What appears to be a police standoff that began Sunday night continues today. Several police units are surrounding a home in the 500 block of Spruce Street in Hellertown. They were called there just before 8 p.m. Sunday and have remained on the scene since then. Police have been heard yelling into a bullhorn for somebody inside the home to come out with their hands up and without a weapon. Roads in the area are blocked off. The standoff has caused Saucon Valley School District to keep its schools closed for the day.
Lehigh Valley Congresswoman Susan Wild is a Democrat who backs President Trump's new trade deal with Mexico and Canada. Sen. Pat Toomey is a Republican who does not. "It's a free and fair trade agreement. It's completely reciprocal. There are zero tariffs on manufacured goods. There are zero tariffs on almost all agricultural goods. So you have this free and fair reciprocal agreement, which, by the way, resulted in a 500-percent increase in exports to Mexico. Somehow this was unacceptable to the administration," Toomey says. He says the Trump administration doesn't like the NAFTA deal because there has been a huge trade deficit with Mexico since its inception in 1994. However, Toomey tells NBC's "Meet the Press" the new U.S./Mexico/Canada trade deal diminishes trade and will harm our exporters.
A man is under arrest for allegedly crashing into six parked cars Sunday morning. Police say the man, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, crashed in the 500-block of North Sixth Street around 1 o'clock Sunday morning. He suffered minor injuries. Police suspect drunk driving was involved and related charges are said to be pending against the driver.
Utilities officials are looking into a gas leak near the Allentown-Whitehall border last night. Dozens were evacuated after the leak was detected around 8 o'clock Sunday night in the 900-block of North Seventh Street. A LANTA bus is serving as a temporary shelter while the investigation continues. Officials say they got some positive gas readings from a manhole and sewer and are still checking out other homes in the vicinity. They hope to identify the cause and fix it as soon as possible.
The state Department of Transportation is handing out around 26 grants aimed at supporting railroad infrastructure in Pennsylvania. DOT officials say the projects will help improve about 5600 miles of track. All of the grants went out to private rail operators and rail-served businesses.
Military officials are investigating after cadets attending the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia were seen flashing the "OK" symbol, which has been used by white supremacist groups. During the pregame events on ESPN, students from both West Point and the Naval Academy were seen making the gesture to the camera. The use of the "OK" symbol as a gesture of "white power" began as a way to troll people on social media, but it has since been co-opted by some white nationalist groups.
Democrat and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is blasting a South Jersey representative who's likely switching to the Republican Party. Jeff Van Drew is expected this week to switch from the Democrat Party to the GOP. he has not made an official announcement, but several of his staff members resigned Sunday as a result. Murphy accused Van Drew of choosing his career over the Constitution Sunday, calling the move cynical and desperate before saying he feels that Democrats will regain the seat in the future.
For the second straight week, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz rallied his team to a last second win. A Wentz-to-Greg Ward touchdown throw with less than a minute to play put the Eagles in front in what end up being a 37-27 over the Redskins. Eagles coach Doug Pederson says his team has confidence in their quarterback when the game is on the line. "In Carson's case, that's exactly who he is. That's what we know he is as our quarterback and our leader. It's really great to see that adversity doesn't bother him. He wants the ball in his hands and says I want to win the game. That's the confidence we have in him," Pederson says. The Eagles are now 7-7 and remain tied with Dallas atop the NFC East. The Eagles and Cowboys play this Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia.