Announcer: Major Funding for "NJ Spotlight News" is provided in part by NJM insurance group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

And by the PSEG foundation.

Raven: Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, fire it up.

Women of color in the state are organizing, mobilizing, and making their voices heard on a mission to elect the first black female president.

>> People say, this is almost like Obama.

No.

This is Obama on steroids.

Raven: Plus, questions swirling around a police involved shooting of a woman in Fort Lee that families say was having a mental health crisis.

Also, pipeline blocked.

A federal piece court struck down the construction of a controversial natural gas line here in New Jersey.

>> We are hopeful this ruling sends a strong message that they can no longer rubberstamp unnecessary new fossil fuel pipelines.

Raven: And, silent killer.

The rise in heat related deaths in the state.

What are the warning signs?

>> You are extremely hot or you get really confused.

That is -- those are signs of heat stroke.

And that involves going to an emergency room.

Raven: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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

Raven: Hello and thank you for joining us.

I am Raven Santana come in for Briana Vannozzi -- Briana Vannozzi.

Donald Trump taking center stage at the national Association of Black journalists in Chicago.

At times, combative and lashing out, at one point, claiming to be the best president for Black people since Abraham Lincoln and suggesting Vice President Kamala Harris used her race to help her get elected, claiming she happened to turn Black, that she had in the past only promoted her Indian heritage.

And slamming one of the moderators as disgraceful when she asked why Black voters should.

Trust him with another term.

In New Jersey, black women are mobilizing in record numbers, making sure Kamala Harris is the only face they see as president for the next four years.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports.

Brenda: Some 15,000 supporters at a rally in Atlanta roared their approval as Kamala Harris challenged rival Donald Trump to debate, and chided him for slinging insults like -- Mr. Trump: now we have a new victim to defeat.

Lyin'Kamala Harris.

V.P.

Harris: if you have something to say, say it to my face.

>> Kamala knows how to push back in a classy way.

Brenda: Janine Leroux does regular podcasts, she calls them rants, and says the Kamala Harris candidacy has generated a blaze of energy, a determination to get out the vote and elect a woman of color to the Oval Office.

It is something she has dreamed of since her largely segregated childhood.

>> Down in the southern part of the state, Salem County, Black people, we could not even watch a movie downstairs in the air-conditioned part.

We had to go upstairs in the balcony, and a broken down area.

Brenda: She says the Harris campaign.

Is electrifying folks are lining up to volunteer.

She is planning several fundraisers.

>> At 74 years old, I have never seen anything like this.

And in the last eight to 10 days, it is coming to fruition with white women for Kamala, Black women, Latino, Asian, white dudes for Kamala.

I am so excited.

People say, this is almost like Obama.

No.

This is Obama on steroids.

>> I have been waking up for the past few mornings on fire, excited, ready to mobilize, ready to organize.

Brenda: Chanel McLeod runs project ready, and plans to rally at least 50,000 voters in New Jersey and neighboring Pennsylvania.

She says it is not just about shattering the glass ceiling, which of course matters, it is also about issues.

>> I believe Black women want to see the wealth gap close.

That is first and foremost.

We want opportunities to be able to rise to the occasion and provide for our families.

The second thing is we want to see quality education.

Brenda: And she says Black women in particular want medical professionals to prioritize their health and wellness, especially in a post roe America.

44,000 participated in the online wing with black women meeting, that raised $1.5 million.

Rachel Green was on that call.

She envisions a cultural transformation.

>> Once we elevate Kamala Harris to presidency of this United States, it is going to be a completely different country in regards to allowing all of us now to move forward.

Brenda: Dream is an official Harris delegate.

She will be at the Democratic national convention next month.

She hopes to raise battalions of volunteers, a ground game for Harris.

>> We have got to organize peer that ground game has to be fears.

We need to make sure folks are registered to vote.

We need to know what the processes.

They need to know their options to vote.

>> Do you have been waiting for that moment to say, how can we help on a greater scale?

This is that moment.

It should be inclusive, and not attack for diversity, equity and inclusion.

She has been out there in the forefront on these issues.

Brenda: Assemblywoman chairs jersey's legislative Black Caucus and says Harris supporters do expect pushback.

She will face serious questions over her stance on immigration and the southern border, the war on Gaza, and her record as California's Attorney General.

>> While in some instances she has shown up as a reformer, there are many other instances where she has acted as tough on crime.

A top cop, if you will.

In this election, all of that will be on the table.

Brenda: N/A activist Lorincz while they wholeheartedly support Harris -- >> I think it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to assume Black people have written this candidacy a blank check.

Brenda: She says it up -- it is a mistake the party has made before.

This time they are keeping the receipts and they will come due.

.

I am Brenda fail -- I am Brenda Flanagan.

Raven: As the Attorney General investigates a deadly police shooting in Fort Lee, advocates are pushing for a new approach to handling mental health calls in the borough and around the state.

Arrive together, the program that pairs mental health professionals with police officers, is not implemented in Fort Lee.

Advocates argue this weekend's violence could have been prevented with the appropriate response to a mental health crisis.

Ted Poe Berg spoke to residents and advocates, and the push to expand arrive together.

>> I was shocked that a shooting happened and I was more shocked that it happened in my building.

Ted: People in Fort Lee are still stunned by last weekend's shooting at the pentacle apartment complex.

Three pair agree know Brown has lived here for three years.

>> It was super supportive and calm and everybody helps out each other.

I was shocked to learn something happened.

Ted: He was sleeping on Sunday morning when a woman was shot and killed a police officer five floors below him.

>> It is still scary to know that someone that I could have known that lives in this building could be gone now.

Ted: Police were here responding to a 911 call.

The Attorney General's office, now investigating the shooting, says the man called 911 to report his sister having a mental health crisis.

No body cam footage has been released and we don't know the name of the woman who was killed.

>> Echo like I need to know what exactly happened, so that I can have a perspective.

I don't know if anybody's life was in danger, so I can -- I wasn't there.

I don't know what happened.

>> My initial concern is, where was mental health in this picture?

Ted: Carolyn leads the mental health Association in New Jersey.

She wonders if there would have been a different outcome if mental health professionals responded along with police.

>> Ridership between law enforcement and mental health is so essential.

Each system has operated separately for a long time.

The arrive project is an attempt to bring those two together.

Ted: She is referring to arrive together, the statewide program that pairs mental health professionals with police to respond to certain 911 calls.

While the state pays for expenses, individual municipalities must opt in, and Fort Lee has not.

The nonprofit Care Plus is a partner for arrive together in Bergen County, but they don't provide service for Fort Lee specifically.

>> Arrive together was present in Fort Lee, we likely would not be here today.

Ted: Jason Williams is an associate professor of justice studies, and a big proponent of arrive together.

>> The public probably thinks police officers are trained in these matters.

That isn't the case.

I think with the arrive together program is it brings together police officers who are retrained on these issues, alongside with mental health workers, people who are trained in knowing how to respond to these individuals.

Ted: Williams believes this police shooting may be the catalyst for implementing arrive together everywhere.

>> I think this will probably cause the attorneys general's office to think about how we may want to expand that fully statewide and not just cherry picking certain municipalities where we perceive these issues to be most prevalent.

Ted: He says Fort Lee could use arrive together, and a major obstacle is getting local law enforcement to sign on.

>> I have to have the will -- they have to have the will that OK, we have these problems.

When we think about Fort Lee, we have not seen Fort Lee in the news around matters of police malpractice.

I understand the inclination to probably suggest that OK, Fort Lee does not need this.

But this incident shows that they in fact need the arrive together program in Fort Lee.

Ted: Fort Lee police did not offer comment for this story.

If people see someone suffering from a mental health crisis, they should try to call the suicide and crisis life sign -- lifeline 988.

>> Have a call center.

People on the call center are strictly 988 people who answer those calls.

Mental health centers and entities across the state are having these 988 people embedded there so that you always have someone.

If you call 988 anytime, somebody will speak to you who will understand and have a mental health background.

Ted: P.A.D.

's office did not respond to our request before our deadline.

In Fort Lee, I am Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Raven: A former investigator for the New Jersey victims of crime compensation office has been charged with allegedly soliciting and engaging an inappropriate sexual communications with crime victims he was assigned to support.

Investigative and enterprise reporter Ted Sherman has been following this story and joins me to discuss more.

Thank you for joining me.

Ted: Thanks for having me.

Raven: This man was really charged with re-victimizing those who came to him as victims.

How was this all discovered?

Ted: It wasn't discovered for a long time.

That was the problem here.

People were reporting him to their superiors, according to lawsuits we saw.

And either nothing was done about it, or more curiously, they did not go to any of his other cases to see whether he had approached other women.

Raven: How far did his misconduct go?

Ted: It went for years.

In terms of how long, how far it went, if you look at the lawsuits that were filed, he was very graphic about what he was looking for.

He felt no shame about anything.

At one point, according to the lawsuit, one of the lawsuits, a woman asked him, how can you be acting like this?

How can you be looking to pursue women like this?

And he responded, one in three women around the world have been victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse.

If I egg Nord those people, I would have nobody to date.

Raven: wow.

How many women are we talking about?

Ted: We don't know.

We know there are at least four that came to light in both the state investigation and lawsuits that have been filed.

There might be many more.

We just don't know.

Part of the problem is, is because this was not even announced when he was first arrested, there might be a lot of victims out there.

Some have wondered whether they effectively were harboring a sexual predator.

Raven: Let's talk about what he has been charged with.

Ted: He has been charged with second-degree official misconduct.

He has not been charged with sexual abuse.

These are all claims -- harassment claims.

If you look at the evidence that has been filed in lawsuits, a lot of it is suggested.

There were a lot of pictures.

There are a lot of suggestive messages, and there are a lot of pictures you would not want to show your kids.

Raven: This is terrifying.

This is got wrenching for anyone to hear.

Especially those victims.

How is this going to affect this unit, and for victims feeling comfortable moving forward?

Ted: That's a good question.

Because the people that go to the victims compensation award are people in need.

They are either victims of a crime, or their family have been victims of a crime.

They are looking for mental health counseling, some of them.

Some of them are looking for help cleaning up the scene of a crime.

Some of them are looking for help moving.

This individual was there point of contact.

They were supposed to trust him.

And at one point according to one of the lawsuits, when they complained about some of the things they were seen, they were told to go to their point of contact, which was this guy.

Raven: Is there any trust left in this unit?

Ted: I don't know the answer to that.

Obviously a lot of people who have dealt with him have no trust whatsoever.

Raven: In tough story to cover.

Excellent reporting.

Thank you, Ted.

It has been a scorcher this summer, and the heat is not just uncomfortable.

They could also be considered a silent killer.

Nearly 200 people in New Jersey died of heat stroke between 2000 and 2020.

State data shows as a health care writer reports, those figures are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact of heat.

She sat down with me to discuss more.

Thank you for joining me.

>> Thank you.

Raven: It has been a severely hot summer, record time, and according to your reporting, that he can be considered a silent killer.

Explain that, how so?

Lilo: it is considered a silent killer because we don't talk about it enough on the media.

It is not as visual.

I listened to this great podcast , where it was all about how in the media, when you have a flood or another disaster, there are so many visuals.

It is a really clear story.

With heat, it is sort of subtle.

It kills people who are older.

Think those people who are poor.

They end up in the hospital.

It is behind clothes stores -- closed doors.

We are left with images of Friday the -- fried eggs on the sidewalk and fire hydrants.

Raven: You mentioned who it impacts the most.

What are the warning signs that folks should look out for?

Lilo: Absolutely.

They are really common.

And I think it is important to say this is one of these conditions -- health related things where money separates us.

People with a moderate amount of income can usually have air conditioning, and that is key.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion, sort of the first stage, are profusely sweating, achiness, having a headache.

If it progresses where you are extremely hot or you get really confused, that is -- those are more signs of heat stroke.

That involves going to -- he really should go to an emergency room, according to the people I talked to.

Heat exhaustion, the payment is come inside, cool off, drink water.

And give your body time to recover.

It does take time.

Raven: A good is here in New Jersey, they are trying to prevent that.

Prevent heat related injuries and deaths with regulation.

Walking through some of those.

Lilo: I think first of all, there is more awareness about it in clinical conditions.

Doctors are seeing more of it.

The doctor I spoke with, Dr. Henry didn't doubt, said she sees it and all kinds of age groups.

Because it is the elderly that are most vulnerable, people with underlying conditions.

Asthma, diabetes, heart conditions, who doesn't have one of those?

And a few others.

And younger kids, she said kids are really susceptible because you don't -- they can just go and go and suddenly they crash, and you don't see it coming.

Yes, there are efforts both by medical groups.

There is some legislative efforts that are new.

But generally, hopefully a growing awareness.

And just please, the doctor said, talk -- consider it like it is dangerous weather.

Because it is.

Raven: And just quickly before we leave, what are three main takeaways for someone who has to plan for extreme heat, what are three recommendations you would give them?

Lilo: Hydration, of course.

Seek shade.

And cooling when you can.

And just as much as possible, limit that time outdoors.

She made a great example.

If you are going to an amusement park, go in the morning and the afternoon.

Don't go -- go home for lunch, spend a few hours by the pool, take a break.

Raven: Lilo, keeping us cool and safe, thank you.

Lilo: Thank you, take care.

>> Support for the medical report is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Raven: In our spotlight on business report, a better feel -- appeals court has blocked the expansion of a major natural back -- natural gas pipeline.

The regional energy Access expansion project has been pushed by an energy company which sought to expand its pipeline with a new compressor statement -- station and bigger stations in Somerset County.

A coalition of New Jersey environmental groups had sued to challenge the projects approval by the Federal energy regulatory commission.

The environmentalists argue that FERK ignored the harm when granting its approval.

That lawsuit was supported by New Jersey Attorney General Matt Plotkin in the state rate Council who said the project was an unnecessary cost that would be passed on to Garden State gas customers.

The appeals court agreed, vacating the approval for the project and a major win for climate activists.

>> We are hopeful this ruling sends a strong message that they can no longer rubberstamp unnecessary new fossil fuel pipelines.

Raven: Into Wall Street, the Federal Reserve keeps rates unchanged due to modest progress on inflation.

Here is how the markets reacted to the news.

♪ Raven: New information have created by the department of human services is bringing together resources from across state government into one place for New Jersey residents with disabilities and their families, caregivers, and advocates.

The announcement comes at the end of disability pride month.

Joanna Gagis sat down with Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of human services, Sarah Adelman, to discuss the launch of the hub as the state commemorates the 34th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with disabilities act.

Joanna: So great to talk with you.

I want to ask you about this new information hub, this website that your office has launched.

It is because the New Jersey disability information hub.

What can folks find when they go on there?

Sarah: Thank you, so nice to be with you.

We are excited to celebrate around an issue that is central to the ADA, which is insuring individuals with disabilities can easily access essential information from government in a user center performance.

We build the New Jersey disability information hub with accessibility at the forefront of our development, and the website is designed to be easy to navigate.

The hub is going to include information to programs and services, offered all across government, by the Department of human services, children and families, health, education, labor, and workforce development, military and Veterans Affairs, and more.

Raven: You just clearly laid out all of the tenants that are involved in supporting folks with disabilities.

Why is it important to have information in particular for families and caregivers, and individuals with disabilities?

Why is it important to have that in one place?

Sarah: We hear from individuals and families all the time that when they first experience a disability, or when they are at a stage in life when they need help, it can be really difficult to navigate government services and programs.

I think it is fair to say our programs are only valuable if people can easily connect to them, and know that they exist and know how to find them.

By putting in one place information that helps people with housing, with health care, with access to education or technology assistance, food assistance, and a kind of service that an individual might need, or for caregivers, access to the caregiver community and resources available, by putting all of this in one place, there is one single site, this disability hub, that individuals and their family members can go to to find all of the information that they could need.

And in a time when they may need, to learn about government services for the first time, or if they need help for the first time.

Joanna: This announcement of this hub comes around the same time as the signing of the 30 fourth anniversary of the signing of the Americans with disabilities act.

It comes at the same time of the announcement of disability pride month.

What is the significance of those events really for the community, folks with disabilities in New Jersey?

Sarah: Absolutely.

As we celebrate the 34th anniversary of the Americans with disabilities act, we remember that this is the law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and areas such as employment, transportation, access to state and local government programs and services, so I people with disabilities can enjoy the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

This is a big community.

One in five New Jerseyans, and one in five individuals nationwide, experience at least one disability.

It is a really diverse group and community, the disability community.

As we commemorate the anniversary of the ADA, with technology, more central to life than ever before.

It is really important that we ensure individuals with his abilities can easily access essential information online in a user center format.

Joanna: Sarah Adelman, Commissioner of the Department of human services, thank you so much.

Sarah: Thank you.

Raven: That does it for us.

A reminder to download the NJ Spotlight News podcasted you can listen to us anytime.

I'm Raven Santana.

For the entire team here at NJ Spotlight News, thank you for being with us, have a great night, and we will see you back here tomorrow.

Announcer: New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child.

And RWJBarnabas Health, let's be healthy together.

♪