When Lioness stopped by Morning Jazz, this all-female ensemble came loaded with all the agility, bravery and musical alpha pride you’d expect from a group with this name.

Thought provoking. Conscience awakening. A call to action. Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science’s new album, Waiting Game (Motéma), is a direct response to the current sociopolitical climate in America.

Deborah Simpkin King, Ph.D. is a visionary choral conductor, new music advocate and master teacher who has been thrilling audiences in New York and New Jersey for many years. 

Her semi-professional choral ensemble Ember of Schola Cantorum on Hudson is presenting a concert "An Ember December" this Sunday, December 8 at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church at 94 Pine Street in Montclair, New Jersey.

The famous conductor also leads the choir of the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township and is the host of public radio's Sounds Choral.

New Jersey’s top law enforcement official said a new set of rules will improve accountability and transparency among police officers and prosecutors in an era when the criminal justice system is under increased scrutiny.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal laid out the changes in a handful of directives released Wednesday that he said were unprecedented.

“These documents reflect the most significant restructuring of policing practices certainly during my tenure as attorney general, and perhaps in the history of the Office of the Attorney General,” Grewal said.

Rutgers announces Greg Schiano’s return just a week after it seemed negotiations had fallen apart.  There was dispute over several contract requests made by Schiano, including family travel perks, and his 8-year $32 million salary.  But leaders at Rutgers University agreed Schiano is the best option for the football team.

“He will rebuild this program to the standard of excellence he set when he was here.  He will exceed those past successes and we will all celebrate together,” said Rutgers Athletic Director Pat Hobbs.

New Jersey prisons and jails may have to offer blood testing for hepatitis B and C to all incarcerated, under a proposal scheduled for a hearing Thursday.

The state Department of Corrections has come under fire from some criminal justice and public health advocates who say its policy of targeted screening for the virus falls short.

“Hepatitis is a scourge. There is no denying that. But thanks to breakthroughs in medicine, it is now a curable scourge,” said Dr. Aakash Shah, an emergency room physician and the medical director of the nonprofit New Jersey Reentry Corporation.