More than 48 hours after a huge fire destroyed a West Easton warehouse, investigators are trying to figure out why the building went up in flames. William Bogari is West Easton's fire chief and says fighting the fire was an extremely difficult task. "The steel and the roof came down on top of the burning material. The water couldn't get to it so it's just going to sit and smolder and eventually burn itself out," Bogari says. While the fire is out, fire crews are still tending to hot spots to prevent any reigniting.
Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer tells NewsNation accused killer Bryan Kohberger is being looked at for other murders. Coffindaffer says police are looking at common denominators between the murders of four University of Idaho students last November and unsolved murders they're investigating. "Is the target a young beautiful co-ed? Was the weapon of choice a knife? Was the arrival and departure of the individual in a vehicle as opposed to being dropped off or by foot. Was the time chosen in the 3 o'clock to 4 o'clock time frame?" Coffindaffer says. Kohberger, who was arrested last December at his parents' home in the Poconos and graduated from DeSales University, is charged with stabbing to death four University of Idaho students.
31-year-old Samantha Loch, of Lehigh Township, was the woman killed in a motorcycle accident that happened Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of Airport Road and Portland Drive in East Allen Township. Loch was one of two people on the motorcycle during the crash. The other rider, a 44-year-old man also from Lehigh Township, was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg in Bethlehem for treatment. The motorcycle collided with a pickup truck hauling a flatbed trailer. The driver and a passenger in the truck were uninjured.
A person is recovering in the hospital after a fire from a wreck involving a car and a semi-truck Wednesday. Part of Interstate 78 westbound was closed for hours in Upper Macungie Township. The crash happened just after 11 a.m. The car ended up partially underneath the semi. The scene was cleared and the highway reopened after about five hours.
A man appointed to Allentown City Council now wants to be elected to the position. Santo Napoli is running for election. He was appointed by council in January to fill the open seat left by Joshua Siegel, who was elected in 2022 to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Napoli unsuccessfully ran for city council in 2021.
A Lehigh County printer says it's laying off up to 260 employees. Lightning Source has told the state it plans the cuts, which will be done on a monthly basis, beginning with 11 layoffs on April 14. 20 to 40 layoffs will be coming in following months, ending with 69 cuts scheduled in November and another 40 just after Christmas. Lighting Source is an on-demand printing division that allows books to be printed within two business days and sold directly to publishers, booksellers and libraries.
Northampton County is offering free Narcan training to the public. The training is part of the county's "Fake is Real" fentanyl awareness program. A presentation by the Northampton County Drug and Alcohol Division and will show participants how to administer Narcan. It will also offer information on identifying the signs and symptoms of drug abuse and overdose. More information is available at fake-is-real-dot-org.
Pennsylvania raked in $6.2 billion in General Fund revenue last month. That's nearly $500 million, or 8.8 percent, more than anticipated. Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $32.3 billion, which is $1.1 billion, or 3.7 percent, above estimate.
There are three proposals that would allow independent voters the right to take part in either Republican or Democratic primaries in Pennsylvania. GOP St. Rep. Marla Brown is backing the idea. "I think the public should be the ones to name the candidate and I think that's the best opportunity to allow that to happen," Brown says. There are two open primary proposals in the House and one in the Senate. As things stand now they would not become law in time for this year's primary in mid-May.
Pennsylvania has been ranked as the fifth-best state in America for beer lovers. A survey from Vine pair dot com used factors such as the number of breweries in a state, both craft and commercial, as well as the number of brewpubs, microbreweries and nano breweries a state has. Pennsylvania boasts over a three million barrels of craft beer produced each year. The state's 486 craft breweries are second only to California. Pennsylvania's high rating is also partially due to being home to Yuengling, the oldest operating brewery in the country, and the largest craft brewery.
A Pennsylvania lawmaker is proposing changes that will allow drivers to show proof of registration electronically. The idea is being circulated by Democratic House Member Tina Davis. Her proposal would allow drivers to carry either a digital or paper copy of their vehicle registration. Davis has introduced the bill for the past two cycles but it's never gotten anywhere so far.
Pennsylvania hunters had a successful year of deer hunting as they shot an estimated 12% more than in the previous hunting year. The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported hunters killed an estimated 422,960 white-tailed deer during the 2022-23 seasons that ended in January. The buck harvest was estimated at 164,190 and the antlerless harvest at 258,770. The combined total is a 12% increase over 2021-22’s estimated total, which was 376,810.
Defense attorneys for the accused Tree of Life synagogue shooter have again asked for the death penalty to be removed from consideration. They say they're hoping the U.S. Department of Justice can be swayed to take the possibility off the table as they've done with 23 other cases as a moratorium on federal executions continues. Prosecutors were authorized to seek the death penalty under the Trump administration. Bowers is set to go to trial in three weeks on charges that he gunned down 11 worshipers at the Squirrel Hill synagogue in 2018.
State traffic safety officials say driver inattention was to blame for almost half of all traffic accidents in New Jersey. The latest report from New Jersey State Police says distraction behind the wheel was a contributing factor in almost 200 fatal crashes. The state Division of Highway Traffic Safety has awarded grants to 157 law enforcement agencies to help them step up patrols for a campaign this month to crack down on distracted drivers. Last year, the same campaign generated more than eight-thousand citations. One ticket could cost a motorist 400-dollars.