Tonight on NJPBS News, a major hurricane is expected to slam into the Gulf Coast within hours.

But New Jersey also keeping a close eye on the storm, with the remnants expected to give us yet another very wet weekend.

We talk with a local meteorologist tonight about the higher than average rainfall for our state over the last few months and what it all could mean for winter.

And just days after his release from an ice detention center in Newark, Martine Soto is speaking out.

Tonight, what he's saying about his sudden release, his newfound freedom, and where his case goes from here.

Plus, an ice arrest in Hudson County sparking fresh outrage tonight.

A man being taken away by ice as young relatives desperately cling to him.

Senator Cory Booker and his Republican challenger square off in their first and only debate of the campaign season.

The two men tangled over the war in Iran and the current state of the economy.

But did the debate move the needle in a race where Booker appears headed toward an easy victory?

Plus tonight, a look at other key Senate races around the country that have Republicans worried.

NJPBS News starts now.

This is NJPBS News with Rob Nelson.

As we come on the air tonight, a major Category 3 hurricane is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast.

Millions in that area now preparing for the wrath of this storm.

Hurricane Isaias is the south's problem for now, but it is expected to head our way and make for an extremely rainy weekend.

Once again, prompting concerns here about flooding after what has already been a very wet few months for our state.

So much so, the New Jersey actually lifted its statewide drought warning just days ago.

So, how will this storm compare to that September nor'easter?

And what does all of this mean for winter?

Meteorologist and owner of Papa Joe Weather and Drone, Joe Martucci, joining us now to talk more about this coming storm.

Joe, thanks for being with us.

Appreciate it.

You're welcome.

Always a pleasure chatting with you and everybody here.

And I hope many more years to come here at NJPBS with you guys.

Oh, I really appreciate that.

Absolutely.

So, here we go.

Listen, first things first, obviously, this is a story for our friends along the Gulf Coast and certainly keeping them in our thoughts today because Cat 3 is a serious deal.

Did we expect the storm to intensify to this degree or did this catch folks a little off guard?

No, you know, this was pretty well forecast and has continued to be.

We, the National Hurricane Center, expected this to be a Category 3 or maybe a Category 2 hurricane.

It looks like it's going to do just that as it makes landfall somewhere in Alabama or far western Florida on Friday night.

You know, I would say the only thing that caught people by surprise is that we actually had a hurricane this season.

We have the record for the latest first hurricane to develop on record in the satellite era.

So, we were lulled into a sense of security along the Gulf Coast.

But, you know, as anybody along the Gulf Coast would tell you, early October is the prime of hurricane season.

And, unfortunately, this is what we have.

Here we are.

It really has been a quiet season until now.

So, here we go.

And, listen, as we keep the folks down south in our thoughts, what does this mean for folks here in Jersey and the northeast?

Because I'm seeing a whole lot of rain and it looks like Sunday is going to be the day, right?

Yeah, yeah.

It's Sunday and even early Monday look to be wet.

This is not the nor'easter that we had two weeks ago here.

This is much tamer.

It will be a remnant storm by the time the center of the low pressure system comes through.

But it's going to be wet.

We're looking for rain to develop sometime midday into the afternoon, depending on where you are.

Heavy rain later in the afternoon to Sunday evening.

And then after about midnight, it's more or less spotty showers through the first part of Monday.

We have gusty winds with this.

We're going to see gusts in the 30s and even maybe 45 miles an hour at the beaches.

Enough to blow leaves off the trees, take some small tree branches down.

But I don't really see power outages from this.

And then a little bit of tidal flooding, too.

You know, the Sunday evening and then the Monday late morning high tides.

But this would be nuisance stuff.

Again, it's a far cry from what we saw with the nor'easter two weeks ago.

That certainly comes as a relief.

We're barely getting over that last storm.

And now this.

And listen, we were talking in our morning editorial meeting today.

It just seems like it has been an extremely rainy few months in the northeast.

Storm after storm after storm.

So much so that even the drought declaration, they pulled that back.

Talk a little bit about just the amount of moisture, the amount of rainy weather that we've had here.

And this weekend is an exclamation point on that.

Yeah.

You know, thankfully, we're done with drought.

Like you said, the drought warning is over.

I believe we're in a drought watch right now by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.

So that is good news.

We went three months in a row with above average rainfall.

And that's just something we haven't seen in a few years.

You know, as long as it takes to get into drought, it takes a while to get out of drought.

You know, there were some people, you know, that was on, you know, my website and social media saying, haven't we been out of drought for a while?

Like, no, not really.

I mean, we still need to recharge, you know, not only the reservoirs, but the groundwater.

And even still, if you're Tom's River on south, the groundwater there is still extremely dry.

That's what it's characterized as.

So all of the states out of the drought warning, that's good news.

But we're still not done yet, particularly in the southeastern part of the state.

We do need some more rainstorms like this to fully pull out of it.

And you mentioned that you had about my it's been rainy a lot comment.

You said you have a stat to back that up.

So share that numbers.

I have seen some interesting stats about just how rainy it's been in Jersey.

Yeah.

So in 2026 so far, and I'm including this weekend, too, there's only been seven dry Saturday and Sundays in the state of New Jersey.

I looked at eight different weather stations in different parts of the state.

So in other words, 18% of our weekends have had a dry Saturday and a dry Sunday.

And then also the last time that we've been fully dry throughout the state of New Jersey, not just in one particular place, fully dry in the state of New Jersey, July 25th to the 26th.

Wow.

Okay.

So my gut sense was not wrong.

You just quantify that how crazy rainy it's been.

So basically, your gut was right.

Absolutely.

So funny there.

And last question before we let you go.

Just talk about the El Nino effect and how that plays into what we're seeing right now weather-wise.

Yeah.

So we are right now in what's characterized as a very strong El Nino.

And as we go later in the year and early next year, there's about a 75% chance we have a record El Nino since we've been keeping records of this going back to 1950.

Doesn't really matter so much if it's a record or if it's very strong.

What we see in New Jersey, and we're putting this out with our winter forecast that will come out later in the month, is two things.

One, the winter looks to be very mild.

This is not a repeat of last winter.

We're going to see a lot more days in the 50s and 60s this winter.

The second thing is for the Jersey Shore is that we're going to see a lot more days with tidal flooding and beach erosion.

So that's unfortunate.

We're going to see, you know, well above average or at least above average there.

Last season, for reference, was lower than average.

This season looks to be above average.

And then the million-dollar question, how much snow are we going to see this winter?

It would be a fool's errand to say exactly how much.

But what I'll say is this.

I think there are going to be more storms than usual.

Most of these are going to be rain or some kind of wintry mix in the northwest corner of the state.

However, it is still winter, and it still gets cold.

And there is the possibility of getting one big one.

I'm not saying it's going to happen, but I would say this is not a winter where we get three big snow events like we did last winter.

You're pretty much, if you like snow, maybe we get one.

And that's probably about it.

Northwest Jersey is always going to snow.

The rest of New Jersey, not a guarantee.

I heard nothing you said after a mild winter.

Literally, nothing registered after that.

Because after last winter, with those two or three blizzards we had, two feet of snow.

No, no, we have earned a mild winter.

We had Arctic cold, major storms.

So mild winter for 26, 27.

Yeah, man, we'll take it.

Stop talking.

Perfect.

Meteorologist Papa Joe Martucci, really appreciate your time and your insight.

Thanks so much for giving us a part of your Friday.

Absolutely.

Pleasure being here.

Thanks.

We'll see you again soon.

And another major story we're watching tonight.

We are hearing for the first time from Martine Soto, the man just released from Delaney Hall, the controversial ICE detention center in Newark.

Well, Soto and his family, of course, became central figures in sometimes violent clashes over that facility.

But then came his sudden release Tuesday night.

Well, today, the family and their lawyer spoke out about his ordeal.

And his wife, Gabby, had some pretty choice words for the White House.

To the entire Trump administration is that this is not your country.

This is not your position to say anything because you are going to go down.

Your administration is going to come to an end because ICE agents are going to get their time in repercussions when this administration is over.

And J.P.B.S.

reporter Sean Sullivan was there and joining us now from outside Delaney Hall.

And, Sean, as we just heard there, Gabby Soto particularly fired up today.

What else did we see?

What else did we learn?

What we heard from her today was, you know, a woman vindicated, honestly.

She was pretty fired up speaking there about how she was told over and over again to kind of give up on her husband and let the process play out.

And, you know, rattled cages until to the highest levels of government until some action was taken.

And the state threw their support behind her husband's asylum claim.

And as in terms of Martin himself, what did he say through that interpreter about what he had been through and what his reaction was to getting out Tuesday night?

He really reiterated how much he was speaking out to kind of draw attention to the other detainees that are in there.

But, you know, he described retaliation from having participated in this hunger strike, being forced into solitary confinement, being forced to perform labor within the halls of these detention centers.

You know, whether it was cleaning bathrooms, working in the kitchens for 12-hour shifts.

These are allegations that we have seen from other detainees about the working conditions, the living conditions at these facilities.

But, you know, Geo Group, which owns Delaney Hall, has said that, you know, that their work program is a voluntary program.

And so you're hearing very different perspectives on what is actually going on inside Delaney Hall.

But, you know, Martine was very adamant that, like, you know, these are human rights violations that are going on to this day.

And have we learned any more, I assume, from the attorney about what happened legally here that made the release possible, kind of seemingly out of the blue, about 8 o'clock Tuesday night?

Yes.

Some news that came out of today's press conference is that it was the Department of Labor that actually was the state agency that initiated this because they have issued a certification saying that they are investigating whether he was the victim of a crime, specifically involuntary servitude.

And so the state hasn't officially confirmed this, but through the legal process, they have basically signaled that they are opening an investigation into whether the Geo Group, the operator of Delaney Hall, is engaging in forced labor practices.

And, Sean, as we learned a lot today about that particular case, and as that plays out, as you know, there are reports of other ICE incidents in our region, including extremely disturbing bystander video showing what looks like to be an ICE arrest.

This was in Harrison in Hudson County, a handcuffed man in the video taken into custody and children in that video scene crying and screaming, literally trying to hold on to him as ICE agents tried to take him away.

There was also an incident in Manhattan where a detainee was trying to get out of the way of police, trying to get away from police, I should say, and was shot at and wounded in a car while a five-year-old was in the back.

We're seeing a lot at the same time here.

Give us a bigger picture take on all of this and what the through line is that you see from your reporting on this issue.

Well, you know, from trying to get some information about what happened in Harrison today, talking to advocates at the press conference today, you know, I think they really see Martine's release as a win.

And we're trying to seize on that as an opportunity to draw broader attention to the cause, because I think that some of the advocates here feel like maybe the immigration issue has fallen by the wayside and that people are getting a little inured to this.

And they are very fired up because, as you said, you know, there are still these confrontations going on in New York.

There are still these very controversial, you know, apprehensions going on in streets around New Jersey where there's not communication between ICE and the local police because of the animosity between the parties there.

And so, you know, this is still very much an open wound.

And, you know, even though we're not seeing the protests here at Delaney Hall that we saw over the summer, I think the advocates today are seeing some inspiration to go a little bit more aggressively, even against the federal officials who have been allied with them in claiming credit for their release.

Because, you know, from the activist perspective, they have had to push them every step of the way.

All right.

NJPBS North Jersey reporter Sean Sullivan outside of Delaney Hall tonight.

Thank you, Sean.

And, of course, we'll continue to watch both of these stories and bring you any latest developments online and here on the air.

Well, it is certainly not the New Jersey race generating the most headlines or creating much suspense.

But Senator Cory Booker and his Republican challenger Justin Murphy did meet face-to-face last night in their first and only debate.

The state of the economy, the war in Iran, and President Trump's performance in office dominated the night as Booker seeks his third full term in office.

And JPBS News contributor Asha McKenzie was in the debate hall last night at Ryder University.

And for those who might have missed it, here is how it all played out.

The first clear divide came over an issue hitting families across New Jersey, the cost of living.

Booker arguing that President Trump has failed to deliver on his promise to bring prices down.

The president has lied.

He said that he would bring down costs.

Well, costs across the board have gone up, as I said, between $4,000 and $5,000 for the average family.

But for other families, they've seen their health care costs go up and skyrocket.

President Trump has not kept his promises, and that's why his approval rating is in the trash here.

Murphy countered by blaming the country's economic pressures on former President Joe Biden and arguing that Republicans are offering a more promising future.

At a 9% interest rate under Joe Biden, today it's down to 3.4 and falling.

The Republican Party is offering a better vision of tomorrow, one that our young people know that the American dream will be there for them.

And we don't have to wait for it tomorrow because we're living through it today.

Everything I just mentioned to you is happening today.

And the sharpest exchange of the night coming over the war in Iran.

This president is a foreign policy disaster.

Murphy, a Navy veteran backing President Trump's approach, saying that the United States must confront the Iranian regime.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a radical terrorist organization that has deprived the Iranian people and the Persian people of their history and of a decent life.

And I would say, Mr.

President, put your cowboy hat on and get out there and kick some and get this done and done right.

Booker warned that that kind of thinking could pull the country deeper into another costly and prolonged war.

This is the kind of Yahoo, cowboy foreign policy that has mired us in Middle East war after Middle East war with false bravado.

Well, you know what that's done to the Treasury of our country?

Eight trillion dollars.

As the debate ended, each candidate made a final pitch about the kind of future his party could deliver.

I believe confidently that the Republican Party, with conservative principles, is offering a tomorrow that our American family can together believe in, work together to build.

We have a better tomorrow and we're living it today.

I will go down to Washington if you give me your vote and keep fighting, not for a party, but for our people, for our state, to make sure that we get through this difficult time.

Stand up to the president when he's wrong, but most importantly, sees what I believe is a better future for our state and our nation.

And the New Jersey debate was one of several high-profile Senate matchups playing out across the country last night.

In Georgia, Democratic Senator John Ossoff faced Republican Congressman Mike Collins.

In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed debated Republican Mike Rogers.

And in Maine, Republican Senator Susan Collins faced Democratic challenger Troy Jackson.

Those races are among the battlegrounds that could determine control of the Senate, where Democrats need to gain four seats to win the majority.

Aisha now joining us here on set to continue talking politics.

So listen, this is not a particularly interesting race here in Jersey.

What is interesting is what's happening nationally with other key Senate races.

And listen, the narrative has been the U.S.

House will likely go blue.

Now it appears maybe the Senate, possibly, more than people thought a few months ago, could go blue as well.

What is the state of play outside of New Jersey when it comes to the Senate?

Right.

There are a lot of Senate races that we need to be watching.

And a lot of issues we saw last night are on display across the country.

So we have the economy, President Trump, a really big topic last night, as well as us in another foreign war.

Now, the political headwinds, they're not really blowing in the Republicans' direction right now.

The Cook Political Report just this week has the Senate map shifting further in favor of the Democrats, with more states now in play.

So, Rob, Kansas moved from lean Republican to toss-up.

New Hampshire moved from toss-up to lean Democrat.

And North Carolina moved from lean Democrat to likely Democrat.

So those are those races we're going to be watching, many that they thought the Republicans may have taken.

But we'll see what happens Election Day.

I mean, it seems like inevitable there is some kind of blue wave out there that's in the country.

The question will be on November 3rd, how big a wave?

Right, exactly.

Especially here in New Jersey, because we saw that President Trump's rating here is not very high.

Very low, about 24%, according to one poll.

So we'll see what happens here as well in that Senate debate.

Interesting few weeks and then a really interesting two years.

Absolutely.

After that.

Rob, thank you.

Aisha, thanks for being here.

With control of the House on the line, National Democrats are now putting New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District on their list of seats that could, could be in play.

But flipping it, of course, that would be a major, major upset.

Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew won re-election in that district two years ago by nearly 17 points.

And President Trump carried the district by about 13.

Meantime, though, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report still rates the race, quote, solid Republican.

Well, the Democrat trying to change that is Zach Mullick, a small business owner and two-term mayor of Cape May.

He says his record of running a community and working across party lines can indeed translate up to D.C.

in Congress.

And Zach is joining us now.

Mr.

Mayor, thanks for giving us some time.

Good to see you.

Rob, thank you so much for having me.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Life at the beach is not a bad thing.

So thanks for giving us a moment here.

Listen, this race caught our eye because of a headline a few days ago that the Democrats have put this district on their target list, meaning that they think this could be more in play or slightly in play than earlier data would have suggested.

What are you seeing there on the ground to back up that theory?

Or is this more wishful thinking?

No, I think what I'm seeing on the ground is they should have done that a long time ago.

In all seriousness, the groundswell here is honestly incredible.

I mean, there are so many people in South Jersey that frankly feel desperate for representation.

And I'm seeing we have over 2,000 volunteers signed up for this campaign and they are working their butts off right now because they know that this is our opportunity to flip this seat and flip the house.

And it's so important.

And I'll just tell you real quick, Rob, three of the poorest counties in the state are here in CD2.

So those big cuts that my opponent voted for are going to be devastating.

So the people here feel it and they know it.

And so that's such an interesting point.

Three of the poorest counties there in District 2.

And we've talked a lot on this show and obviously it's a national conversation as well about the affordability crisis.

So when you talk to those folks who are already not in a great spot, are they feeling it even more?

And in the political world, whom are they blaming for things being seemingly out of reach in a lot of ways?

Well, my opponent's been in office for 43 years now.

Not all in Congress, but he's been in South Jersey, legislator.

And so people know him well, but they know, frankly, that they are looking for a change.

Every person that I talk to right now, unless, you know, very ultra, I'll call them MAGA Republicans, maybe aren't looking for a change.

But I would say 75 to 85% of the people out there are looking for change.

And, you know, right now you have working families who are trying to decide whether to fill up their grocery cart or their gas tank.

That is not something in the country that I grew up in.

And frankly, even for my own family, you know, we received ACA subsidies that have been cut.

Healthcare should not be something that only the ultra wealthy can afford.

And I got to tell you, here in South Jersey, people are talking about it.

They're feeling it.

And they are totally looking for a change.

And are there new numbers, new polling, anything along those lines out right now that numerically, politically substantiate the Democrats putting this on their target list?

Is this race closer than polls would suggest?

Yeah, well, Anna Greenberg, who was formerly my opponent's pollster, put us within one on informed voters.

And it has us up 13 points and unaffiliated.

So we are seeing big numbers that show we are right there.

So to be blunt, that's exactly what we've heard on the ground.

And listen, I've been in a lot of elections before that I felt like, you know, we had an uphill battle.

I feel really strongly about this election that we have a great chance.

And two interesting political dynamics in your race I want to ask you about.

Number one, Van Drew, again, the power of incumbency can be tough, and he certainly has that.

But obviously, until a few years ago, he was a Democrat.

I would imagine he still has friends and supporters from his days in the Democratic Party.

How does that change how you run this campaign?

Because now he kind of has been swimming in both pools, so to speak, politically.

How do you counteract that?

Listen, South Jersey, if there's one thing I can say about South Jersey, is we don't put up with a lot of BS.

And I can tell you that he has worn out those friends a long time ago.

You know, you can't have the president having Bitcoin parties and giving free reign to big tech and data centers, which is a big deal here in Vineland and South Jersey.

You know, people are getting tired of it.

They feel like this corruption, the war in Iran, which my opponent has voted for six times.

Then he comes home and says, oh, maybe we should wrap up the war.

Well, just last week, you voted to extend it.

So people, they see that.

We are not stupid here in South Jersey.

We see that.

And those friendships have been burned a long time ago.

And frankly, I think there's people that are extremely upset with him and how he's voted.

He pledged his undying support to Donald Trump, to one person.

You know, how many politicians have ever done that to any person?

You know, we pledge our undying support to the Constitution and to the people of South Jersey.

That's it.

And I think we are a very independent area down here.

We want to see our politicians, yes, go against our own parties on times when things so clearly would be bad for South Jersey.

And I'll give you just two quick examples of that.

You know, the vote for the big, beautiful bill, we have a huge, we have, you know, more than normal, we have a big population of veterans.

We have a big population of seniors.

Those cuts to the VA, those cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP benefits are going to be devastating in South Jersey.

And people are feeling it.

All right.

Cape May Mayor Zach Mullick, Democratic challenger to U.S.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew.

Mr.

Mayor, thanks for giving us some time.

We appreciate that.

I'm back in Jersey, grew up here, but back in Jersey for a year now.

And Cape May is very high on our list of places to vacation once the newsroom stress lessens a little bit.

So maybe we'll meet in person one day, I hope.

I love it.

Thank you so much for having me, Rob.

Thank you and good luck.

Thank you.

And we do want to note that we have invited Congressman Jeff Van Drew here on the program specifically to discuss his re-election campaign.

And we certainly hope that he will take us up on that and join us.

That's going to do it for us tonight, though.

Thanks so much for joining us here at NJPBS News.

Try to stay dry out there this weekend.

And until then, have a good night, Jersey.