State & Regional News

Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered Pennsylvania flags on all Commonwealth facilities, buildings, and grounds be lowered to half-staff to honor the victims of the RM Palmer Company factory explosion.

West Reading's police chief announced two additional fatalities on Sunday evening, ending the search for two missing individuals. The search and rescue operation followed a chocolate factory explosion Friday night.

Reporter Julian Abraham spent the weekend covering the explosion that occurred Friday at a chocolate factory in West Reading.

As part of a yearlong investigation, The Associated Press obtained the data points underpinning several algorithms deployed by child welfare agencies to understand how they predict which children could be at risk of harm.

A chemical spill of a latex product late Friday in Bristol Township released contaminants into a Delaware River tributary, according to OEM officials.

Three people died and four remain missing in the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. chocolate-making plant in West Reading. The grim announcement Saturday night came after a day of hope spurred by a victim found alive in the wreckage early in the day.

Pennsylvania will again operate a water assistance program for low-income households behind in their water or wastewater bills, state officials announced last week.

While the report indicates positive trends, community advocates and leaders raised concerns about high rates of gun violence and educational outcomes. They called for more hyper-localized data to identify trends and correlations between issues impacting Black communities.

Thursday's March For Our Lives rally marks its fifth anniversary since its inception after a 2018 mass shooting at a Florida high school. Hundreds are expected at Thursday's rally in Harrisburg, which coincides with rallies this week in Florida, Michigan, California and Texas.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he's long admired the Lehigh Valley's unique ability to build partnerships. It's a skillset he said he hopes to bring to other communities across the state to promote economic growth. Shapiro was keynote speaker at the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. annual meeting in Bethlehem.

Local and state leadership on Monday met with the workers of Moravian Book Shop, The Flying Egg, Seasons Olive Oil and Vinegar Taproom, Donegal Square and Aardvark Sports Shop.

A local brain injury patient appeared at Home Care Lobby Day in the State Capitol this month to advocate for better wages for her home healthcare nurse. Wages for home health care employees are low and don't often get updates despite the cost of living going up.

A sun-splashed Sunday may have felt like the beginning of summer, but temperatures Monday soared into record-breaking territory, the National Weather Service said.

Ryan Mackenzie pulled off a comfortable win in the Republican primary for the PA-7 congressional race. He credited an army of campaign volunteers, but his 12 years in the state House and at least $419,000 of support from a super PAC helped, too.

Two Lehigh Valley municipalities this year participated in Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program. Here's how the program works to create a greenhouse gas inventory and, from those findings, a climate action plan.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission passed a settlement concerning PPL's incorrect billing issues which caused numerous issues with consumers from late December 2022 into 2023, though some commissioners were concerned about alterations to a civil penalty.

More than $5.5 million is set to go toward non-point source projects in Bethlehem Township and over $2 million will cover wastewater improvements in Bangor Borough.

Northampton County officials celebrated an issue-free election Wednesday, after voting machine troubles last year. Already, the November general election looms large.

Three Republicans sought the party's nomination in the 7th Congressional District primary to face incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wild in the November election. Ryan Mackenzie emerged victorious.

Pennsylvania's third most populous region received a "C" grade from the American Lung Association and ranked fourth-worst in the mid-Atlantic for ozone pollution. But, it's better than last year’s rankings in the annual "State of the Air" report.

Meriam Sabih’s campaign has been centered around making the state work for everyone, according to her website

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta defeated Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley in Tuesday's Democratic primary, according to unofficial election results.