>> Major funding for NJ Spotlight News is funded by NJM insurance group, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

And by the PSEG foundation.

Briana: Tonight, a helicopter crash, a new report shows what led to the fatal crash of a Tours chopper in Jersey City that killed six people last month.

Plus, seeking justice, the family of Andrew Washington continue pleading for someone to be held accountable for the 2023 police shooting of their loved one.

>> What happened to Drew happens far too often to black men and women across the United States and especially in New Jersey.

Briana: Also, political analyst break down our conversation with the GOP gubernatorial candidates from last night.

Is there a more clear front runner?

>> We really do wonder about where Republicans are with this.

Briana: We profile each of the Democratic candidates ahead of Monday night's conversation.

First up, Congressman Josh Gottheimer.

>> We need to stand up on the major issues from health care to gun safety.

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Briana Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us on this earth tonight.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with the few of today's top headlines.

First, it to reports from the devastating helicopter crash that killed six people in Jersey City last month show a sequence of images as it broke apart in midair before descending into the Hudson River.

The report released by the national transportation safety Board on Wednesday offered no cause for the crash.

New photographs pulled from surveillance camera footage showed the fuselage containing the engine and rotors separated from the helicopter's tail.

Aviation experts say it was likely struck by the aircraft's main rotor blades during flight.

In response to the fatal crash, Federal lawmakers including Congressman Rob Menendez, are pushing for reforms, introducing a bipartisan bill that would ban all nonessential helicopter traffic within a 20 mile radius of the Statue of Liberty and around Newark Airport.

In a statement, the congressman said that last month's crash should be a clarion call for every level of government to take action on helicopter safety , pointing to rising congestion and concerning safety records of air tourism operators as a direct ret to public safety.

Those calls for air safety changes come on the heels of massive delays and cancellations at Newark airport.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy today laid out a plan to fix the nation's outdated air traffic control systems which are partly to blame for the chaos.

He says the technology is facing decades of neglect and a patchwork of fixes but the overhaul will require approval from Congress and Duffy expects it will take 3-4 years to complete, costing tens of billions of dollars, he says.

Even pulling out examples of decades-old technology is set -- he says are still being used to keep air travel or say.

Upgrades include all new telecom systems, replacing copper wiring with fiber, new radar sensors and seeks new air traffic control centers.

Meanwhile the disruption continued for passengers in Newark today, amid a shortage of air traffic controllers.

Many took time off after they lost contact with planes in Newark's airspace last week for more than a minute, and some reports have pointed to faulty copper wires as the reason for the blackout.

>> Newark has been a great example of when this old infrastructure goes down, what happened in Newark is the main communication line went down.

We do have redundancies, the backup line didn't fire, so we had that already-90 seconds of a blackout, which is frightening.

And if we don't actually accomplish the mission we are announcing today, you will see not just in Newark, you will see Newark's in other parts of the country because it is an aging system.

So we have to actually upgrade it.

Briana: The family of Andrew Washington says they are moving forward with a wrongful death lawsuit against Jersey City, Jersey City Medical Center, and Hudson County, even after a state grand jury declined to indict the officer who shot and killed him.

Washington was fatally wounded in August of 2023 while suffering a mental health episode.

Last week a grand jury decided not to press criminal charges.

Washington's family and attorney spoke in Jersey City today, criticizing both the grand jury's decision and local leaders for how they responded to the shooting.

Public safety director and others have publicly defended how the officers responded, while Washington's family alleges that officers escalated the situation inside their home.

Body camera footage shows Washington holding an awful approaching officers after an hour and a half standoff.

An officer shooting him in response.

>> These officers violated his rights under the U.S. Constitution.

They also violated his rights under the Americans with disabilities act, and nothing about the decision not to criminally prosecute these officers changes that fact.

Briana: An attorney for the Washington family says they are in the process of obtaining more police bodycam footage from the Attorney General's office.

The three leading Republican candidates for governor sparred Wednesday night in the first of two state-sponsored debates, moderated by senior political correspondent David Cruz and Michael Hill.

Differentiating themselves on issues ranging from affordability and choice to immigration and D.E.I., while President Trump's name also loomed large.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has the highlights.

>> As we like to say in New Jersey, we are just talking here.

>> And they sure talked, often over each other.

The three top GOP candidates, former assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, State Senator John Bramnick, and former radio host build Spadea, hard-core Donald Trump supported.

Conversation sometimes got so animated, host David Cruise had to call timeout.

[INDISCERNIBLE] >> We definitely cannot do this.

>> All three said they welcome an endorsement from the president who lost New Jersey by just six points last November and revisited their campaign talking points on issues like abortion, segregation and LGBTQ curriculum.

But there is obvious daylight between these guys, they clashed on immigration, and should immigrants get due process?

>> Bad guys should get deported.

I'm not getting up in front of eyes, but I tell you this, everyone deserves a hearing to make sure at least you got the right guy.

>> Why use due process on the way out if you didn't use due process on the way in?

Welcome to America.

>> Spadea Bout he would issue a blitz of executive orders and far Democrats at run state boards.

He derisively called his opponents both insiders, which prompted this retort.

>> They me say something about the term he uses frequently, insider.

He has never won an election.

>> When asked by Michael he'll come the cohost of the morning edition on WNYC radio, if they would stack New Jersey's highest court with conservatives or keep the panel evenly balanced.

>> Would you maintain the traditional partisan balance on the state Supreme Court?

>> I don't know.

The way I look at the Supreme Court is, if they have been a complete disaster over time, and we know that chief justice is reaching retirement agent we will replace him.

I'd like to perk -- protect parental rights.

>> 100%, because guess what?

If you start telling the Democrats that that's what we're going to do, guess what, they will stop doing it.

>> Trump and his impact on the primary, he hasn't endorsed anyone yet, loomed over the debate.

Ciattarelli Did not back from Fort president until 2020, that's a demerit with the MAGA crowd.

>> My first job as a nominee for the party is to have coattails.

We need to Republican majority in the state legislature, we could have it within 24 months.

>> But as the front runner, he drew the most fire from opponents and some withering criticism from Spadea.

>> He would check any box to get any vote in any room.

He has no principles or any core.

>> Jack lost twice and now he's telling us how to win elections.

It's very important you do have somebody on top of the ticket that everybody knows, the Democrats are afraid to run against me.

>> Bramnick Urged Republicans to have a heart as they solve New Jersey's problems.

>> Absolutely, the goal is to win.

The goal is to win, but for the Republican party, we need a here in New Jersey.

>> The only goal is to save the state.

>> Spadea Declined to commit.

I'm Brenda Flanagan, "NJ Spotlight News".

Briana: As is customary, each campaign declared their candidate the apparent winner after last night, but it's voters who will decide that, and there's just a few weeks left to do it before the June 10 primary.

For more analysis we turn to the rector of the Institute for New Jersey politics.

Good to see you both.

A lot of ground to cover last night, a little bit of shouting as well.

Michael, what stuck out to you?

Michael: Reason why I think we seem to have a better sense of what is going on in the Republican primary is that Ciattarelli John seems very polished, very prepared, he's making a crisp case for democratic third term and that's coming through loudly and clearly.

It doesn't mean that Bramnick And Spadea Aren't good candidates, but what is sticking out to be is that Jack has a Clear Advantage here.

Briana: They all had sharp elbows, that is for sure.

Ashley, your poll showed Ciattarelli As the front runner.

Where do you think it stands now after last night?

Ashley: I think it echoed that both during and after, we saw that Spadea Was going after Ciattarelli, and we saw Bramnick Kind of a different random republicanism, but still not quite getting through on the same field as Ciattarelli And then by Spadea.

I would assume that I don't think we would've seen the numbers move all that much, especially because we know that most voters are simply not tuning in at this moment.

Briana: To that point, the whole issue they have is getting folks out to the polls.

President Trump is not at the top of the ticket, we know have that typically plays, and primaries are generally low turnout.

So where is there daylight that might generate what has galvanized some of that base?

>> It's a great question, because in this primary election, there might be 300,000 voters to turn out.

We only say that based on past experience, the last couple of gubernatorial primaries.

So it's not going to be a tremendous number of voters who will decide this nominee.

The question at that point, the good news and the bad news, is that you don't have to move a lot of voters in order to try and win the race, but there aren't a lot of voters to move, either.

So you have to galvanize, as you say, while recognizing there's a very small number of voters who are paying attention.

The first challenge is to wait through and find out who they are.

About 30,000 of them voted so far, early vote by mail, so you just have to try to figure out who is interested in this race, and if they are attached to the county organizations, far and away Jack has their support.

If they are renegades, if they are disaffected or MAGA people, then Spadea Has a chance at them.

And if they are more moderate types, then Bramnick Has the opportunity to plead his case to them.

Briana: I found it interesting that throughout the evening Senator Bramnick continually brought up what the party needs to do here in order to move forward in November, and he sort of pegged Ciattarelli As -- and Spadea Is not giving the party a chance to punch for that.

What did you make of that?

>> Only 4% actually know primary is taking place on June 10.

Most of the voters think something is happening in November, so again, we are talking about a really small number of people that these candidates have to get across to.

Bramnick His talk -- is talking about a style republicanism that has worked quite well in New Jersey.

He mentioned at one point about trust in government, that is a core value of republicanism.

So the question here is, where is the GOP within New Jersey now?

Are voters siding mostly with Trump?

Are the anti-Trump?

Do we see somewhat abate mix?

It all depends on what kind of voters we see getting out there.

But Bramnick Made some valid points for both the candidates in the party in general, are they embracing this trump in era of politics as a party, and where does the party go from here?

Obviously Republicans have won in the state before, but what we know about the future right now?

Briana: Your thoughts on that quickly before we shift gears?

>> Is a great point.

I'm equally intrigued by Bramnick's candidacy, because is coming at a time where a few months ago it looked like Trump would lose the election, Bramnick Could be the prescient guy who said look what happened to us?

Or how do you both the incumbent president?

Now that Trump is starting to struggle again, you really do wonder about where the Republicans are with this.

But I will tell you that although Trump goes up and down, Republican support of trump seems to be somewhat steady.

So I think our suspicion about Bramnick Is that it may be falling flat with Republican primary voters, whether it might be the hardest core for Trump, where he might have a chance is something like the general election, but he has to get to the primary first.

Briana: On Monday, myself and Michael Hill will be moderating the Democratic candidates.

You will be part of the panel that hosts the next round, the only other round of debates for these candidates.

A much tighter race on the Democratic side.

What do these folks need to do to make themselves known?

Thoughts from both of you, very quickly.

Ashley: It's a completely different story on the Democratic side.

We don't have a clear front runner.

Our latest poll results, we sought Cheryl being out in front with a small fraction with a margin of error.

It could potentially be anybody's game right now.

>> I think as a result you will see sharper elbows.

It doesn't mean you will see the kind of shouting match we saw last night, with that -- but they will have to draw a sharp contrast with each other if they're hoping to get inside the minds of voters.

Briana: I have a referee whistle ready to go.

Hopefully it won't come to that.

Thank you both so much.

On Monday, we will bring you the Democratic candidates for governor, morning edition host Michael Hill and I will moderate that conversation with five of the candidates vying for their party's nomination, starting live at 7:00 p.m.

I here on NJPBS and streaming live on our "NJ Spotlight News" YouTube channel.

We continue our series looking at each of the gubernatorial candidates and their campaign priorities.

Tonight we turn to the Democrats, starting with Congressman Josh Gottheimer serving his fifth term in the house.

Known for his moderate platform and as a cochair of the bipartisan problem solvers caucus.

Senior correspondent Joanna has more.

Joanna: Not to be forgotten in the race for governor is Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who much like his colleague in the house has also tried to paint himself as a fighter, quite literally, in fact, with this AI generated ad.

>> Passing infrastructure and gun safety laws, fighting for Jersey to stop Donald Trump's tariffs and chaos.

Now he's ready for the big one.

Joanna: But the real question is, can he generate the political muscle he will need to win this primary race?

He recently scored 10 moving dollars from his Congressional campaign into a super pack.

He says he is just playing by the rules and that he is the only candidate the plan to cut taxes.

>> Cut property taxes by about 15% for everyone.

Two, help middle-class folks with that tax cut, and his sister Richards we will give your rebate to help you out, and to seniors who are on fixed incomes and really struggling, it gives them a bonus if they stay in Jersey when they hit 70 because they want to stay and be near their loved ones.

Joanna: His love and has been staunchly pro-Israel and has repeatedly called for U.S. backing of Israel in the conflict overseas.

That led to protest from some Palestinian supporters.

He was the only Democrat from New Jersey to vote in favor of the Laken Riley act that allows detention of noncitizens accused of a crime.

He was perhaps the loudest candidate to fight on congestion pricing and New York which is now well underway.

At the end of the day, he said New Jerseyans care about their wallets.

>> Are you going to vote on the situation in the Middle East or are you going to vote on affordability and standing up to Trump?

Those will be the bigger issues at the top of people's minds.

That's why you will see more messaging on that.

Joanna: Most attacks have been against front runner Mikey Cheryl, but no one is talking about accusations against Gottheimer that came out several years ago accusing him of creating a toxic work environment for his staff.

It seems for now they are all focused on the issues.

>> We need to stand up to trump on the major issues, from health care, the environment to gun safety.

Evie candidate shares the same goals.

On the issue of abortion rights, we will all stand up to trump as extremist attacks on women's health care.

Joanna: It may be true all the Democratic candidates share the same goals, and Gottheimer has about $5.5 billion -- to try to differentiate himself.

A recent internal poll conducted by Gottheimer puts him within five points of Cheryl but according to that poll the others are getting closer.

This is now what elections look like without the political machine picking the candidates.

But ask the average person in New Jersey who any of them are, and you will likely get no more than a shrug.

Maybe an AI boxer in the ring is enough to get voters to remember the name Josh if and when they get to the polls.

Briana: Congresswoman Mikey Cheryl is the other sitting house member running for the Democratic nomination.

She has the party establishment behind her but in such a crowded field, it is anyone's race.

>> In the Navy, I was on a mission to protect our country.

Now, I'm announcing my candidacy for governor.

>> The formae -- former Navy helicopter pilot was one of the later candidates to jump into the Democratic primary race for governor but she quickly became the front runner after several County conventions.

>> You go into a county, a big Democratic county, somebody is going to have a list of volunteers.

If they get to hand that you, that is a huge advantage to you.

They have a list of people that they know our connections, that is a huge help.

>> Learning from last year's election, her main message has been affordability.

>> Let's fix the economy, build more housing, let's make life more affordable for hard-working New Jerseyans.

>> She has vowed to take on Donald Trump, writing that Democrats need a new playbook to take on the president.

>> It's not just fighting back against cuts to Medicaid, Social Security -- Social Security, is not just having a really strong Attorney General, as I would, to fight back against what's going on in Washington that is harming New Jersey.

But it's also fighting for the people of New Jersey, driving down housing costs and utility costs and health care cost, making sure every kid in our state has access to a great education.

>> And what is been a fairly tepid primary season for the six Democratic candidates, her challengers have become taking aim at the front runner, responding to her op-ed with a question, where are the new plays, referring to her playbook.

The Jersey City Mayor asked for an investigation of campaign spending.

She in turn has accused him of a history of corruption.

Warmer Senate President Steve Sweeney reminding voters that she wasfined for violating one act.

Voters expect these attacks in the home stretch.

>> A lot of people expected her to be a little bit further out than she actually is.

I think the surprising thing about Congresswoman Sherill's campaign is that she hasn't quite run away with it just yet.

She's only recently started going on TV.

>> But just over months ago for the votes are passed and six candidates still in the race, her gubernatorial run could be determined by just a couple thousand votes.

She's got about 5.5 million to help her maintain a strong lead she has in the stretch.

For "NJ Spotlight News", I'm Joanna Gagis.

Briana: That will do it for us tonight.

You can download our podcast and listen to us any time by subscribing to the "NJ Spotlight News" YouTube channel.

You can follow us on Instagram and blue skies to stay up-to-date on all the states big headlines.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a great night, and we will see you right back here tomorrow.

>> New Jersey education Association, RWJBarnabas health, let's be healthy together.

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I am proud to be an NJEA member.

♪