Authorities are investigating a fire at East Penn Manufacturing in Berks County. Smoke from the fire could be seen from 28-miles away in Quakertown. Plastic battery cases were reportedly on fire in the parking lot and then the flames spread to woods nearby. There are no reports of any buildings being damaged or any injuries. A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze.
Careless smoking is being blamed for a Sunday afternoon fire in the bathroom of the iFix and More store in the Palmer Park Mall. While the mall's sprinkler system put out the fire, the mall had to be evacuated. The cell phone repair store sustained fire damage to the restroom and water damage in the stock room and sales floor and neighboring stores also sustained moderate water damage.
AAA is out with its weekly gas prices analysis and if you've been paying any attention this won't come as a surprise. A gallon of regular unleaded continues to soar. Pennsylvania's average jumped from $3.42 a gallon on October 12 to $3.49 Tuesday. That's $1.01 more per gallon than this week last year. Here in the Lehigh Valley, the average price sits at $3.48 a gallon, up seven cents from last week and $1.04 from one year ago.
The Pennsylvania State Police say they confiscated more than $25,000,000 worth of illegal drugs in the third quarter of 2021. The biggest chunk of that $25,000,000 is more than $10,000,000 worth of marijuana seized from July 1 through September 30. Nearly $7,000,000 worth of cocaine was also seized last quarter by the state police.
Pennsylvania's Gaming Control Board says state casinos raked in more than $415,000,000 in total revenue last month, a whopping 46-percent increase over September 2020 numbers. Wind Creek in Bethlehem was responsible for nearly $44 million of that revenue, a 36-percent increase from last September. The board says Pennsylvania's tax revenue from casino gambling came in at almost $170,000,000 last month.
Pennsylvania's former secretary of health is officially the nation's first openly transgender four-star officer. On Tuesday, Dr. Rachel Levine was sworn in as an admiral for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. "May this appointment today be the first of many more to come as we create a diverse and more inclusive future," Levine says. Levine added that she stands on the shoulders of those LGBTQ-plus individuals who came before her, both known and unknown.
President Joe Biden is coming to Scranton today. Biden will be making his first stop to Scranton since being elected president. Press Secretary Jen Psaki previews some of what he'll say. "He'll be talking about growing up in Scranton and the way his experience there influenced his values and his belief that we need an economy that works for working people, like those in Scranton, instead of the wealthiest Americans on Wall Street. Then he'll explain these values are represented in his bipartisan infrastructure bill and Build Back Better agenda," Psaki says. The President will arrive around four p.m.
A woman from Dauphin County accused of stealing the Speaker of the House's laptop during the riot at the nation's Capitol on January 6th is pleading not guilty. Riley Williams allegedly stole Nancy Pelosi's laptop with the intent to sell it to Russia. Williams pleaded not guilty yesterday to all eight charges against her.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is laying out rules for polling locations at schools this general election. He announced an administrative order with state police chief Patrick Callahan yesterday. It calls for rooms within a building to be used exclusively for polls. For districts that plan to hold in person instruction while also holding elections, individuals who are voting must not make contact with students or staff. Election day is Tuesday, November 2nd.
A new page in the Ben Simmons-Philadelphia 76ers soap opera was written Tuesday when head coach Doc Rivers kicked Simmons out of practice. "It was a distraction today. I don't think he wanted to do what everybody else was doing. It was early. It wasn't a big deal. We told him to leave then and we went on with practice," Rivers says. Simmons has been suspended for tonight's season opener in New Orleans.