State & Regional News

With Memorial Day behind them, lawmakers are heading toward summer recess amid questions about what, if anything, they will be able to accomplish before voters return their attention to the fall elections.

Pennsylvania lawmakers moved closer to establishing a statewide restriction on student cell phone use in public schools, as the state House passed legislation requiring "bell-to-bell" phone bans during the school day.

The study, released late last week by the Delaware River Basin Commission, detected per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in surface water, sediment, fish and blue crab tissue collected throughout the basin, including along the tidal Delaware River.

On this week's Lehigh Valley Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick break down the 2026 primary election results.

Electric customers across Pennsylvania will see higher supply rates beginning June 1, adding new pressure to household budgets just as air conditioning demand starts to climb.

Firefighter union boss Bob Brooks swept each municipality in Lehigh County and nearly each one in Northampton County en route to his nearly 20-point victory in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District's Democratic primary Tuesday.

Jack Pletz, 24 and his father, Matthew Pletz, have been arrested. Seventeen explosive devices were found inside their pickup truck.

The district, now represented by Sen. Jarrett Coleman, a first-term Republican, covers much of Lehigh County's rural and suburban communities and the northern part of Bucks County.

Bob Brooks has declared victory in the Lehigh Valley's Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District.

Tuesday is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley Democratic voters will cast ballots in the 7th Congressional District, 16th District state Senate, the 22nd District state House of Representatives and 187th District state House. Republicans have no races for those seats; GOP candidates in them are unopposed.

A patron said he witnessed two men wearing shirts marked 'It's Okay To Be White' as part of a group blaming Jews for the 9-11 terrorist attacks. ArtsQuest and the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley are condemning the incident.

Last month, Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) had 73,128 passengers passing through the airport, a 3.6% increase from November of last year.

A state advisory board is questioning the rigor of telemedicine appointments for marijuana cards and advertising by marijuana businesses.

“We don’t want to see any more individuals die from an opioid use disorder that don’t need to die,” said Barbara Durkin, director of Lackawanna/Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is one of three hospital systems in the country chosen to participate in the study. Oncologists with LVHN are looking for patients to participate.

The annual tradition for many doubles as a science fair you can take part in.

Starbucks workers around the country are walking off the job starting Friday, in what will be a three-day strike. It will be the longest work stoppage in the year-old unionization campaign.

“I’m going to be second-guessing myself until the day I die,” Wolf, a two-term Democrat, said during a live public interview with Spotlight PA on Thursday.

Pennsylvania House Republican leader Bryan Cutler is seeking to wait until the May primary before holding special elections in two vacant districts.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, perhaps the most powerful politician ever from the Lehigh Valley, made his farewell address on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon.

A website, Fallen Firefighters of New Tripoli, details the men's lives, contains their obituaries and displays several photos. Funeral services are set for Saturday.

Rep. Susan Wild and Sen. Bob Casey supported the bill, which offers protections for gay and interracial marriages. Sen. Pat Toomey missed the vote.