My students and I encountered a mystery. We were partnering with the Missouri Department of Conservation to monitor for fish presence and abundance in the Missouri Ozarks. We visited half a dozen rivers and streams across the region and collected a few cups of water from each.

We were testing for DNA in the environment to determine ...Read more

I recently returned from leading an educational program in Thailand focusing on how Buddhists practice the religion in their day-to-day lives. The participants – Buddhist practitioners from North America and Europe – wanted to deepen their understanding and practice of the religion.

Many Western Buddhists’ practices centers on ...Read more

“Emma,” a young Jewish woman who we met in 2019, didn’t belong to a synagogue. She didn’t have a Jewish partner. She didn’t observe Jewish rituals regularly. On most surveys about religion, she would not seem very engaged with Judaism.

But as Emma talked about what she did in her free time, a very different picture began to ...Read more

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to announce a fresh set of economic measures against Iran, as Washington pivots from strike threats to tougher sanctions as a way to end the near six-month war.

Bessent will unveil details of a plan to more effectively isolate the Islamic Republic later Monday, building on already extensive ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A rare convergence of a powerful El Niño, super king tides and sea level rise spurred by climate change could menace California with record coastal flooding this winter.

Already, officials are observing higher tides than typical. Swells are eroding beaches, damaging parking lots and bathrooms, and even resurfacing long-buried ...Read more

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly moving back across the pond, six years after their dramatic exit from the Royal family stunned Americans and Britons and exposed scandal in Buckingham Palace.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will return to British soil along with their two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, for an ...Read more

Violent crime in the United States fell by an estimated 9.3% in 2025, marking the largest year-to-year decline in the national violent crime rate since the FBI began estimating crime in 1936, according to new national data.

The estimated murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate also fell 18.1%, to 4.1 killings per 100,000 people — tying the ...Read more

Marin County has long been one of California’s most expensive places to live.

Its coveted coastal views, proximity to the San Francisco Bay Area’s tech economy and a formidable resistance to new development have created an extremely tight housing market in an already-pricey region.

But there’s another key factor that’s become ...Read more

Inside a crowded courtroom on the 10th floor of a Concord, California, office building, a three-year-old girl in pink Minnie Mouse sneakers climbed into her mother’s lap as the Mexican mother of five turned to face a black-robed judge.

Moments earlier, the judge had told the woman and the two dozen other migrants in the courtroom they had ...Read more

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government sees little chance of resuming talks with President Donald Trump before the midterm elections after trade negotiations collapsed, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Canadian leader, who said he will prepare a domestic aid package to help businesses hurt by U.S. tariffs, is designing those...Read more

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial could start deliberating by the middle of this week.

Because Clancy has already admitted to killing her children, the members of the jury aren’t deciding if she committed acts, but rather whether she is criminally responsible for her kids’ deaths.

Judge William Sullivan told both parties that he’...Read more

As Lindsay Clancy’s triple murder trial enters its fifth and potentially final week, witnesses for the prosecution’s rebuttal are set to take the stand.

Dr. Avram Mack, a psychiatrist called by the Commonwealth, will resume his testimony Monday morning.

Clancy has admitted to killing her kids Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, eight months, ...Read more

The legality of a Southern California sheriff’s seizure of about 650,000 ballots cast in last year’s redistricting election will be considered by the state Supreme Court on Monday, as oral arguments begin in two cases involving Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Bianco, a Republican who at the time was running for governor, took control ...Read more

With initial primary election results still taking shape, four incumbent members of the Alaska House of Representatives are trailing their challengers.

Of the 50 state legislative seats up for election this year, early results indicate that all incumbent candidates will have the votes to advance to the November general election. Under Alaska's ...Read more

The Colorado Supreme Court has selected Justice William Hood to be the high court’s next chief justice.

Hood, who has been a member of the court since 2014, will replace Chief Justice Monica Márquez, whose term expires in August 2027.

“Justice Hood brings deep experience, steady judgment, and a genuine commitment to the people we serve,�...Read more

U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed over a range of issues where the written text of a potential deal was at odds with what the Canadian side believed it had agreed to, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s top U.S. envoy says.

Mark Wiseman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., said in an interview Sunday that there was no one issue that led talks to ...Read more

The National Hurricane Center on Sunday increased the odds that both a tropical wave headed for the Atlantic and a system near Bermuda could develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.

As of the NHC’s 2 p.m. advisory, the system of more concern to Florida is a tropical wave expected to move into the eastern Atlantic from ...Read more

U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed over a range of issues where the written text of a potential deal was at odds with what the Canadian side believed it had agreed to, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s top U.S. envoy says.

Mark Wiseman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., said in an interview Sunday that there was no one issue that led talks to ...Read more