It's up to eight years in prison for a Lehigh County man who participated in the January 6th Capitol Hill riot. 32-year-old Craig Bingert will also serve three years of supervised release and pay $2000 in restitution. Bingert was convicted earlier this year of trying to push through police barricades during the riot. A Montana man who was convicted with Bingert was has been sentenced to six years in prison, and three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
It's 20-to-40 years in prison for an Allentown man who murdered another Allentown man more than two years ago. 36-year-old Raymond Gourgue was convicted in July of third-degree murder for killing 43-year-old Jose Bermudez on May 14, 2021. The killing happened during an altercation on the 100 block of North Hall Street.
A Berks County man convicted of killing a driver while driving drunk has been sentenced to six to 15 years in prison. 41-year-old Jonathan Richards had a blood-alcohol level of 0.24% and was driving in the wrong lane of traffic when he caused a head-on crash on Hamilton Boulevard in Upper Macungie Township that killed 26-year-old Wadnor-Jean Louis of York. The crash happened around 4:40 a.m. Jan. 17, 2021. Louis died at the scene. Richards was seriously injured.
A Poconos real estate broker is accused of ripping off clients. Craig VanLouvender is with the Monroe County District Attorney's office and says there are almost certainly more victims than currently known. "We'd like to get everybody heard who wants to be heard so that we can move this forward, get everything together and this case doesn't drag on forward and people get their money back, get justice for them, that we get this taken care of at this point," VanLouvender says. Michael Baxter, of the now-closed Michael Baxter and Associates, faces felony theft charges. He is accused of not returning down payments when a client's transaction fell through. Investigators say Baxter would sometimes blame that on his company's computers being hacked. VanLouvender says Baxter also ran a property management company and some of his alleged victims are landlords who claim they hired Baxter to collect rent payment but never received them. Baxter faces more than a dozen felony charges.
The federal government could shutdown this weekend. House Republicans want more money for border security, while Senate Democrats want more aid for Ukraine. Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Scott Perry says this is one of the reasons why voters dislike their government. "The American people are sick of the status quo in Washington D.C. where a couple people in the House and Senate make some huge deal and you have to vote for all kinds of terrible things that bankrupt the country to keep the government open. We are done with that," Perry said. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is reportedly in talks with Senate leaders regarding a bill to fund the government for six weeks.
The state House has approved a bill that would loosen restrictions on the number of days schools must be open in a year. House Bill 1507 will allow local school leaders to decide whether the school year should be 180 days or whether the district year can be considered completed once schools have been in session for 990 hours. The measure passed unanimously with 202 lawmakers approving.
State Representatives from Bucks County are introducing a bill that aims to prevent suicides in Pennsylvania parks and forests. Representatives Kristin Marcell and Kathleen Tomlinson's bill would require suicide prevention information, such as 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline information, to be posted at all state parks and forest facilities. Since 2010, 164 suicides have occurred inside state parks and forests.
The National Weather Service says some areas of New Jersey could see up to six inches of rain from a coastal storm that's headed for the Garden State today and tomorrow. Forecasters say many areas are likely to see less -- but still substantial -- rainfall of between two to four inches from the system. The weather service's office in Mount Holly says today's rains could lead to considerable flash flooding across parts of central and northern New Jersey. A flood watch has been posted for 14 counties in New Jersey -- including Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean, Union and Warren Counties -- through late tonight.
New Jersey U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is telling his fellow democrats that he is refusing to resign over his recent legal troubles. Menendez met with the Democratic Senate Caucus for a closed lunch on Thursday. Senate Majority Leader from New York Chuck Schumer reportedly remained silent and did not say anything during the meeting. Menendez did tell reporters waiting outside that he will continue to cast votes on behalf of the people of New Jersey as he has done for 18 years. The meeting comes one day after Menendez and his wife pleaded not guilty to federal bribery and corruption charges.
In last night's 3-2 Phillies loss to Pittsburgh, Phillies star Bryce Harper was ejected for arguing a check swing that was ruled a full swing by umpire Angel Hernandez. Harper says he couldn't believe it was ruled a strike. "Obviously I didn't swing. I wasn't even thinking about it and then I heard the crowd's reaction and thought there's no way," Harper said. While walking back to the dugout after being tossed, Harper flung his batting helmet into the crowd. A 10-year-old boy ended up with it and Harper autographed it for him later in the game.