Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Turnpike to switch to
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.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Girl Scout, 6, breaks record selling 87,000 boxes of cookies: ‘Unstoppable’
A dedicated Girl Scout in Pennsylvania has smashed the record for most cookies sold in a single season and isn’t letting anything stop her from earning the top prize.
Little 6-year-old Pim Neill sold nearly 87,000 boxes of the seasonal treat as of Saturday morning for her fundraiser, which started with the modest goal of selling enough cookies to earn a spot at scout camp.
“Pim is literally unstoppable,” Pim’s father, Luke Anorak-Neill, told People.
The young Pittsburgh scout had her eyes set on selling the most boxes within her group of 11 kindergartners. She then aimed to sell 5,000 boxes before setting her sights on breaking the state record then quickly aimed for selling over 10,000 boxes.
Her new goal is set for 100,000 boxes.
“Pim’s goal is 100,026 boxes so she can go to Girl Scout Camp this summer, go on adventures with her troop and bring some amazing service projects to her community,” Anorak-Neill wrote on Facebook on Friday night.
“Pim is hoping to sell ‘more cookies than anyone’ and we are tackling her goal a few (thousand) at a time. Pim has shattered several national records and is looking to crumble the world record for most boxes sold.”
Pim, currently a Daisy scout – the youngest of all scouts — began selling cookies on Tuesday, January 6, and by that Friday, she had sold 800 boxes, according to CBS News Pittsburgh.
The Girl Scouts’ cookie season often runs from January to April, the organization said.
The family has utilized Facebook and TikTok accounts to market the little girl’s ventures, updating followers on the daily count of cookies sold.
Anorak-Neill has shared the young girl’s adventures on social media, where he routinely tracks the number of cookies that Pim sold.
Anorak-Neill helped Pim by advertising on multiple Facebook groups and telling family members his daughter wanted cookie sales instead of Christmas gifts.
They have also gone the traditional route, going door-to-door offering the goodies.
“Pim has been out knocking on doors everyday after school and on the weekends so long as the weather allows. She calls people, hands out flyers, and asks everyone at church and community activities. We are excited to get preorders so she can deliver cookies and continue bringing joy! Place your order online today!” Anorak-Neill wrote.
The family has shared the online tracker for Pim’s cookie sales.
Pim faced delays joining a troop because of her late birthday and was then mocked because of her disabilities when she tried to join a group, a journey Anorak-Neill described as “brutal.”
“At one cookie booth, when we asked the adult ladies running the booth, before we knew anything about Girl Scouts, the one lady literally screamed at us (in front of all the girls) that my child’s disabilities would hold a troop back and that she didn’t want Pim in her troop,” Anorak-Neill told the outlet. “She told us to go find a playgroup for disabled kids.”
Pim had dreamed of joining the scouts since she was 3 years old, when she saw a group selling cookies.
When she eventually joined, Pim’s family feared she wouldn’t acclimate to the fast-paced lifestyle, but the fearless kinergartner proved everyone wrong.
“Pim’s first few meetings were very hard. Her disabilities were things we had to overcome, but everyone was supportive,” Anorak-Neill says. “I did all the background stuff and signed up as a troop leader so I would be able to go anywhere Pim goes to support her.”
Pim was dedicated to selling the most cookies after learning that the top prize was a trip to Niagara Falls, a place where Anorak-Neill was brought to by his partner, Don Neill, before moving from Idaho to Pennsylvania.
Neill collapsed last year and was hospitalized, jeopardizing the family trip to the natural landmark.
“Pim knows Niagara Falls is important. She wants to see it in person,” Anorak-Neill said.
The lifetime cookies record is currently held by motivational speaker Katie Francis, who sold 180,000 boxes between 2011 and 2020.
Francis also held the record for most sales in a single season until Lilly Bumpus sold over 32,000 in 2021, a record quickly demolished by Pim’s business.
“We aren’t sure what happened, so we can only try to sell more boxes,” Anorak-Neill said about his daughter’s incredible performance. “Friday morning, we watched the cookie counter. People were excited to help a 6-year-old crush a record that was literally set the season after she was born.”
Pennsylvania
Video in land dispute case shows Pa. trooper interact with Gov. Shapiro’s neighbor
A newly released video obtained by NBC10 shows an interaction between troopers with Pennsylvania State Police and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s neighbors amid a dispute over land in Montgomery County.
The video was taken in mid-October, 2025, and shows a trooper tell Shapiro’s neighbors that he is recording their interaction.
A recent lawsuit brought by Shapiro’s neighbors, Jeremy and Simone Mock, states that Shapiro initially sought to purchase or lease a part of the property owned by his neighbors that ran adjacent to his Abington property in order to build a security fence. But after negotiations between Shapiro and the Mocks fell through, the governor claimed ownership of the property he had sought to purchase.
The Mocks claim that Shapiro then began treating their property as his own by planting trees and having State Troopers patrol there.
The Mocks are claiming that Shapiro violated their constitutional rights and are seeking access to their property as well as other damages, according to the lawsuit.
However, Shapiro countersued the Mocks on Monday, Feb. 9 and said the Mocks never had ownership of the land in dispute and that Shapiro owns the land because he has maintained it for two decades.
October’s video raises questions for Republican Sen. Jarrett Coleman who is the chair of the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
In December, his committee voted along party lines to subpoena records from the State Police regarding taxpayer-funded security improvements at the governor’s Abington home.
Sen. Coleman said that the body camera footage from October was not supplied through those subpoenas and now he wants to know why.
NBC10 asked State Police about the existence of the body worn camera footage and if it will be supplied to the Senate committee but they did not respond to the specific questions we asked.
“This dispute over a small piece of the Shapiro’s backyard has been turned into a shameless political stunt by the neighbors and members of the Republican State Senate who are now attacking the Pennsylvania State Police and threatening, harassing and exploiting the Shapiro’s legitimate security issues,” the governor’s office wrote in a statement to NBC10 on Friday.
Pennsylvania
Suspect wanted in deadly Fayette County shooting taken into custody in Maryland
The suspect wanted in a deadly shooting in Uniontown last week has been taken into custody, according to the Fayette County District Attorney.
A 20-year-old, identified as Lemaur Thompson Jr., was shot on Dunlap Street last Thursday in Uniontown. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
At the time of the shooting, Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said that 18-year-old Braedon Dickinson was named a person of interest, saying the shooting was not random, but “an intentional, deliberate act.”
“This is a full extradition warrant, so we’re looking nationwide for him,” Aubele said at the time.
A few days later, a $2,000 reward was being offered for information that would lead to Dickinson’s arrest.
Dickinson was previously charged in connection with the deadly shooting of Jason Raiford in New Kensington in July 2022. He was 14 years old at the time. His case was de-certified from adult court to juvenile court.
On Friday morning, Dickson was taken into custody in Baltimore.
“We appreciate the efforts of the multiple agencies that have worked tirelessly to locate this defendant, including the Pennsylvania State Police, Maryland State Police, U.S. Marshals, and the FBI,” the DA said in a statement.
Dickinson will now be transported back to Pennsylvania, where he will be facing homicide charges.
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