Two-and-a-half months after eight-year-old Conner Snyder and his four-year-old sister, Brinley, were found hanging in the basement of their Albany Township home, their mother is charged with killing them. Berks County DA John Adams says Lisa Snyder's actions the day of the hangings were suspicious from the start. "We all may think that a mother whose children are found hanging would make every effort possible to save them. That was not done in this situation," Adams says. He says Snyder used a dog cable to hang the children because she no longer cared about them. He says Snyder's internet search history in the days leading up to the hangings included instructions on how to hang yourself. Snyder says she didn't do it and claims her son killed himself because he was being bullied and was afraid to die alone so he also hanged his sister. Investigators say there's no evidence the boy was being bullied.
A Berks County woman is dead after a crash in Lehigh County. 81-year-old Constance Schweyer died from injuries suffered when her car hit a tree Monday afternoon on Lincoln Avenue in South Whitehall Township. Schweyer lived in the Kutztown area.
Bethlehem Township is raising rental rates for the pavilions in Bethlehem Township Municipal Park. Township commissioners voted Monday to raise the rental cost from $125 to $200 for non-residents and from $100 to $125 for residents next year. It's the first rate hike in seven years.
Pennsylvania is doing slightly better than it expected when it comes to its General Fund collections. Last month, the commonwealth took in about $1.8 million more than it had anticipated. For the year to date, General Fund collections are up $166 million, which is about 1.3 percent above its initial estimates.
State game officials say they're closely monitoring the impact of Saturday hunting on this year's rifle deer season. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Game Commission says they're watching how it impacts license sales, hunter success and the deer harvest. A decision will be made in April on whether to keep the season's first day a Saturday.
Gov. Tom Wolf has sent a letter to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred urging him to reconsider a proposal to cut ties with more than 40 minor league teams. Wolf says MLB's antitrust exemption and exclusive control of local professional baseball operations could mean the end of the teams on the chopping block and he adds MLB needs to do the right thing. Pennsylvania teams in Erie, State College and Williamsport are on the list of endangered franchises.
The co-founder and CEO of a popular chain of stores has died. Ollies Bargain Outlets announced that Mark Butler died suddenly after spending the Thanksgiving holiday with his family. The 61-yaer-old Butler oversaw the discount retailer's growth to 345 stores in 25 states.
Tens of thousands of people in New Jersey are still without power after Monday's snow storm. This Sussex County man was stranded inside his apartment. "I went to get the door open and I'm looking and, oh my God, the little branches were all the way down, but they're not little," the man says. Most of the outages are in Sussex, Morris and Warren counties because of heavy, wet snow and wind last night that brought down branches and power lines.
The biggest city in New Jersey is suing New York City for sending homeless families across the river to live. Neward is taking New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to court to end a program that has allegedly relocated almost 1200 families into Newark. The program has also apparently sent more than 2200 families to more than 60 communities in New Jersey, including those sent to Newark. The complaint alleges New York is violating interstate commerce rules by pressuring families to sign leases for illegal and uninhabitable apartments in New Jersey.
The Philadelphia Phillies did not offer contracts to second baseman Cesar Hernandez and third baseman Maikel Franco and they will become free agents. Hernandez had a career high 71 RBI last year and hit .279 Franco batted .234 with 17 homers in 2019.