HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, NORTH HILL ROAD ON THE SOUTHBOUND SIDE. HAVE A GOOD DAY. TWO PEOPLE ARE OUT OF THEIR HOME THIS MORNING AFTER A FIRE IN MANHEIM TOWNSHIP IN YORK COUNTY, 911 DISPATCHERS SAY THAT FIRE STARTED JUST AFTER 515 ON SMOKETOWN ROAD, AND YOU CAN SEE THE SMOKE POURING OUT OF THE ROOF THERE FROM THIS DRONE VIDEO THAT A VIEWER SENT US. THE JEFFERSON VOLUNTEER FIRE CHIEF SAYS THE FIRE WAS UNDER CONTROL IN ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND NO ONE WAS HURT. ALSO IN YORK COUNTY, NEWBERRY TOWNSHIP POLICE CLOSED THE BASKETBALL COURTS AT VALLEY GREEN VILLAGE. THIS AFTER. POLICE SAY THAT THERE WAS A LARGE FIGHT ON SUNDAY, ADDING ONE WOMAN HAD A. HAD A KNIFE AND WAS ARRESTED. THEY SAY IT’S NOT THE FIRST FIGHT AT THE COURTS LAST MONTH, OFFICERS SAY MORE THAN A DOZEN KIDS, INCLUDING SOME WHO DON’T LIVE IN THE TOWNSHIP, WERE CAUGHT FIGHTING THERE. OFFICERS SAY MORE CHARGES ARE PENDING FOR OTHER ADULTS AND KIDS WHO WERE INVOLVED IN SUNDAY’S FIGHT. CONSTRUCTION HAS STARTED TO PUT TOGETHER THE ARENA FOR NEXT MONTH’S UFC FIGHT AT THE WHITE HOUSE. YOU MAY REMEMBER THE STRUCTURE THAT IS GOING UP CALLED THE CLAW, WAS FIRST ASSEMBLED IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY IN THE SPRING IN WARWICK TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER COUNTY. IT’S NOW MOVED TO BEHIND THE WHITE HOUSE, WHERE ABOUT 5000 PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO GO TO THE UFC FREEDOM 250 EVENT ON JUNE 14TH, WHICH IS ALSO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S 80TH BIRTHDAY TODAY IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY, A NEW PARK IS SET TO OPEN. SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP IS OPENING PATRIOT PARK ALONG BALTIMORE ROAD. THAT CEREMONY IS SET FOR ONE THIS AFTERNOON. HERE’S A LOOK AT OUR WEATHER IMPACTS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. TODAY WE HAVE HIGHS NEAR 80. JUST A STRAY SHOWER LATER ON. I THINK MOST OF YOUR DAY IS DRY AND IT WILL BE A LITTLE BIT STICKY BY THE TIME WE HIT TOMORROW. THERE COULD BE A FEW SHOWERS AROUND, BUT I DO SEE MORE PLEASANT CONDITIONS COMING IN ON THURSDAY. FRIDAY’S HIGH IS 76. WE HAVE MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES TO END THE WEEK. IT DOES BECOME A BIT BREEZIER THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK AS ANOTHER REFRESHING AIR MASS COMES IN LOW HUMIDITY. COMFORTABLE TEMPERATURES. CAN’T ARGUE WITH THAT. 50 FOR LOW 70S FOR HIGHS. THAT EXTENDS ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE. JUNE INSIGHT THERE ON THE TEN DAY. MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THOSE STEADIER TEMPS ACROSS THE BOARD. IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE FINALLY GOING TO GET SOME OF THAT FINALLY. IT’S ALMOST MOR
Renewed calls for ‘Purple Alert’ after death of 5-year-old in Pa.
Updated: 5:15 PM EDT May 26, 2026
The recent death of 5-year-old Ajani Samuels, a nonverbal child with autism and epilepsy, is renewing calls for a statewide alert system for missing people with cognitive disabilities.Republican state Rep. Robert Leadbeter of the 109th district in Columbia County said Samuels’ case is the latest painful example of why Pennsylvania needs a separate alert system for vulnerable children who may not qualify for an Amber Alert.His proposal, House Bill 2102, also known as “Aiden’s Law,” was inspired by the deaths of Aiden Ha and Leah Clark, two other young nonverbal children whose disappearances ended in tragedy in Pennsylvania.The bill would create a “Purple Alert,” similar to Amber Alerts for abducted children, Silver Alerts for missing older adults and Green Alerts for missing at-risk veterans. It would immediately notify the public and law enforcement when an at-risk person goes missing and direct as many resources as possible toward finding them.Leadbeater said Ajani’s case would have qualified for a Purple Alert.He said he does not want to politicize tragedy, but argued the system would have provided another critical tool to help law enforcement and the public respond more quickly.”We need to make sure that while in the case of Aiden Ha and Miss Clark and Ajani they all were nonverbal. This purple alert expands to all cognitively disabled individuals here in the Commonwealth,” Leadbeter said. “It’s incumbent upon us that we are verbal, that we are verbal with Leader Bradford, with speaker McClinton, with President Pro Tem Kim Moore, and we ensure that Governor Shapiro understands the importance of passing a purple alert in Pennsylvania.”Leadbeater said Pennsylvania State Police and PennDOT have pushed back on the measure.PSP, for their part, told News 8 they’re monitoring the legislation, and clarified that their “Missing Endangered Person Advisory System (MEPA)” are designed to assist in the recovery of missing persons who are at special risk of harm or injury, including individuals with autism and Down syndrome, through prompt notification to the general public, appropriate law enforcement authorities, and other agencies.”PSP utilizes MEPAs to assist in finding missing persons at special risk of harm,” said Chris Caracino, Deputy Communications Director for PSP. “MEPAs are inclusive of those with all types of physical or mental disabilities or other challenges.”What qualifies for an Amber Alert?According to PSP, the threshold needed for an Amber Alert in Pennsylvania is the following: The abducted person must be a child less than 18 years old;Law enforcement has reason to believe the abducted child is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury;Additional factors include, but are not limited to, the availability of descriptive information that could assist in the child’s recovery, time elapsed since the child’s last sighting, and reliability of witness(es). State Rep. Leadbeater said police and first responders are key to his proposed system, pointing to Aiden Hart’s case, when local officers were limited to using Facebook for communication, which he said led to misinformation and confusion during the search.Only a handful of states have a Purple Alert system: Florida, Maryland, Kansas, Mississippi, Connecticut and West Virginia.The bill still needs full House passage, then approval in a Senate committee and on the Senate floor, before Gov. Shapiro could sign it into law.
The recent death of 5-year-old Ajani Samuels, a nonverbal child with autism and epilepsy, is renewing calls for a statewide alert system for missing people with cognitive disabilities.
Republican state Rep. Robert Leadbeter of the 109th district in Columbia County said Samuels’ case is the latest painful example of why Pennsylvania needs a separate alert system for vulnerable children who may not qualify for an Amber Alert.
His proposal, House Bill 2102, also known as “Aiden’s Law,” was inspired by the deaths of Aiden Ha and Leah Clark, two other young nonverbal children whose disappearances ended in tragedy in Pennsylvania.
The bill would create a “Purple Alert,” similar to Amber Alerts for abducted children, Silver Alerts for missing older adults and Green Alerts for missing at-risk veterans. It would immediately notify the public and law enforcement when an at-risk person goes missing and direct as many resources as possible toward finding them.
Leadbeater said Ajani’s case would have qualified for a Purple Alert.
Hearst Owned
Ajani Samuels
He said he does not want to politicize tragedy, but argued the system would have provided another critical tool to help law enforcement and the public respond more quickly.
“We need to make sure that while in the case of Aiden Ha and Miss Clark and Ajani they all were nonverbal. This purple alert expands to all cognitively disabled individuals here in the Commonwealth,” Leadbeter said. “It’s incumbent upon us that we are verbal, that we are verbal with Leader Bradford, with speaker McClinton, with President Pro Tem Kim Moore, and we ensure that Governor Shapiro understands the importance of passing a purple alert in Pennsylvania.”
Leadbeater said Pennsylvania State Police and PennDOT have pushed back on the measure.
PSP, for their part, told News 8 they’re monitoring the legislation, and clarified that their “Missing Endangered Person Advisory System (MEPA)” are designed to assist in the recovery of missing persons who are at special risk of harm or injury, including individuals with autism and Down syndrome, through prompt notification to the general public, appropriate law enforcement authorities, and other agencies.
“PSP utilizes MEPAs to assist in finding missing persons at special risk of harm,” said Chris Caracino, Deputy Communications Director for PSP. “MEPAs are inclusive of those with all types of physical or mental disabilities or other challenges.”
What qualifies for an Amber Alert?
According to PSP, the threshold needed for an Amber Alert in Pennsylvania is the following:
The abducted person must be a child less than 18 years old;Law enforcement has reason to believe the abducted child is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury;Additional factors include, but are not limited to, the availability of descriptive information that could assist in the child’s recovery, time elapsed since the child’s last sighting, and reliability of witness(es).
State Rep. Leadbeater said police and first responders are key to his proposed system, pointing to Aiden Hart’s case, when local officers were limited to using Facebook for communication, which he said led to misinformation and confusion during the search.
Only a handful of states have a Purple Alert system: Florida, Maryland, Kansas, Mississippi, Connecticut and West Virginia.
The bill still needs full House passage, then approval in a Senate committee and on the Senate floor, before Gov. Shapiro could sign it into law.