13 people were taken to the hospital after becoming ill at a North Whitehall Township child care center Wednesday. Eight children and five adults at the Park Avenue Kids Korner began feeling sick around 10:30 Wednesday morning and that prompted the building to be evacuated. Symptoms included headaches and dizziness. A hazardous materials team was called out to test the air, however the center says none of the building's carbon monoxide detectors were going off. The center will remain closed for the remainder of the week to allow for additional air quality monitoring. Wednesday's incident came exactly one year after a carbon monoxide leak sickened 32 children and adults at an Allentown day care center.
Skateboarders in Easton are trying to establish a place of their own. City council members heard the group's presentation Wednesday night on building a new, state-of-the-art skatepark. It would cost about $500,000. Easton doesn't currently have a designated place for skateboarding right now.
Two people were reported missing earlier this week in Schuylkill County. Tuesday, two bodies were found in a wooded area of New Philadelphia. State Police spokesman David Boehm says they're not ready to put two-and-two together just yet. "There's obviously two people who were killed and they have friends and associates and we'll be tracking down anybody we can who could possibly give us information that would lead us to the person who did this," Boehm says. The two bodies were found in a heavily wooded area off Ferndale Road, about one mile from Route 209 in New Philadelphia Borough.
Pennsylvania State Police say they seized $21.2 million in illegal drugs during the third quarter of 2023. State Police say they seized more than $7.6 million worth of marijuana and nearly $7.1 million in cocaine in the quarter ending September 30th.
Wednesday was National Stop Bullying Day in the United States. According to the website www.stopbullying.gov, around 20% of students between the ages of 12 and 18 experience some form of bullying, whether it is online, in person, or both. WalletHub measured the prevalence of bullying. They examined each state based on many key metrics, ranging from bullying incident rate to truancy costs and even to the share of high school students bullied online. The report found that Pennsylvania ranked 6th when it comes to bullying problems.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says its been a devastating week as war between Israel and Hamas rages on. He fully backed Israel's right to defend itself, calling for Hamas to be eliminated. Murphy says many people are stranded in the war torn region and his team is working with the Acting Consul General of Israel to get them back home. He says at least one New Jerseyan has died and at least two others are missing. New Jersey has one of the largest Jewish populations and the largest Palestinian population in the country.
New Jersey's black bear hunt to manage the population is underway with the DEP reporting 105 bears killed on day one. The controversial hunt runs through October 14th with rules in place including that hunters can't kill a black bear weighing under 75 pounds or kill one that's with its cubs. The 105 bears, all killed with bow and arrows are part of the state's mandate to harvest 20-percent of the bear population this season. A second bear hunt will take place in December just for shotgun and muzzleloader hunters.
After Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia reportedly mocked Bryce Harper's baserunning mistake that ended game two, Harper responded with a pair of home runs in the Phillies 10-2 win in game three Wednesday night. Harper was asked if the comments provided extra motivation. "Any time anybody says something, that's what it's all about," Harper said. After each Harper homer he stared down Arcia as he ran the bases. Game four is tonight in Philadelphia. A win put the Phillies in the National League Championship Series for the second straight year.