>> Capital chaos, Kevin McCarthy ousted by his own party, the first speaker to be voted out.

He is blaming the problem solvers caucus.

>> It was a rough day and these things are tough.

>> Staying silent, almost two weeks after Senator Menendez was charged with federal crimes, Democrats are mostly mum.

>> This guy has a lot of people that they are starting in politics, some people do not want to touch it out of respect.

What's undiagnosed teens with autism, a study reveals a quarter of New Jersey's 15-year-old are not formally diagnosed.

>> It was until she got older that autism really presented itself.

>> Assessing the aftermath in Asbury Park, after the severe weekend flooding, many businesses are still closed.

>> We had kegs of beer floating and people are returning them all over town.

>> NJ Spotlight news starts now.

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♪ >> From NJ PBS, this is NJ Spotlight news.

>> Thank you for joining us, Congress is effectively paralyzed tonight after a historic vote on Tuesday ousting Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his seat.

Plunging the tamer into chaos.

Eight hard right Republicans join with 200 Democrats to kick McCarthy out, marking the first time in U.S. history that the house removed its leader.

McCarthy said he will not run again for speaker and Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise have entered in the race with other GOP members like Kevin Hearn waiting in the wings.

The house is taking no further vote this weekend, Republicans are expected to hold a speaker candidate for next Tuesday.

The tension within the GOP is being pointed at Democrats, specifically in the problem solvers caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers who work together on solutions who voted to take the gavel from McCarthy.

Joining me is the cochair.

Great to get a chance to talk to you, Democrats played a very big role in ousting Kevin McCarthy.

Why did centrists like yourself throw him -- not throw him the lifeline that he needed?

>> Electing a speaker is a family discussion on the majority party's side.

The decision they made on their side was to oust Kevin McCarthy, the extremists in their party.

What I have been focused on is how do we come together and actually get things done?

We have 40 days before the government shuts down again and the key is to figure out how we move forward here.

I'm eager to sit down and work with whoever they pick to make sure that we can stop another government shutdown and focus on the priorities of New Jersey and our country.

>> You look to have talks of a potential collapse of your problem solvers caucus, Republicans who are reportedly looking at leaving en masse because of this vote.

Did that not cause even more chaos?

>> I read some stories about that too and that is not true.

>> Republicans are not threatening to leave the caucus?

>> It was a rough day yesterday.

These things are tough.

People, obviously, rightly so, it was a very emotional day for everyone in the chamber yesterday.

I'm confident based on all of the discussions today is we are focused as a caucus on how we move forward in terms of focusing on stopping government shutdown.

Looking at the things we can change institutionally which I am supportive of.

What can we do to change some of the rules of the house to discourage extremists from being able to take over and vacate the chair?

Those are the kinds of things we need to work on immediately.

As you probably saw, the speaker said yesterday that he was not interested in working with Democrats to get that done.

Of course, that is his choice.

>> Was that the last straw?

The last straw for you all?

>> Lesson, you can either get an agreement and work together and encourage more partisanship but you have an institution that allows for it.

>> So far, as I am sure that you know, represented Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan have tossed their hat into the ring.

Would you vote for either one of them?

>> As I said before, that is their family to work out.

If they want to nominate Jeffries who I think is a phenomenal leader, I will vote with them.

It will be on them to work out who they would like to be their leader.

There are real issues we can deal with it we work together.

You have to change the way they are kowtowing to the extremists in their party.

>> I understand that.

That is not where the house is at right now.

You all have adjourned for the week, how would you answer to constituents who would rather you all still be on the hill working this out?

>> They sent us home yesterday, again, not my decision, they adjourned.

There working out their issues.

I woke up this morning and was on the phone with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle on how we will make sure that we get a deal done so that the government does not shut down and hurt our veterans and law enforcement and seniors and children.

I am fighting for New Jersey.

>> Thank you so much for your time.

>> Great to see you, thank you.

>> Over in the Senate more than half of the Democratic caucus have called upon Menendez to resign.

Democrats from his home perfidy Hudson County have remained quiet, the senior political correspondent David reports their silence says it all.

Let's Democrats from the governor on down have made it clear -- >> Democrats from the governor on down have made it clear, Menendez should resign.

There is a place where Democrats are a little less quick to show him the door.

Hudson County, where Menendez made his political bones and crossing him used to be tantamount to political suicide.

>> And who you are and I will not forget you.

>> In the wake of the indictment, the Democratic organization officials met and released a statement attributed to a chairman Anthony Mary which acknowledged the senator's pain and noted his five decades of service.

Adding that Senator Menendez will have to make his own choice on whether or not he can continue to effectively carry out the duties of his office while working to clear his name.

>> What you are saying is that the uppercase D Democrat does not have d Democratic values already can see that in that process.

>> He ran in a primer against Congressman, the eight CBO candidate and was defeated candidly.

He said when the bosses make up their minds everyone else falls into line.

>> You are burning all of your ties or you only make yourself a persona non grata for a certain amount of time, there is no sin greater to the Mafia than to betray the Mafia.

>> Little lost against Craig I, the HP CDO candidate.

>> He has deep relationships to the other power players in the area.

He is known for being vindictive.

I can certainly understand why no one wants to stick their neck out, the first to ask him to step down.

>> Most Hudson Democrats wanted no part of commenting about Menendez on the record.

May not even offer the record.

-- many even off of the record.

Menendez may not be as scary but he has earned the loyalty.

>> He has deep connections there and a lot of people who are starting in politics, some people do not want to touch it out of respect.

Other people just do not want their name attached to Menendez in any way.

>> James Solomon did not release a statement on the Menendez indictment, he has felt all along that the senators should resign.

He says the HCDO has political culture.

>> Across the state, view their power as not coming from the people but from other political bosses.

That is the root of the problem in New Jersey and in Hudson County.

We need more competition at all levels from school board all the way up to the United States Senate where elected officials feel like I kind of have to prove to the people I deserve to keep this job, and other political bosses.

>> Ironically while the party bosses were waffling on Menendez, they're almost unanimous in their support for Jim McGreevey to be the next mayor of Jersey City.

A race almost two years away, proving to some that the bosses can be decisive when they want to be.

NJ Spotlight News.

>> There are more questions about the state's ability to manage nursing home facilities after another blistering report.

This one conducted by the federal Inspector General's office which found more than 365 violations at unnamed nursing homes.

That was conducted from March to May of 2022.

Among the failures, blocked emergency exits, missing carbon monoxide detectors, broken power generators, and faulty covid-19 protocols.

Putting the health and safety of staff residents and visitors at increased risk according to the report.

The Inspector General also came down hard on New Jersey for not doing a better job complying with federal safety guidelines.

The Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment.

This report adds to existing friction over the homes.

>> The state gets a chance to respond formally in these reports and the state did not accept or deny the allegations.

They did say if our inspectors had been there we would have also called a lot of these violations.

The state did not see a need to go above and beyond with the regulations and requiring.

That raises concerns for the federal auditors.

Talk is cheap.

Actual action is needed.

That is the costly and complex and controversial part that is going to take a lot of work and still needs to be done.

>> New findings from researchers at Rutgers University are offering surprising insights on autism diagnoses in New Jersey.

After coming through data on 16-year-old in specific areas of the state, experts discovered a quarter of teenagers with autism go undiagnosed.

As a result, are missing out on critical resources.

Senior correspondent -- eight senior correspondent reports.

>> It was not until she got older that autism presented itself.

>> Maddie has had developmental delays since birth but it was not until she was 10 years old she was diagnosed with autism.

>> She fell off of the radar a little bit, she is very social, it is her strength.

She understands language, she know how to connect with people.

It is really her superpower.

I think for the longest time was able to navigate in our world.

>> A study released by Rutgers University shows she is not alone.

>> One out of four individuals had no autism diagnosis through a 16, this means that one out of four individuals with autism may not have been getting the full complementary reports and strategies that are appropriate for individuals with autism.

>> They look at health and education records of all 16-year-olds across four counties to see who would have autism based on the information in each child's record.

The results were alarming.

>> In in this day and age with awareness about autism there is a significant proportion of individuals who are not known under that diagnosis.

>> On his of New Jersey's representative says one major hurdle is the time it takes to get a diagnosis, sometimes up to a year, even two.

>> That way is unconscionable.

>> Her organization is looking for ways to pediatricians to help speed it up and help more children access early interventions.

>> Sometimes parents are told that they need to be referred to a specialist and the specialist is required to make their child's diagnosis.

If the pediatrician feels comfortable, if they have specialized training, many times a pediatrician can offer that diagnosis.

>> That is how Maddie received her diagnosis after meeting with specialists.

>> It was a pediatrician, I did not have a clue as to what she did.

She has been with us for the past five years and has really been sort of our quarterback.

>> The fact that Maddie is a girl slow down her diagnosis.

According to the study, more boys tend to have autism than girls, it also found children from affluent communities are twice as likely to be diagnosed than those in poor communities and white kids are more likely to be diagnosed than Hispanic or black children.

At fact that points to access rather than the actuality of autism in those communities.

They found a likelihood of concurring diagnoses.

>> Most frequently, ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, we also find significant numbers of children with anxiety disorders or mood disorders.

>> That holds true for Mattie as well.

>> She has both developmental and intellectual delays as well as autism and anxiety, ADHD, a whole host of others.

>> Maddie is receiving the full spectrum of care as she navigates the complicated world of being a teenager and a girl with autism.

>> In our spotlight on business reports, you have heard of social justice and even environmental.

A group of state leaders took a deep dive on achieving financial justice for residents.

Tackling issues of affordable housing, the impact of medical debt and other debt traps that often target our income households.

The problems are especially hard-hitting for New Jersey residents.

>> Redlining or a lack of opportunity to get the loans and credit and all of the things you need if you are a developer.

The high cost of construction.

That adds to the problem of building houses that are affordable.

>> The mayor of Newark is set to improve where 70% of residents are renters.

>> Companies that come together and are purchasing property as weakly as I can get their hands on, properties that people have for sale, people call saying hour-by-hour property, those are the guys.

They are buying your property and they are flipping it or turning it into two or three family homes and are raising the rent on those properties.

They are making money off of that.

It is an investment for them which makes it unaffordable for you and difficult for you to purchase a home or rent at a price that is affordable.

>> The mayor was one of several speakers talking about how to end the housing crisis in the annual financial justice summit.

>> New Jersey is the seventh least affordable state in the nation with a two-bedroom rent is over $1300 a month which requires someone to have an annual income of over $70,000 or make $33 and $.50 an hour.

If they do not want to spend more than 30% of their pay on utilities and rent.

Despite the fact that New Jersey implemented some of the strongest rental eviction and foreclosure protections during the pandemic, New Jersey has an increasing demand for assistance to low and moderate income individuals across the state including here in Newark.

>> Many existing housing inequities are deeply rooted in years of systemic racism.

>> Those race conscious policies favored white consumers, thousands of public policies since the founding of our nation actually ensured that white people would be in a better financial position.

>> Ending those barriers is critical.

>> Though solutions are things like special-purpose credit programs and first-generation down payment assistance which the state of New Jersey actually passed and there is a victory that will help us correct for the history of discrimination in our mortgage system.

>> Housing advocates say it is important for all levels of government to work together to eliminate discriminatory practices so no community will continue to be left behind.

>> The Biden administration said it will forgive $9 billion in student debt for about 125,000 Americans.

That is just a student loan repayment started up again this month following a three year pause.

The cancellation comes through three different existing debt relief programs that have had glitches in the past.

The White House says this will fix a broken student loan system.

Here is who qualifies.

53,000 borrowers in the public service loan forgiveness program , who have worked in qualifying public sector jobs and made 10 years worth of monthly payments.

Another 51,000 borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 20 years and 22,000 borrowers who have a total or permanent disability.

The Supreme Court in June struck down President Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 worth of debt for millions of low a nd middle income payers.

Johnson & Johnson has a big win, causing out more than $223 million against the company that a jury awarded to four plaintiffs who claim they developed cancer after being exposed to asbestos in Johnson & Johnson's talc products.

Another lower court judge should not have allowed jurors in the trial to hear improper scientific testimony linking the products to the plaintiff's cancers.

The experts did not explain facts or methods used to support their opinions, Johnson & Johnson contends there is no asbestos in its products and the company marketed them properly for more than 100 years.

The ruling comes as J&J faces more than 38,000 lawsuits, a flow of jury trials over similar allegations that the products caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.

Here's a look at the closing trading numbers.

♪ Businesses in Asbury Park are recovering from torrential rainfall over the weekend that caused severe flooding.

Some venues had more than three feet of water soak their property.

Local leaders say it is the worst flooding they can remember in nearly two decades.

Ted Goldberg reports, business owners are scrambling to reopen.

>> There were bottles floating through the highway.

People are still returning it all over town.

All of the empty kegs.

>> Flooding devastated this and this is like as very and beer garden.

They have closed down to clean up the wreckage from four feet of water in the basement.

>> Has a police department as to be body to evacuate, our kitchen staff were here Friday afternoon, they were prepping for the opening for Friday night.

The water just found us for some reason and found us and we connected with the house of independence and it found them as well.

You know, not a good site.

>> The waters from the lake receded a few hours later but the damage left behind will take weeks to clean up.

>> I cannot tell you, all of our refrigeration, totally destroyed, our bathroom, totally destroyed.

It is a complete mess.

>> The owner says he will know the final to have when an insurance adjuster stops by tomorrow.

It took about five days to pump out the water.

This is a little flooding in the basement is normal, but last Friday's flooding was out of the ordinary.

Business owners in as very tell me it was worth than Superstorm Sandy 11 years ago.

>> We are assuming it is a fluke but you have to be prepared, we will get better doors that can withstand water.

Whether high-quality doors were to help, I do not know.

>> Having spoken to lifetime residents, they have never seen anything like what happened the other day.

>> He owns Asbury Park distillery which shares a building with the beer garden.

>> I had water from a patio up through four inches throughout my entire place.

It was almost like the floodgates open and there was no stopping it.

The words I had ever seen.

>> Filling and capping liquor bottles after cleaning up the damage.

Their building sits a little higher and the flooding only hit the ground level.

>> The water receded within a few hours, it was out of here, it was the cleanup of the residue that was left over.

Which was the toughest thing.

Our space is quite full.

Moving everything out and moving things around and cleaning things up, that was the biggest issue.

>> The next few weeks are critical and will determine if both businesses can keep their doors open.

>> There was a couple of days of cleanup, over the weekend and the first half of this week.

We got back to production and we are behind.

>> We hope to be reopened in the next month and we can celebrate what we stand for.

>> Resiliency in the face of flooding, sadly becoming a more frequent occurrence along the Jersey shore.

>> Make sure you tune in tomorrow night for Chat Box with David, an extended interview with Josh Gottheimer on what a paralyzed house means for a future government shutdown, funding for Ukraine, and the Senator Menendez indictment.

He is taking your questions, send them in come tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. on the NJ Spotlight News news channel.

Do not forget to download the podcast so you can listen anytime.

Anchor for being with us, have a great evening, we will see you back here tomorrow -- thank you for being with us, have a great evening, we will see you back here tomorrow.

>> NJM insurance group, serving businesses for more than 100 years area Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield.

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♪ ♪