A Lower Macungie Couple is charged with endangering the welfare of two children. Lehigh County DA Gavin Holihan says state police were called to Divot Drive on January 22nd for reports of a nearly naked 15-year-old boy running around the neighborhood. "This was last week when temperatures were in the single digits and the first the neighbors were aware of the situation was when the child went to their house, banging on the door, begging for help," Holihan says. State police say the teen told them his stepfather, 36-year-old Joshua Dechant sent him outside in single digit temperatures as a form of punishment. Investigators say the boy's twin brother was also subjected to the same treatment and that both boys were extremely malnourished. The twins told police Dechant and his wife, 42-year-old Tracy Dechant both mentally and physically abused them, denied them food and water and forced them to sleep on the floor with only one blanket to share. An examination revealed both boys weighed roughly 50 pounds, or about 90 pounds below what a boy of their size and age should weigh. The Dechants are now free on $75,000 bail.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has confirmed the first case of bird flu in Pennsylvania poultry. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has confirmed the state's first positive case of bird flu in domestic poultry in 2025 at a 50,000-bird commercial poultry farm in Lehigh County. The farm wasn't identified, but the state says it is an egg-laying facility. A state and federal task force is on the farm trying keep the virus from spreading further. The state says there's no risk to humans and poultry products and eggs are safe to eat if cooked properly.
A search warrant has been approved for the DNA of an Allentown employee who claims to have been a victim of a hate crime. That employee, identified in the search warrant as Latarsha Brown, was reportedly not willing to provide a sample for the investigation and gave vague and deceptive answers and asked that the FBI discontinue its investigation. Investigators told Brown they would require a sample of her DNA “for exclusionary purposes since she touched the evidence, and her DNA would most likely be found on that evidence.” Brown, who works for the Community and Economic Development Department and is an Allentown School Board member, claimed she found an item resembling a noose on her desk when she arrived for work on January 10th.
It appears a new elementary school in the Bethlehem Area School District is a done deal. The Bethlehem Area School District Board of Directors formally accepted conditions to build a new elementary school Monday night. Last month, the Borough of Fountain Hill gave the project a green light as well. Plans call for the district to tear down a building at 1330 Church Street and build an 85,000-square-foot, three story building that will serve 500 students in grades K-5. Demolition is expected this summer and is scheduled for two years.
The candidates to replace Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure are lining up. Former small business owner and Sen. Bob Casey staff member Amy Cozze has announced she's running in this year's Democrat primary. Northampton County Controller Tara Zrinski plans to formally announce her candidacy Thursday. Before becoming county controller, Zrinski had served six years on County Council. Last week, Republican County Council member Thomas Giovanni announced his bid to replace McClure, who is not seeking a third term. The Northampton County Executive primary race will take place May 20.
It hasn't begun snowing yet, but Accu-Weather's Heather Zehr still thinks it will. "Through the course of the morning, we're going to run into the possibility that there can be slippery travel in these places where the snow showers come through," Zehr says. Up in the Poconos, Zehr thinks they could get a couple quick inches of snowfall.
It appears firearms deer season will once again start the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The schedule adopted over the weekend is only preliminary. It will come up for a final vote when the game commission meets in April. The state legislature could still change things though. There is a bill that would trump the Game Commission's decision and permanently set the opening day as the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Two Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed a bill that would remove sex from birth certificates. Democratic state Representatives Benjamin Sanchez and Joe Webster claiming it would eliminate another form of discrimination. The lawmakers say by removing sex from birth certificates, another form of discrimination people endure when there is an error in that category would be eliminated. If the bill passes, sex will still be reported on the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth system, which is used for medical data collection.
Mayor Ed Gainey says the City of Pittsburgh will not be participating in any local operations run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Gainey made the comments during an appearance in Harrisburg yesterday. Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson Cara Cruze says they are unaware of any planned ICE raids in the city at this time, according to TribLive. WPXI-TV cites anonymous sources who claim some ICE raids have already happened in Pittsburgh since Trump took office. They are also reporting that 30 businesses in the city are closing to protect employees and customers from immigration agents.