It appears former Lehigh Valley state senator and current Pennsylvania Revenue Secretary Pat Browne is out of options. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Browne, who asked the court to block a state Senate subpoena for him to testify about the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone. State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, who defeated Browne in the 2022 GOP primary election, says he wants to make sure taxpayers are getting a good return on that investment. Browne has maintained he cannot release confidential, private business tax records to the legislature. Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court had ruled that Browne will have to testify under oath and the state Supreme Court upheld that ruling.
A teenager will spend decades in prison for a fatal shooting in Allentown last year. 19-year-old Abner Juarbe was sentenced to between 22 and 50 years behind bars for the death of 39-year-old Darnell Thompson. Police said Juarbe shot and killed Thompson during a fight between two teenage girls. He pleaded guilty in August to charges including third-degree murder.
The identity is now known of a man killed in a crash in Bethlehem this past weekend. Officials say 67-year-old Kevin Ward died in a two-vehicle collision Sunday on Freemansburg Avenue. The other driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
A man is in custody for allegedly setting fire to a cornfield in Lehigh County. Police say the suspect set a cornfield in Washington Township on fire following an argument Saturday night. It reportedly took crews multiple hours to put the blaze out. The unidentified suspect faces charges including agricultural vandalism.
The Cook Political Report now says Pennsylvania's race for the U.S. Senate is a toss-up. The new rating takes some of the momentum away from current Democratic Senator Bob Casey. Cook had the Pennsylvania Senate race as 'lean Democrat' for months. Republican challenger Dave McCormick says the move shows he is gaining strength in these final weeks before Election Day.
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in Malvern Monday and said the current state of affairs in the world is far too complicated to allow them to be turned over to Donald Trump. "In many, many ways Donald Trump is a very unserious man. But, the consequences of him being president of the United States are brutally serious," Harris says. Joining Harris on her campaign visit to southeast Pennsylvania was ex-Republican Congresswoman and now Harris backer Liz Cheney.
Pennsylvania State Police are updating their vehicle fleet. The agency will add the Chevy Tahoe SUV to its fleet over the next few weeks. The agency will have 160 new marked units and 60 new unmarked units that will replace SUVs that have been driven more than 100,000 miles.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson was honored at the Pennsylvania State Capitol yesterday. He was recognized with a standing ovation while speaking in the State House. Jackson and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition was hosted by the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus to discuss voting rights for incarcerated people. During the visit, Jackson said "the vote is our most powerful weapon, emphasizing its importance in achieving social justice and equality."
Federal officials will discuss the plan to reopen Three Mile Island later this week. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding a public observation meeting on Friday to give Constellation Energy an opportunity to explain the plan to restart the Unit One Reactor. Constellation is looking to turn the reactor into the Crane Clean Energy Center, which will power Microsoft's artificial intelligence program. The project still requires federal approval.