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Briana: Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News.

Menendez resigns.

It is up to Governor Murphy to appoint a replacement to fulfill the rest of his four month term.

>> That is probably the best bet for everyone, for him to appoint a trusted and respected leader from his party to hold that seat on a temporary basis until the election can play out in November.

Briana: Plus, New Jersey Republicans play out their strategy to take on Kamala.

>> We are excited to run against Vice President Harris.

Briana: Also, war protests here and in the nation's capital as is really prime ministers Netanyahu addresses conference.

-- as is really -- Israeli prime Minister Netanyahu addresses Congress.

>> They are still allowing him to come be in our capital.

Briana: And do efforts to protect jobs for those who need to take family lead in the state.

>> They are the most vulnerable workers, more often women.

Women take leave for having a baby often, and often women are the caregivers for older adults, for their parents, their spouses.

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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

Joanna: Hello and thank you for joining us.

I'm Joanna Gagis filling in for Brianna Vannozzi.

New Jersey is still reacting to yesterday's news that Senator Bob Menendez will end his 18 year term on August 20.

The announcement came as a shock to many, who had seen men and as ignore calls to resign from all members -- Menendez ignore calls to resign from all members of the Democratic coalition in New Jersey, but he sent a resignation letter to Governor Murphy following the news that the Senate ethics committee would investigate him.

He also cited concerns over that investigation impacting his appeal process.

But in the wake of the resignation, Governor Murphy now has the job of appointing a replacement.

Brenda Flanagan takes a look at who might be considered for the job and what political insiders are predicting.

Sen. Menendez: I had never been anything but a patriot.

Reporter: Bob Menendez still fiercely insists he never took gold bars and cash as bribes for favors, and will appeal his 16 felony convictions, but facing almost certain expulsion by Senate colleagues, Menendez reluctantly sent them a letter of resignation.

It lets anxious New Jersey Democrats sidestep the scandal so Governor Murphy can do a quick pick replacement to fill the tarnished senator's empty seat.

>> Within the Latino community, there has been a groundswell to see that even though it would be a small gesture to appoint another Latino there.

Reporter: Frank worked for Menendez during his years in the house.

He applauds Governor Murphy's promise to exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to the United States Senate to ensure the people of New Jersey now have the representation they deserve.

First, Tammy Murphy quickly took her name off the shortlist.

Congressman Andy Kim, running for Menendez's seat in November, said he would be willing.

>> A strategic pick would be Andy Kim so he can get his feet wet in the Senate, presumably, since it looks like he could run away with this in November.

Brenda: Sources note to the governor is doing political math, and selecting can would subtract another New Jersey member from House Democrats, who suffered a loss when Congressman Donald Payne passed away this summer.

Back then, Hakeem Jeffries raised concerns about member vacancies with the governor and New Jersey's Democratic state committee chair LeRoy Jones.

Jones says rather than picking kim, Republicans have proposed -- >> Letting the voters decide, putting a thumb on the scale.

Voters are sick of the insider deals.

It seems to me the governor, from reports today, is not looking to appoint a House member, and I think that is the best thing for the state.

Brenda: So I think that is probably be best -- >> I think that is probably the best bet for everyone, for him to appoint a trusted leader to hold that seat on a temporary basis until the election can play out in November.

Brenda: Placeholder list also includes federal judge as solace, but appointing her takes her off the bench.

>> Cleaning her on the bench.

She is a federal judge.

She has a job to do, and removing her is actually a mistake.

The community has forced the administration to proceed with a Latina.

Brenda: As for Menendez, his letter mentioned he is leaving because, "I do not want the Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important work."

It is effective August 20, enough time for me to close out my Senate affairs.

>> Strategically so, he will get another month of his pension, so certainly a calculated resignation.

Brenda: Menendez will probably spend down campaign cash through his legal bills.

His legacy will be viewed through the lens of history.

Democrats believe it is critical to fill his 50 chair.

>> You could have a busy lame duck session, because if the Democrats lose, they will be seeking to do a series of things, particularly on the judiciary side in those last few weeks.

We definitely want a reliable vote there.

Filling the position as soon as possible would be important.

Brenda: Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Joanna: Republicans had quite a shakeup coming off the Republican national convention, where the party seemed to fully unite behind Former President Donald Trump, and their focus was on beating Biden, only to learn along with the rest of the country that their opponent will now likely be Vice President Kamala Harris.

What happens now to their campaign efforts, and how do they switch gears to take on an entirely different candidate?

Here to share perspective is the chair of the New Jersey Republican state committee.

Chairman, so good to have you with us tonight.

Huge shakeup in this campaign.

It does not seem that Republicans were necessarily ready for this switch.

How do you now switch gears to take on Vice President Harris?

>> I think we are quite ready for it.

I personally predicted would be Sunday when he announced he would step down.

Once the Republican convention was so smoothly orchestrated, it was clear that after that disastrous debate performance that the scandal to hide President Biden from the public was not going to work and they had to change.

I do not think we are surprised at all.

We are very ready to run against Vice President Harris.

She is clearly the most liberal and least competent presidential candidate we have ever had in history.

We are excited about the possibility down ballot, across the ballot, up and run against Vice President Harris.

Joanna: Is she the harder candidate to beat, though, considering a lot of the ads kind of help back on President Biden, almost letting him and the Democratic party follow themselves.

His hair the harder candidate to beat?

-- is Harris the harder candidate to beat?

>> I don't think so.

Biden had a lot of institutional support among Democrats.

Paris was the first to run against Biden and dropped out before she even got to Iowa.

The borders are who never went to the border.

Really not prepared at all for this response ability.

-- this responsibility.

We are prepared.

She had better hang on because her inadequacies and incompetence is going to be very radically exposed in the next month or two.

Joanna: You mentioned the smooth lists of the Republican national convention.

Republicans did seem to unify behind President Trump throughout those four days, but following the RNC, some of the polling numbers for the vice presidential nominee pick J.D.

Vance have been poor by comparison to other VP picks in the past.

Was he the right choice for Former President Trump, given Trump needs to reach into suburban areas in order to win?

>> I have to tell you, I have a relationship with Senator Vance, we had him in New Jersey September of 2023 and he was quite a hit.

His policies of America first, putting working families first and foremost, resonates with voters across the country.

Obviously the Democrats are going to make it look like there is a problem there.

There is not a problem there.

It is a great team, 39-year-old man, going to be 40 in August, showing we care about depth, care about young people, millennials.

He is a creative and appropriate pick.

I am excited he's going to become our vice president.

I could not be more supportive of J.D.

Vance.

Joanna: If we could switch to New Jersey, we have seen Senator Menendez has offered his resignation.

That will be effective August 20.

That leaves Governor Murphy with the decision to appoint somebody.

Who should Governor Murphy appoint to fill that seat for the remaining four months?

Who should he not pick?

>> I think one of the last people Governor Murphy wants advice from is the chairman of the Republican in New Jersey, but what he said to me -- not to me, but to the public about the issue is, I think, the appropriate comments he has made so far.

He said it should not be a sitting congressperson because, one, for their political reasons , there is such a narrow majority for Republicans they do not want to damage Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader in the house.

He said he's not going to pick a sitting congressperson, so it is clearly going to be a caretaker.

I hope it is someone who can work together across party lines, demonstrate New Jersey is a great state.

We have had failed leadership in Washington for a long time.

It is a time for an opportunity to demonstrate that New Jersey has great leaders and we can find somebody who would be appropriate to send their in a caretaker role until we have the election on November 5.

Joanna: Bob, thank you so much.

>> Thank you.

Joanna: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress today.

He was invited by leadership from both parties in a rare show of Washington bipartisanship.

Netanyahu also met with President Biden earlier today and has sat down with families of hostages still in captivity.

Tomorrow he will meet with Vice President Harris, and on Friday he will head to Mar-a-Lago for a meeting with Former President Trump.

The prime minister made the case in his speech today for why Israel continues to rely on America's support, saying this -- >> If Israel's hands are tied, America is next.

I will tell you what else is next, the ability for all democracies to fight terrorism will be imperiled.

That is on the line.

Let me assure you the hands of the Jewish state will never be shackled.

Israel will always defend itself.

Joanna: But more than 50 members of Congress, including New Jersey's 12 congressional representative Bobby -- Bonnie Watson Coleman, said the deadly war in Gaza has gone too far.

Today, 39 thousand Palestinian civilians have been killed and there is still no Cease Fire insight.

Washington correspondent Ben Hulac was in the room to hear the speech and see the reaction.

Ben, great to speak with you.

Benjamin Netanyahu gave a fiery speech to a joint session of Congress.

What were some of the key takeaways of that speech that you heard?

>> The thing they got to me, towards the end of the speech, Netanyahu -- I'm roughly paraphrasing -- but the key point was he said we do not seek as Israel to obtain to take control of Gaza, but then he said in the short and medium-term, we will have to have some sort of overriding security control over Gaza.

That obviously stood out, and what that will look like remains to be seen.

Joanna: There was some other really strong language he used.

He called the protesters -- I will start with he defended Israel's right to defend itself after October 7.

He details a lot of the horrors that happened on that day.

But he went in on protesters against Israel's response, said that all protesters are Iran's useful idiots.

How did you see New Jersey's delegation respond at various points throughout that speech?

>> I would say New Jersey's delegation roughly mirrored the broader Congress, the House and Senate.

The vibe from Democrats -- and visually I think it is important to remember Democrats are largely on one side, Republicans on the other -- the Democratic side was sort of tepid and mild in its response, really perfunctory clapping, and then they peeled out of the chamber, most Democrats, the second Netanyahu was done.

For Republicans, there was this rupture is applause and really like a pep rally in a lot of ways.

Josh Gottheimer and Republicans are clearly the most ardent supporters of Israel among the delegation.

I spent a lot of time looking at Cory Booker, and he released a statement before the speech saying I am with the Israeli people, but Netanyahu is perhaps the worst leader the nation has ever had.

He was really stonefaced throughout, and that is the same with the broad delegation.

Bonnie Watson Coleman was not here.

Shieh while ago telegraphed she would not be coming to the speech.

Joanna: We spoke with Bonnie Watson Coleman yesterday.

Do you know who else boycotted the speech from the Democratic -- not just New Jersey, we know it was only her -- do you know who else boycotted the speech?

Benjamin: A few dozen members, no one really with New Jersey ties would stick out.

Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont, has been critical of Israel's war in Gaza basically since day one, since the fall.

He was not here.

Vice President, Harris was not here -- Vice President Kamala Harris was not here, and neither was President Biden.

Those are the big names.

I would add Nancy Pelosi was not here, and I do not know exactly why she was not here, but she was not.

Joanna: In the short time we have left, how much is this kind of a risky issue and topic for Democrats as they head into this November general election?

It is an issue that is pretty front on both sides.

Benjamin: Certainly I would say the Democrats are horrified by the 40,000 people who have been killed in Gaza since the war began October 7, and they are also horrified about the attack itself.

They want to see some sort of path to peace as do Republicans, but the tenor in which they are supporting is really on start display.

This is a bit of speculation by talking to members today and yesterday, they view the election in November about really a stark contrast between a younger, more vibrant candidate in Kamala Harris and an older man who may drag the U.S. toward authoritarianism in Donald Trump.

Joanna: We have to leave it there, but thanks for that reporting from Washington.

Benjamin: Of course, thanks.

Joanna: Put in the meantime, here in New Jersey and at the nation's capital, protesters took to the streets to decry Netanyahu's address and the open arms that welcomed him.

Several activist groups from New Jersey went down to D.C. and protest, while here in Clifton, the Palestinian-American community Center held what they are calling a children's press conference for Gaza.

Ted Goldberg is there.

What are you hearing from folks on the ground?

Ted: I am hearing widespread outrage among the Palestinian American community here in Clifton.

At the Palestinian-American community Center, the kids here spend their days the way most kids in New Jersey do, running and playing, but today they said that time protesting Benjamin Netanyahu.

>> Netanyahu, you can't hide.

We charge you for genocide.

>> Even though the world may seem like it is failing you, we see you, your struggle, your shame, and your courage.

>> They said the old will die and the young will forget.

Ted: The four-year-olds to 12-year-olds echoed messages from other protesters accusing the Israeli prime minister of genocide.

>> It hurts to see our Palestinian loved ones fighting genocide while we watch from our phones.

>> Her family says -- our families have faced so much hardship and loss.

It is time that Palestinians deserve freedom and peace, just like everyone else.

>> In our classes, we learned about apartheid and how wrong it is.

Now the International Court of Justice is telling us Israel is doing it too.

How is this still happening?

>> Why, if this is happening on an international level, is our country still funding Israel as an apartheid state and still funding the weapons they are sending to them and still allowing him to come be in our Capitol?

This is our government.

Ted: More than 50 congressional Democrats boycotted Netanyahu's speech, including New Jersey's Bonnie Watson Coleman.

Rep. Watson Coleman: He has shown himself to be inhumane as it pertains to the Palestinian people.

Ted: She has criticized how Israel has fought the war against Hamas, but stopped short of calling it genocide.

Rep. Watson Coleman: I understand Israel responding to what Gaza did back on October 7, but at some point, is it overkill?

70,000 deaths is overkill.

85% of a population facing famine is overkill.

Ted: President Joe Biden has been criticized by the Palestinian American community for supplying Israel with weapons.

His decision to not run for reelection has emboldened people here, who hope Kamala Harris or whoever earns the Democratic nomination will have a different policy in the Middle East.

>> The fact that President Biden has been forced to step down, we believe is our community's power, and we hope the next candidate will know our community is a force.

They Have to listen.

At the very least at this point, it is to call for a cease-fire immediately.

Rep. Watson Coleman: Kamala Harris, when she takes office, will look at these issues from a new lens.

She certainly is going to be influenced by the administration she has served as a vice president, but it will be her platform, her vision, and it will be her version of what the right thing is for Israel and Palestine.

Ted: Netanyahu still enjoys the support of most Republicans and some Democrats.

Earlier this week, Josh Gottheimer met with families who -- families of people who have been taken hostage by Hamas, and he brought two people to his speech today.

>> When I say cease-fire, you say now.

Cease Fire!

>> now!

Ted: In Clifton, I'm Ted Goldberg.

Joanna: In our spotlight on business report, there is a group of workers in New Jersey who still do not have the same access to paid family leave as many others in the state.

Right now, the state law only guarantees that extended leave for employees in companies with 30 or more workers.

Business advocates have fought hard to leave small employers out of those requirements, but today a coalition of advocates held a virtual press conference opposing those exceptions.

They are calling on the Senate to require all companies with at least five employees to offer paid family leave and other benefits to their employees.

Raven Santana has more on their demands.

>> It was pretty close to when I was getting ready to have my baby that it dawned on me that I was stuck in that situation.

Raven: She knows firsthand the profound impact of not being eligible for paid family leave.

Her excitement of Starting a new job quickly turned into a nightmare after she was forced to return to work after six weeks or else she wrist -- risked losing her new position.

She said the lack of reasonable paid time off was a factor that contributed to her postpartum depression.

>> It was during my pregnancy that I transitioned jobs.

Pregnancy is nine months.

The eligibility for the leave is longer than that.

So it is something that struck me after the fact.

Raven: Valentino is one of 20 people who attended a press conference where they discussed a new report that highlighted the findings of a recently updated study that revealed some 1.7 million New Jersey workers lacked job protection coverage under the NJ family leave act, which is used when workers need to take time to bond with newborns or care for loved ones.

>> Around 20% of workers are not protected because of those tenure and our requirements, and the largest group are people who have not worked at the same employer for at least 52 weeks or at least a year.

The other things we found are that they really are the most vulnerable workers, more often women, and workers whose jobs maybe have a lot of turnover, like food preparation, health care support, personal-care aides, home health aides.

Those are places where people are less likely to be protected.

These are some of the most vulnerable workers.

Raven: The findings are now being used as evidence to push amendments to expand family leave for Jersey workers.

Currently, only workers at businesses with 30 or more employees are guaranteed to return to their position after they take up to 12 weeks of family leave.

The legislation passed by the assembly in February would lower that threshold to 20 in 2024 and 10 in 2025 and five in 2026.

>> We are proposing 90 days at that employer, and totally removing the thousand hours worked requirement, because that is complicating and unnecessary.

We are proposing that change be made in the family leave act so that those workers who are taking the benefit, if they work for an employer with five employees and have been there for 90 days, they know their job is protected.

>> Replacing employees is expensive with turnover costs averaging 1/5 of the employee's annual salary.

Small business owners want to do the right thing by their employees.

Clear, fair rules help us to do that.

Raven: But not everyone is on board with the proposed changes.

The NJBIA vice president of government affairs says the changes will help, not hurt, small businesses.

>> We don't think there is a need to go down any further, really in part and mostly because this has really impacted our small businesses, those mom-and-pop shops on Main Street.

They are already having a really hard time recovering from Covid, and this is just another regulation that is going to make it harder for them to continue to do business in New Jersey.

Raven: Frank says she is hopeful the Senate will remain steadfast in its commitment to the current bill, but in the meantime she will work with sponsors on amendment's that will make the bill better.

Small business advocates are hoping their proposed amendments will be honored and a revised version of the bill will be passed in the Senate.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.

Joanna: Stocks dropped today after lower-than-expected earnings from Tesla.

Here is how the markets closed.

♪ Joanna: That doesn't for us tonight, but before you go, download the New Jersey Spotlight News podcast so you can listen to us anytime.

I'm Joanna Gagis.

For the entire team here, thanks for being with us.

Have a great night.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

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