The city of Portland helped about 700 homeless people find housing last year, and part of the increase in staff can be attributed to collaboration with other agencies. Maggie McLaughlin, director of the city’s Department of Health and Human Services, said a focus on communication between city departments, mobile outreach and wraparound services has helped … Read more
François Legault appeared Thursday morning in parliament for his final question period as prime minister before leaving office next week. He will remain MNA for L’Assomption after the Parti Avenir Québec selects his successor as party leader and prime minister on April 12. Legault told reporters as he entered Parliament on Thursday that the moment … Read more
Washington — Newly discovered fossils have given scientists their first glimpse of what happened when Earth made the decisive transition from plants and unrecognizably simple animals to the complex life that took over the world and eventually led to us. And it happened millions of years earlier than researchers thought. More than 700 fossils discovered … Read more
The EPA warns that microplastics and pharmaceuticals, along with other chemicals and microorganisms, are potential contaminants of concern in drinking water. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images In response to public health concerns about microplastics and pharmaceuticals in the nation’s drinking water, the Trump administration added them for the first time … Read more
An artist’s reconstruction of an ancient marine ecosystem preserved in the Egawa biota. Wang Xiaodong A huge collection of beautifully preserved fossils discovered in China casts doubt on the idea that complex life flourished dramatically during a rapid evolutionary process known as the Cambrian Explosion. This event, which spanned approximately 541 to 513 million years … Read more
Carla and Mitch Meredith spent years saving money to buy a custom home in Fort Gibson, about 60 miles southeast of Carla’s hometown of Tulsa. The white farmhouse-style home was built in 2021, and the family moved in soon after. In August 2025, five weeks after the birth of their third child and two days … Read more
The Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass, has been largely closed to navigation since the conflict began a month ago involving Iran, the United States, Israel and, to a lesser extent, other countries. Supply disruptions are already reducing countries around the world’s access … Read more
Consumer product groups are suing to block Colorado’s “producer responsibility” fees on packaging materials that are a key part of Colorado’s recycling expansion efforts, arguing that its introduction violates both the U.S. Constitution and the state law that made it possible. The Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association (ILMA), a group of packagers and distributors not affiliated … Read more
The city has limited options when it comes to disposing of tons of waste generated by flash flooding that hit the North Shore last month. A pile of debris from a recent storm on Oahu’s North Shore — big enough to fill a soccer field with 9-foot-tall trash — is likely headed for the island’s … Read more
The state of Maine recently released a 10-year blueprint for protecting and managing native flora and fauna, from the smallest beetle to popular giants like elk to apex predators like great white sharks. “Maine’s most vulnerable wildlife is at a crossroads,” state Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso said in a statement last Friday. … Read more