After years of work, Bethlehem’s historic Moravian Church settlements have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city says the decision was made early today at the World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi, India. The Bethlehem site spans 10 acres and includes nine structures, four ruins and God’s Acre cemetery. Mayor William Reynolds says “The designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is a profound testament to the unmatched historical and cultural significance of Bethlehem and the enduring legacy of the Moravian Church.” With the designation, Bethlehem becomes the 26th World Heritage Site in the United States. Other sites on the list in the United States include Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia.
Federal officials are releasing their report on a fatal plane crash in Lehigh County in 2022. The National Transportation Safety Board says flight student Keith Kozel was practicing takeoffs when the aircraft experienced engine failure. The plane went down in the front yard of a home in Salisbury Township, killing Kozel. The flight instructor survived.
The identity is now known of the person found dead in the Delaware River earlier this week. Northampton County officials say the body of 60-year-old Louis Cosenza was recovered on Wednesday. Authorities said Cosenza was using a flotation device, but went underwater and did not resurface. The investigation is ongoing.
There will be a new parking option for Musikfest fans this year. A new satellite parking lot will be available on the Penn State-Lehigh Valley campus on Saucon Valley Road in Upper Saucon Township. ArtsQuest leaders say Musikfest visitors can park there and hop on a Trans-Bridge shuttle, which will take you on a non-stop trip to Shuttleplatz South in the Wind Creek Casino Resort parking lot. Round-trip tickets will be $9 per adult; $7 per child ages 3-12; and free for children under 3.
A new poll shows the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between Republican Dave McCormick and Democrat U.S. Senator Bob Casey is narrowing. The latest Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey shows Casey continuing to lead McCormick 48% to 44% with 8% undecided. Casey’s lead on McCormick dipped slightly from his 6% lead in Emerson College Polling/The Hill’s June survey.
The race in Pennsylvania between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is separated by just a few points, according to a new Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll. Trump leads Harris in Pennsylvania 48% to 46% head to head, according to the poll, with 7% undecided. With third-party candidates Robert F. Kennedy, Cornel West, Jil Stein, and Chase Oliver considered, Trump led Harris 46% to 44% with Kennedy receiving 3%. When undecided voters were asked how they were leaning, Trump led with 52% to 48% support toward Harris. When combining the undecided’s support, Trump led Harris 51% to 49%.
Former President Donald Trump is announcing his first appearance in Pennsylvania since the assassination attempt in Butler Township. The GOP nominee is hosting a campaign rally in Harrisburg next Wednesday at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. An investigation into the security lapses that allowed a gunman to take shots at Trump from a roof overlooking the rally site on July 13th is still underway by multiple agencies. The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to form a task force to look into the incident.
A Texas firefighter and sculptor is donating a recently made piece as a way to honor Trump rally shooting victim Corey Comperatore. A bronze statue of a kneeling firefighter created by Nyal Stromberg has been placed outside the Buffalo Township Fire Hall, where Comperatore previously served as chief. Stromberg says he initially made the statue so it could be displayed at Butler County Community College in honor of his father-in-law, Kent Bowen, and in recognition of the public safety program at the school. But instead, he and his mother-in-law decided it could be better used right now as a way to pay tribute to Comperatore's service and to remember the positive impact he had on his community and family.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is preparing motorists for open-road-tolling starting in January of next year. It means no toll booths at interchanges. Turnpike CEO Mark Compton says, "Toll-By-Plate and EZPass are preferred by 80 percent of our customers and will be the preferred method of payment. The difference that drivers will see is they will be tolled through open-road tolling and no longer at the interchanges." The open road tolling begins next year from Reading and points east. The rest of the state will go to the new method in 2027.
There will soon be thousands of laptops available to help get broadband internet into every corner of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority yesterday voted to spend 20 million-dollars on 14 thousand laptops. The laptops will be sent to libraries, schools, cities and townships, and other groups throughout the commonwealth. Pennsylvania is getting a deal on the laptops. They usually sell for almost three thousand-dollars, but the state is paying just 13 hundred dollars each. Applications to get one of the new laptops are open through August 19th.
Too dark car windows could soon earn you a ticket in Pennsylvania. A Philadelphia lawmaker has introduced legislation that would cap just how dark someone's window tint can be. State Senator Jimmy Dillon says the State Police write 10 window tint tickets a day, and he says too dark of windows is a danger to both law enforcement and people on the road. His plan would make it a crime to have more than a 30 percent tint on your car windows. That'd be fine for factory-made tint jobs, but would likely impact after-market tint operations that make windows much darker.