Bethlehem police have another shooting investigation on their hands. The second shooting in as many nights happened around 7 o'clock Wednesday night in the 1200 block of Pembroke Road, near the Freemansburg border. At least one person was taken to the hospital after the shooting. That person's condition is not known. Bethlehem police were seen outside of the emergency department at St. Luke's Hospital. They surrounded and towed a car that appeared to have bullet holes in it.
17-year-old Aiden Toussaint was shot to death Tuesday night and his mother is devastated. "I was very proud of my son. Very very proud of him in everything that he did. I couldn't have asked for a better son," said Claudette Pottinger. She says her son was a student-athlete at Whitehall High School, worked two jobs and hoped to join the Air Force after graduation. Investigators say Toussaint had arranged to sell marijuana to someone he knew from school, only to be shot and killed near Saucon Park in Bethlehem. Two 16-year-olds have been arrested, while police are still looking for 18-year-old Gabriel Ramos.
A Northampton County softball coach has admitted to sexually assaulting a girl he coached. Weston Loxley met the victim when he was coaching in the summer of 2017 and engaged in a sexual relationship with her that last until last year when the victim reported the assaults. Loxley pleaded guilty to several charges and will be sentenced next month.
An elderly Slate Belt man is charged with ripping off family, friends and former fraternity brothers. Investigators say 76-year-old Robert McCabe of Bangor sold worthless pharmaceutical stock for more than $1 million. McCabe allegedly told 50 victims he own 2 million shares of a well-known pharmaceutical company and offered those shares by selling them an equal number of shares of McCabe Properties. Investigators say McCabe Properties had no assets, making those shares worthless. McCabe allegedly spent more than $1 million of the money he bilked from his victims.
This year's virtual Musikfest reached more than 2.2 million people. The festival featured nearly 100 streaming and televised concerts and people watched from all 50 states and from as far away as Japan and Australia.
Pennsylvania's Department of Health is adding 1153 COVID-19 cases, bringing the overall state total to 158,967. 19 new coronavirus-related deaths were reported as well. That total now sits at 8142 since the beginning of the pandemic.
New Jersey isn't expecting to rollback any re-openings as concern over the coronavirus pandemic continues. Gov. Phil Murphy says we're not out of the woods, but he doesn't plan to shut down the state again. This comes as towns across the state continue reporting a recent uptick in coronavirus cases. New Jersey reported 722 new coronavirus cases Wednesday and nine deaths, with a statewide transmission rate of 1.15-percent.
New Jersey is launching a coronavirus dashboard where parents and students can monitor positive cases in schools. Gov. Phil Murphy says the state is trying to ensure schools don't become the next coronavirus epicenter.
New Jersey drivers are paying more at the gas pump starting today. Drivers will be taxed an extra 9.3-cents a gallon, which totals up to more than 50 cents. Fewer cars have been on the road because of the coronavirus pandemic and a 2016 law requires the state to adjust taxes if it can't maintain a $2 billion balance to fund bridge and road infrastructure.
New Jersey's pension fund for government workers is reporting a lower return than expected. The fund only gained 1.2-percent in the fiscal year that ended on June 30th. Its funds had been down by more than three persent at the beginning of this year. The State Investment Council says the fund's assets were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdown of the economy.
New Jersey is no longer penalizing families on welfare. Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation earlier this week, ending a nearly 30-year-old law preventing families on public assistance from getting larger payments if they have another child. New Jersey created the law back in 1992 and President Bill Clinton later included it in federal welfare reform to discourage women on public assistance from having more children. New Jersey family advocates say at least 20,000 children in the welfare system have been born since then, denying families an extra $64 for each child.
New Jersey's largest shopping and recreation complex is opening its doors today after being shuttered since March. The American Dream Mall in East Rutherford plans to open between 80 and 100 shops along with the DreamWorks Water Park. The complex had been opening new sections to the public in stages before the pandemic, but coronavirus put a stop to that. Guests coming to the mall will be expected to wear masks and practice coronavirus protocols.
Penn State coach James Franklin says star linebacker Micah Parsons won't be playing for the Nittany Lions this fall. "The timing of it made it challenging. He had been gone for so long and been in California training. That made it a little bit more complicated than we were able to work through so that won't be happening," Franklin says. The Nittany Lions open the 2020 season on the road against Indiana on October 24th.