>> Major funding for NJ Spotlight news is provided in part by NJM Insurance group.

Serving the needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

And by the PSEG foundation.

>> Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, tracking hurricane Milton.

New Jersey since help down south as the historic a storm girls down Florida bringing what is expected to be catastrophic damage.

>> We have never seen this.

In our lifetimes we have not seen this type of storm in the Tampa Bay area.

>> Battling climate misinformation.

Meteorologist and government officials fight back against an alarming wave of misinformation and disinformation online.

>> I have been doing disaster relief related work for nearly 20 years.

I have never seen this volume of misinformation.

>> Plus, protecting immigrants.

Lawmakers push to safeguard the privacy of immigrant communities as rhetoric around mass deportation heats up.

>> It is the fear that seeking health or accessing services could result in being deported or being detained because of immigration status.

>> The researchers aim to make a big breakthrough in Alzheimer's research with help of a tiny insect.

NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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

>> Good evening and thanks for joining us this Wednesday night.

We begin with a few key stories we are following.

First, New Jersey is boosting the minimum wage starting January 1.

Most workers will see their pay rise to 15.49 an hour to a cost of living adjustment required by the state constitution.

The $.36 an hour increase comes after a multiyear ramp up to reach $15 an hour but increases are required to keep up with inflation.

The wage hike will not affect people employed by seasonal or small businesses including farmworkers.

That group is on a separate track to reach $15 by the end of the gated.

New Jersey has the highest memo wage in the country behind only California, Washington and Connecticut.

New Jersey transit has settled lawsuits stemming from the fatal Hoboken train station crash in 2016.

The real agency paid $22 million total to settle all passenger lawsuits and claims according to a report from NJ advanced media which says the outlet acquire the information after a six-year long wait for a response to an open public records request.

On September 29 of 2016, a Valley line train entered the Hoboken terminal preparing for a final stop but instead accelerated and slammed through a concrete barrier at the end of the track.

Debris from the crash killed a young mother and 76 other people filed lawsuits.

41 others aid settled outside of court.

It resulted in more robust testing for train crews and expedited process to install positive train control on rail lines.

New Jersey's Army National Guard is sending support for response operations in Florida ahead of hurricane Milton's landfall.

The governor's office today announced 80 soldiers and 30 military vehicles have been deployed to camp landing.

The convoy is expected to arrive by the end of the week and will coordinate with Florida's division of emergency management and the state's National Guard.

The powerful storm is barreling towards Florida's West Coast currently rated a category four hurricane which means it will bring sustained winds between 130 and 156 miles per hour leaving catastrophic damage in its wake.

Forecasters expect Milton to make landfall overnight during the early morning hours sometime around 2:00 a.m.

It has the potential to be one of the most damaging and costly hurricanes in U.S. history.

I'm joined by Rick Davis, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay that is directly in the storm's path.

Thanks so much for joining me.

There is a lot of talk about when and where this storm will make landfall but I'm curious how much you are already seeing in terms of the outer bands and how much landfall matters when it comes to a storm of this magnitude.

>> You brought up some really good points.

Right now we have a tremendous amount of rain and we have tornadoes moving through our southern areas.

There have been several large tornadoes that have been spotted on the ground.

Just east of Fort Myers, Florida.

We are watching the early impacts already from the hurricane that is not going to make landfall for another 14 hours.

Right now is the time we told people it is too late to evacuate.

Now is the time to shelter in place and ride the storm out.

It is going to be a scary night for a lot of people.

The storm center is going to be quite large so it is going to be a pretty devastating hurricane for us, major hurricane at landfall and the storm surge is going to be tremendous near the center and south of the center but the effects are going to be felt far and wide across the area.

Briana: The Tampa Bay area itself is vulnerable for this type of storm.

What type of storm surge might we see and how much rainfall is predicted?

>> The storm surge in Tampa Bay right now, Tampa Bay is very vulnerable and it is the way the bay is shaped.

The way the Gulf of Mexico meets Bay and our barrier islands that are faced Southwest so any wind from a southward Southwest direction piles water and funnels it into the bay.

Because the wind is going to last for so long, it funnels it for 12 hours so it piles up and up.

If the storm goes south of Tampa Bay, you could have what is called a negative storm surge where the wind is from the east or northeast end that can pull water out of the bay and you have a negative surge.

If we get strong east winds, it will take the water in the bay and take it from the east side and push it into the west side of the bay which is St. Petersburg which is a highly populated area.

You can see eight to 10 feet or higher in Tampa Bay.

We are not out of the woods in Tampa Bay of the storm surge.

We expect 125 Sustained gusting 150 miles per hour.

This area has not seen 155 mile per hour winds in over 100 years.

Whether you are in Tampa Bay, whether you are in Sarasota, this storm will create widespread wind, damage, trees and power lines down, roofs ripped off of houses and this is right on the heels of Hurricane Helene.

Briana: You mentioned we have not seen anything like this in 100 years.

NOAA did predict an above average hurricane season but this double disaster, Helene and now Milton, how does that compare with past hurricanes in terms of what you have seen in your career?

>> A lot of residents thought I have gone through EN and Irma which were your hurricanes but I want to tell them you have been brushed by a major hurricane.

You have not had a direct hit by a major hurricane.

Leading up to this, we would get calls from the public about this is not too serious or I rode out Yen or Irma and we wanted to tell people know, we have never seen this in our lifetimes.

We have not seen this type of damage, this type of storm in the Tampa Bay area.

Even if it moves south, we are going to have widespread wind damage problems.

Even what we have not talked about yet is rainfall flooding.

Some areas 18 plus inches of rain.

Briana: Rick Davis joining us from Tampa Bay.

Thanks so much and please stay safe.

>> Thank you very much.

Briana: As experts like Rick Davis track hurricane Milton and work to keep the public informed, they have run into a wave of misinformation surrounding natural disasters and the government's response.

Many of the fake claims polluting social media stem from comments made by high-profile political leaders.

Government response agencies like FEMA say it is having a dangerous impact on their outreach efforts.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan dug into the misinformation and what is being done to combat it.

>> it is not feasible to move a hurricane or position a hurricane.

It does not happen.

>> Jersey meteorologist Joe Martucci points in frustration to a flood of wild social media posts about Hurricane Helene and Milton, Category 5 level conspiracy theories surging on next to my and TikTok including is the U.S. government controlling hurricane Milton and when FEMA comes in, it is to take the land.

Self-styled whistleblowers claim -- >> The climate change we need to worried about is me mid climate engineering should >> The amount of power a major hurricane possesses wood power half the world for a day.

We don't have that kind of energy output to manipulate that.

It is just not true.

>> His math is solid but as Milton looms and FEMA rushes to address catastrophic damage in Hurricane Helene's wake, the chief they incredible draws the conspiracies truly dangerous.

Is the worst I have ever seen creating distrust in the federal government.

>> I have been doing disaster relief for nearly 20 years.

I have never seen this volume of misinformation.

>> disaster response expert disaster -- some at the Montana says it is eroding rescue efforts.

>> Responders are having to focus on addressing these rumors and this misinformation instead of being on the ground helping people.

It is hampering the response in number of ways.

>> It is frustrating through the weather community, emergency Minutemen officials who are working to protect you.

>> What the disheartening and potentially life-threatening here is is that partisanship can get in the way of people safety and the ability to get things done and help people recover.

>> Actually Koenig remembers the infamous bro hug between President Obama and Governor Christie who blamed fellow Republicans for slow walking federal aid during Superstorm's dandy but that was before social medias intensification says political scientist Kyle Morgan >>.

I remember Sandy growing up in New Jersey.

I remember the fake news then.

Pictures of sharks in the subway and weirdly photoshopped photos that are kind of harmless.

>> Morgan says it is not harmless anymore.

The Rutgers Eagleton researcher who teaches in South Carolina joined colleagues to caravan aid to Helene survivors.

He found the area around Asheville devastated with political disinformation rampant with false rhetoric.

>> This puts people's lives in danger.

People are going to die because they believe FEMA is going to take their land.

If they do leave and they are not there to defend it.

It is really dangerous and it is spreading so fast on social media.

>> After helping made landfall, Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene posted of the government they can control the weather.

And showed maps where the hurricane rich havoc on a track through red states, battle grounds in the presidential election.

>> Obviously that could potentially sway something with the voters if they don't see recovery efforts progressing.

This could all have the electoral implications, a couple weeks from now and especially in the most critical states for both of these candidates.

>> A couple thousand votes can swing them in one direction or the other.

You cannot dismiss any conspiracy theory.

You cannot dismiss any misinformation.

Everything has got to be abetted back.

It has to be abetted back quickly to vent the spread of the misinformation should7 -- spread of the misinformation.

>> Michael Bressman says FEMA posted corrections but that is no match for Donald Trump who falsely posted Harris and Biden are giving almost all the FEMA money to illegal migrants and is echoed by publicans like jerseys U.S. Senate candidate.

>> FEMA does not even have the money to take care of people in North Carolina and Tennessee because we have diverted money to the border crisis.

It is something New Jerseyans are so upset about.

>> FEMA reports its disaster relief aid has not been diverted.

The agency is an easy target.

It is often the first government contact with traumatized storm victims and prone to blunders.

When researcher reported a disturbing trend.

33 debunked claims about FEMA scored 166 million views as of October 7.

Montano says FEMA needs to fight back.

>> We are not doing enough in the field to be proactive at figuring out how to handle this.

It is a really complicated issue.

But I think we need to do more to acknowledge politics is directly affecting how these response manifest and that is a difficult thing for emergency managers to navigate but we have to start learning how to do that better.

>> She hopes for a post Milton reckoning as social media and fluence are's strap to alter the nation's political climate -- -- social media influence or strive to alter the nations put climate.

Briana: Immigration is a core of the election and a hot topic for congressional races in New Jersey with the rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric.

At the state level Democratic lawmakers are once again trying to pass legislation they say will offer more protection for undocumented immigrants by shielding their status in certain situations.

That proposal is getting major pushback from those that don't want to see New Jersey as a so-called sanctuary state.

Joanna Gagis is in Newark where advocates rallied in support of the bill.

>> Today immigrants rights advocates joined with just letters from district 37 to show their support for a bill called the emigrant trust act that was introduced last week.

The bill would for bid certain government agencies from asking about a person's immigration status before providing services.

The folks in support of the bill say it will have a direct impact on New Jersey communities.

>> As someone who immigrated to this country at the age of six I understand the uncertainty, the challenges and at times the fear so many immigrant families face.

That fear is not abstract.

It is real.

It is the fear of being targeted because of who you are, where you come from.

It is the fear that seeking help or assessing services could result in being arrested or detained simply because of your immigration status.

>> This bill is an incredible piece of legislation that bookends some of the promises we have worked hard to fight for for our communities so that when workers want to stand up for their rights, when tenants want to report abusive landlords, when families want to enroll their children in afterschool programs and when seniors want to see critical health care, they are not deterred by questions about their immigration status that are unnecessary to prove their eligibility.

>> What would you say to someone who says emigration should be an eligibility requirement for those programs?

>> You know, we often hear from folks who say my family came here the right way.

My family came here legally.

I think what that sentiment ignores is there was a period in time in our nations history where we did not have stringent requirements for people who were just fleeing dangerous situations.

People who were seeking safety and freedom.

We live in a world where it is extraordinarily expensive to file for the right paperwork just to remain legal in the United States and there are so many loopholes to qualify for basic benefits and services that use to not require this level of scrutiny should >> The Executive Director director of New Jersey emigrant Custis says the bill will protect people like and avast has who shared how she and a group of coworkers were sexually abused at work for years afraid to come forward for fear of deportation before she received her workpapers.

>> Initially Michael workers and I did not want to report this abuse to local authorities.

Our fear was real.

>> Public and assemble them think Paul Kenito sent us a statement blasting the bill saying Democrats are completely out of their minds passing laws to protect and pay emigrants millions of dollars in benefits instead of paying attention to the needs of their legal residence is absurd.

They incentivize a legal immigrants to break the law and come here and use our government resources to avoid deportation.

He says these policies cost New Jersey residents 7.3 billion every year citing an assembly Republican-led report released in May this year.

What you say to critics who say our government, our state government cannot afford to pay for folks who are here undocumented?

>> If they want to work, give them a way to get to work and pay taxes but I don't see allowing them or giving them access to social services will not break the budget.

And they will contribute to our society.

They are part of our fabric of America.

We want to try to ensure that continues because this is a country of immigrants as I remember.

>> We are at a really crucial and precarious moment.

We know some of the strongest protections we do have albeit temporary like Dr. are at risk of doing overturned.

>> Tomorrow several immigrants rights organizations from New Jersey will be protesting in Louisiana where the galley of D -- the legality of DACA will be argued in the Court of Appeals.

It allows immigrants who came here as children to work early -- to work legally.

Has been blocked by the records and could make its way to the Supreme Court depending on how this case plays out.

Those arguments start tomorrow.

This bill in New Jersey needs to make its way all the way through the legislature.

Briana: In our spotlight on business report, South Jersey Congressman Jeff Andrew is calling into a federal investigation into Atlantic electric.

On Tuesday he probed the reasons behind surging electric bills customers got this summer and what can be done to bring costs down.

Some residence in his district reported increases of up to 300% .

He told the crowd at Atlantic County's Institute of technology he has asked the federal government to launch an audit into marketplace behaviors and billing practices at Atlantic City electric.

A representative from the power company told lawmakers at a hearing last week prices went up in part because usage increased 20% over the last year due to the excessively hot summer.

In a statement today a spokesperson for the company told NJ Spotlight News it made several attempts to have productive conversations with the congressman but did not get a response from his office.

The company said it is working to connect customers with more energy assistance programs and billing help.

Finally tonight, how the map of one tiny fruit fly brain could lead to vital information about how larger ones work.

A Princeton University led team of scientists has built the first ever neuron by neuron roadmap through the brain of an adult fruit fly.

.

That is important because the research is considered a steppingstone to understanding brains of more complex species like humans.

Ted Goldberg has the story.

>> This is the brain of the fly.

>> 150 meters of wire inside a fly brain.

If you look at the raw images of the brain, it looks like an incredibly messy tangled pile of spaghetti.

.co Princeton researchers have cooked up something interesting from this pile of spaghetti.

A detailed map of brain connections in a fruit fly.

Darker these are the visual projection neurons that collect information and send them to the center of the brain.

>> they organized an international group of researchers and contributors called fly wire dedicated to mapping out the functions of the brain of a fruit fly.

>> most people don't think fruit flies in their kitchen have a social life but they do.

Males sing these elaborate courtship songs.

They dance around the female.

Females perceive those songs.

They interpret the way in which the male moves.

>> just like some people to the AI -- the researchers used AI to come through pictures taken by electronic microscope and put together diagram showing different connections in the brains of fruit flies.

Dr. soon says building connect domes is not new.

>> the first was of a tiny worm with just 300 neurons.

It was published in 1986.

The images were all analyzed by hand.

It took over a dozen years to do it.

After 1986, it was such a traumatic experience, there was a connect dome winter.

>> now it has been peer-reviewed and published.

Some scientists who have looked at the data have used it to make discoveries of their own.

>> flies are extremely visual animals.

The majority of their neurons are visual and so we have groundbreaking discoveries about how the visual system of a fly works.

>> there are 140,000 neurons in the brain of a fruit fly and human brains have 86 billion neurons but they say this research could pave the way for mapping our brains in the future.

>> the technological framework we used to build the fly map serves as the steppingstone for building bigger connect domes like a mouse brain or a monk brain or a human brain.

>> if we look at the networks of neurons inside the brain, there is architectural similarities like if you look at a small building and a big building, you might see common elements like an arch.

>> why you -- well it is too early to make sweeping predictions, this research could have a huge impact on medicine.

>> we think we could use this map of a healthy fly brain to understand how miss wiring leads to dysfunctions.

You could imagine if we had a model of the full brain we can simulate to generate fly behavior that we can start to play with the wires and see how we can degrade them to generate dysfunction.

>> that could be a long way off but as scientists and researchers continue their work, it may not be as far down the line as we think.

Briana: Before we go, a reminder to NJ Spotlight News will host an event with the two candidates running for U.S. Senate.

It is not a debate but a conversation talking about the issues affecting you.

We are partnering with Rowan University for the event as we look to boost civility during this divisive political election.

David Cruz and I will be leading the discussion.

You can see it live on Tuesday, October 15 at 8:00 p.m. on NJPBS and streaming on our spotlight news YouTube channel.

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

We will see you back here tomorrow.

>> New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child.

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Let's be helping together and New Jersey realtors, the voice of real estate in New Jersey.

More information is online at NJrealtor.com.

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The matter what your unique needs are, there is ineligible New Jersey realtor for you.

Learn more at NJrealtor.com/find.

>> our future relies on more than clean energy.

Our future relies on empowered communities, the health and safety of our families and neighbors, of our schools and streets.

The PSEG foundation is committed to sustainability, equity and economic empowerment investing in parks, helping towns go green, supporting civic centers, scholarships and workforce development that strengthen our community.

♪