A popular former Slatington yoga instructor has died after an accident in the Dominican Republic. 40-year-old Surely Miller was killed this week after being swept away by a rip current at a Dominican Republic beach. Her body was spotted the next day by a fisherman, about two miles from where she was last seen. Miller had a yoga studio near Slatington before moving to the Dominican Republic about six months ago.
An Allentown man and woman are behind bars for a scheme to entice then rob and assault the victim. Janqunela Allen and Ashley Etienne are being held in the county jail on counts related to robbery and other offenses. Allen allegedly lured a male victim to an Upper Saucon Township motel Thursday with the promise of a sexual encounter. Etienne then allegedly showed up and beat the victim before stealing his phone, wallet and car.
A Bethlehem man is wanted for allegedly beating his young son. Police are looking for Jaquan Howard, who allegedly beat his five-year-old son violently enough to leave bruises all over the child's head and body. Anyone with information concerning Howard's whereabouts is asked to call the Bethlehem Police Department.
A construction worker is fighting for his life after an on-the-job accident in Northampton County. The unidentified man was reportedly working with his son on a deck at a Forks Township home when the structure collapsed. The victim's son was uninjured, but the father crashed into a wheelbarrow and required hospitalization. The victim suffered life-threatening neck injuries.
Easton residents are getting a financial break should they choose to help battle the feral cat population. Easton city residents can bring a feral cat into No Nonsense Neutering in Allentown and that animal will be spayed or neutered for free. The deal comes after the mayor and city council voted Wednesday night to pony up and cover the cost to fix up to 100 cats before the end of the year. The animals will also be vaccinated for rabies and if the cats are under a year old, each will be further vaccinated for distemper and be treated for worms, mites and fleas.
A Monroe County woman is being charged with causing the death of a child. Kunkletown's Delilah Reader was arraigned Thursday on a charge of third-degree murder in connection to the 2015 death of Angelina Tomas. Reader was allegedly taking care of Tomas in December 2007 when she caused the then-ten-month-old Reader a brain injury. Tomas suffered from several physical and cognitive issues purportedly caused by the brain injury, including a seizure disorder that caused her death in 2015.
A Tennessee woman is now officially charged with murdering a Schuylkill County jeweler in New Orleans. Megan Hall was indicted Thursday on charges of armed robbery, obstruction of justice and second-degree murder in connection to the death of Patrick Murphy. Video surveillance footage recorded at a New Orleans hotel in February allegedly shows Murphy and Hall arrive together, then allegedly shows Hall leaving alone while in possession of items belonging to Murphy. If convicted of killing Murphy, Hall faces a mandatory lifetime prison sentence.
It appears that two of the people accused of taking part in the shooting of ex-Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz are tied to Reading. Prosecutors in New Jersey say the gunman in that shooting, Rolfi Ferreira Cruz, is from Reading. He's also wanted in connection with a robbery in New Jersey in 2017. The Berks County sheriff says Luis Rivas Clase, who's also wanted in the shooting of Ortiz, used to live in Reading and is also wanted in connection to a shooting in the city last year. They're two of seven people police in the Dominican Republic say were paid about $8000 to shoot Ortiz.
Highway fatalities are up in Pennsylvania compared to 2017's record low. PennDOT officials reported there were 1190 deaths on Pennsylvania roads in 2018, up 53 from 2017. The report also showed deadly motorcycle crashes and heavy truck deadly wrecks were down year-over-year.
Dozens of farms across the Commonwealth are going to be preserved, according to the state's Agricultural Land Preservation Board. The board announced Thursday that 47 farms across 21 counties are gaining protection, including properties in Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill. The preservation is intended to spare valuable agricultural land from development.
Pennsylvania's First Lady Frances Wolf is lending her voice to the call to raise the minimum wage. "When you translate the minimum wage in Pennsylvania to an annual salary it translates to $14,500 for a woman and her two children and that happens to be $4500 less than what the federal government has set as a poverty line. We have a huge gap to make up," the governor's wife says. Mrs. Wolf says raising the minimum wage could save Pennsylvania about $150 million on social services.
For the first time, Miss Pennsylvania will be crowned in York. The 2019 Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Competition began Thursday night in the White Rose city after a decade in the Pittsburgh area. The event concludes Saturday night.
Gaming revenues are way up from last year in New Jersey. The state's Division of Gaming Enforcement reports total gaming revenue for May 2019 jumped from around $218 million to nearly $277 million, an increase of nearly 27 percent. Numbers released earlier this week also show casino wins went up by around 15-percent from May 2018 to last month. Total revenues for the industry overall so far in 2019 is around $1.31 billion, more than 27-percent better than last year's numbers through May.