State & Regional News

State Sen. Lisa Boscola said it's a fallacy if the U.S. Postal Service thinks it can save up to $7 million by shipping outgoing mail from the Lehigh Valley to Harrisburg for processing without cutting jobs. On Monday, she called on USPS to do further analysis of its plans.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission at 11 a.m. on Wednesday is holding a meeting at its Allentown office to brainstorm and prioritize ways to decarbonize transportation across the region. Decarbonization is the process of reducing or eliminating carbon dioxide emissions.

Amid the joy and festivities, environmental advocates are urging residents to keep sustainability in mind during what can be a time of year when trash and waste spikes.

State environmental officials on Thursday evening hosted the last of five public engagement sessions, as they work to create a Priority Climate Action Plan, or PCAP, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emission statewide and mitigate further effects of climate change.

On the sixth day of Hanukkah, some in the local Jewish community called for supporters of Palestinians in Gaza to join in calls for peace.

PennDOT officials detailed planned and continuing work for 2024, including major bridge replacements along well-traveled state routes.

Sunday's rain could transition to snow as the storm system departs the region Monday morning, with the potential to affect the morning commute, according to the National Weather Service.

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.

The Damar Hamlin emergency showcased the importance of having the right skills and tools on hand and acting as quickly as possible, officials say. Public interest in learning CPR has jumped in the aftermath.

The state's new law went into effect this week with the intent of protecting minors from pornographic content online, according to lawmakers.

"It causes me a lot of concern about how anything gets done. Is this just going to be two years of paralysis, which is a horrifying thought," said Wild, a Democrat who is still waiting to be sworn into her third full term representing the Lehigh Valley.

An Idaho magistrate judge on Tuesday reportedly issued a gag order in the Bryan Kohberger case, barring officials from talking publicly about many aspects of the case outside of court.

The two Pennsylvania Republicans are key figures in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to the House Jan. 6 Committee.

This year, at least seven districts in Pennsylvania have dealt with public complaints and legal challenges related to LGBTQ issues.

A Democrat who promised to govern as an independent was elected speaker of the narrowly divided Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday on the strength of about a dozen GOP votes.

In 2020, Gender Queer was given a Stonewall Honor and an Alex Award and was headed for a fourth printing. By spring of 2022 it topped the ALA's list of most challenged books.

The lawsuit, which the parties first filed in 2014, argues Pennsylvania's funding of K-12 education is inadequate to the point that it violates the state’s constitution.

Buffalo Bills' safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest on the field Monday night. A cardiologist with Lehigh Valley Health Network explains what that is and how fast-acting physicians on the sidelines may have saved his life.

Workers earning minimum wage in 23 states and the District of Columbia got a raise over the New Year's holiday, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

The new lawmakers from the Lehigh Valley joined more than 50 other new faces who were ceremonially sworn in to the General Assembly in Harrisburg.