State & Regional News

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.

WLVR's Brad Klein talks with Bethlehem's Backyard Astronomy Guy, Marty McGuire about planetary viewing in this week's Watching the Skies. Leading into the first week of July, viewers can snag a better view of the planet Mercury just after sunset.

The Clean Trucks PA Coalition report identified more than 600 schools, childcare centers, playgrounds and parks near major roadways and trucking corridors across the state.

In the past four years, Lehigh and Northampton counties each saw a roughly 3% population increase, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday.

In addition to live music, there will be more than a dozen local vendors, businesses and crafters, as well as trail and outdoor demonstrations, and group walks.

The heat this week was one of the hottest stretches of weather ever recorded in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

National Public Radio's CEO and representatives for several Eastern Pennsylvania public media organizations joined a forum in Bethlehem on Thursday hosted by Lehigh Valley Public Media. The officials said a looming clawback of federal funding could force meaningful cuts.

A group of Democratic Gen Z activists visited Rep. Susan Wild's campaign office Sunday to rally support among young voters. It's an easier lift with Vice President Kamala Harris atop the ticket, they said.

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.

A release from PPL said scams are up 250% over 2023. Customers are urged to report scams to 1-800-342-5775.