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Firefly's moon lander ends successful mission

Firefly Aerospace managed to stay upright when it landed on the moon two weeks ago and announced Monday it had completed its mission.

The Blue Ghost lander that launched from Kennedy Space Center in January touched down on the moon on March 2 becoming the first commercial company to achieve the feat without crashing or tipping over.

On board, ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump team unveils plans to build housing on federal land

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration unveiled plans to build housing on federal land, a move it said could help address a shortfall of 7 million affordable homes in the U.S.

The Interior Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development will partner to assess the nation’s housing needs and identify “underutilized” land ...Read more

The US military has cared about climate change since the dawn of the Cold War – for good reason

In 1957, Hollywood released “The Deadly Mantis,” a B-grade monster movie starring a praying mantis of nightmare proportions. Its premise: Melting Arctic ice has released a very hungry, million-year-old megabug, and scientists and the U.S. military will have to stop it.

The rampaging insect menaces America’s Arctic military ...Read more

Handout/NASA/TNS

Boeing Starliner astronauts to return home with SpaceX Crew-9 on Tuesday

NASA bumped up the return flight home plans for the SpaceX Crew-9 mission that includes a pair of astronauts who were left behind on the International Space Station by Boeing’s Starliner.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived to the station on June 6, 2024 for what was supposed to have been as short as an eight-day stay, but have now been ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

'Nobody knew exactly what to do': 5 years on, what scientific lessons were learned during COVID?

The pandemic stretched us — our communication, our science, our distribution networks, even what it means to be a good citizen amid rapidly developing knowledge.

With bird flu encroaching and the first measles-related deaths in a decade, the potential for another pandemic is ever-present. Our response to COVID-19 offers a sense of how ...Read more

L.E. Baskow @Left_Eye_Images/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

California, Arizona and Nevada all agree: The Trump administration needs to fix a key Colorado River dam

LOS ANGELES — Representatives of California, Arizona and Nevada are urging the Trump administration to take a different approach in confronting the problems of the water-starved Colorado River.

As Trump’s appointees inherit the task of writing new rules for dealing with the river’s chronic water shortages, the three states are raising ...Read more

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images North America/TNS

Dismay for Big Bear bald eagle family as eaglet dies in winter storm

Concern turned to grief this weekend as fans of Big Bear’s beloved bald eagle couple Shadow and Jackie learned one of the three eaglets that hatched in the pair’s nest this month did not survive a winter storm.

Throngs of fans flocked to the popular 24-hour live feed of the eagles’ nest to celebrate when the pair welcomed the fuzzy new ...Read more

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images North America/TNS

Dismay for Big Bear bald eagle family as eaglet vanishes from view

Concerns are growing for Big Bear's beloved bald eagle couple Shadow and Jackie after one of the three eaglets that hatched in the pair's nest this month disappeared from view.

Throngs of fans flocked to the popular 24-hour live feed of the eagles' nest to celebrate when the pair welcomed the fuzzy new arrivals, the last of which broke out of ...Read more

Handout/SpaceX/TNS

FAA issues environmental take on SpaceX request for more launches, new landing pad

ORLANDO, Fla. — If SpaceX gets its way, the Space Coast will get a lot more rocket rumbles and sonic booms as the company increases Falcon 9 launches and builds out new landing pads at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center.

The Federal Aviation Administration released Friday a 116-page draft environment assessment for ...Read more

Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times/TNS

How the EPA's environmental about-face could upend California's climate efforts

The Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to repeal or weaken more than two dozen regulations could deliver a direct blow to California policies on air and water quality standards, electric vehicle initiatives and efforts to curb planet-harming greenhouse gas emissions.

The changes announced this week are geared toward rolling back trillions...Read more

Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

SpaceX launches Crew-10 to space station as Starliner astronauts wait

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 surged up through blue skies Friday to send a crew on its way to International Space Station where the pair of NASA astronauts who flew up last summer on Boeing’s Starliner have been waiting for a ride home.

The Crew-10 mission lifted off from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A at 7:03 p.m. shortly before ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Scientists study fish behavior during dyeing of the Chicago River for St. Patrick's Day

Every year as part of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, thousands of onlookers clad in green cheer on a boat crew sprinkling orange powder into the Chicago River to turn it a festive shade.

But with the federal government considering sweeping rollbacks to environmental protections, this Saturday many may wonder: How will the bright...Read more

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

SpaceX to try again to launch Crew-10 to space station as Starliner astronauts wait

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — SpaceX will try again Friday evening to launch the replacement crew to the International Space Station where the pair of NASA astronauts who flew up last summer on Boeing’s Starliner have been waiting for a ride home.

A Falcon 9 rocket on the Crew-10 mission is set to lift off from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A at 7:...Read more

Environmental protection laws still apply even under Trump’s national energy emergency − here’s why

In response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a “national energy emergency,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently listed hundreds of energy and infrastructure projects that would be eligible for fast-track permitting.

The projects, which include oil pipelines, natural gas power plants and mining projects, were ...Read more

Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/TNS

Tech stocks keep tumbling this year. Here's why

When President Trump returned to the White House, tech executives from Apple, OpenAI, Oracle and other companies pledged to create thousands of jobs, fuel innovation and invest billions of dollars in the United States.

But technology stocks have been on a bumpy ride this year as trade disputes and the future of artificial intelligence have ...Read more

Federico Parra/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Illegal mining reaches Venezuela's famed Angel Falls, threatens treasured national park

Deep in the Amazon, Canaima National Park in Venezuela is a green wonderland. Home to Angel Falls, the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the world at more than 3,200 feet, it serves as a source of national pride, a showcase of the country’s uniqueness and natural beauty, the Venezuelan equivalent of the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Niagara ...Read more

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

SpaceX scrubs Crew-10 launch attempt, delaying trip to the space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The astronauts left behind on the International Space Station when NASA sent the Boeing Starliner home are expected to return to Earth in the coming days, but will have to wait at least one more day.

SpaceX scrubbed a Wednesday night launch attempt from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A because of a hydraulic issue on a clamp arm...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump mounts sweeping attack on pollution and climate rules

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is launching a sweeping overhaul of U.S. environmental mandates in a campaign it billed as the “biggest deregulatory action” of its kind in U.S. history.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday it will formally reconsider more than a dozen Obama- and Biden-era regulations, including ...Read more

America’s clean air rules have boosted health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s deregulation spree ignores

The Trump administration announced on March 12, 2025, that it is “reconsidering” more than 30 air pollution regulations in a series of moves that could impact air quality across the United States.

“Reconsideration” is a term used to review or modify a government regulation. While Environmental Protection Agency Administrator ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

An eruption of Alaska's Mount Spurr is 'likely' within weeks or months, scientists say

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The likelihood that Mount Spurr, the closest active volcano to Anchorage, will erupt is increasing, with scientists now saying an eruption is “likely” within weeks or months.

During flights over the volcano on March 7 and 11, scientists with the Alaska Volcano Observatory “measured significantly elevated volcanic gas...Read more