Despite news reports that New Jersey is trying to woo the 76ers to build a new arena in Camden, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday said he’s confident the team will remain in Philadelphia.

“The mayor is the lead on this, together with city council. We’re in direct communication with her office,” Shapiro told reporters after a ceremonial bill signing at Morrisville Middle/Senior High School in Bucks County Tuesday. “And I’m confident that the mayor will bring this to a conclusion that works for her, for council, for the city of Philadelphia and that keeps the Sixers here in the city.”

First reported by ROI-NJ, New Jersey officials sent a written proposal to the team for a multibillion-dollar arena project on state-owned land in Camden. The proposal would be financed by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the entity that owns the Sixers, and has the support of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and other leaders in the Garden State’s General Assembly, according to ROI-NJ. The news was confirmed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, which obtained a copy of the letter, signed by Murphy and other New Jersey officials. 

The report states the New Jersey project would be eligible for “hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives,” since it would include an arena and “commercial, residential and retail offerings.”

The 76ers have played at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia since 1996, but the organization is looking to build its next arena in the city’s Market East section next to Chinatown, when its lease is up at the end of the 2030-31 season.

Shapiro cited the 76ers’ previously announced plans as evidence the team wants to remain in Philadelphia, but said he didn’t want to “get ahead of the mayor or council” on the best course forward.

“To show you just how much the ownership group of the Sixers wants to be in Philadelphia, they plan to invest their own money in building this arena,” Shapiro said in response to a question from the Capital-Star. “They’ve not asked, nor have I offered any state funding for their arena, nor will I, and I believe that Philadelphia is the exact right place for the Sixers to remain, and it’s clear that that is what they want, and I know that the mayor is working toward meeting that goal and keeping the Sixers here and healthy for a long time.”

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker did not respond to a request for comment from the Capital-Star and Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson was unavailable for comment on Tuesday. 

During Parker’s campaign, she said she was open to the 76ers building the arena at Market East, although she didn’t go as far as endorsing it without seeing the details.

Philadelphia City Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents the district for the proposed arena at Market East in Philadelphia, has discussed potential economic impacts for the area, but has not specifically endorsed the arena being built there yet. His office told the Capital-Star that he believes Philadelphia is still the 76ers first choice for their next arena. 

“CM Squilla would like the Sixers to remain in Philadelphia,” Anne Kelly King, Squilla’s chief of staff said in an emailed statement. “He understands that NJ and DE offered them opportunities to build an arena in those states and they have every right to explore all their options.”

Not everyone in Philadelphia is excited about the team’s stated plans for its new arena, however.  Some residents in nearby Chinatown say the new arena would have a negative impact on their neighborhood.

On Aug. 26, the city of Philadelphia released studies of a 76ers arena being built at Market East, which found that there could be some negative impacts on the city. 

A spokesperson for the 76ers told ROI-NJ on Tuesday that it is taking “all potential options seriously, including this one,” in response to the proposal to build an arena in Camden.

The Save Chinatown Coalition, which opposes the 76ers’ proposal for a new arena at Market East, released a statement following the report about the Camden proposal, claiming that the team has “stepped up their veiled threats to leave Philadelphia.”

State Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia) criticized the New Jersey proposal Tuesday. 

“There are few economic strategies more bankrupt and roundly disparaged in urban development than tax giveaways to greedy sports team owners,” Saval said in an email to the Capital-Star. “This tactic is a notorious, tired form of economic and political blackmail, and I reject it in the strongest possible terms.”

In 2016, the 76ers built a practice facility in Camden, New Jersey, due in part to tax breaks New Jersey offered. Philadelphia City Council would need to approve legislation for a new arena to be built.

“I love the Sixers, they belong in Philadelphia,” Shapiro said. “So I recognize Jersey may want to try and entice them to move across the river, but the Sixers shouldn’t go anywhere, and we’ll leave it to the mayor and council to comment on their process further.”

The Republican Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick, is targeting Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., on his alleged lack of action to secure the southern border and the coinciding fentanyl overdose epidemic wreaking havoc on the battleground state. 

In a new ad placed after Labor Day, Blair County Sheriff Jim Ott recalled the loss of his son to a fentanyl overdose. 

“If the border was secure, chances are my son would be alive today. We can’t bring back the people we’ve lost. But we can get rid of the weak politicians like Bob Casey who let it happen,” he said.

The $2.2 million, 30-second ad buy will run on TV and digital statewide. 

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Labor Day, which is less than 10 weeks from the presidential election, is traditionally considered by operatives to be when voters begin to commit to their candidate choices. And while McCormick has been trailing Casey in recent polls, GOP strategists expect voters to begin paying closer attention and get behind the Republican. 

In a poll last month by Quinnipiac University, Casey defeated his challenger 55% to 44% among likely voters in Pennsylvania. 

Quinnipiac University Polling analyst Tim Malloy explained, “McCormick battles low name recognition and a popular incumbent in a closely watched, critical Senate race.”

Businessman and politician Dave McCormick speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

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However, recent Fox News polling has also demonstrated the importance of immigration as an issue not just nationally but in Pennsylvania. Immigration was considered the most important issue in the upcoming election by the second-most number of Pennsylvania voters in a July survey, with 16% saying so. The issue considered as the most important by the largest number of people was the economy at 39%. 

The presidential matchup in the coveted battleground state is further expected to influence the Senate election, putting McCormick in a position to reap the benefits of former President Trump potentially taking Pennsylvania.

The July Fox News Poll showed Trump and Vice President Harris tied in the Keystone State. 

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Bundles of blue pills containing fentanyl intercepted at the border. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

In response to the latest attack on Casey’s immigration record, Casey campaign spokesperson Kate Smart told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Senator Casey is working hand in hand with law enforcement to stop the flow of fentanyl, and has passed bipartisan legislation to sanction Chinese fentanyl producers. Meanwhile, David McCormick invested millions in China’s largest producer of fentanyl and even opposed a bipartisan border deal that would’ve helped prevent fentanyl from being trafficked across our border.” 

Smart referenced the fact that McCormick was CEO of Bridgewater Associates from 2020 to 2022, and that as of 2021, the company had a nearly $1.7 million investment in Chinese company Humanwell across seven different hedge funds, according to publicly available records with the Department of Labor.

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Dave McCormick (Getty Images)

However, the pharmaceutical manufacturing company produces medical-grade opiates and is not one of the companies the U.S. has identified as a producer of chemical fentanyl precursors, which are transported illegally through the southern border. 

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According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, “[I]llicit fentanyl, primarily manufactured in foreign clandestine labs and smuggled into the United States through Mexico, is being distributed across the country and sold on the illegal drug market.” 

The agency has pointed to illicitly manufactured fentanyl as the primary cause of the substantial increase in overdose deaths due to synthetic opioids.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The body of a man found frozen in a small Pennsylvania cave nearly 50 years ago has finally been identified.

The remains of Nicholas Paul Grubb, 27, of Fort Washington, were discovered in January 1977 by two hikers who had ducked inside the cave to escape some inclement weather. Grubb has long been known as the “Pinnacle Man,” a reference to the Appalachian mountain peak near where his body was found.

An autopsy at the time found no signs of foul play and determined that he died from a drug overdose. Authorities, though, could not identify Grubb’s body from his appearance, belongings, clothing or dental information. Fingerprints were collected during his autopsy but somehow were misplaced, according to the Berks County Coroner’s Office.

Detectives from the state police and investigators with the coroner’s office had periodically revisited the case over the past 15 years and Grubb’s body was exhumed in August 2019 after dental records linked him to two missing person cases in Florida and Illinois.

DNA samples did not match in either case, but a break came last month in when a Pennsylvania state trooper found Grubb’s missing fingerprints. Within an hour of submitting the card to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a FBI fingerprint expert matched them to Grubb.

A relative of Grubb was notified of the discovery and family members asked the coroner’s office to place his remains in a family plot.