53+ min ago (121+ words) Bethlehem firefighters responded Sunday afternoon to a two-alarm blaze at Pints & Pies Pub, 21 E. Elizabeth Ave. No injuries were reported in the fire, which began about 12:20 p.m., according to a Northampton County emergency dispatcher. The fire appeared to have been started in a wall of the restaurant, and smoke was seen coming from the building, the dispatcher said. The two-alarm blaze was extinguished, and crews were cleaning up the area shortly after 2 p.m., he said. The Morning Call was unable to reach fire Chief Matthew Griffin or other fire officials for comment. Pints & Pies opened about two years ago. The owners also operate a restaurant at 2049 Northampton St. in Wilson....

4+ hour, 36+ min ago (763+ words) When Nick Singleton announced his commitment four years ago, many had him penciled for greatness at Penn State. Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star, was rated a five-star prospect and was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a senior. It seemed impossible for him to meet the expectations heaped upon him, but he has during his time in Happy Valley. In what probably will be his final game for the Nittany Lions, Singleton accounted for 183 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in a rollicking 40-36 victory over Rutgers Saturday night at SHI Stadium. In the process, he passed Saquon Barkley as Penn State's all-time leader in all-purpose yards (5,586), rushing touchdowns (45) and overall touchdowns (55). "He's a guy who has a big legacy at Penn State," Singleton said. "To get his records means a lot." He has undoubtedly left his own…...

5+ hour, 23+ min ago (322+ words) Fire has heavily damaged a well-known banquet facility in Lower Saucon Township. Ty Johnson, chief of Lower Saucon Fire Rescue, said no one was hurt in the fire at The Moon of Saucon Valley, formerly known as The Meadows, which erupted sometime around 10:50 p.m. Saturday. He said an unknown number of tenants who live in an apartment were displaced. He said it was unclear if an event was happening when the fire broke out. A Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal has been called in to investigate the blaze, Johnson said. No cause or point of origin was available Sunday morning. The Moon of Saucon Valley is in the 1700 block of Meadows Road, near Route 412, in the southern end of the township near Hellertown. The fire turned into two alarms and led to the callout of firefighters from about 20 companies in Northampton,…...

5+ hour, 24+ min ago (630+ words) By ALBERT STUMM, Associated Press With a runway of smoking-hot coals laid out before them, residents in San Pedro Manrique, Spain, steel themselves as thousands of onlookers cheer them on. The crowd roars when they walk across the fire, sometimes carrying another person on their back. Although the walkers and the crowd perform very different roles during the annual June ritual, they report similar feelings: an ineffable feeling of togetherness, as if the entire group becomes one, said Dimitris Xygalatas, a cognitive anthropologist at the University of Connecticut, who witnessed the Spanish ritual years ago as a researcher. He has experienced similar feelings in a stadium while chanting and cheering together with 30,000 fans of his hometown soccer team. Both are instances of collective effervescence, said Xygalatas, author of "Rituals: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living." It's that feeling…...

6+ hour, 31+ min ago (411+ words) The first week of December could turn wintry rather than feel like late autumn, perhaps to get everyone into an early holiday mood, or at least some sledding. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said Sunday that a storm system is scheduled to bring snow and rain Tuesday to the Lehigh Valley and outlying regions. Areas of the Valley along Interstate 78 could get 1-4 inches of snow beginning early Tuesday, with possible snowfall rates of a half inch to 1 inch per hour. There's a 50-50 chance of the Valley seeing at least 2 inches, according to the forecast, before the snow is scheduled to change to rain by Tuesday afternoon. The southern Poconos and northwest New Jersey could see up to 8 inches, according to the forecast. After the first measurable snowfall of December, the remainder of the week will see…...

7+ hour, 24+ min ago (878+ words) My wife Lynn and I just finished watching Ken Burns. new PBS documentary, "The American Revolution." It's six episodes and runs for 12 hours. I saw about 8-9 hours.There's something about the voice of narrator Peter Coyote " combined with the soft sound of violins and the camera's slow pan over still drawings " that put me out every evening after about 45 minutes. It wasn't for lack of interest. I'm an American Revolution nerd. I've tromped across every major battlefield or point of interest in the Northeast and most in the South and have a bookshelf full of books. I've been waiting for this series to be released for at least a year. The documentary is thorough, engaging and " as is customary for Burns " tells the story through a first-rate cast of historians and gives voice to the written word of Revolutionary era…...

7+ hour, 45+ min ago (243+ words) Gradual clearing is expected Sunday into Sunday night with cold conditions and sunny skies Monday giving way to a storm system that might bring an early season snowfall to much of southeastern Pennsylvania. According to the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, N.J., which oversees the region, the track of the storm, a nor'easter, remains in some doubt. A plowable snow is expected north of Interstate 78 from late Monday into Tuesday with several inches expected. "As you head well south and east of I-78, the potential for plowable snow quickly decreases," according to the forecast. "Our latest forecast includes snowfall amounts less than 1 inch for the immediate I-95 corridor, 1 to 2 inches for areas just northwest of there." Warming conditions are expected to melt whatever snow falls in southeastern Pennsylvania and nearby. No watches or warnings have yet been issued. The event would…...

11+ hour, 54+ min ago (1188+ words) Ben Clymer remembers it well: 65-9. Saucon Valley beat his Faith Christian team in the first round of the 2018 PIAA Class 2A team tournament. "One of the wins was a forfeit," Clymer said with a hint of sarcasm. Clymer, a 2008 state champion at Northwestern Lehigh, hates to lose. But he knew time and hard work were the only things that would take Faith Christian from state qualifier to where it is now " among the nation's most elite. The Lions are the three-time defending PIAA team tournament champions with eyes on a fourth title among many other things. Clymer and his staff slowly built the program from its humble beginnings to what it is today. They developed year-round wrestlers into ultra competitors who, like him, despise losing. That is evident when seniors Shane Wagner, Adam Waters and Cael Weidemoyer talk about who has…...

11+ hour, 58+ min ago (884+ words) Studs from recent years have graduated from Quakertown, leaving big voids. But if senior Logan Pfistner and junior David Clayton are right, the Panthers" new leaders will take what they learned from the likes of Collin Gaj, Mason Ziegler and Calvin Lachman and continue the tradition. "We"ve always had a pretty good room," Pfistner said. "We"ve grown up with those guys. They pushed us to get better. It"s been a trend at Quakertown. You push the younger kids to want to be one of the best in the state." Quakertown is pushing to be one of the Suburban One League"s top programs again and win a 10th consecutive division title. It will take development from a lot of wrestlers, including Pfistner and Clayton, to achieve that goal. Three freshmen and three sophomores will need to team with…...

12+ hour, 3+ min ago (1204+ words) Quinn McBride is a three-time PIAA qualifier and a two-time state medalist with 91 career victories. He is talented, hard working and confident. But nerves sometimes factor into his performance. "I'need to trust in my training and not let nerves get to me," the Pennridge senior said. "It's a big thing I struggle with. I know I work hard. There's no reason to doubt myself." McBride is fine at most tournaments until he sees his name come up on the board. That is when tightness creeps in. He felt it at last year's season-opening Brian Bealer Memorial Duals at Boyertown, when he got in his own head in his third match, an 8-6 loss to Owen J. Robert's Carter Soto. "I remember thinking that if I lost," he said, "I would think, "Damn, I lost and I'm a state placer.' I didn't wrestle…...