State & Regional News

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, perhaps the most powerful politician ever from the Lehigh Valley, made his farewell address on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon.

Rep. Susan Wild and Sen. Bob Casey supported the bill, which offers protections for gay and interracial marriages. Sen. Pat Toomey missed the vote.

Bethlehem Police promised more than $1M of the money, for body-cams and retention bonuses. Some of the money will go to justice initiatives and safety programs.

Members of Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board are publicly questioning the Wolf administration’s oversight of doctors and third-party certification companies.

State officials expanded the order earlier this year to include four different forms of the drug, including a nasal spray and a syringe option with two injectable single-dose vials of naloxone.

According to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report, gas prices in Pennsylvania are ten cents lower this week, clocking in at $3.759 per gallon.

The legislation will also protect "interracial" marriage, which the Bethlehem NAACP says should not even be an issue in 2022.

Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Taylor Swift fans in Pennsylvania will get another chance to buy concert tickets.

Christopher Kammerdiener, 35, was a resident of the home in West Penn Township, Schuylkill County, where two firefighters died battling a blaze.

Marley Wait, of Macungie, is a cadet at United States Military Academy West Point. She was named one of the 40 students to win a prestigious Marshall Scholarship to support her studies when she graduates this spring.

The Pennsylvania House passed a bill last week that would overhaul the state’s education funding system, sending millions to Lehigh Valley schools over the next seven years. But it faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

No matter what we call it, hazardous heat is expected across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

Three farms in Lehigh and Northampton counties were the latest to be included in the state’s Farmland Preservation Program. The program aims to ward off development and protect open spaces.

Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a bill that would guarantee access to assisted reproductive technology. The effort came a day after Democrats blocked a Republican effort to penalize states that attempt to ban invitro fertilization treatments.

A bill aimed at saving local pharmacies with pharmacy benefit manager, or PBMs, reform was touted in Allentown this week. Pennsylvania State Representative Josh Siegel, who represents Lehigh County, joined State Representative Jessica Benham, who represents Allegheny County, at Allentown Pharmacy.

The grant program would allow schools to recruit students, paraprofessionals and other community members to pursue a career in education. It passed the House with bipartisan support last year but has been stuck in committee in the Senate since then.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan says machine gun conversion devices, also known as Glock switches, are becoming increasingly common in the region. The illegal modifications turn semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons.

A new report release by the American Heart Association shows the U.S. on trend to have a cardiovascular disease crisis within 30 years. A public poll shows people feel eating healthy is the way to avoid the crisis, but price points and access limit that ability.

Heat index outlooks — projecting what it feels like outside with the heat and humidity combined — push feels-like temperatures near triple digits between June 17-21 and top 100 degrees in the Lehigh Valley between June 19-25.

More than two dozen state legislators, including one from the Lehigh Valley, have co-sponsored HB2238, which would eliminate the use of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in household products.

A Democratic-sponsored proposal to boost public school funding by billions and impose stricter rules on cyber-charter schools is on its way to the Pennsylvania Senate after passage in the state House.

State officials are holding a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday for residents to share their feedback on the Bureau of Forestry’s newest strategic plan. Here's how to participate.