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Madagascar’s huge ocean algae bloom was caused by dust from drought-stricken southern Africa
Scientists have found new evidence that desertification, potentially linked to global warming, leads to large amounts of nutrient-rich dust landing in the sea, causing ocean algae to grow rapidly. Biological oceanographer John A. Gittings and an international group of researchers have found an example of this phenomenon in the Indian Ocean ...Read more
Maryland student transportation director says school buses are safe, after several accidents this year
BALTIMORE — During the first two months of the school year, there have been 13 traffic accidents involving Carroll County school buses, according to Transportation Services Director Michael Hardesty. No accident-related injuries were reported.
“With over 250 to 300 busses on the road every single day, doing 5.2 million miles annually, we ...Read more
Trump's first week in office may set tone on abortion policy
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s first actions upon taking office in January could set the tone for how much he plans to leave the issue of regulating abortion to the states.
Presidents typically make two key global family planning decisions during their first week in office: whether to fund the United Nations Population Fund, ...Read more
Cities, states say they'll need more help to replace millions of lead pipes
A new federal rule will require water utilities across the country to pull millions of lead drinking water pipes out of the ground and replace them, at a cost of billions of dollars.
States, cities and water utilities agree that the lead pipes need to go to ensure safe water for residents. But they say they may struggle to do so in the 10-year ...Read more
A clever wolf repeatedly snuck into a Minnesota ranch. Biologists figured out its MO.
ORR, Minn. — Nothing seemed to stop Wolf 04D.
The wildlife biologists thought they had ended a decades-long struggle between rancher and wolf when they built a 7.5-mile fence in the heart of Minnesota’s wolf territory. Even the rancher, Wes Johnson, had high hopes when he came across a wounded deer on his land and saw that the wolves ...Read more
San Diego will soon charge homeowners for trash pickup. Prepare for a bigger tax bill -- and more options
SAN DIEGO — San Diego officials are busy working out details of how they’ll begin charging nearly 300,000 city households for trash pickup next summer, and they have recently decided to add the trash fees onto twice-a-year property tax bills.
Other crucial decisions will come soon on how much to charge, whether to subsidize low-income ...Read more
California's protections for transgender care could be tested under Trump
LOS ANGELES — When Mars Wright saw that Donald Trump had been elected again as president, the 29-year-old Los Angeles artist and streetwear designer felt relieved he had already undergone surgeries for his gender transition.
Wright, a transgender man, has chronicled his medical journey online, flexing and dancing to show how his body ...Read more
Political stress: Can you stay engaged without sacrificing your mental health?
It's been two weeks since Donald Trump won the presidential election, but Stacey Lamirand's brain hasn't stopped churning.
"I still think about the election all the time," said the 60-year-old Bay Area resident, who wanted a Kamala Harris victory so badly that she flew to Pennsylvania and knocked on voters' doors in the final days of the ...Read more
Even blue states are embracing a tougher approach to crime
The outcomes of seven ballot measures in Arizona, California and Colorado reflect the stricter approach to crime that’s been seen across much of the country recently, with voters and policymakers driven by concerns over rising retail theft, homelessness, fentanyl misuse and challenges in police recruitment and retention.
Voters have decided ...Read more
75 years ago, Maria Tallchief made the ballet world reimagine itself and find a place for a Native American prima ballerina
On Nov. 27, 1949, prima ballerina Maria Tallchief waited for her cue in the wings of the City Center in downtown Manhattan, preparing to take the stage in the New York City Ballet’s premiere of “Firebird.”
This production was a reimagining of a famous ballet based on a Russian folktale and featured an Osage ballerina who forced ...Read more
3 strategies to help Americans bridge the deepening partisan divide
Is it possible to bridge America’s stark political divisions?
In the wake of a presidential election that many feared could tear the U.S. apart, this question is on many people’s minds.
A record-high 80% of Americans believe the U.S. is greatly divided on “the most important values”. Ahead of the election, a similar ...Read more
Musk, Ramaswamy eye a 5-day week in office for federal workers
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to lead the newly formed task force to review government spending — said they will push for eliminating work-from-home policies for federal workers, an idea that could spark clashes between the new administration and government employee unions.
“Requiring federal ...Read more
Western NC Democrats warn that funds in state's Helene relief bill won't aid businesses, housing
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Western North Carolina Democrats are blasting wide-ranging legislation passed this week that they describe as a power grab shrouded in a disaster relief package.
The disaster-relief portion of state Senate Bill 382 fails to meet the moment for storm battered Western North Carolinians who need immediate help to keep ...Read more
Survivor of harrowing blizzard walk across Canada-Minnesota border testifies in smuggling ring trial
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. – The van carrying 11 migrants from Winnipeg got stuck in the snow as a blizzard raged. Just north of the Canadian border, the driver told the group to get out and walk until they reached a second vehicle that would be waiting.
“He just said, ‘Keep moving straight,’” Yash Patel, one of the migrants, recalled to a ...Read more
French President Macron decries firing of Haiti's prime minister, calls decision 'dumb'
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is visiting several South American nations during his attendance at this week’s G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is castigating members of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council for ousting the country’s second prime minister, Garry Conille, this year — the country’s third since the 2021 ...Read more
California student passes state bar at a record 17 years, 8 months old
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A 17-year-old former Oxford Academy student just became the youngest person to pass the California bar exam.
Sophia Park learned on Nov. 8 that she had passed the July 2024 exam, which will allow her to become a practicing lawyer in the state.
At 17 years, 8 months old, Park beat the record for the youngest person to pass...Read more
Trump chooses Michigan GOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra to be ambassador to Canada
LANSING, Mich. — President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday he's nominating Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.
The development means a Michigan resident will have a role in the coming Trump administration and state Republicans will have to select a new leader in the coming...Read more
FBI arrests suspect in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange
NEW YORK — A Florida man has been arrested by the FBI on accusations of plotting to blow up the New York Stock Exchange, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
Harun Abdul-Malik Yener was charged in Miami-Dade County with “attempting to use an improvised explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate or foreign ...Read more
Dallas doc gets 190 years for injecting IV bags with heart-stopping drugs
A Dallas anesthesiologist has been sentenced to 190 years in prison for injecting “heart-stopping drugs” into IV bags at the surgical center where he worked, leading to the death of a co-worker and “numerous cardiac emergencies,” federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. injected IV bags of saline with a nerve-...Read more
City University of New York plans free speech task force amid criticism on response to pro-Palestinian protests
NEW YORK — The City University of New York is convening a task force on free speech amid pushback over its response to protests critical of Israel, Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez announced during this year’s State of the University address Wednesday.
The working group is tasked with developing a systemwide policy across its 25 campuses ...Read more
Popular Stories
- A clever wolf repeatedly snuck into a Minnesota ranch. Biologists figured out its MO.
- Trump's first week in office may set tone on abortion policy
- 75 years ago, Maria Tallchief made the ballet world reimagine itself and find a place for a Native American prima ballerina
- 3 strategies to help Americans bridge the deepening partisan divide
- Cities, states say they'll need more help to replace millions of lead pipes