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Friends of Big Bear Valley/TNS

Bald eagle 'massaging' its mate? AI deepfakes collide with the laws of the wild

LOS ANGELES — Shadow gingerly places one taloned foot, then the other, on Jackie as she hunkers down on the nest.

With Big Bear Lake glittering in the distance, he raises each foot in a kneading motion — evoking a bald eagle massage.

“Somehow, it says everything about their bond,” reads the caption on the 15-second video posted to ...Read more

Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

North Atlantic right whales see 'positive news' this calving season

BOSTON — It has been a good year for the North Atlantic right whale, according to scientists at the New England Aquarium.

The calving season, from mid-November until mid-April in the Southeast, generated “positive news” for the critically endangered species, as it produced 23 mother-calf pairs, the fourth-highest count ever.

So far this ...Read more

Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/TNS

Spring temperature whiplash is getting worse with climate change

Dramatic temperature jumps marked this March and April in the U.S. Northeast, making it hard to know what to dress for: chilly or sweltering conditions? Researchers have concluded that wild temperature swings are becoming more common as the world heats up.

That’s changing how we experience spring, with plants blooming sooner and consumers ...Read more

NASA/TNS/TNS

NASA keeps Boeing Starliner flights in holding pattern in updated space station plan

ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA said it was not ready to nail down Boeing Starliner’s next flight to the International Space Station as it continues to work through the problems found during its beleaguered Crew Flight Test mission in 2024.

NASA had since last year been targeting Starliner’s return to flight as early as April 2026, but that month ...Read more

Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

California, Arizona and Nevada announce new water-saving plan for dwindling Colorado River

LOS ANGELES — With the Colorado River’s giant reservoirs declining toward critically low levels, negotiators for California, Arizona and Nevada announced Friday that they have agreed on a water-saving plan for the next two years.

Representatives of the three states said in a written statement that their plan aims to “stabilize the ...Read more

DANIEL SLIM/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Google, Nvidia and other tech titans sign AI deal with the Pentagon

Eight technology companies, including Google, Nvidia and SpaceX, have struck deals with the Pentagon to help the U.S. military gain an edge on the battlefield.

"These agreements accelerate the transformation toward establishing the United States military as an AI-first fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters' ability to maintain ...Read more

SpaceX/SpaceX/TNS

SpaceX gets May launches going after helping set rocket record in April

SpaceX began the month of May with a launch of its workhorse rocket from Cape Canaveral with, just days after its bigger brother, the Falcon Heavy, helped set a record for different types of rockets flown in one month on Florida's Space Coast.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 more of the Starlink broadband satellites lifted off at 2:06 p.m. EDT ...Read more

Imago/Imago via ZUMA Press/TNS

Recycled plastics industry gets unexpected boost from Iran war

LOS ANGELES — As the war with Iran sends the price of virgin plastic skyward, speculation is growing as to whether recycled plastic could finally have its day after struggling for years to gain a greater foothold among manufacturers.

Not since the collapse of the global recycling market in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic has the world faced as...Read more

Gas prices were well over $4 a gallon on April 28, 2026, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

What’s in the price of a gallon of gas?

The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects nationwide retail gasoline prices to average near US$4.30 a gallon for April 2026 – the highest monthly average of the year. The political response has been familiar. Georgia has suspended its state gas tax, other states are weighing their own tax holidays, and the White House has issued a ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

One of the World Cup's biggest sponsors is Big Oil

As FIFA prepares to bring the largest-ever World Cup to Los Angeles and other parts of North America this summer, the global soccer organization is again promoting a commitment to environmental sustainability. But some of its sponsorship agreements tell a different story — including a premiere deal with the largest oil and gas company in the ...Read more

Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group/TNS

'Chonkers,' the massive sea lion, is drawing crowds at San Francisco pier

It's a sight to behold — the 1-ton sea lion peeking his head out of the water in San Francisco Bay and triggering a panic as other sea lions hustle to get out of the way.

There's a lot of barking, and suddenly the big fella hops onto the wood platform, sending the other pinnipeds jostling for a new spot in the sun or diving back into the ...Read more

Miami Herald/Miami Herald/TNS

Florida finds an unexpected ally in the fight against pythons: Opossums

Scientists in Florida have launched a new offensive against the Burmese python invasion, this time using opossums, one of the giant snake’s favorite prey.

The initiative comes from biologists A.J. Sanjar and Michael Cove of the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Key Largo, South Florida.

The researchers attach tracking devices to ...Read more

Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group/TNS

'Chonkers,' the massive sea lion, is drawing crowds at San Francisco pier

A particularly massive sea lion has Bay Area tourists and residents flocking to Pier 39 in San Francisco to spot the mammal affectionately named "Chonkers."

"Chonkers" is a Steller sea lion, which is a heftier variety of the species, compared to his California sea lion counterparts.

The animal first showed up at Pier 39 about a month ago and ...Read more

Fireball seen streaking across sky over WA, OR, B.C.

A flash of “greenish” light blazed through Gerald Tracy’s windows early Wednesday morning, lighting up his apartment in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood.

It was like someone turned the overheads on, but it was the middle of the night, Tracy said.

“At first, I thought it was lightning or something,” Tracy said.

He had been lying ...Read more

Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Maryland stormwater rules face legal challenge over Chesapeake Bay pollution

A coalition of Maryland environmental groups is asking a Baltimore County judge to strike down or overhaul a state stormwater permit they say is too weak to curb industrial pollution flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

Five organizations, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Blue Water Baltimore, argued Tuesday before a circuit court judge ...Read more

Sihoo/TNS/TNS

Tech review: A comfortable chair that adjusts as you move

As an IT guy, my workday alternates between tasks like going out and fixing people’s computer issues or setting up new computers and sitting at my desk waiting for the next call.

I’d like my boss to think I spend 80% of my day away from my desk, but in reality I spend a lot of my time sitting at my desk working on my computer.

A lot of ...Read more

Brian Peterson/Star Tribune/TNS

Twin Metals spent big on lobbying to reverse mining ban near Boundary Waters

WASHINGTON — The end of a 20-year mining moratorium in the Superior National Forest marked the culmination of a months-long fight on Capitol Hill between environmentalists, tribal leaders and a lobbying shop friendly with the president.

Political momentum shifted toward pro-mining interests earlier this year behind a concerted lobbying push, ...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

IBM announces new innovation center at Chicago quantum park, creating 750 new tech jobs

Building on its growing Chicago quantum footprint, IBM is planning to open a FutureNow delivery center at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, with a commitment to create 750 new full-time technology jobs on the city’s South Side.

The center, one of a handful scattered across North America, will serve as an IBM innovation hub to ...Read more

Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

SpaceX launches 1st Falcon Heavy since 2024 bringing sonic booms to Central Florida

Central Florida got served up a pair of sonic booms as SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time since 2024.

After scrubbing an attempt Monday because of weather, the heavy-lift rocket that is essentially three Falcon 9 boosters strapped together, shot off Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A at 10:13 a.m. on the ViaSat-3 ...Read more

An artisanal miner holds a cobalt stone at a mine near Kolwezi, Congo, in 2022. About 20,000 people work there among toxic materials. Junior Kannah/AFP via Getty Images

The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that harm water and health of world’s poor

There is a troubling contradiction at the heart of the global transition to a cleaner, greener, tech-driven future: Modern technologies – everything from AI to wind turbines, as well as cellphones, electric vehicles and defense systems – depend on critical minerals. But many of the communities where those minerals are mined end up with ...Read more