State & Regional News

The Walking Purchase, a 1737 land grab perpetrated by William Penn's sons, shaped the Lehigh Valley as residents know it today. But, the land wasn’t actually purchased, as the name might suggest — it was swindled from the Lenni-Lenape.

More than 130 people attended the panel, which focused on efforts across the state to tamp down on light pollution, not only to benefit star-gazers, but for fireflies and migrating birds, too.

Lehigh Valley Political Pulse host Tom Shortell wants to hear from you. Readers are encouraged to submit questions through the link in the article. They may be addressed on a future episode of the program.

As the system moves off the Carolina coast and begins to strengthen and lift northward, impacts farther inland — particularly in the Lehigh Valley — are not expected to be overly hazardous.

PennDOT has decided to convert a normally empty parking lot off William Penn Highway into 30 or more truck parking spots. While warehouses have boomed across the Lehigh Valley, truck parking has failed to keep up.

Political scientist Chris Borick joined Tom Shortell again this week to try to make sense of the government shutdown and what it all means.

Senate Democrats have refused to fund the federal government unless Republicans agree to extend tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Ryan Mackenzie supports the tax subsidies but echoed Republican demands that no deal can be struck until the federal government is funded.

A reinforcing cold front has triggered a freeze watch in the Lehigh Valley from Thursday evening through Friday morning, bringing our coldest overnight temperatures since mid-April.

State environmental officials are calling on residents to nominate their favorite waterway to be 2026 River of the Year. The effort aims to elevate public awareness of specific rivers and recognize important conservation needs and achievements.

The filings, which occurred over the past few days in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, are individual filings of LLCs, including the location that was based at the Lehigh Valley Mall Lifestyle Center.

The extreme weather stretched from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.

Will it snow next week? How about the week after? Weather enthusiasts are constantly hanging on "one model run in a sea of model runs," making the job of the local meteorologist even more difficult in trying to convey the forecast.

The region could see wind chills as low as -15 degrees overnight as temperatures rapidly fall. The expected high winds could lead to power outages due to falling branches. PPL says it has 2,000 workers ready to respond.

Before his four Super Bowl championships and Hall of Fame career, Harris played at Penn State with Bethlehem native and Liberty High great Tom Donchez, who recalls his backfield mate fondly.

A newly elected state senator is looking to block the sale of the Allentown State Hospital property calling the process non-competitive. But, it may be to no avail.

The National Weather Service said the winter storm targeting the Lehigh Valley contains "an air mass the likes of which we haven’t seen for several years."

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a warning about possible carbon monoxide poisoning caused by the improper use of portable generators and provided tips to prevent it.

Susan Kuklin published the award-winning Beyond Magenta in 2014. The collection of images and interviews with transgender and nonbinary teens and young adults centers their experiences and identities.

When Beyond Magenta hit shelves in 2014, little had been written or said publicly about transgender and nonbinary teens. The book received positive reviews. By 2015, it was being challenged.

Winning candidates in Pennsylvania from governor to Congress are waiting for their victories to become official. Counties across the state with have been inundated with requests to recount the midterm ballots, delaying the ability of the state to certify the results.

The storm is being described as an “impactful extratropical cyclone” — the type that has cold air at its core and derives its energy from cold and warm air masses interacting.

As we look back on 2022, we wanted to share a few of our favorite moments of joy from the year to bring a bit of hope, whimsy and humor to the end of the year.