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>> Tonight in NJ Spotlight News, Wall Street Journal reporter and Jersey native Evan Gershkovich is sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison after a rest and secretive trial.

>> the fact that someone, anyone anywhere could get a 16 year prison term just for doing their job as a journalist, you know, I think it totally boggles your mind.

>> Plus, Bob Menendez's hometown reacts to the Senator >>'s downfall.

>> he was in a very powerful position with a lot of lot of influence that could certainly be beneficial for New Jersey, but I think it was misused.

>> also massive tech outage , a causing disruptions around the world today thanks to a single software update and chunks of lead on a Bayshore Beach have locals demanding that authorities take action.

>> once we find out the origin, we will put together a plan to contain it, prevent people from coming into contact with it, then moving towards the cleanup.

>> NJSpotlightNews begins right now.

♪ ANNOUNCER: from NJPBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

>> Hello and thanks for joining us.

I am Raven Santana in for Briana Vannozzi.

A Russian court has sentenced Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to 16 years in prison on espionage charges.

Allegations that he, the Wall Street Journal, and the U.S. government have also repeatedly denied.

He was arrested last March while on the reporting assignment, and has now been detained for nearly 16 months.

The verdict comes after just three days of hearings held in secret, and was seen as a foregone conclusion in a trial that the U.S. has condemned as a sham.

President Biden said "the U.S. is pushing hard for evidence released in they will continue to do so.

Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be detained in Russia on spying allegations since the Cold War.

The Moscow Times Bureau Chief has been following the case closely and he joins me now, from Berlin.

What is your reaction to the news today that Evan has been sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison?

Guest: it is both not unexpected, and yet still totally awful.

We knew this was going to happen , basically.

The Russian court system is not independent from that this was not a due process trial.

Such cases in Russia pretty much always end in a conviction and we knew that Evan was facing up to 20 years in prison.

At the same time, the fact that anyone anywhere could get a 16 year prison term just for doing their job as a journalist, it totally boggles your mind.

For a reminder of just how powerful the situation is.

Joanna: Evan has been largely cut off from his family, friends, anyone he knows really, so what do you know about how he's doing and what his mental state has been?

GUEST: He has stayed so strong throughout this ordeal.

You can see him smiling in the courtroom when the cameras come out every few months or so.

A lot of people, myself included, have been able to exchange letters with him in prison and we have seen how he has maintained his strength of spirit and his good humor, so, I think he has stayed strong.

He clearly still has a, as do all of us, friends and colleagues of him, that this will end at some point, and hopefully sooner than later.

Raven: Let's focus on hope, because earlier this week, the Russian Foreign Minister said the two countries are holding talks about a possible prisoner swap involving Evan, and that this verdict could move that forward.

What are the current negotiations looking like to bring him home?

And does the U.S. have anyone that Russia wants to exchange for Evan?

GUEST: There is almost nothing we know about them because they are has been completely in secret committees negotiations, but, yes, Russians have said these negotiations are happening, U.S. officials over the last few months have also said they are working on it.

But you are absolutely right, one of the problems seems to be that there are no obvious candidates for potential prisoner exchange in terms of Russians imprisoned in the United States.

And when Vladimir Putin was introduced by Tucker Carlson -- interviewed by Tucker Carlson back in February in Moscow, he pointed to a convicted Russian assassin in prison in Germany as someone he would want.

Raven: What else could come next in this case, is there any chance of a feel?

GUEST: There could be an appeal, but really, the thing to watch is, is there any movement on the diplomatic front?

It could certainly still take a long time, but it is true that Russian officials have said throughout this process that they would only do a trade once Evan was convicted.

And we have seen this process move remarkably quickly, so a lot of times, cases like this take months.

It has moved very quickly, unusually quickly by Russian standards, and we have to see what is next.

Raven: Anton, thank you for your time today.

GUEST: Thank you so much.

Raven fish Former President Donald Trump is officially the Republican pick for president after accepting the nomination last night at the Republican national convention.

And for the first time, he publicly addressed the failed assassination attempt on his life at a rally next week I'm seeing, quote, "I am not supposed to be here."

The former president said he rewrote the speech after his life was threatened, and began his remarks with a softer tone, urging unity and say he would be president for all of America.

But in an address that lasted more than an hour and a half, the former president then turned to familiar themes and insults against his political rivals.

Republicans showed strong backing for Trump this week that deeply contrasted with the divisions in the Democratic Party over whether to back President Joe Biden for a second term.

Although not all GOP delegates from New Jersey voted in favor of Donald Trump this week at the convention.

New Jersey Republican State Committee chair Bob Hugin has been in Milwaukee for the Convention all week and joins me now.

♪ Chairman, thanks for joining me.

GUEST: Great to be with you.

Raven: Rye Former President Trump said he wanted to deliver a message about unity, but he also fell back on divisive rhetoric and misinformation.

What did you take away from his Last night?

GUEST: I took away from him in consideration of what we saw the entire week, and it was unity.

Obviously when you have the economy that we have, the inflation it would have, and both my sons are in the Marine Corps, and what happened in Afghanistan was a terrible, terrible things for America foreign ways.

A lot of people were killed.

So the president wants to make sure the American public are aware of how bad the circumstances are, our reputation with our allies, the war in Israel, the war in Ukraine, inflation, the issues we are facing as a society.

So I think it was a week of unity.

I have been to many conventions.

Democrat and Republican.

All of them want to put a nice picture of unity out there for people to see.

Usually they do a pretty good job.

Underneath, there is an undercurrent of friction, et cetera.

Whether it was the butler, office of any incident or the fact that things are bad, after the debate that President Biden illustrated that he really is in top shape -- the president was incredibly unified.

There is no disagreement.

No friction.

We want to win in November because we need to turn this country around.

Raven: Trump's came less than a week after a failed assassination attempt on the former president.

Do you think that event has changed the presidential race?

GUEST: no, we still have a long way to go.

A lot of things are going to happen in the future.

I think everything impacts how we think about things, how people think about things.

I do have to tell you, I do know how it happened, but it is a miracle that the guy is a lie.

The fact that he turned his head just a little bit to look at that screen about the invasion of the border, and thus an AR-15 is a lethal weapon.

It is the most amazing hunting rifle, military version of a hunting rifle.

The fact that he is alive is a miracle.

I think a lot of things are going to happen.

He has definitely demonstrated his resilience and the fact that he wasn't going to let people know that he was afraid.

I guess just thought he was killed.

He wanted to let them know he was there and will keep fighting for the American people.

It will have an impact, but the election is a long way off.

You don't even know who he is going to run against yet.

Everything I hear is that President Biden will drop out on Sunday and they are trying to figure out how they do it and how to manage it.

So it's not a pretty situation on the other side, so we will see.

Raven: You spoke about unity.

We have heard a lot this week about how the party is strongly in support of the former president, but New Jersey's Republican delegation is not unified behind Trump's.

GUEST: I have to tell you, the delegation was, could not have been more supportive of both President Trump and vice-presidential candidate J.D.

Vance.

If there is no controversy in New Jersey about the benefit of President Trump versus President by them.

We need a change in the administration in Washington.

This country is headed in the wrong direction and we need a return to the of economic growth , but reestablish the strength of our middle class, and bring pride back to America, have a firm policy would be proud of again.

Raven: Bob Hugin, chairman of the Republican State committee, thank you for joining me.

GUEST: Thank you.

Raven: Three days after an historic guilty verdict, we are still learning about the fallout from Senator Bob Menendez conviction, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle demand he stepped down and plan his expulsion.

The mood is not any better in his hometown of Union City.

The senator made a name for himself coming up through Union City and Hudson County politics.

But now, even his fiercest supporters say it's time for him to go.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan spoke to people in Union City about the verdict and what it means for his legacy in Union City.

♪ Reporter: a salsa tune shimmered along the 70 in Union City where 7 in 10 residents claim Latino ancestry.

But folks in the hometown don't too much like dancing, after a jury found their favorite son guilty on all 16 counts including bribery and extortion.

>> he is guilty.

Reporter: Should he resign.

Reporter:?

>> If he did the crime, I guess so.

>> He needs to go.

Reporter: Why?

>> Because we cannot believe anymore and him.

>> I am Hispanic but I don't , believe anymore in him.

Reporter: How do you feel about that?

>> sad.

>> I feel bad because I always thought it was really good.

Now I find out he is a crook.

Reporter: Across the street at Menendez's favorite restaurant, staff and coffee.

The senator >>'s favorite table sat empty.

This patron voted for Menendez, overlooked the Senators first corruption trial which ended in a hung jury.

But he called this conviction a bridge too far.

>> He was in a very powerful position with a lot of influence that this certainly be beneficial to New Jersey, but I think that was misused in a big way.

So in light of that, I just think it is time to try somebody else.

Reporter: Menendez faces decades in prison.

Sentencing is scheduled October 20 nine.

It is a precipitous fall from grace for a man who seemed destined to rise above Hudson County dirty politics.

>> Let me proudly introduced to you to the next senator from that -- [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] >> He was the best.

42 years we worked with him.

>> we need someone that's going to fight for the little people.

>> His potential seemed enormous, and things seemed so wonderful and the future with boundless.

He was a real symbol of empowerment for the Latino communities.

So to have it come crashing down like that a few days ago, it was very painful for me.

Reporter: Franco worked as a press secretary for non-Congressman Menendez in the 1990's.

He recalled how the son of Cuban immigrants fought corruption, testified against his mentor, the Union city mayor who was convicted of bribery.

Menendez knew the score.

>> when you travel outside the immediate area, everybody thinks Union City is a laughingstock because of all the things that have happened.

>> You see a boyish-looking young man fighting corruption.

Someone who is going to change the system.

And, you know, it looks like the system changed him.

Reporter: The Menendez conviction person turnover, forcing Hudson County's fearsome political machine into transition.

>>>> I think it basically means that we are turning the page.

The old guard is not what it used to be.

If are going to have starting to have new stars come into play.

Reporter: Menendez has vowed to appeal and run as an independent.

One resident said he should.

>> At this point he can resign and having your chance, or he continues to say, I will give it all.

I think it'll make a difference.

Reporter: But for now, Menendez is fighting to keep his freedom.

He could win for an appeal, but he has irrevocably lost the trust of folks who thought they knew him best.

In Union City Brenda Flanagan, , NJ Spotlight News.

Raven: In I was Spotlight on Business Report, a massive global technology outage that is disrupting everything from banks to airports to hospitals.

It started when the Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike pushed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows.

CrowdStrike says it is not a cyberattack.

They say they have identified the issue and started to fix it .

Here in New Jersey, there were major flight assumptions at Newark Airport, and the Port Authority says some of its operations were delayed at two major shipping terminals at Port Newark.

Some local hospital systems, including RWJ Barnabas Health, or forced to delay procedures.

In a statement, Governor Murphy says he has been briefed on the outage and has activated the state should goes emergency operations center to give guidance to state agencies on how to address it.

On Wall Street, worries over the outage caused Stoxx to drop sharply.

Here is how the trading day ended.

♪ ANNOUNCER: support for the business report is provided by experience the vibrancy of Newark's arts and education District and Halsey St. Halsey is a neighborhood built on heart and hustle.

Visit halseynwk.com for the 2024 Halsey Fest schedule.

♪ Raven: a dangerous discovery unearthed in Keyport this week.

The New York New Jersey beekeeper found suspicious black rocks that ultimately tested positive for lead.

Questions are now being raised about where the material came from, and what the threat to from because might be.

Local leaders are demanding that state and federal authorities investigate and act.

Ted Goldberg has the story.

>> People want dogs here all the time -- people walk the dogs here all the time.

Reporter: Keyport's Shores are generally a nice place to walk, but a recent discovery has locals concerned.

>> This is all lead.

Reporter: Al moved here 10 years ago and his home is a few hundred feet from where rock looking objects-have been found that I tested positive for lead.

>>'s got beaches, a lot of fishing going on, so anything that is polluting the water gets us concerned.

>> Locals know it because they walk their dogs or walk their children or they just come and sit out here because it is so calm and there,.

>> Out monitoring violations on the Marine site which is right behind this beach.

Reporter: he leads New York New Jersey gatekeeper.

He noticed them in late June and says lab results have confirmed that they have lead.

>> we know there are thousands and thousands of pieces like this and much smaller.

It gets into small amounts that is indigestible by wildlife, fish, you may eat the fish when you are waiting in the water and you splash.

You may be ingesting some of that.

Reporter: He thinks they are lead slag, or a waste product from industrial sites decades ago.

While there is a Superfund site 4 miles away in Lawrence Harbor that has tested positive for lead, he doesn't think that is a culprit.

>> would believe it was dumped here.

We do know how far it extends.

Which is a small, relatively small area.

We don't know where it came from.

Reporter: the DEP and EPA are investigating, and will possibly do their own testing to see if this shoreline needs to be blocked off.

>> I imagine testing will be part of the next steps, but.

It is too soon to say exactly what the next step will be.

We commit to getting back to everybody very quickly.

Reporter: leaders at the local, and federal level have several questions.

>> Has it been here for years?

Was it planted or dumped now?

We don't know.

They have to give us the information for us to say is it safe for people to be walking the beach?

>> Once we find out the origin, we will put together a plan to prevent people from coming into contact with it and then moving towards a cleanup.

Reporter: He is curious why the DEP did not raise alarm bells while investigating the former arrow Marine site, a brownfield site very close to where the stuff showed up.

>> They may not have known what lead flag looks like, but it questions how deep an investigation DEP is doing on that site.

Reporter: We ask the DEP for comment, but did not receive one.

Meanwhile, the Pearl of the Bayshore will anxiously wait to see the next steps.

In Keyport, Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Raven: Some of the biggest stakeholders in New Jersey health care are joining the Murphy administration in its fight to improve maternal health outcomes.

Today, some of the brightest minds from the Department of Health to our hospitals, gathered to discuss the changes needing to be made in the maternal sector to improve maternal health.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis was at the conference and spoke to health care leaders about their solutions.

>> There is not one bit numerical solution.

There just isn't.

It would be great if this was the legislation or this is the policy or this is the program that will solve everything.

Reporter: Stephanie is an epidemiologist at Montclair State University who convened a conference around maternal health in New Jersey, which, still has poor outcomes evaluate.

>> We need every single person working in an area they are passionate about to make small changes that add up to big outcomes.

Reporter: in a room where health care providers, nonprofits and government representatives looking at the issue from all sides.

This doctor from the Department of Health spoke about a few of their recent efforts.

>> Community doula training in New Jersey.

Community health workers going into homes.

Postpartum depression program.

We have a new program.

Reporter: this is the first event for the public health advancement policy that we are launching today.

What we are hoping is to create opportunities to bring people together to do this community-based make work.

>> What we need to do is maybe work outside of our silos.

We need to look at the environments which our clients are in.

The systems we have in place to support them.

Reporter: And find ways to offer more services all in one sitting , for new or expecting moms, says this doctor from Rutgers medical school.

>> it may be rent assistance, which includes housing.

It can be childcare, it can be, I need to take my child to the pediatrician.

Reporter: during the conference, the topic of bias training came up.

>> I know that one of the bias trainings that providers have to take was developed at the Department of Health.

It is pretty good.

Reporter: the state is moving forward with a proposed school that would require implicit bias training for healthcare providers.

That's part of Governor Murphy's attempt to improve maternal outcomes, especially in communities of color.

>> there also needs to be strong examples of role playing, not just having computer-based training, but working through some of the bias and racial and ethnic disparity issues in person with different teams of providers.

Reporter: One speaker today pointed to other countries the U.S. can learn from who have much more successful maternal and infant outcomes than we do here.

>> We can learn how other countries have used their health systems in a different way than we are doing in the U.S. to do things such as a laborer, lactation consultants.

If you know, best practices around especially the nutrition part, because attrition actually increases the IQ of the kids.

Raven: Others looked at issues like teen pregnancy and substance use, the number one factor contributing to maternal deaths in New Jersey.

And not to be forgotten, the role of dad's in maternal and infant outcomes.

>> giving that father figures, not just biological fathers, but father figures in the community the resources to protect and prepare for their families and communities sets us all up for positive and healthy outcomes.

Reporter: Today's attendees are encouraged to continue collaborating as they carry out their work.

Joanna Gagis, NJ Spotlight News.

Raven: That does it for us tonight.

Before you go reminder to , a download the entry Spotlight news podcast so you can send us any time.

I am Raven Santana.

For the entire team here at NJ Spotlight News, thanks for being with us.

Have a great weekend and we will see you right back here on Monday.

♪ Reporter: New Jersey Education Association.

making public schools great for every child.

RWJ Barnabas Health.

Let me healthy together.

And New Jersey Realtors, the voice of real estate in New Jersey.

More information is online at njrealtor.com.

♪ Support for the business report is provided by experience the vibrancy of Newark's arts and education district and Halsey Street.

Halsey, a neighborhood built on heart and hustle.

Visit Halseynwk.com for the 2024 Halsey Fest schedule.

>> Our future relies on the energy.

It relies on empowered communities, the health and safety of our families and neighbors.

All of our school districts.

The PSEG Foundation is committed to sustainability, equity and economic empowerment.

Helping towns go Green, supporting civic centers, scholarships and workforce development that strengthen our community.

♪