Lehigh Valley Congressman Ryan Mackenzie is set to appear on national television later this week. The Lehigh County Republican will take part in a town hall hosted by CNN Thursday night. Mackenzie will take questions from a live audience alongside other U.S. Representatives on both sides of the aisle. He said he hopes to "cut through the noise and talk about delivering real, bipartisan solutions for the people."
The man who allegedly shot a Pottstown police officer late Sunday afternoon is dead. Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele says 25-year-old Andrew Ecker was shot to death after barricading himself inside his Pottstown home just after he allegedly shot a Pottstown police officer in the shoulder. That officer is expected to fully recover. Police encountered Ecker after a two-vehicle crash in Pottstown Sunday night. He fled after he allegedly tried to grab a gun during a struggle with police. Investigators say the standoff ended when Ecker was shot to death by police.
A woman is dead after she was hit by a vehicle Monday morning in Allentown. The woman was hit about 5:30 a.m. near Franklin and Hamilton streets. Police say the driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation. The 69-year-old victim has been identified, but the coroner's office has not yet released her name.
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office is trying to track down the next of kin of 14 deceased people, whose cremated remains are being held by the office, in some cases for more than 26 years. The return of the cremains will be at no cost to the family that wants them. Any cremains that are not claimed, will be buried as a group at the county cemetery. The list of those remains that are unclaimed can be found by calling the coroner's office at 610-782-3426.
There's good news on a father and son who were critically injured when a plane crashed in Lancaster County last month. The Lehigh Valley Health Network says Matthew and Judah White are both out of the hospital's burn center. Matthew was piloting a small plane with his family on board when it went down in the parking lot of the Brethren Village retirement community on March Ninth. Three other passengers in the plane suffered less serious injuries. The crash remains under investigation.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says his administration is investing another $20 million into downtowns across the commonwealth. Shapiro says communities, big and small are defined by their main street. "I have found that wherever I go. You go to a rural community, those main streets may be a little bit shorter, those buildings a little bit smaller, but nevertheless, that main street is vital to that community. You can walk around a main street here in Philly, those buildings are a lot taller, the main street is a lot longer, but it's still a place where folks come together," Shapiro said. The governor said the funds from the Main Street Matters program will go to dozens of projects meant to revitalize downtown areas, including six in Northampton County. The biggest are $1 million to be directed for the redevelopment of the 150-year-old Bethlehem Steel Turn and Grind Shop and another $1 million is headed to Northampton Borough to redevelop the old Cement Bank Building into commercial and living space.
There's a week to go before tax deadline day. The IRS' Eric Smith reminds you if you receive an unsolicited email reputedly from the IRS, it's almost certainly somebody trying to rip you off. "We don't contact people that way. The only way you get an email from the IRS is if you signed up for one of our newsletters or one of our services that sends out information that way," Smith says. Smith says another excellent way to thwart scammers is by applying for an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number at www.irs.gov. Once you get that number, that and your Social Security number both must be used to file a last minute return, making it more difficult for a scammer to file a fake return and cashing in your refund.
The trial of the wife of former Senator Bob Menendez -- Nadine Menendez -- continues today in a Manhattan courtroom. One of two New Jersey businessmen convicted of bribing former Senator Menendez -- Jose Uribe -- testified in Nadine Menendez's trial yesterday that he bribed the couple with a Mercedes-Benz. Uribe cut a plea deal in the bribery scandal. He has yet to be sentenced for his conviction in the case. Menendez has repeatedly appealed his eleven-year prison sentence, which has been delayed until June so he could attend his wife's trial.
New Jersey lawmakers have advanced a bill that would crack down on pop-up parties that have spelled trouble for Jersey Shore communities. The proposal makes it a crime to incite a public brawl and levies fines of up to ten-thousand dollars and up to 18 months in jail. Sponsors say they're confident Governor Phil Murphy will sign the bill into law by the Memorial Day weekend. Underage violators will also be subject to the new offenses.
A man is unsuccessful in trying to cash in 60-thousand dollars in gaming chips at a long closed Atlantic City casino. NJ.com is reporting that a two judge panel ruled against Keith Hawkins. He was trying get cash for chips that be bought online in 2022 from the Playboy Hotel and Casino that closed nearly four decades ago. The panel ruled that chips were unissued and were previously ordered to be destroyed and, therefore ineligible for redemption.
The widow of the late NHL star Johnny Gaudreau, Meredith, has announced the birth of the couple's third baby. In an online post, Meredith Gaudreau announced the birth of Carter Michael Gaudreau on April first. He has the same middle name as his father. His birth comes seven months after Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed in a drunk driving accident. A South Jersey man, 44-year-old Sean Higgins, was indicted in their deaths. Higgins is accused of being drunk while driving and then hitting the Gaudreau brothers while they were riding bikes in Oldmans Township on the eve of their sister's wedding.