ATLANTA — Metro Atlanta’s largest water utilities, in response to a federal deadline, reported this fall that there were no lead pipes in their drinking water systems that they knew of.

But thousands of pipes on private property remain unchecked. And a new federal rule requires local governments and water utilities to be more proactive ...Read more

In recent months, President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly said offshore wind turbines are harming, and perhaps killing, whales.

“They’re dangerous,” he said during a Jan. 7 news conference, citing a string of whale strandings in Massachusetts. “The windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously.”

Specifically, noises created ...Read more

Farm families that consume milk, eggs and beef they raise themselves face an increased risk of cancer if their fields were fertilized with PFAS-laced sewage sludge, the EPA reported this week.

The results do not suggest that the broader food supply is contaminated. EPA identified risks for people consuming some animal products from their land, ...Read more

SpaceX sent up its first test flight of the year for its Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Texas, catching the booster for just the second time back at the launch site, but suffering a loss of the upper stage.

The seventh test flight overall for the 396-foot-tall combined rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, ...Read more

An ancient game board, building remains and three clay tablets recently discovered by archaeologists in northeastern Iraq provide new details about Mesopotamian life.

The clay tablets are the first cuneiform tablets from the Middle Bronze Age to be found in the region, according to a Jan. 14 news release from the University of Central Florida....Read more

When the Romans reached Britain in the first century, they were shocked to find “remarkable” women standing in their way.

Female tribal leaders Cartimandua and Boudica became legends, leading uprisings that destroyed Roman towns and challenged the authority of the empire, and women in their community were able to own property, divorce and ...Read more

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Biden administration on Thursday rolled out last-minute plans to add protections for more than 3 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska for subsistence resources.

A portion of the areas chosen for additional protections is close to Nuiqsut, an Iñupiaq village in the northeastern area of the reserve, ...Read more

SEATTLE — This week, mother orca Tahlequah may have surpassed her 2018 tour of grief, when she carried her dead calf for 17 days and more than 1,000 miles.

Tahlequah was last seen still carrying her latest calf — dead since at least New Year’s Eve — on Jan. 10 off San Juan Island. That evening the southern resident family, part of J pod...Read more

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin managed something no commercial rocket company has ever done successfully by reaching orbit on the first try with its New Glenn rocket during an overnight launch early Thursday.

The heavy-lift rocket for Jeff Bezos’ company is trying to become a competitor for SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. Dubbed NG-1...Read more

The fires burning in the Los Angeles area are a powerful example of why humans have learned to fear wildfire. Fires can level entire neighborhoods in an instant. They can destroy communities, torch pristine forests and choke even faraway cities with toxic smoke.

Over a century of fire suppression efforts have conditioned Americans to ...Read more

An app built on an off-the-grid ranch in rural Sonoma County, California, supported by solar panels, satellite internet service and a small nonprofit team, is serving as a critical tech hub for free, fast and reliable information to help victims of the catastrophic Los Angeles fires — and future disasters.

The fire-tracking app Watch Duty, ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California withdrew plans for pioneering clean-air regulations targeting diesel trucks and trains Tuesday, citing challenges posed by the incoming Trump administration. The state rules faced an uncertain future with federal approval in jeopardy.

The state’s Advanced Clean Fleet rule sought to end sales of new fossil-...Read more

SpaceX is ready to send up its first test flight of the year for its Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Texas, but delayed it one day to Thursday, when the company will once again go for a booster catch back at the launch site.

The seventh test flight overall for the 396-foot-tall combined rocket is aiming for liftoff from SpaceX’s Starbase...Read more

A federal court judge has thrown out expert testimony from a Stanford University artificial intelligence and misinformation professor, saying his submission of fake information made up by an AI chatbot “shatters” his credibility.

In her written decision Friday, Minnesota district court Judge Laura Provinzino cited “the irony” of ...Read more

A stricter speed limit isn’t coming to the waters of the North Atlantic right whale calving grounds off the Georgia coast after all.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, on Wednesday withdrew a proposed vessel speed rule meant to protect the endangered whales, which swim near the ocean’s surface and are susceptible ...Read more

While fishing off the coast of Honduras in 2023, a group of anglers stumbled upon a rare sight: a pod of orcas hunting down a sperm whale.

The underwater attack — which was organized and bloody — unfolded over many minutes alongside the anglers’ vessel.

Now, over a year later, biologists have tracked down eyewitness accounts of the ...Read more

Millions of people across the Los Angeles area are being exposed to wildfire smoke as fires burn through homes and vehicles. The fires in January 2025 have burned thousands of structures, along with the building materials, furniture, paints, plastics and electronics inside them.

When materials like these burn, they can release toxic ...Read more

Blue Origin could try again to send up its New Glenn rocket for the first time with an overnight launch early Thursday, but the weather forecast could pose problems.

The heavy-lift rocket for Jeff Bezos’ company is trying to become a competitor for SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. Dubbed NG-1, the mission has a launch window from 1-4 a.m. ...Read more