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                Matt Rourke/AP PhotoHere's all you need to know about the 2025 general election in the Lehigh Valley, where scores of local races are on the ballot — including county and municipal offices, plus school boards and Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention questions getting an unusual amount of attention.
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                Courtesy/Dischinat familyNancy Dischinat served as executive director of Workforce Board Lehigh Valley for the past 27 years, helping build an environment of skilled workers that created a sought-out business environment.
 
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                        Gov. Josh Shapiro is proposing a hefty an increase in aid to Pennsylvania's schools in his first budget delivered Tuesday to the Legislature.
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                        Our daily list of useful information, chosen to inform and enhance your day, includes news you can use and then some!
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                        Don Snyder represented parts of Lehigh County for 20 years in the Pennsylvania House before serving as the leader of Lehigh Carbon Community College. Those who worked with him say he was known for his team-building and inclusiveness. He died at age 71.
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                        Bald eagle populations in Pennsylvania and the United States have rebounded over the years, but they’re still dying from lead poisoning, including an eagle Centre Wildlife Care in central Pennsylvania had tried to treat.
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                        Pennsylvania has now reached the 100-school threshold to move forward with sponsorship by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.
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                        The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 8, would remove out-of-pocket costs and require 100% coverage for preventative breast cancer screenings and genetic testing. Proponents say it would be the first of its kind in the nation.
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                        The university is planning to ease its oversight of fraternities and sororities, six years after implementing policies to increase monitoring and compliance in response to a hazing death of a student.
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                        Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, missed votes in Congress this week as a result of her condition. Her office's communications director made the announcement on social media.
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                        The FBI said Marc Muffley, 40, of Lansford, Carbon County, left the airport Monday after checking a bag that was to be loaded on an Allegiant flight from Allentown to Sanford, Fla.
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                        The fatal crash near the Saylorsburg exit of Route 33 in Monroe County was caused by a southbound rig that went through a guardrail and entered the northbound lanes Wednesday morning, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
 
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                        There are 51 stops on this year’s trail. In its eighth year, the trail is focused on celebrating local creameries across the state while driving business during the summer months.
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                        Legislators worked to establish penalties for xylazine use and trafficking in an attempt to lessen its presence in Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply. Some say doing so made way for a new, unclassified veterinary tranquilizer to take its place — medetomidine.
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                        The tax and spending plan drew praise from Republicans for lowering taxes and funding border security, but Democrats condemned it for slashing Medicaid coverage and raising the deficit.
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                        As tariff talk raises concerns over the impact on the fireworks industry in America, retailers and production companies report this year is going well, but the future may not be so bright.
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                        Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.
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                        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.
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                        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.
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                        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.
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                        The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.
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                        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.
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                        After Monday brought rounds of thunderstorms and heavy rain, more severe weather is expected to target the region on Tuesday, forecasters say.
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                        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.