State & Regional News

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.

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.

Another social-media fueled challenge has spurred a rise in the theft of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in Pennsylvania, but has the trend caught on in the Lehigh Valley?

Reporting an increase in violent incidents in the state's prisons in 2022, the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association has suggested that staffing needs to increase, and policies need to be reviewed to help make the prisons safer.

U.S. Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert died in an attack on troops in Kuwait. His killer was sentenced to death. For Seifert's parents in the Lehigh Valley, the passage of time hasn't eased the loss. 'He was a much-wanted child and a very loved young man,' says his mother Helen.

Officials say some people have received a text message asking for EBT card information and claiming that their card is blocked.

A perfect storm of inflation, housing market issues, and gas prices have created a climate in which people need food.

Pa. DEP will monitor 1,700 miles of nearly 50 waterways across the state, including the Delaware and Lehigh rivers through September.

Pay attention while you're driving. Officials are seeing more accidents that involve distracted drivers.

Fetterman says he expects to make a full recovery and return to the campaign trail soon.

Students told to attend classes about puberty based on sex assigned at birth.

The problem is getting worse, she says.

Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Leigh Chapman warns the move may have a 'chilling effect' on voters.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania and several voting rights advocacy groups have asked Martin to drop the plan.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) said the Supreme Court would turn pregnant people into 'second class citizens' if the draft becomes the official court ruling.

GOP gubernatorial candidates strongly support keeping or expanding Pa.’s abortion restrictions, while House and Senate leadership isn’t ruling out bills to do that.

Some states, like West Virginia and Ohio, have 'trigger bans' that would immediately ban the procedure.

The four will be listed alongside 98 others who have died in the line of duty since the state police agency’s founding in 1905.