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Blame it on Karma - the Seaside Heights nightclub, not the Hindu concept of predetermination. That's where, as any hard-core "Jersey Shore" fan can tell you, Jionni LaValle met Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Roger Matthews reconnected with Jennifer "JWoww" Farley. Sparks flew. And the course of New Jersey reality show history changed forever.

The Garden Conservancy's "Open Days" program will hit begin Bergen County Saturday, June 16 - when houses Allendale, Franklin Lakes and Edgecroft in River Edge open their doors, or should I say gates, to the public.

Browse The New Jersey Truth-O-Meter: Keep up to date with PolitiFact New Jersey: We want to hear your suggestions and comments. Email the New Jersey Truth-O-Meter with feedback and with claims you'd like to see checked. If you send us a comment, we'll assume you don't mind us publishing it unless you tell us otherwise.

Rauch heals One of his biggest fears - that he would need surgery - was squashed, at least for now. Jon Rauch's elbow may be a little tender, but he has gotten the go-ahead from doctors to pitch, and he tossed a scoreless eighth inning against the Yankees on Friday night.

NEW YORK - In lieu of seven-day-old echoes from his no-hitter, Johan Santana left the Yankee Stadium mound with noises of a different kind spitting in his ears. Pitch after disastrous pitch, he heard wood tearing into baseballs, a crowd tapping into its lung capacity.

NEW YORK - So what was actually wrong with Johan Santana? It's the question the Mets have to be asking after the left-hander gave up four home runs in a 9-1 blowout to the Yankees on Friday night.

WASHINGTON - Elvin Ramirez, the relief pitcher who was out there when the final drops of this mess spilled onto the field, stood up to talk to reporters and bumped his head. It was one final indignity, a fitting capstone for this 4-hour, 15-minute train wreck.

Their controlling owner, Jeffrey Vanderbeek, has - after more than a year- not named the magic number to persuade the minority owners, Raymond Chambers and Mike Gilfillan, to sell their shares. Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, outraged about an arbitration ruling that in part favored the Devils financially, called Vanderbeek a "high-class huckster," one of the snappier epithets ever tossed at a team owner.

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Douglas Mason/Getty Images Levon Helm, singer and drummer for the Band, died on April 19th in New York of throat cancer. He was 71. "He passed away peacefully at 1:30 this afternoon surrounded by his friends and bandmates," Helm's longtime guitarist Larry Campbell tells Rolling Stone.

By JONATHAN ALLEN | 3/1/12 9:16 PM EST Authorities are investigating possible ties to a "green vehicle" earmark the lawmaker sought. By JUANA SUMMERS | 3/1/12 4:17 PM EST By JENNIFER HABERKORN and KATE NOCERA | 3/1/12 8:22 PM EST The 51-48 vote is a blow to Republicans.

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Democrats said shortly after 11 a.m. today that the Assembly clerk has delivered the bill legalizing same-sex marriage to Governor Christie, who vowed earlier this week that he would take "swift action" with a veto.

Pro-Romney forces are looking beyond Michigan, hammering Rick Santorum in four other states with a new TV ad making some misleading claims. The ad claims Mitt Romney turned around Massachusetts' finances without raising taxes, when in fact he raised hundreds of millions in new government "fees" when he was governor.

Groupon is testing out a VIP membership on a select group of Groupon enthusiasts for $30 a year. Would you pay for first dibs on deals and reservations, access to sold-out and expired deals, and store credit for unused Groupons any time? It's not as crazy as it sounds.

Welcome to THON.org, the online home of the largest student-run philanthropy in the world! The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately referred to as THON, is a yearlong effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. Since 1977, THON has raised more than $78 million for The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.

And I'm not talking about a particular person in the Jets organization. He doesn't have his own personal PR guy, if you will. But if I were advising him, I would have told him to lay low for a few months - let the emotions of the 2011 season die down.