When asked what I remember about Tupperware parties, I pulled out some of my pieces of Tupperware from long ago. Along with finding the “Bacon Keeper” that I have used for perhaps 35 years to refrigerate deli sandwich makings. I located an entire part of my life.

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then — what struggling young family did? When my two daughters were old enough. we made a deal. I would prepare the dinner. They would do the dishwashing and I’d be free.

What made me remember that? The Tupperware pieces I was looking at were of the pre-dishwasher type plastic that has not survived the heat very well in the many years since dishwashers have been taken for granted. My later pieces have withstood the dishwasher onslaught. They still look new.

In those days, we thought very little about most women’s designated roles in suburban society. Your husband went to work; you were home when the children arrived after school. Once in a while in the evening, you left the young ones in the care of their dad and went to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party.

It was fun. You saw 10, maybe 20 friends and acquaintances who had also escaped for an evening. It never occurred to any of us that no men were there. We played little games and took home small Tupperware pieces as prizes.

A representative demonstrated the “Tupperware seal”: how to make the containers airtight so we could serve the contents fresh and with pride. We shared coffee and cake provided by our hostess. Then we went home with renewed ability to face the next day and its chores.

Is it still the same today? Now that so many women have taken their place next to men in the working world, do Tupperware parties still exist? Do they fill the same needs? Do men also attend? Are some of the newer items designed to solve gentlemen’s storage problems?

Do we have Tupperware party equality at long last?

___

Ann T. Anthony (1924-2018), wrote this story for The Associated Press in 1996 when she was 71. She was married in 1946 — the year Tupperware was introduced — and attended Tupperware parties for years. She remembers the parties as events where friends could get together and buy from someone they trusted.

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Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to revitalize its business.

Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Inc. (PIAA) announced on Wednesday, Sept. 18 that the high school level of girl’s flag football is now a sanctioned sport.

“We’re thrilled that we can offer another opportunity for girls to participate in interscholastic athletics,” PIAA President Frank Majikes said. “This is the second girls’ sport in two years to be approved.”

The PIAA explained that a sport can be considered for sanctioning once it has adopted “a set of operational and safety standards set forward by a governing body.” Those standards must be used by members of the program.

For girls flag football, PIAA required that there be at least 100 teams throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That number was reached in April with 65 schools participating on the eastern side of the state thanks to the Eagles and 35 schools on the western side thanks to the Steelers.

The Eagles and the Steelers worked together over the last three seasons to grow the flag football program in Pa.

“When we launched our girls’ flag football league in 2022, we set an ambitious five-year goal to get the sport sanctioned in our state. Now, here we are three seasons later and two years ahead of schedule,” Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie said. “The sport’s organic growth is a credit to the participants, administrators, coaches, officials, and parents who helped raise the profile of girls’ flag football. We thank the PIAA for their leadership in recognizing a sport that has the power to unlock new pathways and opportunities for girls of all ages in every community.”

When the Eagles launched their flag football program, it started with just 16 schools in the spring of 2022 from the Philadelphia Public and Catholic Leagues. In 2023, it grew to 38 before reached 65 this year. There are currently over 1,600 girls playing on the eastern side of Pennsylvania.

The Eagles have helped with learn-to-play support as well as coaching and officiating clinics and much more.

The Birds also partnered with Operation Warm to design a new sports bra line called FLY:FWD specifically for young girls and women in flag football.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are credited with starting their girls flag football in 2022 with just six schools before eventually growing to 36 schools this year.

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Earlier this year, experts warned that Joro spiders could start showing up in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware this summer, spreading up from the southeastern U.S., where they have been proliferating.

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Joro spiders spotted in suburbs of Philadelphia

Now, there is a report of six of the creepy invasive crawlers in southeastern Pennsylvania on JoroWatch.com. (Yes, that’s a real website powered by the University of Georgia and other academic and environmental entities.)

Someone spotted the group of a half dozen or so colorful arachnids in the yard of a home in Warminster, Bucks County, on Sept. 5, 2024, JoroWatch said.

What is a Joro spider?

The yellow and black arachnids are native to East Asia, but the invasive arachnids have been around in Georgia for about a decade. A fall of 2023 peer-reviewed study conducted by David Coyle, a scientist and assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University, found that the species is “here to stay” in the U.S. as it spreads rapidly around the country.

As of October 2022, the species’ range spanned at least 120,000 square kilometers across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, according to the study. There were also reports of Joro spiders in Alabama, Maryland, Oklahoma and West Virginia. And the spiders are expected to make more East Coast states their home in the future.

“(The data from the study shows) that this spider is going to be able to inhabit most of the eastern U.S.,” Coyle said. “It shows that their comfort area in their native range matches up very well with much of North America.

“Barring some unforeseen circumstance, we expect the range of these things to continue expanding, likely to the north, and we’ve already seen that with some populations in Maryland.”

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Adding to nightmares, the spiders are light enough to travel through the air by a process called “ballooning,” making it even easier for them to spread. The “spiders move through the air by releasing gossamer threads to catch the wind and go airborne, at the mercy of air currents and electric fields, although human-mediated transport cannot be discounted,” Coyle wrote.

What does a Joro spider look like, how big is it?

Female Joro spiders, a.k.a. Trichonephila clavata, can have a body about 1 inch long and legs that span up to 4 inches, according to a 2022 Penn State Extension article. The females are brightly colored, whereas the males are brown.

But there is good news: Even though its palm of your hand size tends to freak people out, the species is relatively harmless to humans and pets.

Are Joro spiders dangerous?

While Joro spiders may appear frightening to some, they are relatively harmless to people and pets, a University of Georgia study from last year said. In fact, that study found that Joro spiders “may be the shyest spider ever documented.”

The spiders will only bite if they’re cornered and even then their fangs likely wouldn’t be large enough to pierce human skin, according to the University of Georgia study.

“Our paper shows that these spiders are really more afraid of you than the reverse,” said Andy Davis, lead author of the study and a research scientist in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology.

Another positive about the spiders: they don’t want to go inside homes, according to Coyle. They will instead spin webs on the outside of houses or other structures. If a Joro spider needs to be moved, Coyle suggests using a broom or stick to place it elsewhere.

Might Joro spiders spread further in the Delaware Valley soon?

The simple answer is maybe, but not to worry too much.

“In their native range, Jorō spiders can be found in relatively cold areas – the average January temperature of northern Honshu, Japan is 25–32 °F, similar to most of Pennsylvania,” the Penn State article said. “So it is likely that they will be able to spread throughout eastern North America at least as far north as Pennsylvania and possibly further in warmer, coastal areas.”

“Between 2014–22, Jorō spiders spread outward in all directions from the location they were initially found by 50–80 miles, or about 10 miles per year. At that rate, they may reach southeastern Pennsylvania in 35 years and northwestern Pennsylvania in 60 years. However, spiderlings are capable of moving tens to hundreds of miles via ballooning,” Penn State said. “Additionally, as they increase in numbers, the risk of human-mediated transport to new areas also increases. This means that the immediate risk of Jorō spiders appearing in Pennsylvania is relatively small but will increase year over year as they spread naturally, via high wind events, and through accidental human transport.”

University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology entomologist Dr. Doug Tallamy has been downplaying a potential Joro invasion.

“It’s possible but very low on the list of things we should be worried about,” he wrote earlier this year. Reached on Wednesday by NBC10, he wrote: “I think it’s a non issue that should not be blown out of proportion.”

How did Joro spiders get to the U.S. to begin with?

Joro spiders are native to East Asia. It’s believed the species likely made its way to the U.S. via a shipping container.

Are Joro spiders orb-weavers?

Joro spiders are in the family of orb-weavers, which spin large, orb-shaped webs. They look similar to garden spiders and banana spiders.

Do Joro spiders fly?

The pattern in which Joro spiders have spread “suggests it is primarily driven by natural dispersal mechanisms, such as ballooning,” according to Coyle’s study. Ballooning is when spiders move through the air like a parachute by releasing “sail-like trails of silk that lift them up and off into the wind,” per National Geographic. (Want to get a bit freaked out? Read the full Nat Geo story.)

The study said human-mediated transport can’t be discounted, either, in regard to the spread of the species.

What do Joro spiders eat?

Joro spiders aren’t exactly picky eaters. Coyle said they “don’t seem to care what gets in their web.” The spiders eat mosquitoes, yellowjackets, stink bugs and even spotted lanternflies — another invasive pest.

“They’re just as likely to eat brown marmorated stink bugs as they are to eat a Monarch butterfly,” he added. “To say they’re more beneficial than another spider is just simply wrong — they’re a spider — and if something gets caught in their web, it’s going to get eaten. And they don’t care if it’s a rare native pollinator and there are only a few of them left in the world or if it’s a brown marmorated stink bug.”

An interesting find from Coyle’s study is that Joro spiders are displacing native species, along with having other negative impacts. But it’s unclear exactly why other species are being negatively impacted by Joro spiders.

“These are not just benign spiders coming to catch and kill bad things; these are pushing out native species and catching and killing whatever happens to get in their webs,” Coyle said. “Are they bad or good? It’s very nuanced depending on your perspective.”

The Brandywine Valley SPCA (BVSPCA) is expanding to South Jersey to become the first Animal Welfare Organization in the country to operate in three states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

The shelter has partnered with the Animal Adoption Center (ACC) in Lindenwold “to expand life-saving initiatives in a unified effort and create positive change for animals in need across the tri-state area.”

Currently, BVSPCA operates and cares for more than 17,000 lost, stray, owner-surrendered, abused, and neglected animals in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, and the entire state of Delaware, all while maintaining a 93% live release rate.

The organization’s no-kill initiatives will continue with the new affiliation with AAC.

“We’re excited for the future, as we enter into this partnership to join the efforts of our dedicated staff and volunteers with the expertise of the Brandywine Valley SPCA to elevate our level of care for the animals we serve,” Kathryn Lambert, AAC Board Chair said.

“We see a real opportunity for growth and a need in this area of South Jersey, and we are committed to taking the steps necessary to bring our proven track record as a leader in animal welfare, and progressive programs and services into this community where there is still work to be done,” BVSPCA and AAC Chief Executive Officer Adam Lamb added.

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Earlier this year, BVSPCA extended its life-saving initiative into Central Pennsylvania with a new partnership with the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area (HSHA), which serves Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry counties.

Since the affiliation, officials from BVSPCA said HSHA has met the no-kill benchmark of more than 90% save rate for eight months in a row. BVSPCA’s work in Delaware also helped create the first no-skill state in the country.

Find the nearest location to support all the adoptable animals at theaacnj.org and bvspca.org.

If you’re not into being scared but still want to enjoy some fun fall festivities, continue reading for our guide to what’s on tap this autumn.

Philadelphia

Free Philadelphia Fall Arts Fest

Ensemble Arts is launching its 2024/2025 season with live performances and various showcases. A small ensemble from the Philadelphia Orchestra will perform and there will be a chance to design your own jewelry with the Carribean Community of Philadelphia.

Events begin at the Commonwealth Plaza on Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. with more happening at the Perelman Theater starting at 11:50 a.m.

Click here for more information.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Thousands of residents and families will head over to Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood for the 29th annual Mid-Autumn Festival as the community gives thanks under the Harvest Moon on Sept. 21.

The event runs from Noon to 8 p.m. on 10th Street from Arch to Winter streets.

There will be lion dances, Chinese opera performances, carnival games and much more.

Click here for more information.

Midtown Village Fall Festival

Midtown Village will be taken over by the community’s 17th annual Fall Festival from Noon to 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 with food, crafts and live music.

Organizers say the footprint for the one-day festival is:

• 13th Street – from Locust to Market streets
  · Sansom Street – from Broad to 12th streets
  · Drury Street – from Juniper to 13th streets
  · Chancellor Street – from Juniper to 13th streets
  · Chestnut Street – from Broad to 12th streets

Click here for more information.

Fringe Arts Festival

The Philadelphia Fringe Festival is running until Sept. 29 and features theater, film screenings and immersive experiences.

Click here for more information.

Fishtown Festivale

For the third year in a row, Frankford Avenue in Fishtown will be closed on Sept. 28 from Noon to 8 p.m. for the Fishtown Festivale.

There will be a dunk tank and carnival games as well as over 50 local art and retail vendors.

Click here for more information.

Pennsylvania

Fall Foliage Festival in Jim Thorpe

Every weekend from Oct. 5 through Oct. 20, visitors to Jim Thorpe can check out the Fall Foliage Festival with train rides, crafts, food and live music.

Click here for more information.

Downington Fall Fest

Great food, crafts and the Victory Beer Garden all come together to form the Downingtown Fall Fest on Sunday, Oct. 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event shuts down Green Street and East Pennsylvania Avenue in Chester County allowing vendors and visitors to enjoy the event.

Click here for more information.

Harvest Fest in Bethlehem

On Saturday, Oct. 12 from Noon to 5 p.m. adults 21 and up can explore shops, restaurants and the festival grounds on Bethlehem’s Historic Main Street.

Participants can try the food and “brews that make Bethlehem special.”

Click here for more information.

Octoberfest at Peddler’s Village

For the eighth year in a row Peddler’s Village is hosting their Octoberfest bringing visitors a weekend stuffed with food trucks, entertainment and family-friendly activities.

The event happens in Bucks County on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 13 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

While you’re there don’t forget to check out their free Scarecrows in the Village tradition.

Click here for more information.

Fall Fest in Upper Gwynedd Township

Fun, rides and games including a petting zoo and hayrides will take over at Parkside Place on Saturday, Oct. 19. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is free.

During the fest, former Philadelphia Eagle Hollis Thomas will make an appearance!

Click here for more information.

New Jersey

Oktoberfest at Morey’s Piers in Wildwood

The Mariner’s Pier will be open every Friday through Sunday from now until mid-October for its annual Oktoberfest. Live music as well as German-styled foods and beer will be on tap.

• Fridays from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• Saturdays from Noon to 10:30 p.m.
• Sundays from Noon to 5 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Mullica Hill Fall Festival and Living History Weekend

For the 52nd year, Mullica Hill is hosting its annual Fall Festival with lots of family fun. Everything from live music to glass-blowing demonstrations and food trucks on Oct. 12 and 13.

The living history part of the festivities will feature authentic Civil War camps and battle reenactments.

Click here for more information.

Tri-State Sunflower Festival and Pumpkin Fest at Dalton Farms

You can pick you own sunflowers and pumpkins as well as enjoy live music, a corn maze and tractor rides at Dalton Farms in Swedesboro this fall season.

• Tri-State Sunflower Festival runs until Oct. 27
• Pumpkin Fest runs Sept. 21 through Oct. 27

Click here for more information.

Fintastic Pumpkin Glow at Adventure Aquarium

A new sort of fin-friendly animal is taking over at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden this spooky season until Nov. 3. The aquarium said that super-sized aquatic animals made of pumpkins are all over for some fun.

There will be underwater pumpkin carvers and other illuminating surprises for visitors of all ages.

Click here for more information.

Kids Boo Fest at Six Flags

Family-friendly rides, a trick or treat trail and various boo fest-themed activities make up the Kids Boo Fest at Six Flags Great Adventure from now until Nov. 3

Click here for more information.

For the big kids, Six Flags is also hosting their annual Fright Fest.

Delaware

Fall Fest in Wyoming

The pumpkins and apples are waiting to be picked at Fifers Orchards in Wyoming, Del. The farm will have family-friendly attractions along with homemade apple cider and kettle corn.

Fall Fest runs from Sept. 21 through Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival

Hundreds of vendors and local crafters will descend upon Delaware for the Apple-Scrapple Festival in October. There will also be carnival rides, a food court and a Little Miss Pageant.

• Friday, Oct. 11 starting at 4 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 12 starting at 9 a.m.

Click here for more information.

Punkin Ale Fest

Food trucks and local vendors will be at the annual Punkin Ale Fest hosted by Dogfish Head at the Milton Brewery on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Click here for more information.

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The district serves thousands of lunches a week, some hot and some cold, but soon, officials said a temporary plan will go into effect where students will be only offered several cold grab-and-go lunch options.

School officials said this situation is due to the district experiencing significant staffing shortages.

“Our intention was to be proactive so families know a plan was in place to pivot in staffing situations,” said Upper Dublin School District Superintendent Dr. Laurie Smith.

The problem came when families were alerted to this change, which did not go over well on social media. There was anger, frustration, and concern for kids who didn’t already get hot meals at home, and even outcry over the food service staff shortage.

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Parents who didn’t want to be named said they were frustrated with high tax dollars, adding that all kids should have the choice between hot and cold lunches.

The social media outcry prompted the district to send a new notification to families explaining the issue is short-term and in no way reflects the district’s ability to hire and retain staff.

School officials told parents that the cold item selection would be what students typically see in the cafeteria, which includes sandwiches and salads.

Smith says she apologizes for all the confusion and adds that they have posted jobs in hopes of filling significant holes in the food service staff.

But, the person they have in mind is currently being investigated by the county’s District Attorney’s office.

In Collingdale, a parking spot for the police chief has been empty since January of 2024.

A plan to fill that spot was on the agenda for the town’s council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.

But, the meeting took a turn when members of the Delaware County Fraternal Order of Police tried to speak, but council president Ryan Hastings wouldn’t allow it since they weren’t on the speaking list or residents of Collingdale.

The candidate in question is Rhaheem Blanden who has been with Chester City Police for more than 15 years. Most recently, he’s been a corporal detective of major crimes.

Blanden showed up to the meeting and some did not like that.

He stood face to face with one person before eventually stopping to talk to NBC10.

“I don’t know anything about a criminal investigation with CID. That’s all I know and all I have to say,” Blanden said.

The town’s council decided not to vote on the new chief but the FOP says they are not backing down.

“I don’t know what their rush is to hire this individual so fast. They just posted the job posting on Thursday night,” Delco FOP president Chris Eiserman said. “I think the council president is arrogant, I think he’s going to do what he wants to do. I can tell you this, we’re going to be here next month, and we’re gonna be here with five hundred cops and like a thousand teamsters.”

Eiserman claimed that back in April in Folcroft, Blanden allegedly tipped off a suspect who was wanted for attempted homicide five minutes before officers raided the house.

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office confirmed with NBC10 that they have a criminal investigation ongoing into Blanden.

“He put every officer at danger by calling this individual and attempting to let them know that the SWAT team was coming to the house,” Eiserman said.

Blanden is not a member of the Delco FOP but he is a member of the Chester City Fraternal Order of Police which did not respond to NBC10’s request for comment.

NBC10 also reached out earlier on Tuesday, Sept. 17 to Blanden to give him a chance to share his perspective.

He did not respond to our calls, text messages, or Facebook requests. Blanden also did not answer when our crews knocked on his door.

Residents have mixed opinions.

One woman who works in Collingdale told NBC10 that she thinks, “they should pump the brakes on electing him or giving him that power, because you don’t know who you’re putting in office now, which can jeopardize the whole community.”

“I mean, he hasn’t been convicted. You know, in this country, should be innocent until proven guilty,” Collingdale resident Mike Robinson said.

Collingdale Police says they are not commenting on this issue.

NBC10 also reached out to Collingdale Mayor Donna Matteo-Spadea to ask why there is a rush to hire before the investigation is complete, but she also has not responded.

The council in Delaware Co. does not have another candidate to recommend for Collingdale Chief.

But, even if Blanden is exonerated after the investigation, Eiserman explained why he doesn’t think Blanden should be chosen.

“I think, ethically and morally, what he did is wrong. So I don’t think he should serve in the position of chief of police,” he said.

Collingdale’s town council says that it will meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

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Nancy Saul has been leading the paper carriers in Havertown for four and a half decades.

The group consists of 21 kids and teens who have been hard at work pounding the pavement and delivering “The News and Press of Delaware County” across the town.

“It’s been meaningful and rewarding to see the kids learn so much,” Saul told NBC10.

Saul added, “They learn to manage money, maintain records, social skills, people skills, problem-solving, time management.”

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Dennis Donnely, one of Sauls’ carriers back in the 80s but now a police detective, says his time delivering newspapers was a good experience.

“It was good for my life experience. Now, just because that’s I deal with people all the time now and I feel like that helped me in my career,” said Donnely.

When Saul started the group, she said they had about 6,000 customers; now, they only have 480, which has motivated them to keep going.

“I’ll be here. As long as the paper. The paper kids are here,” Saul said.

The courts sided with the secretary of state’s office under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in rejecting West’s candidacy paperwork. The decision also sets in motion the process for counties to start printing, testing and sending out mail-in ballots to voters who requested one ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

“As soon as the court rules on that, we’ll certify the official list and then counties can complete their preparations to mail out ballots and to have voters, if they choose, go to a county election office to apply in person,” Secretary of State Al Schmidt said in an interview earlier Monday.

The court case had been among a raft of partisan legal maneuvering around third-party candidates, as backers of Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris had aimed to derail third-party candidates who might siphon away support — or to help others who might hurt their opponent.

In an unsigned one-page order, the state Supreme Court said it had affirmed the lower Commonwealth Court decision. In it, the court had agreed with the Schmidt’s office that West’s campaign lacked the required affidavits for 14 of West’s 19 presidential electors.

The deadline to submit them was Aug. 1.

Now, Trump and Harris will appear on Pennsylvania’s ballot with the Green Party’s Jill Stein and the Libertarian Party’s Chase Oliver. Stein and Oliver submitted petitions to get on Pennsylvania’s presidential ballot without being challenged.

The Nov. 5 election is expected to be close in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes are tied with Illinois for fifth-most, and arguably are the most awarded by any battleground state.

Counties, which typically send out mail-in ballots weeks before the election to voters who request them, have been waiting for the court to rule on the final ballot-access cases. Now that it has, county election officials say they will need time to test, print and mail the ballots.

That process could drag into October, depending on the county.

Under state law, counties must start delivering or mailing the official mail-in ballots to voters who applied for one as soon as a ballot is certified and available.

Counties may also have mail-in ballots available earlier for over-the-counter service for voters who come into a county election office and apply for a ballot in person.

The deadline for counties to receive a completed mail-in ballot is when polls close, by law, at 8 p.m. on Election Day. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 29, one week before the Nov. 5 election.

___

Follow Marc Levy at https://x.com/timelywriter.

Weeks after beer distributors, supermarkets and other businesses with retail liquor licenses were allowed to apply for permits to sell ready-to-drink cocktails, the booze is now for sale in Pennsylvania.

Starting on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, licensed retailers can begin selling RTDCs — that’s how the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (a.k.a. the PLCB) describes the drinks with alcohol by volume ranging from 0.5% to 12.5%.

Act 86, which allowed for the RTDC sales was signed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro back in July.

Under the bill, about 12,000 restaurants, bars, beer distributors, grocery stores and convenience stores that are already licensed to sell alcohol can get the special permit to sell the canned drinks. Under the previous law, only the state-owned wine and liquor stores were allowed to sell the canned drinks.

There are some stipulations on when the drinks can be sold.

“Restaurant, hotel, distributor and importing distributor licensees may apply for and obtain RTDC permits, which allow them to sell RTDC-to-go on Mondays through Saturdays until 11:00 p.m.,” the PLCB wrote. “Restaurant and hotel licensees with a Sunday sales permit may sell RTDC until 11:00 p.m. on Sundays.”

The PLCB began accepting RTDC sales applications on Aug. 27, 2024. Each permit costs $2,500 per establishment and there will be an annual renewal fee of 2% of the RTDCs sold to be consumed elsewhere.

Ready-to-drink canned cocktails have boomed in popularity in recent years. Legislative analysts project the growing sales will bring in about $35 million a year in state revenue by the fiscal year of 2028-2029.

Giant announced that it would be selling ready-to-drink cocktails at nearly all of its Giant and Martin’s stores with operating beer and wine departments in the state.

“Our stores have been a destination for beer and wine since 2011 and 2016, respectively, and we have heard from our customers about the convenience of being able to grab ready-to-drink cocktails while grocery shopping too,” Rebecca Lupfer, senior vice president and chief merchant, The GIANT Company, said in a statement the company released.

Shapiro called the boozy drink sales a win.

“Thanks to our bipartisan budget, you will soon be able to go get ready-to-drink cocktails – some made right here in Pennsylvania – at places like grocery stores and gas stations,” Shapiro said in an August news release. “…This is what real freedom looks like, and we did it in a way that protects taxpayers and supports our state workers.”

The man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students has been booked into jail in Boise, where his trial was moved last week, Ada County records showed on Sunday.

Idaho’s Supreme Court on Thursday moved the trial of Bryan Kohberger after his defense attorneys argued that extensive media coverage and strong emotions in the community of Moscow, Idaho, where the killings occurred, would make it difficult to find an impartial jury.

Kohberger — a Pennsylvania native who was captured in the Poconos — is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, who were killed in the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022.

When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

The new trial venue in Boise is about 300 miles from Moscow. Prosecutors unsuccessfully argued they could find impartial jurors in Moscow by bringing in a large pool to choose from. They also said the move inconveniences the family members of victims, attorneys, and witnesses.

Officials have said that Kohberger traveled in the region the night of the killings, that his DNA was found at the crime scene, and that surveillance video and cellphone data shows Kohberger visiting the area at least a dozen times before the killings.

Kohberger’s attorneys said in court filings that he was just out for a drive that night, which he often does to hike, run or look at the moon and stars.

Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. The trial is set for June 2025.

He was the CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund, a world-traveled executive who was sought after for speaking engagements and prominent board positions.

His wealth and connections got him flagged by Republicans as someone who could both raise campaign cash and pay his own way for a Senate campaign.

But McCormick’s Wall Street days haven’t been such an asset of late. They provided grist for attacks by Republican primary rivals in McCormick’s failed 2022 run for Senate and now by Democrats in his challenge to third-term Sen. Bob Casey.

Casey, in speeches and ads, hammers away at investments made by Bridgewater Associates while McCormick was CEO, including in Chinese companies that are considered part of Beijing’s military and surveillance industrial complex.

“While I was fighting for union rights and fighting for working families in Pennsylvania, he was making a lot of money investing in China,” Casey recently told a union crowd at a Teamsters hall in suburban Harrisburg. “He not only invested in Chinese companies, he invested in companies that built the Chinese military.”

McCormick declined an interview request.

The need to fend off accusations that he profited at America’s expense comes at an unfortunate time for McCormick as China’s relationship with Washington has grown increasingly tense.

But Bridgewater was hardly alone.

U.S. investment in Chinese companies surged while McCormick was Bridgewater’s CEO as hedge funds, institutional investors and fund managers plunged money into those same companies.

Some still do, according to a congressional report released this year after both the Trump and Biden administrations tried to block American investment in what they viewed as China’s military and surveillance apparatus.

America’s political community soured on China as early as 2016, but the U.S. financial sector “plowed right through that,” said Derek Scissors, a China specialist at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington who served on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

The economic ties extend beyond Wall Street. Semiconductor companies, farmers, tech and others in manufacturing rely on China for customers or components, Scissors said.

As Bridgewater’s CEO in 2019, McCormick described China as America’s “most defining bilateral relationship of our time,” even as calls began in Washington to block American investments in Chinese companies that could pose a threat to U.S. security.

As a candidate, McCormick has described China as an “existential” threat to the United States. He called for the federal government to develop a comprehensive strategy for America to outperform China economically and technologically, and said his experience with China means he can go “toe to toe” with its government on trade issues.

But McCormick also defends himself, both minimizing Bridgewater’s investments in China, saying it was 2% of the company’s assets, and describing investment in China as “unavoidable” because of client expectations and the rapid growth of that country’s economy.

In a book he published last year, he wrote: “As is, U.S. dollars finance Communist China’s most egregious acts and ambitions.”

While campaigning, McCormick barely talks about his time at the hedge fund. If he mentions it at all, he tells audiences he ran a “financial firm” or an “investment firm.”

Instead, he dwells on other entries on his resume. Those include playing football and wrestling in high school, graduating from the U.S. military academy at West Point and serving with the Army in the first Gulf War, where he won a Bronze Star.

But if he is not talking up his Wall Street days, Wall Street does not seem to care. In his two campaigns for Senate, super political action committees that support McCormick have raised tens of millions of dollars and counting from the finance world.

McCormick, 59, earned a Ph.D from Princeton University, ran the online auction house FreeMarkets Inc., which had its name on a skyscraper in Pittsburgh during the tech boom, and served in senior positions in President George W. Bush’s administration.

There, he likes to say, he gained a reputation as a tough negotiator with the Chinese when tasked with Commerce Department policy over export controls of sensitive technologies.

When Bridgewater Associates hired McCormick in 2009 to be president, its founder, Ray Dalio, had a reputation for being bullish on China.

Today, Bridgewater is as prominent as any foreign investment firm in China.

Regulatory disclosures in China show that it has at least 10 billion renminbi — or at least $1.4 billion, and maybe much more — invested in Chinese assets there, said Harry Handley, a senior associate at Z-Ben Advisors, a financial advisory firm based in Shanghai.

That is the most of any foreign firm, Handley said.

McCormick, who was an executive at Bridgewater for 12 years, joined the company when investment banks, venture capital firms and hedge funds were fueling an investment boom in a growing Chinese economy.

“The Chinese economy was doing well for a long time and there was money to be made there,” said Greg Brown, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor of finance who researches hedge funds.

McCormick spent his last five years at Bridgewater as co-CEO or CEO, and those were big years for investing in China. That is when Chinese regulators relaxed restrictions over foreign investment in stocks and bonds, unleashing several years of particularly heavy investment, Brown and others say.

Bridgewater forged a reputation among foreign firms as an aggressive investor in Chinese companies — “over the past few years they’ve kind of dominated among the global firms in China,” Handley said — and reputedly handled money for the Chinese government.

In early 2022, McCormick left Bridgewater to run for Senate in Pennsylvania in a seven-way GOP primary.

Bridgewater’s connections with China followed him.

In one attack by a Republican primary rival, a video by Mehmet Oz ‘s campaign showed “finance bros” Chad and Tad at a bar when Tad asks Chad, “Do you think saying ‘I invest in China’ is a good pickup line?” Chad responds, “Investing in foreign adversaries always plays!”

At a rally days before the 2022 primary, former President Donald Trump, aiming to help Oz, his endorsed candidate, derided McCormick as having been with a company that “managed money for communist China.”

McCormick lost narrowly to Oz.

This summer, Casey’s campaign launched two ads that ran in Pennsylvania’s major TV markets attacking McCormick over Bridgewater’s investments in companies tied to China’s military.

“Dave McCormick sold us out to make a fortune,” say hard-hatted speakers in one ad. “That’s the real Dave McCormick.”

McCormick has tried to tie Casey to China, saying Casey had money invested in Chinese companies through mutual funds and that the Casey-supported clean-energy policies of the Biden administration are making the U.S. more reliant on Chinese lithium batteries and solar panels.

Meanwhile, each candidate is trying to show that he is the tougher one on China. That has put the contrast between McCormick the CEO and McCormick the candidate into sharp relief, with McCormick explicitly calling for an end to U.S. investment in technologies in China that are critical to national security or tied to its military.

“McCormick has changed his tune because he’s a political type,” Scissors said. “If he was in the business community, he’d still be pushing for relations with China. Because that’s what they do.”

___

Follow Marc Levy at https://x.com/timelywriter.

The Middletown Township Police Department took to their Facebook page to explain what happened after the 911 call center was flooded with calls.

The sound came from a home in the Snowball Gate development on Silver Spruce Road, in Levittown, police said.

A large fire could be seen coming from the house following the explosion, officials said.

‘There’s nothing of memories saved’

On Sunday, the Campbell family spoke to NBC10’s Leah Uko while standing outside their gutted four-bedroom house.

The Campbells — a family of five — were not home at the time of the incident — out for dinner, they said.

“I tried to check our cameras and they were already, I guess, melted and down,” homeowner Jenna Campbell said.

All three of the family’s dogs were saved from the property thanks to them being in the sunroom, the only room in the house not to catch fire.

The rest of the home was destroyed.

“I lost all my precious memories, there’s nothing of memories saved,” Jenna Campbell said.

“We have to start over,” Timothy Campbell said. “Stupid mistakes.”

Community rallies around Campbell family

Throughout Sunday, neighbors rallied about the Campbells. Bringing food and other items for the family.

It was not easy to rest the night before.

“My daughter cried herself to sleep in my arms,” Jenna Campbell said.

Officials with the fire and police departments are investigating exactly what caused the explosion and fire.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

A 2013 cold case in Bucks County is back on the unsolved list again after charges against one of the men accused of murdering a bar owner and raping his fiancée were dropped.

In January of 2024, Bucks County detectives said that Thomas Delgado, 50, of Philadelphia was one of the men who broke into a Hilltown Township home on Jan.18, 2013, murdered Joseph Canazaro and raped his fiancée.

But, just eight months later, on Monday, Sept. 9, all but two of the 34 charges against Delgado were dropped by a judge.

The murder of Joseph Canazaro

On Jan. 18, 2013, shortly after 10 a.m., Bucks County 911 officials received a call from a home on the 300 block of Swartley Road in Hilltown Township. The officials tried to respond but the caller was no longer on the line, according to the affidavit.

Then about a minute later, the dispatchers received another call from a nearby house. A woman was on the line and said she was calling from her neighbor’s home. She told the dispatchers that two armed men broke into her home, took her family hostage and may have kidnapped her fiancé, later identified as Joseph Canazaro. She also reported that her fiancé’s pickup truck was stolen as well as other things from the home.

Police responded to the home and found Canazaro’s body in the garage with his hands bound by zip ties, officials said. An autopsy later confirmed that he died from multiple stab wounds and his death was ruled a homicide.

Detectives then spoke with Canazaro’s fiancée. She told investigators two gunmen entered her home earlier that morning and approached her and Canazaro inside their bedroom.

The two men then proceeded to zip-tie the two victims by the legs and with their hands behind their backs, according to the affidavit.

Canazaro was then led around the house by one of the suspects while another suspect stayed with the woman and Canazaro’s younger son, investigators said.

Thomas Delgado was accused of being the suspect who had stayed with the woman and her son. Delgado was accused of taking Canazaro’s fiancée into a different room and raping her.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

The two men then took the woman and the boy down into the basement of the home sometime later and left them there with instructions to wait for two hours, officials said.

After she believed the two men left, the woman was able to get out of the zip ties and help the boy escape, according to the affidavit.

The woman said she then took the boy and their family dog to their neighbor’s house to call 911.

Canazaro’s eldest son was at school during the entire ordeal, investigators said.

 At the time of his murder, Canazaro was the owner Finn McCool’s Tavern in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

If you have any information on the murder of Joseph Canazaro, please call Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354 or Hilltown Township Police at 215-453-6011.

According to police, just before 10 p.m., state troopers responded to the area of Interstate 95 northbound at mile marker 6.4 to Interstate 476 north in Ridley Township for a report of a two-vehicle crash with unknown injuries called in by a witness who passed by the scene.

When troopers arrived on the scene, police said they found the crash on the I-95 ramp to I-476 north just prior to MacDade Boulevard.

Troopers found what appeared to be a two-vehicle crash in the right shoulder blocking the right travel lane on the ramp, according to police.

Police said preliminary investigation revealed that a brown or dark gray-colored 2010 Chevrolet Malibu was disabled and that the driver — identified as 33-year-old Joshua Waltz of Odessa, Delaware — was outside his vehicle standing at the rear bumper.

Then a gray 2010 Mazda 5 traveled on the right shoulder and made contact with the right concrete barrier and guide rail before it dragged itself along the barrier for approximately 1/4 mile before striking Waltz and the rear bumper of his car, police said.

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The driver of the Mazda — identified as 29-year-old Clinton Martin of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania — was pronounced dead on the scene from an apparent gunshot wound, police said. Waltz was found under the Mazda and pronounced dead on the scene.

Police are investigating this incident as a homicide.

Troopers are asking that anyone driving in the area during the time of this incident that have a vehicle equipped with a dash cam or any other mobile recording devices on their vehicles to contact Pennsylvania State Police to assist with this investigation.

Loved ones speak out

The family of one of the men killed told NBC10’s Brian Sheehan that he was a hard worker and gentle giant. In the midst of their grief, they are trying to piece this mystery together and desperately want to know what led up to all of this.

“I planned to grow old with this man. I mean, he had a heart of gold,” Aleah Wilson said.

Wilson is the girlfriend of Clinton Martin. She, along with his mother and siblings are devastated. They are trying to grasp the fact that Martin is never coming home.

“I’m heartbroken. I can’t believe somebody took my son. I’m mad. I’m hurt and I’m mad,” Constance Newton, Martin’s mother, said. “He drives fast. I think he got under somebody’s skin, and they didn’t like it.”

His sister, Clinita Martin, said, “It’s a tragedy and I just wish I can bring him back. And I just feel like I wasn’t there to help him.”

Wilson said that she was planning to spend the rest of her life with Martin who was a dedicated store manager at Dollar General. She told NBC10 that Martin was a loving man to her five children.

“Please. Please. Anybody. Just anybody. Please, just tell us something. They got cameras somewhere. Somebody gotta know something,” she said.

The state’s high court ruled on procedural grounds, saying a lower court that found the mandate unenforceable should not have taken up the case because it did not draw in the election boards in all 67 counties. Counties administer the nuts and bolts of elections in Pennsylvania, but the left-leaning groups that filed the case only sued two of them, Philadelphia and Allegheny counties.

Commonwealth Court two weeks ago had halted enforcement of the handwritten dates on exterior envelopes. The Supreme Court’s reversal of that decision raises the prospect that thousands of ballots that arrive in time might get thrown out in a key swing state in what is expected to be a close presidential contest.

Far more Democrats than Republicans vote by mail in the state. In recent elections, older voters have been disproportionately more likely to have had their mail-in ballots invalidated because of exterior envelope date problems.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley in a release called it a major victory for election integrity “that will protect commonsense mail ballot safeguards and help voters cast their ballots with confidence.”

Lawyers who helped represent the 10 community organizations that sued said in a statement that the decision left open the possibility of more litigation on the topic.

“Thousands of voters are at risk of having their ballots rejected in November for making a meaningless mistake,” said Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia. She urged voters to “carefully read and follow the instructions for submitting a mail-in ballot to reduce the number of ballots being rejected for trivial paperwork errors.”

The justices ruled 4-3, with two Democrats joining both Republicans on the Supreme Court to vacate the Commonwealth Court decision.

The dissent by three other Democratic justices said the high court should have taken up the dispute.

“A prompt and definitive ruling on the constitutional question presented in this appeal is of paramount public importance inasmuch as it will affect the counting of ballots in the upcoming general election,” wrote Justice David Wecht. He and the two other dissenters would have ruled on the matter based on written briefs.

The lawsuit, brought in May, argued that the mandate was not enforceable under a state constitutional provision that says all elections are “free and equal.”

Based on recent Pennsylvania elections, more than 10,000 ballots in this year’s general election might be thrown out over bad or missing envelope dates, which could be enough to swing the presidential race. Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes make it the largest prize among the seven swing states.

In previous Pennsylvania elections, ballots have been rejected for lacking any date on the envelope or for clearly inaccurate dates, such ones in the future or before mail-in ballots were printed. Although state law requires envelope dates, election officials do not use them to ensure ballots arrive on time. Mail-in ballots are logged in and time-stamped when received, and must arrive at county elections offices before polls close on Election Day.

Pennsylvania voters will also decide this fall whether to replace incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, with Republican challenger Dave McCormick. Also on the ballot are 228 state legislative contests and elections for state treasurer, auditor general and attorney general.

Last Friday inside Dolyestown’s C. Ferry Home, Pat Cozzi was behind the counter when she saw an elderly woman with white hair stuff a Turkish pillowcase cover in her bag, and she has the surveillance video to prove it.

Léelo en español aquí

Patty White, the owner of another business, the Paper Unicorn, saw the same elderly woman inside her store as well Friday stealing from the shelves. In this case, the woman was shopping in the store with another woman.

“The woman with her I think she said was her daughter,” White said.

Store owners claim both women went into multiple stores throughout the town.

“Theft is big thing for the business, it happens on a regular basis. We are all small businesses, its been a tough year and we just can’t have it continue,” White said.

If you recognize the woman and the other person she was with during the theft in the photos above, you are urged to contact police.

When asked what I remember about Tupperware parties, I pulled out some of my pieces of Tupperware from long ago. Along with finding the “Bacon Keeper” that I have used for perhaps 35 years to refrigerate deli sandwich makings. I located an entire part of my life.

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then — what struggling young family did? When my two daughters were old enough. we made a deal. I would prepare the dinner. They would do the dishwashing and I’d be free.

What made me remember that? The Tupperware pieces I was looking at were of the pre-dishwasher type plastic that has not survived the heat very well in the many years since dishwashers have been taken for granted. My later pieces have withstood the dishwasher onslaught. They still look new.

In those days, we thought very little about most women’s designated roles in suburban society. Your husband went to work; you were home when the children arrived after school. Once in a while in the evening, you left the young ones in the care of their dad and went to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party.

It was fun. You saw 10, maybe 20 friends and acquaintances who had also escaped for an evening. It never occurred to any of us that no men were there. We played little games and took home small Tupperware pieces as prizes.

A representative demonstrated the “Tupperware seal”: how to make the containers airtight so we could serve the contents fresh and with pride. We shared coffee and cake provided by our hostess. Then we went home with renewed ability to face the next day and its chores.

Is it still the same today? Now that so many women have taken their place next to men in the working world, do Tupperware parties still exist? Do they fill the same needs? Do men also attend? Are some of the newer items designed to solve gentlemen’s storage problems?

Do we have Tupperware party equality at long last?

___

Ann T. Anthony (1924-2018), wrote this story for The Associated Press in 1996 when she was 71. She was married in 1946 — the year Tupperware was introduced — and attended Tupperware parties for years. She remembers the parties as events where friends could get together and buy from someone they trusted.

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Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to revitalize its business.

Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

The Idaho Supreme Court’s order appointing a new judge and transferring the trial set for June 2025 comes in response to a ruling from 2nd District Judge John Judge, who said extensive media coverage of the case, the spreading of misinformation on social media and statements by public officials made it doubtful that Bryan Kohberger could receive a fair trial in university town of Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger faces four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, and prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted. The four University of Idaho students were killed some time in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, in a rental house near the campus.

The ruling means that all hearings and other proceedings in the case will now be held at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, before 4th District Judge Steven Hippler. The Boise building is much larger than the courthouse in Moscow, with bigger courtrooms, space for overflow seating and a larger security area for screening visitors. It also has protected routes for sensitive witnesses to enter and leave the courtroom — something that Judge had noted the Latah County courthouse lacked.

The judge also ordered Kohberger to be transferred to Ada County.

Kohberger’s defense team sought the change of venue, saying strong emotions in the close-knit community and constant news coverage would make it impossible to find an impartial jury in the small university town where the killings occurred.

But prosecutors opposed the switch, arguing that any problems with potential bias could be resolved by simply calling a larger pool of potential jurors and questioning them carefully. They noted the inconvenience of forcing attorneys, witnesses, family members of the victims and others to travel to a different city.

The right to a fair trial and impartial jurors is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, and it is not uncommon for a trial to be moved to a new location in an effort to protect those rights.

Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, opted to stand silent when asked to enter a plea in the case last year, and so a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf by the judge.

Authorities have said that cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims’ neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings; that he traveled in the region that night, returning to Pullman, Washington, along a roundabout route; and that his DNA was found at the crime scene.

His lawyers said in a court filing he was merely out for a drive that night, “as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars.”

Police arrested Kohberger six weeks after the killings at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he was spending winter break.

Former President Donald Trump will campaign Friday in Western states as his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris keeps her focus on one of the biggest battleground prizes in the East, Pennsylvania.

Trump is scheduled to hold what’s being billed as a news conference at his Los Angeles-area golf club. He’ll speak at the seaside club perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean before heading to northern California for a fundraiser, followed by a rally in Las Vegas, the largest city in swing state Nevada.

Harris, meanwhile, heads to Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre on Friday, campaigning in counties where Trump won in 2016 and 2020, as she tries to capitalize on her momentum after Tuesday night’s debate.

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It’s her second day of back-to-back rallies after holding two events in North Carolina, another swing state, on Thursday. Her campaign is aiming to hit every market in every battleground state over four days, with stops by Harris, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and other surrogates in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.

While speaking in Charlotte, Harris took a victory lap for her debate performance in which she needled Trump and kept him on the defensive. Recounting one moment while campaigning in North Carolina, she mocked Trump for saying he had “concepts of a plan” for replacing the Affordable Care Act.

“Concepts. Concepts. No actual plan. Concepts,” she said as the crowd roared with laughter.

Her campaign said she raised $47 million from 600,000 donors in the 24 hours after her debate with Trump.

Harris said the candidates “owe it to voters to have another debate.” But Trump said he won’t agree to face off with her again.

Trump’s morning event will mark the second Friday in a row that the Republican has scheduled a news conference, though at his last appearance in New York, the former president didn’t take any questions. Instead, the Republican for nearly an hour railed against women who have accused him of sexual misconduct over the years, resurrecting the allegations in great detail before his debate with Harris.

It’s unclear whether Trump plans to speak about any subject in particular at Friday’s news conference, but his campaign has added more to his schedule since early August as he tries to contrast himself with Harris. She has not held a news conference since becoming a presidential candidate and the Democrat has sat for just one in-depth interview.

Her campaign has said she will start doing more interviews with local media outlets in battleground states.

After appearing at his golf club in upscale Rancho Palos Verdes, Trump will head to a fundraiser in the afternoon in the Bay Area town of Woodside that is being hosted by billionaire software developer Tom Siebel and his wife, Stacey Siebel. Tom Siebel is the second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and surrogate for Harris.

Attendees will pay at least $3,300 per person or raise $10,000 for the campaign, according to an invitation. Top-tier donors will get a photo, reception and roundtable, paying $500,000 for a couple to be on the host committee or $150,000 per person to be a co-host.

It’s Trump’s second fundraising stop in California in as many days as he tries to make up fundraising ground against Harris.

Even before she raked in cash after the debate, the vice president reported raising $361 million in August from nearly 3 million donors, her first full month as a candidate after replacing President Joe Biden. Trump brought in $130 million over the same period. Harris’ campaign reported that it started September with $109 million more on hand than Trump’s did.

On Friday night, Trump heads to Las Vegas, where he’ll have a rally in the city’s downtown area. Trump was in the city last month for a brief stop to promote his proposal to end federal taxes on workers’ tips, something that’s expected to especially resonate in the tourist city, where much of the service-based economy includes workers who rely on tips. He announced a new proposal Thursday to end taxes on overtime pay.

The swing state is one that Trump narrowly lost in 2016 and 2020 and is among about half a dozen that both campaigns are heavily focused on.

The Republican presidential ticket has visited Clark County, Nevada, four times since June. Trump has held campaign events in Las Vegas three times, while his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, held a rally in suburban Henderson in July.

The Democratic ticket also has visited four times, although two of those campaign events were by President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race. Harris and Walz held a joint rally in Las Vegas last month, and Walz visited the city again Tuesday.

Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles, Chris Megerian in Washington and Tom Verdin in Sacramento contributed to this report.

When asked what I remember about Tupperware parties, I pulled out some of my pieces of Tupperware from long ago. Along with finding the “Bacon Keeper” that I have used for perhaps 35 years to refrigerate deli sandwich makings. I located an entire part of my life.

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then — what struggling young family did? When my two daughters were old enough. we made a deal. I would prepare the dinner. They would do the dishwashing and I’d be free.

What made me remember that? The Tupperware pieces I was looking at were of the pre-dishwasher type plastic that has not survived the heat very well in the many years since dishwashers have been taken for granted. My later pieces have withstood the dishwasher onslaught. They still look new.

In those days, we thought very little about most women’s designated roles in suburban society. Your husband went to work; you were home when the children arrived after school. Once in a while in the evening, you left the young ones in the care of their dad and went to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party.

It was fun. You saw 10, maybe 20 friends and acquaintances who had also escaped for an evening. It never occurred to any of us that no men were there. We played little games and took home small Tupperware pieces as prizes.

A representative demonstrated the “Tupperware seal”: how to make the containers airtight so we could serve the contents fresh and with pride. We shared coffee and cake provided by our hostess. Then we went home with renewed ability to face the next day and its chores.

Is it still the same today? Now that so many women have taken their place next to men in the working world, do Tupperware parties still exist? Do they fill the same needs? Do men also attend? Are some of the newer items designed to solve gentlemen’s storage problems?

Do we have Tupperware party equality at long last?

___

Ann T. Anthony (1924-2018), wrote this story for The Associated Press in 1996 when she was 71. She was married in 1946 — the year Tupperware was introduced — and attended Tupperware parties for years. She remembers the parties as events where friends could get together and buy from someone they trusted.

Food & Drink 20 hours ago

Tupperware, iconic food container brand, files for bankruptcy

News Sep 9

Big Lots files for bankruptcy protection, sells to private equity firm as it promises to keep offering ‘extreme bargains'

Restaurants Sep 5

Red Lobster cleared to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to revitalize its business.

Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

Middletown Township Police released a video of one of the thefts and shared photos of a similar theft that happened on the same day.

Police said the first incident happened on Wednesday, just after 11:30 a.m. when a FedEx employee delivered a package to a private residence of a township employee on the 2100 block of W. Old Lincoln Hwy in Langhorne.

Just 40 minutes later, police said a black 2008-2014 Acura TL sedan with tinted windows and an unknown registration pulled up in front of the residence.

A man was seen on surveillance video exiting the vehicle on the rear driver’s side, wearing red/maroon running pants, black sneakers, and a hoodie, which he pulled down over his face. He then walks up to the porch and takes the package containing a new Samsung Galaxy S24 valued at $1,299.

The man then walks back to the vehicle, gets into the front passenger’s seat, and the vehicle drives off. Police said the suspect had touched the handrail at the residence during the crime. Investigators swabbed the rail for DNA, and it was sent off for testing.

According to police, there was a similar theft on the same day involving what is believed to be the same Black Acura TL in Falls Township.

Police said in this incident, two cell phones were taken from a Middletown business owner’s residence. A newer grey model minivan is also believed to be involved.

“If you live in the areas in which these thefts occurred and may have more video, please let us know. They are on the hunt for cell phones and seem to be trailing the FedEx drivers through our town and others,” Middletown Township police said in a Facebook post, “If you know a dude who was rocking red pants yesterday and was toting a new PURPLE Samsung phone, let us know that too.”

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On Thursday, Sept. 12, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced the creation of Pennsylvania’s Housing Action Plan through an executive order.

The plan is designated to tackle the state’s housing shortage, address homelessness and expand affordable housing options.

A key challenge we face in attracting new residents is the lack of safe, affordable housing – which is why my Administration is focused on delivering commonsense solutions to expand affordable housing and lower housing costs for Pennsylvanians,” Gov. Shapiro said. “We’re taking action to build more homes in the communities that need them most, lower costs so families can afford to stay in their homes, repair aging houses, and make sure our seniors can live with dignity and comfort. We’re all in this together, and I’m committed to ensuring everyone has access to a place they can truly call home.”

The governor’s office says this will make the state a more attractive place to live and help Pennsylvania’s economic development.

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David Walker, 49, of Delran, New Jersey, and Philip Walker, 52, of Upper Chichester, Pennsylvania, also are charged with stealing a camera from the photographer during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

Philip Walker told investigators that he tossed a camera into a body of water on his way home from Washington, D.C., according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

Court records don’t name the photographer or identify her employer, but New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha confirmed that the affidavit refers to staff photographer Erin Schaff, who wrote about her experience at the Capitol.

“We are grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the FBI for their persistence in pursuing justice in this case,” Rhodes Ha said in a statement. “Independent, fact-based journalism is a cornerstone of democracy and attacks against reporters should be a grave concern to anyone who cares about an informed citizenry.”

Philip Walker told the FBI that he believed the photographer was a member of “antifa,” a term for anti-fascist activists who often clash with far-right extremists at political protests.

A livestream video posted on social media showed the photographer standing at the top of the East Rotunda Stairs just before the Walkers assaulted her and then ran down the staircase.

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Schaff recalled that two or three men in black surrounded her, demanded to know her employer and became angry when they grabbed her press pass and saw that she worked for The New York Times.

“They threw me to the floor, trying to take my cameras,” she wrote. “I started screaming for help as loudly as I could. No one came. People just watched. At this point, I thought I could be killed and no one would stop them.”

Schaff said police found her but didn’t believe that she was a journalist because her press pass was stolen.

“They drew their guns, pointed them and yelled at me to get down on my hands and knees,” she wrote. “As I lay on the ground, two other photojournalists came into the hall and started shouting ‘She’s a journalist!’”

Philip Walker was carrying what appeared to be Schaff’s photographic equipment as he fled, the FBI said. David Walker pushed the photographer again when she tried to pursue his brother and retrieve her equipment, according to the affidavit.

A magistrate judge ordered David Walker to be released on $50,000 bail after his initial court appearance in New Jersey on Thursday, court records show. An attorney who represented Walker at the hearing didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The Walkers were arrested on complaints charging them with robbery, assault and other charges.

Other rioters were charged with assaulting an Associated Press photographer outside the Capitol during the riot. One of them, Alan Byerly, was sentenced in October 2022 to nearly three years in prison.

Nearly 1,500 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 140 police officers were injured in the attack.

They say that right now, it’s operating at a deficit.

SEPTA says that it needs $161 million every year to operate and if it can’t get that, riders will see services get cut and fare prices go up.

Those things could stop a lot of people from being able to come to the city of Philadelphia which brings in the most revenue for the state.

“The last thing we want to do is cut service,” SEPTA board chair Ken Lawrence said. If we have to start cutting service, if we have to start raising fares where working people can’t pay that, it’ll be a death spiral for the agency.”

Whether you’re trying to get across the city, from the suburbs into the city or passing through from out of state, Philadelphia is a major transportation hub for thousands of people every day.

And, SEPTA handles much of that travel.

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On Thursday, Sept. 12, SEPTA received $45 million for one-time assistance.

Council president Kenyatta Johnson acknowledged that relief but said SEPTA needs the state to help with funding SEPTA annually.

“We don’t want this to be all about politics. We want this to be all about making sure we have a strong, robust transit system here in the city of Philadelphia,” Johnson explained. “I recognize that at the end of the day we can’t sit down and be quiet and idle around this issue. We need to have a fully transit system.”

Back in March 2024, Gov. Josh Shapiro got the state house to approve a plan that would generate $282 million each year for all transit systems. Philadelphia says $161 million of that funding is for SEPTA.

“Unfortunately the senate refused to take that up before they left town in July,” Shapiro said.

He noted that one senator proposed an idea to tax and regulate skilled games as an option to help with funding.

“I consider that not a solution, but a bit of a stopgap to get us to this fall and hopefully have a more permanent solution for septa and other mass transit agencies across Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.

SEPTA has taken cost-saving measures while it waits on funding.

A hiring freeze, recently reintroduced and raised parking rates at its regional rail stations as well as soon planning to vote on eliminating discount rates for some riders.

But, leaders noted that’s still not going to be enough.

Geoffrey Kay-Conway Sr., 53, will face 15 to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of attempted murder, attempted rape, stalking and attempted indecent assault.

He was also sentenced to three years probation under the condition of no contact with the victim or his children.

The sentencing will begin after a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) hearing which will determine his reporting requirements under Megan’s Law. A victim impact statement will also take place during the hearing in which the judge will formally impose the sentencing.

Officials have not released an exact date for Kay-Conway’s sentencing but said it will likely take place in 90 days at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

Léelo en español aquí

On Sunday, Nov. 19, at 10:45 a.m., Upper Merion Police responded to the Walmart on North Gulph Road in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, for a report of a man attacking a woman in the store’s parking lot. 

When the officers arrived, they spotted a woman who was crying and shaking in the parking lot with visible red marks and blood on her legs. The woman told investigators she had loaded groceries inside her vehicle after shopping at the Walmart. As she entered the vehicle, she observed Geoffrey Kay-Conway — who she identified as her estranged husband whom she had an active protection from abuse order against — approaching her vehicle, investigators said. When Kay-Conway opened the driver’s side door, the woman spotted what appeared to be a black handgun and a large metal pick in his hands, according to the criminal complaint. 

Kay-Conway told his estranged wife to “move over, I’m going to f—— shoot you. I’m going to f—— shoot you if you don’t move over.” He then repeatedly stabbed the woman in her legs with the metal pick, investigators said. He repeatedly told her, “don’t get out of the car” and forced her to the passenger’s seat, according to the criminal complaint. 

The woman told police she was able to exit the passenger’s side of the vehicle and screamed for help as several bystanders came to her aid. Kay-Conway then fled the scene.

The responding officers then spotted Kay-Conway hunched behind a pickup truck in the parking lot of 200 North Warner Road near the Walmart. The officers said he had a large metal pick sticking out from his sweatshirt pocket as well as black zip-ties in the shape of handcuffs. Investigators also said one of the officers found a black duffel bag with a black handgun on top in the bed of the pickup truck.

Investigators also said he was in possession of a green pill bottle with suspected methamphetamine inside.

Following a search warrant, investigators found Kay-Conway’s ID card and bank and membership cards, a black “pepper ball” gun with two magazines, two metal piercing tools with wooden handles, a black blindfold, black duct tape, zip-ties, a black knife, wire cutters, pliers, scissors, flashlights, a bottle of KY jelly, a plastic hose, an envelope addressed to his brother, a black binder with notebooks and handwritten notes inside and a wooden piercing tool with a message addressed to his estranged wife.

The envelope also contained a two-page note that detailed how Kay-Conway had stalked the woman in the days prior to the attack and his plans to rape and kill her before taking his own life, according to the criminal complaint. 

Investigators also said they recovered a tracking device underneath the victim’s vehicle which Kay-Conway admitted to placing.

Officials confirmed the victim had applied for a temporary protection from abuse order against Kay-Conway on Sept. 28, 2023, that was granted by the courts.

A final protection from abuse order was then issued by the courts on Oct. 5, 2023. The order prohibited Kay-Conway from any contact with the victim.

Kay-Conway violated the order on Oct. 20, 2023, when he followed his estranged wife throughout Upper Merion Township and yelled at her on at least two occasions, investigators said. He was then arrested on Oct. 30, 2023, arraigned on Oct. 31, 2023, and released on $5,000 unsecured bail. 

Investigators said the envelope found in Kay-Conway’s bag on Nov. 19 included a document with his October release date on it, the date of his future court appearance and the following statement: 

I have 1.5 months to kill that B—-. Could have killed her 17 times if I wanted. What a week system

Based on their interviews and evidence, police arrested Kay-Conway again and charged him in November 2023.

“The most dangerous time for a victim of domestic violence is when she leaves her abuser. This victim worked to keep herself safe by obtaining a PFA and reporting the defendant when he violated the PFA by obsessively stalking her. Thankfully, bystanders intervened to help the victim yesterday,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said at the time of Kay-Conway’s arrest. “This case demonstrates just how dangerous domestic violence is, including stalking behavior. Laurel House and the Women’s Center of Montgomery County are always available to help victims and those looking to leave an abusive relationship.”

National statistics show that 81 percent of women who were stalked by a current or former husband/cohabitating partner were also physically assaulted while 31 percent were sexually assaulted, according to Laurel House, Montgomery County’s domestic violence agency.

You can contact Laurel House at any day or time by calling 1-800-642–3150 or texting “HOPE” to 85511.

You can also contact the Women’s Center of Montgomery County at any day or time by calling 1-800-773-2424.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.

Léelo en español aquí.

In a statement sent by the Wissahickon School District, Principal Lynne Blair said a bullet was found on school property in a classroom at Wissahickon High School on 521 Houston Road in Ambler, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Sept. 12.

“Students were kept in their classroom while we spoke to and searched the belongings of every student who was in that classroom today.  We did not find any weapon or any other bullets on any student,” the statement sent to parents, students and staff said.

In an unrelated incident, the school said it discovered that another student had a shell-casing in his pocket which prompted a second investigation on the same day that also involved the police.

“We are very confident that the two incidents are not related or connected” the statement from the school district said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we took immediate steps to ensure the safety of everyone in our building and decided to dismiss our students early so that we could conduct a complete search of our building with the police,” Lynne said in the statement.

Students at the high school were dismissed early around 1:15 p.m. Thursday as police investigated the “security situation,” a school official said. Staff members at the school stayed for a faculty meeting, according to the official. The official also said that all students and staff are safe.

Parents and guardians arrived to pick up students after receiving messages from the school.

After students were dismissed, all lockers, classrooms, bathrooms, ceilings and trashcans at the school were searched. School officials also said police completed home-visits to multiple families in an effort to collect information “we needed to ensure that our students and staff could feel confident returning to school tomorrow.”

Police have not yet revealed if any arrests were made or if they have information on any potential suspects. The source said police questioned some teens at the school as part of their investigation.

Wissahickon High School’s principal said there will be extra police personnel on campus on Friday and next week to ease concerns.

The incident occurred days after social media threats led to the closure of several New Jersey schools and the arrests of four juveniles. It also occurred days after four people were killed in a shooting at a high school in Georgia.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

The City of Coatesville Police Department shared in a Facebook post that they are looking for the owner of a ball python found in the area of 5th Ave. and Oak St.

Léelo en español aquí.

Police believe the snake may be a pet that escaped, and the owner is probably looking for it.

If the snake belongs to you or someone you know, contact the police at 610-384-2300.

Just last month, in Delaware County, the Radnor Township Police Department shared a similar message after a 3-4 foot long ball python was found slithering in the community.

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The four-day all-jumper event — held Sept. 12 through Sept. 15 in Devon, Pennsylvania — will feature some of the nation’s top show-jumping athletes, all competing in the Dixon Oval.

The Dixon Oval will host the $5,000 Open Jumper Welcome Stake Thursday evening, and the $10,000 Open Speed Stake will take place Friday evening.

Saturday evening events feature the $7,500 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic and the night concludes with the highly anticipated $25,000 Devon Fall Classic Grand Prix.

In addition to the highly anticipated equestrian competition, the event also includes entertainment for people of all ages.

Guests can enjoy boutique shopping from more than 50 exclusive apparel, home decor, gourmet food, jewelry, and candle purveyors. Devon’s midway will bring signature amusement rides for families with children, including the Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, games and plush prizes.

Various food offerings, including BBQ, burgers, fries, sandwiches, pasta, salads, ice cream, funnel cake and more, will also be available.

Music performances during the Devon Fall Classic include:

Clydesdale Corner
– Thursday, September 12: DJ Brian Bohn from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
· Friday, September 13: Ricks Office Band from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
· Saturday, September 14: Just Add Water from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

National Anthem
· Friday, September 13: Michael Krueger
· Saturday, September 14: Alison Rose

Join the community during this fun-filled weekend by purchasing tickets at devonhorseshow.com/fall-classic.

Six-seat boxes are $375 for all four days, including parking. Individual seats range from $8 (Thursday and Sunday) to $20 (Friday and Saturday).

Tickets are also available at the gate or by calling the ticket office at 610-688-2554.

If you can’t attend the event, the show will be streamed live to 57 countries on the United States Equestrian Federation Network.

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The presidential debate this week was the final affront to Rosie Torres’ lifelong Republicanism. She said her allegiance to Donald Trump, already strained by his stand on abortion, snapped in the former president’s “eye opener” encounter with Kamala Harris.

It’s time to put “country before party,” Torres, 60, said Wednesday in Bristol, a riverfront town in suburban Philadelphia. Trump left her frustrated after his appearance recently at Arlington National Cemetery when a member of his staff pushed a cemetery official, she said.

“I still was willing to vote for Donald Trump,” Torres said. “But you know, I think that what he did at the cemetery for the veterans — that was very disrespectful. I feel like our country is being disrespected.”

In Bucks County, a critical area in a vital swing state, the debate is producing a lot of hard thinking about what to do in November. Millions of Americans elsewhere have made up their minds but in purple Pennsylvania, plenty of voting choices are still in play.

In interviews in Bristol and Langhorne, another longtime Republican came away from the debate intrigued but not sold on Harris, a young first-time voter is going for Trump, and a Democrat is still trying to shake the image in his head of people eating pets after Trump’s “moronic” talking point on that subject Tuesday night.

A closer look at what voters in a key part of the country are thinking after what could be the only presidential debate:

She’s still shopping

There’s Mary Nolan, 70, of Bensalem, a registered Republican for 50 years who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Trump in 2020. She has more thinking to do after a debate in which Harris both impressed and frustrated her.

“I wasn’t happy with Biden-Trump,” she said of the options before President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection campaign. “I didn’t feel we had any good choices. And I’m still not sure we do. We might. But I still want to see more about Kamala Harris.”

She said she and her husband, who’s registered as a Democrat, split their party registrations so they could have a say as a family in primary elections. Immigration, the economy (she said she had just paid $6 for a pound of butter) and the infrastructure bill that Biden signed into law were her top issues.

“I like that Kamala Harris does say I am going to be the president for everyone,” Nolan said. “I don’t think our politicians say that often.”

She figures she’ll make her voting decision by the end of October, just days before the election. Meantime, she’s aggressive about collecting information.

“I take different opinions from all over. I don’t do any blogs. It’s simply news. Different interest groups like AARP.”

Her political ideology? “I think the world is changing fast, and I’m still in my values from 1960,” Nolan said.

What values?

“Family, home, morals. You know, our kids don’t have the upbringing that you did or I did because the streets are different now. I think if someone would say, you know, this is what I’m going to do to improve life in the United States, I definitely would vote for them.”

She said she thought Harris had a good debate, but dodged some things.

“I did not like that she avoided questions. She talked around them when they asked her direct questions about abortion. There was one about abortion. There was another about immigration. And there were a couple that said, hey, you’ve been here three and a half years, but you haven’t done those things that you’re saying are so important. Why not? She ran off into her talking points and never gave a direct answer.”

But Harris gave her a good impression. Trump did not.

“I think yesterday, definitely Kamala Harris presented herself very well. She’s dignified. … She would be a good representative of our country.”

Trump? “I think his policies are good. I just want a more stable, dignified president.” She wants “someone that doesn’t yell and scream and call people names.”

This Democrat saw history unfold

Terry Culleton, 68, of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, is a retired high school English literature teacher and was reading “Autocracy, Inc.” by Anne Applebaum at a cafe Wednesday morning. His support for labor, then for civil rights and human rights, made him a Democrat.

He thought Harris held her own against Trump and articulated her plans well.

But what really stuck with him was Trump’s false comments about immigrants in Ohio eating pets.

“So moronic a thing to say and to repeat that I just can’t get it out of my head that somebody would go on national TV and state that,” he said.

He said he got a sense of history unfolding watching the debate last night.

“I think it’s democracy versus something close to totalitarianism. I think it’s a matter of supporting democratic governments as opposed to supporting the kind of governments that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is trying to export, which Trump has no problem with, as far as I can tell.”

Inflation led her to Trump

Kelli Surline of Langhorne was at a café with her fiancé and young daughter who wore an Eagles kelly green T-shirt. She described herself as politically unengaged until the pinch of higher prices got to her. She didn’t watch the debate, in part, because she’s made up her mind.

“I’m 28 years old and I’ve never seen the country this bad ever,” she said. “So I made the choice to get my voter’s registration, and I’m definitely voting for Trump.”

She talked about how difficult it has been to get ahead.

“We wanted to get a place together,” Surline said, motioning to Geoffrey Trush, 40, her fiancé. “We’re not able to do that.” Instead, she’s living with her mom. Unaffordable prices make it “a struggle every week.”

He was once a Democrat

Ron Soto, 86, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, is a longtime Trump supporter and retired tractor-trailer driver and Army veteran who left the Democratic Party in the 1990s for the GOP after coming to realize he disagreed with Bill and Hillary Clinton’s positions.

He said he tuned into the debate Tuesday, his hound dog, Sam, by his side, after watching the Phillies game.

Illegal immigration is a major issue for him and Harris didn’t win him over.

“The biggest issue is I don’t like her, and I don’t like Joe Biden.”

Saying he served in the Army from 1955 to 1963, Soto asked: “What the hell did I stick my neck out for? Why? So you can give it away? The Democrats can open the gates, the floodgates, and tell the whole world. You’re welcome. Come on in.” He added: “These people have ruined this country.”

She had her fill of politics

Christine Desumma, 50, a former Trump voter and the owner of a salon on Bristol’s quaint shop-lined street, expressed frustration with both parties and said she won’t be voting at all in November. She said her taxes were lower when Trump was in office and recalled the sting of COVID-19 shutdowns.

She got fed up, particularly with social media and Facebook. Online debates, she said, were driving a wedge within her own family, and she’s washing her hands of it.

“I just made the decision that I’m not going to vote and I don’t want to hear it,” she said. “Now I choose to not watch, not pay attention.” She’s found another pursuit.

“I’m studying yoga,” she said. “I got myself back.”

Jeremy Schobel, 33, of Philadelphia, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge John F. Murphy to 30 years imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release after conducting an elaborate child exploitation catfishing scheme.

For more than three years, officials said Schobel – who was a former teacher at Harriton High School in Lower Merion Township and the High School of Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia – posed as different girls online, creating extensive, fake profiles to deceive young victims into sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.

The investigation initially began on November 14, 2022, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip from the social media app Yubo that a user connected to two accounts was “grooming” minors online while pretending to be a 17-year-old girl.

The user said they were looking for a “girl-to-girl relationship” and redirected the conversation to the social media app Snapchat, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators later determined the user was an adult male who they identified as Schobel.

Investigators said Schobel continued to pose as a girl on Snapchat as well and solicited nude photos and videos of an underage girl while repeatedly chatting with her on the app between Christmas Eve 2022 and March 29, 2023. 

At the time, investigators learned that Schobel was an English teacher at Harriton High School.

On June 2, 2023, investigators obtained a federal search warrant for Schobel’s home. On June 7, members of the FBI Philadelphia Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force then executed the search warrant at the home and arrested Schobel.

While speaking with investigators, Schobel admitted to creating fake profiles on Yubo and Snapchat to pose as teen girls and solicit sexual photos from underage girls. Schobel said he had committed similar crimes for years and communicated with many teen girls between the ages of 16 and 18. 

Investigators also said the search warrant issued for Schobel’s Snapchat accounts revealed hundreds of purported underage victims and thousands of pornographic images and videos distributed and received by Schobel. 

Back in March, Schobel pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography and five counts of manufacture of child pornography.

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While Schobel denied targeting any of his students on Yubu and Snapchat, multiple students came forward following his arrest and accused him of connecting with them on the social media apps, investigators said. One student accused Schobel of sending her pornographic images of a teen girl he was impersonating, according to the criminal complaint. 

“As a teacher, Jeremy Schobel was tasked with developing young minds,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “As a predator, though, he chose to deceive and sexually exploit underage girls online — often from his school classroom. Today’s sentence closes the book on Schobel’s years of catfishing and gives his victims a measure of justice. Protecting children from abuse will always be a top priority for my office and our partners at the FBI.”

Schobel’s conviction now requires him to register as a sex offender in Pennsylvania, according to officials.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

At the Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County in Norristown, family and friends gathered for a surprise party to celebrate Fida’s centennial birthday.

“It’s a big big surprise because my wife said she didn’t feel well, but she was holding me back,” Fida said.

One wouldn’t think Fida is 100 years old because he didn’t miss a beat when stepping into his party dancing to Frank Sinatra classics sung by a Frank Sinatra impersonator.

The theme of the part was “old New York,” and on the menu? Italian food.

The party was all made possible by the Twilight Wish Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to honor and enrich the lives of seniors through wish-granting celebrations.

“This is once in a very rare lifetime and I thought you know he should be really celebrated, he’s done a lot for this place and he’s a great person,” said Fida’s wife Carli.

Fida said his secret to reaching 100 is just kindness.

“And they ask me ‘what do you attribute your longevity to?’ being nice to people. I think the Lord led me this way because I was always nice to people,” said Fida.

Giving back is what Fida knows best; he served the country in the Marines during World War II, fighting along with the Black Marines, which earned him a Purple Heart.

Once honorably discharged in 1946, he worked for the Pennsylvania railroad and then for Macy’s as a part-time makeup artist, retiring at the age of 91.

“He had a very compelling story as a World War I veteran; this is unique, and we felt like this was a great wish and a great opportunity to celebrate a wonderful life,” said Twilight Wish Foundation Executive Director Peter Stinson.

“I can’t believe they did this for me, I hope I get to live another 100 to do this again,” said Fida.

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Candy company Brach’s is celebrating the fall season in the sweetest way with the first-ever Brach’s Candy Corn Suite.

Starting Sept. 9, candy corn superfans can book a stay in the “tri-colored oasis” at two Great Wolf Lodge locations: Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania, and Gurnee, Illinois.

“Guests can make moments sweeter at these delicious destinations starting the first day of fall (Sept. 22) through Halloween (Oct. 31),” event organizers said in a news release.

The suites — which sleep up to 5 to 6 guests — are decked out with all things orange, yellow, and white, including candy corn headboards, an illuminated “Make Moments Sweeter” wall sign, and a candy corn checkers game.

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Also, inside the suites, guests will find a fully stocked pantry cart with classic candy corn, mellowcreme pumpkins, and other fun snacks.

Each stay in the Candy Corn Suite includes a membership in the official Brach’s Candy Corn Club, giving guests a year’s supply of the treat.

“We know candy corn is always a hotly debated topic come this time of year, and in fact, our recent survey uncovered many Americans who plan to celebrate the fall season (72%) agree people have polarizing opinions about candy corn,” Director of BRACH’S Seasonal Marketing at Ferrara Candy Company Chad Womack said in a news release. “We’re focused on the candy corn superfans. I always love to see the creative candy corn memes crop up this time of year, and we’re looking forward to seeing how fans enjoy a real-life candy corn dreamland with the BRACH’S Candy Corn Suite at Great Wolf Lodge. It’s delicious-looking, fun, and oh-so timely for Halloween’s sweetest moments.”

If you are ready to be fully immersed in the world of candy corn, visit greatwolf.com/candy-corn-suite to find out more information and to book your stay.

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When asked what I remember about Tupperware parties, I pulled out some of my pieces of Tupperware from long ago. Along with finding the “Bacon Keeper” that I have used for perhaps 35 years to refrigerate deli sandwich makings. I located an entire part of my life.

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then — what struggling young family did? When my two daughters were old enough. we made a deal. I would prepare the dinner. They would do the dishwashing and I’d be free.

What made me remember that? The Tupperware pieces I was looking at were of the pre-dishwasher type plastic that has not survived the heat very well in the many years since dishwashers have been taken for granted. My later pieces have withstood the dishwasher onslaught. They still look new.

In those days, we thought very little about most women’s designated roles in suburban society. Your husband went to work; you were home when the children arrived after school. Once in a while in the evening, you left the young ones in the care of their dad and went to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party.

It was fun. You saw 10, maybe 20 friends and acquaintances who had also escaped for an evening. It never occurred to any of us that no men were there. We played little games and took home small Tupperware pieces as prizes.

A representative demonstrated the “Tupperware seal”: how to make the containers airtight so we could serve the contents fresh and with pride. We shared coffee and cake provided by our hostess. Then we went home with renewed ability to face the next day and its chores.

Is it still the same today? Now that so many women have taken their place next to men in the working world, do Tupperware parties still exist? Do they fill the same needs? Do men also attend? Are some of the newer items designed to solve gentlemen’s storage problems?

Do we have Tupperware party equality at long last?

___

Ann T. Anthony (1924-2018), wrote this story for The Associated Press in 1996 when she was 71. She was married in 1946 — the year Tupperware was introduced — and attended Tupperware parties for years. She remembers the parties as events where friends could get together and buy from someone they trusted.

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Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to revitalize its business.

Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

A western Pennsylvania county official has pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty in an agreement with prosecutors that spares her jail time but requires her to resign her post at the end of the month.

Washington County Controller April Sloane, 43, entered the plea Thursday in county court, acknowledging having caused the death of her dog, Thor, after failing to give the animal food or water for several days before his Nov. 27 death, The (Washington) Observer-Reporter reported.

Sloane had been scheduled for trial this week, but defense attorney Louis Emmi approached prosecutors about a plea before Thursday’s pre-trial conference, officials said. Prosecutors required that Sloane plead guilty to 3rd-degree felony aggravated animal cruelty, serve five years’ probation and resign as county controller by Sept. 30.

Sloane and her attorney declined comment as they left court, the newspaper reported.

Sloane was arrested in December after North Strabane Township police filed the charges following a necropsy that concluded the dog died of “severe emaciation” and weighed only 20 pounds, less than half of what its weight should have been. Authorities were told that Sloane declined to take the animal to a veterinarian, although officials said an emergency veterinary clinic is located less than 500 feet from Sloane’s house.

The dog’s body was found stuffed in a garbage bag in a back corner of Sloane’s garage as authorities served a search warrant at her home on Dec. 6.

Sloane, a Republican, was elected in November 2021 to a term that was to have run through 2025.

A double rainbow surprised many throughout the Greater Philadelphia region on Saturday evening.

Everywhere from New Jersey to the Philly suburbs, NBC10 viewers shared some photos of the colorful display on Sept. 7.

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty — said more than 100 cats were found at a residential property belonging to a self-described animal rescue organization in Lackawanna County.

With the help of the Humane Society of Lackawanna County and support from local law enforcement, ASPCA officials said all of the cats were removed from the property after they were found living in unsanitary conditions among their own feces and urine.

Officials said many of the cats appeared to be suffering from untreated medical conditions.

According to officials, most of the cats were transported safely to the ASPCA’s Cruelty Recovery Center in Columbus, Ohio, a center dedicated to treating animals recused from emergency situations.

“The ASPCA is grateful to be in a position where we have the expertise and resources to assist local law enforcement and animal welfare agencies with the rescue of at-risk animals from situations of suspected cruelty,” said Teresa Ladner, senior director of investigations for the ASPCA. “As a result of close collaboration across the ASPCA and our partners, these cats will receive the care they deserve, and we thank the Humane Society of Lackawanna County for pursuing this case.”

The ASPCA is also assisting with operational planning, evidence collection, crime scene processing, and investigative and legal assistance in this case, including conducting veterinary forensic exams on the cats, according to officials.

Animal cruelty charges are pending, officials said.

A court decided Thursday that voters in the presidential battleground of Pennsylvania can cast provisional ballots in place of mail-in ballots that are rejected for a garden-variety mistake they made when they returned it.

Democrats typically outvote Republicans by mail by about 3-to-1 in Pennsylvania, and the decision by a state Commonwealth Court panel could mean that hundreds or thousands more votes are counted in November’s election, when the state is expected to play an outsized role in picking the next president.

Léelo en español aquí.

The three-member panel ruled that nothing in state law prevented Republican-controlled Butler County from counting two voters’ provisional ballots in the April 23 primary election, even if state law is ambiguous.

A provisional ballot is typically cast at a polling place on Election Day and is separated from regular ballots in cases when elections workers need more time to determine a voter’s eligibility to vote.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed by two Butler County voters who received an automatic email before the primary election telling them that their mail-in ballots had been rejected because they hadn’t put them in a blank “secrecy” envelope that is supposed to go inside the ballot return envelope.

They attempted to cast provisional ballots in place of the rejected mail-in ballots, but the county rejected those, too.

In the court decision, Judge Matt Wolf ordered Butler County to count the voters’ two provisional ballots.

Contesting the lawsuit was Butler County as well as the state and national Republican parties. Their lawyers had argued that nothing in state law allows a voter to cast a provisional ballot in place of a rejected mail-in ballot.

They have three days to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The lawsuit is one of a handful being fought in state and federal courts over the practice of Pennsylvania counties throwing out mail-in ballots over mistakes like forgetting to sign or write the date on the ballot’s return envelope or forgetting to put the ballot in a secrecy envelope.

The decision will apply to all 67 counties, lawyers in the case say. It’s not entirely clear how many Pennsylvania counties haven’t let voters replace a rejected mail-in ballot with a provisional ballot, although the plaintiffs’ lawyers listed nine other counties that they say may have had followed such a policy in April’s primary election.

The voters were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center. The state Democratic Party and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration also took their side in the case.

Approximately 21,800 mail ballots were rejected in 2020’s presidential election, out of about 2.7 million mail ballots cast in Pennsylvania, according to the state elections office.

The two-alarm fire occurred Aug. 28 just before 2 a.m. at the Fire Chief’s Memorial Bandshell at Elmwood Park on 1325 Harding Boulevard.

Investigators report that the fire was started near a porta-potty located at the back of the bandshell structure. The fire then went up the back of the bandshell, eventually penetrating the inside structure and engulfing the roof.

Responding firefighters were able to place the fire under control around 3 a.m., officials said. No injuries were reported.

Officials said extensive damage to the bandshell has rendered the structure condemned by municipal officials and is fenced off to visitors of the park. The rest of the park remains open, however.

According to officials, an investigation is underway by the Norristown Police Department to locate the individual or individuals responsible for setting the fire.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the department at 610-270-0977.

The bandshell had been in place at Elmwood Park for more than a century and hosted several community events, including Norristown’s summer concert series and Fourth of July celebration. The structure was built to honor firefighters who have served Norristown’s community.

“For over 100 years this structure stood to remember the hundreds of firefighters that have served our community,” a spokesperson for the Norristown Fire Department wrote. “The building may be gone, but we will never forget!”

Officials said Municipal Council President Tom Lepera and Municipal Administrator Leonard Lightner have vowed to
build back the bandshell as soon as possible.

A woman who was severely injured when a gunman killed five girls and wounded her and four other girls during an attack on their one-room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania has died 18 years later, a funeral director said Thursday.

Rosanna S. King, 23, died at her home on Tuesday and a funeral is planned at her home in the farming community of Paradise on Friday, according to an obituary from Furman Home for Funerals in Leola. Funeral director Philip Furman confirmed Thursday she was among those shot at the West Nickel Mines Amish School in October 2006.

Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32-year-old milk truck driver, barricaded himself inside the Lancaster County schoolhouse and let boys and several adults go as he tied up 10 girls and shot them before taking his own life as police closed in.

Rosanna King, who belonged to an Old Order Amish Church community, was 6 years old at the time and had been considered the most severely injured survivor. She had been shot in the head and the attack left her unable to talk and needing a tube to be fed. She was dependent on others for personal care and mobility.

A year afterward, her family said in a statement she was able to recognize family members, smiled a lot and had limited physical movement. They said in 2007 that “the hardest part has been to see her suffer.”

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She will be buried in the Bart Cemetery.

Roberts’ mother, Terri Roberts, regularly visited Rosanna King, inspired by the forgiveness the Amish community expressed to her and her family after the attack.

In a 2013 interview, Rosanna’s father, Christ King, said there were times when he asked himself if he had really forgiven the shooter.

“We have a lot of work to do to live up to what we are bragged up to be,” Christ King said back then. “Everyone was talking about this forgiveness thing, and I felt that was putting a lot of weight on our shoulders to live up to that.”

Roberts indicated in suicide notes left behind and during a last call with his wife that he had been tormented by unsubstantiated memories of having molested a couple of young relatives and by the death of his newborn daughter in 1997.

The schoolhouse was torn down 10 days after the killings and a new one was constructed nearby.

The Amish prioritize their deep Christian faith and family life, eschewing many modern conveniences. They wear traditional clothing and use horses and buggies for much of their transportation. They often speak a German dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch.

Rosanna King died the same week a 14-year-old Georgia student was charged with using an assault-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers at his high school about an hour outside of Atlanta. There have been more than 600 mass killings in the United States since 2006.

Someone at the Beaver County jail eventually recognized the girl as a missing person, leading officials to separate her from the jail’s adult population, Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said Tuesday. The teen’s parents were then notified and they picked her up, and the charges against her were moved to juvenile court, he said.

Pittsburgh police posted information about the missing teenager on Aug. 6, and subsequent reports said she had been seen in the city and riding on public transportation.

The girl was charged with retail theft after she was caught stealing items from a store in Beaver Falls on Aug. 17, Bible said. At the time, she gave police a false name and birthdate that led authorities to believe she was 18.

The teen eventually told officers on several occasions that she was a juvenile from the Pittsburgh area, and they told her they would release her to her parents. However, the girl falsely told them she was homeless, Bible said.

During this time, Beaver Falls police contacted child services agencies in Beaver County and Allegheny County — where Pittsburgh is located — to try to find information about her, but since she had given authorities a fake name no records were found, said Bible, who didn’t note how many days she spent with the jail’s adult population.

A man from Allentown, Pennsylvania, has been arrested and charged following a child rape, human trafficking and sex assault investigation, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.

Joshua Mickey Martel, 31, has been charged with numerous sexual offenses after the assault of two young girls, officials said.

Léelo en español aquí.

According to officials, on July 31, a 12-year-old girl reported to a guardian that her mother sold her for cash and drugs to Martel.

Officials said sometime between April 23 and April 24, the girl told investigators that her mother took her and her siblings to a hotel on the 1000 block of Airport Road in Allentown, where they split a room with Martel.

The girl told investigators she witnessed her mother take cash and drugs from Martel before leaving her alone in the hotel room with him, officials said. Martel sexually and physically assaulted the girl. She tried to get away, but Martel would not allow her.

In the second case, officials said a school resource officer received information that the 13-year-old girl may be at
the same Airport Road hotel with Martel.

Police said that, in this case, on May 21, the 13-year-old was picked up after school by an Uber and failed to show up at school the next day. Officers found her in Martel’s hotel room, and she claimed that he sexually assaulted her.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

The first case, involving the 12-year-old girl, officials said Martel has been charged with rape of a child, rape by forcible compulsion, statutory sexual assault trafficking in individuals and patronizing a victim of sexual servitude, all felonies of the first degree; sexual assault a felony of the second degree; corruption of minors, a felony of the third degree; indecent assault without consent and simple assault, both misdemeanors of the second degree.

In the second case, involving the 13-year-old girl, officials said Martel is charged with statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, both felonies of the first degree, and corruption of minors and sexual abuse of children – possession of child pornography, both felonies of the third degree.

According to officials, Martel was taken into custody Wednesday, he was arraigned, and bail was set at $500,000 for both cases. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10.

Officials also note that the 12-year-old victim’s mother is also charged with felony counts of rape of a child, trafficking individuals, sexual exploitation of a child, and a misdemeanor charge of simple assault. She is in Lehigh County Jail under $350,000 bail.

Authorities announced that misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest were filed against Stephen A. Weiss, 36, of Pittsburgh, who was taken into custody at Friday’s Trump rally.

Johnstown Police Chief Richard Pritchard said investigators do not know what the banner said because arena staff apparently discarded it. He said it was made from a bed sheet and that Weiss told a detective that he does not believe in Trump’s policies.

Pritchard said Weiss faked a foot injury and concealed a tube of glue in a metal crutch.

Weiss declined comment when reached by phone Tuesday, saying he was seeking legal advice.

The arrest affidavit by a Johnstown police detective said Weiss “ran onto the arena floor, jumped onto the media stage (and) began to yell towards the main stage where President Trump was speaking.” Weiss allegedly would not release himself from steel barricade fencing “and force had to be used,” police said in the charging document.

A man who accompanied Weiss to the rally told police he was unaware of Weiss’ plan, Pritchard said. The second man was not charged, the chief said.

Weiss also was charged with disrupting a public meeting, a misdemeanor. The Secret Service questioned Weiss on Friday and he was released later that night. He has a court hearing scheduled for Oct. 9.

A Trump campaign spokesman offered no immediate comment Tuesday.

The disruption occurred shortly after Trump criticized major media outlets for what he said was unfavorable coverage.

As Weiss was led away, the former president told the crowd: “Is there anywhere that’s more fun to be than a Trump rally?”

There has been heightened scrutiny of security at Trump rallies since a gunman fired at him, grazing his ear, during an outdoor rally in July in Butler, Pennsylvania. Security at political events has been noticeably tighter since then.

Police responded to Wilson Farm Park off Lee Road in Tredyffrin Township around 6:50 p.m. Monday for a report of a missing 3-year-old child. When they arrived, they found the boy unresponsive in a pond about 100 yards from the park’s playground area, according to Tredyffrin Township Police Captain Tyler Moyer.

The responding officers tried to resuscitate the child and then transported him to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s King of Prussia location where he was later pronounced dead.

Léelo en español aquí.

Police have not yet revealed the boy’s identity or a cause of death. They continue to investigate.

Police officials said that the boy had been “under the supervision of a nanny prior to his disappearance.”

Moyer told NBC10 swimming and fishing are not allowed in the pond, which he described as “decorative.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family right now,” Captain Moyer said. “It’s a very tragic incident.”

When asked what I remember about Tupperware parties, I pulled out some of my pieces of Tupperware from long ago. Along with finding the “Bacon Keeper” that I have used for perhaps 35 years to refrigerate deli sandwich makings. I located an entire part of my life.

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then — what struggling young family did? When my two daughters were old enough. we made a deal. I would prepare the dinner. They would do the dishwashing and I’d be free.

What made me remember that? The Tupperware pieces I was looking at were of the pre-dishwasher type plastic that has not survived the heat very well in the many years since dishwashers have been taken for granted. My later pieces have withstood the dishwasher onslaught. They still look new.

In those days, we thought very little about most women’s designated roles in suburban society. Your husband went to work; you were home when the children arrived after school. Once in a while in the evening, you left the young ones in the care of their dad and went to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party.

It was fun. You saw 10, maybe 20 friends and acquaintances who had also escaped for an evening. It never occurred to any of us that no men were there. We played little games and took home small Tupperware pieces as prizes.

A representative demonstrated the “Tupperware seal”: how to make the containers airtight so we could serve the contents fresh and with pride. We shared coffee and cake provided by our hostess. Then we went home with renewed ability to face the next day and its chores.

Is it still the same today? Now that so many women have taken their place next to men in the working world, do Tupperware parties still exist? Do they fill the same needs? Do men also attend? Are some of the newer items designed to solve gentlemen’s storage problems?

Do we have Tupperware party equality at long last?

___

Ann T. Anthony (1924-2018), wrote this story for The Associated Press in 1996 when she was 71. She was married in 1946 — the year Tupperware was introduced — and attended Tupperware parties for years. She remembers the parties as events where friends could get together and buy from someone they trusted.

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Tupperware, iconic food container brand, files for bankruptcy

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Red Lobster cleared to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to revitalize its business.

Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

When asked what I remember about Tupperware parties, I pulled out some of my pieces of Tupperware from long ago. Along with finding the “Bacon Keeper” that I have used for perhaps 35 years to refrigerate deli sandwich makings. I located an entire part of my life.

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then — what struggling young family did? When my two daughters were old enough. we made a deal. I would prepare the dinner. They would do the dishwashing and I’d be free.

What made me remember that? The Tupperware pieces I was looking at were of the pre-dishwasher type plastic that has not survived the heat very well in the many years since dishwashers have been taken for granted. My later pieces have withstood the dishwasher onslaught. They still look new.

In those days, we thought very little about most women’s designated roles in suburban society. Your husband went to work; you were home when the children arrived after school. Once in a while in the evening, you left the young ones in the care of their dad and went to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party.

It was fun. You saw 10, maybe 20 friends and acquaintances who had also escaped for an evening. It never occurred to any of us that no men were there. We played little games and took home small Tupperware pieces as prizes.

A representative demonstrated the “Tupperware seal”: how to make the containers airtight so we could serve the contents fresh and with pride. We shared coffee and cake provided by our hostess. Then we went home with renewed ability to face the next day and its chores.

Is it still the same today? Now that so many women have taken their place next to men in the working world, do Tupperware parties still exist? Do they fill the same needs? Do men also attend? Are some of the newer items designed to solve gentlemen’s storage problems?

Do we have Tupperware party equality at long last?

___

Ann T. Anthony (1924-2018), wrote this story for The Associated Press in 1996 when she was 71. She was married in 1946 — the year Tupperware was introduced — and attended Tupperware parties for years. She remembers the parties as events where friends could get together and buy from someone they trusted.

Food & Drink 20 hours ago

Tupperware, iconic food container brand, files for bankruptcy

News Sep 9

Big Lots files for bankruptcy protection, sells to private equity firm as it promises to keep offering ‘extreme bargains'

Restaurants Sep 5

Red Lobster cleared to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to revitalize its business.

Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

Officers were called to the Bucherer 1888 store inside the mall around 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17 for reports of a burglary, police said.

Léelo en español aquí

Employees told the responding officers that the man entered the store and asked to see several watches, police explained. When he finished trying one of the watches on he forcibly grabbed it back from the employee.

The man was identified by police as 30-year-old Justin Ward, officials said.

Ward is accused of taking the watch and then running out of the store. The value of the watch is $82,000.

Through the course of their investigation, detectives in Upper Merion identified Ward as the suspect and they were able to get an arrest warrant for him.

Ward is believed to have ties with both the Harrisburg and Philadelphia areas, police said.

He is charged with robbery, retail theft and other related charges.

If you have any information on the incident, or know where Ward is, please contact the Upper Merion Investigations Division at 610-265-3232.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

When asked what I remember about Tupperware parties, I pulled out some of my pieces of Tupperware from long ago. Along with finding the “Bacon Keeper” that I have used for perhaps 35 years to refrigerate deli sandwich makings. I located an entire part of my life.

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then — what struggling young family did? When my two daughters were old enough. we made a deal. I would prepare the dinner. They would do the dishwashing and I’d be free.

What made me remember that? The Tupperware pieces I was looking at were of the pre-dishwasher type plastic that has not survived the heat very well in the many years since dishwashers have been taken for granted. My later pieces have withstood the dishwasher onslaught. They still look new.

In those days, we thought very little about most women’s designated roles in suburban society. Your husband went to work; you were home when the children arrived after school. Once in a while in the evening, you left the young ones in the care of their dad and went to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party.

It was fun. You saw 10, maybe 20 friends and acquaintances who had also escaped for an evening. It never occurred to any of us that no men were there. We played little games and took home small Tupperware pieces as prizes.

A representative demonstrated the “Tupperware seal”: how to make the containers airtight so we could serve the contents fresh and with pride. We shared coffee and cake provided by our hostess. Then we went home with renewed ability to face the next day and its chores.

Is it still the same today? Now that so many women have taken their place next to men in the working world, do Tupperware parties still exist? Do they fill the same needs? Do men also attend? Are some of the newer items designed to solve gentlemen’s storage problems?

Do we have Tupperware party equality at long last?

___

Ann T. Anthony (1924-2018), wrote this story for The Associated Press in 1996 when she was 71. She was married in 1946 — the year Tupperware was introduced — and attended Tupperware parties for years. She remembers the parties as events where friends could get together and buy from someone they trusted.

Food & Drink 20 hours ago

Tupperware, iconic food container brand, files for bankruptcy

News Sep 9

Big Lots files for bankruptcy protection, sells to private equity firm as it promises to keep offering ‘extreme bargains'

Restaurants Sep 5

Red Lobster cleared to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to revitalize its business.

Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

When asked what I remember about Tupperware parties, I pulled out some of my pieces of Tupperware from long ago. Along with finding the “Bacon Keeper” that I have used for perhaps 35 years to refrigerate deli sandwich makings. I located an entire part of my life.

We didn’t have a dishwasher back then — what struggling young family did? When my two daughters were old enough. we made a deal. I would prepare the dinner. They would do the dishwashing and I’d be free.

What made me remember that? The Tupperware pieces I was looking at were of the pre-dishwasher type plastic that has not survived the heat very well in the many years since dishwashers have been taken for granted. My later pieces have withstood the dishwasher onslaught. They still look new.

In those days, we thought very little about most women’s designated roles in suburban society. Your husband went to work; you were home when the children arrived after school. Once in a while in the evening, you left the young ones in the care of their dad and went to a friend’s home for a Tupperware party.

It was fun. You saw 10, maybe 20 friends and acquaintances who had also escaped for an evening. It never occurred to any of us that no men were there. We played little games and took home small Tupperware pieces as prizes.

A representative demonstrated the “Tupperware seal”: how to make the containers airtight so we could serve the contents fresh and with pride. We shared coffee and cake provided by our hostess. Then we went home with renewed ability to face the next day and its chores.

Is it still the same today? Now that so many women have taken their place next to men in the working world, do Tupperware parties still exist? Do they fill the same needs? Do men also attend? Are some of the newer items designed to solve gentlemen’s storage problems?

Do we have Tupperware party equality at long last?

___

Ann T. Anthony (1924-2018), wrote this story for The Associated Press in 1996 when she was 71. She was married in 1946 — the year Tupperware was introduced — and attended Tupperware parties for years. She remembers the parties as events where friends could get together and buy from someone they trusted.

Food & Drink 20 hours ago

Tupperware, iconic food container brand, files for bankruptcy

News Sep 9

Big Lots files for bankruptcy protection, sells to private equity firm as it promises to keep offering ‘extreme bargains'

Restaurants Sep 5

Red Lobster cleared to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to revitalize its business.

Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

The controversy started on social media but became the focus at Souderton Area School District’s last two regular board meetings since the post in question was made in July.

In late July, School Board Director William Formica went on social media and posted a derogatory sexual comment about Harris. His comment was deleted, but not before people took screenshots and reposted it all over the internet

Outside the Souderton Area School District board meeting in Montgomery County on Thursday families made it clear what side they’re on.

One side believes Formica needs to resign immediately, the other says he shouldn’t go anywhere.

“Personally I think freedom of speech reigns. I think Bill Formica has done a great job so far,” Jezreel Davis, a supporter of Formica said.

“He’s given everybody the okay to just treat people the way you want to treat them, talk to them however you want to talk about them,” Charl Wellener, a protester said.

Both sides stood outside for an hour before the meeting started.

The meeting was held inside Indian Valley Middle School where Formica spoke, admitting to making a derogatory sexual comment on social media in July about Harris.

“She is a national political figure, someone none of us know personally, and has nothing to do with our community,” Formica said at the meeting.

Formica told the crowd it was impulsive and unprofessional. He said he’s dealing with vicious attacks, including death threats, to his family on social media.

“I prayed for those who harbor so much hate in their hearts. And I hope one day you can let it go so you can be happy too,” Formica said.

Some in the crowd gave him a standing ovation after his speech, while others booed.

The school board said it has no authority to force him to step down.