State & Regional News

The most popular names have been a constant the past few years, according to the major health networks. But one trend that emerged in 2023 in the Lehigh Valley seems to be tied to sports — specifically, the success and popularity of the Philadelphia Phillies. Taylor Swift also may be having an impact.

The Pennsylvania Department of State is starting a new office to help train county election workers, Pa. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. It also plans to update its guidance for logic and accuracy testing that could have caught issues with the Northampton County voting machines.

Lafayette College will host the 2024 vice presidential debate this coming September, drawing the world's eyes to its Easton campus. Nicole Hurd, the college's president, hopes it will be an opportunity to highlight the liberal arts school and the greater Easton community.

Lawmakers in Harrisburg passed nearly three dozen laws last week in a final burst of action as they held their last voting session of the year.

Nippon Steel is set to pay more than $14 billion to acquire Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel in a deal that Rep. Susan Wild said is “really kind of heartbreaking."

Pennsylvania's gas tax– the highest in the nation in 2023 – will drop from $0.611/gallon to $0.576/gallon and will remain in place through 2024.

It might seem counterintuitive, but harvesting holiday trees year after year is better for the environment than using an artificial one, experts said, especially amid the proliferation of plastic piling up in landfills.

Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott said these types of incentives will help to attract “the best and brightest” candidates to serve the city.

More than three dozen projects in the Valley were awarded grants, receiving about 7% of the total funding awarded. Statewide, $335 million in grants were announced Wednesday.

Driven by $8.1 billion in manufacturing, the Lehigh Valley's Gross Domestic Product grew to a record $50.2 billion in 2022. The region's economy now ranks above Vermont and Wyoming.

The state's Independent Fiscal Office reported Thursday that workforce participation among Pennsylvanians under age 35 has declined much more than for older workers since the onset of the pandemic.

New Tripoli firefighters Marvin Gruber and Zachary Paris perished in a fatal fire in West Penn Township, Schuylkill County.

After 65 years, the Philadelphia Police Department has finally identified the victim in the city’s oldest unsolved homicide case as 4-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli, of West Philadelphia.

A regulatory agency responsible for the water supply of more than 13 million people in four Northeastern states says it is banning gas drillers from dumping fracking wastewater in its watershed.

Donald Trump’s attacks on fellow Republican David McCormick contributed to the former hedge fund manager’s loss in Pennsylvania’s Senate primary in May. These effects may be long-lasting.

Advocacy groups say greater clarity about the terms sex, religious creed and race would be a significant step forward, building on a 2018 decision by the commission to start accepting complaints about anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

PennDOT will spend millions of dollars to start construction on major transportation projects including bridges, traffic circles, milling, paving and patching roadways and updating interchanges.

A 2018 decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court provided a template for voting-rights advocates to pursue gerrymandering claims in state courts.

The legal office of Pennsylvania’s governor won’t explain why it paid private law firms at least $367,500.

Gov. Tom Wolf is backing a regulatory change that would formalize nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people while circumventing the legislature.