As communities across the country on Monday hosted parades, panels and service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights icon's legacy. In the year since Donald Trump's second inauguration fell on King Day, the Republican president has adopted a scorched earth stance against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and targeted for...

As communities across the country on Monday hosted parades, panels and service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights icon's legacy. In the year since Donald Trump's second inauguration fell on King Day, the Republican president has adopted a scorched earth stance against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and targeted for...

PESCADERO, Calif. (AP) — Every winter about 10,000 elephant seals make their way to California's Año Nuevo State Park to fight, mate and give birth. The spectacle runs from mid-December through March, drawing wildlife watchers eager for a glimpse of the largest seals on the planet. During what park docent Laura Stern called “pupping season,” bull seals — some reaching up to 16 feet (4. 9 meters) in length and weighing up to 2. 5 tons — engage in bloody battles for breeding access to...