Police are investigating after two people were shot outside a popular Allentown nightclub. The owner of the MainGate Nightclub on North 17th Street and a security guard were the victims, both shot just after 2 o'clock Monday morning. They're both being treated at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest for what have been described as non-life-threatening injuries. No one's been arrested.
Northampton County Coroner Zach Lysek says the elderly woman found dead in her Palmer Township home over the weekend was shot to death. 66-year-old Penny VanTassel-Himel's body was found Sunday in her Orchard Drive home and police have named her husband, Edgar Himel, a suspect. The 80-year-old Himel remins at large and is considered armed and dangerous.
A Lehigh Valley man is being charged for causing the death of a pair of puppies. Washington Township's Gage Ruiz was arraigned Monday on animal cruelty charges. Police say they found the decomposing remains of two seven-month-old dogs inside Ruiz's Richmond Road home, laying in inches of fecal matter and garbage without signs of food or water. Ruiz is free on bail.
After 46 years in law enforcement, the past 25 as Salisbury Township police chief, Allen Stiles is retiring. "It was a very interesting 25 years. It's gone very, very quickly for me," Stiles says. Stiles began his career in Bethlehem Township, before becoming police chief in Hellertown and eventually the chief in Salisbury Township. Stiles is moving from police chief to consulting other departments on hiring and training the next generation of police officers.
A smart young man from Lehigh County is on a roll on Jeopardy! Ryan Bilger, an Emmaus High graduate, won again last night. He's now won three straight Jeopardy! games, earning more than $96,000 in the process. Bilger goes for four in a row tonight at 7 o'clock on ABC.
A former teacher will spend at least the next year in jail for having a sexual relationship with a student. A judge ordered Holly Smith to serve one to two years in jail, followed by five years probation and she'll also have to register as a sex offender. Smith is a former Hamburg Area High School teacher. She was arrested in October and pleaded guilty to institutional sexual assault earlier this year. A judge ordered her not to contact the student, but officials say she didn't listen. Smith was facing a second set of charges for rekindling the relationship, but prosecutors dropped those charges so that the victim's family won't have to go through court proceedings again.
Hersheypark officials are responding to reports of an attempted abduction last week. Park officials say an initial investigation which included a surveillance video review of the situation showed no indication any attempt was made to remove or abduct someone. Officials say they'll wait for Derry Township police to complete their investigation of the incident in which a woman reportedly attempted to separate and then drag a young boy away from his group before a teen intervened. Hershey Entertainment officials add that there has never been a child abducted at Hersheypark.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is saying the state has done its part to set things right for 9-11 first responders who have been waiting for a full accidental disability retirement. Murphy signed two bills into law yesterday that are intended to improve protections for first responders, including those who volunteered for rescue and recovery efforts following the 2001 attack at the World Trade Center. Under the new laws, emergency responders no longer must prove their illnesses were caused by their work, but instead only need to provide evidence of exposure. Murphy says these laws will especially help 9-11 responders who didn't ask to go, but instead went while thinking of others rather than themselves.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is saying the determination and spirit of the World Cup champion U.S. Women's National Soccer Team is an inspiration to all. Murphy was at Newark International Airport Monday when the team returned yesterday. The team defeated the Netherlands in the Women's World Cup Final in France and was honored with a water cannon salute as it taxied to a stop. The team will receive a ticker-tape parade in New York City tomorrow.