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>> Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News, taking on social media.

The state Attorney General is suing discord, claiming it is a risk to kids.

Plus, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman is not mincing words when it comes to President Trump's deportation policies.

>> if we allow him to get away with this without any accountability, we can kiss our democracy completely goodbye.

>> a new CDC report reveals a rising rate of autism, yet still no clear evidence to its cause.

>> the rate of autism has increased broadly across all the groups that we look at.

>> And NJ decides 2025.

Several of the gubernatorial candidate's square off with ideas to combat inequities in social justice.

"NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

♪ >> From NJ PBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News."

with Briana Vannozzi.

>> Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Thursday night.

We begin with a view of today's top headlines.

First, another social media company gets the rest of New Jersey's Attorney General.

The state's top law enforcement officer sued messaging app discord, claiming the tech company misled parents about the risks kids face when using the software.

The lawsuit alleges the platform exposes users to graphic, violent content, sexual abuse, and exploitation.

According to court documents, discord was founded a decade ago as a chat tool for teens and gamers and has risen in popularity with over 200 million users.

He said the company violated the state's consumer fraud act by marketing it as a safe place for kids but turned a blind eye to limited safety controls, making users easy targets for predators.

In a statement, discord says the company disputes the claims in the lawsuit and is proud of efforts that have been made to make the platform safer.

>> discord knows that her safety features do not work as promised.

They know that many, many children under the age of 13 are using their platform as we speak , and they know the devastating harm that has been done by malicious people who abuse their app to victimize children and promote violence.

Discord's deceit and indifference in the face of atrocities that have been carried out using their platform is appalling.

>> Also tonight, even a massive voter registration drive could not get voters to the polls for Newark's Board of Education election.

The preliminary numbers show just 71 16 and 17-year-olds cast a ballot Wednesday.

The historic pilot program allowed Newark teens to vote in the election for the first time in state history and was seen as a way to expand the voting pool and drive turnout, but only about 3.8% of the newly registered teenagers took advantage of the opportunity, which is actually slightly higher than the overall election turnout in Newark, which was just 3.2% for all voters and about the same as previous school board elections.

State and city leaders, though, spent considerable time on the initiative, holding drives at local schools, offering cash prize incentives and may have to go back to the drawing board.

It is all as Governor Murphy looks to expand voting to teens on a state level.

The wife of convicted former U.S.

Senator Bob Menendez is accused of taking part in a years-long scheme accepting cash and lavish gifts in exchange for political favors.

She has pleaded not guilty.

Earlier this year, Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in the plot.

Nadine's trial was postponed while she underwent treatment for cancer.

Prosecutors today spend hours reviewing the case, alleging she helped put her husband's power up for sale.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan is in Manhattan with the latest.

>> It was a marathon session today.

Nadine Menendez faces 15 counts, and the prosecution went through every single one of them in its closing arguments to try to convince the jury to connect the dots that Nadine Menendez essentially put up her husband's power and political influence for sale.

This is what the prosecution told the jury, that she was his go-between, demanding payments and collecting payments, and that when there is money on the table, the defendant would spring into action.

The Former Senator was found guilty of corruption and bribery , and his defense attorneys during his trial would argue that Nadine kept him in the dark, but today, the prosecution told jurors he was in the loop and that the two of them worked together every step of the way, collecting gold, cash, and a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for his acting as a former agent for Egypt and for trying to influence the progress of criminal trials in New Jersey.

>> what did the defense have to say?

What was their argument?

>> The defense argued that there is "a complete failure of proof," and they pointed to the lack of a quid pro quo and lack of an official act as it is defined legally.

They said also that the government's star witness is a non-credible witness, that he is a convicted felon, that he presented what they called uncorroborated testimony about these meetings he had with Menendez.

They also said -- and this was interesting -- that there is no proof of an official act.

Perhaps Senator Menendez acted as he did to try to appease the woman he loves.

>> interesting.

Something that we have heard before.

What was the mood like in the courtroom?

Obviously, Nadine's medical issues have been hanging over this trial.

>> Yeah.

As a matter of fact, the defendant was sitting at the table.

Sometimes she would hold onto her side and you could tell she was uncomfortable.

The prosecution presented such a barrage of information so quickly I think the jurors at some points felt overwhelmed.

A couple of hours would be glazing over.

The Former Senator's sister was sitting there and she would laugh sometimes and shake her head at the prosecution's arguments.

The judge coming up now needs to instruct this jury.

We probably will not get to the judge's charges until perhaps some time tomorrow.

Then the jurors would get this case.

This trial is expected to go into mid-May.

We may be getting a verdict very soon.

>> In Manhattan, this case has been going on for several weeks, all stemming from Senator Bob Menendez.

Thanks so much.

>> Thank you.

>> The legal battle is escalating over the case of a Maryland man deported to a mega present in El Salvador a month ago and what the Trump Administration said was an administrative ever.

A federal judge ordered the Salvadoran national to be returned to the U.S.

The Department of Justice appealed by the Supreme Court ruled the Trump Administration is required to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return.

The federal judge over the case said so far there's no evidence that Trump Administration is following that order, which could be considered criminal contempt.

After an Oval Office meeting with El Salvador's president this week, neither government appeared willing to bring him back.

Democratic Congresswoman sounded off on what she said has been a lack of due process, and she joins me now.

Good to talk to you.

I want to ask first about the series of documents the Trump Administration released today, really seeking to bolster its asportation that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS 13, a gang.

In it, they had a gang-field interview sheet.

They referenced a "reliable source" that he was a member of a gang, noted that he was swept up several years ago, that he did not have a criminal history but that he had been questioned in relation to a murder investigation.

What do you make of all these supporting documents?

>> First of all, I don't know that they are supporting documents because I don't trust this administration to enforce the truth, but I don't know specifically about these documents.

I'm just hearing about them right now.

What I do know is that Mr. Garcia had an experience with our judicial system, and they found no reason to detain him or to charge him with anything and that there was an order on his behalf, a holding order not to send him to El Salvador because of possible harm that could come to him, that he was picked up in the beginning of March by ice.

He was improperly detained and then transported to that torture prison in El Salvador that the administration admitted that it made an administrative mistake.

The courts upheld that he needs to be returned.

The Supreme Court even upheld that our country needs to facilitate his return, and the administration refuses to do what the court has said.

What I know right now is that this administration is illegally defying a court order.

This is a direct violation of our Constitution and that we are living under what is a dictatorship where this administration thinks it can do anything it wants to anyone it wants and not be accountable.

While we have reports trying to maintain some rule of law here, we have a Congress that is woefully inadequate and insufficient in doing its job, so this is a chaotic mess in the United States of America.

>> Yeah, you put out a strongly worded statement calling the president a dictator and saying that we are in a constitutional crisis.

If the administration is in contempt of court, what would you like to see Congress to?

>> I would like to see Congress hold up its responsibility and hold the president, this administration responsible, if it is filing action against him or whatever but supporting the courts in what they are trying to do.

If we allow him to get away with this without any accountability, then we can kiss our democracy completely goodbye.

It is slipping through our fingers right now because of his actions.

His actions are very dictatorial and very un-American.

>> What is of concern to you?

There's been a lot of talk about comments the president made this week about sending American citizens to be jailed outside of America's borders, particularly in El Salvador.

Is that something you are worried about with this administration?

>> Absolutely.

I'm more worried about the fact that people are not taking him seriously because I don't think this president is governed by anything that is of the rule of law, is morally right, and will do anything he wants.

He is a very vengeful person.

He will use every resource he has to get at people that he does not like.

He is using his administration to threaten our educational system, to threaten the legal system, threaten law firms, threaten the media.

This is so scary and so imminent .

It is what we are living right now and we need to respond to it.

The people in this country, this government was created of, by, and for the people and the people need to stand up and say this is enough.

>> Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman not mincing words they are.

Thank you for your time.

>> Thank you for having me, and I pray that Mr. Garcia is safe and that he finds his way back to the United States of America where he belongs.

>> Thank you, Congresswoman.

Good to talk to you.

Appreciate your time as always.

>> Thank you.

>> Seven of the candidates in this year's crowded race for governor top immigration, ice rates, and social justice during a forum Wednesday night.

They were also asked -- asked about other political flashpoints.

Senior political correspondent David Cruz reports.

David: This forum at New Jersey performing arts Center organized by New Jersey Institute for social justice and others was heavy on social justice with questions on immigration, police, race, and reparations.

Not really in the issues basket for Republicans, who, aside from John Bramnick, stayed away.

On the other hand, the menu was home cooking for Ras Baraka, the most progressive of the Democrats have the most involved with the issues being discussed.

>> we should not just be talking about the inequity that exists here.

We should be talking about putting more people in homes, closing that homeownership gap, investing in families in this community to make sure that communities like Livingston and Newark that are eight miles apart do not have a 14-year life expectancy difference.

>> the Jersey City Mayor, the longest of the candidates, was the cool to Baraka's hot -- the wonkiest of the candidates.

>> I would focus on housing, education, and employment opportunities through diversification and inclusion.

David: More than policy, presentation plays a large part in who >> with voters.

In that respect, Steve Sweeney an apology brandished his moderate credentials.

>> I have a reputation of being very direct with people and I don't like lying to people.

I don't support the immigrant trust document for one reason -- it's not protecting anyone.

People are being rounded up and arrested right now.

>> That did not go over too well in this audience.

What did resonate was Republican John Bramnick, who, breaking with his party's other gubernatorial candidates, called for something that would be anathema to anyone looking to curry favor with Donald Trump.

>> it is time for a path to citizenship.

There's so many options where people who have been here for a long period of time, who have paid their taxes, who have raised their family -- why is there not a path?

>> critics say Congresswoman Mikey Cheryl -- Mikey sherrill is still coming across as a political lawmaker, not yet adept at voicing what is on the minds of voters.

>> I would love to see what the study and recommendations are.

Being in South Africa right after the truth and reconciliation committees, that is something we do have to do in this country because the harm has never truly been addressed and we have not talked about it, and I find it harder as we move forward to talk about issues of racism in a thoughtful way.

>> A member of the NJ PBS community advisory board and president of the njea, and powerful teachers union, whose main exposure to voters is a media campaign funded by the NJEA'S PAC caution voters to follow the money.

>> If we want somebody who is going to make sure we are standing up for the middle class, we cannot keep getting folks who are funded by Wall Street or Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

>> the next few weeks will see a flurry of joint appearances, including two formal debates per party in which all the candidates who receive public funds will have to participate as the race for New Jersey's next governor enters a critical phase.

>> Autism rates have hit a record high according to CDC data this week, showing about one in 31 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by their eighth birthday.

In New Jersey, that rate is slightly higher, about one in every 29 kids.

The findings are based on analysis of medical records from 2022 and reflect a dramatic rise in autism over the past two decades, increasing 375% since monitoring began back in 2000.

The cost of autism remains unknown and that was the focus of the speech by health and human services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior, when he declared autism is an epidemic and sent his office will shift focus to finding environmental factors involved.

In autism researcher and clinical psychologist at Rutgers University has led the CDC-sponsored New Jersey autism study for more than 20 years and spoke at that conference with the secretary.

He joins me now.

First of all, thank you for your time.

A lot to be made from this report.

We will get to your comments that you made after the human services secretary yesterday, but first, why do you believe and what does the research show us about why these rates are increasing so dramatically?

>> well, we have very little information about why they are going up.

It is only clear to me that they are going up and they went up very significantly over the past 20 years that we have been monitoring autism in New Jersey, but we don't really understand what the causes or factors are there.

We would love to learn those things.

>> What are you seeing as far as factors like demographics, geography -- is that coming into play with some of these rates?

>> the rate of autism has increased broadly across all the groups we look at, all races, ethnicities, subgroups of autism, levels of impairment.

It would be wonderful for us to understand what is driving these things, but we don't know, but there has been one important demographic shift that I would call your attention to, and that is that autism at the beginning -- that is from 2000 may be through 2015, was largely overrepresented among affluent and white communities whereas more recently in the last five to seven years, it has shifted so that now children from minority and underserved communities are more likely to have autism than their white peers.

This is something unexpected and something that might be a clue about the rising rates of autism.

That will take more research, though.

>> yesterday, of course, there was an event with the human services secretary.

You spoke with him as a leading research expert on this where you called it a public health issue, a phenomenon, even an epidemic.

There are, of course, researchers who disagree with classifying it as that and say, you know, there's better screening.

There are more doctors who are able to identify this.

There's a broader definition of autism, and that that has more to do with why we are seeing increased rates.

Why do you disagree?

>> none of the things you mentioned are true.

I wish these experts would tell us what their evidence is.

I'm strongly oriented to evidence and data and that autism screening has really made a difference or that there are factors related to the definition of autism or the awareness of autism.

When we shifted to the DSM-V definition from the DSM-IV definition, we took a more conservative standard, and in despite of being a more conservative set of criteria, autism still continues to increase, so let's see the evidence of the other experts.

I would love to learn from them.

>> There's a shift, it appears, anyway at the federal level to change some of the research from looking at genetic factors to perhaps environmental factors.

What should we expect from that?

I know the secretary said he would like to give Americans an answer by September.

How realistic is that?

>> I think there will be a positive shift toward studying environmental risk factors or triggers.

That can be -- that can only be positive because there has been an over emphasis in over funding of the genetics-only perspective.

Autism involves both genetic and environmental factors.

To exclude the environmental factors for such a long time has stymied real progress in the area.

I don't know how long it will take for us to gain some good answers about the autism prevalence increased, but if we commit ourselves, we are staking a claim that we are interested in this area, and that is positive.

>> based off of everything you have seen and all of your research over decades, how confident are you that environmental factors are at play here?

>> I would say I'm very confident.

I cannot put a number on it, but the missing piece to our understanding of what is driving autism will be found from environmental factors, not from ecology or from sociological factors like better awareness.

>> Thank you for your time.

Thanks for sharing the findings of your report.

Good to talk to you.

>> Thank you.

>> That's going to do it for us tonight, but tomorrow, a special edition of "NJ Spotlight News."

We bring you a repeat of our series that profiled changemakers in all 21 of our counties.

We kick off shore week here on NJPBS, a weeklong celebration of jersey's most iconic destinations from the beautiful seaside communities under threat from environmental challenges to the vibrant culture and bustling boardwalks that have shaped generations.

Check out the full schedule at mynjpbs.com/shoreweek.

>> NJM insurance group, serving the insurance needs of businesses and residents, Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and by the PSEG foundation.

>> Orsted believes clean energy is more than just a power source.

It's an opportunity to create stronger communities.

We will provide American, went-powered energy for New Yorkers and support jobs, education, and support the local supply chain.

Orsted, committed to a clean energy future for New York.

♪