It's brutally cold today, but Accu-Weather's Elliot Abrams says warmer temps are on the horizon. "We're staying cold today and tonight. The cold will start to ease tomorrow and completely be vanquished later in the weekend," Abrams says. We spent most of this morning below zero and tonight's expected low will also dip below zero, flirting with today's all-time record low of -5 degrees.
Angela Schmoyer, with the Center For Animal Health & Welfare, says it's not just the two-legged mammals who struggle in this deep freeze. She says it's not fit for our four-legged friends as well. "When the temperatures are plummeting below zero, you can't have them out for more than a couple minutes. Just a quick bathroom break and then right back inside," Schmoyer says. She urges you to call your local humane society if you spot a pet left outside for long periods of time in these arctic temperatures.
If you're car isn't garaged on a day like this, starting it up might be a little difficult. "Actually, the battery's cranking power could be diminished by almost half once the temperatures get to be about zero," says Rex Weaver with the Vinart Dealerships here in the Lehigh Valley.
Wednesday afternoon snow squalls caused all kinds of trouble in Berks County. The first wreck happened on Route 222 just west of Reading around 1:30 and the second happened on I-78 in Windsor Township roughly an hour later. In the Route 222 accident, two tractor-trailers were involved in the wreck, that injured 24, nine of whom were taken to Reading Hospital. Two suffered what are described as critical injuries. The second crash involved 14 vehicles and closed the westbound side of I-78 for nearly five hours. Only minor injuries were reported in that pileup.
An Allentown woman is charged with involuntary manslaughter for the July 2017 death of her 11-month-old daughter. 34-year-old Crystal Cwiklik was allegedly drunk and under the influence of drugs when her baby went underwater and later died at the hospital. Investigators say Cwiklik admitted to them she put the baby and her nearly two-year-old brother in the tub and left the water running for about 20 minutes while she left the room to go into the kitchen to charge her cellphone.
The company that bought Rodale last year is moving one of its titles to Northampton County. Hearst Corp. is bringing Popular Mechanics to Easton. 15 jobs are expected to come with the move.
"Pennsylvania's minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour for a decade," says Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, who aims to change that. The governor has trotted out a plan to boost the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. Under the governor's proposal, the minimum wage would rise to $12 in July, then 50-cents a year until topping out at $15 in 2025.
Some state lawmakers are pushing again for free college. The group discussed the Pennsylvania Promise bill in Harrisburg Wednesday. The proposed measure would cover tuition and fees so students coming from a family that makes less than $100,000 could attend a state-owned or state-related university or a community college. The program is expected to cost $1.1 billion annually if approved.
Now that the government is re-opened, lawmakers will try to hash out a compromise on funding for border security. A bipartisan committee met Wednesday to begin negotiations and Democrat Sen. Bob Casey says despite differences in past appropriations bills, he's confident the committee will come to an agreement. "These are good negotiators. I think that they can come to a consensus," Casey says. The latest stopgap bill funds the government through February 15th. If an agreement isn't reached by the deadline, the government could partially shutdown again.