There's a conflict between the Northampton County DA and the Pennsylvania State Police. John Morganelli is criticizing state police for leading their own investigation of the deadly shooing of 47-year-old Anthony Ardo in Lower Mount Bethel Township Saturday morning. The DA says the best practice would be for his office to lead the investigation. However, he says he wasn't interested in having a battle over the crime scene, but Morganelli says his office will proceed with its own investigation and a grand jury probe is also possible. State police say Ardo was shot as he tried to light the fuse of an explosive device around his neck.
The Lehigh County coroner's office has identified a body found Sunday afternoon beneath the Linden Street Bridge in Allentown. An autopsy on 30-year-old Dean Molina was done Monday, however no ruling on a cause or manner of death will be released until further investigation. Molina's last known address was on School Street in Catasauqua.
Officials with the Blue Mountain Resort are banking on the construction of the PennEast Pipeline for their plans to expand. Blue Mountain CEO Barbara Green says April's final Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report on environmental impact of the pipeline was a step in the right direction for the resort's expansion goal. The report said the impact of the 120-mile, $1 billion natural gas pipeline from northeast Pennsylvania to New Jersey would be limited. The resort needs access to natural gas to complete its plans.
The old Young Republicans Club of Easton will be getting new life soon. The club has been closed since December 2015 but after renovations it will become a catering facility that will host weddings, parties and bridal showers. The building, which is along Delaware Avenue across from Eddyside Park, will be known as the Parkview Event Center. The building's new owners hope to have the new business up and running sometime this fall.
One of the Lehigh Valley's two cable TV providers is combining with a Northwest Internet provider, creating the sixth-largest cable operator in the country. The money for the acquisition of Washington-based Wave Broadband is coming from TPG Capital, which acquired RCN earlier this year. If the deal meets regulatory approvals, it should close in the second half of the year. Wave would join RCN and Grande Communications Networks of Texas, which when combined would serve seven of the top-ten markets in the country.
It's day two of jury selection for next month's trial of Bill Cosby. His attorney, Brian McMonagle, describes Cosby's state of mind. "He's holding up fine. He's looking forward to it," McMonagle says. Five of the 12 jurors who will decide Cosby's fate were chosen yesterday. Three white men and two white women were picked in Allegheny County. The jury will eventually be sequestered in Montgomery County for the duration of Cosby's trial on charges he drugged and then molested ex-Temple employee Andrea Constand in his Montgomery County home 13 years ago.
Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai says he is planning on keeping his position as Speaker of the House, even if he decides to run for governor. The Allegheny County Republican spoke at the Pennsylvania Press Club Monday, saying he is seriously considering running and is looking at Labor Day to possibly announce his candidacy. Republican St. Sen. Scott Wagner of York County and Pittsburgh health care consultant Paul Mango are also seeking the GOP nomination.
State Health Secretary Karen Murphy is leaving the Wolf administration. Murphy is taking a position in the private sector, but said it has been an honor and a privilege to serve in Gov. Wolf's administration. Wolf thanks Murphy for her work on the state's opioid epidemic and the medical marijuana program and said she will be missed.
23 people are facing disorderly conduct charges following a protest at the capitol. Attendees of the "March on Harrisburg" Monday were pushing for a ban on gifts to lawmakers. The bill has been sitting in the House State Government Committee since January. The Keystone State does not have limits on the amount of gifts lawmakers may receive although state employees under Gov. Tom Wolf are banned from accepting gifts.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he warned President Trump about ousted National Security Adviser Mike Flynn before the inauguration. Christie briefly served as chairman of Trump's transition team. Christie won't get into specifics about his concerns over Flynn, who is expected to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights to deny Congress the documents it wants in its Russia probe.
It could be a few days before a mural of late Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo is touched up after it was defaced over the weekend. An official with Mural Arts says it can't repair the mural as it typically does this time because the repair will require using a lift and rain is preventing that. The organization says a touch-up will take place in the next few days. Police say the mural suffered a few black paint splotches over the weekend, likely with the use of a paint gun.