Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with local police and fire officials are investigating an overnight church fire in Bethlehem. The fire broke out shortly after midnight at Iglesia Pentecostal Church in the 1000 block of Pembroke Road. The church appeared heavily damaged. Fire officials say there is a heightened police presence because the fire was at a church. Police also brought in a K-9 and walked through parts of the church. No injuries were reported.
A Northampton County man is behind bars after allegedly burglarizing the same Bushkill Township home four times. Pen Argyl's Lee Compton is being held on charges of burglary, trespass and theft. Compton was arrested Easter Sunday after he was allegedly recorded by security equipment stealing items from a home on Allentown Road. Police say Compton has previously entered the home illegally on March 31st, April 8th and April 14th, stealing several items each time.
An Easton brewery has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Weyerbacher Brewing Co. has finalized a partnership with 1518 Holdings that will mean the Philadelphia investment group will take a 55% ownership stake in Weyerbacher.
Police and safety experts are warning parents to check their child car seats sold online because they don't meet safety standards. Cheryl Gouker is with AAA Reading-Berks. "They are missing vital safety components that in the United States are mandated by our government," Gouker says. She says key parts of the car seats are made with plastic parts, rather than metal, making them unsafe. Many of these online car seats don't come with warning labels or instruction manuals. Gouker says AAA safety experts first began noticing the unsafe car seats while conducting car seat checks.
The U.S. Court of Appeals is ruling organizations in Philadelphia cannot discriminate against same-sex couples when placing foster children. The court upheld a previous ruling that agreed with the city's position that Catholic Social Services is not allowed to seek a religious exemption from its contractual agreement to accept the city's non-discrimination policy. Mayor Jim Kenney praised the decision saying that the polit ensures that same-sex couples do not face discrimination when offering loving homes to foster children.
The mayor of one South Jersey community says he has no plans to stop using the music of Kate Smith. Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano says he won't be removing Smith's rendition of "God Bless America" from the city's boardwalk playlist. The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Yankees have dropped Smith's rendition of the song after lyrics of hers from the 1930s have been recently deemed racially insensitive by some. Smith's version of the song has been traditionally played daily on the boardwalk at 11am during the summer months.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is appearing at Rutgers University today to speak at an anti-gun violence symposium. Murphy will speak around 11 o'clock this morning. He is a proponent of gun control and has signed a number of related laws into effect since taking office in January 2018.
After complaining about balls and strikes during his own at bats, Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper was thrown out of last night's game for yelling at umpire Mark Carlson during Cesar Hernandez's at bat. Harper admits he can't let himself get ejected. "In a game like this against the Mets, a division rival, things like that can't happen. We're a better team with me in the lineup and I've gotta stay in there," Harper says. The Phillies lost to the Mets 5-1. The same two teams play tonight in New York.