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Avionics mechanic Mike Luong inspects the control panel of Sikorsky Firehawk helicopter at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Sacramento Aviation Management Unit based at McClellan Airpark in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, July 23, 2021. Firefighters are trying to become smarter in how they prepare for the drought- and wind-driven wildfires that have become more dangerous across the American West in recent years, including by adding aircraft like the Sikorsky Firehawk helicopters or military surplus C-130 transport aircraft retrofitted to drop fire retardant. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli))

New technology propels efforts to fight Western wildfires

New technology propels efforts to fight Western wildfires
Avionics mechanic Mike Luong inspects the control panel of Sikorsky Firehawk helicopter at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Sacramento Aviation Management Unit based at McClellan Airpark in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, July 23, 2021. Firefighters are trying to become smarter in how they prepare for the drought- and wind-driven wildfires that have become more dangerous across the American West in recent years, including by adding aircraft like the Sikorsky Firehawk helicopters or military surplus C-130 transport aircraft retrofitted to drop fire retardant. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli))
AP-NORC poll: Most unvaccinated Americans don't want shots
FILE - In this July 22, 2021 file photo, a health care worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Most Americans who haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19 say they are unlikely to get the shots and doubt they would work against the aggressive delta variant despite evidence they do, according to a new poll that underscores the challenges facing public health officials amid soaring infections in some states.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Marsquakes offer detailed look at red planet's interior
In this undated photo made available by NASA on Thursday, July 22, 2021, clouds drift over the dome-covered SEIS seismometer of the InSight lander on the surface of Mars. The quake-measuring device is providing the first detailed look at the red planet's interior, revealing a surprisingly thin crust and a molten core. In a series of articles published in July 2021, scientists reported that the Martian crust is within the thickness range of Earth's. Mars' mantle, meanwhile, is roughly half that of our own much bigger planet, while the core _ measured from the dusty surface to dead center _ is more than 1,000 miles smaller. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)
Tokyo Olympic flame is the first powered by hydrogen
Naomi Osaka stands beside the Olympic flame after lighting it during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Study: Chinese COVID shot may offer elderly poor protection
FILE - In this April 1, 2021, file photo, vials of COVID-19 vaccines produced by Chinese Sinopharm are seen in the office of general practitioner Gyorgy Teleki in Taplanszentkereszt, Hungary. A new study suggests that a Sinopharm vaccine offers poor protection from COVID-19 among the elderly, raising questions for dozens of countries that have given the Chinese company's shots to their most vulnerable populations. (Istvan Filep/MTI via AP, File)

Technology

Avionics mechanic Mike Luong inspects the control panel of Sikorsky Firehawk helicopter at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Sacramento Aviation Management Unit based at McClellan Airpark in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, July 23, 2021. Firefighters are trying to become smarter in how they prepare for the drought- and wind-driven wildfires that have become more dangerous across the American West in recent years, including by adding aircraft like the Sikorsky Firehawk helicopters or military surplus C-130 transport aircraft retrofitted to drop fire retardant. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli))
New technology propels efforts to fight Western wildfires
FILE - In this July 3, 2021, file photo, a sign that reads:
Kaseya gets master decryption key after July 4 global attack
FILE - In this Wednesday, May 29, 2019 file photo, a woman looks at the Grindr app on her mobile phone in Beirut, Lebanon. With few rules in the U.S. guiding what companies can do with the vast amount of information they collect about what web pages people visit, the apps they use and where they carry their devices, there's little stopping similar spying activity targeting politicians, celebrities and just about anyone that's a target of another person's curiosity. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
Priest outed via Grindr app highlights rampant data tracking
FILE - The login/sign up screen for a Twitter account is seen on a laptop computer Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. Twitter on Thursday, July 22, posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the second quarter thanks to growing advertising demand across all geographic regions and types of ad products. .(AP Photo/John Raoux)
Twitter posts stronger-than-expected Q2 results, shares jump
Crafty cockatoos master dumpster diving and teach each other
In this 2019 photo provided by researcher Barbara Klump, a sulphur-crested cockatoo lifts the lid of a trash can while several others watch in Sydney, Australia. At the beginning of 2018, researchers received reports from a survey of residents that birds in three Sydney suburbs had mastered the novel foraging technique. By the end of 2019, birds were lifting bins in 44 suburbs. (Barbara Klump/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior)
Western wildfires grow, but better weather helps crews
Spot fires smolder near trees damaged by the Bootleg Fire on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 in Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
EXPLAINER: As wildfire smoke spreads, who's at risk?
Smoke from the Bootleg Fire lingers on Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Interior secretary: Drought demands investment, conservation
As Becky Mitchell, back left, and of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and U.S. Rep Diana DeGette, D-Colo., look on, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaks during a news conference after Haaland's visit to talk about federal solutions to ease the effects of the drought at the offices of Denver Water Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Denver. Haaland will make stops in two cities on Colorado's Western Slope as part of her trip to assess the effects of the drought on the Centennial State. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Wildfire smoke clouds sky, hurts air quality on East Coast
Manhattan is seen from Yankee Stadium through a haze of smoke before a baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees, Wednesday, July 21, 2021, in New York. Wildfires in the American West, including one burning in Oregon that's currently the largest in the U.S., are creating hazy skies as far away as New York as the massive infernos spew smoke and ash into the air in columns up to six miles high. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Rare 'breakthrough' COVID cases are causing alarm, confusion
FILE - In this Monday, July 12, 2021, file photo, Karen Martin receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic hosted by James River Church West Campus in conjunction with Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Springfield, Mo. COVID-19 cases have doubled over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates in some states and Fourth of July gatherings. The five states with the biggest two-week jump in cases per capita all had lower rates, Missouri, 45.9%; Arkansas, 43%, Nevada, 50.9%, Louisiana, 39.2% and Utah, 49.5%. (Nathan Papes/The Springfield News-Leader via AP, File)
Russia launches lab module to International Space Station
In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, a Proton-M booster rocket carrying the Nauka module blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Russia has successfully launched a long-delayed lab module for the International Space Station. The module is intended to provide more room for scientific experiments and space for the crew. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)
EXPLAINER: What's making mid-Atlantic songbirds sick?
FILE - In this Saturday, April 24, 2021 file photo, a university graduate student holds a female blue jay in her open hand to release it in Silver Spring, Md., after removing it from a mist net used to capture birds for banding or other research projects. A mysterious ailment has sickened and killed thousands of songbirds in several mid-Atlantic states since late spring 2021. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Russia has launched a laboratory module to its cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station
Jeff Bezos blasts into space on own rocket: 'Best day ever!'
Oliver Daemen, from left, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, Wally Funk and Bezos' brother Mark pose for photos in front of the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket, derby, after their launch from the spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, Tuesday, July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Monster wildfire tests years of forest management efforts
In this photo provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, the Bootleg Fire burns in the background behind the Sycan Marsh in southern Oregon on Saturday, July 17, 2021. The destructive Bootleg Fire, one of the largest in modern Oregon history, has already burned more than 476 square miles (1,210 square kilometers), an area about the size of Los Angeles. (Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP)
Some drought-imposed fishing limits lifted on Colorado River
FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2020, file photo, a fisherman tries his luck in the Colorado River near Burns, Colo. Colorado officials lifted some fishing restrictions along a 27-mile (43-kilometer) stretch of the Colorado RIver, Tuesday, July 20, 2021, thanks to recent rains and lower water temperatures essential to fish. (Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily via AP)
Size of Oregon wildfire underscores vastness of the US West
In this photo provided by the Bootleg Fire Incident Command, the Bootleg Fire burns at night in southern Oregon on Saturday, July 17, 2021. The destructive Bootleg Fire, one of the largest in modern Oregon history, has already burned more than 476 square miles (1,210 square kilometers), an area about the size of Los Angeles. The Bootleg Fire is among dozens burning in the parched West. (Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP)
Blue Origin brings space tourism to tiny Texas town
The side of a building in Van Horn, Texas, is adorned with a mural of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos on Saturday, July 17, 2021, just days before Bezos plans to launch into space from the Blue Origin spaceport about 25 miles outside of the West Texas town. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)
Huge Oregon blaze grows as wildfires burn across western US
Firefighters battle the Tamarack Fire in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
EXPLAINER: How Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos will soar into space
In this Jan. 14, 2021 photo made available by Blue Origin, the New Shepard NS-14 rocket lifts off from Launch Site One in West Texas. On Tuesday, July 20, 2021, Blue Origin's 60-foot (18-meter) New Shepard rocket will accelerate toward space at three times the speed of sound, or Mach 3, before separating from the capsule and returning for an upright landing. (Blue Origin via AP)

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