Package of gun bills to come before Pennsylvania House

PHILADELPHIA - A weekend meant to honor our fallen heroes, and usher in the start of summer, has been riddled with shootings in a city continually plagued by gun violence.Nineteen people became the victims of 13 shootings that erupted on the streets of Philadelphia during Memorial Day weekend. Four of those victims have succumbed to their injuries.The violence began just as the holiday weekend was about to kick off when a 20-year-old man chased by 2 gunmen was found shot in vacant lot around 1 a.m.

WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES - JANUARY 15: The American flag (top) and National League of Families POW/MIA flag (bottom) wave in the air in Washington D.C., United States on January 15, 2023. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) PENNSYLVANIA - An Army Air Force pilot from Pennsylvania killed during World War II has been accounted for almost eight decades later, military authorities said.The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said last week that 2nd Lt.

PHILADELPHIA - A triple shooting left three people, including a 15-year-old boy, injured in West Philadelphia Saturday night.Police say several shots were fired on the 5200 block of Jefferson Street in the city's Parkside section just after 9 p.m.Three people were struck during the shooting, a 20-year-old man twice in the foot; a 15-year-old boy in the stomach; and a 33-year-old man twice in the chest and once in the shoulder.MORE HEADLINES:All three victims were transported to a local hospital by private vehicle and placed in stable condition.No arrests have been made, and no weapons recovered.

BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. - A trio of suspects posed as police as they robbed a home in Bucks County, getting away with two of the homeowner's firearms, according to officials.Police say the three men entered a home on Reliance Place in Hilltown Township Thursday after identifying themselves as part of the sheriff's department.One of the men was armed with a handgun as they ransacked the house, authorities say.MORE HEADLINES:Several items were stolen, including two handguns registered to the victim, who was forced to the ground with his hands tied behind his back.

PA State Game Commission Warden Tyler Barnes searches a wooded early after multiple residents reported a black bear wondering the Roxborough and Andorra neighborhoods in Northwest Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Image MOUNTAIN TOP, Pa. - Authorities say a bear that attacked and injured two young children playing in the driveway of a northeastern Pennsylvania home has been captured and euthanized.The Pennsylvania Game Commission said Friday that two bears, a male and a female, had been caught overnight in live traps set following Monday's attack in Wright Township near Mountain Top.

DELAWARE - The stepfather of a 3-year-old girl whose burned remains were found on a softball field several years ago has pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges, according to court documents.Brandon Haas, 41, pleaded guilty in March to one felony count and three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. None of the offenses carries mandatory prison time, although the felony count carries a maximum sentence of five years behind bars.

PHILADELPHIA - A violent start to Memorial Day Weekend in Philadelphia has left two people dead, and another two critically injured, in two separate double shootings.Two men were found struck in the first shooting of the morning on the 300 block of Cambria Street just after 3 a.m. Saturday.A 26-year-old suffering from multiple gunshot wounds was pronounced dead at a local hospital; while a 22-year-old is in critical condition after being shot twice.MORE HEADLINES:Two women were then struck by more gunfire as a second double shooting erupted just a few hours later on the 100 block of East Allegheny Avenue.The first victim, a 44-year-old woman, died after being shot twice.

decommissioned lighthouse, consider this a sign.Ten of the most picturesque lighthouses that dot the U.S.’s eastern coastline are being given away at no cost or sold at auction by the federal government.However, like most things, there’s a catch – and it’s a pretty big (and costly) one.The General Services Administration (GSA) is inviting federal, state, and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, educational and community development agencies, or groups devoted to parks, recreation, culture, or historic preservation to apply to take over any of six historic lighthouses and their outbuildings available free of charge.However, anyone who assumes the role of lighthouse keeper for these storied buildings will be on the hook to pay for the upkeep and maintain them in keeping with federal and local requirements.They’ll also have to be made publicly available for educational, recreational or cultural purposes. It’s not the first time the GSA has dabbled in offloading its crop of historic beacons. The United States Coast Guard has slowly been eliminating lighthouses from government inventory for years, even since the development of GPS technology has rendered them largely obsolete.However, despite no longer being essential in protecting mariners from peril, lighthouses remain fascinating and romantic buildings that capture the interest of people all over the world.“People really appreciate the heroic role of the solitary lighthouse keeper,” John Kelly of the GSA’s office of real property disposition told The Associated Press, explaining their allure.

BRISTOL, Pa. - A Pennsylvania community held a vigil Friday for a local infant who prosecutors say died after being beaten and shaken several times by his own father."The community is heartbroken over this, I mean, it’s a small town, everybody knows everybody," Stephane Scancella said. Authorities say on Wednesday night officers from the Bristol Borough Police Department responded to home on 100 block of Radcliffe Street for reports of a 4-month-old in cardiac arrest. Officers administered CPR and rushed the baby to Lower Bucks Hospital where he was pronounced dead just after midnight. Tyler Sullivan (Bucks County District Attorney's Office)  Tyler Sullivan, 30, was charged with homicide and two counts of aggravated assault in the case. Following an examination of the infant, a doctor found that the child had suffered several injuries, including bruises and abrasions throughout the body. Investigators concluded that Sullivan had violently shaken the baby on at least two occasions Wednesday, and at least six additional times over the past six weeks. MORE LOCAL HEADLINES"We all have bene heartbroken about this mom losing her son, especially the way she did," Scancella said. Neighbors day the baby's 22-year-old mother and Sullivan were engaged to be married. "We have to do something for this mother and her family," Scancella said. "It’s heart-wrenching."

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - As he vies for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is touting a series of measures he has pushed that have led to an upswing in banned or restricted books — not just in Florida schools but in an increasing number of other conservative states.Florida last year became the first in a wave of red states to enact laws making it easier for parents to challenge books in school libraries they deem to be pornographic, deal improperly with racial issues or in other ways be inappropriate for students.Books ensnared in the Florida regulations include explicit graphic novels about growing up LGBTQ+, a children’s book based on a true story of two male penguins raising a chick in a zoo and "The Bluest Eye," a novel by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison that includes descriptions of child sexual abuse.

PHILADELPHIA - The heartbroken mother of a baby-faced Philadelphia teen who was gunned down while riding home on a SEPTA bus earlier this week remembers her son as a "special boy" who was loved by many.Randy Mills, 15, was shot and killed aboard a Route 23 SEPTA bus late Wednesday night near the 5200 block of Germantown Avenue, according to police. The shooting, which was captured on a bus surveillance cameras, shows a person in wearing a mask and dark hooded sweatshirt confront Mills just before he's shot in the chest.The shooter fled the bus before police arrived. Responding officers rushed Mills to Albert Einstein Hospital where he died shortly after his arrival. MORE LOCAL HEADLINE"I got a call saying we believe Randy got shot, I said ‘huh?!’, of course I was shocked," Kesha Langford said. She recalled the final conversation that she had with her son, a student at Roxborough High School. "He said ‘I love you’ and ‘I’ll be home early’ and ‘what are you cooking?’," Kesha said. Roxborough High School is a community still reeling from an ambush shooting that killed 14-year-old Nicholas Elizalde and wounded four others last fall.Police are also searching for a person of interest who Langford believes was captured on bus surveillance footage rifling through Randy's dying bodying.Philadelphia police have released surveillance video from a SEPTA bus where a young man was fatally shot. "I was my son's hand move as if he was trying to say ‘get off me!’," Kesha said.

FILE - The Nobska Point Light, famed lighthouse that the Coast Guard is putting up for sale. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images))BOSTON - Ten lighthouses that for generations have stood like sentinels along America's shorelines protecting mariners from peril and guiding them to safety are being given away at no cost or sold at auction by the federal government.The aim of the program run by the General Services Administration is to preserve the properties, most of which are more than a century old.The development of modern technology, including GPS, means lighthouses are no longer essential for navigation, said John Kelly of the GSA's office of real property disposition.

SEATTLE, WA - APRIL 14: A detail shot of a baseball on the baseline during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on Friday, April 14, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Rod Mar/MLB via Getty Images) HARRISBURG - A college baseball player died after he was struck in the face when a makeshift dugout he was helping to dismantle collapsed on him this week.Angel Mercado, 19, was a middle infielder who had just completed his freshman season at Division II Central Penn College.

The American tourist was snorkeling when she was bitten by a shark in Turks and Caicos, a report says. (Getty Images) An American tourist has lost her leg after being bitten by a shark while vacationing in Turks and Caicos, police say.The 22-year-old female from Connecticut and a friend were snorkeling in the waters off Providenciales island Wednesday when they were attacked, The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said in a statement posted to Instagram, that later appeared removed on Friday.The statement added that a resort employee on the island "indicated that the female victim had her leg bitten off by a shark."The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and an ambulance responded to the scene. PENNSYLVANIA TEENAGER SURFING IN NEW JERSEY SUFFERS INJURIES FROM POSSIBLE SHARK ATTACK: REPORTSThe Turks and Caicos islands are a popular Caribbean vacation destination.

mortgage rates are ratcheting up the pressure on Canadian landlords, especially young investors who are facing the harsh side of the interest rate cycle for the first time.A report released Thursday by Royal LePage shows higher payments are even pushing some housing investors to consider selling off their properties. But for 32-year-old Karim Najjar, that decision is about more than just writing off the loss on an investment.Najjar moved to Ottawa from Edmonton in 2017 and jumped into the housing market a year after he arrived.His timing into the market was good, Najjar recalls, as home prices soared in his first few years of ownership.

BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. - The families of four young men killed and buried on a Pennsylvania farm have settled their wrongful-death lawsuits against the man who confessed in the killings and his parentsCosmo DiNardo, who was 20 at the time, admitted luring four young men ages 19 to 22 to the family’s farm in July 2017, saying he would sell them marijuana. He then killed them and buried them on the farm.

Seperated by gender, here Native American students sit down to a meal. The United States Indian School in Carlisle Pennsylvania opened in 1879. Its director, Captain Richard H.

This illustration image shows tablets of opioid painkiller Oxycodone delivered on medical prescription taken on September 18, 2019 in Washington,DC. - Millions of Americans sank into addiction after using potent opioid painkillers that the companies CHARLESTON, W. Va - A Pennsylvania doctor was sentenced to six months in federal prison Thursday for his role in a pain pill prescription scheme.Dr.

PHILADELPHIA - A young man has been hospitalized after he was shot and found by officers in a vacant lot in Philadelphia, police say. According to authorities, just after 1 a.m.

MORRISVILLE - Authorities in Bucks County say there is no threat to the public after explosive devices were found inside a local home Thursday morning. The Bucks County District Attorney's Office said the troubling discovery was during an investigation at a home in Morrisville. MORE LOCAL HEADLINESAuthorities have not provided an address of the home that was under investigation, or what type of explosive devices were recovered. "We can assure the public that there is no immediate threat to the community," a press release from the DA's Office read.

FILE - Smith & Wesson handguns are seen for sale in a gun store on Sept. 09, 2022, in Houston, Texas.

MOSCOW, IDAHO - MAY 22: Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022.(Photo by Zach The parents of Bryan Kohberger, Michael and Maryann Kohberger, were called to testify in front of a Pennsylvania grand jury this week in connection with the May 2022 disappearance of a woman found dead in April, according to local reports.Dana Smithers, 45, was last seen leaving a friend's house in Monroe County the evening of May 28. Almost a year later, her remains were recovered in Stroudsburg – a Poconos community about a 30-minute drive from the Kohberger family home in Albrightsville.Kohberger began a Ph.D.

CHICORA, Pa. - A Pennsylvania nurse is facing charges connected to the death of two patients and the hospitalization of a third, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. Authorities say the nurse, identified as 40-year-old Heather Pressdee of Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, gave lethal doses of unnecessary medication to patients, resulting in their deaths. According to officials, the alleged incidents took place at Quality Life Services, a skilled nursing facility in Chicora, where Presdee was a registered nurse. Presdee is facing charges in the deaths of a 55-year-old man and an 83-year-old in addition to the hospitalization of a 73-year-old man, authorities say. MORE LOCAL HEADLINESInvestigators say the victims were under Pressdee's care when they received overdoses of insulin that caused medical emergencies and the deaths of two patients. The two men died on December 4, 2022, and December 25, 2022, per officials. Authorities say two of the three men were not diabetic. Pressdee was taken into custody on Wednesday and was arraigned on charges before being sent to the Butler County Prison, officials say. She has been charged with two counts of homicide, a count of attempted murder, a count of aggravated assault, three counts of neglect of a care-dependent person and three counts of reckless endangerment, the AG's Office says. 

Butterscotch krimpet, cream filled buttercream iced chocolate cupcake, and peanut butter kandy kake in the studio.Tastykake celebrates 100 years for Life.

The Shell Oil Co. Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex under construction in Monaca, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Friday, July 23, 2021.

DOVER, DE - JUNE 5: Delaware Governor John Carney is interviewed by broadcast media after placing the first bet at Dover Downs Casino on June 5, 2018 in Dover, Delaware. Delaware is the first state to launch legal sports betting since the Supreme Cou DOVER, Del. - Members of the Delaware legislature’s budget-writing committee have added more than $120 million to Gov.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Laundrie's mother Roberta has broken her silence to Fox News Digital after her highly-anticipated "burn after reading" letter has revealed she promised her late son a shovel and garbage bags.The Florida woman, through her attorney, claims the missive was penned before her son embarked on a June 2021 cross-country trip with his 22-year-old fiancée Gabby Petito, who was found dead September 19, 2021, near Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park.Her 23-year-old beau then returned to his mother's house in North Port, Florida and was declared a "person of interest" before his remains were found on October 21, 2021, in a nearby reserve."I just want you to remember I will always love you and I know you will always love me. You are my boy. Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing can or ever will divide us no matter what we do, or where we go or what we say - we will always love each other.

The UK Government recently published the Health and Disability White Paper, which lays out proposed reforms to the benefits system. As part of its shake-up, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced plans to scrap the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to encourage people who need to claim benefits back into work.

Tina Turner got candid about her health, just two months before her death.In a March 9 post shared on her Instagram page, Turner said she regretted not taking care of her kidneys sooner, telling her followers that she put herself in «great danger» by not receiving medical care for her high blood pressure.«Today is International World Kidney Day. Why is it important? Because kidneys fail without pain. And that's why I'm telling you today: Show your kidneys love! They deserve it.

President Biden’s plan to forgo more than $400 billion in federally backed student loan debt.Lawmakers approved a resolution disapproving of Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan that was announced last year and is now stalled because of an ongoing legal challenge. The Supreme Court is expected to consider the legality of Biden’s plan later this summer.On Wednesday, lawmakers voted 218-203 in an attempt to speed up the process and end Biden’s plan through legislation.

TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 08: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives a victory speech after defeating Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep.

Dyno Nobel site at Warkworth near Singleton (Photo by Fairfax Media via Getty Images via Getty Images) Approximately 61,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used as both fertilizer and an ingredient in explosives, went missing when it was shipped by rail from Wyoming to California last month, prompting officials to begin investigating the mysterious disappearance. Ammonium nitrate was used in 1995 at an attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion killed 168 people and injured approximately 850.On April 12, a railcar loaded with 30 tons of the chemical left Cheyenne, Wyoming.

PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania man has been arrested for running what authorities call a gun trafficking operation connected to several homicides and violent crimes. In a press conference held Wednesday, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele announced the arrest of 23-year-old Tamir Hartsock of Glenside, Pennsylvania. Hartsock faces numerous felony charges for straw purchasing and trafficking 15 firearms, of which four were recovered and connected to homicides and crimes in Philadelphia. Investigators say Hartsock purchased his first two guns on September 9, 2020, shortly after his 21st birthday.

UVALDE, Texas - A criminal investigation in Texas over the hesitant police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting is still ongoing as Wednesday marks one year since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde.The continuing probe underlines the lasting fallout over Texas' deadliest school shooting and how the days after the attack were marred by authorities giving inaccurate and conflicting accounts about efforts made to stop a teenage gunman armed with an AR-style rifle.The investigation has run parallel to a new wave of public anger in the U.S. over gun violence, renewed calls for stricter firearm regulations and legal challenges over authorities in Uvalde continuing to withhold public records related to the shooting and the police response.A memorial is dedicated to the victims of last years mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on April 27, 2023 in Uvalde, Texas.

An American flag flies in front of a cooling tower at the Exelon Corp. Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.

Governor of Delaware John C Carney Jr. speaks at the Delaware Memorial Day Ceremony, in New Castle, DE on May 30, 2019.

Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. At first it seemed likely that the virus had been transmitted from bats to humans via an “intermediate" animal that was infected outside the city and then sold at the market. This was how SARS first emerged 20 years ago.

AUSTIN, Texas - Attorney General Ken Paxton is calling on Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign, saying the Republican from Beaumont was "in an obviously intoxicated state" while presiding over the House.But Paxton's call for Phelan's resignation comes as a House committee revealed it's investigating Paxton and his office over a push to use taxpayer money to pay off his settlement with a group of whistleblowers.So far, the attorney general is the highest state official calling for Phelan to resign. Phelan's office fired back, saying a committee is investigating Paxton's office, and they said his comments were an attempt to "save face."Video from the House floor at the end of a 14-hour session on Friday night showed Phelan appearing to slur his words on the House floor while debating an amendment to a Senate bill. The video quickly went viral online over the weekend.Paxton, who is also a Republican, issued a statement on Tuesday about the incident:"After much consideration, it is with profound disappointment that I call on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign at the end of this legislative session.

Amanza Smith has received a clean bill of health.

PHILADELPHIA - Pop singer Demi Lovato and rapper Ludacris will take the stage at Wawa's annual Fourth of July concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Wawa Welcome America Festival is two weeks long celebration across the city that features free family-friendly events, like Wawa Hoagie Day and four different nights of fireworks. The festivities will culminate with a concert on the Parkway headlined by GRAMMY award-winning singer Demi Lovato, whose catalog includes songs like "Heart Attack and "Sorry Not Sorry."Ludacris, an Atlanta-based rapper who is known for songs like ‘Act a Fool’ and ‘Roll Out', will perform ahead of Lovato. In addition to the concert on the Parkway, there will be other smaller concerts, including former Miss America Vanessa Williams singing patriotic music at Independence Mall on July 3. More information about Wawa's Welcome America Festival events can be found on their website.

PHILADELPHIA - There’s a promising new drug for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Recently approved by the FDA, Todd Legg participated in an experimental trial for the new drug at Penn Medicine."There’s a lot of people that have no hope, but we do. If we could get that to everybody," said Legg.Legg, 50, lives in the Scranton area and travels to Philadelphia every month for the treatment called Qalsody, formerly known as tofersen.The high school math teacher was diagnosed in August 2020 and entered the trial a few months later in October."Every 28 days we come down, as I say to my students, I get stabbed in the back," said Legg.Legg has a rare form of ALS identified as SOD1-ALS.

PA State Game Commission Warden Tyler Barnes searches a wooded early after multiple residents reported a black bear wondering the Roxborough and Andorra neighborhoods in Northwest Philadelphia, PA in 2019.. (Photo by Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Ge WRIGHT TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Game Commission is investigating a bear attack that left two young children with injuries. It happened Monday in Wright Township, Luzerne County as the children played in the driveway of their home. The children, ages 5 and 1, were treated for bites and/or scratches at Wilks-Barre General Hospital and later released. State officials say there are few details about the incident or what provoked the attack, but has set up two traps in the area.

PHILADELPHIA - The sweetest video captured the moment a little girl realized she was bringing her best friend home forever.Aubrey, who just turned 7 years old,  is in the back of her family's car when she is suddenly overcome with tears of joy, turning to cuddle her brother and new pet dog."She's crying over you, Alexia," the girl's mom Monique says in the background.And there's no doubt Alexia is just as excited to start a new life with her forever family!RELATED COVERAGE: Dog shot in Philadelphia learning to walk again after amputation surgery, PSPCA saysThe innocent dog's story began with tragedy, being found shot and terrified after crawling onto the porch of a Philadelphia home back in April.She was rescued by a Good Samaritan and nursed back to health by the Pennsylvania SPCA, where she was eventually adopted by Aubrey and her family."She is over the moon excited to be home! And we all love her so much!" Monique said.A happy ending for Alexia, and the start of a beautiful friendship for Aubrey!

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Pa. - The discovery of military weapons at a Pennsylvania home sparked the activation of a local bomb squad over the weekend.Pennsylvania State Police initially responded to the Northampton County home for a report of one grenade.When they arrived on scene, officers came to find there were actually two grenades.