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Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/TNS

The ocean off California keeps breaking heat records

LOS ANGELES — An extreme marine heat wave is simmering the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, and experts are warning that it could affect coastal weather and ecosystems for months.

The ocean heat wave started forming at the end of last year but has worsened in recent weeks, according to readings from the Scripps Pier in La Jolla, ...Read more

Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Mayor Bass has a new plan for addressing climate change in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — L.A. Mayor Karen Bass released a new plan Thursday setting goals for the city to combat climate change and adapt to a warmer future.

Bass’ Climate Action Plan calls for doubling local solar power in Los Angeles by 2030 and reducing the use of fossil fuels in buildings and city buses.

It outlines how the city intends to reduce...Read more

Grant Schwab, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS

Sanders and Fain warn that AI, like NAFTA, could kill American jobs

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders joined UAW President Shawn Fain and other labor leaders Thursday to warn of the risks artificial intelligence poses for American workers, a topic they said policymakers are not paying enough attention to.

"We are looking at the most consequential and significant technological revolution in the history of ...Read more

Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune/TNS

US Senate votes to end mine ban near Boundary Waters; signature from Trump expected

The U.S. Senate has voted to repeal a ban on mining next to northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The vote sidelined a centerpiece strategy for conservationists who had waged a national campaign to put the protection in place and, in recent weeks, to defend it.

President Donald Trump, who campaigned on reinvigorating ...Read more

Dust storms have overtaken Coachella. Researchers say it's a sign of what's to come

LOS ANGELES — A powerful dust storm disrupted the first weekend of the Coachella music festival as blustery winds swept over the sprawling grounds and enveloped concertgoers in a whirlwind of desert sand.

Several social media videos from last Friday night showed attendees navigating the festival grounds amid wind-tossed tents and wearing face...Read more

Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

With Artemis II complete, NASA rolls back mobile launcher for Artemis III

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — It’s job done with Artemis II, as the mobile launcher 1 tower that has sat on Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-B since the historic moon mission took flight was picked up for a ride back to the garage Thursday to get ready for next year’s Artemis III.

The crawler-transporter 2, which has been hauling NASA’s ...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

University of Illinois and IBM renew quantum technology partnership at new Chicago headquarters

Chicago may be taking another quantum leap forward in its technology aspirations.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and IBM announced a renewed research partnership Thursday to advance artificial intelligence and quantum technology, with the city at the center of the ongoing project.

The second phase of the 10-year, $100 million IBM-...Read more

Sean Gallup/Getty Images North America/TNS

Hollywood editors get new AI tool

Avid Technology, the editing software company, is the latest entertainment industry player to introduce AI into its toolbox.

The company behind industry-standard platforms Pro Tools and Media Composer said it is entering a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud.

The goal is to implement both generative and agentic AI so that users can turn ...Read more

A pipe carries water and raw sewage into the C&O Canal, parallel to the Potomac River. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Washington DC’s 240 million-gallon sewage spill is a symptom of nationwide trouble

When 240 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., starting in mid-January 2026 and running though mid-March, it was estimated to be the largest sewage spill in U.S. history. But it wasn’t the first, nor will it be the last.

In fact, around the nation, sewage spills are contaminating waterways...Read more

Rebecca Droke/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Pennsylvania town faces fallout from Trump's environmental rule rollback

North America’s largest coke plant hugs the west bank of Pennsylvania’s Monongahela River, belching out emissions from turning superheated coal into a carbon-rich fuel.

Researchers say the children at Clairton Elementary School about a mile away pay the price. They discovered the students there and at other elementary schools near major ...Read more

Mark Hertzberg/ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

Billions of birds are on their way to Minnesota as migration season begins

MINNEAPOLIS — Here it comes, the annual flood of migratory birds returning to their summer homes across Minnesota, or even farther north. At this time of year, billions of birds are on the move, from South America, Central America and the southern U.S. They have two things on their minds: arriving early enough to stake out a rich nesting ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Environmentalists sue Trump administration over mining in Mojave National Preserve

LOS ANGELES — The National Park Service broke the law when it greenlit a mining operations in the Mojave National Preserve amid a long-running dispute with agency officials that took an abrupt turn when President Donald Trump took office, alleges a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the National Parks Conservation Association.

"Mojave National ...Read more

Increased carbon in runoff from land is turning freshwaters darker. Andrew P. Hendry via Flickr

Your local fishing hole is getting browner, changing which fish species thrive and which ones struggle

The lakes, streams and ponds you’ve visited for years are likely looking more brown than they used to. And people who are fishing those waters are likely catching different species and sizes of fish than in the past.

Our research has identified a link between those two developments, which means that trout, bass, perch and whitefish ...Read more

Drinking water is getting saltier, particularly in coastal regions.
              SeizaVisuals/E+ via Getty Images

Salty drinking water could be increasing your blood pressure – people living in coastal areas are most at risk

When people consider what causes high blood pressure, they often think of lifestyle factors, such as eating salty foods, lack of exercise or smoking. However, an unexpected source of salt might also be raising blood pressure for millions of people: the water they drink.

As sea levels rise, more and more salt water tends to infiltrate ...Read more

Charley Gallay/Getty Images North America/TNS

Snap is cutting 1,000 workers in the latest tech layoff

Snap, the parent company of disappearing messaging app Snapchat, said Wednesday that it's laying off 1,000 workers to reduce costs.

The Santa Monica, California, social media company is pursuing profitability and efficiency as it faces stiff competition for ad dollars from bigger rivals such as Facebook parent company Meta and Google.

Snap ...Read more

Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Parmy Olson: Anthropic's Mythos is a wake-up call for everyone, not just banks

Mythos, a new artificial intelligence model that Anthropic PBC has teased as too dangerous to release, looked at first like a problem for banks. Days after the company announced the new technology, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent summoned Wall Street leaders to make sure they were taking precautions to defend their systems, creating ...Read more

Apple/TNS/TNS

Tech review: iPhone 17e gets speed, storage bump for the same price

Looking at products released in the last few years, you’ll notice Apple is paying more attention to the lower cost end of the market.

These would include the iPad at $349, the MacBook Neo at $599 and, the subject of this week’s review, the iPhone 17e.

Apple has a way of positioning products in price tiers. The iPhone 17 family includes the...Read more

Apple/Apple/TNS

Jim Rossman: Wired or wireless? Which way should you charge your phone?

When it comes to charging your phone, is it better to use a wired or wireless charger?

Does it even make a difference?

The vast majority of phones sold today have a USB-C charging port. Apple was really the last holdout, as they used Lightning ports to charge, but our friends in the European Union mandated that all phones sold in Europe had ...Read more

GREG ELLMAN/TNS

Gadgets: Great headphones at a nice price

Here's a question I get often: What is a good set of over-the-head headphones for traveling that won’t break the bank. And since traveling often includes flying, you want them to include some sort of noise-canceling.

That’s an easy one to answer, especially with the OneOdio new Focus A1 Pro hybrid active noise-canceling wireless ...Read more

BUSINESS WIRE/TNS

A look at ProbablyMonsters’ promising titles: ‘Nekome: Nazi Hunter’ and ‘Crimson Moon’

ProbablyMonsters launched its first two games last year, “Ire: A Prologue” and “Storm Lancers,” and the independent game company is following that up with two more projects that are more ambitious. The first is “Nekome: Nazi Hunter,” a third-person action game about revenge, and the second is “Crimson Moon,” a gothic action ...Read more