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

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

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Tonight a few stories we're digging into later in the broadcast.

An in-depth look at the FDA's major changes to COVID-19 vaccine access.

Then one organization is providing hope and healing to those dealing with addiction.

And stopping the chop, why advocates and lawmakers are pushing to reduce helicopter traffic after that deadly April crash.

But first, a few of today's top headlines.

The White House is ordering New Jersey and 39 other states to delete all references to gender identity in their sex education materials or face federal funding cuts.

In the administration's latest move to end federal recognition of transgender people, the Trump administration sent a letter on Tuesday to the New Jersey Health Department directing them to remove references to "gender ideology" with 60 days or risk losing funding under what's known as the Personal Responsibility Education Program, or PREP, that gives states grants to help prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

In a statement, Acting Assistant HHS Secretary Andrew Grattison said, "Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas."

The State Health Department tells NJ Spotlight News it's declining to comment at this time.

Critics of the move say it could be harmful to students who identify as transgender or non-binary.

Also tonight, federal courts in New Jersey are at a near standstill with judges postponing trials, canceling hearings, and putting guilty pleas on hold.

As a court battle plays out over whether President Trump's former personal attorney, Elena Haba, has the legal authority to serve as the state's acting U.S. attorney.

The chaos unraveled after a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled earlier this month that Haba has been serving in the role unlawfully since July 1st.

Now courts are bracing for the possibility that any cases Haba may have worked on or those involving prosecutors under her could be challenged by defense lawyers.

And the Trump administration warns it could get worse.

In a motion filed with the Court of Appeals this week, the Justice Department wrote that the longer it takes to resolve the issue, the greater the risk that more court cases will be adjourned indefinitely.

But the appeals process will likely take a while.

The most recent filings show oral arguments won't take place until late October or early November.

And history was made this week in Atlantic City with the first ever Black Business Expo, bringing together local black entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community leaders for a night of networking.

Now, the event was sponsored by the AC Department of Economic Development and allowed dozens of black-owned businesses to showcase their products and services, along with panel discussions and an art exhibit, all highlighting the legacy of black enterprise in the city.

Mayor Marty Small pledged $500,000 in local grants to support black businesses and unveiled a new initiative launching this fall called Great Day University, offering free financial education programs for residents.

It all coincides with August being recognized as National Black Business Month and officials say this is just the beginning with plans already in motion to make the expo an annual celebration of black business success.

Well, coming up, we look at the impact of the FDA's latest decision on COVID vaccines ahead of the fall, along with who is and isn't eligible.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News is provided in part by NJM Insurance Group, serving the insurance 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 and Blue Shield Association and by the PSCG Foundation.

Well, there's been a major shakeup in the nation's vaccine policy.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved updated COVID-19 shots for this fall, but with tighter restrictions around who's eligible.

Access will now be limited to older adults and people with at least one medical condition that puts them at high risk of becoming severely sick.

The decision was announced on social media by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and immediately drew sharp pushback from public health experts, leaving both parents and providers confused.

It's all happening amid another separate major shakeup inside the CDC.

Our health care writer Lilo Stainton is in the studio with us now to explain what it all means.

Lilo, good to see you.

So much happening here.

What exactly did the FDA change about who can and can't get this updated vaccine?

Right, so this is a big change.

The FDA, they were approving the current formula, so it's the new formulated shots for this year, and they tweak them every year a little bit based on what the virus is doing and how it's mutating.

And so the new formulation, and this is sort of how they make the label on drugs, it is for people who are 65 and older, which is actually considered a risk group in the sort of the parlance of this vaccine, and people who are six months old to 64 who have another risk condition.

And this could be like, it could be diabetes, heart conditions.

Pregnancy, even.

It could be pregnancy.

And the interesting thing is being elderly is considered a risk group, too.

So essentially what they did is they said you have to be at risk in order to get this shot.

Is that typical to see restrictions around a vaccine like this?

No, not like that.

No, I mean, vaccines can be very specific in when and where they-- how they're used and for whom.

But this is a sharp departure to what we've seen for COVID.

And part of that is because one of the whole concepts of COVID vaccine was, and remember that we now know that it doesn't necessarily stop you from getting the infection or may not even control the spread, but it is going to definitely make you less sick.

So one of the things has always been, what if I'm healthy, but I live with somebody who's elderly or has diabetes or high blood pressure or asthma, you know, they're much more at risk.

So those people who are technically healthy but may have another reason to wanna get it, just maybe because they just wanna be better protected, are now gonna have a more challenging time getting it.

And what exactly that looks like is still a giant TBD.

- Yeah, how then does this decision jive or clash with guidance from pediatricians, medical experts, public health folks, what are they saying?

- So that's the message.

When I was reporting this story, the one thing that everybody said is talk to your doctor, right?

So talk to your provider, whether it's doctor, nurse practitioner, you know, wherever you get your medical care, talk to someone there and find out what they say for you.

So it counteracts, it's directly opposite from what the American Academy of Pediatricians recommend.

They recommend that healthy children get the virus, get the virus, get the shot against the virus, particularly young kids, six months to two years, because that's the part, you know, we've heard Dr. Meg Fisher talk about this, you know, your airways are really tiny, they can get easily infected.

- And the fact that a lot of the kids who ended up in the hospital most recently didn't have pre-existing conditions.

Which is why I mean the data that the CDC has been presenting actually counteracts what they what what the FDA recommended.

How unusual is a public disagreement like this?

It's pretty unusual.

Dr. Bresnitz and I were talking about it and you know there are only a few examples that you know we did some AI searching and there were only a handful of examples that we could come up with when when you know professional organizations and these professional organizations put like the AAP the pediatricians they put out this guidance every year and doctors told me look we are busy we don't we can't do this research we can't read all these papers we go to our professional organization our trade group and and listen to what they say and what they're saying is stick with the science give the vaccines to everybody who needs it including if they don't have a risk factor and including pregnant people this is a huge because you are protecting your your baby you're passing on those antibodies you hit on the science and I want to ask you about this because all of this is happening as the White House is is trying to fire the CDC director, Susan Menard, three other top leaders at the CDC have resigned in protest and all said it's because they feel the White House has been undermining vaccine science.

Where does this put us in terms of potential harm to public health?

We should say though this is also part of their Make America Healthy campaign that a lot of folks wanted to see some restrictions around these vaccines.

I mean, clearly there's an argument to be made that there is natural immunity out there, right?

Lots of people have had COVID, but that immunity wanes over time.

The science, I mean, I just keep thinking of what Dr. Fisher told us, you know, a few months ago, the science hasn't changed.

The science still shows that these vaccines do a lot to protect people.

Are there side effects?

Yes, some people have.

But, you know, the thing about myocarditis, which is one of the side effects that gets mentioned so often, it was a very small group.

My understanding is, you know, there's a risk of heart issues from COVID itself.

So the questions of pros and cons and balancing these things have been really distorted in sort of the public conversation.

So I think the important thing for people to know is it is confusing.

Talk to your doctor.

Yeah.

Especially as we head into the school season, flu season, respiratory season.

This is a time when we typically see these illnesses on an upswing.

And COVID is starting to go up a little bit.

Not a lot, but it's going up.

- All right, you can read Lilo's piece on this, all of her reporting on our website, njspotlightnews.org, but only for today, unfortunately.

It is your last day with us, Lilo, and it's been an honor and a pleasure to get to sit across from you and talk to you and work with you as a colleague.

- Brie, you're the best.

I'm gonna miss everyone here.

- An organization that's been on the front lines of addiction treatment for more than half a century marked a milestone this week celebrating the second annual Integrity Day in Newark.

A community event hosted by Integrity House focused on healing, hope, and recovery.

Our Raven Santana was there and has more on how the group is meeting people where they're at and saving lives in the process.

I've been using drugs on all since I was like very young and it got to the point where it's over like there's no fun in it like my life is gonna end I got to that point and so I checked myself in.

Ronald Dudley says he's living proof that with access to organizations like Integrity House anyone can turn their life around.

When you're like addicted to drugs and alcohol you lose everything and it happens in a blink of an eye.

That's what a integrity is a community of addicts like the clients really kind of run the show in a sense that like we're given direction, but we run the show.

We help each other.

We, uh, we basically are in charge and I've never been to a rehab like that.

Integrity house, which has provided treatment and support since 1968 hosted its annual integrity day in Newark's Lincoln park.

The celebration brought together current and former clients like Dudley along with community members who had access to free health screenings and recovery resources from more than 20 local partners.

This event is really important because we want to bring agencies and resources together to let the community know that we're here, we're ready to provide services, we're available to provide services and just kind of get to know us, kind of one-on-one, face-by-face, because there's some uncertainty when it comes to substance use disorder, harm reduction, and we want to just keep our boots on the ground and be prevalent and be visible in the community so that those individuals who may need our services can get our services.

In this process, you're still going to have thoughts about drinking or getting high.

But the main important part is the action after it.

What's your action?

What are you going to do?

Are you going to let the dream or the thought fester and then you go act on it?

Or are you going to use action and call somebody?

People want help, but sometimes they don't know how to ask for help.

Our pride and ego blocks us all the time from getting help.

And the idea is, yes, we're going to celebrate integrity.

However, we're bringing in all of our community partners to celebrate with us.

So at the same time that we're getting an opportunity to acknowledge all of our community partners, these community partners are here with us today, and they are bringing services with them.

So individuals are coming today because they're part of the work that we do at Integrity House.

But in addition to that, individuals in the community are free to come to the park and to take advantage of all the services that we have available today.

This year's event comes as New Jersey has seen a decline in overdose deaths for the first time in a decade.

As the economy shifts, experts attribute largely to harm reduction strategies like naloxone, fentanyl test strips and syringe access.

But the approach has faced pushback.

The Trump administration has sought to limit federal funding for harm reduction, arguing it facilitates drug use.

So what's at stake here is that individuals that are addicted to opiates or other substances, they are sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and husbands and wives.

It's not always this picture that you may see painted of somebody that's lurking in a dark corner that is addicted to drugs.

These are people that are in our family.

And it's poor families, it's affluent families, it's from all walks of life, all races, all religions.

And impact, addiction really knows no bounds.

And it impacts all of us.

And the funding cuts are very concerning because we've made some good progress over the past several years where we're starting to see a slight reversal in the trend of accidental overdoses that result in death.

And also we're starting to see more people who are in recovery.

Still integrity house leaders say just like those in recovery, their mission is about taking it one day at a time, ensuring the community has access to resources that promote health and healing.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.

Well, there's a renewed push to crack down on non-essential helicopter flights over New Jersey.

Governor Murphy recently urged federal officials to take action, calling on the FAA to ban tourist chopper flights or reroute them away from densely populated cities.

Local leaders, advocacy groups and some members of Congress are rallying behind the effort, which was sparked after a tragic helicopter crash last April that killed six people.

Our senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has been following the story and joins me now in studio for more on these latest calls and how the FAA is responding.

Brenda.

Hey, Brianna.

So, residents and advocacy groups who live in Hudson County towns like Hoboken and Jersey City have long complained about the racket, and they're worried about the hazards from helicopters that regularly buzz overhead.

The aircraft typically fly at under 1,000 feet, mostly sightseeing tours along the Hudson River.

But now there's renewed bipartisan political pushback following the tragic crash this past April when a sightseeing copter broke apart in midair and fell into the river, killing a family of five and the pilot.

A recent meeting of concerned residents and officials focused on rerouting helicopter traffic around residential neighborhoods and dialing down the number of flights, especially those originating from the HHI heliport in Kearney, which is limited by local ordinances.

County Executive Craig Guy claims the company's not in compliance.

They testified to certain hours that would be, the helicopters would fly.

Well, guess what?

They're outside of those, that framework that the company testified to.

That's unacceptable.

People should not be waking up and have their kids woken up in the middle of the morning, 6 a.m., 5 a.m., 7 a.m., by these helicopters.

Guy said officials had given the company 30 to 60 days to cut back on helicopter flights, and HHI had agreed to limit most flights to between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Heliport CEO Jeff Hyman told NJ Spotlight News, "What we agreed to with the politicians in our meeting is what we're doing.

90 percent of our flights are being flown between the normal operating hours."

He added the rest don't fly that far outside that window and the volume will decrease in the winter, but the county exec isn't satisfied.

We're getting some legal understanding with the town of Kearney as we speak.

And after Labor Day, the town of Kearney will be calling upon the enforcement of that ordinance, whatever that looks like.

All aspects of that ordinance need to be enforced.

Now, advocacy groups that have long fought the barrage of chopper noise say they feel encouraged by officials' readiness to take action on several levels, especially after verbal agreements with the heliport to reduce the number of flights out of Kearney didn't hold up, according to Corey Davis with the Safe Skies Coalition.

So we saw that he wasn't even able to manage those very low expectations.

Also, it seems like there was an expectation that tour flights would end and that would be very detrimental to their business model.

This is where we're coming up with money against the health and safety of the public.

Now, on the federal level, advocates welcome Governor Murphy's August 18th letter to the FAA.

Murphy made three requests, a hard limit on non-essential helicopter flights, safer flight paths and restricted operating hours.

He noted the FAA imposed restrictions two years ago on tourist helicopters at Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, reducing the number of flights there from more than 11,000 down to about 1,500 a year.

Stop the Chops Nick Wierda believes change is coming, finally.

Across all levels of government, everyone is realizing that this is a major issue that needs to be dealt with.

And it was, you know, it was encouraging.

That particular meeting and it's, you know, there are many other developments that have taken place over the past couple of months.

Most recently, Governor Murphy's letter as well, that are very encouraging to us who have been suffering from, you know, with this issue for years now.

And there's also bipartisan action on the congressional level.

Local members of Congress, including Democrat Rob Menendez, who lives in Jersey City, introduced companion bills to address the problem.

One requires the FAA to examine noise and safety concerns from chopper traffic within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty, a major tourist attraction.

We know that we have helicopters that fly over some of the most densely populated areas, not just New Jersey, but the entire country.

These helicopters fly extremely low.

There's not much of an opportunity if they had to make an emergency landing to do it anywhere but on land in a densely populated area.

So we believe this is a safety issue.

There have been a number of tragic incidents over the last several decades, and we believe it's the FAA's obligation to make safety the number one priority, especially because many of these helicopters provide non-essential services.

Now Menendez joined three House members from New York, including Republican Nicole Malliotakis and Democrats Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman, on another bill that would prohibit non-essential civilian helicopter flights near the Statue of Liberty, with limited exceptions.

The ban will have an obvious impact on the current operators.

Greater regulations may be more costly for them, but that is a price they should have to pay to ensure that everyone that lives underneath the air spaces that they are operating in knows that they are doing so in the safest possible way.

Now, officials say they're trying to determine the economic impact of severely curtailing flights out of the Kearney Haliport, Brianna.

Yeah, Bren, I wonder though what's happening with the investigation into that crash that really sparked a lot of this momentum.

Absolutely.

Well, there's no final report yet.

The National Transportation Safety Board's inquiry could take months.

Witnesses reported loud bangs before the chopper broke into three parts, but there was no black box to record what happened.

None was required.

The company, New York Helicopters, was reportedly troubled, facing lawsuits over not paying some debts.

The FAA ordered them to shut down.

Kearney's heliport, Brianna, hasn't yet replaced them.

Yeah, truly, it was an awful, awful situation.

Brenda Flanagan, thanks so much for this great reporting.

Brianna, thank you.

In our Spotlight on Business report tonight, a heads up for some North Jersey commuters.

Starting tonight at midnight, anyone who takes the path from Hoboken will need to find another way to get into New York City.

The terminal will shut down for five days to fix track problems after recent equipment failures that led to a derailment in July and days of delays and other issues, leading some riders to dub this the "Path Summer of Hell."

The new word comes after the terminal was shut down for nearly a month back in February to fix the track interlocking system as part of a $31 million rehab project.

That system allows the trains to switch between three station tracks and those that go to the Hudson River tunnels.

Now PATH is offering extra service lines to help with the Labor Day weekend shutdown along with alternate options on NJ Transit buses and New York Waterway ferries.

The terminal is set to reopen Tuesday, September 2nd at 5 a.m. Support for The Business Report is provided by Riverview Jazz, presenting the Jersey City Latin Jazz Festival, September 5th through 6th.

Event details, including performance schedules and location, are online at jerseycitylatinjazzfestival.com.

- That's gonna 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, you can always follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky to stay up to date on all the state's big headlines.

And if you want to help support the programming public media brings you and keep stations like this one thriving, head to njspotlightnews.org/donate.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

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

Have a great night.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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