Oct 25 Trump aide says 'we're not going to control the pandemic' By Jonathan Lemire, Aamer Madhani, Alexandra Jaffe, Associated Press The coronavirus has reached into the heart of the White House once more, less than a week before Election Day, as it scorches the nation and the president’s top aide says “we’re not going to control the pandemic.” Officials on… Continue reading
Oct 23 Asteroid samples escaping from jammed open NASA spacecraft By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press The sample container on the end of the robot arm penetrated so deeply into the asteroid and with such force that rocks got sucked in and became wedged around the rim of the lid. Continue reading
Oct 23 Washington state discovers first 'murder hornet' nest in U.S. By Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press Despite their nickname, the hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asian countries, while other bugs cause more deaths in the U.S. The real threat is their devastating attacks on already at-risk honeybees. Continue reading
Oct 22 Can't crush this: Beetle armor gives clues to tougher planes By Marion Renault, Associated Press The aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle can withstand being crushed by forces almost 40,000 times its body weight. Continue reading
Oct 21 WATCH: NASA releases first images from OSIRIS-REx touchdown on asteroid By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft crushed rocks and sent rubble flying as it briefly touched an asteroid, a strong indication that samples were collected for return to Earth, officials said Wednesday. Continue reading
Oct 21 Lawsuit says Trump administration ignored risk of huge spills to endangered species By Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press Environmental groups asked a federal court Wednesday to throw out the Trump administration's assessment of oil and gas activity’s likely effects on endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico, saying it dismisses the chance of another disastrous blowout like the… Continue reading
Oct 20 NASA spacecraft successfully touches asteroid for rare space samples By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press A NASA spacecraft has descended to an asteroid and momentarily touched the surface to collect a handful of cosmic rubble for return to Earth. It was a first for the U.S. Continue reading
Oct 19 WATCH: NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect sample from asteroid Bennu By Elizabeth Cantwell, The Conversation OSIRIS-REx will touch down on asteroid Bennu, collect a sample of the dust and begin its journey back to Earth, where scientists will study it, hoping to learn secrets of the solar system's origin. Continue reading
Oct 19 Marine heat wave 'blobs' are becoming more severe as oceans warm By Nicola Jones, Yale Environment 360 With oceans absorbing more than 90 percent of global warming, marine heatwaves are becoming hotter and larger and are lasting longer. Scientists say the trend has major ecological consequences, from altering fish and plant populations to forcing whales into hazardous… Continue reading
Oct 18 PG&E lacked basic training before California blackouts By Michael Liedtke, Justin Pritchard, Associated Press When Pacific Gas & Electric cut power to large swaths of wildfire-prone Northern California last fall, few of the emergency personnel managing the blackouts for the nation’s largest utility had learned the fundamentals of managing an emergency in their home… Continue reading