If you don't think winning Pennsylvania next week is absolutely crucial for President Trump, you may want to think again. The President has scheduled five Pennsylvania campaign stops tomorrow and Saturday. He'll visit Adams and Blair counties on Friday and then on Saturday the President will campaign in Bucks, Berks and Butler counties. His Berks County appearance will be at the Reading Regional Airport and is scheduled to begin at 4 o'clock.
The husband of the Democratic vice presidential candidate is telling Pennsylvanians they're going to turn the state deep, dark blue on Election Day. Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, spoke at a campaign rally in Allentown Wednesday about his wife's and Joe Biden's plans for education, fighting for racial injustice, rooting out racism and job creation. Emhoff says people are sick of the lack of leadership from President Trump and the country is currently in shambles because of him.
New finance reports show the Pennsylvania House Democrats' campaign committee nearly doubling Republican spending over the past four months. The House Democratic Campaign Committee raised and spent more than $12 million in the past four months. The House Republicans' campaign arm raised $6 million and spent $7.2 million during the reporting period, which ran from June 23 to Oct. 19. Republicans currently hold a seven seat edge in the Senate and a 16 seat advantage in the House.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health added 2228 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday. That announcement pushed the commonwealth beyond the 200,000 case mark since the pandemic began. There were 22 new deaths related to coronavirus complications announced as well. That number now stands at 8718.
The Liberty-Freedom rivalry football game set for Saturday was postponed due to a positive COVID-19 case among the Liberty coaching staff. Football activities for the program are on hold as of now and it has not yet been determined if the game will be re-scheduled.
A local school is closed for the rest of the week after two cases of the coronavirus were reported. The Wilson Borough Elementary School will be cleaned and disinfected before it hopefully reopens Monday. Until then, students will follow their online schedules.
New Jersey is making sure employees across the state are protected from COVID-19. Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Wednesday, mandating public and private businesses to ensure workers stay six feet apart from each other and provide employees with free face masks. Employers must follow a slew of other regulations starting next Thursday. This comes as New Jersey reported more than 1600 additional cases on Wednesday.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is agreeing with Gov. Tom Wolf's suggestion they waive 2021 licensing fees. In a two-to-one vote Wednesday, the board decided to forgive more than $27 million in fees. Each bar and restaurant will still need to get the license but won't have to fork over the money to pay for it.
An autopsy has been completed on 18-year-old Jason Kutt, who died after being shot at Nockamixon State Park in Bucks County last weekend. The Lehigh County coroner's office has now officially ruled the cause of death was a gunshot wound. The investigation continues.
Looting in Philadelphia was far more limited overnight last night after two nights of more widespread trouble. The violence in Philadelphia has caught the eye of President Trump, who blames Philly Mayor Jim Kenney for the trouble. "You've gotta have law and order. You've gotta have respect for police. The police were told to stand back. Now, maybe that's not so, but that's what I was told on very good authority. You can't allow that to happen," the President said. The trouble began after police shot and killed a black man Monday afternoon. The family of Walter Wallace Jr. says he was suffering from mental health crisis. Police say he was wielding a knife and was shot after he approached them and refused to drop it.
Philadelphia city officials imposed a 9pm curfew last night that lasted until 6 o'clock this morning. A small group of protesters was arrested outside of the 18th District last night for not leaving after the curfew started. Gov. Tom Wolf signed a proclamation of disaster emergency for Philadelphia.