ANNOUNCER: Funding for NJ Spotlight News provided by the members of the Jersey Education Association.

Making public schools great for every child.

And, -- RWJ Barnabas health.

Let's be healthy together.

♪ BRIANA: Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, more followed from the decision to end the county Ballot system for one party.

What the court ruling means for the state process Republican candidates.

>> I went to 19 conventions and there were open democratic processes and no one complained about it the entire time.

BRIANA: Plus, seven Aid workers from one central kitchen are killed in Gaza but Israeli airstrike as Pro-Palestinian protests continue to flare up at a Teaneck synagogue.

Also, court is in session, civil and much of the new trials in Passaic County will resume, signaling the judicial crisis is almost over.

>> Progress has been made, 24 judges have been confirmed this year.

So it is really a great start to getting the judicial vacancies down.

BRIANA: And in the wake of the Passaic County Sheriff's death by suicide, a first responder wellness week aims to improve mental health for police officers.

>> It is aimed at the premise of reaching in.

That sometimes asking to reach out doesn't work as well as reaching in.

BRIANA: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: from NJPBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Briana Vannozzi.

BRIANA: Good evening and thanks for joining us this Tuesday night.

I am Brianna Vannozzi.

The state saga over the use of the party line is far from over.

County clerks and other interested groups have until midnight tonight to file paperwork if they want to appeal the federal judge's decision to temporarily scrap the use of Code-2 organizational lines on ballots for this year's Democratic primary.

Appellate judges could have a decision on whether to put a state on the judge's injunction as early as tomorrow evening.

Governor Murphy today made his first public comments on the ruling in an unrelated press event.

He was quick to point out party organizations do more than determine ballot positioning, but the full impact on New Jersey's political landscape remains to be seen.

>> Party organizations are about a lot of things, not just ballot structure.

It is first and foremost about recruiting great Democratic candidates who believe in the values of a party, getting them to take the big step to run and helping them get elected.

It is about putting our energies into defeating the looming presence of Donald Trump.

BRIANA: Republicans were mostly quiet while Democrats and progressive groups waged their war against the party line.

The judge clarified over the weekend that his luminary injunction doesn't affect GOP primary ballots, Republicans will use the party-line ballot structure as usual.

But Democratic chairs aren't the only ones who use the line to their advantage now questions are being raised about how the ruling will affect the GOP Senate primary race and other ballots in June.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports.

Reporter: The fiery court battle is not confined to Democrats anymore, after a federal judge struck down Jersey's controversial County line ballot as unconstitutional, erode the decision applied only to the Democrats' primary on June 4, but Republican groups this week filed a flurry of their own legal briefs and they don't all agree.

One group wants no County line on GOP ballots in June.

>> We are looking for equality under the law of the original decision.

If the original decision stays in effect for the Democrats, and it has to be in effect for us.

Reporter: Michael Burns with America first Republicans of New Jersey, a far-right group whose candidates got locked out of the country learned spot the GOP's primary ballot where Donald Trump tops the ticket.

>> our party needs to be leading on reform.

The Democrats' own reform movement with regard to ballot position.

>> There will be a slew of people coming in on the Republican side challenging this the same way it has been challenged on the Democrat side.

It will be interesting to see how the Third Circuit handles it now that it has moved onto them.

Reporter: Democrats and Republicans are appealing the original ruling.

The New Jersey Republican chair Association will defend the County line system.

The old guard will not go down without a fight, says analyst Chris Russell.

>> This has a seismic impact on the political landscape in New Jersey and that is why I see so many people coming forward and throwing their hats in the ring on both sides.

>> If you remove the line on the Republican side, then it is anybody's guess which way the Republican primary would go.

Reporter: And Monmouth.

Director Patrick Murray says Lane could boost a vote shared by 10 points on election day, and with Trump's name atop the GOP line -- >> That will be the biggest visual cue that voters in the Republican side have, because they don't know any of the candidates who are running.

Their name recognition among Republicans was below 20%.

Reporter: That would seem to favor Republican Curtis Bashaw a Cape May hotel year who is running for U. S. Senate and won the GOP line from organizations in 14 counties.

His opponents bail object bitterly.

>> The people who put him on the line are exploiting the Trump name and the Trump brand to drag him into victory.

>> The facts is that he has a long history of donating to Democrats and of being and anti-Trump are, and that is not what Republican voters are looking for.

Reporter: She is a zealous time supporter and U. S. Senate candidate who discounts the party as unconstitutional.

>> They are not the voter.

They are not the Republican primary voter.

>> The way she has run her race has been name-calling and firebombing in incendiary emails about how I view President Trump.

All of which were mischaracterizations.

Reporter: Curtis Bashaw says the County line is fair and that he backs Trump, without offering an explicit endorsement.

>> I am supporting President Trump this fall.

I am his running mate.

We have been through a process.

It feels like it would be very difficult to exclude Republicans from the line process at this late hour.

Reporter: He says he is not afraid to run a campaign without the line, and has the money to self-Finance.

Meanwhile, the lawsuits continue as the calendar moves towards June.

I am Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: Tension and clashes continued in Teaneck over the war in Gaza, with a protest outside the synagogue Monday night were about 1000 Pro-Palestinian and Israel Demonstrators raced off, this time, while a ceremony was taking place inside honoring Israeli victims of the October 7 attack Hamas.

For Israel -- through Israel supporters said they began a counter protect the site.

While police did have to break up a few skirmishes, the demonstration was largely peaceful.

Overnight in Gaza more tragedy, seven Aid workers with the charity world central kitchen were killed in an airstrike for these early military.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu today said that airstrike was unintentional and promised to investigate.

That the CEO of the world central kitchen called it "unforgivable," describing the strike on the convoy as a targeted attack with the IDF.

World central kitchen is led by world-famous chef JosAC© AndrAC©s, and has been involved in relief efforts in Gaza and other conflict zones.

The CEO says their work was coordinated with is really authorities and the group was traveling in clearly marked vehicles.

The news immediately drew condemnation from around the world, and the charity has halted its aid in Gaza after the humanitarian crisis there worsens.

The state may finally be turning the page on the judicial vacancy crisis, as of Monday, all trials have resumed statewide after the Chief Justice under the suspension of civil and matrimonial trials in Passaic County that has been in place since July.

A series of court moratoriums have a -- been in place due to a shortage of judges in the branch.

No recent confirmations put the judicial vacancy level at its lowest since prior to the pandemic, down to 39 empty seats from an all-time record high of 78 in May of 2022.

By the president of the New Jersey State Bar Association says, that doesn't mean the work is over.

He joins me now.

Tim, thank you so much for joining me.

There is this latest announcement from the Chief Justice mean officially an end to the gridlock that we have been experiencing in our courts?

Guest: I certainly think it means we are in the last stretches of this judicial crisis that has been going on for the last three years.

Progress has been made there have been 24 judges confirmed this year, so it has really been a great start to getting the judicial vacancies down in the 20's, which is where Chief Justice Radner believed the number is more manageable.

Right now I believe we are still at around 38 vacancies.

But there are people in the pipeline now and we are very hopeful that there will be another package of judicial candidates that will come through soon.

But certainly for the people of Passaic that now got a full complement or almost full complement of judges, having the ability to have civil and family trials resurfacing again is certainly a good sign.

BRIANA: What has it meant for the litigants, Passaic obviously being the last to enter the moratorium, but these lives and familiar matters and personal issues that have been put on hold for quite some time.

Guest: And as a family lawyer, I am sympathetic with that.

The idea of having some type of his functional family situation or custodial situation or just having the ability to move on with their lives and having them put on hold when you have some hard decisions that people aren't able to resolve on their own is certainly daunting for those individuals and for people who have serious injuries from personal injury and accidents and have medical bills and have other things that need to be paid in their own life and expenses to get their life back in order, having that unjustifiably delayed was certainly difficult.

We are coming out of it.

BRIANA: It seems like it took groups like yours, the Bar Association, the chief testis and others, to buy the pressure on both the governor's office in the legislature to get this done.

Are you concerned at all that they may take their foot off the gas to fill these remaining seats?

Guest: That is always a concern.

The reality is that this is something continual.

People retire all the time.

There are 400-some judges throughout the state.

People retire and it is something everybody has to continuously work out, we have to recruit and find individuals who are qualified to be Superior Court judges.

The governor's office needs to work with the Senate find people acceptable to everyone, and the Senate needs to be mindful of the fact that they have a certain obligation to move nominees in a timely fashion.

So, I think that message has been made clear.

Certainly COVID did not help the situation any.

But everybody's moving out of it in the right direction, confident that the end of this year and beginning next year, that will hopefully be through the level that the chief indicates was something that the courts can manage, which is 25-30 vacancies.

But everybody is moving in the right direction.

BRIANA: Tim McGoughran is president of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Thank you so much.

Guest: Thank.

BRIANA: They give their all to protect and serve, but in your program is looking to turn the tables and make sure first responders are getting that care and help they need.

Recovery Centers of America at Raritan Bay launched a training initiative focused on suicide prevention and mental health that comes on the heels of first responder wellness week, and in the wake of the tragic death by suicide of Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik.

Erin go Bragh reports.

Reporter: a new program is teaching people what to watch for if a law enforcement officer , first responder, or veteran is considering suicide.

>> this program is based on the premise of reaching in.

Sometimes asking to reach out doesn't work as well as reaching in so we teach individuals to be responsible for the person next to them whether that is in a cubicle or police car or wherever inmate with other focus is you stop blaming the job.

Once you start to blame a job, you remove your role and you justify inaction.

Reporter: clinical psychologist Stephen Wakschal says in most years more police officers die by suicide than die in the line of duty.

This program at recovery Centers of America at Raritan Bay comes a few months after Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik died by suicide in a restaurant bathroom.

The doctor says officers have a higher risk of suicide because of what he calls the police officer paradox.

>> that sharing part about coming home and talking about what they saw, they really don't do it.

They keep that in.

Then there is the isolation piece that comes with that.

They tend to be hypervigilant.

If they go to eat at a restaurant, they will sit with their back to the wall and looking at the door and scanning constantly.

>> the way that the police were used to work, is you kind of hold everything in and there's other avenues that guys and girls used to take to try to have that kind of release to get over the stresses of our jobs .

Now we try to get everyone to express themselves and to have a different approach.

Reporter: this union County officer says attending this training was important for him.

>> the days in life for our guys and girls that are in law enforcement are very stressful, especially the way the world is now.

We try to learn as much as we can to prevent as much as we can to give them the help that they need.

>> doing like this with the ConQueR suicide awareness or other forums for mental health and suicide awareness and prevention is Paramount to keeping us alive.

Reporter: ConQueR suicide means Connect, Question, Respond, and it is the name of this course.

Marine veteran Brian Gillespie works here and is concerned with how many military members die by suicide.

>> I know that for veterans they say it is 22 a day.

I know for fact that it is higher.

If we are not getting people like Dr. Steve involved in the mental health and well-being for our first responders, we are not doing our job.

Reporter: Amy works with veterans at Hope in her eyes a nonprofit specializing in equin e therapy.

>> recognizing warning signs as far as first or ponders are concerned, people who are trained to keep it suppressed.

So I do a lot with the American veterans.

So, being able to read their body language a little bit more.

Reporter: For her, suicide hits close to home.

>> My daughter has been struggling with her mental wellness, and she is 11 years old.

She is now -- since she was 11 years old.

She is now 22.

Attempted suicide two times, once overdosing on her own prescribed anti-depressants so it is something that I am extremely passionate about.

Reporter: Dr. Stephen Wakschal has taught his program throughout New Jersey.

His next training is for World Trade Center responders, coming up shortly.

In South Amboy, Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: Another key component to good public health, according to experts, our policies promoting both healthy and safe neighborhoods.

They dedicated this year's National Public Health Week to educating the public about responsible gun ownership and normalizing the conversation around her safe storage saves lives.

Melissa Rose Cooper reports.

>> we urge everyone to secure your guns.

Two model responsible behaviors.

Ask for the presence of unsecured weapons, recognize the role that guns -- recognize the role of guns in suicide, and ask your peers to be smart.

Reporter: Campton County Health commissioner stressing the importance of gun safety in honor of Public health week.

The annual event recognizes organizations working to improve the health and well-being of residents.

This year's theme -- protecting, connecting and thriving.

Putting an emphasis on the importance of keeping children protected from guns.

>> this piece of equipment that actually looks like a bicycle chain can change the trajectory of what's happening in our County and in.

Reporter: the Board of Commissioners hosting this gun storage presentation along with B smarts a program dedicated to raising awareness of gun safety .

>> We all agree that we want our kids to grow up happy and healthy.

We all agree that we have the right as adults to make responsible decisions as to how to protect our homes, families and our communities and that includes whether or not to make the decision to own a firearm.

We should all agree that if we can prevent even one child death or injury, it is our responsibility to do so.

Reporter: Dave Austin is the "be smart" lead for the South Jersey Mom's demand action local group .

He says it is especially important to make sure guns in the home are secured as Firearms are the leading cause of death for American children.

>> While school shootings and mass shootings make national headlines, most unintentional shootings involving children occur in their homes.

In incident school of gunfire on school grounds 76% of the , shooters under the age of 18 obtain the guns they used from their home or from the homes of relatives or friends.

Reporter: Under state law, all firearms must be unloaded and stored in a securely locked gun safe or other locked container, and all ammunition must be stored separately.

>> There are plenty of homeowners who store their firearms securely, but there is often one firearm at least kept loaded, unlocked and readily a piece of home invasion in the middle of the night.

Reporter:.

Reporter: He is with the records gun violence research Institute.

He says studies show firearm storage is the exemption, and not the norm.

>> Over recent study has found that one of the main sort of motivators for folks not to adopt secure storage is that they just don't actually believe that it is going to be particular helpful to prevent suicide, to prevent accidental deaths.

There is not a lot of buy-in within the firearm owning community that it is a useful tool.

But we know from study after study that yes, it can in fact be extremely useful.

>> It's not about owning guns or things like that we know it is, the right for people to own guns, we just want to make sure people are safe while using those guns at home.

Children handling guns, children taking guns to school, guns that don't have locks.

So we think that public health plays a very vital role in making sure that these guns are safe to be used by the people that are intended to be used.

Reporter: And even though gun safety might be an uncomfortable conversation to have, advocates say having it could just mean saving someone's life.

For NJ Spotlight News, I am Lisa Rose Cooper, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: In our spotlight on business report tonight, big changes could be coming to the gaming industry.

A package of bills recently proposed would tweak the state's booming online gaming market by putting in more safeguards for kids and chronic gamblers and also raising tax rates, in some cases doubling them, for online wagering.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis has the details.

>> What they do now is they have online gaming but just four point with that does is condition the brains of children to get ready to gamble and to me, that is irresponsible.

Reporter: That is one of the changes casinos would have to make under a package of bills introduced by Senator John Mackey on to address the gambling concerns that have arisen especially since the legalization of sport betting in 2018, like spikes in gambling addiction.

>> Since the onset of sports booking 2018, our helpline calls have increased by 270 7% with the largest percentage of helpline calls coming from those between the ages of 25-34.

Even more concerning then that is the amount of young people between the ages of 18-24, the number of calls doubled to our helpline between 2018 and 2023.

Reporter: With so many in crisis because of gambling addiction, some are putting themselves on the south -- New Jersey Casino self exclusion program.

The bill would allow individuals to sue casinos who let them play even when they are on that list, right now casinos have unity.

>> If you are a compulsive gambler and you put yourself on the do not fly list basically, if a casino still allows you to gamble, than they can be held accountable.

There isn't an industry in this country including even the gun industry, that is immune from any civil liability.

Reporter: This professor from Stockton University says these cases could be hard to prove and could tie up casinos in litigation.

>> People can gamble anonymously in the casinos and in person is in cash and without playing with 8 players Card, so it can be hard for operators to identify them.

It would be hard to determine, was it intentional or unintentional simply because of the difficulty in implementing that?

Reporter: But the Council on Compulsive Gambling in New Jersey fully supports that bill.

>>.

>> We have some of our helpline representatives that are on South exclusion continually receive marketing materials from casino operators.

There should absolutely be a restriction for those that are on the self exclusion list should be receiving marketing materials from a gambling company.

There is no room for that.

Reporter: What there is room for, according to the senator's New Jersey to increase its tax rate four seaters from 14% to 30%.

>> Compared to Pennsylvania which is 35%, New York which is 49%, it is nowhere close.

So they need to pay their fair share.

I propose going to 30%, still far under the neighboring states, but that would produce around $150 million and it would be nice to see that money go to New Jersey transit.

Reporter: The Casino Association of New Jersey said it strongly opposes any proposed tax increase for online gaming.

Senator Vincent Polistina says trying to balance New Jersey's budget on the back of an already struggling city is a massive mistake.

>> We still have issues with homelessness, mental health, addiction, we still need to redevelop and reinvest in the city, so now is absolutely not the time to be increasing taxes on these types of things.

Reporter: Would you be in support of some of that money being allocated or earmarked for investment into Atlantic City?

>> Yes, if the money will be dedicated back to the city whether it is through the economic development Authority or crda or some other mechanism where we actually see investment down in the city.

Different conversation.

But just to increase taxes and have that money go to Trenton, is not going to make any sense.

Reporter: The bill is still in draft form.

One thing all agree on, a public awareness campaign about the risks of gambling addiction.

Joanna Gagis, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: On Wall Street the stock market is starting the second quarter in a sea of red.

Investors appear weary of chances for an interest rate cut from the Fed anytime soon.

Here is how the markets closed today.

♪ That is going to do it for us tonight.

But don't forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen anytime.

I am Brianna Vannozzi.

For the entire NJSpotlightNews team, thanks for being here.

Have a great evening.

We will see you back here tomorrow night.

♪ ANNOUNCER: NJM Insurance Group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

And by the PSEG Foundation.

♪ >> Have some water.

>> Look at these kids.

What do you see?

I see myself.

I became an ESL teacher to give my students what I wanted when I came to this country.

♪ The opportunity to learn, to dream, to achieve.

A chance to be known, and to be an American.

My name is Julia.

I am proud to be an NJEA member.

♪ ♪