>> president barack obama. he is back in town. the race for governor gets tight. >> just as the world is looking up, in 19 days of the world is going to be looking to new jersey. >> pot. should we legalize that? some say that rogue wave fatalities go up and others say it is about social justice.

plus, new jersey transit. it is getting rough. plus we'll have all of your headline stories and weather. the weather is great, but it's a little bit unseasonable. i am bill and this is "chasing news." former president barack obama. he is a new jersey campaigning for bill murphy as he contends to be the next governor in the state of new jersey. the big guns are coming out. joe biden and even hillary clinton have come on the side of democrats. >> if there is one word to describe it, it is excitement. this was obama's first time

campaigning since leaving office in january and he chose phil murphy. there is no direct mention of president trump, but you might say that he was on the mind? some of the politics that we see, we felt that that is the best. >> murphy previously served as ambassador to germany. a role that made him want to run for governor. >> our kids are here because of >> a string of other democrats like former vice president joe biden were there, including al gore. phil murphy continues to lead in the poll. >> a rock star like president obama is coming, it isn't about

changing votes but solidifying the fact that president obama is incredibly popular and has picked phil murphy is his choice. >> phil murphy is up against kim guadagno. their last debate was held wednesday. three weeks shy from election day. reporting for "chasing news." bill: thank you. let's break it down with our panel. we are joined by our lawyer. it is good to see you back here. >> thank you. >> let me start with you. you can tell how contentious it is. we have had quite a few debates back and forth. it really lends credibility to this race has gotten a lot closer than anyone predicted. >> i think that that is true. during its time when we have a republican president in office, doing a lot of things, a lot of

left-leaning people are against it, that the governor's race is more important than ever before. you have the democratic party encouraging people to vote, make sure that they have the importance of having the governor. >> donald trump is really a republican, kim guadagno did not endorse trump, but this is a big deal of. >> that's right, he is ordered to leave nothing on the table. much like the swiss army knife that we talk about, he is going to use every tool until he puts that into everything. >> he seems to stumble on basic things. the answer to the question about your favorite food and vegetable. >> i'm not saying that he's not a great debater, but he's making

sure that he uses everything that he had. and this is star power out here. >> you think that it is a little bit out of touch? is a little bit? it is almost goofy, then you have the situation where he almost set her up, the crowd started chanting, answer the question. and at least four or five times he would not answer the question of where the money is coming from. >> what you may have hit on is that maybe he is really just not a polished and fantastic debater. as much as that would be a great skill to have, it is not necessary to being a good governor. >> is it that or is he an out of touch rich guy? >> oh, come on. he is not out of touch. this guy cares about the common man and it is not fair to critique him because he has been

extraordinarily successful. he is taking care, feathering the mass of the people that are of the 1%. >> so you don't see any hypocrisy? even though he is a governor? >> governing is part of the elected officials roles. and so you need to do what is best for all people. >> it seems like he hasn't figured out his plan yet. >> let's turn to another topic on the debate stage. legalizing marijuana. the democrat says it's beyond just revenue, it is about social justice. >> if it doesn't pass the social justice test, you can't talk about the revenue implications and the fact of the matter is that we have the widest nonwhite gap of persons incarcerated in america and new jersey. it is not the only reason, but the biggest contributing factor

is low and drug costs. >> many have had drugs>> let's g drugs. legalize it, not legalize it, let's embrace a different tune, talking about social justice. >> the fact of the matter is based upon the mandatory sentencing laws in the state, if you were there where i was a prosecutor, possession with the intent of distribution is handled one way if you are not within the right designated area, the same crime is treated as a prison sentence. since 1986 we have had drug laws. sometimes we shake our heads doing bad that these young kids passings between one another.

>> is this about the loss? is this about legalizing pot? >> what i actually think this is about is harnessing a contentious issue for political gain. what you have is a debate about the wrong issue. but we should be fixing the medical marijuana issue in the state. no one disagrees with medical use of marijuana. we need to leave the complex debate for later. >> i agree with that. i talked about it this morning, saying that the way we do medical marijuana in new jersey is a disaster. the prices are high, the access is limited. >> these are things that can be fixed. what bothers me are concerns me is that as law-enforcement officials we are sworn to execute the laws that are passed by the legislature. decriminalizing it is essentially telling a law enforcement officer do not execute on the laws that have been passed. make it legal or don't.

you don't go in between. >> let's talk about the social justice aspect. this is speaking to racism in the system. aren't you targeting the minority community? >> i do think that the social justice impact here is an important one. look at the prosecution, you see a disproportionate impact. but of course marijuana laws are not the only criminal laws that have that impact. so i think it is an important factor to consider. but i don't think that it is a stand-alone issue. >> you think that they can help in other ways? of the laws are skewed toward putting people in jail, it seems to be that legalizing it -- >> let's be real, they are getting it anyway. this is not -- anyone can go out on the street and get marijuana. this is ridiculous. the only thing we can do --

>> you say keep it legal or change the laws? >> i think we should get to a point where we can legalize it in an appropriate way. it's out there, this is political talking points. >> i don't know that his plan is workable. i think that there could be a time when legalizing it is the right thing. >> okay, let's check in on the headlines we are chasing for you tonight. >> has the first lady been replaced by a double? the latest conspiracy theory to hit the web with one twitter user saying that the first lady is not trivial. another has pointed to a secret service woman who looks similar to the first lady. a firestorm has ensued. john kelly blasted frederica wilson over her claims that president trump made an insensitive call to the family of a fallen soldier. maintaining that he did not say

that the soldier knew what he was getting into. >> it stuns me that a member of congress was listening in to the conversation. it absolutely stuns me. i thought at least that was sacred. >> wilson fired back, telling a reporter that he was trying to keep his job. >> bringing back though white chocolate truffle and goji berry tree. the proceeds will go to the apostles soup kitchen. >> coming up next, new jersey transit. they can't seem to get out of their own way. this time we have trouble with the platform. watch where you step. plus, we will have all of your weather. plus, a beautiful weather day for friday. changes are coming, how the

>> welcome back to "chasing news." we have a lot more show for you. how about the weather? it is getting warm. could there be a drought in our future? what is going on with this fall weather? we will have all the details. but first, new jersey transit. they can't seem to get out of their own way. another problem that has been talked about for the two folks might replace governor christie.

this is the border between the train and the platform. one of them gave way just the other day. new jersey transit, they are not even sure why we are talking about it. let's talk to ashley johnson. >> it is the never ending saga of transit nightmares. a train derailment that killed a mother. according to experts they break down more than any other commuter railroad in the country. now in the six was a report we call that the agency about the safety, talking about the concrete platform. a commuter tells us that a conductor was getting off here at the summit station. and that his leg went through, forcing him between the train and the platform. he had to be taken to the hospital.

can you imagine anything more scary? there are few things in life that are so scary is being caught between a train and the platform. diane commutes from the summit station and noticed saturday morning that workers had lots of blood and there was blood that was brand-new at the station. there is a sign that says mind the gap, but nothing that says mind the word. >> it seems more than coincidental as they were clearing the platform. the question is, was it rotted? did they not check it? clearly they have a problem there. >> what about all of the other train stations and platforms? shouldn't there be some warnings to the commuters not to step on that because it has not potentially been inspected or maintain? >> new jersey transit confirmed that repairs were made immediately and more permanent repairs were made saturday, the conductor is said to have

suffered minor injuries. what happened is an extremely rare situation. and she added that the new jersey transit stations are inspected regularly. when i asked more about it, she wouldn't tell me that was the spec that monthly or weekly or exactly how often that it was inspected. reporting for "chasing news." >> thank you, ashley. >> let's bring in bob not to break it down. wow, good to see you. so okay, can i ask you, what is going on with nj transit. doesn't it speak to the accountability lack? >> i think it does. and i think that there's not enough money. i think that it's all going to

the people at the top. i think that we need to look at this with a commonsense solution, see where the money is being wasted, and then we have to do the right thing, be accountable and look to see where the problems are. find the next problems and not just react. >> when he talks about there not being enough money, kim came out and said something similar. >> somebody has to be accountable. she said in one of the most specific points of the debate, everyone of every one of them can be asked to resign and will be asked to resign. >> i think that both of them are saying the same thing to me, but we want to make it a politicize thing. they are both right. she is right, for many years, it has not been addressed. it reminds me of dante, the poet, character in the inferno. the hungrier it is, the more it

feeds on the hungrier it becomes. >> one out of every $2 that they spend subsidizing -- >> they are already getting so much money from the federal government and state government. but who is in charge of prioritizing where it should be spent remapped we should not have platforms running out. >> most problems get better, but you can't throw the money haphazardly. there has to be a good plan and management. >> i think maybe it is the opposite. >> okay. >> i have to agree. leading in agency myself, we gave millions of dollars back to the county by cutting out the bloated higher-level positions. middle management was getting in the way. good people. they were counting the works up. and so we need to streamline the money.

>> that is it, solutions cost money. and it may not be any more money, it could be that we take money from one place and then put in a different place. >> sending it over to kim. you just never know. we will see. >> thank you guys. >> a judge handed down a decision that forced bob menendez's defense team to gear up the case. the case is going to a jury. standing at the courthouse is laura. >> bob menendez's defense team was called to the stand today, the former foreign-policy adviser. testifying the reason the senator was concerned about security and the dominican republic is because drugs are being funneled from south america into the united states port in elizabeth and newark. not because he was helping his codefendant who had a contract

dispute. in the courtroom, there were some unorthodox moments, one was when two female attorneys who worked for the defense and one of the prosecutors were arguing. the 84-year-old judge was not want to mince words, said that they were at a hen party. the judge said they are in two weeks seven, scolding both sides for their constant objections and said it was like a playground and they were not acting like accomplished attorneys. also michael barnard ,-com,-com ma once considered the go to on health care policy on capitol hill, testifying that it was his job to clear up inconsistencies on medicare policy as well as billing. prosecutors provided handwritten notes from the witness where it was written during a meeting with the attorney and lobbyist that in a perfect world be one of the case to be closed and keep the $9 million.

>> i'm not going to talk about court. >> those close to the case say that there could be a key witness called early next week. court resumes at the federal building on monday. reporting for "chasing news." >> thank you, laura. let's bring in dan. how many days left before the world ends? >> well, since i know your world revolves around nice weather, i can say that you have four more mild pleasant days ahead. and then we expect big changes in the area. the weather will remain quiet and pleasant. let's talk about the fall colors. we are seeing modern colors being reported in northwestern new jersey and the catskills. so the higher elevations starting to see some picturesque leaves. for the rest of us, not much

going on, but that is right on schedule between now and early november, that is when we usually see at peak. and then it's not going to be that cool tonight, only falling into the 50s, perhaps a couple of 40s sprinkled in, well above normal, mostly clear skies expected. friday featuring plenty of these guys. temperatures returning to the lower to mid 70s. then we will see increasing clouds. saturday looking sunny, lower to mid 70s, becoming mostly cloudy. again in the 70s. one more nice warm day on monday. mid to upper 70s with mostly cloudy skies. tuesday rolling around, cold fronts bringing us around the brain. then we will see the cooler temperatures and by late next week. one week from now it's going to be a very different weather picture around the area. >> coming up next, the yankees win.

one victory away from the world series. ♪

>> welcome back to "chasing news." i am bill. let's check out the yankees. they are one victory away from going to the world series. we have the full story. >> what makes this playoff run all the more remarkable is that it has been so unexpected. who thought that we would be talking about a potential world series in the bronx in 2017. we are not doing that yet, but let's take care of the business at hand. the yankees and astros at the stadium on wednesday night, the yankees finally breaking through on their bearded bogeyman. greg bird, getting the ball rolling, chasing him out of the game, to knock up, big-time, big game, big money. three hits, eight strikeouts, the yankees shut out houston. they gained five.

leading the series three matt-2, you can punch their ticket to the world series friday night in houston. we should see the pitchers duke it out and it will be a lot of fun. so let's get it back over to you now. >> president barack obama in town, trying to help out the campaign of bill murphy who wants to be the next governor of new jersey. you know, it is great star power and president obama still has a big following in the garden state. the whole area. the problem is that with the star power we don't hear about the details. what do we really need what we make that decision about who we are going to vote for, whether it is new jersey or new york. he details about how to make this in your state more affordable. how to create jobs, lower taxes, get from point a to b.

the problem is that all of these issues are not going to be solved by major stars coming into campaign for one candidate over the other. so asking you to do me a favor, let's get into the details. because your future depends on it. take youou

>> live from center city in philadelphia this is fox 29 news at 11. a man going to extremes to get on rooftops in the city and now neighbors want to know why. thanks for joining us tonight at 11. i'm iain page. a man sneakin sneaking into a at buildings to take pictures but of what? fox 29's shawnette wilson joins us live in rittenhouse tonight with detai details. shawnette. >> reporter: iain, police say right now he could be charged with criminal trespass but neighbors fear it could be about more than that. getting a little too creepy out here. >> surveillance video from the dorchester condos on rittenhouse square shows a man philadelphia