Officials: No apparent survivors in Texas balloon crash

Investigators surround the scene in a field near Lockhart, Texas where a hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people collided with power lines Saturday, July 30, 2016, causing what authorities described as a "significant loss of life." Investigators surround the scene in a field near Lockhart, Texas where a hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people collided with power lines Saturday, July 30, 2016, causing what authorities described as a "significant loss of life."

Multiple deaths in Texas hot air balloon crash

LOCKHART, Texas -- A hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas on Saturday, causing what authorities described as a "significant loss of life." Erik Grosof with the National Transportation Safety Board would not provide an exact number of how many people died.

Metro Buzz: Teen calls for federal review of Baton Rouge zoo

This spot nosed Guenon monkey, a native to West Africa is one of the 3 monkeys that was killed at The BREC Baton Rouge Zoo. Advocate file photo by ARTHUR D. LAUCK -- BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo's giraffe Hope plays with her granddaughter, Jewel, left, in this 2007 photo Advocate staff file photo by TRAVIS SPRADLING -- Two female Malayan tiger cubs born at BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo paw each other in November 2014, as they play after a nap.

Sen Inhofe: Global Warming Alarmists Are Brainwashing Our Kids

U.S. Senator James Inhofe joins Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders to address federal highway funding legislation, during a news conference following the weekly Republican caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol Hill in Washington July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Global warming skeptic Sen. James Inhofe said Tuesday afternoon that parents must "un-brainwash" kids indoctrinated by schools pushing the man-made global warming mantra.

5 Years After Space Shuttle, Obama’s NASA Still Can’t Put A Man Into Space

The last Space Shuttle launched 5 years ago Thursday, but NASA still cannot put men into space without Russian cooperation due to President Obama's cuts to the agency's exploration and spaceflight capability. NASA plans to return to Earth's orbit are entirely dependent on private companies, some of which are scheduled to launch by the end of next year.

Humans Are Playing High-Risk Ecological Roulette

Humans have reduced biodiversity - the teeming variety of plant and animal life that competes and co-operates in every ecosystem - to below safe levels across more than 58% of the planet's land surface . This is ultimately bad news for human food security because biological diversity underwrites what naturalists call the resilient ecosystem services on which humans and all higher animals depend - crop pollination and pest control, nutrient decomposition and recycling, water and air purification - and because that 58% of the terrestrial planet is home to 71% of all humans, That humans are reducing biodiversity - and at a cost to the disturbed ecosystems - is not news.

‘Earthquake’ reported off Florida waters was really a Navy test

Remember all that social media buzz over the weekend about an earthquake off the coast of Daytona Beach? Never mind. It appears the “earthquake” detected by the U.S. Geological Survey on Saturday was really triggered by a manmade explosion designed to test the seaworthiness of a new Navy vessel.

Feed Quality Demand Drives Haying Innovations

The end-user, whether it be the cow or the cattle feeder, is becoming more important to hay and forage producers, and because of that, the equipment in the hay meadow is changing. "Forage vs. baleage is the trend I'm seeing," says Gary Berger, sales and marketing director for Edney Distributing Co., a machinery distributor serving the upper Midwest.

Dead whale that keeps floating to coast may have returned

Officials say a dead whale that keeps returning to the Southern California coast after being towed out to the ocean might have floated back to the coast again. Officials say a dead whale that keeps returning to the Southern California coast after being towed out to the ocean might have floated back to the coast again.

USDA Funds 81 Distance Learning and Telemedicine Projects in 32 States

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund 81 Distance Learning and Telemedicine projects in 32 states. These projects will help connect rural communities with medical and educational experts in other parts of the country, increasing access to health care, substance misuse treatment and advanced educational opportunities.

Congress OKs bill requiring first GMO food labels

Consumers wanting to know if their foods contain genetically modified ingredients will be able to find out for the first time. Congress sent legislation to President Barack Obama on Thursday that would require most food packages to carry a text label, a symbol or an electronic code readable by smartphone that indicates whether the food contains genetically modified ingredients, or GMOs.

Microsoft Wins Appeal on Overseas Data Searches

Microsoft has won an appeal in a closely watched legal case that tests the limits of law enforcement's ability to obtain data stored outside of the United States. On Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a lower court's ruling that Microsoft must turn over e-mail communications for a suspect in a narcotics case stored in a Microsoft data center in Dublin.

Mosquito Mascot Trolls Senate Republicans At Zika Hearing

A man in a full-body mosquito costume trolled Senate Republicans on Wednesday by distributing insect repellent outside of their hearing on the Zika virus. The human-sized mosquito, a reproductive rights advocate with NARAL Pro-Choice America, made an appearance to denounce Republicans' lack of action on the Zika epidemic.