A gray heron crouches among water lilies while searching for prey in Mattheiser Pond, where the water level has dropped and the shoreline is nearly dry following several days of prolonged dry weather, in Trier, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Harald Tittel/dpa via AP)
Water lilies form small islands on Mattheiser Pond. where the water level has dropped and the shoreline is nearly dry following several days of prolonged dry weather, in Trier, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Harald Tittel/dpa via AP)
PUERTO MORELOS, Mexico (AP) — Swaths of seaweed are blanketing the beaches and coastlines of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, suffocating sho…
FILE - Cargo ships are seen at sea near the Strait of Hormuz, as viewed from a rocky shoreline near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)
The father of a 10-year-old rescued from pounding surf off the California coast in a dramatic scene captured on video says he is beyond grateful to the teenage lifeguard who saved his son. Sumit Rai's son Nathaniel was standing in shallow water when he was pulled into the ocean Saturday by powerful swells that suddenly came ashore at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. Rai said Wednesday he heard about what happened when he spoke to his kids and his son told him he'd drowned. By the next morning, Rai had watched the video of the rescue that has since caught the attention of President Donald Trump.
Fire crews in southwest France are battling a massive blaze four times the size of Paris, while two firefighters were killed fighting a wind-driven blaze on the Greek island of Crete. Temperatures in France are forecast to climb above 104 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday, complicating efforts. The fire has forced 220,000 people from their homes. Authorities in the Gironde region said the situation was calm overnight, but the heat wave and winds could cause flare-ups. Across France and Spain, 330,000 people have been displaced by wildfires. More than 2,200 firefighters and over 20 aircraft remained mobilized, backed by crews from across France and European partners.
French authorities have ordered nearly 4,000 more people to evacuate from Atlantic coast tourist sites because of wildfires. The orders issued Tuesday are widening what may be France’s largest peacetime evacuation. Meanwhile, the return of hot weather threatened firefighters’ fragile hold on a vast wildfire west of Bordeaux. Fire crews held the blaze in the Gironde region in check through a calm night, bringing flare-ups near coastal dunes under control and keeping the burned area unchanged at 420 square kilometers (162 square miles). Authorities called the fire stabilized, but not contained, and said it was still capable of breaking loose as temperatures rose and humidity fell.
A Northern California lifeguard is being hailed as a hero after saving a boy from pounding surf. The dramatic rescue at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz caught the attention of President Donald Trump. The president said Tuesday that he would invite the lifeguard and possibly the boy to the White House. A witness captured video of the rescue, showing the lifeguard rushing into the water and diving into a wave while holding the boy. Several adults tried to help but retreated due to the powerful surf. Eventually the lifeguard and a colleague brought the boy safely ashore.
TOKYO (AP) — A 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Japan ’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday, leaving several people dead and dozens of ot…
Two men stand with a surfboard along the shore in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, as billboards depicting Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rise in the background, Monday, July 27, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)