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The Monmouth County Fair was a washout for many this year, but for Victoria Rodriguez and Gautam Boggavarapu it was everything they hoped it would be. On the fair's opening night a record crowd of more than 17,000 people were in attendance. It was that night that Freeholder Lillian G.

Romney aide who told the press to "kiss my ass" is taking some time off.

Media Nation | The Boston Globe | Worcester Telegram & Gazette | The Boston Herald In a memo Monday, Globe publisher and New England Media Group President Christopher M. Mayer told employees the NEMG "took steps to reduce its work force. These involved primarily offers of voluntary buyouts but also some involuntary reductions throughout the New England Media Group."

SANDYSTON - A bolt of lightning struck a wooden cabin at a 4-H camp in Sussex County this afternoon, slightly injuring two people who were inside the cabin, State Police said. The lightning, which occurred during a severe thunderstorm that pummeled northwestern New Jersey with heavy rain and hail, apparently hit a large pine tree, then traveled into the foundation of the cabin at the Lindley G.

OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- State wildlife officials have identified the man who has been spotted dressed in a goat suit among a herd of wild goats in the mountains of northern Utah. Phil Douglass of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said Monday the mystery man is a 57-year-old hunter from Southern California.

Alameda legend, Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer one of only 30 players so honored

HARRINGTON, Del. - The 93rd annual Delaware State Fair is set to kick off and will include concerts by local acts, a homebrew beer competition and a pig-kissing contest. The fair will be held in Harrington from Thursday through July 28. It will also feature a monster truck show, culinary contests and a nightly parade.

New Yorkers opposed to Mayor Mike Bloomberg's proposed ban on big-boy sodas marched in front of City Hall yesterday in what's been dubbed the "Million Big-Gulp March." The title, obviously, is a play on the 1995 "Million Man March" on Washington D.C., and is a pretty funny idea considering the less-than-dire issue at hand: freedom to drink soda.

The home page for Monmouth County and Ocean County, NJ: breaking and in-depth local news, sports, business, obituaries, multimedia, databases, weather, Jersey Shore events, classifieds and more.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- A Chicago man who spent more than 30 years behind bars before DNA evidence helped overturn his conviction in the rape and killing of a 3-year-old girl was released from prison late Friday, just hours after prosecutors dropped the case against him.

Brookdale will reopen on Monday, July 2 after campus operations were halted on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday and Sunday following the water main break at the water treatment plant for New Jersey American Water Company, which impacted the water supply to Brookdale's Lincroft campus.

The fire happened on the Colts Neck, Upper Freehold border.

MIDDLETOWN, NJ - With the boil water advisory reduced to just four towns, only one water distribution site - Middletown High School North - will open on Monday. Hours at the school, located at 63 Tindall Rd., are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Sea Tow rescued five adults and four children from a sinking boat near the north jetty of Barnegat Inlet Sunday afternoon. A nearby boater contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light at about 1:30 p.m.

Be sure to grab a big container of bug spray if you plan on heading outdoors around dusk this summer. Spring 2012 got an early jump and with all of the warm, wet weather - and so did the local mosquito population.

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QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - The giant tortoise Lonesome George, whose failed efforts to produce offspring made him a symbol of disappearing species, was found dead on Sunday, officials at the Galapagos National Park announced.Lonesome George was believed to be the last living member of the Pinta island subspecies and had become an ambassador of sorts for the islands off Ecuador's coast whose unique flora and fauna helped inspire Charles Darwin's ideas on evolution.The tortoise's age was not known but scientists believed he was about 100, not especially old for giant tortoises, who can live well over a century.

Red Bank's current parking meter woes could come to an end - potentially - by the end of the month, according to Red Bank Council President Art Murphy. At Wednesday's borough council meeting, board members approved an ordinance, as expected, appropriating $350,000 from the Parking Utility Fund to help pay for the acquisition and installation of parking pay stations in several parking lots - though not all - throughout Red Bank.