State & Regional News

Officials and residents of several New Jersey shore towns say the state’s law decriminalizing marijuana use is having an unintended effect: emboldening large groups of teenagers to run amok on beaches and boardwalks, knowing there is little chance of them getting in trouble for it.

Pennsylvania received $7.3 billion in state and local pandemic relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. That money came with an expiration date: Funds must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026. Any funds that remain unused by that deadline will be returned to the federal government.

Speakers accuse public school officials, teachers' unions of trying to "sexualize children" or indoctrinating them. Some called for restricting LGBTQ books. Protestors traveled from the Lehigh Valley and beyond to stand against the Moms for Liberty's "extremism" and in support of LGBTQ people.

House Bill 1257 was signed into law as Act 74 of 2022. Effective September 9, 2022, it made some noteworthy changes to the state fireworks law residents should be aware of.

Experts say this latest round of Canadian wildfire smoke in the Lehigh Valley will not be the last, and that millions should prepare for this new normal.

Monday was the first time in decades there were no pink envelopes for Pennsylvania hunters looking to buy antlerless licenses. Here's how the launch of online sales went.

High school seniors in Pennsylvania would be required to fill out a form that determines eligibility for financial aid for postsecondary programs under a bill passed by the state Senate.

Public school advocates worry vouchers will divert money from public education into charters or private schools.

Former state Sen. Pat Browne, one of Governor Josh Shapiro’s cabinet nominees, has officially become Secretary of Revenue. He represented the Lehigh Valley for nearly three decades.

The third week of July is the warmest week of the year based on climatological norms, and the Lehigh Valley forecast fits that trend. Excessive heat headlines are likely, the weather service said.

The family of a 2-year-old girl swept away along with another child by a flash flood that engulfed their vehicle on a Pennsylvania road is expressing gratitude at the discovery of a body believed to be hers.

The PPL Foundation has provided half a million dollars to the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley to address homelessness and housing insecurity in the region.

Hot, summertime temperatures will expand across the U.S. and could bring the Lehigh Valley’s first official heat wave of the year, forecasters say.

A Democratic lawmaker is quitting the Pennsylvania House of Representatives amid a budget stalemate.

Federal safety investigators have determined that natural gas was leaking from a defective fitting at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory where a powerful explosion killed seven people.

The “Take Action” campaign is designed to highlight connections for trail users through education and providing resources to boost engagement and opportunities to get involved and support the trail.

The heavy rains wreaked havoc on the region, already saturated by a round of storms last weekend. And more rain is expected this week.

A freight train derailment in southeast Pennsylvania has spurred precautionary evacuations, but officials say no injuries were reported and there is no known hazard to the public.

Smoke from the Canadian wildfires has been transported south and east and is moving into Pennsylvania.

The disease, a relatively new and deadly threat to the American beech, has few treatment options and no known cure.

Construction of a neighborhood hospital in the Gilbertsville area will be the health system's first hospital in Montgomery County.