State & Regional News

On the sixth day of Hanukkah, some in the local Jewish community called for supporters of Palestinians in Gaza to join in calls for peace.

PennDOT officials detailed planned and continuing work for 2024, including major bridge replacements along well-traveled state routes.

Sunday's rain could transition to snow as the storm system departs the region Monday morning, with the potential to affect the morning commute, according to the National Weather Service.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its plant hardiness map, showing a warmer Lehigh Valley. The region has moved into a warmer zone from the one where it was placed more than a decade ago. Experts say it has consequences for plant seasons and species.

If you're doing anything outdoors, do it Saturday. Rain will arrive Sunday and is forecast to intensify later in the day, with gusty winds. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Sunday afternoon into Monday afternoon.

In a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie asked the Department of State to provide Northampton County with instructions on how to avoid more Election Day mistakes with their voting machines.

A sprawling storm system is expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds and snow to the region this weekend.

Almost 11,000 birds of prey were counted this year during the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s annual autumn hawk watch as they made their way along the raptor "superhighway" in the Valley’s backyard.

Amtrak officials previously said passenger rail between Allentown and New York City could be restored as soon as 2024. However, a $300,000 study exploring the proposed connection is more than a month overdue.

Forecasters say the Lehigh Valley will see a mixed bag of precipitation in the days ahead, with snow showers possible Wednesday and Thursday and a potent storm system expected this weekend.

The tax and spending plan drew praise from Republicans for lowering taxes and funding border security, but Democrats condemned it for slashing Medicaid coverage and raising the deficit.

As tariff talk raises concerns over the impact on the fireworks industry in America, retailers and production companies report this year is going well, but the future may not be so bright.

Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.

More than two years after the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, the former Northampton Community College and DeSales University student pleaded guilty in a deal to avoid the death penalty.

The city is the third major city in the Lehigh Valley to become certified through Bird Town Pennsylvania, an annual designation focused on community-based conservation.

Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.

President Donald Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement and recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have gained national and local attention. This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick look into the public's reaction to these raids.

After Monday brought rounds of thunderstorms and heavy rain, more severe weather is expected to target the region on Tuesday, forecasters say.

Xylazine, an animal-grade tranquilizer that's not approved for human use, has taken Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply by storm. Known on the streets as "tranq," it accounted for almost 1 in 4 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania by 2023. Last year in Lehigh County, it was a contributing cause of death in 20 of the 112 deadly overdoses, or 17.9 percent of cases.

Multiple media outlets report Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty. A change of plea hearing is set for Wednesday. Kohberger’s trial had been set to begin in August

The funding comes from the commonwealth’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.