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Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, lightning strikes twice.

In just over a week, two people are killed and dozens are injured, one as young as seven.

Plus, a controversy over a judicial nomination.

Democrats say Emil Bove, who could become a federal judge, helped the DOJ withhold the Jeffrey Epstein files.

He is the prosecutorial version of a drunk driver.

He is reckless and dangerous.

Also, the U.S. Senate approves $9 billion in cuts to public media and foreign aid.

All eyes are on the House for the final vote.

What it means for viewers like you.

Public media plays an important role in the fabric of our communities across the United States, and it is essential to an informed and engaged society.

And after devastating floods swept through Plainfield, community members rallied to reopen a local animal shelter that was destroyed in the storm.

We were really overwhelmed with all the community, just in general, and the surrounding areas on how they were really willing to go and just come and drop off all these donations.

NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ ♪ >> From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannozzi.

>> Hello, and thanks for joining us tonight.

I'm Joanna Gagis, in for Brianna Vannozzi.

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

First, a deadly lightning strike took the life of 61-year-old Robert Montgomery in Jackson Township last night.

The strike hit an archery range where a group of Cub Scouts were holding an event on a practice range.

Several people were injured in the strike, some as young as 7 years old.

Their injuries included burns, one person lost consciousness but then regained it, and a member of the archery club told the New York Times that two members had to be treated with a defibrillator.

Emergency responders treated victims on the scene, and all of the children and all those injured were reportedly taken to a nearby hospital.

It's the second deadly lightning strike in just over a week.

Last Tuesday, a 28-year-old golfer named Simon John Mariani was struck on a golf course at Crystal Springs Resort while playing in an Ironman golf competition.

He was struck in the head but survived and was hospitalized for almost a week, but sadly his family announced that he died on Monday.

Crystal Springs Resort workers have reportedly said they sounded an alarm to warn golfers about the dangerous weather, but another golfer in the tournament who was one hole behind Mariani and was filming the storm clouds during the lightning strike told news outlets that his group never heard an alarm go off.

In just the last two weeks, the total number of severe storm-related deaths in New Jersey is now seven.

Also tonight, a controversial nomination to one of the highest courts in the land has drawn national attention and outcry from New Jersey's senior U.S.

Senator Cory Booker, and it has ties to the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Emile Bove has been nominated by President Trump to be a Third Circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, which Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today voted to advance.

But his nomination has drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle, from the conservative legal group the Federalist Society to Democrats serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

They challenged several decisions made by Bove during his time as acting Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Justice Department, including dismissing New York City Mayor Eric Adams' case, reportedly admitting in a memo that the dismissal was unrelated to the facts and the law, leading to criticism that he was playing politics.

And a whistleblower accused Bove of willfully defying a court order in deportation proceedings.

But as members of the public and elected officials from both parties are calling for the release of the Epstein files, Booker and other Democrats say Bove has been a critical part of the DOJ withholding those files.

Here's what Senator Booker had to say during today's hearing before Democrats walked out in protest.

Which one is it?

The public has a right to know, and a person being nominated for one of the highest courts in our land, who clearly played a role in this matter of grave national concern, including child sex trafficking, should actually -- we should know what he knew and what he did in this matter.

And another confirmed measles case in New Jersey.

This one may have exposed the public at nine different locations across North Jersey, according to state health officials.

Those potential exposures were between July 4th and July 8th and include several health care facilities, including the pediatric department and Joseph Sinzari Children's Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, elite pediatrics in Elmwood Park, and a CVS on Schulyer in Kearny.

The suspected person also stopped at a few stores, including Roasted Coffee and the Newport Mall, both in Jersey City, and Al-Basha in Patterson.

Measles is a highly contagious disease and can be spread through the air or contact with a contaminated surface.

Anyone exposed in early July could experience their first symptoms as late as Saturday, August 2nd.

It starts with a cough, runny nose, and fever, and after two to three days, white spots may appear in the mouth.

Between days three and five, flat red spots can appear on the face, arms, legs, and body.

Measles can be deadly for children and vulnerable populations.

The disease was eradicated in the U.S. in 2000, but decreased vaccinations have led to thousands of cases across the U.S. each year for the last several years.

Early this morning, the United States Senate passed the rescissions bill that cuts around $9 billion in aid for foreign assistance programs and for public radio and television funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The bill was revised before it passed, with some funding restored for HIV/AIDS prevention programs, but the cuts to public media stand, and they're poised to have a massive impact on stations like ours all across the country.

I'm joined now by Cassandra Etienne, Associate Director of Membership and Programming at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.

She shares her take on the impact these cuts will have on public media outlets and the communities they serve.

Cassandra, so great to have you with us tonight.

You know, we've been talking kind of big picture about what these cuts are, how they're going to impact broadly the CPB, the Center for Public Broadcasting.

But on a more local level, can you just help explain the role of public television and radio, public media in general, across the country?

Sure.

Glad to be with you this evening.

So, when we think about the role of public media, it provides access to high-quality news and information that is free and accessible to viewers and to readers.

And also, this public media also provides educational programming.

Public media is also essential in times of emergencies and crises.

So, public media plays an important role in the fabric of our communities across the United States.

And it is essential to an informed and engaged society that can participate civically.

And obviously, we talk about this as NJPBS, who are directly impacted.

We know $1.5 million will be cut from our NJPBS budget alone.

That is significant.

There is no funding that goes directly from the CPB to your organization.

But there is a partnership here.

And I want to talk about that and how it serves the public at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.

Explain how the partnership allows us to reach more people.

Sure.

As a matter of fact, I'm reminded of an example because of a luncheon that we hosted recently where we gathered the partners of our Spanish translation and news service.

Spanish translation news service.

We met with our in-language partners and English language partners, including NJ Spotlight.

And we discussed how this service of making news and information available to Spanish-speaking audiences that may not have access to this content otherwise.

And so this partnership with NJ Spotlight helps Spanish in-language publications to translate and then share this information with their audiences.

That's just one example.

We also have a number of other partnerships, including a news content sharing service that we're launching also in partnership with NJ Spotlight.

We can see how the cuts to public broadcasting will have reverberating impacts in ways that are immediately tangible and that we can kind of surmise, but also in ways that we don't hear about as often.

There have been accusations from Republicans who say that public television, public news has become part of the woke media machine.

Are those accusations fair?

I don't want to argue that support for local news for public media is partisan in some way.

I would question that.

We know that public media is not beholden to corporate interests per se or as vulnerable to advertising and other stakeholders as other types of media are.

And so when you have the fact that corporate interest is not always guaranteed, but you had funding that had already been allocated in support of public media being now stripped away, that's something that almost had been taken for granted or someone had been guaranteed, and now that's just being ripped away from public media.

And that's a disservice to the people that depend on it for news and also to the providers who create the content.

We know that there are two senators who did vote against this, two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.

But it does now go back to the House.

We'll be watching to see what happens.

But Cassandra Etienne, I want to thank you so much for joining us and thank you for your insight.

Thank you for having me.

People who live in long-term care facilities count on Medicaid payments for most of their basic needs, but some necessities have to be paid for by a stipend they receive from state government.

But not all states are the same, and many are saying New Jersey is grossly underfunded.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has more on their request for an increase and a proposed bill that could make the change as part of our ongoing series Under the Dome.

You can't do it.

You can't even go to a dollar store and get things, you know.

It's just impossible.

Stacey Moore is disabled.

She lives at the Preakness Long-Term Care Facility in Wayne where Medicaid pays her room, board and care.

For everything else, she struggles to make ends meet with what's called a personal needs allowance.

In New Jersey, it's 50 bucks a month.

And then I have a rental of the landline telephone, so I end up with $41.20 a month to live off of.

And that's everything.

Toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, everything.

We get $50 a month and that pays for very little.

Snacks here are $2 for a bag of potato chips.

Haircuts are $25.

I just had a haircut, $25.

Lou Bonilla depends on Medicaid to cover his room, board and care at the Complete Care Facility in Brick.

He's a former musician, a guitar player who loves to listen to music, but he can't really afford to download songs.

I feel like it's unmanageable.

It doesn't go far.

I'm broke by the 15th.

Sometimes I have to ask my brothers for extra money for snacks.

Yeah, it's pretty rough.

There's like 32 states that pay a higher rate than New Jersey pays.

And right now, $50 a month is just $1.67 a day.

It's literally not even a cup of coffee a day that the residents are getting.

New Jersey's long-term care ombudsman estimates some 30,000 Medicaid residents surrendered all their savings, pension payments and Social Security checks to reside in these facilities.

On $50 a month, many can only afford hand-me-down clothing.

They will pick from clothes that are available from residents who have passed on.

And sometimes that's how they get new clothes.

This is just not a dignified way to live.

New Jersey supports a bipartisan bill, S.3319, that would raise Jersey's personal needs allowance to $140 a month.

With federal subsidies, it would cost the state $15 to $16 million more a year, according to calculations by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.

The measure has won unanimous support from both Assembly and Senate committees, but still hasn't been posted for a vote in the legislature.

Newsponsor Democrat Senator Andrew Zwicker admits, with federal Medicaid cutbacks looming, there's some fiscal tension.

If you are very fiscally conservative, you question everything when it comes to what government should spend.

I get that.

But like I said, it's a just a tiny, tiny fraction of money compared to the entire state budget.

And the impact is so enormous.

And so I am optimistic that when we come back into session in the fall, that we can get this done on the governor's desk.

Republican co-sponsor Senator Carmen Amato met with nursing home residents and agrees current monthly allowances from the state have not kept up with inflation and are too small to have a meaningful financial impact.

This legislation would increase the state's personal needs allowance to strengthen quality of life and ease some of the financial burden for those residents.

And they are lobbying.

I've been trying to get in touch with Governor Murphy for a long time.

And First Lady Miss Tammy, because they came here and spoke to me before they got elected and they asked me back then, how can we help you?

The governor's press secretary said in a statement, we will respectfully decline to comment on pending legislation for long term care residents.

It's frustrating.

It just keeps getting passed along.

It's it's it's been three years.

It's time they sign it.

He says it would mean so much to just order a snack and listen to his music.

I'm Brenda Flanagan and NJ Spotlight News Under the Dome is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

In our spotlight on business report tonight, heat pumps have been proposed as a solution to rising energy costs that can be better for your wallet and for the climate because they reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Their devices that look similar to a traditional air conditioning unit, but they don't create heat or cool air.

They simply move it from one space to another.

But should the state get involved in funding them?

Ted Goldberg takes a look.

The Millers are on a mission, which is to leave a livable world for our children and grandchildren.

This husband and wife team are doing their part by pushing heat pumps.

It seemed like a magical appliance.

It has no emissions and it's also three times as efficient as burning any kind of fossil fuel.

Their home in Middletown has four of them.

One heats their pool, one heats and cools their house, and two more are in their washer dryer and hot water heater.

The Millers say they didn't have to choose between being green and saving green.

So we have a 96 percent reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions in our house.

In our case, we say 13 percent in our total electric and gas combined bill.

Steve Miller says their appliances weren't dramatically more expensive than their fossil fuel counterparts and that while their electric bill is up, their gas bill plummeted, more than making up the difference.

If you look at the wholesale price of gas, they're actually the spot market for the future.

Prices next year will double for gas.

And prices right now went up 20 percent on electricity in June because of higher prices in the PGM supplier to New Jersey.

But they didn't double?

They did not double, not at all.

The Millers have a backup furnace, but they rarely use it.

Some homes, like theirs, need a second heat pump because of their size or how airtight they are.

They're happy about state grants that give people rebates for certain energy efficient appliances, especially with congressional grants disappearing after this year.

I'm happy that there are rebates.

I'm really upset that the federal ones are going away.

What's happening right now in Washington is shameful.

It's dumb.

It's going to raise electrical prices for everybody, raise energy prices.

We want to do exactly the opposite.

Senator Andrew Zwicker has sponsored Bill S-249, which would codify existing rebates and force New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities to create a program giving direct incentives for heat pumps.

If we can take care of those upfront costs in a way that is affordable, it's going to save New Jersey consumers hundreds of dollars a year.

And so this is exactly the right time to get this done.

That's why I feel confident that we will as this year progresses.

The actions of this Congress and the president will increase energy costs in a state like New Jersey.

And so the state is really the only one who can help.

State and utilities in New Jersey are the ones who can help you lower your energy costs, improve efficiency and improve the safety and comfort of your home.

Mark Kresowik works for the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

He says heat pumps have become more popular and more user friendly.

The technology certainly improved over the last two decades, and part of that's been driven by better efficiency standards.

So now you can get a good heat pump that's going to provide heat as low as negative 13 degrees outside.

They do the job of two appliances in one.

So they can run like an A.C. but in reverse or like a refrigerator but in reverse.

So they can cool your home like an A.C. would, although it would be more efficient.

And they're more efficient than gas furnaces and boilers.

David Amanfu is a building decarbonization advocate for the National Resources Defense Council.

He's confident that New Jersey's power grid can withstand the growth in demand that would come with more heat pumps statewide.

He says heat pumps tend to be much more efficient appliances.

And since state data says 14 percent of emissions come from residential buildings, that could give them a bigger role going forward.

We don't expect this transition to happen overnight where 10 million heat pumps are sold in a day.

We expect it to happen gradually.

And so in that time with smart planning, we will expect to see that the grid will continue to perform stably and reliably.

According to a 2020 survey done by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about 3 percent of New Jersey households have heat pumps.

But advocates like Kresowick say it's likely outdated information.

More incentives at the state and federal levels could increase demand over the next few years.

In Middletown, I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Support for The Business Report is provided by the Newark Alliance Presents the 2025 Halsey Fest, featuring the vibrancy of Newark's Arts and Education District and Halsey Street.

Halsey, a neighborhood built on hustle and heart.

The 2025 Halsey Fest schedule is available at HalseyNWK.com.

Monday night's devastating storm destroyed homes and businesses, but one story caught the attention of the public, an animal shelter in Plainfield where rising floodwaters threatened the lives of the dogs and cats trapped in their cages.

Raven Santana reports on how the owners saved every life and how the community is stepping in to help them rebuild.

So we swam from across the street over the night it was occurring.

Those two major hours, the water was just up to the first floor level, which meant, based on history, the entire eight-foot basement was full of water.

Frontial rain slammed Union County late Monday night, rising water turning calm streets into raging rivers.

At the Plainfield Area Humane Society, the situation turned dire within minutes.

Board member Salvatore Carrano knew he had to act fast, literally diving into the water, swimming across the street to the shelter, knowing that more than 80 cats and dogs had no way to escape.

They can't care for themselves when they're in the dark, locked either in a pen or a cage, and we knew the commitment was to do what we can, and we did.

And gratefully and thankfully, we're safe, the animals are safe, and yes, the days ahead are hard, but we're here to do it.

Carano gave us a tour of the wreckage.

Mud-caked kennels, ruined food, drowned medical supplies.

Outside where dogs once played, floodwaters still linger.

Water lines etched high on the building walls tell the story.

This storm showed no mercy.

So for the cats, fairly easy.

We just scruffed them, put them in higher cages for dogs, especially if they were afraid, and we have dogs 50-plus pounds.

A lot of them, you know, they were scared, risk of getting bit, risk of getting hurt, so we just picked them up, held their muzzles with our mouths, and put them in top cat cages.

Josh Reyes is the director of operations for Hope for Paws Humane Society in Plainfield.

He, along with Carano and other employees, swam to help get animals to safe areas of the shelter.

As word spread online, a wave of support followed.

Nearby shelters, including the Plainfield Animal Hospital, also stepped in.

Others in the community opened up their homes.

Overwhelming.

We went and we did a post to go and help the Plainfield Area Humane Society, and it kind of went viral.

We were really overwhelmed with all the community, just in general, in the surrounding areas on how they were really willing to go and just come and drop off all these donations-- towels, blankets, bowls, crates, kennels, cleaning supplies-- and we decided to step up to go and help them.

We've worked with them for a really long time.

We've known them for a really long time, and we want to help them, you know, so we're going to be holding everything for them until we get the green light and they're ready to take it.

Donations are now flooding in, but for Reyes and Carano, the road ahead remains steep.

They say the real need now isn't just food or towels, it's funding to rebuild.

I just want to say we want to get back to the day before the storm.

You know, the community has come together.

We got a lot of physical donations in, but we need monetary donations to bring this building back up to speed, but even more so figure out a new building or if we have to move somewhere else.

The floodwaters have receded, but the emotional toll of this storm still runs deep.

Amid soaked walls and broken crates, one thing remains untouched-- the spirit of this community and its unwavering fight for the voiceless.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Reven Santana.

That's going to do it for us tonight, but a reminder, you can download our podcast wherever you listen and watch us anytime by subscribing to the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

Plus, you can follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to stay up to date on all the state's big headlines.

I'm Joanna Gagis for the entire team at NJ Spotlight News.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a great night, and we'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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