>> Major funding for New Jersey Spotlight News is brought to you by Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

And by the PSEG foundation.

Briana: Tonight, taking on TikTok.

New Jersey sues the social media giant, claiming it's deceptive and unconscionable and impacting youth mental health.

>> TikTok has violated the New Jersey consumer fraud act by designing a platform that deliberately targets our youth to become more compulsive users by making -- not making them or their parents fully aware of the risks.

Briana: Exploring toxic radicalism.

An investigation into the deep reaches of far-right extremism in New Jersey politics.

>> You have establishment Republicans who I think just wish this went away.

You have more moderate Republicans who I think is just -- wish this just disappeared.

And you have other Republicans in the state trying to straddle this line.

Briana: Four weeks to go until election day.

It is the home stretch for campaigns across the Garden State.

And the fight over smoking in casinos takes a twist as Republicans call on top health officials to weigh in.

>> The Democrats have been saying for years that they don't have the votes from the other side of the aisle.

Now they have the votes, so what is your excuse?

What is your reason for not getting this done?

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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

Briana: Good evening and thank for joining us this Tuesday night.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with a few key stories we are following.

First, New Jersey is taking on one of the world's largest social media platforms.

Attorney General Matlack and today announced his office is joining a dozen other states suing TikTok for allegedly harming the mental health of kids, claiming the platform is designed to be addictive.

The lawsuit stems from a national investigation into the short form video app, which launched more than two years ago by a larger group of states.

At the heart of its complaint was TikTok's algorithm, creating a personalized feed of content tailored for each user, which the suit says promotes the ability to scroll endlessly on the app.

Today's complaint follows a lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram's parent company over similar accusations.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis will have more on the new allegations later in the show.

Also tonight, New Jersey-based American water has been hacked.

It is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the U.S. A spokesperson tells me the company learned it was the victim of a cyber attack last week that immediately shut down several systems, like pausing billing to customers.

American water does not believe for operations were hit by the attack, but the full impact is still under investigation.

The utility provides drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people in 14 different states and on 18 military installations.

The federal government has growing concerns about alleged work by Chinese intelligence officers to break critical U.S. infrastructure like water treatment facilities.

According to a recent report, a cyber attack targeting U.S. broadband providers was linked to the government in Beijing.

Investigators say it is still unclear who was behind the hack at American water.

And cops in Jersey City will not be paired with middle health workers at the -- as they respond to certain 911 calls.

Vocal leaders announced the city is the latest to join the Attorney General's' arrive together Graham.

The police department is partnering with Jersey center -- Jersey City Medical Center for the initiative.

They will ride along for calls that -- calls for people police have determined are in need of mental health support.

It launched in Cumberland County in 2021 and is now active in all 21 counties.

The AG's office says the program has been involved in nearly 5000 calls around New Jersey since it launched, and that none of those have resulted in serious injury or arrest.

Jersey City police has faced heavy scrutiny since the killing of Andrew Washington last year.

He was experiencing a mental health crisis at his home.

Responding officers shot and killed Washington after he allegedly charged at them with a knife.

Mayor Steve Phillips said in the days following the shooting that Jersey City was not part of arrive together at the time but because of budget constraints.

Attorney General Matt Platkin says expanding arrive to Jersey City is a critical step to the program's growth statewide.

>> As long as I am in this job, we are going to continue driving arrive together forward.

We know it works.

We know it saves lives.

Briana: As we mentioned at the top of the show, TikTok is facing another round of Eagle pressure.

This time it is not the U.S. Justice Department, it is a lawsuit filed by a bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country, including New Jersey's.

Matt Platkin today said the more he learned about the app both as a parent and as the state's top law enforcement officer, the more he became horrified and alarmed by it.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis has the details.

>> Today my office seed TikTok, ByteDance, its parent company, and its affiliates in state court for engaging in a pattern of unconscionable business practices that favor the almighty dollar over the mental health and safety of our youngest residents.

Joanna: Attorney General Matt Platkin announced this lawsuit against TikTok today that he says he is filing on behalf of the 2 million New Jersey residents under the age of 18 who have been specifically targeted by TikTok.

>> TikTok has violated the New Jersey consumer fraud act by designing a platform that deliberately targets our youth to become more compulsive users without making them or their parents fully aware of the risks.

Joanna: The suit name to some of the problematic strategies used by TikTok, like autoplay, infinite scroll, recommended videos, and algorithms that track users' behavior, designed with one thing in mind, says the acting director of the division of consumer affairs.

>> Aimed at turning our children into social media addicts.

>> TikTok is deliberately exploiting these reactions to target American children.

In China, ByteDance provides a different version of TikTok to children under the age of 18 to reduce harm.

Joanna: Platkin says the founder TikTok called American teens a golden audience, and the lawsuits focused on these dangerous practices designed to hook kids immediately while also failing to protect them.

>> Children are automatically fed a never-ending stream of videos curated just for them by an algorithm designed to prevent them from closing the app.

And when they do finally close the app, TikTok since them push notifications.

TikTok goes so far as to trick children with badge notification displays that supposedly show the number of unread messages or notifications.

Little do these children know these numbers are entirely made up.

Joanna: And that they advertise time limits to parents that are easily overturned the teenage user.

But it does not just the time spent on the app, but also dangerous content they can encounter.

Lawsuit blames TikTok for not removing content that breaks its own safety guidelines.

It is an issue that has been researched.

>> We do not when young people being exposed to content that glorifies or normalizes drinking , tobacco use of any timed -- of any kind, or other harmful behavior.

Joanna: Or posted directly targeted to teens already struggling with middle health issues.

>> It is not going to be every post they see, but it is a possibility that a young person with depression can go online and find instructions on how to hurt themselves.

Joanna: It has been one year since Platkin joined with 41 other AG's to bring suit against Metta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, for similar practices that they say harm children.

Today, 12 other states have filed similar but separate suits against TikTok.

>> There have been lawsuits filed in Indiana, Kansas, and Louisiana, and a few other states that have made similar arguments about consumer protections, that their practices are deceiving the consumers of each state, or the respective states.

I do not believe those lawsuits have been successful in terms of bringing about corporate change for any of these companies.

However, it is raising the issues that we are having discussions like this today to a broader audience.

Parents are becoming aware.

Joanna: But Platkin says he wants New Jersey children held to the same standards as children around the world.

>> We have identified harms to residents.

We also know TikTok is aware of these harms.

We want them to stop their abusive practices and stop harming our residents.

Joanna: Harms that data shows can include sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, even suicide.

In Newark, I'm Joanna Gagis.

Briana: Tonight, a deeper look at a dangerous trend in politics, and who is behind it.

A team of investigative journalists spent the last year digging into growing pockets of toxic radicalism that have made their way into the mainstream.

These are ideas that were once considered the core of fringe groups only, but they have been spread through the use of hate speech, bigotry, and division.

It turns out even in a progressive blue state like New Jersey, there was an appetite and audience for the disinformation being spread, sometimes with poisonous results.

Spencer Kant is one of the leading journalists on the project extreme series, and he joins me in the studio.

Spencer, I am so glad to have you long.

This work is very important.

You guys decided to dig into whether or not there could be a home for this in a place like New Jersey.

What did you stumble upon when you started investigating?

Spencer: We went out not knowing what exactly we were going to find.

We wanted to see if the far-right was making inroads in a state like New Jersey, known for being a blue state, but mostly known for its centrist politics.

We did not know what we were going to stumble across.

But little by little, going to advance, going to these meetings -- going to be events, going to these meetings, there were shocking things that I came across.

Briana: So you were going to public forums, town hall style events being held by folks who are not necessarily in elected office.

Can you give us an example and some of the toxic influencers, my words, that you uncovered in the series?

Spencer: You have this grassroots element in New Jersey.

You have groups like the New Jersey project or individuals like my crispy -- Mike Crespi who are pushing a lot of xenophobia, pushing that rhetoric hard.

And at these events, you will see mayors, local officials, people who may not be saying extremist rhetoric, but certainly are there elevating these groups.

Briana: In the series, you lay out who some of these people are.

You gave us a couple of names, but are there others who are may be more well-known, where the audience might say, hey, I've seen them?

Perhaps they have a larger reach.

Spencer: At these events, I noticed everybody knew each other.

This was a tightknit group where you have individuals like Ed Durr showing up, a former state senator who knew Nick suffer and was immersed in this network of grassroots individuals.

So you have higher profile people on the state level mixing with this grassroots element.

Briana: What kind of topics are they talking about?

>> At that event in Chemung, which surprised me a lot, you are talking about schools grooming children, accusations that schools are grooming children.

Activists getting up there talking about how immigrants are vermin, how they do not value life.

Briana: What role does social media have in amplifying some of these messages?

You are talking about folks who are prominent in the community, a doctor talking about immigrants as vermin with a state elected official in the background wending some credibility without speaking up.

What kind of platform is social media giving these ideologies, and how is it amplifying it to reach folks?

Spencer: That's the other thing.

A lot of them are cross promoting each other on social media.

They are advertising their events.

Everybody seems to know everybody in this circle.

Briana: Bottom line, what type of influence does this have on our politics and our elections?

Spencer: You have two factions in New Jersey right now.

You have establishment Republicans who I think wish this just went away.

You have more moderate Republicans who I think just wish this disappeared.

And then you have other Republicans in the state that are trying to straddle this line.

Briana: Because they feel like they need this group of voters?

Spencer: Yes, that's right.

They obviously think it is helping them in some way, because they are showing up to these events and gathering with them.

Briana: Even if they do not espouse those same ideals.

Spencer: Right.

When Bob showed up at Shamong, he's not spouting as extreme rhetoric, but he is there and he's not calling it out.

Some are trying to have it both ways, it seems like.

Briana: Spencer, thank you so much for coming in.

Spencer: Thank you for having me.

Briana: Today marks exactly four weeks out from the November general election.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump are making their final push in their high-stakes race, but New Jersey has a few content shall -- a few contested seats on the ballot as well.

It is a sprint to the finish line as candidates try to shore up their base and make sure voters go to the polls.

David Cruise has a preview of the key races to watch.

David: Just four weeks to go until the latest most controversial election of our lifetime.

Strategists are strategizing, the candidates are rallying, and voters are kind of wringing their hands.

>> It always seems like we are going through the election of our lifetime, but particularly in 2024 with the presidential election, I feel it is, in my mind and what I hear from working-class folks in communities and on the ground where working families is doing a lot of outreach to working-class voters, people of color, is that the selection really is about two futures.

>> There is still this notion of whether or not the election will be certified or be acknowledged, that it actually happened, and that we will have a fair transfer of power and all that stuff.

>> I think that is a Democratic narrative they are trying to put on people to scare them.

David: Bob Cuban says we are going to survive 2024 just fine.

His optimism extends from the federal level to the state level.

He says the future of New Jersey is Republican.

Candidates Curtis Bashaw, running for Senate, and Congressman Tom Kane Junior, running for Congress in the seventh congressional district.

Kane is being challenged by Sue Altmann, a Democrat who has gone from this -- >> Stop it, you are wrong.

David: To this.

>> Sue Altman gets it.

Sue grew up in a family of cops.

It goes back generations.

>> An image refresh that may not fool anyone.

>> The person who was re-tweeting posts about defund the police is now doing ads with police.

>> Let's be careful.

She did an ad with two sheriffs that have been politicizing their roles beyond belief.

Sue Altman is an extremist.

David: But Tom Kane, most recently seen here, doggedly avoiding questions from Ben Hulac, still will not come out of his public shell.

It is a strategy that has worked well for him so far.

Then there is Democrat Andy Kim, Republican Curtis Bashaw, running for a senate seat in a race that favors Democrats almost always.

Bashaw had his first face-off against Andy Kim this week interrupted.

Analyst Micah Rasmussen was a panelist that night.

>> This is now what people know about him.

It is unfortunate.

Voters are capable of sorting it out, saying he got all his points across, he was clearly fine, but it is still not the thing you want to have people take away from the debate.

>> And Andy Kim to the rescue.

>> Mr. human response.

David: Even before July when they switched from Biden to Harris, New Jersey Democrats were confident their candidates were OK, but when it comes to the top of the ticket, the world is not revolve around Jersey.

In fact, the same seven states that generally swing the election will do that again.

>> It is going to be a nailbiter.

We all know that.

Everything is very close.

Everything is within the margin of error.

But I'm confident that at the end of the day, and it probably will not be on election night, that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will be the victors.

David: There is almost exactly one month to go until election day, a blink of an eye in politics, but still plenty of time for things to happen that could change at all.

I'm David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: In our spotlight on business report tonight, GOP assemblymembers are calling Democrats' bluff in an effort to close a smoking ban loophole at New Jersey's casinos, even urging the state's health commissioner to get involved.

It comes as bills to pass a ban have failed to make it through the legislature, and advocates are accusing Democratic sponsors of political showboating.

Ted Goldberg has the latest.

>> We are like a cornered animal fighting for our lives.

Ted: Casino workers in Atlantic City are criticizing Democrats for not doing enough to ban smoking in casinos, joining a chorus of state Republicans in the assembly who met with them last week.

>> The Democrats have been saying for years that they do not have the votes from the other side of the aisle.

Now they have the votes, so what is your excuse?

What is your reason for not getting this done?

>> When people tell me they support us, I truly believe they support us.

I don't know what political games people are playing with each other, but I know that those workers in that casino are getting cancer and dying.

A Borgata dealer has testified to inhaling secondhand smoke while she was pregnant, and she is frustrated that a bipartisan bill has stalled in Trenton that would close the casino loophole in the smoke-free air rack.

>> All the support is there behind the scenes.

It is the leaders that can put it up for a vote that are holding it back.

>> It's the difficult, controversial bills that always seem to take time.

This one has taken too much time.

Ted: Senator Joseph Vitale has called it barbaric that the state allows smoking on 25% of casino floors, but says there is no use to bring a vote when he is not sure he has the votes.

>> We try to count to 21 before we have a full vote by the Senate.

If we did not have the full votes, I would not request it because it would be kind of silly and would be a waste of everyone's time.

Ted: Meanwhile, in the assembly -- Do you know if the assembly has the votes to pass this?

>> The bill is bipartisan.

I have not counted votes yet.

I know there are multiple Democrats supporting the bill, and we have lots of Republicans in support of the bill.

Ted: A similar bill has not made it out of committee.

Republicans have criticized the Department of Health Commissioner, calling for her to unilaterally close the loophole.

Yesterday she released a statement which says in part, "When the Legislature passed the 2005 New Jersey smoke-free air act, casino workers were excluded from its protections.

Because smoking in casinos is expressly permitted by statute, I do not have the authority to amend or eliminate this statutory provision.

Only the legislature has that power."

>> In my opinion, the commissioner's inaction is sentencing these workers to a cancer diagnosis or worse.

Ted: Assemblyman Krista Phillips said the least she could do is not a fan smoking on casino floors in court.

>> The governor is talking out of both sides of its mouth.

Ted: It is disgusting, the worst aspects of politics.

Ted: Nancy Lee Smith is lead counsel for casino workers looking to close the loophole.

The lawsuit was proposed in September, but they are repealing.

Governor Murphy said he would sign a bill banning smoking in casinos, but Smith questions that.

>> He could have easily taken that legal document and said, I am not defending the casinos poisoning their workers anymore.

Instead, the taxpayers' lawyers are in court, saying, we think casino profits are more important than worker health.

Ted: The governor has said in the past that his administration is obligated to defend laws in court, even if he disagrees with them.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Ted Goldberg.

Briana: We continue to roll out episodes of our NJ decides 2024 election exchange podcast.

Remember, all 12 U.S. House seats are up for grabs, and one senate seat is on the line, so this is a chance for you to meet the candidates and hear why they think they deserve your vote.

Today we are dropping episodes featuring District 11's three-time Democratic incumbent Congresswoman, Mikey Cheryl, and Republican channel are -- Republican channel observe -- Republican challenger, Belleville's Joseph Belnome.

Here is a preview.

>> Are you going to be running for government this -- next year?

>> I am honored with the number of people who have said suggested that to me, but we have a very short time between now and our presidential election.

We are attempting to flip the House of Representatives, and that is what I am 100% focused on.

I have to tell you how important that is to me.

I serve in the minority for the first time.

It is not pleasant.

>> We are ignoring things that are very visible, like our border, and sending billions and billions of dollars around the country, around the world, to support other countries, putting America last.

Our justice system, I do feel there is a two-tier justice system.

Against conservatives and the left.

But obviously Donald Trump has got the bulk of it.

Briana: Check it out by downloading the NJDecides Election Exchange podcast wherever you listen.

That is going to do it for us tonight.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a great night.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

>> New Jersey education Association.

Making public schools greater for every child.

RWJ Barnabas health.

Let's be healthy together.

And New Jersey realtors.

The voice of real estate in New Jersey.

More information is online at NJrealtor.com.

♪