Police in Bethlehem are investigating a Wednesday night shooting. According to reports, an argument between two family members inside a Hickory Street home ended when one individuals shot the other. The victim suffered leg wounds that police say do not appear serious. A suspect has been taken into custody.
Lehigh Valley International Airport reportedly saw growth in 2024. ABE sold close to 527-thousand-seats over the last year. That's increase of eight-percent from 2023. The report says the state's five biggest airports grew by at least eight-percent in 2024.
It didn't take long for the first babies of 2025 to be born in the Lehigh Valley. Lehigh Valley Health Network says Christoper and Kloe Smith of Luzerne County welcomes baby daughter Nola Monica at 12:05am on January 1. Nola weighed in at 6 pounds, 11.4 ounces. At the stroke of midnight, St. Luke's Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township welcomed the Lehigh Valley's first baby of 2025 when Owen Eugene Brewer was born to parents Nadia and Ethan. Own weighed in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces.
Part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike will move to open tolling this weekend. Instead of using toll booths, Open Road Tolling utilizes gantries at the interchanges to charge drivers electronically at highway speeds instead of having to stop. It will be implemented Sunday for the eastern portions and Northeast Extension, which includes Lancaster County. The entire turnpike is expected to move to open tolling by 2027.
Three Pennsylvania Democrats including State Senator Patty Kim of Harrisburg are calling for the state to more than double the minimum wage. Kim, State Senator Art Haywood, and Representative Izzy Smith-Wade-El said that the minimum wage in the commonwealth should be raised from the federal rate of seven-25 to 15-dollars-an-hour. Smith-Wade-El of Lancaster County said the state's inaction on increasing the minimum wage is "immoral," and that Pennsylvanians deserve a government primarily concerned with how they get by. Minimum wage workers in 21 states received a raise at the start of 2025.
Pennsylvania residents interested in a career with the Pennsylvania State Police are being encouraged to consider completing a cadet application. The department is searching for individuals between the ages of 20- and 39-years old who are up for the challenge of a 28-week resident training program. More information can be found at patrooper.com/apply.html.
Philadelphia ended the year with 266 homicides. According to the Philadelphia Police Department, that's about a 36-percent drop from 2023. In fact, it's the lowest number of homicides since 2014.
New Jersey drivers are paying more to fill their gas tanks in the new year. The Garden State gas tax has risen by two-point-six percent because of a new law raising money to fix decrepit roads and highways and to help fund transit projects. For each gallon of gas purchased, New Jersey motorists are paying nearly 50-cents in taxes. That's the 8th highest pump price tax burden in the nation.
Penn State fans only have hours left to request tickets for the Orange Bowl. The deadline for ticket requests for the college football playoff semifinal is 5 p.m. Priority will be given to season ticket holders and other Nittany Lion groups before the general public. Penn State will face the winner of today's Sugar Bowl matchup between Georgia and Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl on January 9th.
Eric Dickerson's NFL record for rushing yards in a single season will stand. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told the media that Saquon Barkley will be among the starters who will "probably" rest during Sunday's regular season finale against the Giants. Barkley admits it would've been nice to take a run at the record but he understands Sirianni's decision. "It was an opportunity to implant my name in football history. I may never get that opportunity again. I'm down but at the end of the day, I don't want to put my team at risk. He's the head coach for a reason. He makes the decisions and whatever decision he made, I told him if he wanted me to play I'm going to go out there and make sure I get it and if you don't, I'm okay with that too," Barkley says. The Whitehall High School graduate is 101 yards short of breaking Dickerson's record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. The Eagles are locked-in to the second seed in the NFC and will host the Packers or Commanders in the Wild Card round.
