Hurricane Melissa has left widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.

The Philadelphia Zoo is showing off 16 critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoise hatchlings.

A decade ago, the midsize truck market clung to life.

Researchers say Ronan the sea lion can still keep a beat after all these years.

A voter-approved tax on sugary drinks has taken effect in the beachside community of Santa Cruz on the California coast.

California has been hit hard by extreme weather over the past several weeks.

Persistent high surf and flooding threats along California's coast have residents on high alert a day after a major storm was blamed for one man's death and the partial collapse of a pier.

A major storm has pounded California’s central coast bringing flooding and high surf that was blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and later partially collapsing a pier, tossing three people into the Pacific Ocean.

A 30-year-old man was arrested in connection with a fiery crash and rollover that killed a 76-year-old driver earlier this month.

Mexican officials have imposed severe, monthslong cuts to Mexico City’s water supply just a month after initial restrictions were ordered as drought dries the capital’s reservoirs.

A sea otter launched into the national spotlight after social media images circulated of her aggressively wresting surfboards away from surfers off the coast of Santa Cruz, California is building a fan club as she continues to evade capture.

Wildlife officials are trying to capture a wayward sea otter that has been wrestling surfboards away from surfers and aggressively approaching kayakers off the coast of Santa Cruz, California.

The Bolivian general who captured Argentine-Cuban guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara has been buried.

A strong late-season Pacific storm is bringing wind, rain and snow to saturated California as the first full day of spring shows little change from an extraordinary winter.

Hospitals in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz region are struggling to keep up with an outbreak of dengue that has killed at least 26 people.

The operator of a pipeline facility in California that was forced to shut down deliveries of gasoline and diesel from the Los Angeles area east to areas including Las Vegas and Phoenix due to a leak says it resumed operations on Saturday afternoon.

A leak in a fuel pipeline facility in California has forced a shutdown of deliveries of gasoline and diesel from the Los Angeles to areas including Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Storm-battered California is getting more wind, rain and snow, raising flooding concerns, causing power outages and making travel dangerous.

Trucks are snarled and people in the Santa Cruz region have to find ways to skirt blockades that opposition leaders set up across the area considered to be Bolivia's economic engine to protest the detention of Gov_ Luis Fernando Camacho late last year on “terrorism charges.”.

A Spanish lawmaker says he was formally kicked out of Bolivia as he was getting ready to leave the South American country after he visited to demand the release of opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho.

A judge in Bolivia has sentenced opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho to four months of pretrial detention on terrorism charges.

Wildlife officials rescued a critically ill mountain lion cub in Northern California and veterinarians named her “Holly” for the holiday season as they treat her in intensive care.

Dozens of men strain and struggle as they heft a huge cross adorned with colorful ribbons and trudge down a steep hill followed by a multitude of townsfolk.

A new United Nations report finds roughly a sixth of the planet’s land and freshwater area now lies within protected or conservation areas.

(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Oscar da Silva scored off an inbound pass as time expired in overtime to lift Stanford over No. Da Silva finished with 26 points, the last coming on a lay-in off a set piece with 0.8 seconds remaining. Da Silva cut down the lane, received Michael O'Connell's feed from under the basket and banked the winning shot in with his left hand. Da Silva beat two defenders to McConnell's pass for the winning shot. Stanford: A gritty effort from the Cardinal, especially da Silva, who came up big with six points in overtime.

Washington State has earned its first ranking ever in The Associated Press womens college basketball poll, entering at No. (AP Photo/Collin Andrew, File)Kamie Ethridge was surprised to hear that Washington State had never been ranked before. How exciting it is to be on the way up.”The ranking comes a day after Washington State beat then-No. Washington State (7-1) has won five of its first six Pac-12 games for the first time since the 2013-14 season. We’ll celebrate and acknowledge and enjoy the feeling.”While Washington State was enjoying its first ranking, Stanford tightened its grip on the No.

11 Oregon 70-63 on Friday. The Ducks had won the past three with Stanford but have never beaten a top-ranked team. Parrish led Oregon with 14 points as the teams played at Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors’ G League affiliate. Oregon junior transfer Taylor Mikesell was held to six points on 3-for-12 shooting and missed all three of her 3-point attempts. ... Oregon shot 39.4% and no team has shot better than 40% against Stanford this season.

In this photo provided by the Scotts Valley Police Department is a figure of Bigfoot that officers found on a roadway in the mountains north of Santa Cruz in Scotts Valley, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. The Scotts Valley Police Department says it was a little banged up but will be returned to its rightful place at the Bigfoot Discovery Museum. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office had urged people to keep their eyes peeled for the 4-foot-tall wooden statue after it was stolen from outside the tiny museum in nearby Felton on Monday. (Scotts Valley Police Department via AP)SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – Police officers in the mountains north of Santa Cruz responded to a suspicious figure in a roadway early Thursday and found Bigfoot. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office had urged people to keep their eyes peeled for the 4-foot-tall (1.2 meters) wooden statue after it was stolen from outside the tiny museum in nearby Felton on Monday.

I havent seen people re-engage to this scale, particularly with the level of organization.The group of wildfires near Santa Cruz has burned 125 square miles (324 square kilometers) and destroyed more than 500 buildings. She says she helps defend the community from fires and resupplies neighbors with water, generators, gasoline, shovels and chicken feed. Cal Fire Deputy Director Daniel Berlant said hes not heard of residents organizing to the extent civilian groups are now in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Our firefighters have equipment, communication and decades of experience, which allow us to battle dangerous fires, Berlant said. Gregg Schalaman, 58, of Boulder Creek, did not initially evacuate, instead driving around his neighborhood looking for spot fires, then alerting Cal Fire crews or calling 911.

In this Sunday, June 7, 2020, booking mugshot courtesy Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office shows 32-year-old suspect Steven Carrillo, an active-duty U.S. Air Force sergeant arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting Santa Cruz Sheriff's Sgt. (Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office via AP)SANTA CRUZ, Calif. The sheriff's deputy reached a house at the end of the narrow Northern California dirt road and decided getting help from more deputies would be a good idea. Gavin Newsom has put a moratorium on executions but Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell said Friday he hadn't yet decided whether he would seek the death penalty. Damon Gutzwiller on Saturday and wounded four other officers in Ben Lomond, an unincorporated area outside the beachfront city of Santa Cruz south of San Francisco. A CHP officer shot Carrillo during the gun battle.