State & Regional News

An estimated $450,000 is needed for the next step in the process of studying passenger rail. While Lehigh County officials say they will pay half, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure said he thinks other local agencies should foot the bill.

“Noticing a haziness to the sky today? That is due to the smoke spreading into the region aloft from the wildfires in western North America,” the National Weather Service said on X.

PennFuture and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network earlier this month realized a win in their case against the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, or Transco, and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild touted her bill that she says would protect fertility rights. She held a news conference at the nation's Capitol on World IVF Day this week.

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis joined local legislators at the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown on Friday to talk about the BOOST Program that will fund after-school programs across Pennsylvania. State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, developed it.

Popular deli meat company Boar's Head has issued a recall for their liverwurst and other deli meats due to a listeria outbreak which has shown at least one reported case in Pennsylvania.

PennDOT plans to build a bridge that would bring Route 309 over Center Valley Parkway and West Saucon Valley Road. The department is currently seeking public comment.

Bethlehem joins 25 other places in the United States as a World Heritage Site — an effort that has been decades in the making and, advocates hope, bolsters historic preservation and tourism in the Lehigh Valley.

Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton have teamed up with Lehigh Valley Health Network to make the Lehigh Valley a Blue Zone. The initiative was launched this week and will take the next few years to earn the certification.

A vote in favor would put Historic Moravian Bethlehem among 25 other sites nationally and 1,199 around the world, including the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef.

The bipartisan House Tourism & Economic & Recreational Development Committee spent three days in the Lehigh Valley this week. Part of the visit included a hearing with local organizers to discuss funding celebrations of America's 250th anniversary.

After a steady – but not soaking – overnight rain, the area remains on track to break a pair of records that have stood the test of time. But more precipitation is on the way, including snow.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in effect from Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon for Carbon and Monroe counties in an "elevation-dependent system."

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild said the House Ethics Committee is split in deliberations over how to handle an investigations into former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz on allegations of sexual misconduct. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Gaetz to lead the Justice Department.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections voted 3-0 to certify 191,158 ballots Wednesday afternoon. Fights over how to count contested provisional ballots are already popping up in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and David McCormick.

Organic whole and baby carrots linked to Grimmway Farms, including several brands available in stores throughout the Lehigh Valley, have been recalled due to concerns of E. coli.

In a panel discussion at DeSales University, Allentown mayor Matt Tuerk and Bethlehem mayor J. William Reynolds shared their cities' strategies for addressing homelessness.

The precautionary measure across Pennsylvania comes at no cost to farmers. While the virus hasn't been reported in commonwealth cattle, other states have seen a marked uptick in cases.

The Kutztown Folk Festival, known as the oldest continuously operated folk festival in America, is no more.

Sheetz will offer its holiday price slash on Unleaded 88 fuel this year. The deal will be available at five of six Lehigh Valley Sheetz gas stations, unlike the July 4 promo that was not offered anywhere this year.

This week on Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick talk about political campaign budgets and funding, comparing this year's election cycle to those past.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court order Monday is a win for David McCormick and a loss for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions.