Luzerne County

WEST HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Some impressive ice sculptors are on display at Damenti's Restaurant in West Hazleton Friday.

The Hazleton Art League partnered with the restaurant to help put the art out.

Hazleton Art League is a non profit organization and this was a fun way for them to raise money for their organization and showcase some local artists.

Columbia County business opens its doors as code blue center

EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU)— Charges are piling up against a woman in our area for keeping people's money after promising them a vacation.

Eileen Miner of West Pittston runs Thompson Tours Travel Company in Moosic.

And this week she was charged more than 20 times for theft and felony in both Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.

Miner had charges pressed against her in October of 2024 but since December of last year.

More charges levied against woman accused of vacation fraud

She now faces a total of 59 more charges.

HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— The President-elect decided to talk to local students at Immanuel Christian School after Rep. Meuser secured funds to keep the school open.

Congressman Dan Meuser (R) visited Immanuel Christian School in Hazleton today after he allocated COVID relief funds to keep the school open for the remainder of the year.

The students were excited to speak with Trump who, "hoped everyone was studying and working hard."

The students thanked Meuser for saving their school too.

HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The City of Hazleton is the focus of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department claiming the current at-large method of electing city council members is discriminatory to the city's Hispanic citizens who are in the majority of the city's population.

The complaint, filed in Federal Court in Scranton, alleges the city is violating the Federal Voting Rights Act and wants a judge to order the city to change the method by which council members are elected.

Hazleton-Complaint-1.7.25_1736358697-1Download

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A police investigation is underway after shots were fired near Huber Park in Wilkes-Barre Thursday night.

Police say they responded to the area of Moyallen Street and Almond Lane just before 7:00 p.m. for a report of gunfire.

More Crime & Court Stories

Once on scene, police said they spoke to a person who heard the shots but did not witness the shooter.

A member of the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department was seen searching for evidence Thursday night after a report of shots being fired.

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Police say a woman transferred around $58,000 to someone in a Bitcoin scam.

On January 8, a 64-year-old woman reported to police that she was contacted by someone claiming they were employed by Microsoft. The suspect then told her that her account had been "compromised," according to police.

Macy’s in Wyoming Valley Mall to close

Authorities say she was then instructed by the "employee" to withdraw money from her bank account and transfer it to a Bitcoin account.

WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Macy's has announced it is closing 66 locations, including the store in the Wyoming Valley Mall.

The store is expected to close during quarter one of 2025. The Wyoming Valley Mall location is one of four Pennsylvania stores to close, including stores in Altoona, Exton, and Philadelphia.

Bitter cold chills region ahead of weekend snow

See the full list of closing stores.

PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Thursday night was a huge night for college football fans Penn State vs. Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl for the right to play in the National Championship Game.

Fans from both camps were out cheering on their favorite team.

28/22 News Reporter Gianna Galli was among the crowds tonight for the Penn State Notre Dame semifinal that Notre Dame won 27-24.

The Red Mill Tavern is always a popular place for big games and you'd expect nothing less when two college football teams who haven't faced each other in 17 years finally clash.

BUTLER TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— A crash has slowed traffic in the area of Route 309 Thursday night.

According to Valley Regional Fire Department, crews were dispatched to the 100 block of West Butler Drive for a crash with heavy entrapment just after 6:00 p.m.

Officials did say that a medical helicopter was called, and did take off at the Valley Regional Fire Station.

It is unknown at this time the amount of people injured in the crash or the extent of the injuries.

LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Several people in Luzerne County are without money for food for the month, after they say their EBT accounts were drained.

And while they were issued new cards, they were not reimbursed for the lost benefits.

People we spoke with say they woke up Thursday morning to their EBT accounts empty of SNAP benefits.

This means that money they would have used for food for their families, is gone until February.

The state says they are aware of the issue, but a change in the law makes it impossible for people to get stolen benefits refunded.