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Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Editorial: Power down regulations to power up debate

A major change by the Trump administration will reduce future power prices around the country. Unfortunately, it took a unilateral act of the executive branch rather than an act of Congress.

On Monday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced sweeping changes to the U.S. power sector. The agency is rolling back greenhouse gas requirements on ...Read more

Ducks kept dying near a Chicago harbor. Wildlife officials suspect botulism.

CHICAGO — In the soft shimmer of the water near DuSable Harbor, several Canada geese and a double-crested cormorant foraged among aquatic plants, the former nibbling on the feather-like leaves and the latter diving time and again for fish. By the docks and boats, an American black duck preened itself.

Near the geese, a dead bird floated next ...Read more

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Leaked emails reveal industry plan to kill California's plastic and recycling laws

When California’s groundbreaking law on single-use plastic passed in 2022 to address the growing scourge of plastic pollution, it had broad political support. There was the state Chamber of Commerce, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a powerful ocean advocate and Californians Against Waste.

But now as the law’s deadlines and requirements finally ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Feds must declare critical habitat for endangered Sierra Nevada fox, judge rules

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in Sacramento has ordered the Trump administration to designate critical habitat for the Sierra Nevada red fox, a species so rare it was erroneously thought to be locally extinct.

The bushy-tailed foxes, which once were plentiful at high elevations in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains of California ...Read more

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

Lake Mead's sacrifice to prop up Lake Powell shown in poor outlook

LAS VEGAS — The ramifications of propping up Lake Powell at Lake Mead’s expense are on full display in the federal government’s latest numbers for the two reservoirs along the Colorado River.

While Lake Mead may keep plunging until it’s firmly below 1,000 feet in elevation or close to it in summer 2028, Lake Powell is projected to ...Read more

Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post/TNS

New order by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis aims to protect bees and other pollinators from climate change, habitat loss

DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at protecting bees and other critical pollinators as they face compounding threats from climate change, habitat loss and pesticides.

“Pollinators touch everything we love about Colorado,” Polis said shortly before signing the order during a news conference at ...Read more

Stephanie Abramowicz, Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County/TNS/TNS

New evidence shows that you are only slightly hotter than a T. rex

LOS ANGELES — If you've been to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, you've probably been wowed by the fossilized remains of Thomas, the formidable 34-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex dominating the Dinosaur Hall.

More than 66 million years after Thomas' death around the age of 17, the animal is continuing to contribute to science's ...Read more

Ultenic/Ultenic/TNS

Tech review: Ultenic U18 stacks up nicely against its more expensive competition

Most every household has a vacuum — many have more than one.

Our main vacuum is a Dyson DC07 I bought refurbished in 2008. That upright vacuum has been the mainstay in our house and it still performs flawlessly.

My job reviewing gadgets has brought more than a few other vacuums into our home. Not many earn a permanent spot in the hall closet...Read more

Karl Hille/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Small fusion reactors compete to generate reliable, safe electricity

While progress begins on small, modular nuclear fission reactors across the United States for electric generation, others are betting on fusion, the still-experimental fusing of lightweight atoms that powered Tony Stark’s fictional Iron Man suit.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group is investing in a Bill Gates-backed U.S. nuclear firm, ...Read more

Stefan Jerrevang/TT News Agency/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Gates Foundation commits $1 billion to improving global AI access

As debate rages over how to respond to the growing power of artificial intelligence, Bill Gates is throwing a billion dollars and some words of wisdom at the problem.

The Microsoft founder and one of the world’s biggest philanthropists warns that artificial intelligence could be either a “great equalizer” or a force that widens the world�...Read more

Soundcore/Soundcore/TNS

Sound Advice: Wireless earbuds perfect for busy professionals

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max true wireless earbuds are a high-tech marvel: Earbuds are one of the most popular categories that I write about, and several weeks ago I wrote about an old-school wired pair. This week I have what are likely the most advanced earbuds on the market. They redefine what is possible with their combination of high-tech and...Read more

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/ZUMA Press/TNS

Environmental groups launch new canvassing effort to boost Democrats

WASHINGTON — A pair of environmental groups are launching new field programs in seven competitive House districts, seeking to reach out to voters while coordinating with key Democratic campaigns.

The paid canvassing efforts by the League of Conservation Voters and NRDC Action Fund, shared first with CQ Roll Call, take advantage of a 2024 ...Read more

Jabra/Jabra/TNS

Gadgets: Work-from-home headset

Jabra’s Evolve3 75 work-from-home headset excels at both clarity and comfort for short- or long-term use thanks to its ultra-light design. With the latest AI-powered voice clarity and adaptive noise cancellation, you’ll be heard with crystal-clear precision.

It’s built with a microphone-free design, so there’s no microphone arm ...Read more

Handout/Capcom/TNS

Review: ‘Onimusha: Way of the Sword’ modernizes a dormant samurai series

Kintsugi is an idea that’s woven through “Onimusha: Way of the Sword.” The traditional Japanese art of repairing broken objects with golden lacquer seeps through the narrative. It’s in parts of the environment, and it runs through the skin of its characters. It reflects Capcom’s approach to resurrecting this long-dormant franchise.

...Read more

Jim Rossman/Jim Rossman/TNS

Jim Rossman: Still learning what my iPhone can do

I’ve been looking for ways to make my phone do more work for me.

I stumbled on a setting in my iPhone that automates something I do several times per week and I didn’t even know it was a possibility.

You can look at me and tell I’m not bragging, but I work out at my local YMCA twice a week.

I’d like to say it was more often, but ...Read more

Stephen Kenny/Sanford Underground Research Facility/TNS

Has dark matter been found? Scientists analyze signal deep underground

A mile beneath the surface at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota, a single unknown particle separated from light, air and cosmic rays collided with the nucleus of a xenon atom, causing electrons to be knocked free in a flash of light — and confounding scientists.

This subatomic interaction captured as part of the LZ ...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Army Corps resumes work at Brandon Road Project as invasive carp encroach on Illinois River

CHICAGO — More than a month after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted work on the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, part of a $1.15 billion project to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes, the agency announced last week it would resume construction.

The Army Corps’ Rock Island District — the main federal sponsor — issued a...Read more

Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program/TNS

Grasses in the Chesapeake Bay expanded nearly 13% in 2025

Underwater grasses in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries increased 13% in 2025, covering almost 5,000 more acres in Maryland’s portion of the Bay, the Maryland Department of the Environment reported.

“More underwater grass means more habitat for blue crabs and fish, cleaner water, and a more resilient Chesapeake Bay,” Maryland ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Forest Preserves of Cook County spent extra $40 million yearly on expanded conservation, maintenance

CHICAGO — Cook County Forest Preserves has used a $40 million yearly windfall from voters to buy up and conserve more land, pay for maintenance and add programming while bolstering its pension funds, the district reported Tuesday.

Voters overwhelmingly gave the preserves the OK to raise property taxes by 0.025% in a 2022 referendum. While at ...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

A wave of dead seabirds washes ashore at Venice Beach

LOS ANGELES — More than 40 dead cormorants, the black birds known for perching on rocks and stretching their wings to dry, washed ashore on Venice Beach this weekend.

“We don’t usually see that many,” Nicole Mooradian, spokesperson for L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors said.

Carcasses lay strewn along the shoreline as the ...Read more