State & Regional News

After days of sweltering heat, the Lehigh Valley can finally expect a break as a cold front brings modest relief and cooler temperatures, forecasters say.

Christopher Fitzgerald was a former Lehigh County corrections officer and is the son of former Allentown Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald. He was the first Temple University officer killed in the line of duty.

Cyclists need to make reasonable efforts to allow faster vehicles to pass them, the majority of the Supreme Court justices ruled. But they're not required to get out of the way of cars. Conditions such as traffic flow, weather and road conditions should be considered when determining if a bicyclist needs to pull over.

The federal tax and spending bill, dubbed by President Donald Trump as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” includes eliminating electric vehicle tax credits after this year. Advocates called on senators to put them back.

If later approved by state lawmakers, the minimum wage in Bethlehem in particular would jump to $11 and would be increased incrementally each year thereafter as part of State House Bill 1150, officials said Tuesday.

No climate site in the region reached 100 degrees on Monday, but the suffocating heat and humidity was still record-setting across the Mid-Atlantic region.

The U.S. Senate could vote on the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act this week. If passed, millions of Americans would lose access to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in order to fund border security and tax cuts to wealthy Americans.

The Keystone Media Awards recognize excellence in journalism and the news media. Lehigh Valley Public Media captured awards in digital news, radio broadcast and television production.

PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator headquartered in Valley Forge, issued a maximum generation alert and load management alert for Monday.

Allentown hasn't had a 100-degree day since July 2011. The forecast high on Tuesday is now 100 degrees.

This week on Political Pulse, Tom and Chris talk about public opinion polling at a state and national level — and what that means to voters.

A microcosm of Pennsylvania, Northampton County's urban areas, rural farms and middle-class suburbs make it a melting pot of different political stripes.

"I've never seen traffic in the Lehigh Valley and the aggressiveness that we've seen in the past couple of years like it is now. It’s absolutely [expletive] bananas," one Lehigh Valley lawmaker said.

St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church held a special service memorializing those lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and praying for first responders' safety.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff played off an enthusiastic crowd at Dieruff High School to promote his wife Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

As cases of a potentially deadly mosquito-borne illness are on the rise, Lehigh Valley health experts are sharing what they see locally. They say there are ways to protect yourself and kill the biting pests.

The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be temporarily closed this weekend, between the Pocono and Wyoming Valley interchanges. Officials say crews will be performing bridge work.

In the first round of Neighborhood Assistance Program funding from the state, Lehigh Valley-based programs received more than $2 million.

Governor Josh Shapiro came to a growing district in the Lehigh Valley — East Penn School District — to celebrate an increase in public school funding through the 2024-25 Pennsylvania state budget.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, said bad actors like Russia are abusing their place in the world order. But until a viable alternative exists, responsible citizens must engage in systems like the U.N. to work toward a better future.

State officials announced a $1 million pool for the 2025 Environmental Education Grants Program, as well as the Nov. 15 deadline to apply. Two Lehigh Valley projects were funded in the last round.

This week on Political Pulse, Chris and Tom move away from talk of the presidential race and shift gears to focus on statehouse races.