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Briana: Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News" -- College campus protests continue across the country, with Rutgers University students rallying today, renewing calls for divestment from Israel.

>> I think our students have done a nice job.

They have been respectful.

They didn't disrupt Rutgers day.

I'm here to support them.

Briana: Also the end of TikTok In the U.S.?

Many businesses, creators and users and New Jersey are worried after President Biden signs off on a possible ban.

>> One video, I put it up, and overnight it went to a million views, it's turned into a full-time business for employee is that to fulfillment in New Jersey, I do all the manufacturing myself and New Jersey -- in New Jersey.

This is all because of TikTok.

Briana: Plus, pulling funding.

Morning Jersey City it will cut off support for the Pompidou Museum project if the redevelopment agency does not clean up its books.

>> Is it worth whatever that money is and what are the revenues and expenses to keep this thing going?

We made it clear we could not release that money until we had a check in the box for all those things.

Briana: And restoring rights.

Social justice advocates push lawmakers to support a bill that would allow people with criminal convictions to serve on juries.

NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

Announcer: From NJ PBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight news" with Briana Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

College communities remain on edge tonight, as pro-Palestinian demonstrations continue across campuses nationwide.

More university leaders are responding with the use of police to remove both protesters and the encampments they have set up.

At Columbia University, the epicenter of the national movement against the Israel-Hamas war, students were given a 2 p.m. deadline today to leave the central on-campus they have been occupying for the last two weeks or face suspension.

According to the University, the move was an attempt to clear the think you meant to prepare for graduation ceremonies May 15th without involving law enforcement.

But students appeared ready to face the consequences, voting to buck the deadline and stay put.

Meanwhile, at Rutgers University in New Brunswick today, 400 student protesters rallied and set up tents on the Voorhees mall, vowing to hold out until leadership meets with them over the man's to divest from Israeli linked companies and institutions.

Ted Goldberg was on the ground and has the latest.

>> We will not stop.

We will not rest.

Divest!

Reporter: Tents have popped up at Rutgers as students plan to camp out until companies divest from companies associated with Israel.

>> This is an issue they don't want to ignore it and they feel that they have been in every system that's in place to get them to advocate for this being taken seriously.

Reporter: They say Rutgers brought this on themselves by ignoring students.

The students that voted voted to end their partnership with Tel Aviv University.

In a statement, Rutgers said President Holloway noted in a message to the Rutgers community earlier this month the University's partnership with TAU began in 2016 and adds to the academic and research mission.

Rutgers has relationships like this with universities all over the world and they help move our mission forward.

The Board of Governor Matt two weeks ago and did not address divestment in open session.

>> It was not addressed then.

That's why a public action like this is now taking place.

Because they went through the private meetings and open meetings and the closed meetings.

None of it seems to be gaining traction so now it is public advocacy to make the divestment real.

Reporter: The Board of Governor's meeting got heated.

>> Are you actually hearing me, Holloway?

Can you respond if you are hearing me?

Reporter: Students accuse Holloway of ignoring them.

>> When you hear myself and my comrades outside this room, asking for you to look at us, I would ask you if you think the community is really possible.

>> Millions are poured into companies such as Motorola, Amazon, and other companies while our community continues to suffer, while millions of Palestinians are at the risk of starvation.

Reporter: Students rallied and marched today, with a few professors standing by for support.

>> This is a free country.

People have the right to express their opinions.

This doesn't seem aggressive to me.

It seems passionate.

That's different.

Reporter: Professor Collin Yeager says students have been loud, but respectful.

The first few hours of the encampment did not lead to anyone being arrested.

>> It's a very complicated issue.

There are a lot of inflamed feelings on all kinds of sides.

I think our students have done a nice job.

They have been respectful.

They didn't disrupt Rutgers day.

You know, so I'm here to support them.

Reporter: With summer break around the corner, he says it was important for student to express themselves before some -- so many of them had help.

>> This is Rutgers University.

The summer is not truly the summer.

There's activity as well.

I'm sure you will see some pressure from that end.

But it will be significant really deuced.

Reporter: In response to the story, Holloway says he respects the students' right to protest as long as it doesn't interfere with university operations.

He did not mention whether or not tents were allowed on campus.

In New Brunswick, Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: The social media platforms TikTok has about nine months to find a new non-Chinese owner or be banned from the U.S. and its millions of users.

President Biden now has signed the legislation forcing its sale into law as part of a massive foreign aid package.

The move has small business owner scrambling to figure out what to do next, since many use the platform as a means of free advertising and a way to reach otherwise marginalized communities.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports.

Reporter: For most folks, TikTok offers entertainment like cat videos, dance contests and challenges like the milk crate.

And more ominously, the driving cha cha slide.

But for about 7 million users, it is a business platform.

Tiktok is where Chapman kicked off his deodorant company a year ago, posting as @javabeard.

>> I made one video, I put it out.

Overnight, it went to a million views.

It turned into a full-time business with employees that will fulfillment here in New Jersey, I do all the manufacturing myself in New Jersey, and this is all because of TikTok.

Reporter: Chapman says his job paid to hook him up with a manager to help scale the business and meet demand.

He sold 25,000 sticks of coffee, coconut, and Kentucky burn -- Kentucky bourbon scented deodorants.

He views the band with deep alarm.

>> To cancel this or force a sale, it is going to have a very detrimental effect on a lot of people that are providing for their families to bring a hard time to provide for your family.

I think it's a big deal and frustrating for us.

Reporter: Almost every member of New Jersey's Washington delegation last week voted to ban TikTok unless its parent company ByteDance sells the app.

>> National security experts are sounding the alarm warning that are foreign adversaries are using every tool at their disposal including applications like TikTok.

Reporter: TikTok critics also point to its connections with China and the app's algorithmic suppression of certain stories in an alleged bid to skew U.S. public opinion.

But one New Jersey congressman voted against the ban.

>> For the United States Congress to start to get into the business of banning individual companies, that needs to be a less case scenario.

There is still more weekend due to address these issues.

Reporter: For millions, banning tech talk means losing a singularly safe space.

>> TikTok is way more than just a social media platforms.

It is a lifeline for folks.

It is how I connect with the communities that I try to impact with my work.

Reporter: Kareem Willis says TikTok is a vital connection, he cites influencers like medical mythbuster who provides crucial health information and communities that offer platforms for political advocacy and emotional support, especially for people of color and LGBTQ folks.

He believes banning TikTok could cause a crisis.

>> Especially for marginalized individuals, who again have been navigating these kinds of systems that have actively excluded them for so long.

Reporter: Willis acknowledges TikTok's Dark Side.

For example, the blackout expectation -- asphyxiation challenge recently sent a South Orange middle school or to the hospital.

But he says all social media apps need better oversight, not just TikTok.

And that is a growing political platform particularly for Gen Z.

>> What does it mean to take away people's platform for advocacy and information?

Especially in an election year, where Gen Z voters especially, 85% of them go to TikTok.

For news.

As opposed to a more traditional news outlet like cable or newspapers.

Reporter: But the countdown clock is ticking for ByteDance to sell TikTok, which it says it won't do.

The issue is likely headed to court.

Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: A bill moving through the Statehouse could drastically change New Jersey's future jury pool, social justice advocates are urging lawmakers to pass legislation allowing people with criminal convictions to serve out their civic obligations.

The Garden State is one of a handful in the country that prevents serving on Jury Duty for life.

Joanna Gaggis presents a number of hurdles.

>> I can't serve because of a past criminal conviction?

>> Currently in New Jersey, we have a lifetime ban for jury service eligibility for anyone with a prior conviction.

What that amounts to is about 7% of the entire New Jersey population.

What also 23 percent to 29% of all Black New Jerseyans cannot serve on a jury.

Reporter: She is leading a coalition of 52 New Jersey organizations, calling on the legislature to pass a bill that would allow anyone with a previous criminal conviction who served their time to be eligible for jury service.

>> We know the criminal legal system disproportionately affects Black and brown individuals in New Jersey.

What we are seeing by having a lifetime ban is it is whitewashing our jury pools.

This bill does two really great things.

One, it allows more people in the jury room.

It allows the jury process to continue as it always has.

Jury selection means, can someone be fair and impartial?

And that is an individual case-by-case thing.

It also reminds our individuals who have served their time, completed their sentences, that they have another reminder that they are back in our community.

>> Either what we are doing in our Department of Corrections is working, or it isn't.

And if it isn't working, where -- why are we still funding it?

Right?

Are people coming home rehabilitated, ready to reengage, that have transformed their lives or done the work to transform their lives to get back into society and to participate in every phase of it?

Civic engagement is a critical component.

Reporter: Antone was convicted of homicide three months after his 18th birthday in 1989.

He served 30 years in prison, and since his release, launched The justice transformative initiative.

>> If we are always going to begin at that moment, I've never had a criminal past before then.

Since then.

I served 30 years.

I am home.

I'm doing well.

I'm flourishing.

I'm helping people.

I graduate with my Masters degree in a couple of weeks.

Like, when do I get to be a human being?

When do I have to stop answering for something that happened 36 years ago?

I am always made to answer for the worst thing that ever happened in my life.

Reporter: That might be fair, says Senator John Bram Nick -- John Bramnick, who is running for governor in 2025, strongly opposed to the bill as it is written right now.

>> There are certain violent crimes that you are going to pay a long-term price for.

And that price might be for life when it comes to sitting on a jury.

Reporter: He said he would be supportive if it was modified to include non-violent offenders who have gone several years without reoffending.

>> This statute that has been proposed would allow somebody who committed child abuse, rape, murder to sit on a jury.

Why would you expect them to follow the law when the judge says, here's the law, you have to follow it.

You didn't follow it and you were a violent criminal.

You should not be sitting on a jury.

There are consequences for really bad acts.

Reporter: A previous version of the bill that had removed violent offenders that moved through the assembly committee the last session, but died in the lame-duck.

Advocacy groups are pushing for no jury restrictions for anyone who served their time.

I am Joanna Gaggis, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: In our Spotlight on business report, could a political fallout spell the end for Jersey City's controversial French art museum project?

That is the claim from Mayor Steve Fulop, who says all systems were go for the last couple of years with promise -- with promised funding and partnerships to create New Jersey's version of the famous Centre Pompadou.

But the right fit ministration pulled support for the administration after he pulled his endorsement for the first lady's failed Senate campaign.

So, is it political retaliation, or just bad timing?

Senior political correspondent David Cruz reports.

>> It wasn't that long ago that Governor Phil and first lady Tammy Murphy were singing the praises of the Pompidou center project and their friend Jersey City Mayor and now gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop.

>> [speaking French] I congratulate the Centre Pompidou, the president and my dear friend Mayor Steven Fullop -- Steve Fulop on this extra Mary announcement.

-- extraordinary announcement.

Reporter: This could mean the end of a project that Fulop once called transformational.

Why?

The mayor says things changed last month after he made these comments.

>> I do feel that the campaign has really not made a compelling case around her candidacy.

If I'm being honest and fair.

Reporter: Fulop withdrew his endorsement of candidate Timmy Murphy -- Tammy Murphy a couple of days later officially.

Last Friday, says the mayor, came the retaliation.

This letter from economic development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan, "we kindly request an updated revenue and expense model for the project that rectifies the annual operating deficit, otherwise, we will have to consider whether it is more prudent for the state to use these funds for other fiscal priorities."

$58 million of state subsidy, that is one thing for a project Sullivan called cool, but an annual operating deficit the EDA says will be around $19 million is not cool, especially with a nine figure price tag just open -- just to open the doors.

>> Which is a lot of money but a state-of-the-art facility could be worth it.

The question is -- Could it support itself long-term?

December, we had a constructive and frank meeting.

It was positive as well.

We were pretty clear.

We could not release the funding that we were responsible for until we saw a few things, one was a balanced set of sources and uses, could you find enough money to build the building you want to build?

What is the economic impact?

Is it worth whatever that money is?

And what are the revenues and expenses to keep this going?

Reporter: He says that EDA has seen all the numbers from the very beginning.

>> The only thing that has changed is my relationship with the front office, meaning that I've been more critical of lines, of Tammy Murphy's candidacy, and the direction of the Murphy administration, and their tone changed as well regarding this project directly related to my tone changing on their ministration.

-- there administration.

-- on their administration.

Reporter: But quotes from internal state documents from January we were able to see suggests officials were having doubts about the project's sustainability and whether they should start thinking about where else the $58 million could be used by the state.

>> We are going to go back to them and show them how there is no gap, and that there are solutions for that and it's going to be put on them whether they want to proceed or not.

Reporter: Fulop notes of the state -- if the state really wanted the project, they could make it happen.

Some lawmakers, not only Republicans, who see a great campaign issue they call a French museum, but some Democrats as well are already licking their chops at what they could do in their districts with a piece of that money, regardless of the political machinations that may be suddenly making them available.

I'm David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: Turning to Wall Street, stocks popped the start a week filled with the Fed decision, jobs reports and earnings from Big Tech companies.

Here's how the markets closed on this Monday.

♪ We are now just two months away from the deadline for lawmakers and the governor to agree on a state budget.

It is a $56 billion proposed spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

There is a whole complex process that happens before it is finalized.

We've got the latest video from our multimedia series, "Gotta Know Jersey," to help demystify what goes into passing the state budget, which is important, because those are your tax dollars funding it.

Take a look.

>> Every year, the state government creates an annual budget, which determines whether -- determines where the money goes.

It's just like how you and I budget but a lot more money -- we are talking billions of dollars.

This year the governor's proposed spending close to $56 billion for the next fiscal year which begins July 1.

Those dollars of stock on top of one another which stretch higher than -- would stretch higher than three Empire State buildings.

How does New Jersey decide how much to spend out how to spend it and where does all that money come from?

Don't worry, "Gotta Know Jersey" is back and we are here to break it all down.

Briana: Colleen O'Day is here with me now to share more.

Another great piece.

Katie Chris, one of our producers, her voice that we heard there.

So, what are we going to learn about the budget and why don't more people know about this process to begin with?

Colleen: hopefully you will learn where the money comes from, where it goes, how it gets there.

The legislature is currently -- I think there are two more weeks of budget hearings happening.

This is when lawmakers quiz the department heads and agency heads and ask all sorts of questions.

You can really get into the nitty-gritty of some of these spending programs.

It is important, as you mentioned, because this is our tax dollars.

That's largely what funds the budget.

Almost exclusively money that comes from our income tax, sales tax and corporate taxes.

So it is important for people to know.

In New Jersey, we pretty much learn about state government in fourth grade.

That's a long time ago for adults.

And so, we really launched it because we thought it was a good way to help people of all ages to learn about state government, about voting, about how all this works.

There is a lot of emphasis on federal government and what happens there.

But not as much on how the state functions.

Briana: I think we can all use a civics refresher from time to time, especially when talking about the curriculum which when you are 8-10 years old doesn't necessarily make sense than like it does when you are working -- a working adult.

I loved the visual of the three Empire State buildings.

Do you think people realize just how much money it takes to run state government?

Do you get into that in the series, too?

Colleen: I think people don't.

That's why we tried to come up with that visual.

The whole point of "Gotta Know Jersey" is to break this down into real language that people can understand, just how these things function.

It's $2.2 billion alone in property tax relief money in the budget.

That's just that one thing.

One of the things I think people don't understand is how little of the budget actually goes for state government workers and state government spending.

There is lots and lots of money that goes out for all sorts of different programs.

But, like your motor vehicles staff, who maybe people interact with.

Not a lot of money for that.

Less than a dollar of each $100.

Briana: That gets spent goes toward that, toward running the agency itself.

Colleen: Right.

Briana: We are coming onto the last couple of months of negotiations.

This video and the project itself gets into how that works.

But largely, the bulk of this gets decided behind closed doors.

What do you hope people are exposed to by making these videos?

Because we've done several now on other topics.

Is the hope to get people more engaged in the process, in say, testifying before the legislature?

Colleen: Absolutely.

Every video we have made has QR codes in it.

If you scan them they will give you links to the legislature's website and the treasury website, the voting information, just so that people can get more engaged hopefully and get more involved.

Because it's really important to do that.

If the public is not making their voices known and their opinions known, legislators are going to do what they want.

But it really makes a difference when people come out.

We have seen that in a number of issues.

So if people get involved, then maybe they can see the budget will reflect their priorities.

Briana: All right, Colleen O'Dea, good to see you.

Check out the full "Gotta Know Jersey" series, including past videos on the public worker pension fund and the upcoming piece about voting in the primary election.

Just had to -- head to NJSpotlightnews.org.

That does it for us tonight.

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

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

For the entire NJ Spotlight News team, thank you for being with us.

Have a great night.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

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