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Briana: tonight on "NJ Spotlight News," throwing the book at Bob Menendez prosecutors are asking the judge for 15 years for the embattled Former Senator for bribery and acting as a foreign agent.

Plus, TikTok ban before the Supreme Court.

The justices hear arguments as the app faces its potential final days in the U.S., leaving small businesses here in the state scrambling.

>> TikTok is for good or for bad a huge part of my business.

It is 80% of all of our business comes through TikTok.

Briana: Also, no jail time or penalties for President-elect Trump, but for the first time in our nation's history, a convicted felon will occupy the White House.

>> We have never had a felon in the White House before.

We have never had somebody convicted and sentenced.

This is an unprecedented situation.

Briana: And dumping the state's basic skills exam -- educators are looking for ways to curb the state's teacher shortage.

"NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

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

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

I am Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with a few of today's top headlines.

First, a controversial police training program is under fire again.

A new investigation from the state comptroller's office finds nearly two dozen police officers attended training courses from the company Street Cop even after the state Attorney General banned the private training due to its use of unconstitutional tactics.

A skating 2023 comptroller's report found hundreds of department's paid more than a million dollars to Street cop.

It was founded in 2012 by a former Woodbridge police officer and allegedly used racist and misogynistic on bench, along with think -- misogynistic language, along with encouraging aggressive and is committed to a behavior by cops.

The Attorney General's office issued guidance barring the training and required any officers who attended to be retrained.

The new report says it appears some officers are ignored that.

The issues being taken up by the division on civil rights.

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to put disgraced former Senator Bob Menendez in prison for 15 years.

According to a memo filed by prosecutors late Thursday night and first reported by "the New York Times," attorneys called Menendez's crimes "an extraordinary attempt to corrupt the nation's core sovereign powers over foreign relations and law enforcement."

The former senior senator and two New Jersey businessmen were convicted in July of a sweeping bribery and corruption scheme.

His defense attorneys last week described even a few years behind bars as tantamount to the death sentence for the 71-year-old Democrat.

Prosecutors say a substantial sentence combined with financial penalties would be just punishment for Menendez's "extraordinary abuse of power and betrayal of the public trust."

U.S. Attorney's office requested similarly long sentences for his codefendants of roughly 10 years behind bars each.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 29.

Call are mounting for the Seton Hall University president to resign.

New Jersey lawmakers are sending off after an investigation revealed the University's president knew about sexual abuse allegations on campus but didn't report them.

According to Politico, Democrat Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, who is running for governor and represents the district were Seton Hall is located, called the report deeply disturbing and urged Seton Hall to address it by in part publicly releasing all findings of the investigation and recommendations related to the Monsignor.

A 2019 internal memo detailed an internal investigation at the school implicating him in the Fallout of the defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's sexual abuse scandal that rocked the church all the way up to the Vatican.

A senator who chairs the higher Ed committee and the legislature called on him and anyone who had knowledge of his conduct to resign.

According to Politico, no other lawmakers or Governor Murphy were common.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the high-stakes TikTok case, reviewing a federal law that would ban the use of the popular social-media app in the U.S. starting January 19.

That is if TikTok does not divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

It is over concerns that the Chinese government is manipulating content and the weight it collects data on users.

As Brenda Flanagan reports, after two hours of oral argument, justices appear likely to uphold it.

For 170 million Americans who use TikTok, today's top influencer with the Supreme Court, and the nine justices seem inclined to uphold the controversial ban on the social-media platform over national security issues posed by its Chinese owner, ByteDance.

Justice Kavanaugh discussed the government's concerns over a foreign adversary.

Justice Kavanaugh: China was accessing information about millions of Americans, tens of millions of Americans, including teenagers, people in their 20's, that they would use that information on over time to develop spies, to turn people, to blackmail people, people who a generation from now will be working in the FBI or the CIA.

Is that not a realistic assessment by Congress and the president of the risks here?

>> Your Honor, I'm not disputing the risks.

Got to at least consider the consequences of shutting down a speech platform used by 170 million Americans.

Brenda: TikTok argued it could place disclaimers on the website alerting users about potential foreign influencers and enforcing severe penalties for sharing information, but a ban would violate users' freedom of exception.

>> The government is saying national security, so a mix of cat videos or dance videos doesn't affect the national secure.

The only thing that can affect the nationals agree are the substance of those videos, and when the government is pressed in its briefing, it outright tells you that, saying that it is worried about some gods U.S. leaders Chief Justice Roberts: Congress doesn't care about what is on TikTok.

That is shown by the remedy.

They are nothing TikTok has to stop.

They are saying the Chinese have to stop controlling TikTok.

Brenda: Justices noted foreign companies do not have a rights.

-- do not have First Amendment rights.

TikTok has until January 19 two divest itself and by debts under the locket-- from ByteDance under the law.

>> At least as I understand it, we go dark.

Essentially the platform shuts down.

Justice Kavanaugh: Unless there is divestiture?

>> Unless there is a divestiture, unless President Trump exercises his authority to extended.

Justice Barrett: the law doesn't state TikTok has to shut down, it says ByteDance has two divest.

If ByteDance divested TikTok, we wouldn't be here.

Justice Jackson: you are wrong about the statute we read as saying TikTok, you have to go mute, because TikTok can operate on its own algorithm, on its own terms, as long as it is not associated with ByteDance.

Brenda: TikTok argues it cannot successfully maintain the algorithm without ByteDance, but observers don't see a sympathetic court.

>> That has huge implications for everyone who uses TikTok, not just creators, but anyone who receives content on it.

I think the idea that this really doesn't threaten the First Amendment rights of the millions of Americans that use TikTok is really concerning.

Brenda: For Jersey entrepreneurs like one who launched a huge market for his coffee-centage G odorant products on TikTok, switching platforms is problematic.

TikTok is his marketplace, partner, and promoter that has grown his business.

>> For us, for people who are trying to make a living for their families, for the 7 million U.S.-based business is doing this, we are much more than cat videos and dance videos.

I'm very frustrated that we keep talking about a threat, we don't know what the threat is.

Brenda: the court discussed a possible administrative stay to delay the ban until the next administration can deal with it.

The President-elect opposes the ban.

The clock is ticking for TikTok.

I am Brenda Flanagan, "NJ Spotlight News."

Briana: President-elect Donald Trump has been sentenced to unconditional discharge for his New York felony conviction last year on 34 charges of business fraud related to hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

It means Trump won't face jail time, probation or any other penalties, but the conviction will stay on his record, and he will enter the White House as the first former and incoming U.S. president with a criminal sentence.

Prosecutors recommended unconditional discharge as a way to bring the case to a close all being respectful of the office of the presidency.

For more on what it means and the unprecedented nature of this playing out days before the inauguration, I'm joined by Micah Rasmussen.

Micah, good to talk to you.

This is an outcome we expected.

What, if anything, does it do to affect the president's time in office now?

Does it change anything?

Micah: At the moment, no.

It certainly goes into the mix like everything else.

It is already baked in.

Democrats, opponents, detractors, they view it as one more example, Trump said he would stop America being a laughingstock.

This is not going to help.

From his party's perspective, from his supporters' perspective, they view this is one more example of the witch hunt.

This is unity for them.

To the extent it doesn't matter now, it goes into the reservoir of support he is hoping to keep through the honeymoon period and we've got the next national elections two years away, and whether or not this helps in two years, whether Democrats show up in the polls, Republicans show up in the polls, it strengthens the resolve against Trump.

Briana: OK, even the judge today expressed how extraordinary, the words he used, and unprecedented this entire situation has been.

I wonder, Micah, does it affect how future administrations might be scrutinized for potential legal or ethical violations?

Micah: I think it does, positively and negatively.

You're right, we have never had a President-elect have to face this kind of sentence, we have never had a felon in the White House before, we never had somebody would been convicted and now sentenced.

This is an unprecedented situation.

When I think of around the world when Italy had Berlusconi in office and he was facing those questions of legal troubles, I thought that is not a spectacle we want to face in this country, but now here we are, this is where we are.

I think as a nation, we certainly are going to view the president differently, the presidency differently.

I don't think we can help but view it differently now.

We view it through a little more of jaded lenses, and that is probably unfortunate.

It is like Watergate in that respect, that we have somebody in office we can't necessarily trust to be honest.

The heart of this legal matter is whether or not he told the truth and tried to cover up the truth of the hush-money payments.

Briana: But as you mentioned, is base does not see it that way, and he is planning to appeal the conviction.

What kind of message does that send globally to leaders for foreign policy?

You are saying we should look at it through the lens of potentially having less trust for the office.

Do you think global leaders will see it that way?

Micah: I think Trump, if you ask Trump, he will say "I'm fine with keeping world leaders guessing where I'm coming from.

I'm OK.

If they are not sure where I'm coming from, that is fine with me."

But I think from the perspective of trust, from the perspective of your allies, from their perspective knowing where the United States is coming from, from being rocksolid, I think it all calls it into question.

I think world leaders will not view the United States the same under the Trump presidency and maybe ever after this.

Briana: Let me bring it home quickly -- there was a question about the liquor licenses for the properties Trump owns, his golf course here in New Jersey, and whether or not they would be revoked, which could happen when you have a criminal conviction.

What do you expect to play out there?

Do you see the state rolling those back?

Micah: I do, and I would be surprised if they don't at this point.

I think maybe if Murphy were to say, hey, I've got a relationship with the White House, I want to get along with them, go easy on this, go slow.

But there is no guarantee that the Department of Law and Public Safety is going to view it that way.

They have an independent streak, as they should, and they have made it clear that the moment he became a sentenced felon, they view that as a final judgment of conviction and they will take back up those cases about whether or not the golf courses at Bedminster and Pine Hill are ones where they could be revoked.

State law requires revocation where there is a primary beneficiary of a liquor license convicted of a crime of moral turpitude.

Briana: You bring up a good point, though, the balancing act of keeping that relationship intact will be one to watch.

Micah, thanks so much for joining me.

Micah: Thank you.

Briana: A new rule about the requirements to be a teacher in New Jersey is facing scrutiny.

Lawmakers easily passed and Governor Murphy signed a law dropping the basic skills Praxis exam requirement for respective educators.

That started January 1.

It was part of an effort to help with the long-standing teacher shortage.

But recent comments from tech billionaire Elon Musk put a new spotlight on the law and whether teachers in the state need to know how to read.

As Joanna Gagis reports, lawmakers say this is the latest example of a viral misinformation gone mad.

>> It's been very mischaracterized as lowering the standards when it is the elimination of a redundant exam.

Joanna: If you have been on the social-media platform X recently, you might be worried that New Jersey teachers no longer have to read or write to step in front of a classroom.

That is what this post by Elon Musk said.

Here is what is really going on.

>> The headline should have been "redundant, costly tests removed as a barrier to teacher certification."

That would have eliminated this entire three-ring circus that we lived through the past week.

Joanna: The assemblywoman was among the legislators who voted to remove the Praxis skills test for certification.

The change went into effect January 1.

The measure had bipartisan support across both houses of the legislature.

All but three legislators agreed that it was an extra step that did not measure teacher preparedness.

>> There is no way a teacher is graduating from a wonderful higher education system without being able to read, write, and do mathematics.

Those exams they have to take to be certified are still very vigorous.

>> Praxis isn't just this one test.

Praxis is an entire suite of tests that are content-specific.

So for instance, if you want to be an elementary school teacher in New Jersey and teach grades K to 6, you have to take a test in English, mathematics, social studies, and science.

This would make you have to take another test, again in reading and writing and in math.

Joanna: And it's not just exams that aspiring teachers have to pass to make it to the front of the classroom.

>> You have to go through two years plus of student teaching, constant supervision, you have to have minimum GPA standards to even get into that space.

Your alternate route is a two-year path as well.

To pass all of that and say, oh, by the way, for a fee take this basic skills test when you have already demonstrated content-specific knowledge in all those ways, it was a waste of time and quite frankly a waste of money.

Joanna: What are we talking about in terms of the cost of this Praxis exam and the overall exams the teacher has to take to get certified in the state?

>> These are hundreds of dollars adding up to thousands of dollars that you have to do.

Joanna: Those costs are believed to keep students of color from lower socioeconomic areas out of the profession.

And at a time when New Jersey's classrooms are understaffed due to a years-long teacher shortage that worsened after the pandemic, educators and legislators agreed removing this test was the way to go.

>> The point is that we have a teaching certification issue in the state.

We don't have enough teachers entering the workforce.

And if it is something we can eliminate that is redundant and lacks efficiency in certification processes, we should be doing that.

Joanna: And to anyone who says removing the basic skills test will dumb down our classrooms, the assemblywoman says -- >> When I started teaching, these tests were not required, and I hold 10 teaching certificates across different areas of the state, from an administration to child study team to elementary education.

In 2014 these tests were implemented.

Joanna: It was during Governor Christie's second term when many standards were raised to become a teacher.

But 10 years later, educators say this added exam had no impact on the quality of teachers in the profession.

>> We have the best schools in the nation before and we have got the best schools now.

With all due respect to the changes, what we don't have is the number of people coming to the profession as we had before.

Joanna: As the Dean of Rowan University's education program, she believes eliminating the Praxis exam will have a big impact on her students.

>> I'm glad the state moved in that direction, following other states who have done the same to help address teacher shortage.

I would like to provide more teachers for our districts.

And Praxis core has been a barrier for many of our students, and I am looking forward to Rowan University, our College of education, helping to continue to address teacher shortage and also diversifying our profession.

Joanna: A profession that most agree needs all the support it can get.

For "NJ Spotlight News," I'm Joanna Gagis.

Briana: Finally tonight, a high-school student is on a mission to get more girls involved with computer science and AI.

But when the 17-year-old didn't see any viable solutions around her, she created one by building her own artificial intelligence company from the ground up, offering free classes that have now reached more than 200 other girls in 25 states and six countries around the world.

Raven Santana has her story.

>> The first experience of just walking into the row and seeing every one of my category was a boy, it was really shocking.

Raven: Describing what she says was life-changing for her.

The 17-year-old, who is a senior at High Technology high school, says after realizing she was the only female attending a science competition in 2021, knew she had to take matters into her own hands, which is why she created Girls Rule AI.

>> I started at the end of my freshman year, around 13, 14 years old.

I was pretty young.

It took me around a year to develop everything.

I have slideshows, I have coding material.

I've tried to prepare what I would have to say throughout all of these lectures, and I had to structure everything from basic courses, advanced courses, etc.

That took a little bit of time to try to bring that up from scratch.

And then I started teaching the classes this summer after my sophomore year.

I had my first session during that summer.

There weren't that many students there, but it was really fun.

Raven: She teaches all the AI classes live from her bedroom and says each class lasts about an hour and a half, and all of the classes are completely free.

>> Create a community were girls feel safe to learn the AA -- AI foundations and just take the first steps in this journey, because it is really a powerful tool for everyone.

Raven: Class sizes jumped from 15 in 2021 to 60 in 2024.

She has 12 to 13 chapter leads that recruit and promote sessions in different states.

It now has chapters in 25 states including California and Maine and six countries including Kenya.

Singh, who balances this all while going to school, says she has recruited four training assistants to help her.

>> The TAs are to help me with the session.

After I go through the coding part of the lesson, the girls go into breakout rooms to start with the coding activity, and if they need help, the TAs are there to help them debug anything.

And they grade and look over the homework the girls a bit as well.

Raven: Singh says it is a way to make sure we continue to keep AI unbiased.

>> We need to make sure these models don't have implicit bias with them.

I heard one case that there was a facial ignition system and it wasn't able to recognize faces from people of minorities because the faces in the data set were just from one demographic.

So I think it is really important to check these things.

We can only do that if we have all of these diverse courses in AI.

Raven: She says support from her peers, teachers, and school has been overwhelming, and is now looking for sponsors to provide merchandise to further promote her courses.

Her focus is now expanding her classes to make sure women are being included in the future of AI.

For "NJ Spotlight News," I'm Raven Santana.

Briana: That's going to do it for us tonight, but tune into "Chat Box" this weekend.

David Cruz continues the congestion pricing conversation with two local transportation reporters.

Will it decrease traffic, and can New Jersey transit handle the influx?

That is Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Then on "Reporters Roundtable," David kicks off the first new show of the new year by talking to the Director of Public affairs at Fairleigh Dickinson University about Governor Murphy's upcoming state of the state address and what to expect his final year in office.

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

Speaking of that, next Tuesday is the governor's state of the state.

I will be live from inside the assembly chamber at the Statehouse for full coverage of the address.

You can catch the speech and all of our analysis starting at 3:00 p.m. right here on NJ PBS and streaming on our "NJ Spotlight News" YouTube channel.

I am Briana Vannozzi.

For the entire team, thanks for being with us, have a great weekend, stay warm.

We will see you back here on Monday.

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