SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities plan Thursday to enter the second day of their search of a home connected to the man convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996, according to law enforcement. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office served the warrant Wednesday in the ongoing investigation into Smart's disappearance. Her remains were never found and she was declared legally dead in 2002. Paul Flores was convicted in October 2022 and ultimately to 25 a...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on Thursday to underscore strong bilateral ties, after U. S. President Donald Trump’s broadsides against Pope Leo XIV for his opposition to the Iran war angered the Holy See and sparked ongoing sparring between them. The U. S. State Department said that the meetings with Leo and the Vatican’s top diplomat covered peace in the Middle East and “underscored the strong relationship between a...

WOODS HOLE, Mass. (AP) — Green cells whirl around a red-light chamber, propelled by a blade through bubbling water. These little seaweed cells, called gametophytes, will develop into a strain of fast-growing kelp — part of what was once a government-funded initiative to develop sustainable biofuels for American transport. Electricity from solar and wind energy can power cars, however ships and aircraft largely run on liquid fuels made with a large percentage of oil or gasoline. When those...