State & Regional News

A tour group consisting of Europeans interested in the American political system stopped in Northampton County to see the spectacle of election season this week.

"A Community Conversation: Protecting Your Vote" aired Wednesday on PBS39 and will be rebroadcast at 6 p.m. Thursday. It's hosted by LehighValleyNews.com politics reporter Tom Shortell.

The U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday showed all of the Lehigh Valley in either “moderate” or “severe” drought.

More than 2.1 million Pennsylvania voters have been approved for a mail-in ballot this election, down from the 3 million ballots requested in 2020. Democrats saw the steepest drop, allowing Republicans to increase their share of mail-in ballots.

Donald Trump held a campaign rally before a packed house at the PPL Center in Allentown — a city with a large Puerto Rican population. He said he had done more for Puerto Ricans than any president in American history.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey held a campaign event at Cedar Crest College, urging support for women’s reproductive rights. He highlighted the need for legislation that ensures access to fertility treatments and family planning.

Thousands came to downtown Allentown for former President Donald Trump's campaign rally — exactly one week before Election Day.

"Fox & Friends" is visiting diners and restaurants in battleground states in the days leading up to Election Day. Fox News Channel said it will be at Superior Restaurant on Main Street in Emmaus on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

A Lehigh County judge granted a motion by the Lehigh County Board of Elections to extend in-person voting at the elections office at the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown until 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Martin Sheen, whose given name is Ramón Estévez, played President Jed Bartlet on The West Wing.

A police officer discharged his firearm in an armed confrontation with the victim, who shot himself during the encounter Saturday night in Wind Gap, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

A destructive storm system moving up the coast is expected to hit the Lehigh Valley on Sunday evening. The area likely won't see any severe weather today, but it is just bordering the potential to, graphics from the National Weather Service show.

Gerald C. Yob has been mayor of Freemansburg for 44 years. He served on borough council 12 years before that. Yob turns 96 in August, and plans on running for a 12th term as mayor.

PennDOT has plans to improve the pavement and add truck climbing lanes in both Lehigh and Northampton counties. But the future of a controversial interchange in Lehigh County has grown more clouded.

Bear Creek Mountain Resort near Macungie said it will end its 2024-25 ski season on Saturday, March 15, after being open 97 ski days — which it said was one of its longest ski seasons ever.

H.B. 827 was proposed by State Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton. The bill aims to establish a tutoring program in which high school students could receive academic credit for being tutors

Sen. Nick Miller, D-14th District, was a member of a panel discussion about the home health care crisis. Advocates are urging lawmakers to increase reimbursement fees to home care agencies.

Lehigh Valley native Danielle Meyers, 22, is among 190 million women worldwide with endometriosis, a chronic, incurable tissue abnormality that causes a host of painful internal problems.

A handful of Lehigh Valley farms are feeling the impact of the federal funding freeze. It's also causing a Harrisburg nonprofit focused on sustainable agriculture to announce furloughs starting next month.

Last year was a big year for dam removals not only in the Lehigh Valley, but across Pennsylvania. The state was ranked first in the U.S. for the most outdated, unsafe and uneconomical dams removed in 2024.

Collectively, the shipments destined for Allentown and Whitehall were valued at $28,550 had the cosmetics been genuine, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said.

In this week’s Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick discuss the shifting dynamics of U.S. foreign policy, in light of the recent meeting between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, President Trump, and Vice President JD Vance.