State & Regional News

Influenza cases are rising rapidly across the Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania, with local hospitals reporting a sharp uptick in patients and state data confirming sustained growth in flu activity.

Strong winds sweeping through the Lehigh Valley early Friday already were knocking out power to thousands of residents, with outages expected to climb as a powerful cold front moves through the region.

During Phase II of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's process, planners will look to determine a preferred route and whether to connect the railway system to Philadelphia, New York or Reading.

Lehigh County Democratic Chair Lori McFarland said party officials will not conduct their interviews or selection process for the upcoming 22nd House District in public view.

Host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick spend this week’s episode of Political Pulse examining the string of VIPs visiting the region, breaking into their messaging and why so much attention is focused here.

Josh Siegel has officially resigned from his seat in the state House of Representatives to assume his new role as Lehigh County Executive, triggering a special election in the 22nd District.

The delivery driver was wanted on a warrant issued Dec. 10 on charges of third-degree murder in the Nov. 21 killing of 29-year-old Rigiberto Hernandez Arias, of Allentown, authorities said.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, provided the last needed signature to force a vote on a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits. Unless a last-minute agreement is reached, millions of Americans would see their health care premiums double in the new year.

No one matched all five Powerball numbers, plus the red Powerball, on Monday night's drawing, but one Lehigh Valley resident matched four out of five white balls to win $200,000. It was among three winning tickets sold in Pennsylvania for the Dec. 15 drawing.

Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha, dined with four Clean Team employees after they served lunch to Allentown Rescue Mission residents and staff.

The Lehigh Valley has endured nearly non-stop weekend rain since April, marking one of the region’s wettest springs. Despite high rainfall totals, flooding hasn't been a concern.

About 500 people rallied at two spots Thursday night — outside the Five10 Flats building where ICE agents arrested 17 people the day before, and at Bethlehem City Hall.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie voted in line with the Republican majority to strip more than $1 billion of federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the next two years.

A group from the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living traveled to Harrisburg on Wednesday to speak with local legislators about the importance of continued state funding for organizations that help the disabled.

The toll booths are no longer needed as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission adopts open road tolling, with fares collected electronically via overhead structures between highway interchanges.

The state Office of Open Records issued the order after LehighValleyNews.com appealed Allentown's denial of a request for records under the state's Right to Know law.

Krista Brown-Ly has served as the center's interim executive director after Ashley L. Coleman resigned last year.

Ryan Crosswell, a recent arrival in the Lehigh Valley, is the third Democrat to get in line to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. The seat should be one of the most contested U.S. House races in the 2026 midterms.

Speeding was so rampant on Center Valley Parkway in Upper Saucon Township that LehighValleyNews.com recorded someone going 95 mph near Promenade Saucon Valley.

The grant, part of a $650,000 round of funding, came from the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, a State College-based nonprofit.

Temperatures climbed well into the upper 80s this week in the Lehigh Valley, teasing that classic summer milestone — the first 90-degree day of the year.

Eileen Miller, whose son Paul Miller was killed in a collision by a distracted driver, on Friday spoke on a piece of legislation that bans the use of handheld devices while driving in Pennsylvania.