State & Regional News

While the political news cycle can change on a dime, some clear stories appear in store for 2026, including the Lehigh Valley's congressional race.

Beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, the office will transition away from the traditional, chronological structure of the area forecast discussion.

The rebate is meant to help seniors, widows and widowers and residents with disabilities who paid property taxes or rent in 2024.

Host Tom Shortell helps two contestants revisit the stories, scandals and curveballs that defined the year in politics.

After days of updates, forecasters say the overall message is not how much snow or sleet could fall, but how difficult travel could become, especially Friday night.

The Trump administration has sued several states, including Pennsylvania, arguing they are stymying efforts to ensure free and fair elections.

There's a possible scenario emerging Friday in which parts of the Lehigh Valley could end up with 6 inches of snow, and some could end up with a lot more sleet or even freezing rain.

In less than two weeks, local Democratic volunteers are set to help nominate a candidate for a Feb. 24 special election.

Asked Santa for a white Christmas? Snow may arrive a day late in the Lehigh Valley, forecasters say.

Nearly 87,000 passengers passed through Lehigh Valley International Airport last month, the airport's busiest November since 2004.

Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.

More than two years after the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, the former Northampton Community College and DeSales University student pleaded guilty in a deal to avoid the death penalty.

The city is the third major city in the Lehigh Valley to become certified through Bird Town Pennsylvania, an annual designation focused on community-based conservation.

Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.

President Donald Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement and recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have gained national and local attention. This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick look into the public's reaction to these raids.

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.