State & Regional News

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.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a visit to Allentown that as part of his 2024-25 budget, he will fund a program providing scholarships to students in poor-performing school districts.

State lawmakers on Monday held a committee hearing titled “Minimizing Risk & Harm: Preparing for Pennsylvania’s Hydrogen Future.” It comes almost two months after President Joe Biden announced seven regional clean hydrogen hub projects, including two in Pennsylvania.

A state mandate requiring schools to identify sexual content in books could cost Lehigh Valley school districts significant time, money and resources.

Lawyers for Jimmy Lai, a jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher, have asked for an urgent meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a leading member of his international legal team said Tuesday.

In the absence of information about why the Buffalo Bills player collapsed during a game, misleading claims about COVID vaccines quickly spread online.

The two leaders sparred over the history of U.S. support in Latin America at talks in Mexico City — but found common ground on migration, as well as fentanyl interdiction and the economy.

The company behind the iconic green and yellow farm equipment says it wants to make it easier for farmers and independent repair shops to fix problems with its tractors and other products.

Before the pandemic, the hajj pilgrimage drew millions each year to Islam's holy city of Mecca, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that observant Muslims pray toward five times a day.

The Vatican opened a file on the disappearance of a teenage girl months after a new Netflix documentary aired on the case and weeks after her family asked the Italian Parliament to take up the cause.

Georgia, ranked No. 1, stopped Texas Christian's vaunted offense and ended their improbable season. The Bulldogs are the first team to repeat as champion in the college football playoff era.

Chef Rene Redzepi's house of Nordic gastronomy will close by the winter of 2024 and re-emerge as Noma 3.0, the Copenhagen eatery said on its webpage.

Legislators in the state's House of Representatives were set for a special meeting Monday to increase the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse. They stalled all day and never held a vote.

The documents were discovered in November by President Biden's attorneys, who then notified the National Archives and turned the materials over.

The House voted Monday on a new rules package that contains key concessions to the most conservative wing of the party.

Brazilian authorities arrested over 1,500 people following Sunday's assault on top government buildings by supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, who's taken temporary residence in the U.S.