How are the world’s trees doing? A new assessment has answers
CALI, Colombia — More than one-third of the world’s tree species are threatened with extinction, according to the first comprehensive assessment of trees by the world’s leading scientific authority on the status of species.
A pivotal choice: Trump vs. Harris on climate change
WASHINGTON — The window is closing for nations to reduce enough of the pollution that is heating the planet to avoid the most dangerous levels of climate change, according to scientists across the world. And the outcome of next week’s presidential election could determine whether the United States and other countries meet that challenge.
Trump team fears damage from racist rally remarks
Donald Trump and his allies are full of bravado over his chances of victory in the closing days of the 2024 campaign. But there are signs, publicly and privately, that the former president and his team are worried that their opponents’ descriptions of him as a racist and a fascist may be breaking through to segments of voters.
Is It COVID or the flu? New tests can check for both
Yet again this winter, millions of Americans will wonder if a nagging cough or body aches is a sign they’re coming down with COVID-19 or the flu. This time, they’ll have an expanded array of tools to get an answer without leaving the house.
Living on a volcano’s edge, Italians practice for disaster
POZZUOLI, Italy — A piercing alarm burst from millions of cellphones, a signal to hundreds of thousands of people to pack their bags and flee one of Europe’s most dangerous volcanoes. But most of the Italians who heard it shrugged.
Political crisis looms for Georgia after disputed election
TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia, a strategically located republic at the center of the Caucasus, plunged into political crisis Sunday as the ruling party celebrated victory in a pivotal election that the pro-Western opposition declared as falsified, vowing to boycott the new parliament.
Asheville has tap water, but no one knows when it will be drinkable
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Nearly a month after the remnants of Hurricane Helene ravaged western North Carolina, running water has now been restored to most of the region around Asheville — but you can’t drink it yet.
Tropical Storm Trami hits Vietnam after killing dozens in the Philippines
Tropical Storm Trami made landfall in Vietnam on Sunday, days after causing widespread flooding and leaving at least 80 people dead in the Philippines, officials said.
Harris and Trump scrap for Georgia as supporters brace for a photo finish
ATLANTA — Fewer than 12,000 votes in Georgia were the difference between Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state and Donald Trump’s defeat. Apart from Arizona, there was no thinner margin in the nation.
Do people in ‘blue zones’ actually live longer?
The concept is simple and alluring: There are special regions around the world — called blue zones — where people regularly remain vibrant and active into their 90s and 100s, thanks to a simple set of behaviors that anyone can follow.
Michelle Obama makes a searing appeal to men: ‘Take our lives seriously’
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Michelle Obama on Saturday issued an impassioned plea to American voters — and, in particular, American men — anchored in a searing and intimate depiction of women’s bodies and reproductive health, and what she described as the life-or-death stakes of returning former President Donald Trump to power.
In a tight election, can the weather cast a deciding vote?
Weather has always been an uncontrollable and slightly unpredictable factor in elections.
Israel struck air defenses around critical Iranian energy sites, officials say
Israel’s attacks on Iran early Saturday destroyed air defense systems set up to protect several critical oil and petrochemical refineries, as well as systems guarding a large gas field and a major port in southern Iran, according to three Iranian officials and three senior Israeli defense officials.
Hundreds killed in days as war in Sudan surges
DAKAR, Senegal — A major surge in fighting in Sudan has taken a searing toll on civilians, killing hundreds of people in aerial bombings and revenge attacks in the past week, as Africa’s largest war shifts into a higher gear after the end of seasonal rains.
Trump escalates threats as campaign enters dark final stretch
A campaign marked by Donald Trump’s apocalyptic extremes has turned even darker in its final days.
What to know about the Chinese hackers who targeted the 2024 campaigns
A sophisticated breach of U.S. telecommunications systems has extended to the presidential campaigns, raising questions about the group behind the attack and the extent of its efforts at collecting intelligence.
How 7 friends testing a metal detector made Britain’s most valuable treasure find
LONDON — The group huddled together in the farmer’s field, staring at the dozen or so medieval silver coins. They had found one, then two, and a third — Adam Staples knew, then, this was something special.
Seeking ‘warmth and personality’ in the world of high-priced pens
LONDON — When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone by hand? As we entrust our laptops and phones with more and more of our lives, the once-ubiquitous art of handwriting is seemingly in danger of going extinct. But at a London hotel on a recent Sunday morning, thousands of people turned up to demonstrate that the humble pen may be far from meeting the fate of the dinosaurs.
Phil Lesh, bassist who anchored the Grateful Dead, dies at 84
Phil Lesh, whose expansive approach to the bass as a charter member of the Grateful Dead made him one of the first performers on that instrument in a rock band to play a lead role rather than a supporting one, died Friday. He was 84.
Israel bombards Iran with airstrikes, retaliating for Oct. 1 attack
JERUSALEM — Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, fulfilling its vow to retaliate for an earlier Iranian attack and raising fears that the intertwined conflicts in the Middle East could escalate into an all-out war between the region’s two most powerful militaries.
