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May 15: The Jersey Shore will be relatively free of mango vapes this summer, even after the FDA authorized the sale of dozens of fruity‑flavored vape products.

In May, the agency cleared 45 e‑cigarettes and flavored vape pens for sale in the United States, including the first fruit‑flavored vapes it has ever authorized for adults.

In a somewhat confusing move, the FDA paired that decision with a warning about the dangers of tobacco and nicotine use, stressing they remain harmful and addictive and that people who don’t use them shouldn’t start.

So while more flavored vape pens and disposable vape cartridges will now be legal at the federal level, that doesn’t mean they’ll be easy — or legal — to find at the Shore.

May 15: If you’re looking for official Juneteenth celebrations tied to America’s 250th birthday in the DMV, you’ll likely be disappointed.

So far, America250 has just one Juneteenth event listed among the hundreds of Semiquincentennial events in the Washington, DC area: Freedom Before Emancipation: Family Day for Juneteenth, which will be held on Friday, June 19 in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

America250 is partnering with other Juneteenth celebrations in conjunction with America's Semiquincentennial, including events in Denver, Colorado and North Dakota.

Here's why you'll have to travel so far for America250 Juneteenth events, and a few non-attached Juneteenth celebrations you can check out while you're in DC.

May 14: You won’t find this week’s PGA Tour stop in Philadelphia, despite what some national golf broadcasters keep saying on air — and online.

Even the PGA Championship’s own website bills it as the "PGA Championship in Philadelphia since 1962."

The tournament is actually being held in Newtown Square, a small borough in Pennsylvania dozens of miles from Philadelphia — close enough to fall inside the Philadelphia metro map, but not inside the city of Philadelphia itself.

Adding to the confusion? There is a Newtown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County, which is located near the opposite side of Philadelphia.

May 14: Is Walmart — With college tuition costs continuing to climb across the country, rates in New Jersey are generally in line with national averages.

The average tuition, including fees, for the 2025-26 academic year stood at $16,714 for four-year public schools, according to the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education's tuition and fees dashboard.

But those numbers don’t answer the question most families are actually asking: do students who are already paying this think it’s worth it, or like they’ve bought into a bad deal?

A new WalletHub survey of 200 college students offers some clues, and some red flags for anyone about to sign a tuition bill.

May 14: Is Walmart — the biggest department store in Delaware and Pennsylvania, according to data aggregator ScrapeHero — also the best grocery store chain in the country?

Walmart ranked first in industry watcher Progressive Grocer’s 2026 ranking of top food retailers, but because those rankings are based on sales, they don’t say anything about customer satisfaction.

Here’s Progressive Grocer’s list, and how its rankings hold up against scores from the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

May 13: Some states are giving people a break at the pump. If you live in PA or DE, why aren’t you seeing that yet?

At least three states — Georgia, Indiana and Utah — have 2026 gas tax holidays or temporary reductions in place, according to tax automation company Avalara.

As of Wednesday, May 13, the national average cost of one gallon of regular gas is $4.511 according to AAA's real-time gas price index.

The average price of a gallon of gas is $4.332 in Delaware, $4.517 in New Jersey and $4.658 in PA.

Here's how much Delawareans and Pennsylvanians are paying in federal and state gas taxes, and how close each state is to adopting a gas tax holiday.

May 12: The "Rededication of America" daylong jubilee at the National Mall on Sunday is billed as all-inclusive, but are you really invited?

According to an email from Freedom 250, "Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving" program will feature a heavy contingent of Christian speakers.

This program is part of the wider, yearlong America250 celebration commemorating America's Semiquincentennial birthday.

According to prior USAY TODAY reporting, of the 15 faith leaders participating in the Rededicate 250 event, 14 are Christian, including seven evangelical leaders and two Catholics, according to the news release. 

Orthodox Jewish rabbi Meir Soloveichik is the only non‑Christian religious leader listed as a participant.

So where does this leave patriotic Americans who aren't Christian? Here's what non-Christians and agnostics should know about this weekend's celebration.

May 12: Summer is more than a month away, but for a few days beginning this weekend, it will feel like the middle of July in the greater Philadelphia region — enough that you'll want to take steps to protect your skin.

According to a recent American Academy of Dermatology study, roughly 35% of Americans got sunburned that year, up from 25% in 2020.

In an earlier AAD survey, 39% of respondents were unaware of at least one key sunburn risk, like the fact you can burn on a cloudy day or through a car window.

With a stretch of upper‑80s to low‑90s heat on the way, here’s what you need to know about safeguarding your skin.

May 12: Tax filers who are certified as seriously delinquent and owe the IRS tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes will need to address that debt before booking a flight, because they won’t be able to get a new passport or renew an existing one.

The U.S. Department of State’s passport rules focus on people who aren’t paying down large federal tax debts.

The IRS created the "seriously delinquent" category to flag people who are deep in the hole, often with years of unpaid balances that have snowballed with penalties and interest.

For most everyday filers who are a few hundred — or even a few thousand — dollars behind and working out a payment plan, the passport risk is low; the program is aimed at a relatively small group of people who owe very large amounts.

But what is that tax debt threshold? Here's what flyers need to know.

May 12: Planning to take a flight this summer? If you owe back child support, you may not make it beyond the airline check-in counter.

The U.S. Department of State updated its passport regulations in May, taking aim at parents who accrued thousands of dollars in unpaid child support payments.

While a specific dollar amount is unknown, NJ Child Support handles tens of thousands of cases, and when parents fall far behind, courts can escalate from wage garnishment and license suspensions to bench warrants for missed payments or no‑shows in court — a step separate from this new federal passport risk.

Nationwide, parents are supposed to receive tens of billions of dollars in child support each year, but on average they see only about two‑thirds of what they’re owed — and roughly three in 10 get nothing at all in a given year, according to USAFacts.

Here's what you need to know and do if you owe child support and plan to book a flight this summer.

May 11: The 2026 tick season has started, and with it comes Lyme disease.

The New Jersey Department of Health confirmed the Garden State is considered a high-incidence state for Lyme disease, and while the most common Lyme disease symptoms are easy to spot — early-stage Lyme disease sometimes mimics the flu, according to the Mayo Clinic — you'll also need to look for the more subtle and lesser-known Lyme disease symptoms.

Here's what you need to know about Lyme disease symptoms heading into and through the summer.

May 11: Ticks have arrived in New Jersey, but do you know when it's time to head to the ER after being bitten by one?

Rutgers University identified four tick species — American dog, Asian longhorned, blackegged/deer and Lone star — that are most prevalent in New Jersey. You need to be particularly mindful of the blacklegged tick, as it can transmit Lyme disease to humans.

A+ Urgent Care confirmed that as of April 2026, the Garden State recorded 13 tick-related complaints per 100,000 ER visits.

Here's when you need to head to the emergency room to treat a tick bite.