>>>> Major funding for "NJ Spotlight News" is provided in part by NJM insurance company.

And by the PSEG foundation.

Raven: Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News."

The congestion pricing plan is soon to be a reality.

A proposed holding plan to enter Manhattan but New Jersey has vowed to fight on.

>> This will be a disaster for hard-working families trying to make ends meet.

We will keep fighting this every day.

Raven: Also, running out of time for Chris Christie to drop out of the presidential race as he tries to take center stage in tonight's debate.

>> It is likely you will see him swinging for the bleachers tonight.

Whatever he can do to make it count.

Raven: Plus, calls for a strike.

NJIT adjunct faculty and workers overwhelmingly devote to authorize a strike.

>> It is not an empty threat.

We are all sort of feeling frustrated, feeling disrespected and feeling like this was the last resort.

Raven: And jury equity.

A push to allow people with criminal convictions to serve on juries.

"NJ Spotlight News" starts right now.

♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Briand of EOC -- Rihanna Vannozzi.

Raven: I am Raven Santana, in for Briana Vannozzi.

Today the MTA board approve the tolling and credit recommendations proposed by the review board last week which includes a $15 toll for cars.

Official said they hope to put the plan into place by spring 2024 after a 60 day public comment period and vote.

It is criticized and New York has been accused of overburdening its residents.

With new tolls.

.

Brenda Flanagan has more as the pricing war rages on.

>> The MTA voted overwhelmingly, 9-1, to move forward with plans for congestion pricing in the business district below 60th Street.

It would add another $15 on top of daytime tolls for most cars heading to the city and $36 more for big trucks.

>> This is a great piece of public policy.

It will benefit New Yorkers.

>> but is it good for New Jersey?

It depends on who you ask.

Some slammed the higher tolls, calling them unaffordable for regular folks even with a $5 rebate at the tunnels.

He resigned from the committee that suggested tolls.

>> What do they expect a nurse to do who lives in New Jersey and has to be at work at 5:00 in the morning and there is no public transit option?

They have to drive.

This should not be penalized because New Jersey has a crappy public transit system.

>> The lone no vote also cited pricing.

>> $24.

That is what it would be to go in NCA son or daughter to CA show or to go to have dinner.

I cannot vote for it.

>> Supporters argue the plan would cut traffic congestion and reduce pollution across the region especially if it pushes more trucks to travel at night when the plan offers vehicles a 75% discount.

>> We understand the regional benefits it can provide.

Cleaner air for everyone.

More consistent and dedicated funding for public transit.

And definitely less congestion if you choose to drive.

>> The base rate of $15 charged once a day is high enough to make people think twice about driving but not too high for those who have no choice.

>> But New Jersey officials who wanted much higher rebates filed a federal lawsuit to block the MTA congestion pricing plan.

It did not impact today's vote but it has thrown up a roadblock for the agency's current plan, delaying a signal project on a Brooklyn rail line.

>> The lawsuit from New Jersey could traduce to put this funding at risk despite the benefits to the vast majority of New Jersey commuters who use transit.

Even though we are confident about the merits of congestion pricing, we are at the point where some projects will need to be delayed because we cannot award contracts funded by congestion pricing until we know the funding is six-year.

>> We are hoping New Jersey wants to resolve this and we can work together.

Putting the politics aside, I think this is good for New Jersey for a couple reasons.

1, more New Jersey commuters get on the MTA than drive.

2, for the people who do have to drive, or who choose to drive, notwithstanding congestion pricing, we hope they will have a faster trip.

>> Congestion pricing is expected to raise billions to fund MTA improvement projects.

>> I do not look to New York and say, hey, we have problems over here and you should pay for all the problems.

That is what New York wants to do.

>> But New York Governor Kathy Hochul told supporters yesterday -- >> From time to time, leaders are called upon to envision a better future.

Be bold in the implementation and execution and be undaunted by the opposition.

That is how you secure progress.

: Brenda the public gets another 60 days to comment on the proposed plan before the MTA takes a final vote.

A live lodge is visioned in late spring.

In lower Manhattan, I am Brenda Flanagan, "NJ Spotlight News."

Raven: A new update in the case of Bob Menendez.

The state attorney general is reviewing the conduct of the former Attorney General and top Deputy after it was disclosed in the indictment after Menendez in 2019 reportedly try to favorably resolve criminal matters with officials in New Jersey.

This inquiry comes after Menendez was indicted on bribery charges and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt in late September.

The AG is describing the investigation as an internal inquiry and neither official has been interviewed by New Jersey prosecutors.

I am joined by Bloomberg news reporters, who have been reporting on the inquiry.

Thank you for joining me.

.

It is clear that neither of them were directly named in the Menendez indictment or directly accused of any wrongdoing in the Menendez case.

It seems as if this investigation by the AG's office is more of an internal inquiry coming off what the indictment loosely alleged.

Based off your reporting, what really happened here?

David: we reported that in January of 2019, Senator Menendez called Grey while out of the blue.

He was the Attorney General and he asked him about what he said was -- treatment of Hispanics in the trucking industry by the office of insurance fraud prosecutor.

He asked him is this about a particular case?

Menendez said it had to do with a case.

He did not actually say the name of the person that had been indicted for just what he wanted done.

We reported it as a subtle approach to Grewal.

Fast-forward to September of 2019, Menendez organized a meeting with Grewal, who came with one of his top deputies.

In that meeting in Menendez's office in Newark, the Senator again raised the issue in the trucking industry and Grewal cut him off and said, he asked him is this about what the other case was about?

Grewal said he could not talk about it.

The current Attorney General is looking at the conduct in totality of the Attorney General's office in 2019 in dealing with two cases that federal prosecutors say when and as wanted favorably resolved and in exchange for that, he bribed the senator, a businessman, Jose Uribe, bribed the senator with a Mercedes.

Raven: My question, I will allow Austin to answer this, do you think this was the only meeting they were all having?

Austin: these are the only two meetings that were mentioned in the indictment.

And the only two that were indicated to have had.

There was a phone call in January and one in person meeting in September at Menendez's Newark office.

Raven: This seems like an example of Menendez trying to test the waters with Grewal, how far he can go.

Austin: I cannot speculate to his motivations, but it is interesting that in both meetings we reported there was no explicit ask, no, "Do this for me," which indicates something of a sensitivity to what may have been, or may be considered, when it comes to motivations.

David: it is clear that beyond the meeting between Menendez and Grewal and the earlier phone call, the state prosecutors had to take actions with regard to the indictment that Menendez wanted favorably resolved and with regard to a related investigation Menendez wanted favorably resolved.

There were people in the office who had to take action and presumably the investigators in the Attorney General's office want to talk to those people to find out just what happened.

Raven: Austin, David, excellent reporting.

Thank you for joining me.

David: thank you.

Raven: The number of candidates on stage at the fourth GOP debate is shrinking.

The debate will take place tonight in Alabama and have just four candidates present.

Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie.

One candidate you will not see is President Trump -- Former President Donald Trump.

A poll found voters would like to see Trump as the nominee.

The St. Paul found Chris Christie as the least popular.

Many are questioning Chris Christie's refusal to drop out of the race.

>> It is true, a lot of you probably forgot former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is running for the Republican nomination for president.

Still, and tonight as he stands on the debate stage for what could be the final time, you might wonder when he will land a blow on Trump like he promised.

>> Trump never showed up so he had to jettison that plan.

>> This Politico reporter has been chronicling the Chris Christie run in a newsletter for NJ.com.

It can get a little tough to cover a campaign that more and more people think should be folding its tent.

>> I heard a recent interview of him, when he was asked -- everyone should coalesced around Nikki Haley, his response was why does and she drop out?

I think you can argue this is between Trump, obviously, who appears to be running away with it, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie.

>> A new Monmouth University poll finds Chris Christie unable to catch fire with anyone but the most ardent anti-Trump supporters.

>> The problem with Chris Christie is he has a ceiling.

The ceiling is a vast majority of Republican voters do not like him, which means they will not vote for him.

He is not an alternative they will look at.

The thing that we do see is all of his voters are anti-Trump voters.

Again, his support plus Nikki Haley's support is not big enough to still overcome Donald Trump's support where it stands right now, even in a state like New Hampshire.

>> Chris Christie snuck into tonight's debate by the slimmest of margins in the last few days.

He has switched his debate tactics toward meatier answers on policy which is campaign says is working for the former governor, most evidence to the contrary.

>> It has not given him a lift.

He will try one more time and see if he can make anything out of it.

.

By all reasonable accounts, this is the last debate, New Hampshire is the last stand.

He will have to make some tough decisions.

I think Nikki Haley is putting on the pressure for him to make those decisions now rather than after the primary.

>> He says this is when people start tuning in, New Hampshire, and he is right.

New Hampshire voters typically start to get engaged at this point going forward.

I talked to one pollster who said it is not typical for voters to make up their mind a weekend or two weekends before the actual primary.

>> Chris Christie is dug in.

He is a constant presence on cable TV talk shows and his Townhalls are still well attended and well received but he has.

Been here before.

he knows town Hill tourism in New Hampshire can fill a church basement but does not always translate into votes.

And time is running out.

I am David Cruz, "NJ Spotlight News."

Raven: The New Jersey chapter on the Council on American Islamic relations joined the Jewish voices for peace and other organizations pushing for Jersey officials calling for a resolution and a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

>> No more money for Israel.

Raven: This councilman introduced the resolution last week.

It is both personal and political Forehand.

His 40-year-old cousin was recently shot and killed in his all of Grove by end Israeli settler in the West Bank.

It will be voted on tonight.

The group says the fact that U.S. aid munitions are being used by Israeli military in unlawful attacks with deadly consequences for civilians should be an urgent wake-up call to the Biden administration.

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza is reaching 16,000.

This is happening while Israel has doubled the number of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank.

>> It is extremely important for all of us to come together and express our disdain at the oppressive, indiscriminate acts of the Israeli government.

We have an obligation as residents, citizens, voters and taxpayers to make sure our dollars are not going to facilitate the Israeli's policy of genocide.

Raven: In our spotlight on business report tonight, after working without a contract for more than a year, NJIT's union employees voted to approve a strike authorization.

98% of the members of the United Council of academics, which includes educators and researchers at NJIT here in Newark will go on strike after demanding higher pay and better health benefits.

Ted Goldberg has more on the likelihood of a strike that would be the first ever in the school's history.

Ted: Workers at NJIT are a step closer to going on strike.

The union representing adjuncts, graduate workers and postdoctoral students voted 98% to authorize a strike this week after working without a contract for more than a year.

>> I feel disrespected that they have not been more willing to actually come to the table and talk with us about our demands.

Ted: The union has several demands for a new contract, mostly related to pay and health benefits -- health benefits.

>> We do not have dental and that is important.

Childcare as well.

Better wages for post docs, adjuncts.

>> It is a sign of respect because we are doing a lot of the work.

We are doing a massive chunk of the work.

The amount we are getting is insulting.

Ted: On the heels of the strike authorization vote, NJIT and the union then met with a state appointed mediator for 10 hours on campus.

>> It was a step in the right direction.

Ted: The two parties sent us a joint statement which reads in part NJIT and the adjunct marketing unit have come to an agreement on the essential economic terms of a successor collective negotiations agreement.

We war card to resolve any other outstanding issues.

>> We don't want to strike.

But we will do it if we have to.

We have the authorization to but we don't -- nobody wants to.

>> I am very prepared to strike.

The strike authorization is not an empty threat.

We are all sort of feeling frustrated, feeling disrespected and feeling like this was the last resort.

NJIT has left us no choice.

>> It was feeling bleak at first, especially with the negotiations being stalled.

But now that people are learning more and getting the word out and people are excited to be involved, it feels very optimistic.

>> I am hopeful that within the next few weeks, before we reach the holiday break, an agreement can be made.

Ted: Donna leaves the parent union for one of the unions that went on strike at Rutgers.

She said the strikes are sending a strong message and a warning.

>> It is saying to management that when you come to the table you need to negotiate in good faith.

You cannot just say "no."

You cannot just say "we'll get back to you."

>> It took NJIT almost a year and a half to actually want to bargain in earnest with us and it took a strike authorization vote to get there.

Ted: The Rutgers strike was the first in the school's history and a strike at NJIT would be the first in school history.

Raven: Turning to Wall Street.

Here is how the markets closed today.

♪ >> Support for the business report is provided by Junior achievement of New Jersey.

Providing students with skills to advance their career paths.

Online.

And Rowan University.

Educating New Jersey leaders, partnering with New Jersey businesses and transforming New Jersey's future.

♪ Raven: New Jersey lawmakers are trying to move a bill forward that would allow people with prior convictions to serve as jurors in the state.

Currently Jersey bans hundreds of thousands of people from serving on juries due to criminal convictions.

More than 219,000 Black people in New Jersey are banned from jury service due to a prior conviction.

Melissa Rose Cooper spoke with social justice advocates who say ending the ban could increase diversity in the courtroom.

>> The very people on the judiciary committee, they voted to restore our voting rights.

That meant they were OK with us voting them into office but for us to sit on juries, it did not make any sense that the pushback to exclude us from being able to sit on juries.

>> Reacting to the new jury assembly judiciary committee's decision to advance a bill that would allow people with prior convictions to serve as jurors.

The measure excludes residents convicted of murder or aggravated sexual assault.

That means he, who spends his time helping formerly incarcerated people get their lives back on track, could not sit on a jury having spent 30 years in prison for homicide.

>> Who is a better expert than someone who went to trial, lost, understands court procedure and most of the brothers that testified at the assembly were all paralegals.

Certified paralegals.

Why should we be excluded from the jury pool?

We were the ones pushing for the right to sit on juries.

It was not the ones or people who were not charged with homicides.

It was the very people with a homicides pushing for this right.

>> It is a right that social advocates say are unfairly denied to New Jersey residents every day.

>> Our jury pools are becoming whitewashed.

By having this lifetime ban, it precludes from 23% to 29% of the entire Black population of New Jersey.

>> Senior Counsel at the New Jersey Institute for social justice believes any exclusion to the bill is more like punishment than fulfilling a civic obligation.

>> We either believe in the idea of individual serving their time and redemption or we don't.

It is important to note this build does not do anything to change the jury selection process.

Every single person in a jury pool has the potential to have bias.

To draw this line for these two particular offenses does not make sense because it is the people closest to the case, whether it is the attorneys or presiding judge, they can decide if an individual, if that bias exists or does not.

>> An assemblywoman saying this bill reinforces our ongoing commitment to create a more inclusive and fair legal system.

Individuals who have overcome their past mistakes bring experiences and perspectives that can strengthen our administration of justice by creating a more diverse and representative judiciary.

>> The former governor, Chairman of the board at the New Jersey reentry program and current mayoral candidate, said the bill is crucial to restoring justice in our state.

>> I think it should move forward.

Most importantly, long-term, it is critical that New Jersey continues to bring in as many court-involved persons into the full array of benefits that all citizens have.

>> The Senate version of the jury reform bill is pending review by its judiciary committee.

Social advocates are hoping the exclusions will be removed so all residents can have the chance to carry out their civic duties.

I am Alyssa.

Raven:Raven: Rose Cooper that does it for us tonight.

Do not forget to download the "NJ Spotlight News" podcast so you can listen anytime.

I am Raven Santana.

For the entire "NJ Spotlight News" team, thank you for watching and we will see you back your tomorrow.

>> New Jersey education Association, making public school grade for every child.

And RWJBarnabas Health.

Let's be healthy together.

♪