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And RWJBarnabas Health, let's be healthy together.

Joanna: Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, President Joe Biden has dropped his bid for a second term.

Now all eyes turn to Vice President Kamala Harris.

>> I am excited.

I am excited for the country, that we have a strong candidate again.

Joanna: Plus, a new push to protect those in need from welfare scams.

>> In Union County alone, there were over 2600 incidents of fraud, which cost the county and their recipients over $1.1 million.

And Union County is not alone in this.

Joanna: Also, major funding for electric charging stations to get dirty trucks off New Jersey roads.

>> This charging infrastructure, I believe, is going to help push us into a new era where we are not suffering from the impacts of pollution from trucks in this way in places like this.

Joanna: And Friday's massive global tech outage leaves folks still feeling the lingering effects.

>> There's a very small probability that this happens.

But when it does happen, it's a catastrophe.

Joanna: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ Announcer: From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight news with Briana Vannozzi.

Joanna: Hello, and thanks for joining us.

I'm Joanna Gagis, in tonight for Briana Vannozzi.

President Biden rocked the nation when he announced on social media yesterday he was dropping out of the presidential race.

Shortly after that, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's nominee, saying it is "time to come together and beat Trump."

The switch up comes after weeks of pressure from Democratic leaders, including some here in New Jersey for Biden into step aside after his poor debate performance against Former President Donald Trump.

But this shakeup has Democrats in New Jersey reinvigorated about their chances in November from the top of the ticket down.

Senior Correspondent Brenda Flanagan spoke to politicians and pundits today around the state to get their reactions and their thoughts on what comes next.

>> I'm excited.

I'm excited for the country, that we have a strong candidate again.

Brenda: Bonnie Watson Coleman joined New Jersey's congressional Democrats in praising President Joe Biden's historic decision Sunday to exit the race.

Most also promised to follow the president's lead and support Kamala Harris at the top of their party's ticket.

She spoke briefly this morning during an event at the White House.

Vice Pres.

Harris: Joe Biden fights for the American people and we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.

Reporter: Harris said in a statement Sunday "my intention is to earn and win this nomination."

The move seamlessly shifted the Biden campaign organization and warchest to Harris and it will galvanize voters.

>> With Vice President Harris, I think that recalibrates that level of enthusiasm and you are going to see African-Americans energized, women energized, you are going to see South Asians energized.

>> What New Jersey likes is a good fighter.

You could not ask for a better fighter than the Vice President.

>> I was on a call last night, 44,000 women were on that call.

That was amazing.

And everyone was talking about how excited and committed and how much more they are going to do than they have done before.

How we are going to make this happen.

Brenda: Watson Coleman is delighted to see the first woman of color lead her party's campaign for the Oval Office and hailed Harris as a champion for reproductive rights.

But the Congresswoman admitted, grassroots folks who had stuck by Joe Biden did not resent the behind the scenes power play to push him out.

>> We were concerned that it was about the money folks, the so-called elites.

>> Time was short.

You were facing a guy who did not want to have these conversations.

So it was a hard thing to do.

It was an unseemly probably very uncomfortable thing to do.

But those conversations needed to happen.

Brenda: Senator Cory Booker Road -- wrote, "I cannot understate the gravity of the noble in history making decision President Biden just made.

The feeling I have right now is one of profound gratitude."

Biden's exit restored a gusher of campaign cash.

Democrats raised more than $50 million Sunday, the biggest one day haul ever online with $150 million more pledged from major donors.

To round out the ticket, News Media floated a list of potential vice presidents, including Booker and Governor Murphy, who called Harris today.

>> No news to make on my side other than I love being the governor of New Jersey.

My hat is down and I will do anything I can to get that ticket whatever the ticket may be.

Reporter: What is next for Joe Biden?

He posted on X he has decided to focus energies on his duties as president for the remainder of his term.

Speaker Mike Johnson called on Biden to step down stating if Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president.

He must resign the office immediately.

>> He is very capable of managing things.

He enjoys the respect of his staff.

He is well staffed.

And I think it will be disruptive if he were to step down now.

Reporter: in New Jersey, analysts believe Harris atop the ticket will also benefit Democrats down ballot, including Andy Kim, whose odds just improved in the New Jersey Senate race, or incumbent Bob Menendez who apparently still plans to run as an independent.

He has been silent on Harris.

>> Assuming she can excite the base and turn out Hispanic voters, Black voters -- who are probably excited about having someone of color running on the ticket, I believe this puts New Jersey very much back into its traditional form.

Brenda: But Harris faces a very short runway to the nomination.

Around 130 New Jersey delegates in the June primary pledged to back Biden.

They will meet tonight to decide and discuss on whether they will switch their vote in a meeting called by Jones.

>> There will be a sense of the direction New Jersey will take.

Brenda: he says Democrats still plan an online delegate tally next week ahead of the convention.

I am Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Joanna: Democrats have their work cut out to reunite the party behind one candidate.

Will Kamala Harris be that candidate?

Already, she has secured the support of many within the party's leadership.

But is it enough?

How does she turn the support into votes, particularly from swing states, who have lost interest in Biden and this race?

Can she pull any votes away from Trump?

Democratic strategist Julie R. is here now to offer some perspective.

Julie, great to see you.

The last time you and I spoke, you were very candid.

That was immediately following what you called a disastrous debate performance by President Biden.

Now that he has stepped aside, I'm going to ask you, is Vice President Kamala Harris the right candidate for your party?

Julie: She is a historic candidate.

She is a risky candidate.

I truly, truly hope she has the right candidate.

-- she is the right candidate.

The reason the party went with Joe Biden in 2020 was twofold, one reason was, he had a fantastic record as vice president and Senator, especially for those of us from New Jersey, he was almost like the third Senator of this state when he was in Delaware.

We are certainly very familiar with his record.

And I for one love Joe Biden.

The other reason, he was the safe candidate.

Right?

Especially after Hillary Clinton's very historic but also risky candidacy.

Well, Kamala Harris is a woman, she is a woman of color, and of course that brings with it the same concerns that I certainly have, her being treated the way that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were treated because of their historic candidacies.

Having said that, nothing would make me happier than to have an accomplished woman and a prosecutor as vice president, somebody who was a sitting Senator.

Somebody with an incredible track record finally breaking that glass ceiling for women and women of color that we have been waiting for for a very long time.

Joanna: To that point, she needs to reach middle of America voters who right now are either on the fence or turned off from this election altogether or leaning towards Former President Donald Trump.

She also needs to get the young vote and the votes of black and brown communities.

How does she message to get those kinds of three distinct groups?

Julie: in the same way that Joe Biden did and the same way Barack Obama did.

We keep pitting these community's against each other as though black and brown people don't have the same concerns in -- the same concerns as people have living in Appalachia and living in the big cities.

The reality is of course they do.

We all want the same thing.

We all want a stronger economy.

We all want a better education system for our kids.

We all want opportunity.

This concept vulcanization of -- This constant vulcanization of putting people into different categories is a mistake that Democrats and Republicans both consistently make.

The message is -- and I don't say this as a matter of hyperbole, I truly believe this -- our country is at stake.

We are about to potentially elect somebody who is going to take 200+ years of democracy and throw it out the window.

Somebody who is going to ban reproductive choice for women, as women are practically dying of miscarriages and other issues because doctors are afraid to perform needed procedures to save their lives.

I mean, this is the kind of country we are about to live in if Donald Trump and J.D.

Vance get elected.

Joanna: If the nominee ends up being vice president Kamala Harris, who do you believe she should pick as her running mate?

We know Senator Cory Booker and Governor Phil Murphy have been listed, somewhere on that list.

Is she wiser to go with someone from perhaps a battleground state?

Julie: Look, you've got young people like Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear in Kentucky, Roy Cooper who is not necessarily a young guy, but won handily in a place like North Carolina which is a purple state, somebody like Mark Kelly, an astronaut and military veteran married to a very high-profile survivor of a shooting in Gabby Giffords.

From Arizona of course.

Another purple state.

The issue with Democrats with the vice presidential candidates is it is almost an abundance of riches here.

She can only pick one but there are many to choose.

Joanna: She still has to be confirmed as the nominee.

We know delegates are meeting tonight to discuss.

There is still a convention coming up.

A lot to follow.

We will be tracking this.

Julia, R., Democratic strategist, thank you.

More than 6,000 people in New Jersey have fallen victim to state and federal benefit scams over the last two years.

That's according to state lawmakers.

It leaves them without critical support they need to access food and other benefits.

In response, state, federal, and local leaders are working together to introduce legislation to combat fraud and protect families.

Raven Santana spoke to victims and lawmakers about their efforts to stop these scammers.

Tiffany: In October, I checked my card, and my balance was $0.00.

Now, I get $1,139 in food stamps.

So, came out here to social service, went to the window, and she told me my benefits were stolen.

Raven: Tiffany Edwards described the moment she went to use her monthly SNAP benefits and realized her money was gone.

Tiffany: I've got a jar.

We just had to save up.

It makes a difference.

We all put in, me on my older -- me and my older girls.

We all put in.

Normally, when I go to the store, I will say, I will spend about maybe $500 something.

Now, everything is cut short.

Maybe $30, $40, whatever I have.

Raven: The mom of seven says it -- says that sadly, this has happened not once, but three times.

The crime is commonly done when criminals use a skimming device to lift up card data.

They are then able to create big payment cards and steal the money from the snap accounts.

Tiffany: Two months later, it happened again.

This time, everything, $1,139 in food stamps.

The third time, I cried, to myself.

Window 2 is aware of me.

Every time she sees me, she's like, not again, I say yes.

The third time it happened, they could not reimbursement.

-- could not reimburse me.

I said, "is there someone I can speak to?"

There was no one I could speak to.

Raven: Edwards is not alone.

In New Jersey, there have been over 6000 victims from October of 2022 through February of 2024 who have had their benefits stolen.

>> In Union County alone, there were over 2600 incidents of fraud which cost the county and recipients over $1.1 million.

And union County is not alone in this.

Raven: Edwards shared her experience during a press conference at the Union County social services department where the Senate President and a senator joined the Congressman to discuss state and federal legislation to stop scammers.

>> And the city -- In the city, I've had a number of individuals come in, if you saw the number, 240 in one week in Hudson County.

We see it firsthand.

>> Since 2021, fraudsters across the country have targeted EBT cards that families rely on because they don't have a chip inside.

If you ever look on your card, you see that little chip?

That helps with security.

The EBT cards have no chip on them.

It is much easier to actually scam.

When you swipe, the skimmers can grab the number right from it without those chips on it.

Raven: He says he is taking the fight to stop scammers to the federal level, introducing new legislation in Congress called the Stop Scams Act.

>> Requires agencies to inform SNAP and WIC recipients of opportunities and records of -- opportunities for recourse of benefits if they are stolen.

A manager to manage the nutrition programs across the country.

To issue cybersecurity and digital regulations to states to help solve EBTs' technological vulnerabilities.

Within five years, we want every single state including New Jersey the transition to more secure EBT cards with chips in them.

Raven: In the meantime, while there is no recourse for victims who have had their data stolen multiple times, like Tiffany, officials recommend contacting your local County Board of social services, as they can report it and assist you with other resources.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.

Joanna: Governor Murphy has been pushing to increase the number of electric vehicles sold in the Garden State and reduce the sale of gas powered cars by 2035.

But some drivers remain hesitant pointing to the lack of electric charging stations in the state.

Now there is a proposal in the works to line the I-95 corridor with enough charging stations to power the next generation of electric vehicles, specifically large commercial trucks that are some of the worst contributors of air pollution on our roads.

Ted Goldberg takes a closer look at the plan.

Ted: the trucks in the ironbound are hard to miss.

Unless you live here.

>> We are so accustomed to the noise and the fumes.

To the inconvenience of blocked intersections.

Ted: Melissa Miles lived here for 20 years and used to help the community Corporation count trucks at intersections to raise awareness for pollution and -- pollution in Newark, a city where studies show one in four children have asthma.

>> I myself was not completely aware until I began to see those health impacts in my own family.

So to me, it is really important that we transition this dirty technology.

The technology already exists for us to bring trucks to zero omissions and that is -- zero emissions and that is exactly what we should be doing.

Ted: She was happy to hear the Biden administration announced billions in federal grants to fight pollution nationwide that includes $250 million for a group of four states led by New Jersey to build new EV charging infrastructure along the I-95 corridor, with the hope electric trucks will become more popular and cut down on pollution.

>> This charging infrastructure, I believe, is going to help push us into a new era, where we are not suffering from the impacts of pollution from trucks in this way in places like this.

>> This investment is coupling the investment in the vehicles and trucks with also the infrastructure needed along the I-95 corridor were to make sure that people can pull over and charge their cars or trucks and then keep moving along I-95, while basically cleaning up our air and improving air quality along the way.

>> I think this is more than just a good start.

I think this is a leap forward.

It's going to help us all up and down the I-95 corridor.

Ted: the DEP Commissioner welcomed the grant, saying it fits in nicely with state goals of expanding electrification and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

>> Whether it is by transitioning our school bus fleets to a zero emission future, or importantly, the medium and heavy duty vehicles that are now delivering goods to American families all across the landscape, we are going to stores, this is a transformative investment in the improvement of air quality.

Ted: Lisa Garcia is New Jersey's regional administrator with the EPA.

While the grant doesn't specify how many charging stations will be built or where they will go, she says the garden state has plenty of places they could fit.

>> New Jersey is well suited because we have the rest stops and we have those areas where the trucks park, and being able to really figure out what infrastructure can go along that way so you can have trucks and other vehicles pull in and charge vehicles love the way -- vehicles along the way.

Ted: She says there needs to be a lot more of that to cut down on carbon emissions in Newark and elsewhere in New Jersey.

>> We understand the local and state government and agencies as well as organizations are going to have to pull various sources of funding to get at this problem.

$250 million for charging infrastructure amongst several states is a drop in the bucket.

Ted: He says studies need to be done to determine whether charging stations go.

Those could take a year or two.

In the meantime, diesel trucks will keep on trucking through New Jersey, continuing to pollute, but also playing a vital role in the state's economy.

In Essex County, Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Joanna: In our spotlight on business report, travelers and others are still feeling the effects of the Microsoft system crash that happened last Friday causing disruptions everywhere from airports to banks.

The breakdown was the result of a software update on Microsoft systems from the U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

Microsoft is offering a free tool to help fix the faulty update that impacted millions of users, and CrowdStrike is warning of a potential hacking threat as users and companies work to fix the issue.

I am joined now by Mark Guthner from the Rutgers business school to discuss the lingering impact of the outage and what's being done to prevent another one.

Mark, thanks so much for coming on.

Can you help us understand why we saw this massive global crash last week?

What happened there?

Mark: Well, first of all, thank you for having me on.

This is a situation where efficiency is sort of clashing with stability.

What we are seeing in the technology world is everything becoming more and more centralized.

And so, what that does is it creates a single point of failure.

In this case, if you think about CrowdStrike, I think they have about 250 of the S&P 500 stocks dependent upon their platform.

So if they have a problem on their platform, 250 of the largest companies have a problem.

And so, there's a very small probability that this happens.

But when it does happen, it's a catastrophe.

Joanna: So what do these failures indicate about our vulnerabilities?

Because like you said, we are all kind of working off the same systems.

Mark: So, the systems need to build some kind of redundancy.

And that is sort of end to the goal of what has been going on.

To make systems more efficient, you centralize and you put everything in one spot.

And now if you are going to create a redundancy, you are essentially going to have the same thing happening someplace else.

And so, a lot of financial firms might have a transaction take place, and they have a duplicate of that transaction taking place on another server somewhere.

That is how they create redundancy.

And they don't make mistakes when transactions are recorded and processed.

So this is a little bit tougher.

So no we are going to have to -- So now we are going to step back and have to be a little less efficient.

And companies will have to be much more careful.

These large companies everyone is so dependent upon about how they do their updates.

One of the things that happened with this update as they pushed it out and all of a sudden all the customers got updated at the same time.

And what companies are going to have to do is update in a piecemeal fashion.

So you think about if they were to update 1% of their customers, OK, that worked, let's do another 1%.

It looks like it's working.

We can roll it out more broadly.

Joanna: In the little bit of time that we have left, I'm just going to ask you, it has been days since the crash, what are the industries that have been the most impacted?

How to they get their systems -- How do they get their systems back up and running?

Mark: What I have been seeing is the airlines have been having the biggest problems.

Some airports are kind of empty.

Because that controls planes going in and out.

If there is a problem there, that costs lives.

Less so -- Even my bank went down for a while.

But they were able to get up and back running again.

We are fortunate in the financial services industry that there was no real economic issue or events going on that would give people angst if they could not transact or hedge, be it individuals or hedge funds, or any kind of institutional investor.

We kind of dodged a bullet on that front.

Joanna: Yeah.

A lot to think about in terms of how companies move forward.

You raise some really interesting points there.

Mark Guthner, associate professor at the Rutgers business school.

Thank you so much.

On Wall Street, stocks saw big gains, trading higher after President Biden's announcement.

Here's a look at the closing numbers.

♪ That does it for us tonight.

Before you go, a reminder to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen to us anytime.

I'm Joanna Gagis.

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

Have a great night.

See you back here tomorrow.

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