Pennsylvania's COVID-19 cases increased by 186 new cases Wednesday, pushing it to 1,213,321. Ten new deaths related to the virus were added to the death toll, which is at 27,718.
Kutztown University announced it will host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic from 10-to-2 tomorrow at KU's Student Recreation Center. The vaccination clinic is open to everybody ages 12 and older. Vaccines are also free of charge, and no registration is required.
St. Sen. Doug Mastriano is calling for an audit of the 2020 election and 2021 primary. Mastriano brought it up in a new op-ed, saying the state must restore faith in the voting system. He wants the audit to be conducted in Philadelphia, York, and Tioga counties and says they have until July 31st to agree to the audit or will face legal action. However, the Department of State and Attorney General Josh Shapiro say they will aid those counties if they disagree with the audit. This comes after a group of Republican lawmakers traveled to Arizona to see the GOP-led election audit there.
A Berks County man is being accused of attempting to use a stun gun on officers during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Officials say police body camera footage captured Alan Byerly raise his hand and activate a stun gun before charging at officers that day. They added that officers were able to disarm him, but he continued to attack officers. The Fleetwood man was arrested yesterday and is facing charges of assault on a federal officer, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
It was a particularly violent Wednesday night into Thursday morning in Allentown. A stabbing was reported just before 10pm in the area of 15th and West Turner streets. Two people were stabbed and taken to the hospital. Less than an hour later, police responded to a shooting in the area of North Eighth and Chew streets. One person was reportedly wounded there. A third incident saw a person stabbed just before 2am in the 600 block of West Turner. Allentown police have not released details on any of the incidents or if they're connected.
One local couple is among the many people who have died in the Florida condo collapse. David and Bonnie Epstein lost their lives after the building came tumbling down back on June 24th. Their son says that the couple had lived in Bucks County for 15 years before recently splitting time between Florida and Pennsylvania. The confirmed death toll has now reached 54 in this tragic incident.
Eight women who have accused Bill Cosby of everything from drugging to forced kissing to rape appeared on NBC's Today show. Among them was Victoria Valentino, who said throwing out Cosby's charges as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did last week sends aa chilling message to women already worried about coming forward with similar accusations. "We put our necks on the line and then the legal system yanked the rug out from under us," Valentino said. Cosby and his attorneys deny any of the assaults ever happened.
The price of gas continues to increase. According to AAA East Central, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded stands at $3.21. Last July, that same gallon of gas cost $2.43 and on January 1st of this year it was only $2.25. AAA East Central says drivers could see gas prices increase by another ten-to-twenty cents through the end of August.
A group of 20 firefighters from the state are heading to Boise, Idaho to help fight wildfires. The crew is the first of this year's fire season to be sent out. They added that the crew has yet to be assigned to any fires, but several are currently burning so they will be in contact with forestry officials from Idaho to see where they will be sent. The crew is expected to be there for about 14 days, and they will be relieved by another group of firefighters.
Pennsylvania retirees have made a solid choice on where to live out their time after years in the workforce. The publishers of financial advisory website www.bankrate.com place Pennsylvania in the middle of the pack on their list of the best states for retirement. With affordability and weather among the key figures considered in compiling the rankings, the site names Georgia as the number one state for retirement in their list out this week. Florida, Tennessee, Missouri and Massachusetts close out the top five. Pennsylvania came in at number 26.