Nearly 51 years after her sister was raped and strangled inside her San Diego apartment, Rosalie Sanz is celebrating an arrest in the case. She credits modern science with leading investigators to John Sipos of Schnecksville. "With genetic genealogy, it's amazing what you can do," Sanz says. Sipos was arrested at his Lehigh County home Saturday and remains in custody locally under $3 million bail until he's extradited to California. Investigators in San Diego haven't said what, if any, connection Sipos had to Mary Scott at the time of her death.
A week ahead of the November 3rd election, applications in Pennsylvania for mail-in or absentee ballots have exceeded 3 million. State data shows that, of those applications, more than 57% have been returned to counties. Tuesday was the last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot. The majority of people, 1.9 million, applying for mail-in or absentee ballots are Democrats. About 760,000 are Republicans and 350,000 are registered independents or third-party voters. Overall, more than 9 million Pennsylvanians have registered to vote, a record high.
While more than 3-million Pennsylvanians applied for a mail-in or absentee ballot before Tuesday's deadline, about 1.3 million of them have not yet been returned to county elections offices. For those people, Gov. Tom Wolf has this suggestion. "Remember to secure your voting ballot in the secrecy envelope and then put it in the mailing envelope and fill out the declaration and deliver it yourself. That gives you the peace of mind that your ballot is in on time and that your vote will be counted," the governor says. In Carbon County those drop-off boxes are only found at the County Election Office on Susquehanna Street. In Lehigh County, boxes are at the North Whitehall and Upper Macungie Township municipal offices, the Catasauqua Municipal Building, the Emmaus Borough Office and the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown. In Northampton County, the drop-off boxes are at the County Election Office in Easton, the County Human Services Office in Bethlehem, the County 911 Center in Nazareth and at Bethlehem City Hall.
New Jerseyans are taking advantage of mail-in voting. Gov. Phil Murphy says at least 2.6-million people have already cast their votes. That's 67-percent of voter turnout in 2016.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health Tuesday added another 2751 cases of COVID-19 to the state's total, which now stands at 198,446. That is the largest daily increase since the pandemic began. There are now 8696 total deaths attributed to the coronavirus, an increase of 23 from Monday's numbers. The number of tests administered within the past seven days was 245,029, with 12,380, or five-percent, coming back positive.
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine says too many people contracting the coronavirus in the commonwealth aren't answering basic questions that would help case investigators trace the source of the infections. "For the week of October 11 through 17, 71-percent of people did not answer completely questions as to whether they frequented a business or attended a mass gathering," Levine says. This comes as the number of coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania is approaching numbers beyond what was seen in the spring.
COVID-19 has Philadelphia health officials sending a sharp recommendations to city residents. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley is asking Philadelphians to cancel their holiday plans. Farley said to put it simply, family gatherings are dangerous right now.
New Jersey officials are discouraging residents from traveling out of state. Tuesday, the state added California and Massachusetts to the travel advisory list, bringing the total number of states and territories on the list to 41. Gov. Phil Murphy says anyone coming from high-risk areas should quarantine for 14 days and get tested.
The mother and daughter killed in a Monday morning crash on I-78 have been identified. 32-year-old Jasmine Torres and four-year-old Jarelis Torres of Allentown died when a van driven by the mother left I-78 and slammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer that was parked on the shoulder of the road about three miles east of the Summit Lawn exit. Investigators say neither victim was wearing a seatbelt.
Three people were taken to the hospital after a crash in Northampton County. It happened just before 1 o'clock Tuesday morning on Lehigh Drive in Lehigh Township. One car was involved, and it appears the car smashed into a tree. Tthe extent of their injuries is not known.
A Poconos man is free on bail after being arrested for allegedly filming 'upskirting' videos and recording girls in changing rooms in Lehigh and Monroe counties. James Morris faces 94 charges after a raid on his home allegedly turned up 'upskirt' videos on his devices that were taken without the victims' consent.
Gov. Tom Wolf is not pleased with the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Twitter, the governor called the confirmation an attack on the Affordable Care Act and on reproductive rights. Wolf says access to health care is extremely important, especially during a global pandemic. Wolf says he's doing everything in his power to protect health care for Pennsylvanians.
It was another night of chaos in Philadelphia Tuesday night. The trouble follows Monday's shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr., who was killed by police after Wallace approached the officers while refusing to drop it. Some business owners in Philadelphia are seeing their stores destroyed by looters. Police were reportedly called three times Monday for issues with Walter Wallace Jr. and the third call ended when Wallace allegedly approached officers and refused to drop his knife. That's when Wallace was shot multiple times and killed.
PennDOT is looking for people to join their team. PennDOT is hiring for their Winter Maintenance Program. Some of the jobs include radio dispatcher, welder and diesel mechanic. You can find out more details and apply at www.employment.pa.gov.
Officials with the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania are holding an IT event tomorrow. This is for companies that are interested in doing business with the state or are already an approved vendor. It will be a procurement update and virtual event while giving an overview of the new and ongoing business opportunities in the state. The event runs from 9am to noon and you must register online to attend.
The Eagles placed wide receiver DeSean Jackson and defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway on Injured Reserve on Monday. Jackson suffered a lower-body injury on a fourth-quarter punt return. There is no timetable for Jackson's return.