Bad news on the jobs front in the Lehigh Valley. Stuffed Puffs in Hanover Township, Northampton County, has been acquired by a Texas company that says it will be closing the Lehigh Valley plant this fall. Mount Franklin Foods is closing the 165,000-square-foot factory that opened three years ago and produced 2000 puffs per minute. 106 workers will be affected by the closure, which is scheduled for sometime no later than November 9.
Investigators say a man accused of causing a fatal crash in Northampton County on Tuesday was fleeing police. Officials said a Colonial Regional police officer tried to pull over 27-year-old Daneiris Abreu in Lower Nazareth Township for an expired inspection, but he refused to stop. Abreu reportedly lost control of his vehicle while speeding, veered into oncoming traffic, and collided with another car, killing the driver. He faces charges including vehicular homicide.
The dozens of Bethlehem Area School District workers on strike are headed back to work. The district reached a deal yesterday with the union representing around 80 employees. The agreement comes three days after classes started in the district. Union members are expected to vote on the new contract this afternoon.
Six students were taken to the hospital after a school bus crash in Bethlehem yesterday. Officials said a bus carrying 14 students collided head-on with a vehicle at East Fourth Street and Edwards in the afternoon. The conditions of the injured students are not known at this time.
A DeSales University student has been arrested for sending anonymous and threatening text messages to fellow students. We're being told the suspect is a female sophomore at DeSales and had sent texts to students referencing DeSales grad and accused quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger and the Columbine school massacre with the message DeSales students would be next. The student was arrested Tuesday night on campus.
As their investigation into the attempted assassintion of former President Donald Trump continues, the FBI held a conference call on Wednesday saying it did an analysis of suspected shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks' online searches from 2019 to 2024. "From April 2024 through July 12th, the subject searched campaign events for both former President Trump and President Biden, including events scheduled to take place in western Pennsylvania," says Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office Kevin Rojek, who says Crooks also made searches about how to make explosives, and according to analyses believed in a "mixture of ideologies" with no definitive political leanings. The FBI has not determined a motive.
The state of Pennsylvania is now accepting requests to sell cocktails in a can. The Liquor Control Board started accepting applications yesterday. Stores that sell wine, like grocery stores, convenience stores, hotels, and restaurants will be able to sell the cocktails-to-go. Pennsylvania lawmakers okayed a change to the Commonwealth's liquor laws earlier this summer to allow the popular new drinks to be sold. No one is saying just how many stores and restaurants will apply, but the Liquor Control Board is expecting hundreds of thousands of applications. The LCB expects to start issuing the first licenses on September 16th.
Pennsylvania State Police are boosting patrols for the upcoming Labor Day weekend. Trooper Steve Limani says his counterparts will be out in force, and they will likely issue thousands of citations for speeding and other infractions. He is urging drivers in across the state to follow posted speed limits, allow extra time for travel, and avoid cell phones and other distractions. Triple-A expects traffic for the holiday weekend to begin picking up as early as this afternoon.
A new report says billions of dollars in federal spending during COVID actually helped Pennsylvania's economy. The report from the Keystone Research Center says the Commonwealth has a strong economy for working families. The report says higher salaries, low unemployment, and a jump in Pennsylvania's GDP are all driving the economy. The report also says wages are up for black, Hispanic, and women workers, but blue-collar workers have mostly seen their pay flatline. The report says while federal spending spiked inflation to 40-year-highs, inflation has started to come down in recent months.