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Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Government shutdown hits sandhill cranes at a preserve near Sacramento

The government shutdown has not had much effect on the human visitors at the Cosumnes River Preserve, but it may have a lasting impact on sandhill cranes and other birds that pass through this fall: Federal water bird counts in October were canceled.

“That is a critically important piece of data that gets entered usually twice a month,” ...Read more

SpaceX/SpaceX/TNS

SpaceX launches Space Coast's 89th mission of the year

The Space Coast hosted its 89th orbital launch of the year with another SpaceX Starlink mission on Sunday morning.

A Falcon 9 on the Starlink 10-21 mission carrying 29 satellites lifted off at 11 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

The first-stage booster made its 24th flight with a recovery landing ...Read more

Brian Peterson/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Researcher hopes to solve the mystery of the vanishing Minnesota moose

As a young wildlife biologist, Adam Mortensen has worked in the mountains of New Mexico, the high desert of northern California and the wilderness of Isle Royale, where he lived out of a tent and backpacked daily to study wolves.

Now he will ride a snowmobile through the forests of far northeastern Minnesota to help solve the mystery of ...Read more

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

NASA's Space Launch System rocket for moonbound Artemis II mission fully stacked at Kennedy Space Center

Despite the ongoing government shutdown, NASA did manage to complete a major milestone in its effort to send astronauts back to moon.

Teams completed the stacking of the Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building this week.

The fully stacked rocket is slated to fly as early ...Read more

Renee Byer/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

California kills 4 wolves, removes pack after Sierra cattle attacks

California wildlife officials euthanized four gray wolves in Sierra Valley and plan to relocate three more to a wildlife sanctuary, after months of nonlethal efforts failed to prevent livestock attacks that cost ranchers tens of thousands of dollars and terrified residents.

The dramatic steps will have the effect of moving the entire Beyem Seyo...Read more

Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Two more Florida corals are 'functionally extinct' after 2023 heatwave

MIAMI — The marine heatwave that gripped Florida in 2023 was hotter than anything Florida has seen in 150 years, and claimed at least two victims — species of corals now marked "functionally extinct" from Florida’s reefs.

That finding comes from a newly published scientific paper that reads more like an obituary for two of the most ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

2 earthquakes reported just hours apart in NC mountain community, USGS reports

Two earthquakes were recorded within hours of each other near Marion, North Carolina, and witnesses report they felt shaking miles away, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quakes registered as a 2.2 around 1:20 a.m. and a 2.1 around 6:35 a.m., and both were centered about two miles north, northwest of the popular tourist town in ...Read more

Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/TNS

10 years since Aliso Canyon: Disaster was wake-up call for US on dangers of underground gas

LOS ANGELES — On an evening 10 years ago, Porter Ranch resident Matt Pakucko stepped out of his music studio and was walloped by the smell of gas — like sticking your head in an oven, he recalled.

Pakucko called the fire department. It turned out crews had already been up to the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility in the Santa Susana ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump plans to open almost all of coast to offshore drilling

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is readying a proposal to open almost all U.S. coastal waters to new offshore oil drilling despite opposition from state governors and the president’s previous efforts to close off some of the territory.

The draft plan for selling oil leases includes waters near the southeast U.S. that President Donald...Read more

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump reopens Alaska Arctic coastal plain to oil leasing

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is opening the entire coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing, reversing a Biden administration decision that put the pristine wilderness area off limits.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced Thursday the agency was opening the 1.56-million-acre expanse of ...Read more

Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/TNS

'Destructive' swans in the crosshairs as California allows hunting

Hunters will soon be allowed to kill mute swans as part of an effort to cull the "destructive, non-native" species statewide, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Starting Jan. 1, anyone with a valid hunting license will be able to kill the invasive waterfowl at any time, according to an agency news release. Landowners ...Read more

Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Amazon planning to replace 600K workers with robots: report

Amazon reportedly has a plan to replace more than half a million U.S. workers with “cobots,” and avoid hiring at least 160,000 human workers by 2027.

Despite hoping to double the number of products Amazon sells by 2033, executives are said to believe robotic automation could save them the trouble of hiring 600,000 people in the long run, ...Read more

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images North America/TNS

Meta is cutting 600 jobs in its AI division

Meta is slashing roughly 600 jobs in its artificial intelligence unit as the tech giant aims to move faster to compete with its rivals.

The company declined to comment on the job cuts, but confirmed an earlier report by Axios, which cited a Wednesday memo that Meta Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang sent to employees.

"By reducing the size of our ...Read more

Cindy Ord/Getty Images North America/TNS

Suzanne Somers' widower to release AI clone of late actress

Two years after Suzanne Somers died following a decades-long battle with breast cancer, her widower is preparing to publicly release of a clone of the beloved “Three’s Company” star.

Alan Hamel, who married the actress in 1977, revealed that he’s forging ahead with plans to create an artificial intelligence version of his late wife.

�...Read more

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images North America/TNS

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's pay soars to almost $100 million for 2025

It's been a good year to be a Microsoft shareholder, and an even better year to be the company's CEO.

Microsoft's stock price has risen by more than 23% this year, a surge that's mostly responsible for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's total compensation increase from $79.1 million in 2024 to $96.5 million this year, a record amount for him.

...Read more

Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Banana-selling robots pitch customers in test run in Chicago suburbs

From bananas to burgers, store aisles to sidewalks, an army of robots has descended upon Chicagoland with the singular mission to bring us food.

Robotic serving carts, once the stuff of foodie science fiction, are rolling among us in increasing numbers to deliver meals on wheels to customers — whether they are ready or not.

Take Servi, an ...Read more

TNS

Gadgets: Never lose your essentials again

If there is someone on this planet who doesn't misplace their smartphone, keys, glasses or other essentials at one time or another, good for you. For the rest of us, Satechi's new Find All collection of trackable travel essentials, which utilizes Apple's Find My technology, is a must-have.

First, if you're not familiar with Apple's Find My ...Read more

Jim Rossman/Jim Rossman/TNS

Jim Rossman: Set up account recovery information before you need it

This week a reader asks about how to recover an email account that disappeared off their phone. ”My wife had her email account disappear (like into cyberspace). We’ve tried to restore via reboot and numerous calls to AT&T and to Apple. Neither were helpful. Any thoughts on what could be done?”

AT&T has a webpage to help users get back ...Read more

Capcom/Capcom/TNS

Preview: Hands-on with ‘Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection’

Since its release, the “Monster Hunter Stories” franchise has progressively improved. What started out as a Nintendo 3DS title with basic graphics has transformed into an impressive Japanese role-playing game series, with the latest entry taking another step on the latest consoles.

I had a chance to play it as part of Capcom’s TGS by ...Read more

PRNEWSWIRE/TNS

Review: Gunnar’s Borderlands 4 Ripper eyeglasses have style to go with comfort

Gunnar is no stranger to collaborations. The eyewear company has created glasses tied to “Call of Duty,” “Overwatch” and “The Witcher.” Its a brand that has become synonymous with gaming because of its eye-strain claims and other features that have made it popular with esports competitors.

The company’s latest team up features �...Read more