"We do look at the whole picture. Luckily this child seems to be fine. There's no harm done," says Northampton County DA John Morganelli, who says that's one reason why he plans to drop charges against a woman who was put in jail after leaving her one-month-old baby with a LANTA bus driver. Morganelli says it's obvious that Ashley Walters needs psychiatric help and is being committed to a hospital for a 72-hour mental health evaluation. Last Saturday, the 26-year-old Whitehall Township woman walked onto a LANTA bus in Bethlehem with her son. She put the carrier down, asked the driver to call police then walked off the bus crying.
Police are investigating a home invasion in Bethlehem. Police say at least three, but perhaps as many as six people, entered a Main Street home Tuesday armed with guns. Police say drugs were found at the scene and that could be related to the motive. One person was hurt after falling from a second-story window, but police say rumors that somebody was shot during the incident are a miscommunication.
Allentown police are looking for a gunman on the loose. Police were called to the area of West Tilghman and North Fifth streets and found a man who had been shot in the leg. The victim was taken to the hospital and is said to be in good condition. The shooter remains at large and has not been identified.
Lousy weather is delaying trick-or-treating many places. Trick-or-treaters will have to wait until Friday night in Easton, Wilson, Alburtis and Bath as well as in Forks, Palmer, Moore and Lower Macungie townships. Trick-or-treating has been pushed back to Saturday night in Allen Township and in Catasauqua, North Catasauqua and Northampton.
Investigators are looking into a new claim of sexual assault against Jerry Sandusky. Penn State officials confirmed police are looking into a reported incident that happened at the Lasch Football Building on campus between June 2000 and September 2010. So far, the university is only saying an investigation into the claim is underway.
PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike are about to roll out a program aimed at keeping workers safe in construction zones. Leslie Richards is the PennDOT secretary. "Every day we wake up and the first thing we think about is how can we make our transportation network here in Pennsylvania safer. How can we make sure that people can get to where they need to be in the safest way possible so that everybody gets home at the end of the day," Richards says. Beginning next week, automated enforcement cameras will be placed at select work zones. The cameras will capture the license plates of drivers who travel more than 11 miles per hour over the speed limit while workers are present. Violators will receive warnings at first. After that, they will be fined.
A proposal to allow hunting on some Sundays in Pennsylvania is a step closer to fruition. The state House passed Senate Bill 147 Wednesday. That measure would allow for Sunday hunting on three Sundays every year. The bill now returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote November 18th. If approved, it would then head to Gov. Tom Wolf's desk.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney may one day be better known as Gov. Jim Kenney. The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Kenney is considering making a run for the job in 2022, replacing current governor and fellow Democrat Tom Wolf. A Kenney spokesman says Kenney is flattered by the suggestion but is currently only focused on getting re-elected. Kenney has not personally commented on the matter.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy isn't making the same kind of money he made in the past. According to partial tax returns released by his office Wednesday, Murphy and his wife made around $2.2 million in 2018, way down from the $6.8 million he made in 2017 when he ran for governor. The Murphys' overall net worth is estimated to be around $50 million, despite the governor's salary of $175,000. The family earns its main money from stock investments, but their overall wealth is primarily left from his work as a Goldman Sachs executive. Their holdings are currently managed within blind trusts.