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.

Bethlehem Police promised more than $1M of the money, for body-cams and retention bonuses. Some of the money will go to justice initiatives and safety programs.

Members of Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board are publicly questioning the Wolf administration’s oversight of doctors and third-party certification companies.

State officials expanded the order earlier this year to include four different forms of the drug, including a nasal spray and a syringe option with two injectable single-dose vials of naloxone.

For years, Out of Darkness appeared on reading lists as a recommendation for ambitious young readers ready to face disquieting aspects of the American experience. It began facing bans in 2021.

According to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report, gas prices in Pennsylvania are ten cents lower this week, clocking in at $3.759 per gallon.

The legislation will also protect "interracial" marriage, which the Bethlehem NAACP says should not even be an issue in 2022.

Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Taylor Swift fans in Pennsylvania will get another chance to buy concert tickets.

Christopher Kammerdiener, 35, was a resident of the home in West Penn Township, Schuylkill County, where two firefighters died battling a blaze.

Marley Wait, of Macungie, is a cadet at United States Military Academy West Point. She was named one of the 40 students to win a prestigious Marshall Scholarship to support her studies when she graduates this spring.

Pennsylvania will receive more than $2 billion from two pharmacy chains.

Students who are targeted because of their gender identity or sexual orientation can file a complaint with state commission.

Counties can apply to Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development starting Monday, Dec. 12.