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Briana: TENSE talks between the U.S. and Israel today after swift backlash condemning the horrific attack on aid workers with the World Central Kitchen.

>> It is tragic that the killing of thousands of Palestinians, over 30,000 at this point, have not been sufficient.

Briana: Plus, the fallout from the County line decision.

Without Andy Kim, candidates are scrambling to get their names out there.

>> Just because you have equal ballot placement going forward is not mean that an unknown candidate is all of a sudden going to catapult.

Briana: a new unemployment report reveals more than 700,000 workers in the state are left behind by the current unemployment payment system.

Chronic absenteeism.

New Jersey students missing more school than prior to the start of the pandemic.

>> Students with the highest rates of absenteeism are students who are homeless at 40% and also high rates among students in foster care.

Briana: "NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

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

Briana: Good evening and thank you for joining us.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Tensions between the Biden Administration and Israeli government are at a new high.

President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu talked by phone or the first time since and Israeli drone strike killed seven aid workers in Gaza.

President Biden expressed outrage and called the conditions in Gaza woefully inadequate and unacceptable.

The Israeli military initially apologized for the deadly strike, calling it a mistake, even though workers were traveling in clearly marked cars in coordination with Israeli authorities.

According to international reports the IDF concluded its investigation into the incident.

The report is pending.

International and domestic political pressure is mounting on the Israeli government.

Secretary Blinken said the attack is not the first on aid workers in Gaza but it must be the last as the White House noted the civilian death toll from the war.

Frustration so far has not shifted U.S. policy and support for Israel but there is increasing speculation it could be a turning point in the war.

For more on that I am joined by the head of the Palestine-Israel program at the Arab center in Washington, D.C.

Thank you for joining us.

How has this latest event with regard to aid workers with World Central Kitchen changed public discourse about the way this war is waged in Gaza?

>> It seems like a turning point although we have seen many similar strikes for months now that clearly have led to the killing of civilians, Palestinian civilians, which have not been turning points unfortunately.

There is a possibility this might be different.

We are seeing increased condemnation of this strike from around the world.

From of course the Palestinian perspective this is not only a tragic event, the killing of these aid workers by Israeli military, but it is also tragic the killing of thousands of Palestinians, over 30,000 at this point, have not been a sufficient turning point.

This is a disparity not lost on Palestinians during this time.

One can only hope these aid workers along with thousands of Palestinians killed did not die in vain and that there will be change and pressure brought up on the Israeli military to end these strikes and this war.

Briana: President Biden offered his most emotional comments, but also some of his most pointed criticism of Israel.

Yet in the same breath, authorized more arms without conditions to be sent to Israel.

What if anything should we make of that?

Is that something we should consider new light shed on those pointed comments?

Yousef: We can look at the comments but I think actions speak louder than words and the reality is, the attack -- the top of arms to Israel has been flowing at full capacity from this White House to the Israeli military.

That speaks louder than anything.

There is no doubt the White House understand they have a political problem.

Americans broadly and especially Democrats are outraged by what they are seeing happening in Gaza, they are outraged by the U.S. has not done more to stop it.

We are in an election year and they are trying to manage these constituencies.

The one message they are sending is undercut by the louder message sending with actions.

That is not lost on voters in the U.S. Briana: What do you say about the way the idea enforces rules of engagement against Hamas?

I have been reading pieces from folks who have intelligence both on the IDF and ground operation that have insinuated it is a bit of business as usual.

Yousef: If you have been following the ins and outs of this war daily, different strikes we have seen.

So much of it, with the technology we have is available on video for people to see.

The amount of information about these strikes shows a complete and callous disregard for human life.

Even based on the story the Israeli media is reporting from Israeli Defense sources on the strike that killed these aid workers the story they put out there is, they thought they saw one armed person they suspected to be a militant get in the convoy and that somehow was justification for striking a convoy they knew also contained all these aid workers.

Their best explanation for what happened.

Even with that it involves a justification for killing these aid workers.

Those are the rules they seem to be going by and that explains why we have seen such mass civilian casualties in this war.

Briana: Why aren't their controls on aid convoys, such as having IDF escort aid workers?

Or controls requested by the U.S.?

Why haven't we seen that until this point?

Yousef: That actually was in place with this convoy.

Their location, path, timing was all coordinated with the Israeli military and still they were targeted.

They were not just targeted with one strike.

The first car in the convoy was hit.

The people who were injured from that strike attempted to evacuate to another vehicle.

That vehicle was hit and then the third.

What happened was an extermination of these people, one after the other.

Briana: Head of the Palestine-Israel program at the Arab center in Washington, D.C., thank you for your insight.

A rising turn of events in the legal battle over the so-called party line.

A majority of county clerks dropped motions to appeal a federal judge recent injunction blocking Democrat use of the county line ballot system for this June primary.

That ruling has all but reset the race in the third congressional district among candidates vying to replace represented of Andy Kim, acting as a blessing for lesser-known contenders and a curse for those who already had a clean sweep of county endorsements.

Brenda Flanagan takes a look.

>> I think more than any district in the state this is the one adding the biggest lock.

Brenda: Talking about the race to fill Andy Kim's seat in jerseys third congressional district.

Voters will can -- confront a new ballot design which sent political shockwaves rocking candidates for Congress in's home district where assemblyman Conaway had scored the advantageous line in all three counties.

>> But now all the advantages he built up in those three lines which were thought to be a prohibitive advantage for him, are all gone.

It is a great reset in that race now.

It is anybody's game.

>> We have demonstrated that we can win before engaging smaller groups of Democrats.

I would expect to enjoy the same success as we move to a larger stage in a primary election.

Brenda: Conaway spent 25 years in the legislature and has drawn overwhelming support from Democratic city members.

He believes in the county line and expresses reservations about the lawsuit to abolish it is unconstitutional, ironically filed by Andy Kim.

>> I have to study it.

I have a concern a measure like this might end up weakening the parties.

I believe we need strong parties.

>> All bets are off and it is a competitive race.

Brenda: Democrat Carol Murphy previously ran alongside her former teammate Conaway and won, but as his opponent for Congress she is a convert to the new office block ballot.

>> I think I have been converted.

I appreciate what Andy Kim did knowing the line has fallen.

It has allowed me and other running mates to continue on to the primary to allow the people to vote.

Reporter: Murphy issued an internal poll which shows Conaway leads with 22% followed by Murphy with 18% and two other candidates with less than 5% each.

But with 49% undecided and a five point margin of error -- >> It brings it back to neutral.

He may have got the county line, but I have been reached out to buy county members that were not part of that convention.

Brenda: Ditching the county line also opens up the field for first-time candidates like a civil rights attorney Joe Cohen and a seafood company co-owner Sarah Schoengood.

>> It is evening the playing field in terms of being on the ballot.

The county line is it so crazy it is hard to process.

What are you saying, where will your name be on the ballot?

This allows people to vote for me if they want to, there is visibility.

Brenda: The new ballot could create bigger potential for spoilers as the race tightens.

>> We do not know who the front runner will be.

Could one of those candidates serve as a spoiler and peel off votes from one of the two front running candidates?

It is possible.

Brenda: He says campaigns will depend on resources and Conaway canned depend on the Democrat's formidable get out to vote support.

Briana: New Jersey public schools having an alarming problem with absenteeism.

A statewide performance report showed a significant uptick in the number of kids missing school.

The rate is worse than before the COVID-19 pandemic when the number hovered around 10.6%.

The most recent data for the 2022-20 23 school year puts the rate at 16.6%.

Hannah Gross is with me to explain what is driving this change.

Very interesting numbers.

What do we know about why these rates are higher?

Hannah: Experts say you have to look at the root causes of absenteeism.

That can be different in different school districts or on an individual level.

Some causes, people are staying more home -- home more often when sick.

Mental health has been a big factor with students taking mental health days, not feeling well enough to go into the building.

Briana: When you say mental health and sickness, is it affecting certain groups of kids more than others, kids in certain areas of the state?

Hannah: It is affecting historically marginalized groups.

The students with the highest rates of absenteeism are students that are homeless, at about 40%.

There is also high rates of students in foster care.

Briana: How about other groups typically marginalized?

How are they faring when it comes to getting to school and having consistent rates of being in school?

Hannah: You can see rates are higher for black students, Hispanic students, than their white and Asian peers.

Also students with disabilities and English language learners.

Briana: They have the data, how are they addressing the problem?

Hannah: More than 70% of school districts have populations with 10% or more absentee students.

Those districts have to come up with corrective action plans to address the issue with help from the superintendent.

Briana: That is a state requirement.

Hannah: Yes.

Briana: Does the state also give help?

Any resources or money?

Hannah: To address this problem the state released a new website recently that has all the information in one place.

They will come out with a toolkit and public relations materials districts can use to drive up attendance rates.

Briana: What do we know about what is lost for students when they are chronically missing class?

Hannah: If you are not in school you will not be able to learn with the help of your teacher.

If a student is not in school, their classmates become less likely to go to school.

It can have a big effect not just on an individual student, but their peers.

Briana: The students affected most by remote learning, by COVID.

There is already a learning gap potential he.

Hannah: It makes it harder to come back from the learning loss if you are not in school.

Briana: When you looked at these numbers were parts of these state in the South or North, or areas we typically see this, bigger cities, or more rural areas?

Hannah: I would say economic status is a big determinant.

Trenton, you have rates of 40% or more absentee students.

Milburn, the rate is lower, in the single digits.

Briana: Milburn, an area of a lot of affluent residents.

Hannah Gross, the report is online on our website.

Thanks.

Stress and burnout still causing an exit's of workers from New Jersey hospitals, according to the state's largest union, because health care facilities are still understaffed.

The Union held a rally urging lawmakers and hospital administrators to move a controversial piece of legislation mandating safe patient to staff ratios at a time other nurses unions made similar demands with success.

Melissa Rose Cooper was there.

>> Number one nurses are migrating out of hospitals.

That is unsafe staffing.

Two is very closely related and that is stress due to unsafe staffing.

Until we have mandatory staffing ratios, we will never be able to retain the nurses we hire.

Reporter: Debbie Weitz, president of the union expressing her frustration over what she says is an ongoing staffing crisis in hospitals.

HPAE releasing a paper, code red where data from a 2022 survey shows nearly 1/3 of nurses have left the bedside of hospitals the past three years.

Of those that remain, 72% have considered leaving recently.

And newer nurses to.

>> We can recruit and recruit, but we will never fill all positions because as we recruit, nurses continue to leave the bedside.

Reporter: Nurses and other health care workers are demanding hospital administration -- administrators improve as specs of the job, like maintaining safe patient to staff ratios in hospitals.

>> We know how important it is to have enough nurses on a unit to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.

The right number of patients we should be providing care to during our shifts.

Reporter: Doris Bell is president of the HPAE at Cooper University and is in negotiations with the hospital to impervious -- improve nurse to patient ratios.

>> With fewer patients we can spend more time with the patients, we can communicate better with them and their families.

It is those conversations that can ease their anxiety and help them understand the information they need so they can get better.

>> Every night when I come home I am like, did I do a good enough job with my patients?

I feel like every day I am working I am overwhelmed by these responsibilities.

Reporter: Spittle's are not supportive of a patient to staff ratio mandate.

The president and CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association released a statement saying quality equitable care is job one for hospitals and their 150,000 team members.

New Jersey is recognized nationally for safe, reliable health care.

Inflexible nurse staffing ratios are a tool inconsistent with modern clinical says.

A one-size-fits-all rather than a collaborative team model that places the patient firmly at the center.

>> We have a wealth of data showing the enormous benefits to patients, nurses and hospitals.

With mandatory nurse to patient assignments, patients have better outcomes, less complications, lower death rates and higher patient satisfaction scores.

Reporter: Health care workers say they will continue to fight for better staffing ratios to provide patients with quality care.

Briana: In our spotlight on business report, New Jersey's unemployment system has come along way since the peak of joblessness in the pandemic at a new report finds even with improvements the state system is leaving out more than 700,000 residents.

As Ted Goldberg reports, research blames barriers on federal regulations that are more likely to affect people of color, immigrants and low-wage workers.

Reporter: The Center for popular democracy wanted to find out how many out of work people in New Jersey are collecting unemployment.

>> How can we bring people together and make sure everyone is fully covered in a system as seamless as possible to work within the limitations of the law?

Reporter: After combing through data they wrote a report saying New Jersey's current unemployment insurance system still leaves behind more than 700,000 workers.

Despite that, the report complements New Jersey are being one of the few states to issue unemployment to about half of people who are not working.

>> Where one of the best states in terms of access to unemployment benefits.

It is no accident.

Our staff worked tirelessly with claimants to provide benefits when possible.

>> They have a good definition of cost separation or when workers leave voluntarily.

If there is something illegal going on, having wages stolen, a threat to health and safety, they are able to leave the work pace and have a good chance of being able to submit an effective claim.

Reporter: Julie Diaz works for the Department of labor as a commissioner.

She says the state could modernize to help more eligible people find benefits, but a revamped website has been a big help.

>> One of the drivers of this department is to provide equitable access.

We work hard to reach some of the most vulnerable populations.

Our work through community partners is doing a lot of that, in reaching workers and insuring eligible workers are receiving benefits.

>> Since it is a state federal program the limitations and guidelines have a big impact on what estate can do with the program since it is subsidized federally.

Reporter: That means you have to play by their rules, making it harder for certain groups to get unemployment including students and immigrants who enter the country illegally.

>> The impacts of unemployment on families are drastic.

Young people, children of unemployed parents have worse test scores.

Reporter: She works for a group that partners with the group for popular democracy and wants to see changes to how New Jersey gives out unemployment insurance.

Deputy Commissioner Diaz does not totally disagree.

>> What we can do as a state is start permanent program that fits the needs of a 21st century workforce that includes immigrant workers, gig workers, workers returning after being a caregiver, students.

>> We need national reform to the statutes to make everything even and modernization so states can work together.

There are 53 systems in this country right now.

States must be able to talk to each other.

Reporter: New Jersey's unemployment rate has hovered around 5% since last summer.

Federal data puts that at a higher rate for American states while this report says New Jersey has done a great job keeping unemployed people afloat, even if there is still progress to be made.

Briana: Earning to Wall Street stocks jumped, shaking off a rough start to the quarter.

Here is how the markets closed.

Make sure to tune into NJ business beat with Raven Santana this weekend.

April is financial literacy month in New Jersey.

We talk about the importance of financial information along with programs to improve your financial literacy.

Watch it Saturday morning at 10:00 on the NJ Spotlight YouTube channel.

Briana: That will do it for us tonight.

Don't miss reporter's roundtable tomorrow.

David Cruz talks to a director at a program about the fallout from the historic ruling on the party line lawsuit read plus the latest on the U.S. Senate and Congressional primary races and the fate of the reform bill.

And local reporters break down political headlines.

Watch roundtable tomorrow on the spotlight YouTube channel.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

For the entire team thanks for being with us, have a great night.

We will see you here tomorrow.

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