Morning Call - Lehigh Valley & Allentown PA News, Sports, Weather, Business & Things to Do

To tell a story of magic and murder, former Lehigh university professor appears to risk life and limb

"Zigzag Girl," which comes out this week, is getting a lot of attention in the publishing world. It’s a Grand Prize winner in ScreenCraft's Cinematic Book Competition and won first prize in the Daphne du Maurier Awards for Mystery.

Former Lehigh University professor Ruth Knafo Setton, the author of...

Former Lehigh University professor Ruth Knafo Setton, the author of “Zigzag Girl,” an award-winning 2026 mystery novel set in the world of illusions, returns to Morocco, where she was born and lived before her family moved to Allentown when she was 3. (Joseph Setton/Contributed photo)

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Former Lehigh University professor Ruth Knafo Setton, the author of “Zigzag Girl,” an award-winning 2026 mystery novel set in the world of illusions, returns to Morocco, where she was born and lived before her family moved to Allentown when she was 3. (Joseph Setton/Contributed photo)

FILE – Electric Time Co. employee Walter Rodriguez cleans the face of an 84-inch Wegman clock at the plant in Medfield, Mass. Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008. Once again, most Americans will set their clocks forward by one hour this weekend, losing perhaps a bit of sleep but gaining more glorious sunlight in the evenings as the days warm into summer. There’s been plenty of debate over the practice but about 70 countries — about 40 percent of those across the globe — currently use what Americans call daylight saving time. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

Daylight saving time returns. How the hour spring ahead can be dangerous to your health

Bethlehem Catholic’s Keanu Dillard celebrates his fourth state championship on Saturday in Hershey. (Nate Heckenberger photo)

PIAA wrestling championships: 2 from Lehigh Valley make history with 4th state titles

Lauren Tomasino gives a haircut to a client Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at Salon Stone & Spa in Palmer Township. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

Retail Watch: Former restaurant manager, special effects artist becomes salon owner in the Lehigh Valley

Northampton’s Brayden Wenrich, left, hung on for a 1-0 win over Hazleton Area’s Gabe Benyo in the Class 3A 114-pound final Saturday during the PIAA Class 3A Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

PIAA 3A wrestling championships: Northampton’s Ballard, Wenrich take different paths to state titles

Latest Headlines

PIAA girls wrestling: Banks, Hattala, Stank finish off stellar careers with repeat titles

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PIAA 2A wrestling tournament: Waters’ historic finish leads 5 Faith Christian champions

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Americans are drinking less. What does that mean for Lehigh Valley businesses?

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Why an international team of journalists is spending four years on the ground reporting in Bethlehem

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Pennsylvania high school basketball scores from Saturday, March 7

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Police seize more than $100,000 worth of cocaine and other drugs, charge 2 in Lehigh Valley investigation

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Former Easton council member speaks out on Iran war after being stranded for 34 hours at Middle East airport

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Police seize more than $100,000 worth of cocaine and other drugs, charge 2 in Lehigh Valley investigation
Police seize more than $100,000 worth of cocaine and other drugs, charge 2 in Lehigh Valley investigation
Americans are drinking less. What does that mean for Lehigh Valley businesses?
Americans are drinking less. What does that mean for Lehigh Valley businesses?
PIAA wrestling championships: 2 from Lehigh Valley make history with 4th state titles
PIAA wrestling championships: 2 from Lehigh Valley make history with 4th state titles
Parkland High School breaks ground on $68 million expansion
Parkland High School breaks ground on $68 million expansion
Lehigh County man gets up to 15 years in state prison for woman’s overdose death
Lehigh County man gets up to 15 years in state prison for woman’s overdose death
Whitehall Mall Wawa announces grand opening date. Get your free coffee and T-shirts
Whitehall Mall Wawa announces grand opening date. Get your free coffee and T-shirts
PIAA wrestling results from Friday night’s championship semifinals
PIAA wrestling results from Friday night’s championship semifinals
New Hobby Lobby store coming to the Lehigh Valley
New Hobby Lobby store coming to the Lehigh Valley
Former Easton council member speaks out on Iran war after being stranded for 34 hours at Middle East airport
Former Easton council member speaks out on Iran war after being stranded for 34 hours at Middle East airport
Industrial building near Lehigh Valley airport is sold for $22 million
Industrial building near Lehigh Valley airport is sold for $22 million

Local News

A plane lands at Lehigh Valley International Airport on a sunny day. Warm temperatures are expected to return early next week. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

Lehigh Valley set for some sunny days in the 70s. First, there’s some rainy weather to get through

Temperatures in the Lehigh Valley are soon expected to hit 70 degrees for the first time in months.

Sports

Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Justin Manning scored 25 points on Saturday in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A boys basketball playoffs. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

PIAA 3A boys basketball: Justin Manning propels Notre Dame-GP to easy first round win

Lancaster Mennonite is up next for the Crusaders

Things to Do

Rod Stewart performs Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, at the PPL Center in Allentown. (Chris Knight/Special to The Morning Call)

From Rod Stewart to Sebastian Bach, here are the top acts performing in the Lehigh Valley in March

There's something for everyone this month in the Lehigh Valley.

Lehigh Valley Top Workplaces 2026 Awards Banquet | PHOTOS

Did you make our gallery? See photos from the Lehigh Valley Top Workplaces 2026 awards ceremony and banquet at SteelStacks.
Purim Celebration | PHOTOS
Major winter storm dumps more snow on Lehigh Valley | PHOTOS
The calm before the snow as winter storm hits Lehigh Valley | PHOTOS
Dieruff High School students walkout to protest ICE | PHOTOS
Ash Wednesday at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena | PHOTOS
Northwestern Lehigh wins boys basketball Colonial League championship | PHOTOS

Opinion

A manatee surfaces for air in the warm water Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, at the FPL Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach, Florida. You're unlikely to see one of the aquatic creatures wearing a bikini despite the grammatically incorrect headline in a Florida TV station's story. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Bill White: The Grammar Police ‘seen’ you write it … hands up

Bill White: The most common grammar problem I see is structural ambiguity in sentences

Crime and Public Safety

Kevin Esterly, 52, who made national headlines in 201 when he flew to Mexico with a teen, now faces charges alleging he raped a girl at his home. (Courtesy Miami-Dade County Corrections Department)

Lehigh County dad who fled with girl to Mexico guilty in sex crime case, faces up to 87 years in prison

In a decisively quick verdict, a Lehigh County jury on Thursday found Kevin Esterly guilty...

Best Reviews

<p>Adobe Stock</p>

Best Passover Haggadahs

Haggadahs are a critical element of a Seder, as they guide people through the Seder....

Business

FILE – Holiday decorations are displayed during Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday light show and window reveal, Nov. 24, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Saks Global to shutter 15 more department stores in bankruptcy restructuring

The shuttered Saks include stores in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Chicago and Las Vegas.

Pennsylvania News

Basketball scores

Pennsylvania high school basketball scores from Friday, March 6

High school basketball scores from across the state

National News

Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation’s Director General Azharuddin Abdul Rahman briefs reporters on search and recovery efforts within existing and new areas for missing Malaysia Airlines plane during a press conference, Monday, March 10, 2014 in Sepang, Malaysia. The search operation for the missing Flight MH370 which has involved 34 aircraft and 40 ships from several countries covering a 50-nautical mile radius from the point the plane vanished from radar screens between Malaysia and Vietnam continues after its disappearance since Saturday. Experts say possible causes of the apparent crash include an explosion, catastrophic engine failure, terrorist attack, extreme turbulence, or pilot error or even suicide. (AP Photo/Daniel Chan)

Today in History: March 8, Malaysia Airlines flight vanishes

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 with 239 people on board, vanished during a...

Allentown

Dominae Jones and Ebony Gaines of Concentra Health Services draw blood from Allentown firefighter Kevin Cannon after a news conference Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Allentown Fire Academy on Lehigh Street to announce the launch of the Galleri multi-cancer early detection screening program for city firefighters. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)

Cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters. Allentown introduces a test to help protect them.

Cancer is the No. 1 cause of line-of-duty deaths among firefighters. Allentown Fire Department members...

Bethlehem Area

The Thai-style La Kang Chicken & Rice restaurant will close next week in Bethlehem. (Photo courtesy of Jam Maca-antal)

Thai chicken and rice restaurant in Lehigh Valley closing: ‘Grateful for all the love and support’

A Thai chicken and rice restaurant in Bethlehem is closing after roughly one year of...