State & Regional News

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.

Multiple media outlets report Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty. A change of plea hearing is set for Wednesday. Kohberger’s trial had been set to begin in August

The funding comes from the commonwealth’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Known as "tranq" on the streets, an animal tranquilizer named xylazine infiltrated drug supplies throughout Pennsylvania since 2019. Its presence in the Lehigh Valley has grown, with deadly consequences.

Life changed for Bethlehem's Moravian community as the Revolutionary War waged. "Suddenly, the world just descends," said one historian. This is the first in a recurring series exploring the Lehigh Valley's place in American history.

WLVR's Brad Klein talks with Bethlehem's Backyard Astronomy Guy, Marty McGuire about planetary viewing in this week's Watching the Skies. Leading into the first week of July, viewers can snag a better view of the planet Mercury just after sunset.

The Clean Trucks PA Coalition report identified more than 600 schools, childcare centers, playgrounds and parks near major roadways and trucking corridors across the state.

In the past four years, Lehigh and Northampton counties each saw a roughly 3% population increase, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday.

In addition to live music, there will be more than a dozen local vendors, businesses and crafters, as well as trail and outdoor demonstrations, and group walks.

Gov. Tom Wolf is halting a package of election law changes pushed by the Republican-led state legislature, a move that has been widely anticipated.

In a 5-4 decision Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state of New Jersey cannot block construction of the PennEast natural gas pipeline on state lands.

Restaurants and bars will likely not be able to sell mixed drinks to-go this summer, despite many state lawmakers who support extending the pandemic-era rule.

Summer’s here and meteorologists forecast the Lehigh Valley may experience another heat wave in the coming days. Temperatures may push 90 degrees.

On June 24, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its federal eviction moratorium through July 31. U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh/Monroe) says there are federal dollars available for Lehigh Valley residents who need rental assistance.

Some lawmakers and environmental groups are calling on the Wolf administration to strengthen a proposed regulation that aims to curb emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane before the rule comes up for a final vote. But the proposal exempts tens of thousands of low-producing wells.

State lawmakers are still hashing out the final details of the next state budget, which is due by the end of the month. But an agreement on the spending plan could be reached in the coming days.

Pennsylvania House Republicans voted to prohibit schools and universities from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for students — and to strip the state health secretary from being able to order certain emergency public health measures in the future.

In Allentown on June 21, education advocates, parents, and students marched to support Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed changes to the way the commonwealth funds its schools.

Latino leaders from across the state said Thursday the 2021 Pennsylvania Latino Convention will take place in Reading this fall.

Gov. Tom Wolf spoke out on June 17 against a Republican-backed election reform bill, calling it an ‘unconstitutional’ attack on voter rights.

A freshman Philadelphia Democrat has set off a firestorm in Harrisburg by proposing a bill that would establish new mandatory minimum sentences — an approach much more in line with Republicans’ criminal justice platform than his own party’s.