State & Regional News

During a visit to Bethlehem Monday, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said the American public needs to know how a gunman was able to access a roof with a clear shot at former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally Saturday.

Gov. John Shapiro last month signed HB 1333 into law, which allows for recycled materials to be used in stuffed toys manufactured and sold statewide. In the Lehigh Valley, one toy manufacturer plans to launch a sustainable line.

The National Weather Service has extended an excessive heat warning now in effect until at least 6 a.m. Wednesday, with dangerously hot conditions and heat index values up to 106 degrees in the Lehigh Valley.

While many Lehigh Valley residents were shocked by an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, it was not exactly surprising in today's divisive, supercharged political climate, they said.

For almost a century, hikers have trekked the Appalachian Trail, the world’s longest hiking-only footpath. A thru-hiker documenting her trek on social media recently stopped in the Lehigh Valley.

Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent hoped the attack on former President Donald Trump would lead to Americans softening the rhetoric that has consumed American election campaigns. A wounded Trump was whisked offstage as one spectator was shot and killed and two others were critically injured. “It’s a sad state of affairs for where our political system is right now,” said one Lehigh Valley lawmaker.

The Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter, who attacked from an elevated position outside the rally grounds in Butler, north of Pittsburgh. One spectator was killed and two were critically injured after the attacker fired "multiple shots," according to the Secret Service.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory and excessive heat watch for the Lehigh Valley and southeastern Pennsylvania. The heat advisory will be in effect from Sunday into Monday. Then the temperature really turns up, with heat indexes in triple digits.

The 2024 fundraising efforts comes on the heels of the most successful campaign the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley has ever had. It raised a record-breaking $25 million last year.

The position, budgeted for one year after the annual process turned contentious, focuses on creating and facilitating sustainability initiatives while capturing grant funding to cover the cost of related projects.

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.

Known as "tranq" on the streets, an animal tranquilizer named xylazine infiltrated drug supplies throughout Pennsylvania since 2019. Its presence in the Lehigh Valley has grown, with deadly consequences.

Life changed for Bethlehem's Moravian community as the Revolutionary War waged. "Suddenly, the world just descends," said one historian. This is the first in a recurring series exploring the Lehigh Valley's place in American history.

WLVR's Brad Klein talks with Bethlehem's Backyard Astronomy Guy, Marty McGuire about planetary viewing in this week's Watching the Skies. Leading into the first week of July, viewers can snag a better view of the planet Mercury just after sunset.