State & Regional News

A line of storms that spared the Lehigh Valley on Saturday raked the Philadelphia region and surrounding areas, with eight tornadoes confirmed by the National Weather Service.

The recall of the 42-volt Jetson Rogue hoverboards comes after a 10-year-old girl and her 15-year-old sister died in a fire last year. Investigators determined the hoverboard was the fire's point of origin, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The Lehigh Valley is under a severe weather threat Saturday that includes the possibility of tornadic activity in the region.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after six weeks of inpatient treatment for clinical depression, with plans to return to the Senate in mid-April.

A woman pulled alive from the rubble of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven co-workers says her arm caught fire as flames engulfed the ruined building — and then she fell through the floor into a vat of liquid chocolate.

Rep. Peter Schweyer, chair of the House Education Committee, said a short timetable will likely limit how much lawmakers can change basic education funding in Gov. Josh Shapiro's first budget.

In addition to the introduction of a bill that would automatically return some unclaimed property, a local representative is holding a session that would help residents to find their unclaimed property.

For the first time since 2020, Medicaid recipients must renew their application. That process will begin April 1st.

PennDOT is tackling 37 major projects worth more than $700 million in Berks, Carborn, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties this year.

Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered Pennsylvania flags on all Commonwealth facilities, buildings, and grounds be lowered to half-staff to honor the victims of the RM Palmer Company factory explosion.

The Pa. Chamber of Business and Industry had its own bracket: “Coolest Thing Made in Pa.”

West Reading's police chief announced two additional fatalities on Sunday evening, ending the search for two missing individuals. The search and rescue operation followed a chocolate factory explosion Friday night.

Reporter Julian Abraham spent the weekend covering the explosion that occurred Friday at a chocolate factory in West Reading.

As part of a yearlong investigation, The Associated Press obtained the data points underpinning several algorithms deployed by child welfare agencies to understand how they predict which children could be at risk of harm.

A chemical spill of a latex product late Friday in Bristol Township released contaminants into a Delaware River tributary, according to OEM officials.

Three people died and four remain missing in the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. chocolate-making plant in West Reading. The grim announcement Saturday night came after a day of hope spurred by a victim found alive in the wreckage early in the day.

Pennsylvania will again operate a water assistance program for low-income households behind in their water or wastewater bills, state officials announced last week.

A century after the first women were elected to Pennsylvania’s state legislature, both chambers now have women at their helm.

While the report indicates positive trends, community advocates and leaders raised concerns about high rates of gun violence and educational outcomes. They called for more hyper-localized data to identify trends and correlations between issues impacting Black communities.

Thursday's March For Our Lives rally marks its fifth anniversary since its inception after a 2018 mass shooting at a Florida high school. Hundreds are expected at Thursday's rally in Harrisburg, which coincides with rallies this week in Florida, Michigan, California and Texas.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he's long admired the Lehigh Valley's unique ability to build partnerships. It's a skillset he said he hopes to bring to other communities across the state to promote economic growth. Shapiro was keynote speaker at the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. annual meeting in Bethlehem.

A six-month investigation found the state’s “competency” review system is so broken it often extends incarceration, which can exacerbate mental health issues.