Today will be the final day of this week's heat wave. Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says, like yesterday, while it will be very hot, it probably won't quite set a record. "Temperatures are going to get up into the mid-90s this afternoon, probably missing the record by a couple degrees of 97. We missed a record yesterday as well by two degrees," Lundberg says. Believe it or not, on Friday the afternoon high temperature will barely hit 70 degrees.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is issuing a Code Orange air quality alert for today. Included in the alert are Lehigh, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia Counties. A Code Orange alert is called when the air is viewed as posing a risk to those who may have sensitive systems. The department recommends that young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems limit outdoor activities today.
In a 5-4 vote, the Southern Lehigh School District has approved a separation agreement with now-former superintendent Michael Mahon. It pays Mahon more than $270,000 in salary, unused vacation time and legal bills. "Our faculty and staff who work tirelessly for our children don't get this kind of send off. Our support staff doesn't," one parent told the board. The board's vote came five months after Mahon was placed on administrative leave for allegations of discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation, and problems with the rollout of a student information system. Mahon had been Southern Lehigh's superintendent since 2021.
The Tuesday afternoon death of a man in Northampton County is being investigated. Officials say a 57-year-old man working on solar panels on the roof of a Millrace Road home was found unresponsive on the ground just after 5 p.m. The victim died at the scene.
Authorities are releasing the name of a man who died following a weekend crash in Williams Township. Forty-seven-year-old Coopersburg resident James Swinney was riding a motorcycle Sunday when he crashed near Raubsville and Hexenkopf Roads. The death has been ruled an accident.
Two suspects, one in custody and one on the loose are now charged in connection with the July 12th mass shooting that left a half dozen people injured in Easton. Police say 16-year-old Yandiel Gonzalez and 20-year-old Dante Holmes-Eutsey both face six attempted murder charges and several other offenses for the incident that happened in the 100 block of East Wilkes Barre Street. Holmes-Eutsey is already behind bars in Lehigh County for an unrelated charge. Gonzalez, who will be tried as an adult, remains on the run and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris says an independent report of Pennsylvania State Police traffic stops shows no racial or ethnic disparities in the reasons for the stops and no differences in the number of citations, warnings or arrests for minority drivers. The report looked at more than 433,000 traffic stops in 2024. 60 percent of them were for moving violations. More than 90 percent of all stops ended up with either a warning or citation being issued. Only three percent resulted in an arrest. Paris says the report shows troopers' decisions are determined by the facts and the driver's behavior and not by race or ethnicity.
Beginning Nov. 13, Allegiant will be adding an eleventh nonstop route from Lehigh Valley International Airport and the eighth one going straight to Florida. Allegiant says a new route to Fort Myers will begin in mid-November, with initial one-way fares beginning as low as $69. That introductory one-way fare is not available on all flights and tickets must be purchased by Wednesday and the flight must take place by Feb. 10.
There's not a lot of movement in Pennsylvania gas prices over the past seven days. According to AAA East Central, the average price for a gallon of gas as of Tuesday is $3.20, down a little over a penny from the previous week, but 41 cents below last July 29th's price. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price is at $3.06 a gallon, up two-and-a-half cents from the prior week, but 40 cents cheaper than one year ago.
Senator Cory Booker sparked a heated debate on the Senate floor yesterday when he accused his fellow Democrats of being complicit with President Trump. Booker's remarks came during debate on a bipartisan package of police funding bills. He warned President Trump would use the funding to reward law enforcement in states the president favors while punishing others. Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar agreed with Booker that the Trump Administration is making the process highly political but she argued the law enforcement bill is not the place for such a fight. The legislation later passed.