The Planet
Dying star resembles a billowing crystal ball in new telescope photo China launches Shenzhou 23 spacecraft with astronaut set for yearlong stay Atlantic hurricane season forecast to be milder than normal thanks to El Nino The shrinking snowfall on Greece's mountains is provoking anxiety A record 274 climbers scale Mount Everest in a single day
Neptune's mysterious moon Nereid may be an original
Animal welfare groups say 3 South African zoo elephants are depressed
Researchers stunned by a forgotten medieval book hiding the oldest English poem
Congolese report constant burials as Ebola deaths reach 80
NASA's Psyche spacecraft buzzing Mars on its way to a rare metal asteroid
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A NASA spacecraft chasing a rare metal asteroid swings past Mars this week for a gravity boost, snapping thousands of pictures as practice for the main encounter in 2029. Named Psyche like the asteroid it’s after, the robotic explorer will slingshot past the red planet at 12,333 mph (19,848 kph) on Friday.
Scientists find climate change is reducing oxygen in rivers worldwide

WASHINGTON (AP) – Global warming is causing rivers to slowly lose oxygen, threatening fish and other lives in the waterways, a new study shows. Researchers in China used satellites and artificial intelligence to track and analyze oxygen levels in more than 21,000 rivers across the globe since 1985.

What to know about new Ebola outbreak that has killed 65 people in Congo

Africa’s top public health body has confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s Ituri province, the 17th since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976. A total of 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths have already been recorded in the new outbreak, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Friday.

Ancient teeth hint at canoodling between early human relatives

NEW YORK (AP) – An analysis of ancient teeth is giving scientists a rare peek into interactions between human relatives hundreds of thousands of years ago that have left a lasting imprint on our species.

Bald eagle hatchlings spotted in a Chicago park

CHICAGO (AP) – Two bald eagles hatchlings have been spotted in a nest in a Chicago park in what city officials believe is the raptors’ first successful wild breeding in the Windy City in more than a century.

A rare sanctuary in Congo looks after baby bonobos away from poaching threat

LOLA YA BONOBO, Congo (AP) – Micheline Nzonzi cradled a small and sleepy bonobo, an orphan whose life she will try to save over the next three years or so.

UFO files shed light on sightings but leave interpretation to the public

WASHINGTON (AP) – Buzz Aldrin observing a “fairly bright light source” while aboard the Apollo 11. A mysterious object making “multiple 90-degree turns” at a speedy clip. A blaringly bright object doing corkscrew twists over the skies in Kazakhstan.

Alaska wildlife agents can kill bears from helicopters, judge says

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska wildlife agents can resume shooting and killing black and brown bears – including from helicopters – as part of a plan to help recover a caribou herd that was once an important source of food for Alaska Native hunters, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Spiral galaxy's brilliant heart shines bright in a new picture from NASA's Webb telescope

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A spiral galaxy’s brilliant heart outshines everything within sight in a new picture from NASA’s Webb Space Telescope.

Astronomers detect atmosphere around tiny, icy world beyond Pluto

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A new study suggests that a tiny, icy world beyond Pluto harbors a thin, delicate atmosphere that may have been created by volcanic eruptions or a comet strike.

Kenya's rainy season turns deadly again, with 18 killed
The threat of light pollution puts the world's darkest skies in the Atacama Desert at risk
Trump lifts ban on mining near Boundary Waters