Police were called to Lower Saucon Township home for a welfare check on 70-year-old Mary Anne Looby on Monday. When they arrived, Looby's son, Philip, answered the door with blood on his hands. Lower Saucon Township Police Chief Thomas Barndt describes what happened after they entered the home near the Saucon Valley Country Club. "Further investigation revealed a deceased body inside the residence," Barndt says. Investigators say Mary Anne Looby had several defensive wounds on her body and a bloody, broken candlestick was found near her body. Exactly how she died hasn't been determined. Police say Philip Looby told them he killed his mother after she attacked him with a box cutter. He's in Northampton County Prison without bail.
An 80-year-old Pocono Township man has died after a weekend skiing accident. Rudolf Huber fell Saturday morning while skiing at Camelback Resort in Monroe County. He was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he died Sunday night from his injuries.
A former Lehigh County man faces charges for child sexual assault. Javier Ortega, whose last known address was in Coopersburg, was arraigned Monday for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl at least three times. The victim's father called police about the alleged attacks after he was alerted to them by a friend of his daughter.
We're learning more about what the newest Lehigh Valley Health Network hospital will look like. The health network says a 156,000-square-foot, one-story hospital will include an ER that will include a space designed for children, private patient rooms and a healing garden. The project includes a medical office building which will offer outpatient primary and specialty care. The new hospital will be built on about 180 acres of land off of Route 33 along Hecktown Road. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring and the new hospital could be open in the fall of 2020.
Gov. Tom Wolf is set to pitch the first budget proposal of his second term. Wolf's budget address to a joint legislative session is scheduled for this morning. He's expected to seek a big increase in money for education. His overall budget plan is expected to exceed $33 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is set to begin his recreational marijuana listening tour next week. Fetterman will hold the first of several stops in Harrisburg Monday, February 11th. The next evening, he'll be in Newport, Perry County. Fetterman plans on holding sessions in all 67 counties with additional stops announced later this week.
The National Weather Service says 2018 was Pennsylvania's wettest year ever. Pennsylvania received 63.97 inches of precipitation, more than 20 inches above the usual amount. Places like Harrisburg and Williamsport only had their second-most-ever amounts of precipitation, while State College broke its old record by more than four inches.
Anglers in Pennsylvania can now know when their favorite fishing hole is stocked up from their smartphone. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission says their FishBoatPA mobile app and their website both have the trout stocking schedules posted for locations as well as some other dates of interest. The PFBC stocks about 3.2 million adult trout in more than 700 streams and another 120-lakes statewide annually.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says the state of New Jersey has made history now that he's signed the $15-an-hour minimum wage bill into law. The measure, passed by state lawmakers last week, calls for the minimum wage to go from $8.85 an hour to $10 an hour in July. It will then rise to $11 an hour on January 1st and then gradually increase to $15 an hour by 2024. Murphy signed the bill Monday.
New Jersey gambling officials say its sportsbooks lost $4.6 million in wagers on the Super Bowl. The first major event for bettors since sports gambling was legalized in the state last year. Although the final numbers from Las Vegas have yet to be tabulated, bettors in New Jersey wagered $34.9 million and preferred the favored New England Patriots, who covered the two-and-a-half point spread.