 27, was identified as a shooting suspect and was...

NEWARK -- A city man has been arrested for a shooting last week that left another person wounded, police said.

Kareem Bronson (Newark police)  

Around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 3, a man was found shot in the 200 block of South Orange Avenue. He was later treated at University Hospital and released.

Kareem C. Bronson, 27, was identified as a shooting suspect and was arrested Tuesday on South 18th Street.  

He has been charged with attempted murder, robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, as well as being in possession of a weapon while prohibited.

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

NEW YORK -- A Newark man convicted of a sex offense in the early 1990s was sentenced Tuesday to more than two decades in prison for trying to arrange a sexual encounter with a minor, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. In 1993, Terrick Washington was sentenced to 15 years in a New Jersey...

NEW YORK -- A Newark man convicted of a sex offense in the early 1990s was sentenced Tuesday to more than two decades in prison for trying to arrange a sexual encounter with a minor, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said.

In 1993, Terrick Washington was sentenced to 15 years in a New Jersey prison for aggravated sexual assault. Washington, who is now 45, was required to register as a sex offender following the conviction.

Two years ago, in November 2015, a tipster posing as a 13-year-old girl told the FBI that a man the tipster encountered online was trying to meet for sex. The man, later identified as Washington, arranged to meet the tipster in Orange County, New York. Washington was arrested at the Metro North Station in Harriman and admitted trying to arrange a sexual encounter with a minor, authorities said.

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

Matthew Ballister is accused of killing and dismembering his girlfriend, April Wyckoff, in 2013

ELIZABETH -- After he examined several of her body parts -- her fingertips, her head and her right thigh, among other things -- a forensic pathologist determined April Wyckoff died from purposefully inflicted trauma, he said Tuesday in court.

"It's not an accident, because there are all these injuries," Dr. Junaid Shaikh testified. "It's not a suicide. ... That leaves just one option, and it's homicide." 

Prosecutors are trying to convince a jury to come to the same conclusion -- that Matthew Ballister, Wyckoff's on-and-off boyfriend, knowingly and intentionally ran over her with his Hummer in October 2013 on the driveway of his Union Township home. 

Ballister, 47, is accused of dismembering Wyckoff's body after her death and hiding the parts. Investigators found five black garbage bags with her remains in Newark near the Passaic River after a days-long search, but portions of her body have never been found.

In a trial that began last month in front of state Superior Court Judge Stuart Peim, an attorney for Ballister is making the case that Wyckoff's death was an accident. The pair were high on the night Wyckoff died, and Ballister never intended to kill Wyckoff, the attorney, Thomas Russo, told the jury.

Testifying for the prosecution, Shaikh on Tuesday said he conducted an autopsy on Wyckoff, then 43, in his job as Union County's medical examiner. There was cocaine in her system, but the drugs were not the cause of her death, Shaikh said.

He told jurors Wyckoff died from repeated instances of blunt and sharp force trauma, including stab wounds on her face that were an inch and a half deep. Her scalp was sheared off, but her skull was intact, Shaikh said during direct examination by Assistant Prosecutor Scott Peterson.

There were no tire marks, like those that would come from a car or truck, on the parts of Wyckoff's body that were found, Shaikh said. 

Wyckoff's injuries happened right before she died, Shaikh said. He said he could not determine what may have caused other nondescript bruises.

Parts of Wyckoff's body had decomposed by the time investigators found them, and there was evidence that animals had touched the body parts, Shaikh said. 

"So what you're saying is you cannot be sure they're stab wounds?" Russo asked about the markings on Wyckoff's face.

"Based on my experience, they're stab wounds, ... but there's decomposition and animal activity also present," Shaikh said. 

Russo asked Shaikh whether his determination of the cause of Wyckoff's death was affected by Union County Prosecutor's Office detectives telling him they suspected it was a homicide. 

"I do my own determination, and I don't listen to what anyone else is telling me," Shaikh said. "My findings are based on my findings." 

Ballister's mother, Eleanor Schofield, is charged with hindering the police investigation into Wyckoff's disappearance by suggesting to her son that he hide the evidence of Wyckoff's death and helping him to do so. Schofield, of Mountainside, has vehemently denied any involvement in the dismemberment. 

The trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday morning. 

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

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Some Jersey legends -- and one fast-rising superstar -- made the Daily Meal's prestigious annual list

The Top 20 gets another new look this week.

The country music superstar is coming soon to New Jersey

NEWARK -- Well, this is a big, country-fried surprise. 

Country music superstar Garth Brooks announced Wednesday morning that he has added dates to his ongoing World Tour and will play Prudential Center in Newark Dec. 2. 

Fellow country star and Brooks' wife Trisha Yearwood will perform as well. 

Tickets go on sale Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.com/GarthBrooks. Tickets are $75 after fees. 

The immense tour Brooks and Yearwood embarked on in 2014 is approaching 400 nights in North America, and will reportedly wrap up soon. Brooks' most recent album was November's "Gunslinger," his 10th LP. 

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

NJ Advance Media is joining ProPublica and dozens of other media partners on the Documenting Hate project in an effort to fill the gaps in bias-crime reporting.

You cannot begin to fully remedy a problem until you know its breadth.  

The 2016 election that propelled Donald Trump to the presidency poured gasoline on the racial, cultural and religious tensions that have simmered in America for decades. While a healthy democracy has no shortage of disputes, the last two years have shown that illegal bias and hate still rear its head in New Jersey and the nation at large.  

But as NJ Advance Media has reported, we don't know the extent of the problem.

Today, NJ Advance Media is joining ProPublica and dozens of other media partners on the Documenting Hate project, a bid to fill in the gaps in bias-crime reporting that exist across the nation.  

The need is simple: While bias-crime laws have been on the books across the nation for years, there is often little to compel law enforcement to report such incidents.

It leads to tremendous gaps.  In New Jersey, only about a quarter of local law enforcement agencies reported hate-crime statistics to the state in 2015. Elsewhere, states like Mississippi reported no bias crimes whatsoever.   

Stephen Stirling | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

It's not to say New Jersey isn't making progress -- there's just have no way of knowing if it is or isn't.

Starting today, we're asking for your help.  We're asking residents who experience acts of hate, bias or discrimination to use an online form (see below) to report their experiences. The information will be shared with partners in the Documenting Hate project, but will remain anonymous unless you provide permission.

None of the partners in the project are law enforcement agencies, so it's important to note that filling out our form does not mean a report will be made to law enforcement on your behalf.  

To fill out a report, use the form below or visit the Documenting Hate project page to learn more. 

How many of the 43 remaining unbeaten teams in New Jersey will go undefeated?

Federal grant money to fund some new firefighter salaries.

NEWARK -- Sixty-eight firefighters were sworn-in to their positions with the Newark fire division at a graduation ceremony Tuesday.

Federal homeland security grant money will fund the salaries for 40 of the newly-minted firefighters over the next two years, according to city officials. The latest group of rookie firefighters marked the city's largest-ever class of fire academy graduates, officials said.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose welcomed the firefighters with a public ceremony at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church.

"The Newark Fire Division has a long history of honor, courage and commitment, displaying valor by charging into the scene of disaster when others must flee, to save lives and property," the mayor said in a statement. "I call upon each new firefighter to serve the City of Newark with the dedication and distinction that has made our Fire Division an inspiration to our city's residents, youth and to the entire nation."

Firefighter recruits undergo a 13-week training academy, which includes physical tests and academic coursework. Recruits battle controlled fires, learn how to use a range of equipment and must pass certification tests.  

Officials said the class represented a diverse group that included 22 Hispanic, 18 black, and 28 white graduates along with one woman, who joined seven other females in the fire division.

"The City of Newark's Fire Division is one of the greatest in the nation and it's important that we continue to grow and to build upon that success," Ambrose said. "The addition of these new firefighters will enhance our ability to deliver the invaluable services required to keep our city safe."

Newark merged its approximately 600-member fire department into divisions along with police and emergency management as part of the city Department of Public Safety last year.

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

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Police recovered two guns after arrest, according to authorities.

NEWARK -- Police shot a pit bull after the animal's owner called for it to attack officers as he was being arrested for gun charges, authorities said.

Sean Bailey, 18 (Photo: Dept. of Public Safety) 

Sean Bailey, 18, faces weapons-related offenses stemming from the incident Friday, according to Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

Officers were checking a report of a person with a gun near South Orange Avenue and South 10th Street when they saw Bailey, police said.

He matched the description of the armed suspect and also appeared to be involved in a drug deal on Winans Avenue, Ambrose said in a statement. Bailey dropped a messenger bag when he saw the officers and tried to flee before he was arrested.

As he was being taken into custody, Bailey called for his pit bull to attack, according to authorities.

"The dog...charged at one of the officers, who fired his service weapon to avoid being bitten," the statement said. "The dog was shot and retreated into a house."

Animal control officials brought the dog for treatment and the animal's condition was not immediately known.

Ambrose said officers recovered a loaded 9mm handgun, .380 caliber handgun and a plastic bag of heroin from the bag that Bailey dropped.

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

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Which teams are on top of the standings this season?

Richard Thaler won the award in economics this week.

Both suffered non life-threatening injuries, according to officials.

NEWARK -- A shooting in Newark's South Ward left a teen and a man wounded Tuesday, according to officials.

The male victims, ages 17 and 18, were treated for their wounds at University Hospital, a police spokeswoman said.

Police were patrolling the neighborhood in response to recent crimes when they heard shots fired nearby on Johnson Avenue shortly before 8 p.m., near Malcolm X Shabazz High School. 

Officers chased an ATV that was wanted in the shooting into Hillside, where the suspect abandoned the vehicle in the 500 block of Leo Street and escaped on foot, according to the spokeswoman. There were no immediate arrests.

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

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Check out the best the state has to offer in Week 6.

The MacArthur Foundation announced its 2017 Fellows Wednesday, including two from New Jersey