(upbeat music) - From NJ PBS studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannozzi.

- Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Thursday night.

A few stories we'll get into later in the broadcast.

As Mikey Sherrill makes history as the first Democratic female governor of the state.

We'll talk with former Governor Christine Todd Whitman about her tenure and the road ahead for Sherrill.

Then why millions of people are facing a spike in health care costs.

We'll tell you what's behind the sticker shock.

And later, we bring you the inspiring story of an 80-year-old New Jersey grandmother competing in one of the world's toughest challenges and proving age is just a number.

But first, a few of the headlines.

Air travelers should brace for delays and cancellations this weekend after the Federal Aviation Administration announced it will reduce all air traffic across 40 major markets beginning Friday.

Airlines were told by U.S.

transportation officials flight cuts will start at 4 percent Friday, bump up to 5 percent Saturday, and ramp up to 10 percent next week.

That's according to Reuters.

Now a preliminary list distributed to airlines obtained by the Associated Press shows Newark Liberty International, Teterboro, Philadelphia and both of New York City's airports will be affected.

The move is in direct response to staffing shortages due to the ongoing government shutdown which is now the longest in U.S.

history.

The agency says it has to act proactively to maintain traveler safety and manage staffing pressures.

Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the start of the shutdown October 1st.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says most have been working six days a week while putting in mandatory overtime.

But others are calling out due to frustration, leading to a rise in delays and ground stops.

Meanwhile, United Airlines, which is New York's largest carrier and a hub, says it's offering customers a chance to rebook flights.

And in Philly, TSA at the International Airport there decided to temporarily close multiple security checkpoints to help with operations at other checkpoints.

Major airlines and industry unions have called on Congress to reopen the government while lawmakers continue to blame each party for the shutdown.

Also tonight, as Governor-elect Mikey Sherrill continues to plan her leadership team, Democrats are already lining up for her seat, even though it's unclear exactly when she'll resign.

Now, former 7th District Congressman Tom Malinowski today formally launched his comeback, announcing his campaign for the special election to fill Sherrill's seat in the 11th District, which neighbors the one he represented in Congress.

So I'm running for Congress again to pick up where my friend Mikey Sherrill left off.

To repeal these mindless tariffs that are raising prices for every New Jerseyan.

To put affordable health care and housing before tax breaks for billionaires.

Malinowski was first elected in 2018 when he unseated longtime Republican representative Leonard Lance, but lost his re-election four years later in 2022 to Tom Kane Jr.

That was after congressional redistricting increased the number of Republicans in the district in exchange for making other districts safer for Democrats.

Malinowski currently serves as the chair of the Hunterdon County Democrats.

Meanwhile, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill and Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett also announced they'll run on the Democratic side.

Two other Democrats have already announced campaigns and others are expected to follow.

Emergency food distributions are taking place all across the state amid uncertainty about when SNAP recipients could see benefits in their accounts.

Hunger relief organizations say demand has surged since the food assistance program was halted at the start of the month due to the shutdown, and even after the Trump administration agreed on Monday to pay about half of recipients regular monthly benefits.

New Jersey officials say they're still reviewing guidance they got on Tuesday about how those partial benefits will be calculated for more than 800,000 people here who rely on them.

In Bergen County today, the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and county commissioners handed out food at Overpeck Park to furloughed federal workers and SNAP recipients.

There's about 42,000 in Bergen County alone, which by the way is one of the wealthiest in the state.

Meanwhile, the attorney general's office is warning people to be on the lookout for possible scams, taking advantage of people looking for help.

Scammers might call or text impersonating government representatives asking for social security and EBT card numbers.

Now, no government agency will contact you unsolicited or ask for private information by phone or text.

Coming up, former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman joins us to discuss Mikey Sherrill's historic win and the landscape for women in political positions of power.

That's next.

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Well, when she's sworn into office in January, Mikey Sherrill will be just the second woman ever elected governor of New Jersey and the first for the Democratic Party, following Republican Christine Todd Whitman, who was elected 30 years ago in 1994 and served until 2001.

Whitman endorsed Sherrill in her campaign, calling her, quote, "the right person for the job."

And the former governor joins me now for insight on what Sherrill should expect ahead.

Governor Whitman, always good to talk to you.

Let me just get first your reaction to Tuesday night's outcome and what you think it was that gave Cheryl such a decisive victory here.

Well first of all I was as surprised as I think anybody was by the size by the margin of victory.

I think there was while all politics is local and people want to hear what Mikey was going to do for the state.

And she was talking about that.

The elephant in the room is Donald Trump.

I mean the Trump administration is so in up front and in everybody's face that it was hard to get away from it.

And with the dysfunction in Washington these days there were a lot of people who I believe went to the polls because they just wanted to send a message that this is out of control now.

We have got to have get back to politics where.

People we elect actually serve us and don't serve a party and try to solve problems.

So while there was a good strong support for Mikey as the candidate and as the future governor.

I think there were people who went to the polls and ended up voting for not because of as much of a passion for her per se as it was a passion to send a message that they wanted somebody different and that's what she represented.

I wonder though Governor because she did run this centrist campaign.

You know she was a moderate in Congress.

If maybe in fact there is room for centrist still in politics today or maybe does this serve as a framework for what folks on both parties should look for moving forward, of course, taking into account that we can't take all of this isolated, right?

I mean, there are so many other factors, as you've mentioned.

Oh, I think absolutely.

I mean, if you look at the registration numbers, the largest block is the registered independents.

I mean, that's why I, along with Andrew Yang, co-founded and another fellow called Michael Wilner co-founded the Forward Party to be an alternative to the two parties which have the system so locked in now that they don't want to solve problems because it means that they'll have to excite, they'll have to give up an issue that excites their base and they don't want to do that.

And we're so gerrymandered that politicians don't have to worry about anything except the primaries.

We 70 percent of elective offices in any given year.

The voters have no choice.

There's only one candidate for a particular office.

And that's wrong.

And I think people are starting to see that.

And with the gerrymandering that's going on now, the egregious gerrymandering from both the Republicans and the Democrats, it's just gotten to the point where where people are seeing that this duopoly is just not serving us, the people.

What was it about her candidacy that made you decide I'm going to not just lend support but but formally endorse her?

What stood out to you?

It was a strong woman.

She is a strong woman.

Her record in Congress of working across the aisle of not seeking glory or going out for herself but wanting to solve problems.

She didn't care who got the credit as long as we're moving the issues forward.

And that's what I want to see in an elected official, someone who wants to say, you know, if I don't get it all my way, that's OK as long as we're moving toward the appropriate goal.

And I saw that in her.

She's strong with her background, you know, as a Navy pilot, as a prosecutor, as a typical -- as a woman who is able to balance three or four different things at the same time raising that family.

- Yeah, let me ask you about that, Governor.

It was interesting.

Fairleigh Dickinson had put out a poll just a couple weeks before the election about the role that gender still plays in politics and how voters view candidates through that lens.

Why do you think it's taken three decades for us to get here, for you to be able to share this history with another female?

Well, I think they've been so inculcated and unfortunately you see it happening now.

The message going out is that women should stand back, that women should be having children and that's their highest and best use and that's just unacceptable.

We're rolling back some of the rights of women and again I think that may have brought a number of women to the polls as well to say no damn it, we're not going to accept that, we're not going to allow this to happen and supporting Mikey because of that, because she showed that you can have a strong woman in leadership and that's what people want to see.

Let me get your take very quickly Governor, former Congressman Tom Malinowski whom you have a political connection with through the forward party, announced today that he's going to run for Mikey Sherrill's seat to succeed her.

Your take on that, your reaction, another moderate of sorts?

Well, I think he has a good chance.

I mean, that seat is a seat for someone who is not at the extremes.

Mikey showed that with her victories in those seats.

And he was so gerrymandered out of his.

He wasn't, I don't believe, defeated because people thought he had done a bad job in Congress at all.

It was because the district had been changed so much that the Republican advantage was just overwhelming.

Former Governor Christine Todd Whitman, thank you so much for your time.

Really appreciate your insight.

My pleasure.

Good to see you again.

Open enrollment has now begun for people looking to purchase health insurance on the state marketplace.

And some folks signing up for health care plans are being hit with serious sticker shock.

to expire federal health care subsidies are at the center of the budget impasse in Washington where Democrats are fighting to keep them in place while Republicans are calling for an end to the shutdown before they'll negotiate on the tax credits.

And experts of course are concerned that we could see people here drop their health insurance altogether.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has been looking into this and joins us now for more.

Brenda, what did you find?

Hey, Brianna.

So, the enrollment period for New Jersey's version of Obamacare kicked off last weekend.

And we're talking maybe half a million folks here insured through Get Covered NJ.

They're facing the potential pain of paying thousands more for their health insurance unless Congress acts to renew tax credits that make this coverage more affordable.

But at this point, New Jersey officials project premiums will spike 174 percent.

The average annual cost could jump almost $2,800 on average, on up to an extra $20 grand a year for some people.

We spoke with David Azar, who says his premium could double.

So he's asking himself these questions.

DAVID AZAR, New Jersey Residential Housing Association: How likely is it that I would be in a car crash?

How likely is it that I would break a bone?

How likely is it that I would need to go to the hospital and incur some sort of multithousand-dollar bill?

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, Azar is generally a healthy guy, he says.

Now he's got to choose between a cheaper bronze plan with a $3,000 deductible or the more expensive silver plan.

That deductible is only 750 bucks.

So he's working with an insurance navigator to weigh options.

AZAR, Health Insurance Consultant, Health Insurance Company, California, United States Am I going to shell out more money a month for that peace of mind?

And I haven't made that decision yet.

AZAR, Health Insurance Consultant, Health Insurance Company, California, United States Being transparent with these folks and letting them know, like, you do need the health insurance because it could be even more costly if you don't have the health insurance, but also marketing a plan that isn't really going to benefit them.

So I'm frustrated.

I'm very frustrated.

My team is frustrated.

Now, Gabrielle Escobar is a health care navigator with New Jersey Citizen Action, a nonprofit that helps residents work their way through the health insurance enrollment process.

It can get complicated, especially now when people need to gauge their risks versus what they can afford.

It's a tradeoff, and especially tough for folks at higher medical risk but with lower incomes.

It's going to cause families not to get care when they need it.

That's what it's going to cause.

It's going to cause more sickness.

People are going to be calling out of work more.

People are going to be showing up to work very, very sick.

The out-of-pocket costs are going to be in the thousands.

So, this is a one-two punch, because when you take into account the loss of the enhanced premium tax credits, along with the rate increases, the average premium, as you mentioned, is going to increase a percent at almost 175 percent.

So, that is more than $2,780 annually.

JUDY WOODRUFF: That's Justin Zimmerman, commissioner of New Jersey's Department of Banking and Insurance, DOBI, for short.

He says the state is losing half-a-billion dollars in federal assistance, but that some 30 groups, like Citizen Action, will reach out to people at malls and grocery stores, help them sign up.

Zimmerman says eight of 10 residents could qualify for some sort of assistance, and New Jersey offers $215 million in state subsidies.

They should come to the exchange and to Get Covered New Jersey to work with our local community organizations, their local broker, to find the plan that best fits their needs, because we want to make sure that people still remain covered, even though we're seeing the increases based on the inaction of Congress.

The House remains out of session, while the Senate is stuck in a political standoff over passing a Republican budget bill.

There's no deal at this point to include those health care premium tax credits, credits that Democrats insist must be renewed to make health care affordable.

Researchers say, in this tight economy, mounting economic pressures are forcing folks to make desperate choices.

DR.

KATHLEEN GARRETT, University of Michigan School of Public Health: And if they're having to spend 30 percent of their income on health care coverage, and then they spend over 30 percent on rent, they spend another chunk of it on utility bills, eventually, they have spent all of their income, and they haven't even paid for food yet.

DR.

RONAN FARROW, University of Michigan School of Public Health: I can pay for my food.

I can pay for my rent with my income.

I can pay for my car insurance.

And I -- it's really sort of looking at the difference between survival mode, as opposed to, like, thriving.

Now, some New Jersey residents will undoubtedly decide to drop their health care coverage.

Dobie Commissioner Zimmerman warns that will have a snowball effect.

People will get sick, maybe delay treatment with no money to pay out of pocket.

So costs rise, and state taxpayers pay the price of so-called charity care at local hospitals.

Brianna?

Interesting to hear the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance make such a warning like that.

What do the navigators recommend, Bren?

The navigators are telling folks, please come in and talk to us.

Gabby says she has seen the state kick in another $200 or so to help some people.

She warns, be very careful filling out these forms, very candid about personal information, especially income levels, to avoid possibly having to pay back any benefits.

And of course they can get help doing that, is that right?

You betcha.

All right.

Brenda Flanagan for us.

Brenda, great reporting.

Thank you so much.

Thanks, Bray.

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.

Well, let's switch gears here for a moment to a story a little bit more uplifting.

She's 80 years old, a grandmother from Morris County, and now a world record holder.

Natalie Grabo made history at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, becoming one of the oldest women ever to compete in the grueling race, which, by the way, is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 by bike, and then a full marathon.

But it didn't come without a little drama at the finish line.

Natalie Grabo joins me now to talk about what it took to get through one of the toughest endurance events in the world.

Natalie, welcome.

Thanks so much for coming on.

And congratulations to you, first of all.

I think what stood out to me beyond the fact that you did this one is that this was your 11th Ironman Championship.

What made it feel different this time around?

I think it felt a little different because of the time pressure.

Being a little bit older, I had to be careful that I made all the cutoffs.

You have to finish the swim and finish midway on the bike and the whole bike.

And of course, midway on the run and the run in a certain time or else you have to stop.

So being older, I had to be careful with my timing.

Can you take us back to that moment at the finish line?

What was going through your mind?

And when you got back up, what happened there at the finish line?

Well, it was very exciting.

I was almost finished.

They had a really fun group of young women with pom-poms and everything that I ran through.

And then I just looked ahead.

I thought I was finished.

And I guess there was a little wrinkle in the carpeting, and I didn't pick my foot up, obviously.

So I found myself on the ground.

It was quite startling.

So I quickly got up and pretended it didn't happen and went on.

So, and that's a picture of Cherie Gruenfeld, who had previously held the oldest woman to finish record at 78.

Yeah, I mean, you quite literally shook yourself off when you stood up and then you kept going, but you kept going with a smile on your face.

I know.

I was just it was so funny that it happened in a way, you know, hadn't fallen the whole time out there.

Sixteen hours and forty five minutes.

But, you know, to to fall right at that point was a little bit funny.

So, yeah, it certainly has been shown a lot.

I'm sure it probably feels surreal to watch it back multiple times.

You know, a lot of people, myself included, can't imagine doing this at any age.

What does the training look like?

How do you build yourself up and prepare for an endurance event of this magnitude?

Because a lot of folks trained for it don't complete it and end up not doing it.

Right.

Well I think it's been a day-to-day process so it's not just that I started to train for this particular race.

I've been a triathlete for 21 years so it's daily training which I love.

the most even more than the races.

So it's just increasing the time that you're training and the intensity a little bit before the longer race.

But I had three 70.3 races this season, which is the half Ironman distance.

And I did very well and had good times in all three of them.

So that gave me the confidence that I would have a good race.

I also, you have to qualify for the world championship, and I had qualified last September in Maryland, and my time there was under 16 hours.

So I felt good about it, and I had a flat tire, and the run course was flooded with water in some parts.

So I felt that I had a good chance to do it.

I would say so.

But I read, though, Natalie, that you didn't learn to swim until you were 59.

Is that true?

That's true.

And it's still not my strength.

I still struggle.

I would say over two miles in the ocean is a strength.

But I would beg to differ.

Yeah, well, it's not my fastest.

My strength is the bike, really.

But I get through the swim okay.

I'm not afraid of it.

It's just it's a little bit of a contact sport to swim so that it's not like swimming at a pool or at the Y when you have your own lane.

There's people that inadvertently kind of knock you in the head and knock your goggles off, which happened to me.

And the water was a little rough this year.

So you kind of drank some of it along the way.

I would imagine.

Yeah.

Obviously Natalie your story has touched a lot of people it's inspired a lot of people you know not just in your hometown and here in New Jersey but really worldwide.

What drives you to keep competing and what do you want folks to take away from the fact that you've done this now.

Eleven eleven times and at 80 years old.

Well there's two things.

What drives me is I love it.

I love the training.

I love doing something every day.

I get very excited about having a hard bike workout or a run or a swim to do.

So that's just part of my life and I'll do that forever.

I hope.

And I hope my story just shows that it's important to move, to find something that you really like that you'll go back to.

It could be anything.

It could be just fast walking or a water aerobics class or pickleball or whatever.

But it's just important to move.

It helps you feel strong.

It helps your mental strengths and attitude.

So I think that's what I what I hope people will do.

Any chance we're going to see you in another Ironman before we let you go.

Natalie Grabo, thank you so much for your time.

We really appreciate it.

And congratulations again.

Thank you so much.

And that's going to do it for us tonight.

But a reminder, you can download our podcast wherever you listen and watch us anytime by subscribing to the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

Plus, follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky to stay up to date on all the state's big headlines.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

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

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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