HAVEN DALEY

Fired employees fear beloved Yosemite National Park will lose its luster

Yosemite National Park employees who recently were fired by the U.S. government worry cuts will affect the experience of visitors and the welfare of wildlife that thrive in the popular vacation destination located in California’s Sierra Nevada.

Homeowner Kelly O'Hare stands on her balcony overlooking South Lake Tahoe, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, where voters will decide whether to approve Measure N, which will mandate a tax to homeowners who leave their homes vacant for more than half the year. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

California voters consider controversial vacation homes tax in iconic Lake Tahoe area

Voters in the scenic mountain town of South Lake Tahoe in Northern California are considering a tax on vacation homes. Measure N on Tuesday’s ballot would levy a flat $3,000 tax on homes that are vacant 182 days within a calendar year.

Highway signage announces the impending arrival of Hurricane Milton and the evacuations zones on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

The hunt for gasoline is adding to Floridians’ anxiety as Milton nears

The hunt for gasoline is among the many stresses for Floridians preparing for Hurricane Milton, regardless of whether they plan to ride it out or evacuate. Motorists waited in long lines Tuesday, and some said gas stations had no fuel.

Duke Energy project manager Tiger Yates, bottom center, walks among the hundreds of lineman trucks staged, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. at The Villages, Fla. in preparation for Hurricane Milton. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Fearful residents flee Tampa Bay region as Hurricane Milton takes aim at Florida coast

Fearful Florida residents are streaming out of the Tampa Bay region ahead of what could be a once-in-a-century direct hit from Hurricane Milton.

Cars wait in line to get into the parking lot for gas at Costco, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Altamonte Springs, Fla., as residents prepare for the impact of approaching Hurricane Milton. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Hurricane Milton is a Category 5. Florida orders evacuations and scrambles to clear Helene’s debris

Milton strengthened rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane on a path toward Florida. The system is threatening the densely populated Tampa area with a potential direct hit and menacing the same stretch of coastline that was battered by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.

A sign outside a business urges voters to reject Measure J, which would phase out large-scale animal farms in Sonoma County, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Petaluma, Calif. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

Voters in Northern California county to vote on whether to allow large-scale farms

A proposal to phase out large-scale confined animal farms will be put before voters in a Northern California county. Sonoma County residents will decide whether to approve Measure J.

A lab technician prepares DNA samples for analysis at Complete Genomics in San Jose, Calif., Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Congress targets Chinese influence in health tech. It could come with tradeoffs

A San Jose-based biotechnology company that helps doctors detect genetic causes for cancer is among those that could be cut out of the U.S. market over ties to China.

Pedestrians walk past the Fabulosa Books store in San Francisco's Castro District on Thursday, June 27, 2024. The bookstore is sending LGBTQ+ books to parts of the country where they are censored to counter the rapidly growing effort by anti-LGBTQ+ activists and lawmakers to ban queer-friendly books from public schools and libraries. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

A San Francisco store is shipping LGBTQ+ books to places where they are banned

A bookstore in San Francisco is sending boxes of LGBTQ+ books to places in the country where they are banned.

Timothy Styczynski, Head Roaster, UC Davis Coffee Center shows UC Davis Graduating Student Kiara DeGroen, an industrial coffee bean roaster at the Coffee Center at UC Davis in Davis, Calif. on Monday, June 17, 2024. The center which opened last month, is believed to be the first coffee-only research facility opened on any college campus in the U.S. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

New coffee center in Northern California aims to give a jolt to research and education

A university in Northern California has launched a specialized center devoted to coffee education and research.

Ukrainian winemaker Georgiy Molchanov, left, asks a question to Ivo Jeramaz, right, during a tour of a Grgich Hills Estate's vineyard Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in American Canyon, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Ukrainian winemakers visit California’s Napa Valley to learn how to heal war-ravaged vineyards

A group of Ukrainian winemakers has visited California’s Napa Valley to learn about organic farming and how to heal land scarred by bombs and littered with mines.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators raise their fists while occupying the lobby of a building housing the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, Monday, June 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Police arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators inside San Francisco building housing Israeli Consulate

San Francisco police have arrested 70 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who occupied a building that houses the Israeli Consulate. The group entered the building and occupied it for several hours Monday.

Children look at sea lions from Pier 39, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

An anchovy feast draws a crush of sea lions to one of San Francisco’s piers, the most in 15 years

San Francisco’s famed Fisherman’s Wharf district is seeing a surge in sea lions. First appearing at Pier 39 after the 1989 earthquake, the sea lions have become a well known tourist attraction.

A silvery blue butterfly, the closest relative to the extinct Xerces blue butterfly, is seen under netting after its release in the Presidio's restored dune habitat in San Francisco, Thursday, April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Decades after a US butterfly species vanished, a close relative is released to fill gap

Wildlife experts are bringing butterflies back to the Presidio National Park in San Francisco as part of an effort to restore native ecosystems.

Pedro Romero Perez, center, sits next to his attorney Donald Magilligan, second from right, during a press conference Friday, April 5, 2024, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Perez, a migrant farmworker who survived a mass shooting at a Northern California mushroom farm, filed a lawsuit Friday against the farm owner, saying he failed to keep him safe from a co-worker who last year shot and killed his brother and three other co-workers before driving to another mushroom farm and killing three former colleagues. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

Farmworker who survived mass shooting at Northern California mushroom farm sues company and owner

A migrant farmworker who survived a mass shooting at a Northern California mushroom farm has filed a lawsuit against the farm and one of its owners.

In this image taken from video provided by Cali Planes, a United Airlines Boeing 777 bound for Japan loses a tire as it takes off from San Francisco International Airport, Thursday, March 7, 2024. The plane made a safe emergency landing in Los Angeles. (Cali Planes via AP)

United Airlines plane makes a safe emergency landing in LA after losing a tire during takeoff

A United Airlines jetliner that lost a tire on takeoff has made a safe emergency landing in Los Angeles. Flight 35 left San Francisco and was bound for Osaka, Japan, on Thursday. United says there were 235 passengers and a crew of 14 on the plane.

Large waves crash along the Southern California coast near the Ventura Pier in Ventura, Calif. on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023. Since the Gold Rush, California's coast has been dotted by piers that have gone from serving steamships to becoming an integral part of many beach towns' identities, but rising seas and frequent storms due in part to climate change are threatening the iconic structures. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

‘Pineapple Expresses’ and rising seas are battering California’s piers, threatening iconic landmarks

Rising seas and frequent storms are taking their toll on California’s iconic public piers and raising questions about the future of the landmarks.

Kaiyu Zhang speaks with reporters about being assulated by a group of young men wearing red headbands or red bands on their arms, during a news conference in San Francisco, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. A man protesting the Chinese government during the recent Asia-Pacific economic summit in San Francisco shared details about an attack by China supporters that he says left him unconscious, and he urged local police to take action against the perpetrators. Zhang, who moved from Shanghai to Los Angeles in March, was assaulted on Nov. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Congress members, activists decry assaults against anti-China protesters during San Francisco summit

A man protesting against the Chinese government during the recent Asia-Pacific economic summit in San Francisco says he was attacked by supporters of the Chinese ruling party and is urging local police to take action.

A customer eats tinned fish at the DECANTsf bar, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

Canned seafood moves beyond tuna sandwiches in a pandemic trend that stuck

It looks like the U.S. canned seafood industry is moving well beyond tuna sandwiches thanks to a culinary trends that emerged from the coronavirus pandemic.

Demonstrators prepare to march in opposition to the APEC Summit Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023 in San Francisco. Hundreds of business executives, foreign press and world leaders will descend on San Francisco for the highly anticipated global trade summit. (AP Photo/ Noah Berger)

Protesters demonstrate against world leaders, Israel-Hamas war as APEC comes to San Francisco

Activists protesting environmental abuses, poor working conditions and the Israel-Hamas war are protesting a global trade summit. They were marching Sunday in downtown San Francisco.

Civic group launches $4M campaign to boost embattled San Francisco ahead of global trade summit

San Francisco business leaders launched a new $4 million marketing campaign ahead of a global economic summit expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors to the embattled city.

Interns at Pax Wines in Sebastopol, Calif., stomp organic grapes with their bare feet in large vats, pulling out the juice to start the fermentation process on Sept. 8, 2023. More wineries and wine bars dedicated exclusively to natural wine are opening in the U.S., with a focus on a back-to-basics approach, avoiding additives, pesticides and other manipulative techniques. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

The ancient ways of natural wine are finding new fans

Natural wine is gaining a following in the U.S. even as overall wine sales drop. Natural wine has no definition, but it’s usually made with organic grapes and fermented naturally, with no additives.

A sign welcomes motorists to Paradise, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. Officials in Paradise, California, began testing a new wildfire siren system this summer as the five-year anniversary of the deadly and devastating Camp Fire approaches. Reliable warning systems are becoming more critical during wildfires, especially as power lines and cell towers fail, knocking out communications critical to keeping people informed. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

California town of Paradise deploys warning sirens as 5-year anniversary of deadly fire approaches

Officials in the Northern California town of Paradise have begun installing and testing warning sirens to deploy in the event of another wildfire or other natural disaster.

RETRANSMISSION TO CORRECT CITY - This photo provided by Maui Humane Society released on the week of Aug. 9, 2023, an injured dog is treated at Maui Humane Society in Puunene, Hawaii. The Maui Humane Society is treating dogs, cats, chickens, pigs and other animals that were badly burned while fleeing the wildfires. (Jenny Miller/Maui Humane Society via AP)

As people fled the fires, pets did too. Some emerged with marks of escape, but many remain lost

Pets and people are recovering this week after fleeing Maui wildfires that claimed over 90 lives and decimated a historic town. Many did not make it out of the smoke and flames alive, and the ones that did emerged with marks of their escape.

‘X’ logo installed atop Twitter building, spurring San Francisco to investigate permit violation

San Francisco has opened a complaint and launched an investigation of a giant “X” sign that cropped up Friday on top of the downtown headquarters of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

A man wets his feet in the cool water of Lake Tahoe at Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park in Incline Village, Nev., Monday, July 17, 2023. Tourism officials at Lake Tahoe were surprised, and a bit standoffish, when a respected international travel guide included the iconic alpine lake straddling the California line on a list of places to stay away from this year because of the harmful ecological effects of “over-tourism.” (AP Photo/Andy Barron)

A travel guide’s warning to avoid Lake Tahoe may jolt the region into managing huge tourist crowds

Tourism officials at Lake Tahoe were surprised when a respected international travel guide included the iconic alpine lake on a list of places to stay away from this year because of the harmful ecological effects of overtourism.

In this image from video a sea otter that has evaded capture eats a crab off the coast of Santa Cruz, Calif., Wednesday, July 19, 2023. The sea otter launched into the national spotlight after images of her aggressively wresting surfboards away from surfers circulated on social media is building a fan club as she continues to evade capture. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

The sea otter harassing surfers off the California coast eludes capture as her fan club grows

A sea otter launched into the national spotlight after social media images circulated of her aggressively wresting surfboards away from surfers off the coast of Santa Cruz, California is building a fan club as she continues to evade capture.

FILE - In this July 7, 2019 file photo, United States' Megan Rapinoe celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during the Women's World Cup final soccer match against The Netherlands at the Stade de Lyon in Decines, outside Lyon, France. Days before heading to her fourth World Cup, Rapinoe announced she’ll retire at the end of the National Women's Soccer League season. Rapinoe, 38, made the announcement on Twitter Saturday, July 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

Megan Rapinoe says she’ll retire after the NWSL season and her 4th World Cup

U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe is ready to retire after an illustrious career in which she won an Olympic gold medal, two World Cups and never shied away from using her platform to spotlight social issues.

Teresa Chang, left, takes photos as Shuggie's Trash Pie co-owner Kayla Abe brings a Cheddah and Feta Trash Pie pizza to the table at the restaurant in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. World Upcycling Day is June 24, celebrating the repurposing of old products into something new. This year, the movement is focusing on upcycling food, like misshapen produce or offcuts of meat, as a way to prevent food waste. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The US has tons of leftover food. Upcycling turns would-be trash into ice cream and pizza

One cook’s trash is another chef’s ice cream. That’s the mantra of the upcycling movement, the process of creating high-quality products from leftover food.

A pink triangle is seen on top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Hundreds of volunteers installed the giant pink triangle made out of cloth and canvas and with pink lights around its edges last week as part of the city's Pride celebrations. It's an annual tradition that started in 1995 but this year's triangle is nearly an acre in size and can be seen up to 20 miles (32 kms.) away. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco displays the largest ever pink triangle for Pride month in a stand against pushback

The giant canvas pink triangle that is one of the LGBTQ+ community’s Pride month symbols in San Francisco is bigger than ever this year. Volunteers say they want to take a stand for their rights amid a national pushback from conservative lawmakers.

Robin Williams, boisterous comedy star, dead at 63

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Robin Williams, a brilliant shapeshifter who could channel his frenetic energy into delightful comic characters like “Mrs.