The parents of a toddler bitten by a wolf at ZooAmerica in Hersheypark while they were allegedly distracted by their cellphones have learned their fate, according to court documents obtained by Daily Voice on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Carrie Bryant Sortor, 44, and Stephen James Basil Wilson, 62, both of Lititz, Lancaster County, were charged with first-degree misdemeanor endangering the welfare of children after their 17-month-old son was injured at ZooAmerica in Hershey, Dauphin County, in April.

The incident happened around 11:35 a.m. on Saturday, April 4, when the unsupervised toddler squeezed through a small opening in a wooden perimeter fence and entered a restricted area near the wolf exhibit, Derry Township police said.

The child reached the primary metal enclosure and placed his hand through the fencing, where a wolf grabbed it with its mouth, according to investigators.

Several bystanders rushed to intervene and helped pull the child away from the enclosure. The toddler suffered minor injuries.

Investigators reviewing evidence determined that Sortor and Wilson had walked approximately 25 to 30 feet away from their son to a nearby seating area with benches.

Both appeared to be focused on their cellphones until they noticed the commotion near the wolf exhibit, police said.

ZooAmerica's parent company, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, previously confirmed the incident and said the wolf's response was consistent with natural animal behavior rather than aggression.

"Our habitats are designed with multiple layers of protection, and clear signage and barriers are in place to help ensure safe viewing," the company said. "Guests are expected to remain within designated areas and closely supervise children at all times."

Sortor and Wilson were each admitted into a six-month Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program on Friday, Oct. 9, according to Dauphin County court documents obtained by Daily Voice.

Judge Deborah E. Curcillo ordered both parents to complete six months of probation, 40 hours of community service, and parenting classes.

The ARD program allows eligible defendants to complete court-ordered requirements without a criminal conviction if they successfully finish the program.

Both cases remained listed as awaiting ARD completion as of Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to court records.

This incident happened one day after a fight at Hersheypark led to multiple arrests. Click here to read our full report on the fight.

Halloween’s forecast is taking shape, with an early indication of whether the weather will cooperate with costume plans.

The National Weather Service forecasts favor mostly dry conditions for Saturday, Oct. 31, across most of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Afternoon temperatures should generally reach the 60s to around 70 degrees, with cooler weather after sunset.

New York City’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high in the upper 60s. Clouds could increase overnight, with temperatures eventually settling into the mid-50s.

Farther north, Hartford, Connecticut, should reach around 65 degrees with mostly sunny skies and light winds. Boston looks slightly cooler, with a high in the low-to-mid 60s.

Overnight lows are forecast near 50 in Boston and in the upper 40s in Hartford. Those are overnight readings, not temperatures expected throughout trick-or-treating hours.

The outlook is milder farther south. Philadelphia should approach 70 degrees under mostly sunny skies. Washington, DC, is forecast to reach the low 70s with partial sunshine.

The outlook for Saturday, Oct. 31, favors dry, cool conditions in New England and comfortable weather across much of the eastern US.

AccuWeather

The lead-up brings some temperature swings.

Temperatures will be cooler on Wednesday, Oct. 28, but with abundant sunshine.

Temperatures rebound Thursday, Oct. 29. Friday, Oct. 30, looks sunny, with highs around 70 in Boston and the mid-70s in New York City and Philadelphia.

Pleasant weather covers much of the East early in the week.

AccuWeather

AccuWeather’s outlook also favors a largely dry eastern US for Halloween festivities, while rain threatens parts of the Southwest and central states. Forecast details can still change.

For families starting Halloween celebrations early, AccuWeather’s outlook favors dry weather across much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic on Friday, Oct. 30. 

Conditions will be mainly dry in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic on Friday, Oct. 30, while showers threaten portions of the Southwest and central US.

AccuWeather

Its forecast map places the main shower and thunderstorm threat farther west, from the Southwest into the central US.

The holiday also brings an unusual calendar pairing: Halloween night leads directly into the clock change.

• Related report - Daylight Saving Countdown: When Do Clocks Change?

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks across most of the US return to 1 a.m. Reset manual clocks before bed Saturday night.

The outlook for Sunday calls for mostly cloudy chance with a chance for showers, especially farther south.

Check back to Daily Voice for the latest updates.

Your Netflix watchlist is about to get crowded. November’s arrivals offer plenty of reasons to keep the remote close.

Returning series, holiday movies, true-crime documentaries, and live football fill Netflix’s November lineup. 

Here’s what’s coming and when to watch.

“Mike Tyson: Return of the Mike” arrives Tuesday, Nov. 3. The former heavyweight champion trades punches for personal stories in a one-man comedy special. 

“St. Denis Medical” also adds season two, following an overworked staff at an Oregon hospital as they juggle patients and workplace chaos.

“A Dog’s Perfect Christmas” arrives Wednesday, Nov. 4. A teenager, her grandfather, and his basset hound try to hold a struggling family together during the holidays, according to Netflix's fall movie preview on its Tudum website.

“Taken: Natalee Holloway” also premieres Nov. 4. The three-part documentary series examines her disappearance in Aruba and her mother’s long search for answers.

“Black Doves” returns Thursday, Nov. 5, with season two. Keira Knightley’s spy faces new dangers as her husband prepares to become prime minister, Tudum reports. “North of North” also returns for season two, continuing a young woman’s efforts to reinvent herself in her small Arctic hometown.

“Love Is Blind” fans get a season 11 reunion watch party Saturday, Nov. 7, on Tudum, Netflix’s companion fan site. The interactive event includes exclusive footage before the reunion reaches Netflix on Sunday, Nov. 8.

“The Devil’s Plan” launches season three Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Korean competition pits 16 players against one another in strategic mind games. 

“Janelle James: How Romantic” arrives the same day, with the comedian tackling sex, money, and more in her debut hour-long stand-up special.

“Avedon” premieres Wednesday, Nov. 11. Ron Howard’s documentary explores photographer Richard Avedon’s life and influence through his archives and collaborators, according to Netflix.

“The Body” also arrives Wednesday, following Catholic school dancers whose disastrous initiation leads to visions and townwide hysteria. 

“Alicia’s Law” launches its first part that day, following a woman who resumes her legal career after her husband’s scandal.

“The Empress” begins its third and final season Thursday, Nov. 12, as Elisabeth confronts marital turmoil and imperial pressures.

“Ethos” returns for season two, bringing new encounters and conflicts to the Turkish drama. 

“Love Is Blind, Habibi” also returns for season two, with Arab singles seeking connections before meeting face-to-face.

“Guarding Stars” arrives Wednesday, Nov. 18. Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki star in a holiday romance about a bodyguard protecting an action star.

“The Altruists” premieres Thursday, Nov. 19. Julia Garner and Anthony Boyle portray Caroline Ellison and Sam Bankman-Fried in an eight-episode drama about the cryptocurrency scandal.

“The Great British Baking Show: Holidays” returns Monday, Nov. 23, for season nine, serving up festive baking competition. “The Trials of Karen Read” arrives the same day, examining the murder trials and public controversy surrounding the case.

NFL Netflix Gameday caps these highlights Wednesday, Nov. 25. The Green Bay Packers face the Los Angeles Rams in a live Thanksgiving Eve matchup, with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

Check back with Daily Voice for the latest updates.

The countdown is on: Daylight saving time ends in days, and a familiar clock ritual will shake up daily routines.

Clocks across most of the US turn back one hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, returning to 1 a.m., according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. That puts the switch just eight days away.

The return to standard time brings an extra hour that night, potentially allowing more sleep. But there’s a trade-off: Evening darkness will arrive earlier by the clock.

Sunrise also shifts earlier, bringing more morning light. The reset does not create or erase daylight. It changes where those daylight hours fall on the clock, as Time and Date explains.

This year’s switch comes right after Halloween. Before heading to bed on Saturday, Oct. 31, turn manual clocks back one hour.

Check bedside clocks, kitchen appliances, and vehicle dashboards. Most phones and computers adjust automatically when their automatic time settings are enabled.

For anyone planning Sunday activities, checking those settings ahead of time can help avoid confusion about which clocks have switched.

The ritual does not apply everywhere. Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time year-round. The Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time, according to NIST.

The approaching reset also puts the debate over seasonal clock changes back in focus.

The House approved the Sunshine Protection Act, a proposal to make daylight saving time permanent with exceptions for states opting out, by a 308-117 vote on Tuesday, July 14, according to the House clerk’s official tally.

Sleep specialists favor a different solution. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports permanent standard time, saying it best matches the body’s natural rhythms.

The distinction matters: Permanent daylight saving time would keep winter sunsets later by the clock. Standard time brings more morning light.

For the approaching switch, the practical reminder is simple: Finish Halloween, reset the manual clocks, and prepare for earlier evening darkness.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks across most of the US turn back one hour.

Image generated by Google

Check back with Daily Voice for the latest updates.

A popular restaurant chain has landed on the political menu as Barack Obama and Donald Trump trade barbs over the White House’s new look.

The Cheesecake Factory became an unlikely campaign talking point ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3, midterm elections after Obama compared Trump’s decorating choices to the chain’s ornate interiors.

“He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” Obama said at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio. “It's just gold everywhere.”

The former president also suggested Trump belonged on HGTV, criticizing his focus on renovations.

Trump served up his own response.

“For you to say it's a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president,” Trump said.

Defending his renovations, Trump described damaged plaster, broken columns, and falling ornaments. He argued that the White House needed proper upkeep.

He also called The Cheesecake Factory “a very successful company” and claimed Obama “doesn't like successful companies.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined the exchange with lunch at a Cheesecake Factory in Washington, DC.

“I would tell the Martha's Vineyard set to give it a try,” Bessent said.

Barack and Michelle Obama own a seasonal residence on Martha's Vineyard.

The White House carried the theme onto social media. Its official account shared a mock restaurant menu on X, presenting claims about Trump’s economic record and other accomplishments as menu selections.

The White House shared a mock Cheesecake Factory menu on X, using the restaurant’s sprawling menu to promote claims about Trump’s accomplishments.

x/WhiteHouse

The restaurant comparison hinges on a familiar aesthetic: elaborate columns, ornate finishes, and gold accents that echo the gilded look Obama criticized at the White House.

Based on its company filings, the chain has roughly 250 restaurants worldwide, with about 85 percent in the US. 

• Related report - Trump Responds To Heckler Who Tells Him Where He Can Put His Ballroom: Watch

Its sprawling menu offers hundreds of items. The company reports an average check of $31.79 per customer, including beverages and desserts, during fiscal 2025.

What began as a decorating joke has become an argument over taste and class, with Trump’s allies portraying the jab as disdain for ordinary diners and Obama’s criticism targeting presidential priorities.

Cheesecake Factory has become a talking point in a dispute over White House decor between former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump.

Wikipedia via Harrison Keely/Inset: C-SPAN

Check back with Daily Voice for the latest updates.

A woman stole more than $82,000 from the sale of her grandmother’s Pennsylvania home and spent some of it on a cruise and a new home, investigators said.

Jacquelyn Sams, 58, of Pleasant Grove, Alabama, was arraigned on felony theft and forgery charges on Monday, Oct. 26, according to court documents Daily Voice obtained on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Sams was designated as an agent through a power of attorney and received two checks during the April 2, 2025, settlement for her grandmother’s home on Emerald Street in Harrisburg, investigators said.

She forged a signature and endorsed both checks for herself, investigators said, citing bank records detailed in an affidavit of probable cause.

After the checks were deposited, Sams transferred most of the money into her own account, investigators said. In total, she is accused of stealing $82,167.55.

Some of the money went toward a new home, a cruise, and other personal purchases, according to investigators.

The Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office filed the criminal complaint on Thursday, Oct. 22, court records show.

Sams is charged with one count each of forgery involving an unauthorized act in writing, a second-degree felony, and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, a third-degree felony.

Magisterial District Judge Mikaela M. Sloan set bail at $10,000 unsecured during Sams’ arraignment. She was released, according to court records.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, before Magisterial District Judge J. Matthew Pianka.

A woman died eight days after she was struck by a vehicle in Pennsylvania, authorities announced on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Mary A. Pavlik, 81 of Lehighton, was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest at 11:05 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, according to the Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio.

Pavlik was a pedestrian when she was struck at the intersection of Iron and South Third streets in Lehighton Borough, Carbon County, at approximately 9:20 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18, Buglio said.

Her cause of death was complications of multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner was ruled an accident.

The release did not provide details about the driver or the circumstances leading up to the collision.

The Lehigh County Coroner’s Office, Lehighton Borough Police Department and Carbon County District Attorney’s Office are investigating.

Details about Pavlik’s life were not immediately available. Loved ones are invited to email jpikora@dailyvoice.com.

A young child was rescued after falling into a septic pipe in Penny on Tuesday evening, Oct. 27, according to a dispatch and officials.

Emergency crews responded to the 300 block of Snyder Avenue in West Goshen Township, Chester County where a 5:22 p.m. dispatch entry reported a conscious 3-year-old trapped in a septic pipe approximately 16 inches wide.

Officials described the child as between 3 and 4 years old and said the child had fallen approximately one foot into the pipe.

The County Rescue Task Force was dispatched, and township assistance was requested for a backhoe and pump truck, officials said.

The child was freed by 5:52 p.m. and evaluated by emergency medical personnel at the scene.

Officials did not immediately report any injuries.

Police and emergency responders are continuing to investigate how the incident occurred.

A man took an officer’s TASER and tried to pull a service pistol from its holster during a struggle that injured two officers on a Pennsylvania trail, police announced Monday, Oct. 26.

Dallas Whitt Anderson-James was taken into custody on the Montgomery County Cross County Trail near Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Township on Wednesday, Oct. 21, according to township police.

The encounter came hours after officers were called to the 2000 block of Chemical Road at approximately 4:54 p.m. for a report that Anderson-James was repeatedly contacting a woman despite a valid protection from abuse order, police said.

Officers confirmed the attempted communications and spoke directly with Anderson-James, telling him he was violating the order, an arrest warrant was pending, and he needed to stay away from the block, according to the release.

The woman called back at approximately 7:09 p.m., reporting that Anderson-James was walking along Chemical Road, police said.

Officers found him on the nearby trail, where he refused commands to stop and remove his hand from his pocket, according to police.

When officers tried to arrest him on the protection order violation warrant, Anderson-James resisted, and they went to the ground during the struggle, police said.

Anderson-James gained possession of an officer’s TASER, prompting officers to fight to regain control of it, according to the release.

He then grabbed the grip of an officer’s service pistol and tried to pull it from the holster, police said. The officer secured the holster and firearm, preventing him from removing the weapon.

Anderson-James continued resisting until officers secured him in handcuffs, according to police.

Two officers were injured. One was treated and released. The other was released from the hospital but remained out of work recovering from an arm injury as of Monday’s announcement, police said.

Anderson-James faces felony aggravated assault and two felony counts of disarming a law enforcement officer, along with misdemeanor charges of stalking, simple assault, evading arrest or detention on foot, and recklessly endangering another person.

He also faces two separate criminal complaints for violating the protection order, according to police.

Magisterial District Judge Patrick O. Krouse arraigned Anderson-James on Thursday, Oct. 22. Bail was set at $100,000 cash in the assault and disarming case, plus $10,000 cash on each protection order complaint.

Anderson-James was unable to post bail and was taken to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, police said.

A preliminary hearing in the assault and disarming case is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, before Magisterial District Judge Jodi Griffis. The protection order complaints were sent to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Whitemarsh Township, Conshohocken, and West Conshohocken police assisted at the scene, along with the Plymouth Community Ambulance Association.

A woman struck a health care worker in the face at a Pennsylvania hospital, police announced on Monday, Oct. 26.

Tataityanna Mati Harris, 23, of Harrisburg was arrested following the assault at WellSpan Hospital, 169 Martin Avenue in Ephrata Borough, police said.

Officers responded at 11:17 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, after the assault was reported. They interviewed the health care worker and reviewed hospital security footage, which showed Harris striking the worker in the face, according to the Ephrata Police Department.

Harris was charged with one count of second-degree felony aggravated assault, according to court documents Daily Voice obtained on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Magisterial District Judge Torrey J. Landis arraigned Harris on Monday, Oct. 19, setting bail at $50,000 cash. She was committed to Lancaster County Prison after being unable to post bail, records show.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2, before Landis.

Police did not release details about the worker’s injuries or what led to the assault.