Fight at park leaves 2 stabbed, man facing assault charges

MIDDLETOWN >> Authorities say a fight at a park ended with two people injured and a man facing aggravated assault charges.

Middletown police say 27-yearold township resident Brennan Bland also faces charges of making terroristic threats and two weapons counts stemming from the brawl at McMahon Park.

Police responded to the park around 4:30 p.m. Friday and found one of the victims, who gave them a description of the attacker and his vehicle. The second victim and Bland were both found minutes later.

One victim was treated at the scene for minor injuries, while the other suffered a torso wound and was treated at a hospital. Authorities have not released the victims’ names or said what spurred the confrontation.

It wasn’t known Monday if Bland has retained an attorney.

1 dead, 1 wounded when shooter opens fire on men in car

WILLINGBORO >> Authorities say a shooter opened fire on two men who were sitting in a car on a southern New Jersey street, leaving one man dead and the other wounded.

The shooting in Willingboro occurred shortly before 1 a.m. Monday on Millbrook Drive.

Burlington County prosecutors say both victims were hospitalized after the shooting, but one man died a short time later. Further details on the other victim’s injuries were not disclosed.

It’s not yet clear what sparked the shooting. Authorities declined to release the names of the victims pending the notification of relatives.

No arrests have been made. Further details on the shooting, including what type of weapon was used, were not disclosed.

Man caught up in child porn sweep gets 5-year prison term

WOODBRIDGE >> A New Jersey man caught up in a statewide child pornography sweep that nabbed dozens of offenders is now headed to state prison.

Gregory Piszczek received a fiveyear sentence Friday. The 36-yearold Woodbridge man must also register as a sex offender.

Piszczek pleaded guilty last August to distributing child porn and possessing more than 100 files of it. He was arrested in August 2017 after law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at his home.

The state attorney general’s office says more than 4,000 videos and images of child porn were found on computer devices seized from his home.

Piszczek was among 79 people arrested in “Operation Safety Net,” a nine-month, multiagency sweep conducted in 2017.

Amazon aims to cut its carbon footprint

NEW YORK >> Amazon, which ships millions of packages a year to shopper’s doorsteps, says it wants to be greener.

The online retail giant announced plans Monday to make half of all its shipments carbon neutral by 2030.

To reach that goal, the online retail giant says it will use more renewable energy like solar power; have more packages delivered in electric vans; and push suppliers to remake their packaging.

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and other big companies that generate lots of waste have announced similar initiatives, hoping to appeal to customers concerned about the environment.

Amazon is calling its program “Shipment Zero,” and plans to publicly publish its carbon footprint for the first time later this year.

Seattle-based Amazon said it spent the past two years mapping its carbon footprint and figuring out ways to reduce carbon use across the company.

“It won’t be easy to achieve this goal, but it’s worth being focused and stubborn on this vision and we’re committed to seeing it through,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations.