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An accident on Route 22 in Lehigh County is making travel difficult for some travelers Tuesday morning.
A tractor trailer accident involving a diesel spill has Route 22 Eastbound shut down between 15th Street and MacArthur Road in South Whitehall Township.
The accident was reported just before 2 a.m.
We're told the conditions on the road are not good enough for drivers yet, so crews are still at the scene.
Officials say it could be closed down for a few more hours.
Refresh this page for the latest information.
Tuesday morning commute >>> jaciel cordoba: We begin this morning with more on the accident in South Whitehall that will cause some problems with your commute>> eve tannery: a tractor trailer accident involving a diesel spill has Route 22 Eastbound shut down between 15th Street and MacArthur Road. before 2:00 this morning. conditions on the road are not good enough for drivers yet.. so crews are still at the scene. Officials say it could be closed down for a few more hours. We will keep you posted with the
If you’ve picked up a tabloid magazine lately, you’ve probably read about Princess Kate’s battle with extreme morning sickness.
It’s a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum, and it sends about 60,000 pregnant women to the hospital each year.
Now one researcher, who had the condition herself, is uncovering clues about this mysterious illness.
Mom-to-be Karin Myers can’t wait to meet her baby boy. She’s only 15 weeks into her pregnancy, but it’s already been a long road.
“Honestly, most days I’m focused on not vomiting,” says Myers.
Karin has hyperemesis gravidarum, HG for short. She vomits almost everything she eats or drinks and is nauseous all day, every day.
“I feel like the joy of pregnancy has been stolen from me,” she says.
Marlena Fejzo, PhD, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCLA, knows the feeling.
She suffered from HG with her first two pregnancies and lost one of the babies.
“In the second pregnancy, I was so ill that I couldn’t even move without vomiting,” says Dr. Fejzo.
Dr. Fejzo couldn’t take another pregnancy so she had a surrogate carry her twin girls.
Now — she’s studying the cause of HG by sequencing the genes of 30 families.
“What it’s looking like to me like it is so far, although you know I’m still in the middle of proving this, is that there are problems in genes involved in liver and kidney health,” says Dr. Fejzo.
She found 20% of women who have HG have a sister who’s had it and 30% have a mom who’s had it.
The condition puts babies at risk for mental health disorders later in life.
Moms are more likely to suffer post-partum depression.
Fejzo says she wants people to know this is a serious condition.
“We have women in our study that have had their retinas detached or their eardrums burst or their esophagus tears or rib fractures from the violent vomiting.”
She’s hoping her research will one day spare moms-to-be, including her own daughters, from suffering like she did.
Fejzo says that about 15% of pregnant women with HG choose to terminate their babies and 37% decide not to have any more children.
There’s about an 85% chance that a woman will have the condition in future pregnancies if she’s already had it.
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Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach has his eye on another term in office.
The Republican announced his re-election campaign tonight at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading.
He's been on the board of commissioners since 2008 and has been the chairman since 2011.
Reading Police are investigating a double homicide in the city that left a mother and son dead.
Mary Branford, 74, was found dead along with her son Johnny Branford, 52, on Saturday night in the living room of their home at 646 North 11th Street in Reading.
It is a loss that is struck many in the community.
"It really hit home because it was the same day that my mom passed way 10 years ago. So, I just know what that feeling is," said John Zuwiala, the owner of Haute Chocolate Cafe in West Reading
John Zuwiala is also good friends with Johnny Branford's brother Joey.
That is why he felt he needed to step up and help the Branford family.
"He is just a good person to be around in the community. He does what he he can for everybody and it is just time for us to help him out in his time of need," said Zuwiala.
Haute Chocolate Cafe will donate 100% of its proceeds from 11am-9pm on Wednesday to the Branford family.
"He is just not in a good place right now. I do not want to have somebody think about money during a time when they should be mourning. I just want him to focus on healing and getting past all this," said Zuwiala.
In addition to the fundraiser at the Haute Chocolate Cafe in the 700 block of Penn Avenue in West Reading, community members have set up a GoFundMe site for the family.
While the community raises support, police are still investigating to find suspects and a motive for the killings.
The coroner tells us Johnny died from multiple stab wounds, but the cause of Mary's death has not been released.
So far, police have not been able to identify a suspect, but they did said Monday that "based on the information developed so far, this does not appear to be random event."
Anyone with information that can help the case is asked to call Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913. A cash reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.
More than 100 cases of measles have been reported in 14 states.
"This is unfortunate because this is a preventable disease and it's a disease that has a number of potential dangers," said Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, Chief of the Infectious Diseases Section for St. Luke's University Health Network.
"It is the most contagious disease."
Dr. Jahre said there are only a few groups of people who should not get the measles vaccine.
"If someone has a history of allergy to the vaccine, if someone has a problem with their immune system to or if someone is pregnant or about to become pregnant in the next four weeks, they should not get the vaccine," he explained.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends children get two doses of the MMR vaccine: the first between 12 and 15 months-old and the second between four and six years of age. According to the CDC, one dose is about 93 percent effective and two doses are about 97 percent effective at preventing the disease.
"Anyone born before 1957 is considered to be immune to measles because it was so pervasive," said Dr. Jahre.
There are some people who may have received an inactivated vaccine without the live virus that was not effective between 1963 and 1967. In that case, you may need a booster.
"If you were one of those individuals who got that inactivated version that was available between 1963 and 1967 then you probably ought to have your immunity checked," said Dr. Jahre. "A simple blood test can be done to show whether you have immunity or not to measles."
He said, "Prevention is always better than cure because we don't really have a cure once you actually have measles."
Monday, crews were out making sure roads were as clear as possible for drivers.
"Realize that roads aren't going to be perfect no matter how many vehicles or trucks we have out there," PennDot Press Officer, Sean Brown said.
In anticipation of a freezing Monday night, roads in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas received extra attention from crews.
By clearing the roads before temperatures plummet, Brown said crews can help stop a dangerous layer of ice from forming on the roadways.
When temperatures hit single digits, Brown also said salt is no longer effective as a de-icer. Therefore, an 'anti skid' material is used to help drivers navigate those more treacherous conditions.
"Anti-skid is sort of gravel, pebble, sand concoction that helps with traction," Brown said.
Brown also cautions that back roads will likely receive less attention than main roads, warning drivers to use special caution when navigating those areas.
"You might have to watch out for that," Brown said. "Anywhere where water is pooling."
And even when conditions potentially begin to clear in the days ahead, it is still important to keep your wits about you when behind the wheel.
"We could have a situation where roads clear nice and dry, and then heavy winds blow onto the road," Brown said. "Then you create a wet spot or a snowy spot; drivers aren't expecting that."
For that reason PennDot warns salt and anti skid are sometimes not be enough to stop weather related accidents from happening, especially when you're dealing with ice.
