Every year, an estimated 6,000 to 24,000 people are killed by lightning across the world, and many more are injured.

Obviously, there is a wide range in these numbers, and that’s due to the fact that these estimates are built on limited and incomplete information.

I’m a lightning researcher at the University of North ...Read more

The nationwide cyclospora outbreak is very likely a result of sewage contamination in the food supply, according to scientific researchers and public health officials.

The parasite’s spread can become a self-perpetuating cycle. Cyclospora is found only in humans, where it replicates in the intestinal tract, causing severe diarrhea. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — After a brutal stretch of relentless heat across Southern California, relief is finally on the way.

A gradual cooling trend will lower temperatures across most of the region this week, according to the National Weather Service. Beginning Monday, temperatures will dip slightly — roughly one to three degrees — before ...Read more

Ukraine’s military attacked the large Taneco oil refinery deep inside Russia on Monday, adding pressure on the country’s fuel-processing industry.

A fire broke out at Taneco in the city of Nizhnekamsk following an overnight attack, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement on Telegram. It said the strike was carried out “in a move to ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Nearly a decade ago, Head Start gave Wendy Mamola and her children the footing to leave an abusive situation.

The federally funded program for low-income families with infants, toddlers and preschoolers at Palatine Community Child Care Center offered her oldest son a safe place to stay during court hearings. It provided consistent ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A strengthening El Niño could bring the highest sea levels ever recorded to the California coast this year, raising the risk of widespread and damaging flooding.

It's the latest effect forecast for what's expected to be an historically strong event, one forecasters warn could also lash Southern California with powerful rain and...Read more

CHICAGO — As temperatures hovered around 80 degrees and few clouds obscured a bright blue sky, many people took the opportunity to enjoy a summer day last week at Montrose Beach. Children dug holes in the sand. Families kicked around soccer balls. And some cautiously waded into water against crashing waves.

At a nearby stone pier, people ...Read more

The overall death rate in Colorado improved in 2025, but overdoses, traffic accidents and deaths linked to frailty in older adults kept it above pre-pandemic levels, according to newly released state data.

Last year, 45,093 people died in Colorado — an increase in raw numbers from 44,527 deaths in 2024, but an improvement after adjusting for ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A year ago, Hillary Rugroden had never heard of a precinct caucus.

The busy Minneapolis mother of two followed the news, voted in elections and otherwise stayed out of politics. Then the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown hit Minnesota. She found herself organizing grocery deliveries, coordinating bus stop escorts ...Read more

Iran promoted a hard-line ex-commander as its top security official, shaking up its highest decision-making body on national defense after saying it was “very close” to a deal with Oman over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Mohsen Rezaee was appointed the new leader of the Supreme National Security Council, the state-run Islamic ...Read more

Taiwan plans to spend a record NT$1.1 trillion ($34.1 billion) on its military in 2027, a semi-official media outlet reported, a move that comes as the U.S. pushes it to do more to deter China.

The defense budget for the year would exceed 3% of GDP, the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The ...Read more

Syria said two Russian bases in the country will be turned into joint training centers after the two sides agreed to redefine the role of the facilities that have given Moscow a military presence on the Mediterranean.

Under the memorandum of understanding announced Sunday, the air and naval bases should be converted to “joint training and ...Read more

Severe storms buffeted western Massachusetts through Saturday, leaving Springfield in a state of emergency, over a thousand without power and dozens of residents displaced after a building collapsed.

“My heart goes out to our neighbors in Western Mass affected by yesterday’s storms, especially the dozens of residents displaced in ...Read more

When the temperature soars in California , people and pets stay indoors, seek out air-conditioned spots or head the nearest lake, river or swimming pool.

What about rattlesnakes?

Where do snakes go when highs climb into the triple digits?

Here’s what to know:

What happens to rattlesnakes in hot weather?

As cold-blooded critters, you might...Read more

Last fall, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game brought 19 Sitka black-tailed deer from an island near Kodiak to the bottom of the Kenai Peninsula as part of an effort to see how the animals would fare.

Not well, it turned out.

At least 13 of the deer died. Another one slipped out of its GPS collar, and the department isn't sure if it ...Read more

Taylor Farms is pulling more than a dozen prepared food items containing jalapeños, including salsas and guacamole, from retailers due to concerns over salmonella, just weeks after federal health officials tied the produce company to a separate outbreak of cyclospora.

The Salinas, California-based company said Sunday it has issued a voluntary ...Read more

A 27-year-old woman and her 5-month-old daughter died, and 12 people needed rescuing, when their boat capsized in the waters off lower Manhattan near Liberty Island — and the captain has been arrested, police said Sunday.

The vessel, described by police sources as a 21-foot Yamaha boat, overturned just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday, officials ...Read more

After weeks of silence, the Atlantic is showing signs of life days ahead of the usual peak of hurricane season.

On Friday, the National Hurricane Center flagged two potential systems in the eastern Atlantic to watch over the next few days. One has a low chance (20%) of strengthening into a tropical depression or storm in the next week and the ...Read more

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal by U.S.-backed mediators for disarming Hamas, hardening his position after voicing misgivings at the suggestion that Israel reciprocate with phased pullouts from Gaza.

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, according ...Read more