State election officials say if vote totals stay as close as they are between Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick, a recount would be required by state law. Throughout Wednesday, Oz's lead over McCormick in the in GOP U.S. Senate election fluctuated between 1,000 and 2,000 votes, a razor-thin lead of only one-tenth and two-tenths of one percent. Under Pennsylvania law, a recount is automatically triggered if the difference between candidates falls within five-tenths of one percent of the total vote.
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will resume his job duties Monday after getting a pacemaker Tuesday, which was also the day he won the Democratic party's primary election for U.S. Senate. Under state law, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman had temporarily assumed the role of vice governor since last Friday, when Fetterman suffered a stroke.
Three Lehigh Valley races remain undecided, two days after election day. Lisa Scheller holds an 1800 vote edge over Kevin Dellicker in the Republican race in the 7th Congressional District. In the 14th State Senate District race on the Democrat side, Nicholas Miller has a 78 vote edge on Tara Zrinski and in the 16th State Senate District, Pat Browne trails challenger Jarrett Coleman by just 30 votes.
A Harrisburg man accused in a deadly shopping center shooting in Northampton County last summer has turned himself in to Colonial Regional Police. Kevin Littles turned himself in Wednesday, nine months after 20-year-old Elijah Johnson was shot to death and another man wounded at the Lower Nazareth Commons shopping center in Lower Nazareth Township. DA Terry Houck says a drug deal robbery gone wrong was the motive in the shooting. 18-year-old Jakiye Taylor had been previously arrested for his alleged role in Johnson's killing.
A judge has ordered a temporary halt to Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to toll as many as nine major bridges on interstates in Pennsylvania, including two in our area. A Commonwealth Court judge sided Wednesday with Cumberland County and a handful of municipalities that are challenging the process as both illegal and unconstitutional. Under the order, PennDOT must stop all studies, right-of-way acquisitions, construction or work under any contracts, and put off any planned hearings, meetings or spending. The two local bridges that were in line to become toll roads were the I-78 Bridge in Lenhartsville and the I-80 Bridge over the Lehigh River in Carbon and Luzerne counties.
Record setting heat is on tap for us this weekend. "Temperatures will go into the mid-80s tomorrow, but we're over 90 both days of the weekend. It's going to be mighty uncomfortable," says Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg. He says the expected high temperature Saturday is 93. The record for that date is 92, set in 1934.
Pennsylvania households can now order eight more free at-home coronavirus tests. The White House approved the move, hoping to give residents across the country a better supply of rapid tests ahead of possible summer and fall surges. The Centers for Disease Control said as of Tuesday, Pennsylvania is one of the states in the northeast that has reached high community levels of transmission. The tests are available at www.covid.gov/tests.
May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in Pennsylvania. PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian says there was a five-percent hike in motorcycle-related crashes in 2021 with 3500 wrecks and 226 deaths. "Drivers of automobiles need to do their part as well to maintain safety of riders and understand that motorcycles are everywhere and must be accorded the same rights as any vehicle on the road," Gramian says.
How rude! An informal study done by www.moneywise.com ranks New Jersey 14th in the U.S. in rudeness. The study says that despite the Garden State's depiction on TV and at the movies, it is nowhere near as rude as Idaho or New York. The website added that New Jersey's perceived lack of friendliness reputation comes from the understanding that its residents "don't care because they don't know you."