Los Angeles Times

‘Rivers in the sky’ have drenched California, but more extreme rain showers are possible

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For years, scientists have said that atmospheric rivers can make or break the water supply of California’s thirsty cities and farms. Over the past two winters, a steady succession of these giant “rivers in the sky” has dumped record-breaking and drought-wrecking precipitation across the state, while simultaneously causing catastrophic flooding, landslides and dangerous snowstorms. But … Read more

The Serra High Space team is trying to turn school into a science destination

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This month, Junipero Serra High School in Gardena held a pep rally to celebrate the achievements of what may be the least conventional team: the Advanced Space Team. Seniors Isaiah Dunn, Christopher Holbert, Travis Leonard, Anderson Pecot and Henry Toler, junior Keith Davie and freshman Jonathan Cruz led their classmates through the 3D printing experiment … Read more

Nearly 3 million Californians are at risk of losing their home internet connection when the subsidy ends

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Four years ago, Claudia Aleman and her family had only one way to go online: via their mobile phone. Without internet access on a computer, her youngest daughter couldn’t get her homework assignments in on time, her parents couldn’t keep up with online doctor visits, and the English classes she wanted to register for were … Read more

Famine has decimated gray whales off the Pacific coast. Can the Giants ever recover?

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The decomposing carcass of a gray whale catches the attention of visitors at Muir Beach in San Francisco in April 2021. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times) When large numbers of gray whales began washing up along North America’s Pacific coast nearly six years ago, marine scientists could only speculate about the reason: was it a disease? … Read more

Why the spread of organic farms could lead growers to use more pesticides, not less

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Robert Dedlow, owner of Kentor Canyon Farms in Fillmore, cuts organic thyme during a tour of his farm in 2021. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) To help California combat climate change, air quality regulators would like to see 20% of the state’s farmland go organic by 2045. This means that approximately 65,000 hectares … Read more

Space shuttle Endeavor flies to its place at the last museum home

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The space shuttle Endeavor is wrapped in protective shrink wrap and is parked next to its external fuel tanks as it waits to be lifted by a 450-foot crane and placed next to its fuel tanks at the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center next week. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Barring … Read more

Shuttle Endeavor’s giant orange fuel tank was hoisted aloft, but winds delayed final deployment

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The giant external orange fuel tank of Space Shuttle Endeavor, ET-94, stands next to two 140-foot solid rocket boosters at the California Science Center on Wednesday. The tank was lifted with a crane on Friday and placed between the rocket boosters. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) An external fuel tank, crafted to … Read more

Space Shuttle Endeavor’s giant orange external tank begins its final journey

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A man takes a photo of the last shuttle fuel tank, ET-94, before it begins its journey through the streets of Los Angeles to the California Science Center at Exposition Park in 2016. (Los Angeles Times) Finally, the final journey of the last space shuttle ever built, Endeavor, and its giant orange external tank are … Read more