Scientists examining the devastating impact plastics are having on the world's oceans have identified seabirds with more than 250 man made objects lodged in their stomachs.

Lightning strikes seen Monday in Cook Inlet and on the Kenai Peninsula were heading toward South Anchorage, a meteorologist said.

A hunter from Arviat says more polar bears seem to have no fear at all of human activity. He says recent human-polar bear conflicts have left hunters feeling scared and helpless to defend themselves.

Black bears have taken over a Juneau arboretum, shut down a fish-cleaning facility in Cordova and added to an unusually high year of bear kills in Anchorage, prompting one wildlife authority to call this summer the "craziest" year of bear encounters he's seen.

Ice in the north Bering Sea is diminishing, researchers aboard a Coast Guard ship report.

You're not imagining things: September's weather has been one for the record books, for both the warm weather and unusual streak of sunny days.

A British Columbia man who witnessed dozens of birds falling from the sky just south of Vancouver says he was horrified by the sight.

Edmonton is on its way to the snowiest Sept. 21 since 1968, perhaps not what people wanted to see on the last full day of summer, says Dan Kulak, meteorologist with Environment Canada.

The phenomenon is rare, although the webs have appeared before in other parts of the country. According to arachnologist Maria Chatzaki, they are always from the same type of spider: the Tetragnatha genus, a tiny critter no longer than 2 centimeters, or 0.7 inches.

While their main target appears to be the region's soft-shell clam population, they're also munching through acres of eelgrass, a native flowering plant that shelters and nourishes life under the sea.

Southern California went 87 days without a clean air day, the longest stretch of consecutive ozone pollution violations in at least 20 years. Regulators blame the persistence in pollution on hot, stagnant weather and are studying whether climate change is driving it.

There's nothing for humans to worry about. Gnats, on the other hand...

Fireweed blooming in mid-late September after other plants have gone to seed.

At least 15 people are dead and dozens more are missing.

Two bird species that breed in the northernmost parts of the world are currently on a rare visit to Iceland as they make their way south for the winter.

Waters are up to eight degrees warmer waters than normal. DTU Aqua is conducting research into the impact of climate change on marine fauna and flora.

Spruce branch girdling causing discoloration in tree.

The Division of Marine Fisheries is analyzing the clams and expects to have preliminary results in the coming days that might point to a cause.

Discolored spruce (Picea sitchensis) needles