Pennsylvania's Department of Health added 1376 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 167,928 since the pandemic began. Another 27 deaths related coronavirus complications were also reported Thursday. The overall total now sits at 8299.
Gov. Tom Wolf says Pennsylvania will be ready for a possible jump in coronavirus cases. Thursday marked the second straight day of more than 1000 new cases in a single day. Wolf says the state has a lot more PPE than it did months ago at the height of the virus. In addition, Wolf is calling out college students because some hot spots are near areas where those students live. Wolf also continues to stress wearing a mask will help slow the spread of the virus.
New Jersey officials are sounding the alarm on a second wave of coronavirus. Gov. Phil Murphy says some areas could be facing reopening rollbacks as COVID-19 spikes in those areas, but he didn't specify what restrictions might be coming down the pike.
Worried that confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court may lead to the Affordable Care Act being ruled unconstitutional, Gov. Tom Wolf is asking Sen. Pat Toomey to do what he did four years ago and that's hold up the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee right before an election. "Let Sen. Toomey follow through on his own ideas on what is legitimate and what is the right thing to do for the people of this country, especially right now when the stakes are so, so high," Wolf says. Toomey says the situation is entirely different now, with Republicans in charge of both the White House and the Senate, while in 2016 power was split between the two parties.
An Easton police officer is filing a lawsuit against the city's police department for having a racially offensive atmosphere. George Lockett Jr's attorney says one example of the racist atmosphere was Lt. Tom Smith called Michelle Obama an "ugly chimp: and a black Nebraska state senator a "scrawny little monkey." Mayor Sal Panto allegedly told people the officer was fired, but he actually retired with a full pension. Despite Lockett bringing attention to racist remarks and actions for years, his attorney says Lockett was the one to be disciplined. Lockett is seeking monetary damages and change within the department.
Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale says the Lehighton Area School District misspent on a private education contract and didn't budget for school building renovations, putting itself $17.3 million in debt. DePasquale says those decisions forced the district to borrow $62 million to consolidate and renovate school buildings. That in turn means taxpayers will end up paying more than $43 million in interest on those loans by 2044.
Berks County commissioners are expanding the hours for a second mail-in ballot drop box. County officials say hours were being added for a secure drop box for mail-in votes at the Berks County Agricultural Center in Bern Township. That box will be available October 26th through 30th and November 2nd from 8am to 5pm and on Election Day November 3rd from 8am to 8pm.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are calling for the resignation of St. Rep. Aaron Bernstine over videos that showed him encouraging his five-year-old son to smoke. The videos were posted on his Snapchat account, which has now been deleted. The videos show Bernstine, a Republican, urging his son and other children to smoke a cigar and use foul language. He says the videos were taken during a private vacation with friends and were a joke that went too far. Bernstine represents parts of Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties.
A member of the Phillies' 1993 World Series team has died. Infielder Kim Batiste died Thursday after complications from emergency kidney surgery. Kim Batiste was only 52 years old.