5 people hit by gunfire after block party in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA » Gunfire left five people shot as a block party was breaking up in Philadelphia’s Mantua section.

One person is in critical condition following the shooting, which happened early Monday, near 39th and Melon streets.

Police Chief Inspector Scott Small tells WPVI-TV at least 31 shots were fired because officers recovered 31 shell casings.

No arrests have been made.

Man falls into 10-foot sinkhole while trying to block it off

PHILADELPHIA » A Philadelphia man who fell into a sinkhole says he was putting traffic cones around it because he was worried about the safety of children playing outside.

Eugene Clark tells WCAUTV he was near the sinkhole Saturday night when the asphalt gave way and he tumbled 10 feet into it.

The 58-year-old calls it a “shocking situation to be in.”

Clark has injuries to his ankle, wrist and lower back. He says a city firefighter pulled him out about an hour later with his bare hands “like Hercules.”

He says the water department recently came out to deal with other issues on the street but never fixed the sinkhole. The department says there appears to be a sewer line leak and they will look at the hole this week.

Man, woman found dead, bloodied and bruised in apartment

PHILADELPHIA » Police in Philadelphia say a man and woman were found dead, their bodies bloodied and bruised, and the apartment they shared was ransacked.

Chief Inspector Scott Small says the 50-yearold man and 23-year-old woman were found around 11:45 p.m. Sunday by a family member who lives in an apartment upstairs from them in South Philadelphia.

Small said the victims were found in separate rooms and there was no forced entry into the home.

Police: Man arrested for graffiti support of Allentown mayor

ALLENTOWN » Police say a 25-year-old man has been arrested for writing graffiti on buildings in support of a Pennsylvania city mayor charged in a federal corruption probe.

Police say they arrested John Laube, of Upper Milford Township, Sunday and charged him with disorderly conduct and five counts of criminal mischief.

The Morning Call reports orange flames were painted on the windows of the newspaper’s Allentown building, and “#We Wanted Allentown” was written on WFMZ-TV’s studio. Other messages were painted on a Starbucks and Miller Symphony Hall.

Laube launched a social media campaign with the hashtag “#We Wanted” in support of the city’s three-term mayor who was charged in a pay-to-pay federal corruption probe last month. Democratic Mayor Ed Pawlowski has pleaded not guilty.

Pawlowski says Laube is not employed by his campaign, and he condemns the man’s actions.

Wolf: Standardized test changes to lessen test-taking time

HARRISBURG » Changes to statewide testing of elementary school students that will go into effect this year should shorten the amount of time they spend on those tests by about 20 percent, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday.

Wolf, a first-term Democrat, said the some sections of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests for students in grades 3 through 8 have been removed and other sections have been shortened.

The time reduction will be even greater, about 25 percent, for the youngest students.

He said the changes are being made in response to concerns from parents, teachers and students about the amount of time they must dedicate to taking standardized tests.

The PSSAs are administered in grades 3 through 8 in English language arts and math. Science is tested for some grades.