While putting air in his tire near the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Sean Malloy said he uses the highway often.

Malloy said he welcomes the change to open road tolling if it means it makes his commute more convenient.

“No brainer. They should’ve done that a long time ago,” said Malloy. 

Tollbooths will soon become a thing of the past on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with the change that begins on Sunday.

Drivers will be charged electronically as they pass under overhead structures called gantries, instead of the traditional stop-and-go tolling. For E-ZPass drivers, the toll money will be taken out of your account, but others will receive a bill in the mail. 

The commission advises drivers to make sure they mount their E-ZPass tag in their vehicle and have all their information including their vehicle and credit card updated.

Open road tolling allows drivers to pass through a toll, without the hassle of stopping. This method also reduces incidents on the highway and increases customer convenience.

The change will first start east of Reading and along the Northeast Extension.

“I’ve had E-ZPass for a few years, so I’m kind of used to the drive-thru. I think it’s going to make it a lot simpler for everybody. I think it’s going to avoid a lot of congestion,” said Pennsylvania resident Tony Cuttone.

Another change is how the toll will be calculated. The turnpike will now use the number of axles, height, and miles traveled rather than the vehicle’s weight to determine the rate.

A 5% toll increase will also take effect on Sunday, but the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said that with open road tolling and other changes, most non-commercial drivers will pay less than they did before, but commercial drivers could see an increase of up to $5.

“We worked really hard behind the scenes to make sure that all of the changes that are coming with open road tolling are all revenue neutral,” said Marissa Orbanek with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. 

Orbanek said the changes will modernize the system and also make it safer to travel.

“We actually have open road tolling highlighted throughout our system currently at the Delaware River Bridge which is closer to the customers in Philadelphia. And where we already highlighted open road tolling, we’ve seen a decrease in the percentage of crash rates,” she said.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said it will begin removing the toll booths later this year. 

The new year brings a new Congress to Washington after the contentious 2024 elections. 

Republicans will control the U.S. House, Senate and White House when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20. But the GOP captured a narrow lead in the Senate, and it holds on to one of the smallest House majorities since the Great Depression [219-215 with the resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz.]

Our area is seeing some new faces taking the oath of office in Washington, and some are changing titles.

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA-7)

A former State Representative since 2012, Ryan Mackenzie was one of two Republicans to flip Democratic-controlled House seats in Pennsylvania. Mackenzie narrowly ousted incumbent Democrat Susan Wild to represent parts of the Lehigh Valley, Carbon County and a small portion of Monroe County.

Republican Rob Bresnahan also defeated Democratic incumbent Matt Cartwright in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Mackenzie ran a campaign focused on the economy, inflation and border issues. He represents one of the most purple districts in the commonwealth, having topped Wild in the November election by a little over 4,000 votes.

Rep. Herb Conaway (D-NJ-3)

A longtime lawmaker, Herb Conaway has represented New Jersey’s 7th District in the state assembly since 1998, most recently serving as deputy speaker since 2022. Conaway won the Garden State’s 3rd District Congressional seat [vacated by Andy Kim who won one of the state’s Senate seats] with 53.2% of the vote in November.

According to his campaign website, Conaway holds a medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and a law degree from Rutgers Camden.

Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE)

Sarah McBride makes history, becoming the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress. A member of the Delaware State Senate since 2021, McBride won the First State’s only congressional seat with nearly 58% of the vote in November.

A Wilmington native, McBride worked in the Obama White House and later served as the national spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign. Her priorities laid out in her campaign were expanding access to health care, tackling economic issues and ensuring access to reproductive healthcare.

But McBride’s initial reception in Congress has already been rocky, as transgender rights have become a flashpoint in several Republican-led states. 

Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, proposed banning transgender people from U.S. Capitol bathrooms. 

McBride brushed off the situation, saying in a statement, “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms.”

“This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January,” McBride wrote in a November post on X.

Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA)

Republicans were able to retake control of the U.S. Senate due to some key flipped seats, including Dave McCormick‘s win in Pennsylvania. The West Point graduate ousted longtime incumbent Democrat Bob Casey for his Senate seat in November, winning an extremely narrow election by just 0.2%.

It was McCormick’s second time running for a U.S. Senate seat in the commonwealth. McCormick lost to Mehmet Oz in the GOP Senate primary during the 2022 election, a race ultimately won by Democrat John Fetterman.

“The one message we heard over and over again was ‘we need change,’” said McCormick while declaring victory in the tight race in November. “We need leadership to get our economy back on track, to get this horrific inflation under control. We need leadership to secure the border, to stop this scourge of fentanyl.”

McCormick campaigned heavily with President-elect Trump in the key battleground state throughout the 2024 cycle. His campaign featured several top Trump priorities, including issues related to inflation, and securing the U.S.-Mexico border. As a veteran, McCormick, on his campaign site, says it’s also a priority for him to “restore America’s military might.”

Changing Roles

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ)

Andy Kim of New Jersey isn’t new to Washington, but he’ll be taking on a new role starting in 2025. The three-term congressman in November became the Garden State’s first Asian American senator. Kim will also be the first Korean American to serve in the U.S. Senate.

The former congressman will also be the first senator from South Jersey in 70-plus years.

Kim won the seat vacated by longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez following his conviction on federal corruption charges. The former congressman garnered 53.6% of the vote, topping Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw.

Kim ran on a platform of supporting small businesses and growing jobs, expanding access to health care, making raising a family more affordable and restoring faith in government following the Menendez indictment.

“It’s important to make sure we step in quickly and to be able to show that we are moving in a different direction, that this is a new era of politics in New Jersey,” Kim told CBS News Philadelphia in December.

The senator was sworn in early, on Dec. 9, after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy appointed him to the seat following his election certification. He replaced George Helmy, who served for several months after Menendez resigned.

Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)

Another local member of Congress is moving across the U.S. Capitol and is making history in the process.

Lisa Blunt Rochester, who held Delaware’s lone congressional seat since 2017, becomes the state’s first woman and first person of color elected to the U.S. Senate. Blunt Rochester defeated Republican Eric Hansen in November, garnering 56.6% of the vote.

She takes over for longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Carper who opted not to seek reelection.

Blunt Rochester’s campaign focused on health care reforms, economic issues and social equality. But the lawmaker has also put a focus on bipartisanship, and in her exit from the House, put out a call for legislators to work together to get things done.

“If we are to build a democracy, a planet, and a future that endures, it will take each and every one of us doing our part,” said Blunt Rochester in her farewell remarks on the U.S. House floor in December.

President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s bid to buy U.S. Steel could have significant implications for Pennsylvania and the steel industry.

President-elect Donald Trump had already said he would kill the deal when he takes office later this month to keep a foreign firm from taking over the Pittsburgh-based business.

U.S. Steel employs thousands across its plants and offices in Pennsylvania and the state has about 10% of the nation’s steelworkers.

For them, Biden’s intervention could mean short-term job stability, as the administration emphasizes keeping the company under American ownership. 

But, it’s not a fix for U.S. Steel’s problems; the company has said it needs financial resources to upgrade plants and keep pace with demand for steel around the world.

Biden on Friday issued the order blocking Nippon Steel Corp.’s proposed $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel, citing his presidential authority under the Defense Production Act of 1950 and calling the steel industry “critical for resilient supply chains.”

Nippon and U.S. Steel, however, took exception to the order.

In a joint statement, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel said it was “dismayed” by Biden’s decision, calling it “a clear violation of due process and the law governing CFIUS.” 

The companies said blocking the sale will deny billions of dollars in investments planned in the U.S. and vowed to take “all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.”

(This story was updated to add new information.)