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♪ Message Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News," Governor Murphy nominates former acting state attorney General John Jay Hoffman to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

His fifth Supreme Court pick four >> John Hussman brings your two bits that we would want.

Most important, is sacrificing.

BRIANA: Plus, the star witness in Senator Bob Menendez's bribery trial takes the stand again, revealing how he bribed the embattled senior senator .

Also, legislators dig into the finances of New Jersey City University as the school recovers from a $230 million deficit.

>> But we have an obligation to study each and every opportunity adoption, including looking at whether or not the University could sustain itself independently.

BRIANA: And full speed ahead.

Major upgrades are underway as the state prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

>> this is a massive, massive undertaking.

This is not for the State of heart sort of situation.

BRIANA: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ Any of them from NJPBS Studios, this is Spotlight news with Briana Vannozzi.

BRIANA: good evening and thanks for joining us this Monday night, I am Briana Vannozzi.

Governor Murphy is looking the last state supreme court take his station act tough and Offerman, who served as acting Acting Attorney General for three years -- tapping John Jay Hoffman, who served as a Acting Attorney General for three years under Governor Chris Christie.

It is confirmed, he would be the fifth justice conducted by Murphy out of seven on the court.

He currently serves as General Counsel and Senior Vice President at Rutgers University.

His nomination will go before the State Bar Association, and of the state Senate, where Huffman will likely face questions about his time as New Jersey's top cop both fighting organized crime and ruling out buddy, requirements for law enforcement, but also how he handled several high-profile controversies.

Senior correspondent David Cruise reports.

>> I am incredibly honored and pleased to announce I will be nominating John Hussman to be the associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

[APPLAUSE] Reporter: Thinking Supreme Court justices on the state level is not as fraught as it can be from the federal level through it so that by the time he was introduced today, it was clear he had support on both sides of the island.

>> John Hussman brings all the attributes we would want in a justice and, most importantly, for sacrificing.

A person of his Internet, his experience, his earning capacity, this truly is an impact on his family, but John sees the value in public service and he is willing to answer the call of the people of the state of New Jersey.

Reporter: Hoffman, who will replace Justice Solomon, who at 70 is aging of from the court has been, in public service most of his professional life.

>> In 2004, who joined the U.S. Attorney's office here in Trenton to protect the people of New Jersey as a prosecutor of both violent and white-collar crime.

In 2010, he moved to the state comptroller's office to serve as their Director of investigations.

Two years later, he went on to the Department of Law and Public Safety to assume the post of executive assistant attorney general.

In 2013 Governor Christie's selected John to serve as Acting Attorney General on this very day exactly 11 years ago.

>> The screening process is very good because you will hear early on if somebody is a problem.

That is life when we pick judges, normally they do OK before their judiciary committee because the process is pretty intense before you get there.

Very rarely do you not get through the judiciary committee and that is because they have gone through a lot.

Reporter: Before that critics may quibble with his role in the Christie administration deal that.

Exxon Mobil pennies on the dollar of what could have been a multibillion dollar such as incident for his role in arguing against allowing -- drone footage in the case that saw the state Supreme Court rule against the state.

But the show of support for the nominee, which included John Hollow Lake, president of Rutgers, where Hoffman recently served as Chief Counsel, suggested that was all water under the bridge.

The nominee got emotional when he spoke to his family, especially his wife, Mary Jane.

>> You better hold them together, because if you don't, I will provide focus right here, all right?

[LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE] [voice breaks] Mary Jane, you have given so much of your soul so I can feed my soul and quench my thirst to get back to this crazy -- of ours.

Everybody owes you a debt of gratitude.

Reporter: His nomination is expected to get swift approval.

Murphy said he hoped Hoffman would be confirmed before the state's high court reconvenes in the fall.

I am David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: The jury is now more than halfway through the federal corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez.

Week five started today with more testimony from the prosecution's star witness.

Jose Uribe, the New Jersey insurance broker who was indebted to Nelson Menendez, his wife Nadine and two other businessmen, was back on the stand after telling jurors on Friday that he purposely bribed the senior senator with a Mercedes-Benz, in exchange of the use of his, quote, "power and influence" to stop investigations into his business associates.

.

They pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has been inside the Manhattan courtroom all day, then joins us from outside with the latest.

It's a key witness folks have been waiting to hear from.

What did he have to say?

Reporter: Heh.

Star witness Jose Uribe shows that Senator Menendez boasted to him, "I saved your ass."

The Uribe says he was involved.

He participated in the alleged bribery scheme between Senator Menendez and his then girlfriend Nadine.

Uribe was originally charged, remember, in this case, and flipped, pleaded guilty and now he is testifying for the prosecution.

Today he told the jury about "the deal."

He said you met twice with Senator Menendez and these were meetings that were set up with Nadine.

It happened once in a restaurant, once at their home.

And Uribe in return, but Nadine is 60,000 dollars Mercedes-Benz, made a $15,000 document on it and set up monthly payments.

In return, Uribe said he wanted Menendez to stop a state insurance fraud investigations I was getting very close to a woman he considers to be like a daughter, Black family, ana peguera.

That was his primary concern.

BRIANA: So Uribe made clear he was willing to do whatever to divert the case.

But did Menendez actually intervene?

Reporter: Well, Uribe says that at these meetings, Menendez did not specify what exactly he was going to do.

He says he told Uribe "I will look into it."

During a second meeting at his home, they brought a piece of paper for Uribe and asked him to write down the names of all the companies and folks who are involved in this fraud case, so that he could look into it.

The very next day, Menendez meets with the New Jersey shift from former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.

Gurbir Grewal testified last week that he thought Menendez wanted to discuss a specific case Menendez said he wanted to talk, about a certain case.

But Gurbir Grewal said that was not proper.

Now Uribe was looking for some kind of outcome of what was going on.

And Menendez, a couple of weeks later, got in touch with him and said there doesn't seem to be anything there, quote, in terms of the issue you asked me to look into.

That is when Uribe got very emotional in the courtroom.

He said, "my family was safe."

Sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

BRIANA: While the left.

Pretty powerful stuff.

How did the prosecution connect the dots to Menendez at all knowing about the Mercedes?

Reporter: That is where it gets tricky, because they asked Uribe , "To ever discuss paying for this car with Senator Menendez?"

Uribe says, I did not.

Never mentioned it.

He said he took it for granted and that there was no way that the senator could not know that he had paid for this or that someone had paid for this car, that he had paid for this car, that Nadine Menendez corresponded frequently.

BRIANA: And of course there is that infamous text message Nadine sends to Bob where she says, "Love of my life, we are the proud new owners of the Mercedes-Benz."

Brenda: Absolutely.

BRIANA: Great work, thank you.

Liberals will face harassment over the culture war over book bans could soon have more protections.

A bill would prevent the kind of social media trolling and Intimidation librarians like Martha Hickson from North-Hunterdon Voorhees cool experienced over the last year.

She was called a pedophile and child groomer among other accusations.

But the bill would also give local school boards guidance over which books make it onto the shelves.

Our education and child welfare reporter Hannah Gross covered the hearing where those on both sides of the issue spoke about it for hours while lawmakers took a vote.

Hannah joins me now with the details.

Good to see you.

Talk to me about this feeling, because the turnout was somewhat of President of.

GUEST: It was probably the most crowded committee room, more than 70 people in the room listening to four hours of testimony with people on both sides of the issue.

The majority were in support of the bill, the Freedom to Read Act.

There was also a ton of people in an adjacent overflow room coming in and out to testify.

BRIANA: So this bill, the Freedom to Read Act, we have known it has been coming down the pike, no makers have been working on it, what has remained?

GUEST: In the bill after this point?

Guest: the bill directs the Commissioner of education and others to come up with a model policy for the various to use to curate their collections.

And also for the removal of library books.

BRIANA: So a set of standards they can use?

Exactly GUEST: .

BRIANA: What about the protections for librarians?

Did we hear from them during this testimony?

GUEST: A ton of librarians were there testifying in support of the bill and what this would mean for them because a lot of them have been subject to harassment, whether online or in person, at school board meetings, often times making it hard for them to do their jobs and impacting their health and their mental health.

BRIANA: So, what in the guidelines helps the districts themselves figure out which books should be accepted?

GUEST: So, books and school libraries generally are approved by a team of people going all the way up to the school superintendent for approval of books that are being purchased.

A big part of the bill would be creating removal policies.

In order for a book to be removed it must be partitioned by a member of the community.

So a student, parent or teacher rather than someone outside of the community.

BRIANA: So it would make it ostensibly harder time than a from school?

GUEST: I think it might make it a little bit harder, you could say that.

It also has clear guidelines for if someone wanted a book out of the library.

They would know exactly how to go through that process.

BRIANA: Were some of the complaints coming from folks outside the district or the community previously, is that why they included that stipulation?

GUEST: According to the New Jersey Library Association, a lot of the challenges have been coming from people outside of the local community trying to challenge a book.

And some groups have been circulating a list of books that they think don't belong in schools.

So there is a concerted effort.

BRIANA: What did parents rights groups and other opponents have to say about this?

GUEST: A lot of their parents rights groups had concerns that children don't have access to books they deemed inappropriate or pornographic, and that their students might be able to get their hands on those books without parent permission while they are in school.

BRIANA: Was there a counter to that in the testimony given?

GUEST: The librarians maintained throughout the entire hearing that they have a Masters degree in how to appropriately.

These elections so they know what books are developmentally appropriate.

And a lot of the books that have been Cilic have LGBTQ+ themes and a lot of LGBTQ+ advocates of that these books are important for people to understand who they are.

BRIANA: You should note that the bill still has a long way to go before being voted on by the legislature.

Hannah Gross, thank you for coming in.

GUEST: Thank you BRIANA: .

The last remaining Pro-Palestinian encampment on the New Jersey college campus has ended.

On Rutgers Newark Police ordered Sunday, students and community activists to break down their tents on the law school lawn after more than five weeks of protests.

School officials say the protest was cleared without arrest, and that while demonstrations remained peaceful, the organizers have repeatedly violated school policies in recent weeks.

The school also said the agreement officials at Rutgers New Brunswick made with protesters back in May, that applied to the Newark campus, including amnesty for protesters and a seat at the table and discussions about divestment.

Like other encampments, Newark students demanded the university divest from companies with ties to Israel.

But they also called for the school to invest those funds back into the Newark community.

In Ella Spotlight on Business Report, two years after declaring a fiscal emergency, it NJCU have a path forward?

The legislative higher education committees today match to hear from readers at New Jersey city University, and those monitoring the Hudson County school of's, to figure out if the improvements made are enough to keep the university open and on financially stable footing.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis the details.

>> So is it reasonable for members with the microphones here, to work with the debt figure of $337 million?

>> Yes, if you want to combine the debt and capital needs, sounds like an accurate ballpark to be in.

Reporter: that $337 million sending shockwaves through the Senate and Assembly Higher education committees.

They held a joint hearing today to review the Fiscal Accountability Plan for New Jersey City University.

Which found itself in deep debt just over a year ago, after mismanagement of funds by its previous administration.

>> What you take in and what you spend just on salaries is equal.

That doesn't include the electric bill, capital, anything else, correct?

>> That is correct, that is where state appropriations for public institution comes in.

>> So you are not asking for a state appropriations for a long-term plan, you are asking for survivability.

Reporter: Senate committee chair Joe Cryer and it the new president Andrés Acebo, who stepped into the role to help turn the school finances around.

Nonetheless, now subject to a frustrated legislature trying to determine whether the state should try to save a sinking ship.

Crian four-on-two through their less than 30% graduation rate.

It's less than four in 10 today on a six year graduation rate.

Correct.

>> That is correct for first time full-time freshmen.

Reporter: but acebo pushed back, demonstrating significant steps he has taken with the monitor to oversee the school's efforts to get out of debt.

>>.

>> We have pursued institutional bureaucracy.

We have overhauled our general education curriculum.

We have adopted policies that are more responsive and attentive to our student population.

Reporter: Part of that included strategic cutting of courses and programs that Acebo says maximize their finite dollars.

>> We have a policy that courses will be counseled once they have been listed as a student relies on it and build their life around the course offering.

Reporter: based on the testimony today, there is a likelihood that NJCU will need to partner or merge with another institution in order to survive, unless it receives a significant infusion of cash from the state.

But what that number is, no one could say definitively today.

>> they have the lowest average student income, household income of any institution in the state.

Given the resources the institution has, unless the state is willing to invest substantially to get them on more solid footing, it will be a nice addition that would always basically be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

>> We shouldn't be linear in our thinking as to what a partnership may entail.

It may entail a relationship, it may be shared services, it may be the allocation of resources and programs so that the students of Hudson, and the immediate region have greater opportunity than they presently have.

If it ultimately lead into a merger.

Reporter: But to be independent, Henry Amoroso outlined a number of possibilities for reducing debt, but even better, state aid is critical.

>> Our capital needs are probably around $80 million to create an appropriate learning environment you saw some of our classrooms.

Fixing the infrastructure, the five schematically HVAC, the roofs, the parking garage, that doesn't get us to the enhanced learning environment and the enhanced living environments that our students rightfully deserve, as well as our entire staff.

Reporter: Suffices to say, they all have their work cut out for them to determine if the almost 100 euros university survives.

In Trenton, Joanna Gagis, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: State leaders say they are ready to handle the massive influx of firsts expected in the region for the 2026 see Sewald professional.

That civility is the time the Fleming has to happen to fulfill the promise.

Today I hearing was held at MetLife Stadium where the games will be held, to go over the upgrades needed, and just how much New Jersey stands to gain.

Technical and verbal reports.

>> this is a massive, massive undertaking.

This is a not for the faint of heart sort of situation.

Reporter: list in the World Cup, in your backyard take the planning, especially with a knife up in a number of visitors and viewers to see the wealth nice to see the World Cup final, which grew 1.5 billion watchers two years ago.

>> that is a combined audience of the last 13 super Bowls.

In 2026, the world will be watching us and FIFA projects 3 billion will have their eyes on this stadium right here in New Jersey.

>> Holding the World Cup final in New Jersey will be boon to local businesses.

Including restaurants, shops, hotels, and transportation services, and will increase our tourism revenue.

Reporter: The assembly shameful tourism committee stopped by the Meadowlands to hear from the leaders responsible for New Jersey's hosting duties.

Which state officials estimate can bring to billion dollars to the region.

The home of the Jets and Giants will host faith World Cup matches, including the final.

All those fans need to get in and out, so upgrading transit is top of mind.

>> There is a vision to be secured for this event which will be one of the largest events in our lifetime.

I think the commitment is that understanding meetings with the students.

>>.

>> Need to change it does a wonderful job, but most of our private carrier would be available as well to be participating in this monumental event.

Reporter: Officials are optimistic that the state sheep with transit infrastructure will improve over the next two years.

This comes despite a rough couple of weeks for NJ Transit, with widespread delays, and memories of a hectic Super Bowl 10 years ago.

>> We learned from those mistakes.

We have learned a great deal in working with both the stadium team as well as various host committees and this is the best group we have seen so far.

Reporter: This is not just on North Jersey problem, Philadelphia is also hosting World Cup games so people in South Jersey will also need easy ways to get around.

>> It's always an issue in South Jersey because we are considered a transit desert.

We have less public transportation than our northern friends, so this would be less than optimal for visitors who are coming from internationally as they are looking for public transportation.

Reporter: This Assemblyman says it's too soon to talk specifics but wants to make sure South Jersey is not forgotten in this conversation.

>> Other parts of the states that if we are going to invest in places perhaps click here to support this, that we are also doing it at this is not on the state to make that equity fair.

Reporter: You might have noticed that throughout the story, not once have I said MetLife Stadium.

That is because the stadium behind me it will be known as New York-New Jersey Stadium throughout the world,.

FIFA has strict rules about the use of corporate news for stadiums, especially if they conflict with sponsors for for a small price to pay for a possible huge return in tourism dollars for New Jersey.

In East Rutherford, Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: Wall Street, it's expected to be a big week for the markets with traders waiting for the Federal Reserve shameful interest rate decision, and the may insufficient data report.

Here is where stocks closed on this Monday.

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♪ BRIANA: That will do it for us tonight.

But don't forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen anytime.

I am Briana Vannozzi.

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

Have a great evening.

We will see you back here tomorrow night.

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