State & Regional News

While not federally recognized, residents across the country for the last half-century have acknowledged Earth Day by demonstrating for more environmental protections, cleaning up their communities or learning more about the planet they call home through educational initiatives.

Dr. Debra D. Esernio-Jenssen, a Lehigh Valley Health Network physician facing multiple lawsuits over alleged child abuse misdiagnoses, has announced her retirement. Separately, Lehigh County announced it will create a new "community centered" Child Advocacy Center.

Easton activist Lance Wheeler, known for his work with West Ward WISE, has been cleared of charges of threats and abuse against a trio of Wilson teens in 2022.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its Allergy Capitals report this month. Allentown ranked in the Top 15 nationwide.

A section of Institute Drive will be closed through most of April to protect breeding amphibians. Experts said the road-closing conservation effort is not only important for the animals, but also for the region’s overall landscape and ecosystem.

According to experts, the only way to view the total eclipse on April 8, 2024, is to be inside the 120 mile-wide path of totality. Outside of it, you won't have nearly the same experience.

Crews worked Saturday to repair a sinkhole that opened in the westbound lanes of Route 22 in Northampton County. The 9-feet-deep sinkhole was partially in the right lane and highway shoulder, according to a PennDOT spokesman.

Spring wildfire season runs from March through May across the commonwealth. State officials are urging residents to do their part to prevent wildfires.

The Lehigh Valley ranked first in the nation in economic development projects in 2023 than any similarly sized market, according to Site Selection magazine. The region also ranked fourth in all communities in the Northeast.

About a million Pennsylvanians have medical debt, but a proposal in the Gov. Josh Shapiro's 2024-25 budget could help alleviate those debts. State Rep. Josh Siegel, who represents parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township, is an advocate for the proposal.

Tom Connors, director of the Carbon County Animal Shelter in Nesquehoning, is known to some as a dog whisperer.

A retired Pennsylvania firefighter has been arrested on suspicion of throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers during the siege at the U.S. Capitol.

Gov. Tom Wolf says he wants to separate “fact from fiction” about the COVID-19 vaccine and to dispel rumors that include the vaccine can give you the virus.

The 105th annual Pennsylvania Farm Show is going virtual this year.

Gov. Tom Wolf has condemned Wednesday’s riots at the U.S. Capitol as “an attempted coup,” adding that the actions of Republicans led to the violence.

Lehigh Valley Republicans were among those protesting in Washington on Wednesday, among them, Northampton GOP Chair, Lee Snover.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh has died at 88. He is remembered for his handling of the 1979 Three Mile Island crisis.

President Donald Trump signed the latest federal stimulus bill yesterday, but federal unemployment benefits may still be delayed for recipients. In the interim, WLVR’s Brittany Sweeney has more on other Pennsylvania resources for people struggling to make ends meet.

Levittown's Mia Krier, a Rosie the Riveter, discusses the years long effort to bring a congressional gold medal to women who helped win WWII.

Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, Dr. Rachel Levine says more than 40,000 healthcare workers have received Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine and tens of thousands of more doses are on the way - including the new vaccine from Moderna.

Pennsylvanians are getting their first doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine today. Tens of thousands more are expected this week. And health care workers in the Lehigh Valley will be among the first in line.

The state’s so-called COVID testing “strike team” that descended on Northampton County last week has moved on. The initiative provides services in areas with surging coronavirus cases.