A press conference is scheduled today to release the findings of an investigation into allegations of discrimination at Allentown City Hall. The investigation was authorized by the city council earlier this year in response to allegations Mayor Matt Tuerk and his administrators are not following the city's personnel and nondiscrimination policies. Council members will join representatives from the law firm hired to conduct the investigation for today's press conference, which is set for 11 a.m.
Lehigh University is one of five Pennsylvania colleges to have received letters from Pennsylvania senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick expressing concern about antisemitism. Those letters were sent out to the universities with the largest Jewish student bodies. In addition to Lehigh, Penn State, Temple, Pitt and Penn were sent those letters. The senators encouraged the university presidents to work with Jewish institutions on campus to help ensure "all students, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or shared ancestry are safe and able to fully participate in campus life."
The two men running for Lehigh County Executive taped a debate Wednesday. The debate, which was moderated by president of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Tony Iannelli featured insults between Democrat Josh Siegel and Republican Roger MacLean. During the debate, Siegel called MacLean 'not a credible candidate', 'sanctimonious', a 'liar' and 'ignorant'. After the debate, the insults didn't stop. "I think Roger MacLean represents everything that is wrong with politics. He's and out-of-touch, out-of-his prime leader who doesn't know when it's time to step aside," Siegel said. MacLean, during the debate, called Siegel, a 'liar', a 'flip-flopper', 'idiotic', and 'immature'. After the debate he added on. "His philosophy on government is ridiculous. When he was on City Council I called him out when he was against adding police officers. It started way back then. This isn't something that just happened today," MacLean said. The debate will be broadcast on Business Matters on WFMZ on September 15th.
A 29-year-old East Stroudsburg man faces numerous charges after a lengthy police standoff. Police were called to a home in Stroud Township late Wednesday morning. It all began with reports of Alexander Ball allegedly destroying the community sign with a hammer. Police say they tried to make contact with Ball, but he refused to leave the home and also would not allow his mother to leave either. After about eight hours, a SWAT team entered the home and took Ball into custody.
Tween accessory retailer Claire's is planning to close multiple stores after announcing it was filing for bankruptcy for a second time in a seven-year span. The company will shutter 235 Claire's locations, including the store on Park Avenue in Easton. According to a court filing obtained by A-L-dot-com, Claire's has agreed to sell a portion of its business operations to Ames Watson which will pause liquidation during its bankruptcy. The filing didn't specify when the closures would take place.
State election officials say almost 7000 voters were added to New Jersey rolls last month, most of them unaffiliated. Republicans gained almost 900 voters while Democrats lost 2000 voters, a trend that continued from the month before. Overall, Democrats still hold a significant lead among registrants with more than two-and-a-half million while Republicans count more than one-point-six million voters.
Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to throw the book at the wife of former New Jersey senator Robert Menendez, and sentence her to at least seven years in prison for bribery. In a court filing, they say Nadine Menendez knowingly joined her husband in seeking illegal payoffs including gold bars, cash and a Mercedes. Menendez' lawyers are asking the judge to go easy on their client, and sentence her to just a year and a day behind bars. Robert Menendez, who is serving an eleven-year sentence, is also asking for mercy for his wife.
Gambling company Fan Duel is shelling out $80,000 to cover the costs of SEPTA trains running to and from tonight's Eagles-Cowboys game. Andrew Busch is a SEPTA spokesman and says the help will make a huge difference. "We're going to have ten trains ready to go right away for fans as they get down there. Then, in the 70 minutes after the game, we expect we'll have 16 total trains out of there," Busch says. The FanDuel sponsorship covers free rides home for fans, which will begin at halftime and continue through the end of service, which is expected to be about 70 minutes after the game ends.
Before the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys in tonight's NFL season opener, the Eagles Super Bowl banner will be unveiled. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley doesn't plan to get too emotional about it. "We've gotta go back to work. We've got a divisional opponent coming in for a Thursday night football game. It's the start of a new season. What we did last was special. It's going to be cool to have that moment, but the most important thing is to win that football game and that's where our focus is," Barkley says. This is the fifth time the Eagles have played Dallas in a season opener and the first time since 2000. The Eagles are an eight-and-a-half point favorite.
Philadelphia Eagle and Lehigh Valley native Jahan Dotson will be honored by his alma mater this fall. Dotson is set to have his number retired next month at Nazareth Area High School. The wide receiver rewrote the record books at Nazareth before his time at Penn State and the NFL. The retirement ceremony is set for October Tenth.