>> Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, former Governor Chris Christie tries to take center stage.

As Republican candidates battle for a chance to unseat Donald Trump.

All this as Former President Donald Trump surrenders in Georgia tonight on felony charges that he attempted to overturn the presidential election.

>> When somebody is arrested, to be fingerprinted and have their photograph taken is a normal part of the process.

>> Ending period poverty.

Free feminine hygiene products are not available in schools for grades six through 12.

Central Jersey is on the map.

It is getting its long-overdue credit.

>> It is time for the world to discover everything this region has to discover.

>> Funding for "NJ Spotlight News" provided by the members of the New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child.

RWJBarnabas health, let's be healthy together.

And Orsted, committed to the creation of a new long-term sustainable clean energy future for New Jersey.

♪ >> This is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

>> Thank you for joining us tonight.

We are more than a year away from our next election, but we have a better idea of who the top candidates are.

Last night, eight presidential candidates vying for a chance to take on Former President Donald Trump Bettel did out on the debate stage.

Some came out swinging and some ended up stalling.

Chris Christie did not exactly have the night he hoped for and at one point was booed.

She landed some political punches against Vivek Ramaswamy who by all accounts dominated the stage last night.

>> This is the great thing about this country.

Blue ink is allowed but it does not change the truth.

Reporter: Chris Christie try to debate Donald Trump, but he found it tough going without his main target in the room.

Trump sitting on a 30 point lead in most polls skipped the debate for a chat with Tucker Carlsen.

When moderators asked whether candidates with support Trump if he was convicted of a felony, Kristi opted out.

>> Whether or not you believe the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of president of the United States.

>> It just did not look good.

He got booed on the introduction.

Everybody else gets an applause.

Reporter: The colonists called this debate a bust for Chris Christie, particularly his tussle with Vivek Ramaswamy.

>> I am the only person on the stage who was not bought and paid for so I can say this.

The claimant agenda is a hoax.

>> I have enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT standing up here and the last person in one of these debates who stood in the middle of the stage and said what is a skinny guy with a nod last name doing care was Barack Obama and I am afraid we are dealing with the same type of amateur.

>> Give me a hug just like you did to Obama.

>> This guy got the last word on Chris Christie by reminding the world about how he hugged Barack Obama.

>> Chris Christie's pulling far behind Ron DeSantis.

This was a chance to break out of the pack.

>> He is a solid debater and a good communicator.

I do not think last night she found the moment that he had back in 2016 when he at the moment with Marco Rubio where he stood out.

I think he probably needed one.

>> I think the debate last night serve the governor well, he showed he is a straight talker.

>> The debate crowd did reject some of Chris Christie's antitrust message, but.

>> 75% of the country does not want Joe Biden or Donald Trump on the ticket.

>> The high point last night was the lightning round were moderators asked everyone substantive questions.

>> Do you believe the recent spike in UFO encounters.

>> I get the UFO question?

Come on, man.

>> He definitely stood his ground and was in the top four alongside Mike Pence, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.

His second presidential run goes through New Hampshire.

He is pulling better there.

He is qualified for the next debate in California.

Joanna: Will Donald Trump join his challenger was in the next debate?

He is not focused on that right now.

The former president turning himself in in Georgia tonight.

It will be his fourth arraignment.

20 effectors make this Georgia case unique.

I am joined right now by former New Jersey Attorney General John Farmer Jr.. Great to have you with us.

We know Former President Donald Trump will surrender tonight.

What will happen?

>> This is basically an arraignment on last week's indictment on the Georgia RICO statute.

He will appear before a judge.

His rights and the charges will be read to him and bail will be set.

They have already agreed on $200,000.

He could post 10% of bats and secure his release.

The purpose of bail is to secure somebody's appearance in court.

>> It is interesting this time there will be a mugshot.

We have not seen this before.

>> This will be has first mugshot.

It is standard practice when somebody is arrested to be fingerprinted and have their photograph taken.

It is a normal part of the process.

>> These are RICO charges.

Talk us through some of the most significant charges.

>> The RICO is broad.

It is to capture racketeering activity, corruption.

This is the kitchen sink indictment.

Basically, I captures all of the efforts that President Trump's alleged to have engaged and to overturn the election in Georgia and also the national election.

Part of RICO's predicate acts, which means it is in furtherance of the conspiracy to overthrow the election.

Clearly central to this case will be has phone call to Brad Raffensperger where he asked them to find 11,000 votes.

But it goes much deeper than that and encompasses actions taken in other states to further a conspiracy that is alleged to change the result of the election.

Joanna: How do you compare this case to the other three indictments when it comes to evidence and how strong this case is?

>> It is hard to tell how strong the case is.

It is going to be complex.

The January 6 indictment was very lean and focused.

That will be a much quicker trial.

They simply have to prove the efforts to obstruct Congress on January 6.

The federal government chose to do a much more streamlined indictment probably because they want to try the case quicker.

Joanna: There have been attempts to delay some of these court proceedings until after the election.

The perception perhaps that there is election interference happening.

How does a judge come to that decision?

>> I think the judge will let the actual merits of the case decide the pace.

I do not think the judge can be concerned about the calendar.

Joanna: former New Jersey Attorney General John Farmer Jr. , thank you so much.

Princeton native Evan Gershkovich has learned his jail time in a Russian prison has been extended until November 30.

Reporter was arrested on charges of espionage in March.

The U.S. government has denied the claims and his employer the Wall Street Journal calls them baseless.

After learning his prison sentence would be extended, the journal issued a statement it was deeply disappointed that he continues to be wrongfully detained for doing his job as a journalist, saying journalism is not a crime.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says they would consider a swap for a detained Russian.

As reproductive rights play out on the presidential debate states, congressional leaders in New Jersey have kept any focal point.

Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill held an event to keep the spotlight on expanded contraception access.

>> We all know and we have seen now that Republicans do not intend to stop at states rights, but rather this attempt to banned abortion everywhere.

How horrible that is and what an impact this has on women.

>> Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill says nobody should be able to take away access to health care for a woman so she is pushing her support for reproductive health, introducing legislation that would provide more access to contraception.

Known as the Convenient Contraception Act.

>> We know about 19 million women live in contraception deserts, areas with insufficient access to the full range of contraception methods.

This burden falls disproportionately on women of color which is certainly a concern in New Jersey where we see worse maternal health care outcomes.

Reporter: The measure would also ban health insurance providers for charging additional fees.

>> One year supplies have been found to reduce gaps, improve pregnancy timing and improvement contraception equity while lowering direct costs of pregnancy management.

Reporter: It is just one way advocates are fighting to protect women's health as members of the Republican continued to restrict care.

>> We are a bit than a year further out than when the Supreme Court took the Draconian decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The states are really dire.

We have 21 states around the country that have full bands or have incredibly restricted access to abortions for their citizens.

Here in New Jersey, we are holding the line.

New Jersey has done a phenomenal amount of work in safeguarding and expanding care.

Reporter: Planned Parenthood is seeing an increase in patient seeking care, many coming from states where reproductive care is limited.

>> From Georgia, Indiana, Texas.

We are seeing an influx in our neighboring state in New York because they too are seeing an increase of poor patients out of the state.

Ensuring we have the right to access to contraception is about our right to bodily autonomy.

Reporter: Rights advocates say every woman is entitled to have.

Joanna: For some young girls, the experience of getting there period each month can be mortifying.

Those who experience period poverty do not always have access to effective menstrual products.

Raven Santana reports on a new law aimed at preventing this problem in New Jersey schools.

>> It should be as equal as men having access to the products they need in the bathroom.

Reporter: This assemblywoman is talking about menstrual products.

She is cosponsor of the bill signed by Governor Murphy that would require school districts to provide free menstrual products to students in grades six through 12 in an effort to fight period poverty.

Currently there is no law requiring it.

>> How do girls get the access to the products?

We want to make sure of equity of access.

Reporter: According to a study, one in four students has struggled to afford pads or tan ponds and had warned them longer than they should, with skin infection to save money.

Lawmakers said the legislation would have a direct impact on absenteeism.

>> It is not as if we are talking about something we are selecting to.

That it is a luxury purchase.

It is a necessity.

Stories of making decisions whether they would purchase food or clothing or amending -- feminine hygiene products.

This is not unique to our school districts and New Jersey.

This is a national conversation that needs to be lifted up so that young people understand this is not something to be embarrassed about.

Joanna: Eligible schools will be required to provide menstrual products and at least half of all their female and gender-neutral bathrooms.

Costs will be covered by the state.

It will cost up to $3.5 million for the school year.

>> Raising your hand and telling the teacher you need to go to the nurse, it is not an illness, it is the need.

This is in equity.

Reporter: She showed us dispensers that were installed as part of the initiative and they are similar to the ones that will be installed in schools across the state.

>> When we talk to male legislators, they say when you go to the women's Western there are no menstrual supplies there?

>> The question on where and why the piece of legislation took so long, I think when we started out there was thinking about this being more about poverty legislation than looking at it from a gender equality point of view.

Reporter: The language in the bill is also key to eliminating stigma.

>> It is also important to make sure the language is not stigmatizing, that it is gender-neutral.

We are not sending people to the nurses office.

Reporter: The free products are expected to be rolled out next year when the law takes effect.

Joanna: Tonight, not only is Central Jersey a place, it is now a destination spot.

Governor Murphy signed a bill today aimed at generating tourism to a region of the state many still do not believe exists.

Murphy says it exists and has a rich history with the Revolutionary war.

And it has some of the most beautiful Agriculture around.

Do not forget the miles of beautiful beaches.

The new law will require the state to more actively promote travel and overnight stays in the counties there.

That effort intended to help create more jobs and spur economic activity.

>> Central jersey is a cradle of revolutionary history and possibilities.

And now it is time for the world to discover everything this region has to offer.

From our bountiful farmlands to our one-of-a-kind wineries come out to our national parks.

Starting today, we are taking a new step in sharing those wonders.

Joanna: You probably rarely carry cash anymore.

With each swipe of the credit card, you are paying additional fees for your purchase.

Those fees are passed on by the businesses that they themselves have been paying, fees charged by the credit card companies.

Governor Murphy signed a bill to address this issue.

I am joined now by the budget and finance writer who will explain what the bill requires.

Great to have you here.

Tell us what this new law will require when it comes to businesses passing along these credit card fees to consumers.

>> The fees themselves are not illegal.

New Jersey is not one of the states that has banned merchants from passing along these fees.

But what the state now requires is there has to be disclosure review will be charged extra if you are going to pay with credit instead of cash.

That disclosure has to happen at the point of entry and at the point of sale.

For a restaurant, has to happen on the menu.

Joanna: If you are going shopping at a store, where you looking for this alert?

>> It is supposed to be a clear and conspicuous notice.

For an in-person store there is another wrinkle when it comes to electronic kiosks.

On the page where you finalize the transaction, you should notify you if there is an increase charged for using credit.

Joanna: What are the limitations placed on businesses as it relates to what they can charge?

>> If you think a lot of people are paying with credit, not at the pandemic, there is a processing fee that businesses face and it eats into their profits, especially with supply chain issues and inflation.

Businesses are allowed to pass those fees to the consumer but they are not allowed to profit off of it.

What has been prohibited is any sort of profiteering off of these types of fees.

They can also -- only charge us what they are facing in terms of the charge itself.

Joanna: The Biden administration is taken a look at junk fees.

What is happening at the federal level?

>> It has been a big area of emphasis for President Biden Biden it resonates with the people.

All of the up charge is when you are buying a concert ticket, you see the price on the app and when you get the bill you see how much gets she picked in terms of fees.

-- heaped on in terms of fees.

There are excessively fees that some credit card companies are charging.

They typically tend to target lower income consumers.

Joanna: A few seconds left.

How does a person monitor this?

>> You have to be vigilant.

If you find a business that is not compliant, reported.

-- report it.

Joanna: Check those bills before you pay and maybe even afterwards.

Good information, thank you.

Here is how the markets closed for the day.

♪ Joanna: A fluffy story to end with.

An almost two-year-old Golden Retriever is part of the team at the hospital in Toms River.

It is the fourth therapy dog to join the hospital team.

The dog received a warm welcome from the staff who will provide special therapy to residents, their families and even to staff members.

He is not just there for his looks.

Data shows hunting dogs can increase healing and lower blood pressure.

What a good dog.

That is going to do it for us tonight.

Do not forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast.

For all of us here at NJ Spotlight News, thank you for being with us tonight.

We will see you tomorrow.

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Orsted is committed to the creation of a new, long-term, sustainable, clean energy future for New Jersey.