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Briana: Tonight on NOPRA -- on NJ Spotlight News, a timeline of evidence detailing a quid pro quo.

The senior senator is buying any of it.

Plus, under fire.

The most recent addition to the crowded race for governor is defending his first and largest endorsement.

>> When you get 200,000 Eric -- educators who come together voluntarily, who pool our resources and say we want our voices to be heard, we want to have a little bit of say in the outcomes that affect us.

Briana: Also on this first day of summer, as temperatures rise, studies show so do the chances of gun violence and crime.

Warning labels on social media sites.

The U.S.

Surgeon General asking Congress to help curb a growing mental health crisis among teens.

>> The things I worry about with kids is the amount of time kids are on social media, this growing nature of it, the algorithm.

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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

Briana: Hello and thanks for joining us and I am Raven Santana in for Briana Vannozzi.

Senior Senator Bob Menendez was back in court after the court was dark for the Juneteenth holiday.

Today, prosecutors laying out a meticulous timeline of events from trips the senator took to Egypt, two dinners here stateside with Egyptian officials, the gifts of watches and those infamous gold bars, are to try to prove their case that the senator's actions were in line with a quid pro quo and not merely business as usual for a sitting member of Congress.

Menendez poking holes in the prosecutor's case as he entered court this morning.

>> I think we have -- Raven: Brenda Flanagan has been in the courtroom all day.

Take us through this timeline of evidence the prosecution presented.

Brenda: Yeah, what they did was set up this timeline using text messages, phone messages, even web searches to convince jurors that Bob and Nadine Menendez got gold bars and lavish gifts in return for the senator's influence.

Today, they focused their case on codefendant and developer Fred Daibes.

He was facing a bank fraud case.

According to the prosecution, they used web searches come put that up in front of the jury, records showing when Senator Menendez would do a search, how much is a kilo of gold worth?

At that point, it was worth $60,000.

But then they would use other records to connect those web searches to, for example, phone calls from the senator and text messages Nadine that were connected to the Daibes case.

They are hoping the jurors in their minds will connect those dots.

Of course, Fred Daibes never specifically put a request for a gold bar in a text message.

But there was one situation where Nadine said, I'm still looking for that glazed doughnut.

And Daibes texted right back, yes, I'm going to bring you that Donna.

And of course, everybody in the courtroom is wondering, G, does a glazed doughnut mean a gold bar?

Raven: How did they connect all of these dots?

Brenda: This was a case of just taking photographic evidence.

They had seized Nadine's cell phone from the home that she shared with Bob Menendez.

And on that cell phone, they found photographs of gold bars.

They were able to look at the dates and connect them to times she had met, for example, with the driver for Fred Daibes.

You look at the gold bars, they would show the jury, here is the serial number then they showed a list of gold bars that were seized by the FBI when they did the raid on that home in Englewood Cliffs.

The serial numbers would match.

And then again, they left -- the jury made the connection how did this gold bar in this photograph end up there?

The defense has argued that those gold bars were not brides, they were nothing but gifts.

Regardless, remember, Nadine was looking at serious financial troubles.

She was going to lose her house, her house was in foreclosure, she didn't have a car.

After she met Menendez, after a year or so, suddenly, she is shopping for houses, she is looking at a home in Inglewood Cliffs that was listed for $4.7 million, six bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

Raven: Wow.

Where are they taking this case now?

Brenda: The government started presenting the final piece of its case today.

And that involves the Qatari government.

Senator Menendez, they allege, curried favor with the Qatari government, and with Qatari investors.

Because Fred Daibes had a very big, but very expensive project he wanted to develop in Edgewater.

Menendez essentially send positive messages, cosponsored resolutions in favor of the Qatari government.

At one point, he even attended a very posh dinner in New York City, persuaded Cory Booker to attend that with him.

After the dinner, Fred Daibes, for example, offered him his choice of watches, including a $29,000 protect Philippe.

We don't have any indication if he picked a watch or not.

But ultimately, the Qatari's invested $95 million in Davies project Daibes -- Daibes -- in Daibes project.

Cross examination will continue next week.

Raven: Excellent reporting as always.

Thank you.

This month marks National gun violence awareness month.

While New Jersey reported a record low number of shootings in 2023 according to state officials, public safety still remains a top priority for local leaders and survivors of gun violence.

Today in Newark, community organizations and victims of gun violence gathered and pinpointed an urgent need for a crime victim support and solutions to prevent violence in Newark.

This event is part of crime survivors for safety injustice -- and justice is right to heal, a community event series giving various people then a opportunity to share their experiences.

>> The organization is very important.

I feel like only the community can save the community.

Those who were victims, perpetrators, to engage our community, and get them to put down the gun and reduce the violence, get on that journey of social responsibility.

Raven: New Jersey education Association President Sean Spiller is the latest Democratic contender to enter an already crowded field for the governor seat.

This announcement was met with backlash after he secured an endorsement from his union, and the financial resources that come with it.

Spiller, a member of the NJPBS community advisory board, remains silent about the endorsement until now.

Senior political correspondent David Cruz sat down with him for the first time to address the endorsement and his gubernatorial run.

>> This is our chance to make New Jersey the place we know it can be, and that it should be for us as well.

David: That is Sean Spiller come the Montclair Mayor and president, getting the backing of the powerful union he leads is no surprise.

That the backing of the union makes him a genuine contender in the race for governor, should not be a surprise either.

It has millions and millions of dollars from union dues and associated packs, and it is not afraid to weaponize them, as it did against the former Senate President in 2017.

>> Steve Sweeney tries to tell you he gets things done for South Jersey.

Don't believe him.

Sean: Nobody questions when we have these millionaires and billionaires who sweep in all the time, and one or two of them exert more influence than all of us put together.

When you get 200,000 educators who come together, voluntarily, who pool our resources and say, we want our voices to be heard, we want to have a little bit of say in the outcomes that affect us.

When we do that, there is a question of, well, is it fair that we try to get influence?

How are we doing this?

David: The union dropped $2 million into an advocacy group called protecting our democracy, as the featured Spiller in the months leading up to his announcement.

Just a small sample of what the union can do.

Beyond the union's influence, Spiller still has to answer questions about his tenure as mayor of Montclair, which is about to come to an end after one term, and was marked by controversy and often chaos.

>> Let's see him address that.

>> I am going to address it.

David: Bob Russo, a Spiller critic, says the mayor who makes close to $400,000 as union president, still has to answer why he took benefits from the city to which he was not entitled.

>> Sean has a big job, high pay all benefits covered, and it still, he took the payments in Luke, which amounted to about $50,000.

People are outraged at that.

I am a political science teacher for years at Montclair Spain at Rutgers.

I would give him a D-.

David: It is some of the baggage he will have to carry into an already crowded Democratic field, with two players -- two mayors, plus the aforementioned NJ EA public enemy number one.

With others set to follow.

An analyst says that is a heavy load for Spiller.

>> Sometimes, political controversies and scandals don't have a personal edge to them.

This one does.

Not because he is necessarily enriching himself, but because there is a perception whether it involves benefits or salary or compensation.

That is one that is very difficult to get out from under.

To the extent that this information gets known by primary voters, he will have to have some tight answers to these questions.

David: And my lawyer made me do it, which is Spiller's current defense, may not fly with the electorate, even in a big field where there will be plenty of distracting noise.

I am David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

Raven: As the scorching heat continues to melt the garden state, this unprecedented heat wave brings another type of danger, increased violence.

According to several studies come a summer surge in gun violence and crime could be tied to the heat directly.

On this first day of summer, mental health reporter Bobby Brier took a deeper dive into communities like Patterson which saw an uptick in crime this year over last, and joins me to discuss his findings.

Thank you for joining me.

Bobby: Absolutely.

Thanks for having me.

Raven: Summer is usually a time when people are out, they are enjoying outside, even when it is hot.

We also know according to your reporting, when it is hot out, that is also a time when violence spikes as well.

Let's talk about the connection with heat and with violence.

Bobby: Sure.

There are two theories right now that academics and researchers have pointed to between the correlation between heat and violence, and overall crime in general.

One is the Heat aggression theory.

Essentially it holds that as it gets hotter outside people tend to be more irritable, tend to be angrier, and could lead to conflict, including gun violence.

In addition to that, there is a second.

That shows in cities, especially if it is extremely densely populated, you will see people going outside of their home more often if they don't have suitable air-conditioning units.

There is literally and figuratively more people outside that could bump into each other.

Which could create more conflict, more violence, and could potentially lead to more gun violence.

Although those theories both hold water, the one that has been more popular amongst researchers and academics recently has been the secondary, that there are more people outside due to the fact that air-conditioning units just are not holding up right now.

Raven: Are we seeing a spike in violence?

And in what areas are we talking about?

We know there are also a lot of things going on in different cities to prevent violence.

Bobby: There has been a drop in violence, gun violence in particular, across the state.

If you look at certain numbers coming out of places like Patterson, there has been a spike since Memorial Day in some of the gun violence shooting victims, places like the Patterson healing collective have responded to.

Unfortunately, although there has been a statewide drop in recent years, there has been an uptick since Memorial Day that a lot of organizations are seeing.

They have taken preventative measures to address and prevent that, as the summer has continued.

Raven: We know a lot events and programs and initiatives start with the families of victims who have suffered from gun violence.

What are some of the challenges, what are you hearing from families?

I know through your reporting, you are able to speak to these families.

Bobby: Right now, one of the biggest challenges after somebody passes away from gun violence is the grief families feel.

The fact that a lot of this grief is not just in the moment that it happens, but that it never goes away.

A lot of advocates stressed to me the fact that grief is an ongoing process that changes throughout the course of somebody's lifetime.

There have been efforts to address some of that through places like the Patterson healing collective, the sisterhood squad.

That is a bereavement group for mothers who have lost a child to gun violence.

Inefficient to that, the biggest challenge a lot of victims face is like a lot of people moving on with their lives, if they maybe knew the person in some way or another.

The direct family members lives are completely altered.

That lack of understanding or connection sometimes could really be a burden for direct victim family members.

It is a tough time for family members, but also community members.

Raven: You can't always control how hot it is, but there are events and programs and groups that are trying to prevent violence.

Bobby Brier, I think you for joining me.

Bobby: Thank you.

Raven: The undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens have a pathway to citizenship.

President Biden unveiled a new program that would grant temporary legal status in -- and work for a time up to three years while their cases being handled.

A new policy could impact some of the 16,000 DACA recipients.

Reporter: it can be a decades long process to become an American citizen.

>> This is the only place I have ever lived, ever come to know him -- to know.

I came here when I was three years old.

Anything I might have experienced, I may have forgotten.

>> It is a frustrating process for many of us because it is very uncertain what this future holds.

Reporter: Eric Cruz Morales left Mexico for the U.S. when he was eight.

As a docket -- as a DACA recipient, he pays $600 in fees every other year.

A process he says is cumbersome.

Under a new program from the Biden administration, it would streamline the process for some DACA recipients to become citizens.

>> I think it is a great step in the right direction.

Reporter: President Biden has made a few major moves on immigration.

An executive order has created a pathway to citizenship for people married to American citizens for 10 years.

These people stay in the U.S. while their cases being heard and would be on work visas for three years.

Immigration advocates have mixed views with skepticism about timing.

>> It is very hypocritical to be able to do this.

I'm not sure what the reasons were.

For me, I think it is political reasons that he is doing this now when he could have done this at the beginning of his term.

>> I appreciate what Biden is doing for DACA recipients P there have been people who have been living in the U.S. with no permanent status for the last 30, 40, maybe even 50 years depending.

We are trying to see if we can get those protections put in place sooner rather than later.

>> He is doing this very delicate balancing act.

The problem is he is not ever going to win this issue.

He is just trying to lower the temperature on it.

Reporter: President Biden put a daily cap on how many people can cross the border and claim asylum.

A plurality of Americans approves of this.

According to the most recent poll.

46% of Americans think the order -- the border is not tough enough when dealing with illegal immigration.

Bidens of Devil rating sits at 38%, which is not his lowest mark but it does not bode well for his chances at reelection.

>> We have not seen a president who goes into the election under 40% approval win.

Donald Trump successfully used immigration as this catchall for how the country is in chaos.

And how we are being culturally threatened.

Reporter: there is also the fact that executive orders can be easily overturned by whoever sits in the Oval Office.

>> President Trump wins committed chances of this program being revoked are very likely, from his rhetoric and his stance on immigration.

This is something that he would not support.

Reporter: DACA recipients will be keeping a close eye on the next election, as a possible path to citizenship could hang in the balance this November.

Raven: In our spotlight on business report, Congressman Frank Pallone and others were in Bradley Beach to announce new grant funding through the Beach act to improve water quality and protect the health of beachgoers.

Under the beach act, $250,000 in grant money will be used to test the ocean waters for illness causing bacteria, pollution, and to notify the public of the water's condition and quality.

The EPA has given nearly $230 million in beach act grants to test beach waters across the United States.

The state's commissioner says as a result, visitors can enjoy carefree days at the beach.

>> We take these funds, together with other state money, and every single week, multiple times, we get up in the air to evaluate our coastline and our water quality.

We remotely sense using technology, the quality of our waters to ensure that we understand where pollution may exist and could be coming from.

Raven: Turning to Wall Street, stocks slipped slightly after hitting a record high.

Here is how the markets close for the day.

♪ Raven: The U.S.

Surgeon General has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms, detailing the effects on young people's lives.

The warnings would be similar to those now mandatory on cigarette boxes.

They announcement comes after the Surgeon General voiced major concerns that social media is associated with a growing mental among teenagers in any opinion piece in the New York Times.

Is this feasible and is it enough to improve children and team's mental health -- teen's mental health?

I am joined by Dr. Jennifer Kwong.

Thank you for being with us.

>> Of course.

Thank you for having me here.

Raven: The U.S.

Surgeon General in a recent op-ed said social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.

Do you agree with this assessment?

>> Yes.

We definitely have been concerned about social media impact on children and teenagers for quite some time.

And certainly the Surgeon General has been bringing this as a concern for the last couple of years.

Certainly bringing it much to the hallmark of our concern for over the last year, including this week.

Raven: In your mark, what have you seen in terms of the impact of social media on adolescents?

Dr. Chuang: I think right now, the reality is after social media has been around for two decades now, we know it is going away.

We do know it is a part of our lives.

We need to be more cognizant about how it is affecting our lives, all of us.

Adults and children.

The things I worry about with kids is the amount of time that kids are on social media, the scrolling nature of it, the algorithm, that brings people in.

And at this age, we do worry about brains developing.

And we do see that for kids who are on social media for a prolonged period of time, reports say over three hours, that those kids really do report more loneliness, symptoms of depression and anxiety.

I have definitely seen in my practice lots of concern about body image issues.

And concerns about disordered eating behaviors as well.

Raven: Warning labels we see on cigarette packages, he is asking Congress to require a Surgeon General's warning label on all social media platforms.

Is this idea feasible?

Dr. Chuang: I think if it has been feasible for tobacco and alcohol products, that I think it is feasible for social media as well.

I think it takes all of us to be engaged and how to protect our kids.

How to protect ourselves as well.

Raven: I have two little girls.

As a parent, some of this content on these platforms is really frightening.

We know that getting a warning label like this could take time.

So what should I be doing, other parents be doing in the meantime?

Dr. Chuang: I think we should all be aware about what our kids are accessing on these sites.

Systole -- certainly it would be nice if we could all oversee the types of sites our kids are on.

But I know it is hard to be covering 24/7.

I do think it is important for us to educate our kids about why we are concerned.

Tell them about the addictive nature, about a lot of the social media platforms.

Why are these sites sucking our kids in, and why is it hard to come off of the platforms?

And to really discuss with them what do they see amongst their peers.

Is it really helping them?

They might initially get on the platform to connect with their peers, but are they seeing more negative effects like those signs of loneliness, depression?

As we talk about the concerns about social media, this is another reason to talk about those topics.

Raven: Absolutely.

Thank you for joining me.

Dr. Chuang: Of course.

Thank you for having me.

Raven: Cap does it for us tonight.

Before you go, a reminder to downline -- download the NJ Spotlight News podcaster you can listen to us anytime.

I am Raven Santana.

For the entire team here at NJ Spotlight News, thank you for being with us, have a great night, and we will see you back here tomorrow.

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♪