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NASA/TNS

SpaceX knocks 3rd Space Coast launch of 2026; readies for Crew-11 return

SpaceX launched its third mission of the year from Florida's Space Coast on Monday afternoon while preparing for the early return later this week of Crew-11 from the International Space Station.

A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 4:08 p.m. Eastern time on the Starlink 6-97 mission with ...Read more

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Avian flu death count rises to 32 birds at Orlando's Lake Eola, including 26 swans

ORLANDO, Fla. — Avian flu has been blamed for the deaths of 32 birds at Lake Eola Park since Dec. 17, including 26 of the city’s signature swans.

All of the dead swans are Royal Mute swans, and 23 of the 26 belonged to the city. Three others were wild swans who apparently joined the flock at the park.

“It’s heartbreaking, the swan is a...Read more

Bryant Turffs/The Florida Manta Project/TNS

Florida bill would ban the capture of endangered marine wildlife for aquariums

TAMPA, Fla. — Floridians were enraged last summer when a viral video showed men offshore Panama City capturing a giant manta ray, a federally threatened species, and hoisting the animal onto their boat.

That anger only skyrocketed when it became clear that Florida’s wildlife agency had approved the capture: The Florida Fish and Wildlife ...Read more

Turtle Island Restoration Network/Turtle Island Restoration Network/TNS

Plastic pellets known as 'nurdles' are polluting beaches and waterways

SEADRIFT, Texas — Aboard an aluminum skiff or one of her five kayaks, fourth-generation shrimper and fisherwoman Diane Wilson often plies the coastal bays and streams near her tiny hometown of Seadrift, Texas.

But instead of fishing for shrimp, black drum or blue crabs, these days the 77-year-old is an environmental activist looking for “...Read more

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

NASA targets Artemis II rollout to pad, details launch options

ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA could be sending a crew on the Orion spacecraft out past the moon in less than a month if everything falls into place. But first the agency has to get its rocket to the launch pad.

That could as early as next Saturday when the mobile launcher topped with the Space Launch System rocket and Orion could make the 4-mile slow ...Read more

'It is scary': Oak-killing beetle significantly expanding range in SoCal

LOS ANGELES — A tiny beetle responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of oak trees in Southern California has reached Ventura County, marking a troubling expansion.

This is the farthest north the goldspotted oak borer has been found in the state. Given the less-than-one-half-inch insect’s track record of devastating oaks since being ...Read more

SpaceX/SpaceX/TNS

SpaceX launches 2nd Space Coast mission of 2026

SpaceX knocked out Friday the first of a series of afternoon launches in the coming week with another Starlink mission from Florida's Cape Canaveral.

A Falcon 9 on the Starlink 6-96 mission with 29 more of the internet satellites lifted off at 4:41 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

This was ...Read more

Hugh Carey/Colorado Sun/Zuma Press/TNS

EPA opposes Colorado plan to close coal-fired power plants

DENVER — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday determined Colorado cannot order the closure of coal-fired power plants under the Clean Air Act, and, therefore, the agency will deny the state’s plan to reduce the haze that clouds views at Rocky Mountain National Park and other federal lands.

The move is part of the Trump ...Read more

SpaceX/SpaceX/TNS

SpaceX targets afternoon launch of 2nd Space Coast mission of 2026

SpaceX has the first of a series of afternoon launches in the next week on tap Friday with another Starlink mission from Florida's Cape Canaveral.

A Falcon 9 on the Starlink 6-96 mission with 29 more of the internet satellites is targeting 2:34 p.m. Eastern time in the middle of a four-hour window from 1:03 to 5:03 p.m. from Cape Canaveral ...Read more

SpaceX targets afternoon launch of 2nd Space Coast mission of 2026

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX has the first of a series of afternoon launches in the next week on tap Friday with another Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral.

A Falcon 9 on the Starlink 6-96 mission with 29 more of the internet satellites is targeting the opening of a four-hour window at 1:03 p.m. rom Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space ...Read more

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom blasts Trump's climate retreat while defending his own green agenda

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s State of the State address came a day after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from dozens of international and United Nations organizations, including the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change — the foundational U.N. agreement that has guided international cooperation to combat the ...Read more

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

NASA bringing Crew-11 home early after medical issue on space station

NASA is opting to bring home the four members of Crew-11 early after one of them suffered a medical incident on board the International Space Station.

Without revealing their identity, NASA said the astronaut experienced the issue on Wednesday afternoon, and is in stable condition.

“NASA has set the standard for safety and security and ...Read more

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Newsom's signature water tunnel is set back by California court ruling

In a decision that could complicate Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to build a giant water tunnel and remake California’s water system, a state appeals court has rejected the state’s plan for financing the project.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled against the state Department of Water Resources’ plan to issue billions of dollars in bonds...Read more

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Space station medical issue could mean early end to Crew-11, NASA says

NASA announced a single crew member suffered a medical situation Wednesday on board the International Space Station that forced the postponement of a planned spacewalk. It has since said the crew member is stable, but that the Crew-11 mission may need to leave earlier than planned.

“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and ...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

Washington state overestimates climate law's emission reductions by a long shot

SEATTLE — Projects funded by Washington’s Climate Commitment Act have not been nearly as effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions as previously thought, state officials acknowledged this week.

Officials with the state's Department of Commerce overshot their own estimates by such a significant margin that on Tuesday they published a ...Read more

Shaban Athuman/Dallas Morning News/TNS

Amazon AI tool blindsides merchants by offering products without their knowledge

Sometime around Christmas, Sarah Burzio noticed that the holiday sales bump for her stationery business included some mysterious new customers: a flurry of orders from anonymous email addresses associated with Amazon.com Inc.

Burzio, who doesn’t sell her products on the retail giant’s site, soon discovered that Amazon had duplicated her ...Read more

Apple/TNS/TNS

Tech review: iPhone Air is thin and light -- but is it worthy?

Back in the fall, Apple sent me the new iPhone 17 Pro Max and the thinner and lighter iPhone Air.

I reviewed the 17 Pro Max, and I’ve been using it daily — and it is still great — but what about the Air? Is it a phone I’d want to use every day?

The Air and 17 Pro Max are similar in a lot of ways. Where they differ in size and a few ...Read more

Top 10 video games of 2025: Indie titles dominate a year overshadowed by AI

As artificial intelligence has seeped more into daily life, it’s been met with a mix of acceptance and repulsion. The technology has been used to modify photos and improve productivity, but it has also threatened jobs and created havoc with the truth.

When it comes to video games, players abhor AI. It’s associated with slop and the deluge...Read more

TNS

Gadgets: Dashcam

Vueroid's latest dashcam, the S1 4K Infinite (2-channel), is an industry leader, setting a new standard as the first offering AI-powered license plate recognition. Once an incident occurs, there's nothing better than having dashcam footage. As Vueroid points out in its press release, the S1 dash cam serves as insurance, delivering reliable ...Read more

Jim Rossman/Jim Rossman/TNS

How to make the best of a smaller hard drive

Lately I’ve been helping my wife deal with a laptop hard drive that’s too small.

Whenever we go out, I’m the one who takes the pictures with my phone, but she always asks me to AirDrop the photos to her computer. This is great, but I picked up her MacBook Air used, and it has the minimum amount of storage – 256 gigabytes.

Her previous ...Read more