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.

Athletic competition could soon return to parts of Pennsylvania. WESA’s Sarah Schneider reports that new preliminary guidance was released Wednesday, June 10.

Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a resolution to terminate the emergency Gov. Tom Wolf issued in March and extended earlier in June that has provided the legal basis for much of the Commonwealth’s response to the coronavirus.

A State House committee is advancing a measure to stop Pennsylvania from entering a regional cap-and-trade program without approval from the General Assembly.

The Wolf administration is recommending Pennsylvanians make plans for possible weather emergencies this summer and get flood insurance.

Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale is under fire for releasing a statement in which he called Black Lives Matter a “hate group.’’ In response to his remarks, some county residents organized a protest to call for his resignation,

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf took steps yesterday to address violence and oppression against people of color. Wolf outlined a plan to…

The Associated Press has named Lisa Scheller the winner in the Republican primary race for the Lehigh Valley’s 7th congressional district. The GOP nominee will face incumbent Democrat Susan Wild for the seat in November.

Lehigh County sent out nearly 48-thousand mail-in ballots for this year’s primary election–more than election officials have ever tried to count on Election Day.

In yesterday’s primary, four wards in Allentown were consolidated into one voting location at Fearless Fire Company. And as WLVR’s Tracy Yatsko reports, complications around that meant the site opened late for in-person voting.

Lehigh Valley hospitals are among the first in the nation to get federal shipments of an antiviral drug to treat patients with COVID-19

Pennsylvania health officials announced a new plan Tuesday, May 12, to help fight the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes and long term care facilities,

Many sectors of the economy have been halted or changed by the coronavirus pandemic, and environmental research is no exception.