Spine surgery is among the newest procedures to advance robotically.
Virtua is one of the first to offer it – and the only one regionally to provide a unique, GPS-like navigation system that improves safety and accuracy.
(MARLTON, N.J., January 21, 2026) Virtua Health, southern New Jersey’s largest health system, has achieved another milestone in its robotic-surgery leadership. The Marlton, N.J.-based organization is the first in the Philadelphia region and South Jersey to provide robotic-assisted spine surgery combined with a GPS-like navigation system that enhances safety and enables better outcomes.
The navigation software, called Spine Guidance by Stryker, enables surgeons to create “safe zones” where the surgical tools can be blocked from entering, minimizing the risk of damage to surrounding structures.
“It’s the only software on the market that allows us to set up safe zones, which enables us to relieve pressure on compressed nerves more safely and efficiently,” said Dr. James Sanfilippo, vice president of clinical operations for musculoskeletal services at Virtua Health.
Surgery has always been intense. Long days, packed schedules, and high expectations come with the territory. For many surgeons, traditional practice can start to feel like a lifestyle rather than a job, and not always in a good way. Locum tenens offers a different approach. It allows surgeons to keep doing meaningful work without feeling permanently glued to one hospital hallway. For those craving balance, it can feel like finding a smarter way to practice without giving up the scalpel.
Finally Having Control Over the Calendar
One of the biggest reasons to look for locum assignments for surgeons is schedule control. Traditional roles often dictate when you work, when you’re on call, and when you might someday get time off. Locum work flips that script. Surgeons choose assignments that fit their availability and goals. Want to work hard for a few weeks and then disappear on vacation without checking emails? That is suddenly realistic. Having control over your schedule makes time off feel planned instead of mythical.
Governor Mikie Sherrill today hit the ground running on her first day in office – taking historic executive action to lower costs, protect our kids, and make Trenton more accountable and effective for the people of New Jersey. At the swearing in ceremony in Newark, she signed two executive orders following through on her promise to declare a State of Emergency on Utility Costs on Day One. At the State House in Trenton, Governor Sherrill signed additional executive orders to save New Jerseyans time and money, improve kids’ online safety and mental health, and strengthen trust in state government.
“In the Navy, I learned that you have to lead, follow, or get out of the way – and I promised the people of New Jersey that I would be on a mission to deliver starting Day One. That’s why I’m beginning my term as governor by taking immediate action to deliver on some of the key issues impacting New Jerseyans. My first six executive orders include freezing utility rate hikes, ensuring that officers and staff in my administration are meeting the highest standards of transparency and accountability, bringing agencies together to protect our kids online, and cutting through the roadblocks and red tape that are making it too hard to do business here. Let’s get to work,” said Governor Mikie Sherrill.
Each executive order is summarized below, with full text linked:
Manayunk, Philadelphia, PA – Bundle up and head on over to Manayunk for a frosty, fun-filled day at the Founders Philly Freeze-Out and MNYK Chowder Crawl on Saturday, January 31, 2026, from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Founders Brewing Company and Manayunk Development Corporation are teaming up to transform Main Street into a winter wonderland with 22+ ice sculptures and six live carving demonstrations by and Ice Sculpture Philly. Festivities also include Founders beer specials, a winter market, a kid’s moonbounce, a snowy igloo, a mobile gaming truck, food trucks, a chowder crawl, shopping deals and other cool surprises.
The day starts with the Freeze Out Run by Philadelphia Runner and New Balance at 9:00am, followed by the Freeze Out main event from 11:00am to 4:00pm, followed by the 2026 MNYK Chowder Crawl from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. Founders Philly Freeze Out is an open-street event, with activations located along Main Street, at Canal View Park and at the RichardsApex parking lot. Closed streets for this event will include Grape and Cotton streets. Founders Freeze Out is no charge to attend. MNYK Chowder Crawl tickets start at $18. Freeze Out Run is no charge to participate but advance registration is required. All other food, drink and shopping are pay-as-you-go. For event info, race registration and chowder crawl tickets, visit manayunk.com/events/ and follow @manayunkdotcom
“Founders Philly Freeze-Out is the perfect winter day filled with a combination of fun and community,” said Manayunk Development Corporation Events Manager Carla Ferro. “Peter Slavin and his incredible team do an incredible job of working with the business owners to bring Manayunk to life on ice!”
If you stand at the edge of Freedom Pier on a crisp January morning, with the wind whipping off the Delaware River and the steel grey span of the Walt Whitman Bridge looming overhead, you can see the history of this town written in the skyline. To your right, the massive cranes of the port terminals are already hard at work, moving containers that fuel the regional economy. Behind you, the brick facades of King Street and Broadway tell the story of a working-class community that has weathered every storm thrown its way for the last century.
But if you squint a little, looking past the industrial grit and the choppy water, you can also see the potential.
For decades, the promise of a revitalized waterfront has been the “white whale” of Gloucester City politics. We’ve seen renderings, we’ve heard speeches, and we’ve watched developers come and go with the changing tides. Yet, as we settle into the new year, there is a buzzing feeling around town – from the diners on Broadway to the bleachers at Gloucester High – that the pieces might finally be falling into place.
The Pier Pressure
The waterfront has always been our greatest asset and our biggest frustration. In other river towns along the Delaware, we’ve seen what happens when investment meets vision. You get promenades, you get dining, you get ratables that ease the tax burden on the homeowners. In Gloucester City, the progress has been slower, often bogged down by the realities of remediation and the sheer scale of the infrastructure needed.
However, recent movements suggest the tide is turning. The expansion of the Southport zone and the renewed interest in mixed-use residential projects near the water are promising signs. We aren’t just talking about a few park benches anymore; we’re talking about destination venues.
Of course, we’ve been here before. Long-time residents can list off a dozen “game-changing” projects that never made it past the concept art phase. But the economic pressure on the region is shifting. As Philadelphia gets more expensive and the suburbs get more crowded, river towns like ours – with direct access to the bridges and highways – are becoming prime real estate. The question isn’t if the boom is coming, but how we manage it to ensure it benefits the families who have lived here for generations, not just outside investors.
Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced that a Mansfield Township man has been indicted on multiple charges related to drugging and molesting two men who rented rooms from him at his residence.
Craig Cardella, 60, entered a plea of not guilty yesterday at his arraignment in Superior Court in Mount Holly. A grand jury returned the indictments in December charging him with 17 counts of Kidnapping (First Degree), 18 counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact (Third Degree), 18 counts of Invasion of Privacy (Third Degree), 18 counts of Endangering Another Person (Third Degree) and one count of Stalking (Fourth Degree).
The charges apply to two victims who were assaulted during separate time periods which each spanned several months. Their names and further details are being withheld to protect their identities. The case will now proceed to trial.
Woodbury, NJ – A jury found Christian Smith, 27, of Woolwich, guilty of first-degree murder and second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose Tuesday following a two-week trial before the Honorable William Ziegler, J.S.C. According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial: On Oct. 9, 2021, Smith and his stepfather Dennis McKenzie, Jr., were arguing in their home over offensive comments Smith made about the sexuality of McKenzie’s daughter and her friend.
Multiple clipper systems will bring cold temperatures and enhance lake-effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes. An arctic blast will bring frigid temperatures accompanied with gusty winds that may lead to dangerous wind chills beginning in the Northern Plains Thursday before expanding to the South and East. An expansive winter storm will start Friday in the Southern Rockies/Plains and Mid-South. Read More >
Current conditions at
Philadelphia, Philadelphia International Airport (KPHL)
Standing by her side are her children Maggie, Lincoln, Ike, and Marit. and her husband, Jason.
We enter 2026 commemorating our nation’s 250th anniversary. New Jersey has been at the heart of our American story. The crossroads of the revolution. The site of our first major victory at the Battle of Trenton. The first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
I am honored that, as we gather here today, we do so with New Jersey’s original parchment copy of the Constitution on stage with us — one of only 13 known to still be in existence. A document, by the way, New Jersey unanimously ratified.
The Constitution, born out of challenges of the early republic, clearly lays out our values: to form a more perfect union; to promote the general welfare, to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
You see, inherent in our Constitution is a framework for opportunity. A commitment, a covenant, that ties generations together.
This commitment to opportunity for the people of our country is also known the world over as the American Dream.
Like so many families, my American story did not begin that auspiciously. From what relatives have told me, it includes people fleeing a famine and others fleeing religious persecution. Even once they arrived here, the road to success was uneven. Poverty, economic devastation. Sometimes building something for your family only to lose it because of forces beyond your control.
But over and over, this country has offered my family opportunity found nowhere else in the world. From my grandfather landing a good union job after the war, to my opportunities in the first class of women eligible for combat roles in the Navy, the American Dream starts with opening a door. With an understanding that, no matter who your parents are, where you are from, what religion you practice, or ethnicity you claim, the doors to opportunities in this country should be open to everyone.
That is the story of New Jersey. And yes, we are far from perfect. But generations of families have found their American Dream here. Immigrants sailing here from overseas, Black families leaving the South to find work in New Jersey, people from all over the country and all over the world again and again, finding opportunity here in this state.
And that’s because New Jersey is an incredibly special place. The course of American history has been determined here. It was just across the street in Military Park, where the cannons were just fired, that Thomas Paine began to pen his pamphlet, the American Crisis, and galvanized a nation. Or during the Industrial Revolution, when Trenton built this great nation. Picatinny Arsenal, constantly defending our hard-won freedoms at the Arsenal of Democracy. Here in New Jersey, we have invented everything from the lightbulb to the moving picture to the laser; produced and inspired artists from Sinatra to Springsteen to SZA.
The following information is preliminary and subject to change. Updates will be provided as they become available.
On Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at approximately 1:30 a.m., a fatal accident occurred involving a SEPTA train and a pedestrian at 4200 North Broad Street on the Broad Street Line (Orange Line) at the Hunting Park Station. Preliminary investigation indicates that the pedestrian exited the train as it arrived at the station. As the train began moving southbound to continue along the tracks, the individual stepped backward, fell into the space between the train and the platform, and was subsequently struck and run over by the train. Philadelphia Fire Department personnel responded to the scene and pronounced the male pedestrian deceased at approximately 2:03 a.m.
The decedent was later identified as 41-year-old Terrell Burton of the 1600 block of West Allegheny Avenue.
The investigation is ongoing with the Crash Investigation Division.
In a separate incident, on January 20, 2026, at approximately 9:15 p.m., officers from the 12th District responded to a radio call reporting a shooting at the 5500 block of Chester Avenue. Upon arrival, officers located a crime scene both inside and in front of the Chester Convenience Store. Shortly thereafter, a 17-year-old male victim arrived at Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center via private vehicle, suffering from two gunshot wounds to his right arm. He was listed in stable condition.
At this time, no motive has been determined, and no arrests have been made.
The Shooting Investigation Group is continuing to investigate this incident.
