>> Major funding for NJ Spotlight News is sponsored by NJM Insurance Group, serving insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Briana: Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, the first political poll is out in the highly contested rate to unseat the embattled senior senator, and Congressman Andy Kim is leaving first lady Tammy Murphy by double digits.

>> I don't think anyone is near the threshold where they should feel comfortable in this race, so there is a long way go.

Briana: Also, longtime political operative Craig Callaway is facing voter charged roses.

>> Anyone messes with Bella's needs to go.

Briana: Plus, get ready for a midtown terminal makeover -- >> The bus terminal has become a poster child for failed legacy infrastructure which desperately needs to be replaced.

Briana: The Port Authority announcing an overhaul for its bus depot to the tune of $2 billion.

And a horse, of course.

>> I did not realize the level of how much it teaches you about yourself, about the world.

Briana: Overpeck Park in Leonia is now home to an equine emotional center, also known as horse therapy.

NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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

Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us this Friday night.

I am Briana Vannozzi.

It is game on for the state's Marquis political race.

Despite having the support of the Democratic Party organization and a war chest full of cash, first lady Tammy Murphy is lagging behind her made a moment in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

That is according to the first opinion poll out today, showing Representative Andy Kim has a double-digit lead over Murphy.

The survey is the first had to head look in the race to replace embattled senior senator Bob Menendez, who has indicated he will seek reelection but has not formally declared.

As Brenda Flanagan reports, the devils, as they say, is in the details.

Brenda: Congressman Andy Kim supporters got good news.

Poll numbers for the political primary matchup show them well ahead of opponent Tammy Murphy in the contentious race for U.S. Senate that puts the Democrat against the first lady, backed by the controversial but formidable County line.

Rep. Kim: I was excited to see the line.

If Brenda: Can collected 27%, 12 points more -- 32%, more than Murphy.

The others trail with single digit, almost one-third do not know who they will support.

Murphy scored a higher name recognition but lower approval rating Van Kim.

Rep. Kim: these are the strongest favorable numbers I've seen in my career, and the polls showed we are the campaign that has the most room to grow.

Brenda: Kim's support comes mostly from suburban white liberals, while Murphy pulled higher with more moderate black and Hispanic Democrats.

Dan Casino sees a culture class.

Dan: we have a Ridge who are saying no, we are against Murphy.

Brenda: He says that heightened that highlight the deepening party divide over bosses who control ballot placement.

Murphy has enjoyed easier access to party support as the wife of Jerzy's Democratic governor come about poll results also show a good chunk of undecided voters.

Her campaign strategist says he points to the positives.

Dan: We have seen the first lady put together a strong coalition of the type of orders that create primary, largely voters of women and people of color.

Beds along race to go.

Prof. Baker: I'm not sure if this is causing sleepless nights in the Murphy household.

Brenda: This is not your will run of them, no surprises primary, it is a barnburner.

Prof. Baker: Andy Kim clearly has visibility in the state, but I think more important, he has people who are much more passionately devoted to him as a candidate, where it is basically going to be a ground game and there are going to be about people, a lot of counties with money, the county chairs, and in the end, it will have to be Tammy Murphy's show.

Brenda: Poll results show the incumbent, vases corruption charges with massive 68% of disapproval ratings.

Meanwhile, Campos-Medina felt encouraged.

Ms. Campos-Medina: It starts to understand who is the real progressive in the race, they will start flowing toward me.

Brenda: Perennial candidate Larry Hamm did not make the cut.

>> We don't have evidence he has strong public support, we don't have a lot of fundraising.

Brenda: We asked Hamm for comment.

He did not respond.

The primary is June 4 it I am Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: A former Atlantic City Council President is facing charges again.

Longtime political operative Craig Callaway has been arrested on federal charges of ballots brought -- ballot fraud.

Callaway organized a mail-in ballots game that allowed him to develop large swaths of ballots.

Joanna Gagis reports candidates have long accused him of this fraud.

>> Anyone messing with mail-in ballots needs to go, Republican or Democrat.

Joanna: The arrest yesterday of Craig Callaway, a political operative who has worked on elections for both parties.

He has been charged with election fraud I the U.S. attorney for fraudulently trying to catch Marilyn ballots -- cast mail-in ballots.

Michael: We wish this happened years ago, but we are vindicated that, you know, the efforts we have taken against this guy have at least paid off.

Joanna: Michael is chairman of the Atlantic Democratic committee who has sued Callaway for years of election fraud and public corruption.

He tried to procure ballots from the most vulnerable citizens and then return them fraudulently in favor of Callaway's candidate.

Callaway has served time in prison for bribery and his role in a sex sting operation.

But he was hired by several high-profile officials in New Jersey.

Micah: maybe that's why he got away for it -- away with it for so many years, because he was hired by both parties.

Michael: they were tempted to use him.

Joanna: How aware were you of these untoward practices?

Michael: I think everyone knows the rumors and what is going on for some elected officials to plead ignorant, like I've seen several due, disingenuous.

With the Democrats, the same thing.

Callaway is nationally known for his shenanigans.

Everyone in Atlantic County knows.

Micah: the value that I put on the actions of Callaway is how much the campaign paid him.

They paid him $65,000, which is as much as they paid their campaign manager in 2022.

He claims, I did not know anything was going on that was wrong.

Well, everybody else did.

Everybody knew that is what came with Callaway's services.

That is what he did.

If you did not know he was doing anything wrong, what did you think you were purchasing?

Joanna: Van Drews' campaign said only 851 votes came from vote by mail ballots in Atlantic City, far fewer than his Democratic opponent, and adding we never have an never would condone any illegal activities.

Callaway most recently worked for the campaign of Atlantic City Democratic councilwoman LaToya Dunstan in the second Ward.

Dunstan won her primary by a huge turnout of mail-in ballots P reach out for, but received no response.

Michael: 2019, the Republicans rank in the general simply came close, and they argued Callaway help the two Democrats, which he did, quite frankly.

Again, both parties are not innocent of this.

Joanna: Callaway's attorney has not responded for our request for commentate in a statement, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said "holding free and fair elections is a bedrock principle of our democracy.

Today's charge reflect our office's commitment to hold to account those who try to undermine the electoral process or co-if found guilty, Callaway faces a minimum of five years in prison and a fine of 250 thousand dollars.

IMG guy, NJ Spotlight News.

-- I am Joanna Gagis, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: After being dubbed as worst place on earth by New Jersey voters, the Midtown terminal is finally in mind to get a makeover.

Transportation leaders revealed plans for the new $10 billion facility that is expected to bring the rundown 73-year-old terminal into the 21st century.

The only catch, you will have to wait a few years to use it.

Ted Goldberg reports.

>> It's possible, New York and New Jersey can actually get along, right?

Ted: that depends on the topic.

Most people can agree the Port Authority bus terminal in New York City needs to be replaced, whether you ask people who run the buses or ride them.

Paul: it is old and rundown it would be nice to be something new.

See something new.

Rick: failed legacy in a structure that needs to be replaced.

Kevin: 9.3 million and growing, so almost double the population since this was built, so way past time to build a new terminal.

Ted: Yesterday, the Port Authority unveiled ambitious with ovation plans with a $10 billion price tag.

They say the 73-year-old facility is too small and obsolete to get away with Band-Aids.

Kevin: Despite the efforts to rebuild, 1950's, 1956, 1980, we have this.

It is time to turn the page.

It is time to spend $10 billion and get a new terminal.

Andres: it is encouraging from a short-term perspective.

It hits hard on the wallet, I'm sure, but from a long-term perspective, is the right move.

Ted: Port Authority leaders Sega plans include new ramps to them from the Lincoln Tunnel, only used by buses.

The Executive Director says the terminal will be built entirely on Port Authority land with no eminent domain needed.

.

The only local headache will be construction noises.

>> There will be a lot of construction in this neighborhood, and it will impose serious inconveniences on the neighborhood, but we are trying to do what we can to make up for that.

It will be a best in class facility with cutting-edge technology.

It will be focused on an bus future, with an emphasis on net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Ted: Bus riders in Clifton told how they would spend that $10 billion inside and outside the station.

>> Newer updated restaurants, facilities, restaurants, all the things people would like to see, like a new airport or any type of travel hub.

I think $10 billion will cover it.

Emily: It is a lot of money.

.

I would like to see more money being spent, you know, on the buses themselves, probably, and some of the staff.

Andres: nicer buses would be nice.

Moving to something like electric, you know, or something that uses clean energy, that would be nice.

Ted: The Port Authority needs federal approval before they can break ground, which would come later this year.

If the plans are approved, the Rams will be built first, and the old terminal will not torn down until 2029.

I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: In our spotlight on business report, Holtec's over.

Debating the nuclear energy company from collecting a 260 million dollars tax break awarded in 2014.

In the petition, Clapton writes the Camden-based firm has a history of ethical issues, saying Holtec Should not be allowed to get away with lying on his application for the biggest tax break in state history.

The appeal come days after Clack had announced a fine against the company for submitting false claims.

Holtec Has denied any wrongdoing and in a statement said the company already won this battle in lower court.

An appellate court ruled in Holtec's favor on the application issue saying the form was confusing and poorly war -- and poorly worded.

And blamed the state for failing to do due diligence.

On Wall Street, stocks edged up after a better-than-expected January jobs report.

More than 353,000 jobs added, according to the Labor Department.

Here is how the markets ended the week.

♪ And tuna in this weekend to NJ Business Beat with Raven Santana.

Raven is talking to aviation and transportation experts about travel trends for 2024.

She visits Newark airport's new terminal A.

Watch on NJPBS.

♪ Tonight, we are taking a deeper look into a little talked about form of therapy.

Horses healing humans.

We start by sharing the story of longtime Bloomberg news and Bergen record journalist Elise Young.

Her assault letter scarred physically and emotionally but also brought her back to a childhood passion and a way to heal her trauma, horses.

Elise Young is with me now.

I am so thrilled to sit down and chat with you.

This is quite an ordeal that you have been through, as someone who has cover the state as a journalist.

You sort of have found yourself on the others of a really significant, traumatic incident to tell me what happened.

Elise: Thanks for having me.

Interest of a one morning, two half years ago, I spotted a woman on my street, a stranger.

And I will leave it to the courtroom for the details to come out, but she beat me, she attacked me, without any kind of provocation, and she left me with a traumatic brain injury is severe facial trauma as well.

Briana: You have gone through countless surgeries, you wrote about your personal essay, a lot of time healing internally, emotionally from such an attack.

What has that process been like for you?

How are you processing it?

Can you even at this?

Elise: I think I got through it partly because of my past.

I was born with a bilateral cleft lip, and that required a lot of surgeries, through the age of about 25.

As this woman was beating me, I knew that my injuries were severe, and I knew what was going to have to happen at some, when she was done beating me.

And so it brought back a lot of memories for me of being a child and going through the surgeries, dealing with kids who were not very kind to me, who bullied me quite a bit.

After I healed, after the rehab for the brain injury, and after the surgeries to put my face back together again, it was a huge amount of internal damage.

I started to seek a therapist to talk over this trauma, and I just could not click with anybody.

And then I remembered, I'd always wanted to get back to horses, which was something I had done from the time I was very young, did it into adulthood and then had to leave it behind for various reasons, and I figured, horses were my safe and happy place to be, and horses are surrounded by caring people.

I thought, let me give this a shot.

Maybe it is time to get back to horses, and that is where it let me.

Briana: They sometimes imitate the energy you put out, right?

At least in the experiences I have had.

What has it been like getting back to, I will say, your roots, in terms of having horses, working with the horses, but also, how has it enabled you to heal, it sounds like the past traumas and the current?

Elise: He has bought me -- it has brought me back to a community of horses but also the people that surround horses.

Whether you are a daughter of a billionaire or a person with one stall to pay for lessons, horses do not know this, they do not care, neither do the people in the stable.

We are all there to be surrounded by this beautiful, wondrous thing that you don't see every day, right?

We don't have them in our backyard like our dog.

We don't hurt them in our car to go play frisbee with -- herd they have in our car to play frisbee with.

It is something that can hurt us very much -- I have fallen off many times -- but I needed to trust people again, I needed to trust things bigger than me again.

Briana: Elise Young, thank you for sharing this really personal journey.

There are two personal essays Elise has written which will be published on our website you can check them out on Monday.

Thank you so much.

New Jersey is home to quite a few horseback staples, but Bergen County opened the first ever equine emotional wellness center in Leonia, called a stable life.

The team, both horses and humans , are dedicated to helping people through the times.

As Raven Santana reports, the best part of dealing with horses is that no word ever needs to be exchanged.

Raven: on a busy highway two miles away from the George Washington Bridge and nestled inside Overpeck County Park, you will find horses and even donkeys here at the emotional equine wellness Center A Stable Life.

Ana: A Stable Life establishes a connection in a knowledge -- in a non-Dodge mental -- in a nonjudgmental way.

The majority of my clients are women who experienced client.

I also work with veterans through PTSD.

Raven: Ana is the founder of A Stable Life.

The center is the first of its kind in Bergen County.

She says the equine therapy program uses horses to facilitate growth and healing.

Ana: I had a client who said, well, my English is not that good.

I said, you know what?

Horses don't speak English I'll.

It is OK --don't speak English at all.

It is OK. Raven: Therapy sessions range about an hour, and they could be done in group sessions or one-on-one, and that involves everything from riding a horse or just standing by one and feeding it.

Ana: so you might have an issue that is on the surface today that requires something different, that requires you to sit in a stall and just meditate and cry, and that is OK.

There are horses I know, because I know the horses, there are horses I know who will be OK with that.

Raven: She currently has about 40 clients in total, many of which have been referred to by a number of agencies she works with, including the Bergen family center and the covenant health of Newark.

The agencies involve funding from individuals.

Kathy: the reason I came here, I was referred to, was because of domestic violence with the next boyfriend.

Working here with ANA, she helped me work on who I am, minus the alcohol, the drugs, abuse from boyfriends.

Raven: Kathy Klein has been receiving treatment for about four months and says it has been a game changer for her.

Kathy: with a group, they have a group of miniature horses that come to you and we are in a barn, sitting in a circle, and then they will have miniature horses just kind of roam around you, how are you feeling today, what is your zone?

Are you in a good mood or a bad mood?

Raven: another says the treatment has given her a new purpose and confidence in life.

Dori: I did not realize the level how much it teaches you about yourself, about the world.

You see what you are living and how you are living your own life.

Raven: Ana encourages those who are struggling with mental wellness to try the therapy, especially traditional therapy has not been successful.

Ana: you don't have to be tied to someone's couch or a chair for a year or years to come.

You can have your eight weeks, 10 weeks and have a beautiful life.

Raven: For NJ Spotlight News, I am Raven Santana.

Briana: Finally, if the groundhog predicts it, it must be true.

Lady Ed Weiner did not see her shadow this morning -- Lady Edwina did not see her shadow this morning, so that means an early spring.

It was moved indoors due to the rain.

We will take it either way.

She also made her pick for next week's Super Bowl, and she is all in for the Kansas City Chiefs.

No word if she is a Taylor Swift fan.

Make sure to tune into Reporters Roundtable this weekend.

David talks about what the party needs to do to recover from last year's legislative losses.

And a panel of local reporters break down this week's political headlines.

That is Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. on NJPBS.

And on Chat Box, can the self-proclaimed funniest lawyer in New Jersey went over hardline -- win over hardline trump supporters?

David talks with Jon Bramnick, right here on NJPBS.

AIM Briana Vannozzi.

For the entire NJ Spotlight News team, have a great weekend.

We will see you back here on Monday.

>> New Jersey education Association, making public school grade for every child, and RWJBarnabas Health, let's be healthy together.

>> Our future relies on more than clean energy.

Our future relies on empowered community, the health and safety of our families and neighbors, of our schools and streets.

We are committed to sustainability, equity, and economic empowerment, investing in part, helping towns go green, supporting civics, scholarships, and workforce development that strengthen our community.

♪