LOS ANGELES — Within days of California’s long-anticipated single-use plastic law going into effect, environmentalists, anti-waste activists and the packaging industry reacted with anger and frustration.

Anti-plastic activists say Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and CalRecycle inserted exemptions favoring the plastic industry into the ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — It’s hard to spot the least terns skittering around Fort De Soto Park.

But there are dozens of them.

The itty-bitty shorebirds look like little vigilantes, with black masking their eyes, scurrying around grass and sand mounds, largely behind a sign that says “DO NOT ENTER.”

The roped-off areas of the park are nesting ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — For more than a century, the swans at Lake Eola have been among the most iconic symbols of the city of Orlando.

But on Friday, officials announced the city has decided to move its famous swan flock to new homes, putting a “pause” on the program that has kept dozens of birds in the city’s signature park for decades.

The ...Read more

A pair of hikers in Yellowstone National Park were seriously injured in a bear attack earlier this week.

The number of bears involved, and their species, has not been released by park officials.

But Yellowstone is home to both black bears and grizzlies, and the attack occurred on a trail — Mystic Falls, near Old Faithful — that until 2024 ...Read more

The U.S. is in a bizarre situation in 2026: It’s facing a looming energy shortage, yet the Trump administration is making deals to pay offshore wind developers nearly US$2 billion in taxpayer money to walk away from energy projects.

These politically motivated moves are costing Americans far more than just the buyouts.

...Read more

CHICAGO — Hyde Park birding couple Pat and Steve Pearson have ventured out to Chicago’s Southeast Side once a week for over a year keeping their eyes and camera focused on two bald eagles soaring above South Deering.

The couple watched the birds carry large twigs high into the treetops near Park No. 597, just south of Indian Ridge Marsh, ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his administration is “moving forward aggressively” to continue laying the groundwork for a giant tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to replumb the state’s water system.

“We got to move faster. Move faster,” Newsom said to regulators during a speech Thursday ...Read more

The heinously polluted Tijuana River, which has sickened residents and even researchers with its hydrogen sulfide fumes, is gaining attention and now a coalition of politicians, activists, physicians and economists are pushing California Gov. Gavin Newson to declare the fetid and toxic river valley a public health emergency.

They’ve also put ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado’s voter-mandated wolf reintroduction is at a critical juncture two years after the first canines were released in the state, wildlife officials said Thursday.

At least 32 wolves are roaming Colorado after two rounds of releases and last year’s breeding season, which produced at least 14 pups, according to Brenna Cassidy,...Read more

If you follow the Trump administration’s social media posts, you might spot its new mascot: a cartoon lump of coal with big eyes and babylike features. “Coalie” sparked a backlash almost as soon as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum debuted it for the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement in early 2026.

Coalie’s ...Read more

While the timeline remains uncertain for when Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket will be allowed to fly again, Jeff Bezos’ company is pushing forward in getting all the parts in place for its first mission to the moon.

The company posted images of continued testing for the Blue Moon MK1 lander, named Endurance, which is undergoing radio ...Read more

Anthropic PBC has signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bolster computing resources and meet surging demand for its Claude artificial intelligence software.

Anthropic plans to access more than 300 megawatts of computing capacity from a large SpaceX data center in Memphis known as Colossus 1, the companies said on Wednesday. Anthropic...Read more

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Wednesday ruling by an Anchorage Superior Court judge clears the way for the state Department of Fish and Game to kill large numbers of bears in Southwest Alaska this month.

Opponents of the state’s predator control program around the Mulchatna caribou herd are suing to overturn its expansion, arguing it violates ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, long the centerpiece of the city’s waterfront revival strategy, is showing worsening water quality even as some surrounding waterways improve — a split result that is intensifying debate over whether decades of infrastructure promises are finally working or still falling short.

A report released ...Read more

Some iPhone users could be eligible to collect up to $95 per device as part of a settlement over allegations that Apple misled consumers about the abilities of its artificial intelligence-powered features.

This week, Apple said it reached a $250 million settlement to resolve class-action lawsuits filed against the Cupertino, California, ...Read more

One of the United States’ largest fisheries is hiding in plain sight. Recreational freshwater anglers in the lower 48 states catch – and keep – far more fish than any official body has estimated, according to new research from our team of North American fishery scientists.

Specifically, our analysis, which integrated thousands ...Read more

A grisly investigation is underway in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, after nearly three dozen federally protected birds were killed and “dumped” along a scenic parkway, according to the National Park Service.

The birds have been identified as black vultures, a species with a wing span of nearly 5 feet and a penchant for eating dead ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is getting worse — even as other waterways in the region show signs of recovery, according to a new report that sharpens concerns about the city’s long-running struggle with pollution.

A report released Wednesday by Blue Water Baltimore found water quality in the Inner Harbor has declined over the ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — For years, Qualcomm and Apple were the hottest couple in tech.

Qualcomm’s chips crammed high-speed internet and desktop computing into a device that fits in your pocket. Minting billions, their partnership rewired the world.

Apple and Qualcomm were together exclusively for almost a decade. Then they started to fight.

The last ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Li Gordon-Washington, 25, was at 15th and Locust Streets when an Uber autonomous delivery bot bumped into her from behind.

“I didn’t see it coming,” said Gordon-Washington, who kicked it in a knee-jerk reaction last month. “It kept coming at me, like once or twice more.”

Gordon-Washington was able to walk away as ...Read more