Speaker of the House Mike Johnson will be in the Lehigh Valley tomorrow. The Republican is set to speak at a volunteer rally for Congressional hopeful Ryan Mackenzie in Northampton County. Mackenzie is looking to unseat incumbent Democrat Susan Wild in the race for Pennsylvania's Seventh Congressional District. The rally is set for 12:30 p.m. in Hellertown.
Two men are pleading guilty to third-degree murder for killing a man outside of a store in Northampton County three years ago. County officials said Kevin Littles and Jakiye Taylor entered the pleas yesterday in the death of Elijah Johnson. Johnson was fatally shot outside of a Target in Lower Nazareth Township in August 2021. Littles and Taylor face decades in prison.
Shortly after a whistle blower complaint was filed, members of the Fraternal Order of Police held a no-confidence vote on Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca. According to FOP, the measure failed, signifying the majority of those who voted do have confidence in Roca's leadership. The preliminary vote came on the heels of a whistleblower lawsuit filed by two officers claiming corruption, misconduct, and a culture of secrecy in the department.
Tuesday afternoon, police surrounded a home in Jim Thorpe, where a man was holed up inside. Officers set up in the 4-and-500 block of Center Avenue with guns drawn. A SERT team was also at the scene. The incident ended around 10:30 p.m. Police have given no details on exactly what happened.
A Northampton County industrial park was evacuated Tuesday morning due to a hydrochloric acid leak. The leak happened just before 7:30 Tuesday morning at Piramal Critical Care on Schelden Circle in Hanover Township. About 200 people in that building and seven other surrounding buildings were evacuated as a Hazardous Materials Emergency Response team investigated. There were no reported injuries or illnesses. The leak was contained before 11am and all evacuees were allowed back into their offices. The cause of the leak remains under investigation.
TGI Fridays has permanently closed its location in The Shoppes at Cedar Point on S. Cedar Crest Blvd. in Allentown, according to a sign posted on the restaurant’s door. The Allentown TGI Fridays location opened in 1996. It’s unclear what led to the Allentown restaurant’s closure.
A-Treat is rolling out something new and it's not a soda. Pink Lemonade Seltzer is the company's first "better for you" beverage. It's also A-Treat's first-ever zero-calorie seltzer. The new A-Treat Pink Lemonade Seltzer is available online and at select retailers. 20-percent of initial sales will go to the fight against breast cancer.
Former president Donald Trump is holding two campaign events in Pennsylvania today, one to our north and one to our west. Trump is scheduled to speak to supporters at Riverfront Sports in Scranton at 3 o’clock this afternoon then hold a rally at Santander Arena in Reading at 7 p.m. Trump, Kamala Harris and their running mates have all made frequent appearances in the commonwealth since early August.
After weeks of dropping gas prices, AAA East Central reports gas prices went up just a bit over the past seven days. Across Pennsylvania, the average price for a gallon of gas was $3.34 on Tuesday, up three cents from the previous Tuesday. That price is 49 cents under last October 8. In the Lehigh Valley, that price was $3.25 as of yesterday, six cents more than one week earlier, but 40 cents less than last October.
A state Senate panel has approved a bill that would prevent New Jersey's child protection division from charging parents the cost of children under state care. The Senate Budget Committee approved the bill which would also void outstanding child support balances, liens and court orders meant to cover the state's costs. Supporters say the bill would allow low-income families -- which account for most of the division's case -- to reunify more quickly. Next step for the bill is a budget hearing in the lower chamber.
M&M's are topping the list of Pennsylvania's most popular Halloween candy for this year. Online sweets seller candy-store-dot-com says the candy-coated chocolate pieces are the most sought after treat in the Keystone State, according to their order data. Hershey's Mini Bars are number two for 2024, with Skittles rounding out the top three. M&M's are also the overall favorite across the U.S. for this Halloween. The National Retail Federation estimates that Americans will spend about three-and-a-half-billion dollars on candy by the end of the month.