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Pennsylvania's top marksmen revealed during Governor's Twenty competition

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Pennsylvania's top marksmen revealed during Governor's Twenty competition


More than 100 soldiers and airmen with the Pennsylvania National Guard competed in the annual Governor’s Twenty marksmanship competition at Fort Indiantown Gap on May 9-11.

The competition, which is organized and run by the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Marksmanship Training Unit and this year featured the efforts of 107 service members, determines the top 20 marksmen in the state. The 20 top scorers earn the right to wear the coveted Governor’s Twenty tab on their uniform.

First-place finisher Major Ian Swisher pointed out that several first-time competitors made the top 20.

“Winning feels great, a validation of sorts, to the time and energy I’ve devoted to improving my marksmanship,” Swisher, an operations officer with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, said in a release. “However, the real winners are the dozens of new shooters we welcomed to the firing line. Everyone, regardless of rank or experience, learns something about themselves or marksmanship every time they compete. That’s how we should be measuring value in competition; it’s the knowledge and experience we take back to our formations that counts.”

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The Governor’s Twenty tab, worn on the left shoulder, is a state-level National Guard award that is presented every year and is reflected on a service members’ official personnel record. It is recognized by both the Army and Air Force.

Another top three finisher, Capt. Phillip Wright, competed in 2020 with low expectations, but ended up earning the tab.

“I went in more open minded to learn. I was ecstatic to earn the tab,” said Wright. “This year, I went in with the expectation to finish within the top three because I have been shooting competitively since 2020.”

In order to be competitive, guardsmen need to be proficient with rifles and pistols. Each competitor fires an M17 pistol and M4 carbine. The contest also included an M17 pistol 30 yard slow fire match and a M4 carbine 400 yard slow fire match.

The competition gives an opportunity to guardsmen to apply marksmanship fundamentals. That was one of the motivators for Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Costello, who also finished in the top three, but he also described his participation in the competition as “an honor.”

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“I would love to see this match continue to grow,” Costello said. “I get to see friends that I don’t often get to see, I have an opportunity to pass knowledge on to new shooters and I always learn something new myself.”

Here are the Top 20 results, in order from 1st to 20th:

  • Maj. Ian Swisher
  • Capt. Philip Wright
  • Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Costello
  • Chief Master Sgt. Edward Altmeyer
  • Sgt. Dylan Albert
  • Staff Sgt. Luke Heim
  • Master Sgt. Shawn McCreary
  • Staff Sgt. Robert Robbins
  • Staff Sgt. John Rebuck
  • Staff Sgt. Zachary Paff
  • Sgt. Brennan Koji
  • Sgt. Croft Howley
  • Sgt. Jack Banducci
  • Sgt. James Reddington
  • 2nd Lt. Edward Hay
  • Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Brick
  • Sgt. 1st Class Sean Whaley
  • Sgt. Terry Bennett
  • Sgt. Craig Buick
  • Staff Sgt. Jonathan DeLise
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Pennsylvania

Police: Burglary at home of Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley

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Police: Burglary at home of Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley


Bulletin: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH 495 IN
EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS

IN DELAWARE THIS WATCH INCLUDES 3 COUNTIES

IN CENTRAL DELAWARE

KENT

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IN NORTHERN DELAWARE

NEW CASTLE

IN SOUTHERN DELAWARE

SUSSEX

IN MARYLAND THIS WATCH INCLUDES 4 COUNTIES

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IN NORTHEAST MARYLAND

CAROLINE KENT QUEEN ANNE’S
TALBOT

IN NEW JERSEY THIS WATCH INCLUDES 16 COUNTIES

IN CENTRAL NEW JERSEY

MERCER MONMOUTH

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IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

HUNTERDON MIDDLESEX MORRIS
SOMERSET SUSSEX WARREN

IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY

ATLANTIC BURLINGTON CAMDEN
CAPE MAY CUMBERLAND GLOUCESTER
OCEAN SALEM

IN PENNSYLVANIA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 10 COUNTIES

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IN EAST CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

BERKS LEHIGH NORTHAMPTON

IN NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA

CARBON MONROE

IN SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA

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BUCKS CHESTER DELAWARE
MONTGOMERY PHILADELPHIA

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ALLENTOWN, ATLANTIC CITY, BETHLEHEM,
BLAIRSTOWN, CAMDEN, CENTREVILLE, CHERRY HILL, CHESTERTOWN,
DENTON, DEPTFORD, DOVER, DOYLESTOWN, EAST BRUNSWICK, EASTON,
EASTON, EDISON, FLEMINGTON, FREEHOLD, GEORGETOWN, GLASSBORO,
HAMMONTON, JIM THORPE, MEDIA, MILLVILLE, MOORESTOWN, MORRISTOWN,
MOUNT HOLLY, NEW BRUNSWICK, NEWTON, NORRISTOWN,
NORTH BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP, OCEAN CITY, PENNSVILLE, PERTH AMBOY,
PHILADELPHIA, READING, SAYREVILLE, SOMERSET, STROUDSBURG,
TOMS RIVER, TRENTON, WEST CHESTER, AND WILMINGTON.

Info:

Type: Tornado Watch

start_time_local: 2026-07-18T13:55:00-04:00

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end_time_local: 2026-07-18T21:00:00-04:00

county_name: Lehigh County

state: PA

headline: Tornado Watch from SAT 1:55 PM EDT until SAT 9:00 PM EDT

county_fips:

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category: Met

url:

urgency: Future

severity: Extreme

certainty: Possible

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geographicname: Lehigh County

state_name: Pennsylvania



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Ambler chapel at historic Pa. seminary wins international architecture award

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Ambler chapel at historic Pa. seminary wins international architecture award


From Delco to Chesco and Montco to Bucks, what about life in Philly’s suburbs do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

A chapel at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary’s new Ambler campus in Montgomery County has earned an international architecture award for blending centuries of Catholic tradition with contemporary design.

Immaculate Conception Chapel, designed by Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP, incorporates historic elements salvaged from the seminary’s former Lower Merion campus, including carved pews, statues and stained-glass windows. The adapted features preserve the legacy of the oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in Pennsylvania and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The chapel was one of 12 winners selected from 75 submissions worldwide in the 2026 Faith & Form International Awards for Religious Architecture & Art, presented by Philadelphia-based Partners for Sacred Places.

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“It’s one of these projects that totally balances the contemporary needs of the client with this commitment to … liturgical tradition, institutional memory and preservation,” said

Kevin Block, the nonprofit’s director of special initiatives.

“So that combination … balancing the old and the new, was, in the jury’s opinion, really award worthy.”

Chapel design holds ‘universal appeal’

John Cluver, senior partner and director of historic preservation at Voith & Mactavish, said he worked closely with the seminary to understand the physical and spiritual needs of the people who would be in the building every day.

Incorporating historic elements at the old seminary was key for the institution, Cluver said.

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Philadelphia-based Partners for Sacred Places recognized Immaculate Conception Chapel at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Ambler, Pennsylvania, with one of its 2026 international awards for excellence and innovation in architecture, design and art for religious places. (Photo credit: Jeffrey Totaro; Courtesy of Partners for Sacred Places)

“They were very interested in having this new chapel relate back to these other chapels and to continue this sense of tradition and this historic continuity with their previous campus,” he said. “So the basic form, configuration, individual elements all were based on elements from these two chapels that we could integrate into a single one.”

Cluver said the award from Partners for Sacred Places is recognition of achieving a “universal appeal” beyond the religious context.

“There’s something that resonated with people who had no connection whatsoever with this community, but they still felt that it really spoke to them as well, so it was very rewarding in that regard,” he said.



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Ticket from Pennsylvania Lottery’s Triple Six Fix scandal going up for auction

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Ticket from Pennsylvania Lottery’s Triple Six Fix scandal going up for auction


Almost 50 years ago, a Pennsylvania Lottery scandal rocked the commonwealth and captured the attention of the world. Now it’s going up for auction.

Television viewers on Thursday, April 24, 1980, thought they were watching another random lottery drawing when the numbers 666 were drawn. But weeks later, Nick Perry, a local Pittsburgh news reporter and host of the drawing, was charged and convicted of rigging the game. Investigators learned he made some balls heavier than others by adding extra paint to them, tipping the outcome.

That drawing, and the 666 lottery tickets, would go down in infamy. And now, a 46-year-old artifact at the center of the scandal is up for sale. 

John Zenewicz likes to go to estate sales and has a side hustle selling finds on eBay. He said he was at an estate sale in Saxonburg when he saw a 666 ticket sitting on a dresser. 

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“I remember the style of ticket because my dad would buy them when I was a boy,” said John Zenewicz. “And I was like, ‘why would someone encase an old lottery ticket?’ and the only thing that could pop to my mind was that story that I remember. I was 10 years old.”

Zenewicz suspects the homeowners had no idea what they were selling. 

“What I presume, it’s one of the tickets that was probably confiscated as evidence in Nick Perry, what the locals call the Triple Six Fix,” he said.  

After a little more research, Zenewicz said he realized one of the previous owners of the home worked in law enforcement at the time of the scandal. He suspects he may have been part of the team prosecuting Nick Perry. Perry served two years in jail, was fined $3,000 and was ordered to pay $35,000. 

Perry died in 2003, but at least one of the tickets at the center of it all remains. And now, Zenewicz says he is selling his 666 ticket on eBay, giving someone else a chance to own a piece of history.

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