State & Regional News

As the federal government shutdown drags on into its second month, hundreds of flights Friday are being canceled at 40 airports across the country. Regional airports, such as LVIA, could be affected, too.

The hourlong program by PBS39 comes in the wake of the closure of a homeless encampment along Jordan Creek in Allentown and the scheduled shutdown of a separate one along the Lehigh River in Bethlehem.

Current conditions, along with the continued drying of fine fuels, "could support the rapid spread of any fires that ignite, which could quickly become difficult to control," the National Weather Service said.

With an unusually politicized Supreme Court retention question on the ballot Tuesday, Lehigh Valley voters overwhelmingly backed Democratic candidates.

Mackenzie, along with officials from Wildlands Conservancy, the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, on Wednesday morning hiked a portion of the property, lauding the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund that helped preserve it.

Following a wind advisory Wednesday night, forecasters say the Lehigh Valley will see a fairly active pattern continuing through the weekend and into early next week as temperatures tumble.

Democrat Sarah Fevig may have spent a record amount for a single county commissioner candidate in her campaign. Meanwhile, Zach Cole-Borghi handily defeated his opponent despite the specter of criminal charges.

All three of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices who sought reelection Tuesday will get another term. The result shapes the makeup of the seven-member court through the next presidential election in 2028.

People came to the polls mindful of the state Supreme Court retention vote — and with a wide variety of issues on their minds, from the federal government shutdown to abortion policy and access to health care.

Here'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.

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

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.

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.