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Anchor: Tonight, congestion in the skies.

Staff shortages and delays at the Newark airport.

Plus police officers involved in a fatal shooting in Jersey City will not be criminally charged.

And the Democratic primary race for New Jersey Governor heats up, as aim is taken at a candidate.

>> This is the old playbook may have to put it aside.

Anchor: And this year's gubernatorial primary race is shaping up break campaign finance records.

>> That's because of the proliferation this year of independent spending groups which we haven't seen a lot of before in New Jersey.

Anchor: "NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Briana Vannozzi.

Anchor: Thanks for joining us on this Tuesday night.

We begin with some top headlines.

First, a tough 24 hours for travelers flying in or out of new work airport.

Equipment issues and staffing shortages led to major disruptions throughout Monday, causing arriving flights to be delayed on average by about three .5 hours according to the FAA.

Departures will -- were are so affected up and down the coast.

The FAA initially blamed an equipment issue in Philadelphia that guides planes into new work airport, and it shut down operations.

After the issue was fixed Monday evening, it was revealed the agency was also dealing with a shortage of air traffic controllers but won't explain why there is a staffing problem.

Operations returned to normal this morning and United airlines issued travel waivers for customers who had to manage alternate plans.

Also tonight, a seven year battle over allegations of sexual adventure -- abuse by Catholic clergy has landed in the highest court, were Justices will decide if a grand jury can investigate decades of alleged abuse by Catholic priests and if the church try to cover it up.

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday grilled attorneys for the Catholic diocese of Camden and the Attorney General's office, debating the laws about when and how a grand jury can be used and if it has the right to look into private entities like a church or if it's limited to government officials or agencies this issue dates back to 2019 when the then Attorney General vowed to investigate clergy sexual abuse within all five of the state Catholic diocese.

The Camden diocese contested, filing a suit to stall the investigation ever since.

Lower court judges sided with the church and allowed the legal fight to continue in secrecy for six years.

The Attorney General's office appealed and on Monday argued the appellate judges short-circuited the fight before it began.

They maintain they are kinda hide -- they are trying to hide past offenses.

A state grand jury will not file criminal charges against the Jersey City police officer involved in the 2023 fatal shooting of Andrew Washington, whose family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city for the department's response to the incident, alleging officers failed to de-escalate the situation.

Family members say they called a mental health hotline while Washington was in the midst of crisis come asking for an ambulance to take him to a hospital but instead police were dispatched.

Video from body camera show officers knocking on Washington's doors and he pleads for them to leave.

Eventually police knocked down the door and Washington is seen rushing toward the officers with a knife before they simultaneously take his him and fired three gunshots.

In a statement today, the family attorney said they are disappointed by the grand jury decision, adding it's not an exoneration of the officers, whom they still plan to prove violated Andrew's constitutional rights.

Jersey City has since opened a new de-escalation training center for officers and the state has put new laws in place to support more community crisis response teams.

Don't expect traffic relief on route 80 in Morris County to ease up yet, the state Department of Transportation recently updated when it plans to finish sinkhole repair work on the interstate, pushing back the timeline to the end of May for the lane closures that create the most congestion.

Workers said they were anticipating more delays but they hope small business owners and driver patients can wait it out.

Reporter: Repairs hit another roadblock late last week, coming as no surprise to people in Wharton.

>> I'm not surprised, I thought it was wishful thinking, the dates they were giving out at first.

>> It wasn't surprising.

It seems like every time we get any closer, it gets, what are we saying?

Reporter: The department of transportation has pushed back reopening part of 80 westbound to late May, leaving communities with little else to talk about that the onslaught of traffic.

>> It's the only thing anybody talks about, they come in and it's the first thing, the traffic.

That's on everybody's mind nowadays.

It's the new normal, everybody is over it and aggravated and we are ready for things to get to normal.

>> A five minute commute to work is now 20 minutes.

I'm just crossing the street but it takes 20 minutes.

Reporter: Businesses like this have taken a big hit because of how hard it is to get around.

>> Normally I take about three minutes, five minutes on a congested day, but today was 20, 25 minutes.

Reporter: The detours have done more than just gum up roads and humble businesses in Wharton, they put the borough in national headlines not for good reasons.

Folks here tell us it should be known for more than nasty traffic.

>> It's on the map and that is a good thing but the bad thing is it is sinkhole city.

>> I would typically take a two minute drive to get a breakfast they much but it took about 25 minutes today.

But it is worth it, the food here is really good and they are good people.

>> I think people are very humble here and it's an up-and-coming town.

There is a lot to offer and I would love to see it in 10 years if we are not all demolished by sinkholes.

Reporter: To stay afloat, the owners have applied for a state grant and federal disaster loan from the Small Business Administration.

At town Square diner, the co-owner has done the same thing.

He says business is down 15% to 20% since the mess started.

>> They are working really hard and it's not their fault but when you announce the timeline is pushed back, it's frustrating.

We knew this would happen.

>> People don't have time to stop anymore any where they used to have lunch break for half an hour or an hour, now they sit in traffic for 25 or 30 minutes.

Reporter: The state economic development Authority developed a fund for local businesses close to the sinkholes.

A senator says about 100 applications are pending.

>> It was like a COVID mirrored program.

It's been a good process so far.

Reporter: This honor applied for a $15,000 grant, the maximum amount, and showed his books to prove losses.

>> Instead of receiving the full $15,000 I only received $10,000 and I'm not sure what drives that.

I don't know if it's tied to employees or revenue loss but I don't know why we only got $10,000.

>> We need it soon, we have to take care of our people first.

Local businesses are suffering.

Reporter: The senator says it was easier to get an appropriation through the EDA and the status of Leanne Senate.

When I 80 is repaired, the next move is to fix local roads getting hammered by trucks in traffic.

>> We know local roads have been impacted and we don't want that burden to fall on our municipalities.

This was the state of emergency, it was an unforeseen event, and until I-80 gets repaired we really need to keep diverting traffic onto local roads.

Reporter: Which means more slow going around Wharton at least until route 80 is reopened, which the DOT says will be in late June.

Ted Gober, NJ Spotlight News.

Anchor: Internal and public polling show Congresswoman Nike Cheryl has a slim lead over the crowded pack of Democrats vying to be the next governor, putting head target -- putting a target on her back that arrival put in his crosshairs today, and today took some jabs at her and the backing for her campaign.

David Cruz reports.

Reporter: Six Democrats looking to succeed Phil Murphy as governor, with most polling showing Congresswoman Mikey Cheryl holding a slim lead, with most voters saying they still don't know who they will vote for.

But the front runner is also generally the target of attacks from opponents and that's what a lot of people expected from this component, whose campaign has surprised many observers.

But his attacked today was more nuanced.

>> Party buses has chosen the Congresswoman as who they want so he has to be held responsible in the party has to be held responsible for that as well.

She would have less responsibility if she had not said the things she said over and over again.

Reporter: It's not so much the messenger he said, as the message itself.

Platitudes and empty rhetoric that resemble plays from an old playbook that has the Democratic base disenchanted and apathetic at a time when the opposite is what the party needs.

>> At the heart of this thing it's not really about the Congresswoman.

It's really about the culture of what's going on in the state and the leadership of the party and the inability to differentiate between Republicans and Democrats on these issues in the state of New Jersey.

If you have leaders in the middle on these issues that are not clear in they don't have a plan, people are going to stay home.

I don't care how many parades, how much money you spend, how much hate mail and other things you put out, the reality of this, this is not an opportunity to hate on the Congresswoman, this is an opportunity to tell them to correct the direction.

If you're going to say we need to get rid of the old playbook, that is the old playbook.

Treating Black and Brown people the way the state has been treated us -- treating us is the old playbook.

Reporter: They have been the base of the party giving huge pluralities to Democrats like Phil Murphy, and said baraka, with little to show for, other than segregated schools, a lack of health care options and lack of opportunities.

>> This is why go back 40 years, this is someone who's been thinking about politics seriously for a long time.

In some ways it's been his vocation.

Maybe not mainstream representative politics which has come later in life or him but he's been thinking about it a long time.

Reporter: The Congresswoman did not mention the statement in a Dutch mention the speech in a statement today but did say it's at the core of her candidacy for governor and fighting it would be a top priority when she gets in her term.

>> Someone has to do the dirty work about the person who does the dirty work gets their hands dirty.

It really is a challenge to figure out when the time is right.

Those who keep advertising a positive message maybe become an acceptable alternative.

Somebody has to do it, maybe they all have to do it, but it's a challenge to know when.

Reporter: A few people we talked to today set off the record that expected Baraka to go harder at Sherrill, but analyst said if voters turn away from her they might not turn to Baraka.

A high-risk speech with low reward.

I'm David Cruz, "NJ Spotlight News."

Anchor: Given the crowded race for the gubernatorial primary, you can expect campaigns to break spending records this year, especially if you include a major role outside money is plain for the first time.

An analysis cap related more than $60 million raised by independent groups leading up to the selection, a massive number that's likely even higher since none of the candidates or dozens of related committees have reported financial information yet this year.

Our senior writer follow the money and joins me to share what she found.

Colleen, thank you for coming in.

A lot of data work went into this.

When we are talking about breaking records, how much are we looking at and how does it compare to past gubernatorial elections?

Colleen: This is just the primary.

We are talking at least $108 million so far that's been raised.

There's another 43 million I'm not counting in that because we are not sure if it's been provided.

Anchor: Why don't we know that?

Colleen: That's because of this proliferation this year of independent spending groups, which we haven't seen a lot from before in New Jersey.

There are 28 groups involved at this point we have identified -- there may be more I didn't find.

In one case, the biggest case of those is the NJEA supporting Garden State forward, which then supporting working New Jersey, which supports Sean Spiller.

A lot of committees.

They are promising to spend $35 million.

They've not had to file a report yet.

They don't have to file a report until the end of May.

We don't know how much they are getting but we know from other documents, federal documents they filed that they have given at least $17 million so far to this.

Anchor: We won't know until a few days before the primary.

What other candidates have the big outside influence in campaign finances?

Colleen: One of the interesting ones is Josh Gottheimer, the congressman, he's been prolific at raising money at the federal level.

You are barred from giving more than the maximum allowed, which is $5,800 per election, to your committee, so he couldn't give any of his $20 million, more than $5,800, to his campaign committee.

But there is a group supporting him and his Congressional committee has given $9.6 million to this committee.

Remember, these are supposed to be independent groups, which means there is not supposed to be coordination between the candidate and committee.

I'm not sure how you make that argument if the congressional candidates committee is giving money to this group.

Anchor: Let me zoom out.

A lot of what went into requiring fundraising in terms of getting matching funds from the state was to keep out some of the big corporations, some of those outside folks who might try to ask for favors if they donate.

Talk to me about matching funds from the state and how realistic this program still is if in political and leave you met -- and media landscape.

Colleen: The maximum could go up to $44 million and in order to take matching funds, you got to raise 580,000 dollars on your own and you get a two to one match.

And you have to limit your candidate spending to $8.7 million.

To the second part of your question, this was put in place in believe 1981.

Anchor: Governor Keynes administration.

Colleen: We had a very different landscape back then, we didn't have these independent committees.

I think the idea was a good one.

You're trying to keep corporate money, we say money can buy influence and we try to keep that out.

In today's a day and age when you are limiting the candidate spending to a $.7 million but these independent groups can raise and spend unlimited funding -- Anchor: Does it almost welcome it?

Can they circumvent these laws?

Colleen: Yes, there are those out there in the political world saying this does welcome it, it invites it and encourages candidates to set these up just because they can't spend more than the 8.7 million otherwise.

Anchor: You can read all of Colleen O'Day's reporting on our website with plenty more on NJ decides 2025.

That was not easy, thank you for coming in.

Finally tonight, the fight against lead poisoning could be in jeopardy.

Public health experts sounding the alarm about federal funding cuts and layoffs to departments that protect public and environmental health.

Including big reductions in the CDC lead poisoning prevention ranch, which has played a key role in addressing lead contamination in everything from schoolyard equipment to applesauce pouches.

It comes as New Jersey debates cutting money from a state program that does the same.

Know I Gagis spoke with folks in Trenton who could be affected.

Reporter: For -- >> For this woman and her children, we are there to clean up the lead found around her windows and doors and trim and on the walls inside her home.

Reporter: The Grant family one of hundreds of thousands in New Jersey with lead contamination.

Some happened in the paint, other in soil around a home but exposure of any amount is a truly harmful especially for young kids under the age of six.

>> It can affect learning, behavior and many effects lead to physical challenges.

>> The damage is permanent and profound.

Grain impacts causing developmental delays, high blood pressure, nerve disorders, and children impacted by lead are 30% more likely to fail math and reading by third grade and seven times more likely to drop out of high school and six times more likely to end up in the juvenile justice system.

Reporter: A press conference was held last week with a congresswoman and leaders from Trenton to announce dismay at the Trump Administration proposing significant funding cuts and its Department of Health and Human Services firing the entire staff of its lead prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

>> The Center for disease control could lose 20% of its staff and $3 billion in health contracts and laid off the entire staff at the lead poisoning prevention program as well as the national asthma control program.

>> The funding and institutional knowledge loss will have consequent is in New Jersey.

We get funding from the CDC.

Reporter: The HHS Secretary has a vacillated on whether firing the entire lead prevention team earlier this month was a bad idea, although his department has set in the statement they plan to continue lead remediation.

Some projects are underway in New Jersey through the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA.

>> Bonnie got the EPA in here to once and for all yield with lead in the soil, whether it was the abandoned pottery factories.

The EPA willingly came in, tested our parks and schools and homes.

Now they've cleaned up the parks and schools, they want to work on houses.

Reporter: The EPA still has unfinished business in New Jersey.

Today there are 250,000 homes across the state and 25,000 in Mercer County have led in or around them and each of those homes has kids under the age of six.

>> The money these agencies are operating under his money that's already been allocated by Congress through the appropriations process.

Legally, they don't have the right to take that money and use it in the other place.

Reporter: Given the cutting of budgets under the Department of Government efficiency, the Congresswoman is concerned work in New Jersey could be cut as well.

>> These cuts are strategic.

They are affecting those who have the least voice among us and who need all advocates and elected officials to stand up, push back and speak up.

Reporter: But lead remediation programs could also see a nearly $4 million cut in state aid under a budget proposed by Governor Murphy.

They are not as critical when it comes to those funds Shrinking.

>> The state has dedicated tremendous resources to cleaning up lead in New Jersey.

There's been 180 million dollars allocated to this initiative that is still being spent.

The state has been a great partner on that.

We're the state ends up on a budget process that has only just begun I think is too early to forecast.

Reporter: Shawn Jackson believes the state funding will be restored but the need federal support to continue repairing homes like they are doing for the Grant family.

In Trenton, Joanna Gagis.

Anchor: That will do it for us tonight but before we go, a reminder that you can download our podcast wherever you listen or watch any time by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

You can follow us on Instagram and blue sky to stay up-to-date on headlines.

For the entire team, thank you for being with us, have a great evening and we will see you back here tomorrow.

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