>> Tonight, facing a federal shutdown.

House Republicans failed to reach a short-term spending bill.

New Jersey Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman finds herself at the center.

>> If Republicans are hell-bent on a government shutdown, it is on them.

>> Plus, Mayor McGreevy?

As the sitting Mayor sits -- sets his sights on the governor's chair, there is -- to replace him.

>> We need somebody who is going to be Jersey City through and through.

>> Disruptive picketing.

Another blow to the nurses at RWJ as a Superior Court judge hits them with a temporary restraining order.

Get out the vote.

The former Secretary of State continues her push to get voters to the polls.

>> I believe the power of young voters is so important.

>> NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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♪ Announcer: from NJPBS, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

Briana: Thank you for joining us on this Wednesday.

We begin with a stark warning tonight from the White House that a looming government shutdown appears likely and will threaten crucial federal programs.

The Biden administration is blaming far right members of the House GOP for derailing efforts for getting a spending plan past.

After Republican leadership scrapped a vote for a stopgap spending bill that would have kept the government operating through October.

At the heart of the stalemate is interparty feuding between moderate and ultraconservative members of the party who are insisting on strict spending limits.

If lawmakers aren't able to strike a deal, the White House says active-duty military and law enforcement will be forced to work without pay.

FEMA's disaster relief fund could be depleted.

Thousands of families could lose social services.

Congress has just 10 days to pass 12 spending bills and by all accounts, the odds aren't great.

Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman is on the ground floor of all of the negotiations as New Jersey's lone member of the House Appropriations Committee and she joins me now.

Thank you for joining me for what is inevitably a busy week.

How likely are we to face a government shutdown?

>> That is a question you need to ask the Republican majority and the speaker.

Although I am not sure they understand either.

I don't think they can come to an agreement on a pathway.

And so, we don't have any idea.

I am praying every night that we do that before the end of the fiscal year because it is so disruptive to the economy, so disruptive to our families and communities and individuals that need services and are depending on supplementals from government.

And, as we have the document before us, although we can't vote on it yet, it does not have the kind of protection of our national security by making sure that Ukraine has what it needs.

It's got a bunch of poison pills in it.

Riders that were not agreed to back in May.

And it has an additional cut of 8% to funding that is very hurtful and harmful for the foundational programs that support our families.

Briana: I am curious, how are conversations going within your committee?

Speaker McCarthy and to the president did agree to a spending number, $1.6 trillion.

Would you vote for a plan that is less than that for the sake of avoiding this potential shutdown?

>> This is not functioning, not negotiating in a positive way.

This is not adhering to your word.

The people in this country do not want a government shutdown.

We know how it disrupts our daily needs and movements.

But it does not seem to resonate with this small number of folks on the Republican conference that are holding the rational decisions, legitimate decisions and rational desires of some of their other colleagues, very decent movement.

Even though it would be temporary, we would at least have something to ensure people are not going to be not paid for their work.

All we try to do as Democrats, we did it in the last Congress, is to take care of the needs of families.

To ensure that there is protection and dignity and that there is national security and an acknowledgment that we are connected around this world.

Briana: Is there one item in particular, that being the riders that have to deal with asylum-seekers, Ukraine money, is there one item in particular that Democrats are planting their feet on that you absolutely will not cross the line?

>> We are not going to cross the line on the 8% cuts.

We are not going to cross the line on the lack of Ukraine aid.

We are not going to cross the line on the disaster spending.

Those three things right there, those are the lines.

That is the line in the sand for us.

We are not going to contribute to hurting families, putting our national security in peril and not responding to these disasters that we see.

We are not going to do it.

If Republicans are hell-bent on a government shutdown, it is on them.

Briana: Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Thank you for joining me.

>> Thank you for having me.

I hope we have better news.

Briana: 10 days will be here before we know it.

Thank you for giving us some of your time.

>> Thank you.

Briana: At home, there is a Battle Royale for an election that is still two years away.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop focuses on his early bid to be the next governor.

A long list of potential candidates are lining up to take his seat.

They face an uphill battle.

The Hudson County Democratic Party machine already has its mind made up, throwing all of the political might behind former Governor Jim McGreevey and his predestined come back.

David Cruz reports.

>> You would have to forgive some Jersey City old-timers for saying, hold up, wait a minute, when reporters start asking them who they like her Mayor.

-- for Mayor.

Voters here are weary of elections and when some guy suddenly gets the push from the party bosses outside of the city, it raises questions.

>> What the heck do these guys, why are these guys the first to make an endorsement?

Why would someone go to them before the people of Jersey City?

>> The question is rhetorical.

Union City Mayor Brian Stack is a powerful State Senator.

West New York Mayor -- served 17 years in Congress.

Jimmy Davis is the South Hudson County boss.

They are the big three of nine Hudson mayors who say they want farm -- former governor and former mayor of Woodbridge Jim McGreevey to run for mayor of what is essentially the capital of Hudson County.

They don't call it a machine for nothing.

>> It is really who is connected.

There is an old guard that sits on the throne and supports, sometimes handpicks candidates.

I think that is what ushers them in.

That brings money.

That brings out folks who will work a campaign and get their neighbors out and their family members out.

They belong to unions.

They are -- at their union meetings.

>> What the machine -- is money, which is important because many people have said in order to run in Jersey City, you need to pull at least $2 million into your warchest to keep the race flowing.

>> A lot of it doesn't make sense.

The election is two years away.

The people of Jersey City will decide the election.

You've got all these other folks telling folks in Jersey City what they think they should do.

>> Consomm and Solomon expected to run for mayor in 2025 and have been on both sides of the political bosses in their tenure.

As many as five or six candidates could emerge with viable chances at getting into a runoff.

At the moment, McGreevy, who wouldn't talk to us today but says he will announce something right after Thanksgiving, is the guy the machine seems to like.

The other hopefuls can take heart in the general feeling that the machine ain't what it used to be.

>> Our town has changed.

Our town is so much more diverse.

We've got much more ideologically in tune.

Though stays of people telling you who to vote for are long over.

>> The average person doesn't care what politicians are talking about two years before an election.

They are talking about rent, taxes, who is going to pick up the trash.

They're talking about their lives.

>> The current mayor has embarked on a campaign for governor, leaving a potential free-for-all in his wake when his term expires.

It is worth noting that the last guy to take on the Hudson County establishment and win was Steve Bullock.

-- Steve for the Briana: Join David Cruz tomorrow night for Chat Box where he goes one-on-one with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop about balancing his campaign with running a major city.

Plus, the mayor will take your questions.

Send them in.

Watch Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. on YouTube.

A statewide contest takes off today to turn out young New Jersey voters.

The annual Balla bowl is back for the sixth year and election officials are determined to get our students registered than ever before.

As Melissa Rose Cooper reports, the friendly competition is designed to show young residents exactly why every vote counts.

>> I believe the power of young voters is so important.

OK. Because, we want to see and hear you each and every day.

Melissa: That is why Lieutenant government -- making a push to get more young adults to the polls.

Joining students and staff at Rutgers Camden to kickoff the sixth annual ballot bowl.

>> Each year, New Jersey asks colleges and universities to step up and compete to see who can register the most new voters.

It is a friendly competition led by you, the students.

And my friends, voter registration is the initial step in the process.

Ultimately, we want our voters to commit to vote.

Melissa: State data shows roughly six point 5 million New Jerseyans are registered voters, but only 27% actually turn out.

With youth voters leading the nation in 2020, stressing the importance of always voting.

>> Make it a habit.

Vote in every single election.

We are talking about school board elections, fire district elections, if that is in your hometown, state races.

OK, not just the presidential and congressional.

We need you to be at the table every single election.

>> Voting is more than just casting a ballot.

You are using your voice in a way that could impact your community.

When you vote, you are saying that this person or policy represents the values and beliefs you think should run your nation, state, or community.

That voice is important and essential to preserving a democracy.

This is especially true this November.

We are selecting people who are going to affect our day-to-day lives.

Schools, roads, access to transportation.

These effects have a direct impact on us.

When we choose not to vote, we limit the extent our voice can have in selecting the people who can make these decisions.

Melissa: Retired 76ers player will be free -- says he knows firsthand.

>> I wasn't really interested in voting.

Never really thought about it.

I started to realize a lot of things.

When I didn't vote, I started seeing winners that if I would have voted didn't win.

And they lost by 100 votes for that vote could have been my vote.

I learned a lot from that.

When I started to vote, I started to see changes made.

Melissa: Right now, a lot of what we hold dear is in peril.

If we don't commit ourselves to understanding our communities, understanding the issues going on in our state and our country, we need to use the power of our voting to change what we do not like.

Melissa: The deadline to register in this year's general election is October 17.

Rutgers Camden factory -- faculty say they hope to encourage more voters to be committed.

Briana: Striking nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital were dealt another blow.

A Superior Court judge this week issued a temporary restraining order against what is being called "disruptive picketing."

The judge sided with the hospital in issuing the order after an emergency meeting Monday where officials argued the picketers block entrances and parking garages, intimidate employees and obstruct buses carrying replacement nurses.

The judge agreed to the nurse's conduct could be considered unlawful because it interferes with the central emergency and medical services.

The president of the nurse's Union calls the allegations a fabricated unionbusting tactic.

The union Tuesday refused the latest contract offer because they said it did not meet safe staffing demands.

A hearing is set for Friday morning when the judge will decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction on the strike while the contract negotiations play out.

The Murphy administration is facing a lawsuit that could bring medical aid and die young options to millions more people.

An advocacy organization that works on behalf of terminally ill patients is asking the state to drop its residency requirement.

It was put in place in 2019 when New Jersey enacted the so-called "Wright State I" law, arguing New Jersey should offer the same -- to critically ill patients who want to end life on their own terms.

>> I want to die the way I lived.

And I have tried to live lovingly.

>> Judy lives happily in Wilmington, Delaware but she wants New Jersey to help her die.

Although the 79-year-old has beaten cancer twice, she expects it to return and she hopes to leave this life with a peaceful, medically assisted death.

Not more rounds of chemo.

>> The idea of being in hospice for weeks, hallucinating and vomiting, is a pretty dreadful prospect.

I choose not to go through that again because it will take too much of my life away.

>> Medical aid and dying is legal in 10 states, however it does not include Delaware.

New Jersey passed a law in 2019 permitting doctors to prescribe a painless but lethal drug mixture for terminally ill people, it is restricted to Jersey residents only.

New Jersey law can't help Judy.

>> It's like, I am stuck 20 minutes away and all he need to do is get in a car and drive and see the doctor, take a medication and have my family be with me.

Dear God.

>> It seems cruel to deny someone that sense of calm, knowing they are not going to suffer needlessly.

>> Kevin Diaz is with compassionate choices, an advocacy group that filed a federal lawsuit against New Jersey on behalf of -- a woman from Philadelphia and two Jersey doctors with out-of-state patients arguing it violates their constitutional rights.

>> It discriminates against them and we have been unable to find any other medical practice that is barred to nonresidents.

>> A lot of these patients do not have that time left in their life.

A lot of them don't have the resources to move to New Jersey.

>> Dr. -- has helped 180 New Jerseyans with medically assisted death since 2019.

Patients must observe stringent rules and a 15 day waiting period.

But out of stators face even more hurdles.

>> They have to become a state resident and they have to provide proof of residency.

Usually a drivers license or voter registration card.

>> New Jersey collects data and reported 91 people -- last year.

Less than 1% of deaths.

Some fear dropping state residency requirements in this densely populated region could invite a lot more cases.

>> Certainly we think there are people that are going to New Jersey from other states so they don't have to worry about what is to come.

What we find is that they are about one third of the people who actually get the medication ultimately don't take it.

>> Among states with medical aid in dying laws, both Oregon and Vermont eliminated residency requirements this year after facing similar lawsuits.

Neither have reported a spike in cases yet.

Judy says she hopes New Jersey also settles soon.

>> I want quality of life, not quantity at this point.

>> She will go to Vermont if necessary.

New Jersey's Attorney General had no comment.

Briana: The state's leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organization is calling out the Monmouth University polling Institute for releasing a poll report in August on the debate over parental rights and protections for LGBTQ students in public schools.

The survey found strong support among residents for policies that notify parents if a child changes their gender identity.

Garden City quality says the findings are faulty and can have harmful effects on vulnerable students.

In an open later, the organization accused the pole of failing to survey respondents who have varying gender identities.

And for including "latently confusing, complicated questions regarding parental notification practices."

The letter goes on to say the pole, and how it was reported, is contributing to the irresponsible trend of shaping schools into contested spaces which benefits no student.

Patrick Murray of the Monmouth Institute wouldn't comment but Garden City quality Director Christian Fish Carino is calling on the Institute to do better.

>> When you are dealing with a sensitive topic, it is important that the voices of the people that are impacted by that Paul are included in the data.

Here you had parents and adults, generally, without children, providing their opinion on whether or not school districts should be outing students to their parents.

If you're going to do something like this, it should be responsible data.

Briana: In our spotlight on business, the fate of the old the Biscoe factory in Fair Lawn has officially been decided.

The planning Board Monday night approved a plan to replace the iconic building with a massive warehouse.

It will span about 644,000 square feet.

That is about the size of the Preudential Center in new work.

The decision came after hours of testimony during the last of eight hearings on proposals to redevelop the site.

The Nabisco plant closed in 2021 after 60 years in operation.

Plans to -- were scrapped due to environmental concerns.

Some of the same worries from neighbors came up about this plan too.

Residents have been vocal about possible contaminants in the building, and now pollution from traffic congestions.

The site is approved to host hundreds of tractor-trailers, cars and workers.

There is no timeline yet on demolition of the current building or what the warehouse will store.

Local unions praised the move is a way to bring back jobs.

It was a milestone month for gambling and casinos in New Jersey.

The latest gaming revenue numbers showed casinos and online gaming took in $531 million in August.

That is the second-highest total in state history.

Up almost 13% from a year ago.

The latest figures released from the division of gaming enforcement also show in person gambling done on-site was up 2.3% from a year earlier to just over $280 million.

In person winnings are a key metric used to measure the health of the industry, since online and sports betting revenues are shared with sports books and tech platforms.

The report shows Internet gaming jumped over 18% from the same time last August.

On Wall Street, the Federal Reserve skipped a rate hike but warned another increase will happen this year.

Here's how markets reacted.

♪ Briana: That is going to do it for us tonight.

Don't forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen any time.

I am Briana Vannozzi.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a great evening.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

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