State & Regional News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.

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.

After Monday brought rounds of thunderstorms and heavy rain, more severe weather is expected to target the region on Tuesday, forecasters say.

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.

After all but vanishing by the 1960s, the species is now self-sustaining in Pennsylvania.

The money is part of the state's share of $9 billion in American Rescue Plan funds

Delaware County school district asserts its under-funding violates the state constitution.

Game Commission biologist Art McMorris has spent 18 years working on behalf of the winged predators.

The new variant is responsible for three quarters of all new cases in the U.S.

Environmental justice areas include neighborhoods that shoulder more than a typical share of climate and environmental risks.

Some say the way the state distributes money to small school districts is not equitable.

Rep. Scott Perry called the House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol 'illegitimate.'

The No Surprises Act stops health providers from automatically charging for out-of-network costs.

'It's a Christmas miracle," said one state legislator.

Both Allentown and Bethlehem would be split into different Senate districts under the plan.

Advocacy groups and Democrats want the state to block the request for voters' partial social security numbers and other sensitive information.