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With an American honeybee queen for a mother and a European honeybee drone for a father, this worker bee has a level of genetic diversity unseen in the U.S. for decades. Researchers at Washington State University hope a deeper gene pool will give a new generation of honeybees much-needed genetic traits, like resistance to varroa mites. The parasite kills a third of American honeybees each year.

No Offense, American Bees, But Your Sperm Isn't Cutting It

U.S. bees are in trouble, and one of the major threats is a deadly parasite called varroa mite. So researchers are importing sperm from European bees resistant to mites to toughen up America's stock.

This leopard seal started getting aggressive and began giving guttural vocalizations, which could have been signs of aggression. "I want to get close, but I also never want to harass an animal," Paul Nicklen says.

Polar Photographer Shares His View Of A Ferocious But Fragile Ecosystem

Paul Nicklen has spent decades documenting the Arctic and the Antarctic. "I want people to realize that ice is like the soil in the garden," he says. "Without ice the polar regions cannot exist."

Changing Pay Rates Keep Uber Drivers On The Road Longer

Because of supply and demand, pay rates for Uber drivers shift. They never know how much they're going to make. To reach a goal, some drivers stay on the job at least 14 hours — sometimes longer.

GOP Baseball Practice Shooting: Lawmaker Saw Gunman "Taking Aim At Us'

Rep. Mo Brooks of South Carolina was on the baseball field when a gunman started shooting at a GOP baseball practice Wednesday morning. Brooks tells NPR he sought cover in a dugout with others.

A new urban district and an annual big-data expo have arisen in recent years as the centerpiece of the high-tech industry in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province.

A Remote Chinese Province Uses Its Climate To Grow A Big-Data Industry

Southwest China's Guizhou province is one of the country's poorest, most remote regions. But Guizhou has some unique advantages, which it is trying to use to transform itself into a big-data hub.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joined by (from left) Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, discussed health care overhaul with reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

States Have Already Tried Versions Of 'Skinny Repeal.' It Didn't Go Well

Republican senators are warming to the idea of a scaled-back plan that would delete the Affordable Care Act's individual and employer mandates but leave much of the law intact.

Uncertainty Over Obamacare Leaves Next Year's Rates In Limbo

While Washington ponders the future of the Affordable Care Act, health insurers need to decide right now what to charge people for health insurance in 2018. "It's insane," says one CEO.

Hurricane Irma dumped water on towns and covered oceanside streets with sand in several states. Here, Amela Desanto walks on the sand-covered road along Fort Lauderdale Beach on Monday, as the storm headed inland.

Irma Recovery Begins; Storm Flooded Parts Of Florida, South Carolina And Georgia

Irma is now a post-tropical cyclone, with top winds of only 10 mph — a far cry from the Category 4 storm that ravaged the Florida Keys on Sunday.

Judge acquits ex-St. Louis officer Stockley of murder in 2011 shooting

Updated at 9:20 p.m. with the Post-Dispatch interview with Stockley — A former St. Louis Metropolitan Police officer is not guilty of first-degree...

Workers' gear hangs inside Lobster Trap's facility in Steuben, Maine.

Maine's Immigrants Boost Workforce Of Whitest, Oldest State In U.S.

New immigrants are projected to be the main driver of the U.S. workforce over the next 20 years. That trend is already playing out in Maine, which has an aging white population with a low birth rate.

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