State & Regional News

Join Megan Frank every Friday at 9:30am and 6:30pm for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR. This week, Brittany Sweeney takes her place, joined by politics reporter Tom Shortell and Easton reporter Brian Myszkowski.

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is conceding his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick. The concession came Thursday, more than two weeks after Election Day. A statewide recount is showing no signs of closing the gap and Casey's campaign has suffered repeated blows in court.

FirstEnergy sought to raise local customers' electric bills by more than 9%, but the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission blocked the higher rate.

The bipartisan House Tourism & Economic & Recreational Development Committee spent three days in the Lehigh Valley this week. Part of the visit included a hearing with local organizers to discuss funding celebrations of America's 250th anniversary.

After a steady – but not soaking – overnight rain, the area remains on track to break a pair of records that have stood the test of time. But more precipitation is on the way, including snow.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in effect from Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon for Carbon and Monroe counties in an "elevation-dependent system."

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild said the House Ethics Committee is split in deliberations over how to handle an investigations into former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz on allegations of sexual misconduct. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Gaetz to lead the Justice Department.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections voted 3-0 to certify 191,158 ballots Wednesday afternoon. Fights over how to count contested provisional ballots are already popping up in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and David McCormick.

Organic whole and baby carrots linked to Grimmway Farms, including several brands available in stores throughout the Lehigh Valley, have been recalled due to concerns of E. coli.

The precautionary measure across Pennsylvania comes at no cost to farmers. While the virus hasn't been reported in commonwealth cattle, other states have seen a marked uptick in cases.

Senator-elect Nick Miller and Rep.-elect Josh Siegel didn't inherit existing offices when they won their races this November.

Many small game and furbearer hunting seasons plus the final deer seasons of 2022-23 kicked off this week.

Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) and St. Luke's University Health Network released a list of 2022's most popular baby names picked by parents in the Lehigh Valley.

New Kid won the Newbery Medal, the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Kirkus Prize. But the book has been challenged in some school districts for content related to race.

Widespread sickness among children with respiratory illnesses this year is driving up demand for children’s pain relievers and fever reducers, leaving drugstore chains and smaller community pharmacies across the nation in short supply.

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced awards totaling $1.2 million in competitive grants to 33 career and technical centers and two school districts. The funds are to purchase new equipment to train students in “high-demand occupations.” Locally, career and technical schools in Lackawanna, Columbia, Montour, Susquehanna, Monroe, Northumberland and Lehigh counties, plus the Wallenpaupack Area School District in Pike County received money.

Pennsylvania’s top elections official is fully certifying results from the November vote.

Deposition transcripts released Wednesday by the Jan. 6 Committee revealed new details about the role that Pennsylvania Republicans played in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

PA Senator Bob Casey has released a year end review of the projects that the lawmaker has supported throughout the state this year — including funding he secured for the Little Lehigh housing development in Allentown.

The number of state lawmakers who are Black, Latino or of South Asian descent will rise as part of what House Democrats call the “most diverse class of freshmen legislators” in Pennsylvania history.

The extreme weather stretched from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.

Will it snow next week? How about the week after? Weather enthusiasts are constantly hanging on "one model run in a sea of model runs," making the job of the local meteorologist even more difficult in trying to convey the forecast.