"There are two deceased people inside a home," says Northampton County District attorney Terry Houck. And that's about all we're being told about the deaths of two people inside a home on Railroad Street in North Catasauqua. Houck says both people killed were murder victims, however he is not revealing anything about either of them. He's also not yet saying anything about a possible suspect, but does say investigators don't believe the public is in danger.
We're learning a lot from Danelo Cavalcante about his 14 days on the run after escaping from Chester County Prison. Robert Clark, with the U.S. Marshals, says Cavalcante told them the manhunt was almost over before it began in earnest. "He did mention a few occasions that officers were within seven or eight yards of him," Clark says. Cavalcante says he drank stream water and stole a watermelon from a farmer's field but didn't eat much else during his time on the run. He said he planned to use a stolen rifle to carjack somebody with the intent of driving into Canada.
An Emmaus man is charged with homicide by vehicle nearly a year after a 63-year-old Salisbury Township man died. 25-year-old Chase Strahler turned himself in Thursday, on charges of being legally drunk when he caused an October 2022 crash in the 400 block of South 24th Street in Allentown. Investigators say Strahler's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he hit a parked car and the car driven by John Sassaman. Sassaman, whose blood alcohol was also above the legal limit, had already struck the same parked car. Investigators say Sassaman died from the collision with Strahler and not the parked car.
We're being told several dozen employees have been given pink slips at B Braun. Affected employees were notified of their termination Thursday and again this morning. There's no word yet from the company if the layoffs are ending today or if more are still to come.
Republican David McCormick is reportedly going to run for U.S. Senate again in 2024. The Associated Press is reporting that McCormick plans to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in 2024. The 58-year-old McCormick ran for Senate in 2022, but lost the GOP primary by just 950 votes to Dr. Mehmet Oz. Casey, who is seeking a fourth term, is the longest-serving Democrat senator in Pennsylvania history.
There's no question who Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is backing in the labor dispute between the United Auto Workers and the nation's big three auto makers. In a statement Thursday, Fetterman writes, "Last year the CEO's of the Big 3 made a combined $74 million. Yet these same CEOs are now claiming they cannot afford to pay the UAW workers who bust their asses every day. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It would be laughable if there weren't so many hard-working people getting hurt by these CEO's greed."
A new study from Penn State indicates the spotted lanternfly may not be as damaging to trees as earlier believed. The lanternfly has overtaken most of Pennsylvania. They're native to China and were first discovered in Berks County several years ago. The Penn State study suggests lanternflies actually have no long-term effects on forests or ornamental trees. The study says most trees recover and grow in subsequent years.