Preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports 34 whales were found entangled in fishing gear off the West Coast in 2024, the highest number reported since 2018.

The California Dungeness crab fishery has been associated with the most confirmed entanglements, though a California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear ...Read more

I love being prepared and have vowed to try my best to never let my phone run out of power if I can help it.

My backpack usually has two or three external batteries that are charged up and ready to go. Most portable external batteries are made small enough that you’d want to carry them around. Portable battery packs usually have a capacity of...Read more

Reporting from TWENTYNINE PALMS Marine Corps base, Calif. — The two tiny tortoises emerged from their burrows as soon as they detected Brian Henen’s footsteps, eager for the handfuls of bok choy and snap peas that would soon be tossed their way.

It will be a few years before the tortoises, roughly the size of playing cards, have shells ...Read more

As President Joe Biden nears the end of his time in office, his administration is proposing lasting protections for a mountain range commonly referred to as the “Swiss Alps of Nevada.”

Even though there’s no concrete scientific evidence of the presence of oil, the U.S. Forest Service has eyed the Ruby Mountains for oil, gas and geothermal...Read more

NORFOLK, Va. — More than 110,000 oysters were planted and raised through oyster gardening in Virginia in 2024, a near-record, environmentalists said.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation hosts oyster gardening programs, at which volunteers become a “foster parent” for a few hundred baby oysters. After taking a seminar, volunteers can begin ...Read more

It was a year in which the Tijuana River — the polluted corridor that carries sewage, trash and toxins across the U.S.-Mexico border — was labeled one of America’s most endangered rivers.

A year researchers and local government officials disagreed on whether the stinky sewer gas rising from the water and drifting through southern San ...Read more

SpaceX knocked out a midnight launch from Cape Canaveral on Sunday, but has a midnight Monday launch on tap from Kennedy Space Center to cap off a record year for the Space Coast.

The Sunday launch saw a Falcon 9 lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 carrying communication satellites for Astranis Space ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The past two mating seasons ended in heartbreak for Jackie and Shadow, Big Bear's beloved bald eagle couple.

Thousands of fans who eagerly follow the bird's antics via webcam were devastated when the lovebirds' eggs were eaten by ravens in 2023. Earlier this year, fans were crushed when all three of their eggs failed to hatch �...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Space Coast could be seeing another new rocket fly soon as the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday issued a launch license for Blue Origin’s New Glenn.

An FAA statement said Jeff Bezos’ rocket company had “met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements” for its heavy-lift rocket, which is set ...Read more

Piping plovers are continuing their comeback story.

Massachusetts beaches for the second straight year saw more nesting piping plovers than at any time in the last four decades, according to Mass Audubon and preliminary data from MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program.

There were 1,196 nesting pairs counted — a 1.5% ...Read more

Two highly endangered Florida panthers were found dead from vehicle strikes only two days apart, closing out a particularly deadly year for the species.

The first panther, a 2½-year-old male, was found dead Dec. 21 in rural Highlands County, according to the Panther Pulse database maintained by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation ...Read more

For the last decade, California’s offshore seafloors have been missing a massive, colorful predator that keeps kelp-munching sea urchins in check.

The sunflower sea star is a big starfish — more than 3 feet across — that roams the ocean floor in orange, yellow and purple. These invertebrates can grow as many as 24 arms, and they’re ...Read more

MIAMI — Each March, sea turtle nesting season begins with the females’ slow yet determined scooch onto Florida’s shores, shoveling away sand with her speckled fins, digging a hole to lay eggs.

The season peaks around late spring to summer before tapering off in October, meaning Florida’s thousand-mile stretch of coastlines becomes home ...Read more

I received a text from my mom before 8 a.m. today.

“Jim, is this a scam?”

She attached a screenshot of an email she’d received earlier. The email looked like it was from Apple. The subject was: Apple Pay Suspension: Invalid Address Detected.

It read, “Verify Your Apple ID Information,” followed by “We’ve Temporary Restrict your ...Read more

It takes some research when shopping for a Bluetooth speaker. Whatever you think is the best available now can change by the day as this is one of the most crowded electronic gadget categories. They come in small, medium and large. With a big sound in each, some features are the same, and some are different.

Sound and size are critical ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The final week of the year will bring low tides to San Diego’s coastline, giving tide poolers one more chance this month to participate in a statewide quest to find sea stars — otherwise known as starfish.

The Solstice Sea Star Search along the California coast is an initiative from the California Academy of Sciences to track ...Read more

A snowy owl was rescued Monday evening by a woman who was surprised to find it trapped in the grille of a car in a Duluth, Minnesota, parking lot.

Annabell Whelan, a good Samaritan who had also rescued another owl earlier in the day, said she was near the Bentleyville “Tour of Lights” display at Bayfront Festival Park when she found the ...Read more