It's a sad ending to a missing child story in Monroe County. Pennsylvania State Police say that a five-year-old boy who was reported missing on Sunday morning has now been found dead. Ajani Jermaine Samuels, of Chestnuthill Township, was last seen at approximately 9 o'clock Sunday morning in the area of a residence on the 100 block of Rose Drive. About seven-and-a-half hours later the boy's body was found in an unspecified body of water. The child was non-verbal autistic along with being epileptic.
The investigation continues after a woman and her son were found dead inside a home in Plainfield Township. Police said the bodies of 71-year-old Diane Wert and her 47-year-old son Nathan Heffelfinger were discovered Friday evening in a residence on the 700 block of Engler Road. The cause of their deaths has yet to be determined, but police are calling it an isolated incident and say there's no danger to the public.
Iran has reportedly responded to the latest U.S. peace proposal as tensions remain high in the Middle East. Pennsylvania Republican Senator Dave McCormick says Iran is at a crossroads. "I think we have to wait and see. I'm hoping the Iranians will go down a path of peace, but we have to be very careful. The Iranians are not trustworthy. It's in their interest. It's in the world's interest, but it's in their hands," McCormick says. Iran's response reportedly focuses on allowing traffic to flow through the Strait of Hormuz and does not include a plan for Iran's nuclear program, something the U.S. has rejected in previous proposals.
Tomorrow is the last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot before the Pennsylvania primary. County election offices need to receive those requests by 5 p.m. Folks who already asked for a mail-in ballot can check on progress through the Pennsylvania Department of State webpage. Those ballots must then be returned to county election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day, May 19th.
Penn State says beets are the new "it" food among health conscious consumers. Several studies suggest beets may help lower blood pressure, increase blood flow and protect arteries. The 2025 Penn State Extension reports says beet acreage has more than doubled since the 2007 census. Dedicated beet farming now spans over 17-thousand acres across over 75-hundred operations nationally. The report also found that 49-percent of baby boomers said they tried and liked beets, but only 36-percent of Gen Z had tried and liked the vegetable.
The 76ers were swept out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion Sunday. The Knicks routed them 144-114. Head coach Nick Nurse says his team didn't have much to offer from the get go. "Energy was obviously a big gap between their energy and our energy I thought. I think we dug ourselves a really big hole that we could never get out of," Nurse said. The Knicks led by as much as 44 points in the rout.