A Monday autopsy confirms a South Whitehall Township death was a homicide. The Lehigh County Coroner's Office says an autopsy confirms that 56-year-olde Christopher Potter died from multiple gunshot wounds. He was killed around 6 o'clock Friday morning in the 3400 block of Cambridge Circle. Elvis Perez has been arrested and is charged with killing Potter. Exactly what led to the killing has not been revealed.
There are formal charges and a suspect in custody for Sunday's deadly stabbing in Stroudsburg. Prosecutors yesterday filed homicide charges against 30-year-old Justin Martinez. Police say Martinez got into a fight with a man named Robert Lozano the Third, and stabbed him Sunday night on Main Street.
The battle over access to Allentown's NIZ tax records took another step forward Monday. The State Senate Rules Committee passed a resolution demanding that Revenue Secretary Pat Browne release the tax information, or possibly face jail time. The resolution will now move to the Senate floor for a full vote, which could come as early as today. Browne created Allentown's NIZ tax zone when he was a state senator representing part of the Lehigh Valley. If the resolution passes, Secretary Browne will be required to testify in front of the Senate and explain why he hasn't released the documents. The Department of Revenue has maintained it can't share private business tax information with lawmakers. If the Senate doesn't agree with his reasoning, they could hold Browne in contempt and send him to jail.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio rallied support for Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick in Allentown yesterday. The Republican appeared at a "Hispanics for McCormick" event in the city. Rubio stopped in Allentown hours before speaking at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry Dinner in Hershey.
Drivers should prepare for detours and delays Wednesday when driving on Route 22 and Interstate 78 in Lehigh County. Pennsylvania State Police in Bethlehem said the highways will be shut down 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday on Route 22 both eastbound and westbound in the county, and I-78 both eastbound and westbound in both Lehigh and Berks counties. There's no official reason given, but it likely has something to do with former President Trump's planned campaign visit to Reading Wednesday evening. Doors for the rally are expected to open at 3 p.m. and the former president is set to deliver remarks at 7 p.m..
Elon Musk says he plans to make more appearances in Pennsylvania to help the Trump campaign. Musk spoke in favor of the GOP nominee during a rally in Butler on Saturday, with Politico reporting that he plans to attend more events in the swing state in the upcoming month before the election. He will be backed by America PAC, the pro-Trump super PAC Musk helped found.
The Supreme Court will not hear a Pennsylvania Republican challenge to expanding voting access. A group of GOP state legislators filed the lawsuit against a 2021 executive order by President Biden that promotes easier access to voting, as well as an edict by Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro to establish automatic voter registration. They asked the Supreme Court to take up the case after a district court threw it out. The justices declined to do so on Monday.
Trash fees are going up in Emmaus. The Borough Council has awarded a new contract to current provider Whitetail Disposal of Perkiomenville that will increase the yearly rate by more than 100 dollars. Borough President Shane Pepe said two contract bids were being considered, with Whitetail being lower in price. Pepe added that he thinks the rate will not increase for four years.
Monday, on the one year anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks in Israel, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro urged people to remember those lost in the fighting and called for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. "There was darkness on October 7th and we remember that darkness today. But, it is also important to find light in the midst of darkness," Shapiro said in Philadelphia. A year ago 1200 Israelis were killed when terror group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel.
A new report shows Pennsylvania is among the states in the nation where auto crashes involving animals are most likely. Researchers for State Farm Insurance say there is a one-in-61 chance of hitting a deer or other animal while driving in Pennsylvania, far greater odds than the national average of one-in-128. West Virginia is the top state in the country when it comes to collisions that involve wildlife, with a one-in-40 chance of getting into a crash. Deer are becoming more active at this time of year as well as their mating season gets underway.
Giant spiders which are rumored to have the ability to fly are now making their debut in Pennsylvania. Joro spiders are invasive, venomous spiders which originate from parts of Asia. Female Joro spiders have bodies which are about in inch long, but their leg spans can be as big as four-inches. A group of six Joro spiders have recently been found in Warminster in Bucks County. Officials say there is no need to be alarmed, as the spiders don't actually fly but instead are lifted into the air on silk strands, which is often called ballooning or parachuting and they are no real danger to humans or pets.