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Why do falcons have stripes under their eyes? The answer is more complex than we thought

Current News / News & Features /

Falcons are found worldwide, from the fast and slick hobbies to the large and powerful gyrfalcon of the Arctic tundra. In Africa, falcons are found across many habitats. Several species are unique to the continent, including the endangered Taita falcon, which nests on high cliffs, and the greater kestrel, which breeds in the old nests of ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

A woman who lost her home in the Eaton fire 'has no more tears to cry'

Current News / News & Features /

The sky was blue, empty of smoke, as if no ruin had come to the house where Maria Sanchez once lived at the foot of the San Gabriels in Altadena. But as she wandered through the wreckage on Thursday, she stepped amid cinders left by the flames that had swarmed the land and erased the life she had built.

It was quiet on West Palm Street. Ash ...Read more

Yasuyoshi Chiba/Getty Images North America/TNS

South Korea's far right borrows from Trump's playbook to bolster impeached Yoon

Current News / News & Features /

SEOUL — They gathered in subzero temperatures, waving banners that read, "Stop the steal."

Some voiced faint hope that President-elect Donald Trump would support their cause; others accused China's Communist Party of infiltrating South Korea's news media.

All of it was in the service of one aim: to save South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol...Read more

Brendan McDermid/Pool/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Donald Trump sentenced in NYC hush money case as President-elect formally becomes convicted felon

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President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday morning for falsifying business records in a scheme to defraud voters in 2016, marking an official end to the explosive case that involved hush money payments to a porn star and formally making Trump a convicted felon 10 days before his return to the White House.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice ...Read more

Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS

Court clears release of Jack Smith report on Trump's Jan. 6 election interference case

Current News / News & Features /

Special counsel Jack Smith’s report on President-elect Trump’s Jan. 6 election interference case could be released as early as Monday after a federal appeals court denied a bid to keep it secret.

Now that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided not to block the report, Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to release it anytime...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/Gina Ferazzi

California lawmakers to consider expediting insurance claims after LA fires

Current News / News & Features /

LOS ANGELES — As lawmakers regrouped Thursday after fiery devastation across Los Angeles, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas vowed to back legislation to help homeowners expedite insurance claims, while Senate leader Mike McGuire delivered a tearful floor speech addressing California's "hellish week."

"Words cannot explain the absolute shock, ...Read more

Paul Grover/WPA Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

Keir Starmer to visit Ukraine to discuss postwar peacekeeping force

Current News / News & Features /

Keir Starmer will travel to Ukraine in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility of deploying an international peacekeeping force there after the conflict with Russia has ended, his first visit to the war-torn nation since becoming U.K. prime minister half a year ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the plan following a ...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

'This shouldn't be the end': Altadena woman fears her grandmother is among Eaton fire victims

Current News / News & Features /

Briana Navarro reached for her cellphone and called her grandmother for a third time, hoping she'd pick up and Navarro would hear her tender voice.

But like each time before, the phone rang, the generic voice greeting kicked in and Navarro would hang up.

"No luck," she said, dismayed. "I wish I could hear her voice on that voicemail."

It has ...Read more

K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Cybertruck blast 911 calls released: 'This is the craziest thing I've seen'

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LAS VEGAS — In 911 audio recordings released by police on Thursday, hotel guests and onlookers described the New Year’s Day Cybertruck explosion that happened near the entrance of the Trump International hotel.

“I am staying at the Trump hotel here in Las Vegas, and a really big explosion noise went off,” one caller said during the 34-...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Rookie LAPD officer killed bicyclist in DUI crash in Ontario, police say

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LOS ANGELES — A rookie LAPD officer was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a bicyclist was struck and killed on Christmas Eve in Ontario, police said.

Aaron Kleibacker, 39, was driving south on Bon View Avenue when his vehicle hit the bicyclist about 7:37 p.m. on Dec. 24, said Corp. Eliseo Guerrero, spokesperson for ...Read more

Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

President Yoon's security chief quits as new arrest bid looms

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s security chief resigned Friday, a week after leading a team that blocked an attempt to arrest the impeached president over his short-lived imposition of martial law.

Park Chong-jun offered to resign earlier in the day as he appeared for police questioning over alleged obstruction of duties last week. His...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Death toll in Los Angeles wildfires rises to 10, officials report

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LOS ANGELES — The confirmed death toll in the Los Angeles wildfires doubled Thursday night — from five fatalities to 10.

The office of the Los Angeles County medical examiner announced it was investigating 10 fire-related deaths as of 9 p.m. Thursday. No information was available on the identity of the deceased or the location of the deaths...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Firefighters battle to protect NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mt. Wilson

Current News / News & Features /

Officials said they are making progress in protecting two key institutions from the Eaton fire.

Don Fregulia, an operations section chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which has joined in the Eaton fire response, said that efforts to protect Mt. Wilson had proved successful and he expected that to remain the ...Read more

Brandon Bell/Getty Images North America/TNS

The warning signs to notice if someone is freezing to death

Current News / News & Features /

You don’t have to actually freeze to death in order to die of cold.

And according to the Mayo Clinic, people who are dying of cold usually don’t realize it.

As sleet, snow or cold rainfall is expected in metro Atlanta on Friday amid freezing temperatures, Southerners who aren’t used to these conditions need to be careful to protect their...Read more

Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's immigration plans could imperil long-term care workforce

Current News / News & Features /

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s vowed crackdown on immigration could strain an already struggling elder care workforce that relies on foreign-born workers in nursing homes and home health settings.

Industry players and experts argue that increasing the long-term care workforce requires more immigration, and Trump’s plans could...Read more

Jessica Ebelhar/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Southern Nevada's desert tortoises getting help to cross the road

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Long before Southern Nevada built its winding highways, desert tortoises roamed freely without consequence. For these federally protected animals, crossing the street without a dedicated path could mean a death sentence.

Along a 34-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 93 near Coyote Springs, fencing and underground tortoise crossings will allow for ...Read more

Renée C. Byer/rbyer@sacbee.com/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Full-day Head Start preschool program expands income eligibility

Current News / News & Features /

Each day after outside play time, preschool teacher Dometila Casillas sits her classroom of 3- to 5-year-olds down on a rug to read a story together. Wednesday, she read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

Each time the initially tiny insect eats an additional piece of fruit, Casillas asks the kids, “guess what?”

“He was still very hungry...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Bird deaths plummet at Chicago's McCormick Place Lakeside Center after safety film installed

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CHICAGO — For more than 40 years, migrating birds have been crashing into McCormick Place Lakeside Center.

The glassy, low-lying convention building on the shores of Lake Michigan has been the scene of about 1,000 deadly collisions per year, according to Dave Willard, retired Field Museum bird division collections manager.

In 2023, the death...Read more

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS

More than 9,000 structures damaged or destroyed in Palisades and Eaton fires, officials estimate

Current News / News & Features /

LOS ANGELES — Officials said Thursday that at least 10 people were killed and more than 9,000 homes, businesses and other buildings appeared to have been damaged or destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Around 5,300 of these structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, while another 4,000 to 5,000 structures were estimated to be ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Scam targets New Yorkers, steals $2.2M in cryptocurrency through fake job offers

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A team of tech-savvy scam artists stole millions in a nation-wide cryptocurrency con that duped unsuspecting victims, including some in New York, searching for remote work into transferring money in the fraudsters’ digital wallets, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday.

The network of scammers cold-texted their victims, ...Read more