Two arrests have been made in last weekend's murder in Fountain Park in Allentown. 27-year-old Grelvis Cabrera and 18-year-old Carlos Landesta-Agramonte are charged with shooting to death 25-year-old Angel Martinez-Velez on the park's basketball court. Investigators credit surveillance cameras and license plate readers with helping to track down the two suspects.
A Lehigh County bridge is closing. The Walnut Street Bridge in Slatington was built in 1925 and runs over Trout Creek and Factory Street. Officials says the bridge is closing due to the structural failure of various components of the bridge. The bridge will remain closed until a new bridge can be constructed. A new bridge is expected to cost $7.5 million and will take up to three years to construct. Bids for the contract to construct the new bridge are expected to open in December.
The costs of parking fines may be going up in Allentown. During a meeting Wednesday evening, Allentown City Council voted to approve the raise of all parking fines per recommendations from the Allentown Parking Authority. After objections from a council member, the council then agreed to amend the ordinance to require that the parking authority conduct a parking meter study before the rise could go into effect. The raise would help fund the Allentown Parking Authority which has been operating a budget deficit. If the parking meter study is conducted and council approves of the raise, parking fine hikes would go into effect on July 1st.
Police say a Philadelphia man is dead after a tanker truck crash in Northampton County. 25-year-old Rashon Christian-James Cooke was killed in the crash that happened just after 9 o'clock Thursday morning at the intersection of Berger and Diehl roads in Williams Township, causing the truck to roll over and land on its roof in nearby woods. Police say the truck was the only vehicle involved in the crash. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
More than two-dozen Pennsylvanians have been affected by a salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers. The CDC says 27 people in the Keystone State have become sick during the outbreak, the most in the nation. A total of 162 people have fallen ill in 25 states where cucumbers from Fresh Start Produce Sales were distributed. The cucumbers were recalled last weekend.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are looking to create more local tourism boards. A House committee this week okayed a plan that would allow counties to create tourism improvement districts, and implement a new hotel/motel tax. State Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz says the idea is to boost tourism across Pennsylvania. But Republican Donna Oberlander said Democrats at the Capitol need to make sure small businesses are on-board with the plan before it goes any further. The worry is that the proposed hotel/motel tax dollars are earmarked entirely for tourism boards, with nothing left over for city or county governments.
New Jersey's former attorney general testified yesterday in Senator Bob Menendez's federal corruption trial in New York. Gurbir Grewal confirmed prosecutors' allegations that Menendez twice called him while he was the state's AG in an attempt to interfere with an insurance fraud investigation. The prosecution alleges Menendez made those calls after being bribed by an associate of the subject of that investigation. Following one of those calls, Grewal says he and a top aide discussed the conversation, calling the Senator's actions "Gross." Menendez has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
Just in time for summer, tiny clinging jellyfish -- with their very painful sting -- have returned to the Jersey Shore. State environmental officials say they collected more than 500 stinging jellyfish this month from an area near Windward Beach in Brick to the F-Cove area of the township. Their stings are not fatal but researchers say they can be very painful. They're not often found in the ocean or New Jersey's beaches but swimmers are urged to be careful in rivers and bays.
Sweet deals on sweet treats are available today in celebration of National Donut Day. Dunkin' locations are giving away one classic donut with the purchase of a beverage. Guests at Duck Donuts can get a free cinnamon sugar donut with no purchase necessary. Sheetz is giving their rewards app users one free donut with the purchase of any Sheetz Brothers coffee or other ready-to-drink coffee today through Sunday.
The Phillies and Mets have played hundreds of times over the years, but never in London, England. That's where the teams are this weekend with games Saturday and Sunday. Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola says he'll enjoy the trip. "I'm excited to play in London. I've never been there. I've never been out of the country," Nola says. The Phillies play Saturday afternoon at 1 our time and then Sunday morning at 10 our time.