Officials have identified the man who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Easton over the weekend. The coroner said 44-year-old Joshua Clark, of Palmer Township, died from blunt force injuries. The crash happened around 6:20 Saturday night in the area of Route 611 and Taylor Avenue, near the border with Forks Township.
A home in Lehigh County burned to the ground during a fire overnight. It broke out just after 12:30 this morning in the 2700 block of Grange Road in Weisenberg Township. Crews had the fire under control about two hours after it started. There is no word of any injuries or the cause of the fire.
Two firefighters had to be treated at the hospital after knocking down a weekend fire at a Catasauqua scrap yard. The fire began around 4:30 Saturday morning and neighbors report hearing several explosions before firefighters controlled the fire, which remains under investigation.
Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says there's a decent chance for thunderstorms today through Thursday. "I think Wednesday and Thursday are the two days most likely to see a thunderstorm around the area," Lundberg says. Today's other weather headline is the heat. It's expected our high temperature will surpass 90 degrees today. That would be the third straight day for temperatures in the 90s, making it our first official heat wave of the year.
A group of gun rights advocates will be holding a rally this morning in Harrisburg. The rally is set to be held on the steps of the state Capitol building at 10 this morning. Congressman Scott Perry, Republican state lawmakers and other advocates will be speaking at the Right to Keep and Bear Arms rally.
A Pennsylvania State Police corporal is being accused of trying to cover up a DUI investigation in 2019. Cpl. Jennifer Ruhl is facing several charges including obstructing and tampering with a criminal investigation. The case involved a father of a trooper who was accused of DUI. She is currently suspended without pay as the investigation continues.
St. Sen. Doug Mastriano is calling for an audit of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania. Sen. Mastriano spoke about wanting an audit during a rally held in Harrisburg over the weekend. He recently took a trip to Arizona where Republican lawmakers organized an audit of their election.
Infrastructure talks are set to continue today, as Democrats and Republican continue to negotiate. Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey says President Biden is trying to be inclusive in the talks. "We're seeing a substantial effort on the part of the President to engage with a group of Republican senators. I think it's very positive," Casey says. Despite efforts on both side of the aisle, the White House and Republicans also remain at a standstill on how to pay for the proposal.
The Pennsylvania State Archive is preparing to move to a new location this year. David Carmichael, the director of the State Archives, says it will be moving to a new structure being constructed at Sixth and Hamilton streets in Harrisburg. Officials with the state's Historical and Museum Commission are working on a feasibility study on how the old building along North Street will be used in the future.
New Jersey's state Senate has approved a bill to expand access to birth control in the Garden State. The measure would allow pharmacists to dispense birth control items without a prescription. Specifically, pharmacists could dispense certain self-administered hormonal contraceptives, such as birth control pills. Supporters point to studies that show greater accessibiilty for contraceptives for men and women leads to prevention of unintended pregnancies. An identical bill is pending before the Health Committee in the state Assembly.
Ahead of Tuesday's primary election, more than 26-percent of New Jersey voters who have received vote-by-mail ballots have returned them. That's a little more than 175,600 ballots of the more than 667,700 ballots that were mailed by county election officials. As of last Friday, Democrats were slightly ahead of Republicans on ballots that have been recorded, almost 33-percent of Democrats to about 31.5-percent for Republicans.