State & Regional News

This week on Political Pulse, Tom and Chris talk about public opinion polling at a state and national level — and what that means to voters.

A microcosm of Pennsylvania, Northampton County's urban areas, rural farms and middle-class suburbs make it a melting pot of different political stripes.

"I've never seen traffic in the Lehigh Valley and the aggressiveness that we've seen in the past couple of years like it is now. It’s absolutely [expletive] bananas," one Lehigh Valley lawmaker said.

St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church held a special service memorializing those lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and praying for first responders' safety.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff played off an enthusiastic crowd at Dieruff High School to promote his wife Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

As cases of a potentially deadly mosquito-borne illness are on the rise, Lehigh Valley health experts are sharing what they see locally. They say there are ways to protect yourself and kill the biting pests.

The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be temporarily closed this weekend, between the Pocono and Wyoming Valley interchanges. Officials say crews will be performing bridge work.

In the first round of Neighborhood Assistance Program funding from the state, Lehigh Valley-based programs received more than $2 million.

Dozens of individuals from a variety of organizing groups assembled in Allentown Thursday to rally for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, motivating the crowd to join in the fight.

Governor Josh Shapiro came to a growing district in the Lehigh Valley — East Penn School District — to celebrate an increase in public school funding through the 2024-25 Pennsylvania state budget.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for several counties in eastern Pennsylvania, including Lehigh and Northampton. The watch will remain in effect until 11 p.m. Sunday.

Changing their tune? Pennsylvania lawmakers consider replacing the state's official song.

Lehigh Valley prepares for a humid Sunday with the possibility of severe thunderstorms and damaging winds. Showers and thunderstorms are expected in the afternoon, with a line of storms forming and moving eastward. There is also a small chance for brief spin-ups.

Officials and residents of several New Jersey shore towns say the state’s law decriminalizing marijuana use is having an unintended effect: emboldening large groups of teenagers to run amok on beaches and boardwalks, knowing there is little chance of them getting in trouble for it.

Pennsylvania received $7.3 billion in state and local pandemic relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. That money came with an expiration date: Funds must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026. Any funds that remain unused by that deadline will be returned to the federal government.

Speakers accuse public school officials, teachers' unions of trying to "sexualize children" or indoctrinating them. Some called for restricting LGBTQ books. Protestors traveled from the Lehigh Valley and beyond to stand against the Moms for Liberty's "extremism" and in support of LGBTQ people.

House Bill 1257 was signed into law as Act 74 of 2022. Effective September 9, 2022, it made some noteworthy changes to the state fireworks law residents should be aware of.

Experts say this latest round of Canadian wildfire smoke in the Lehigh Valley will not be the last, and that millions should prepare for this new normal.

Monday was the first time in decades there were no pink envelopes for Pennsylvania hunters looking to buy antlerless licenses. Here's how the launch of online sales went.

High school seniors in Pennsylvania would be required to fill out a form that determines eligibility for financial aid for postsecondary programs under a bill passed by the state Senate.

Public school advocates worry vouchers will divert money from public education into charters or private schools.

Former state Sen. Pat Browne, one of Governor Josh Shapiro’s cabinet nominees, has officially become Secretary of Revenue. He represented the Lehigh Valley for nearly three decades.