A potent atmospheric river storm system that's flooding the Pacific Northwest with heavy rains this week was disrupting travel and left over 17 million people under flood alerts Tuesday night.
The big picture: At least two people have died in the parade of storms that have prompted water rescues, road and school closures, and forced Amtrak to cancel the train service between Seattle and Portland through Thursday because of a landslide.
More than 75% of STEM-related workers say other nations have topped — or will soon surpass — the U.S in science and technology, according to a new report being published Tuesday.
The big picture: As the world's science and tech power centers shift, the U.S., China and other countries are racing to train — and competing to attract — top talent that can drive innovation and the economic growth and national security advantages that often stem from it.
The gender disparity in pursuing STEM careers persists among young people ranging from tweens to recent grads, new data shows.
Why it matters: Like their older counterparts, girls aren't warming to STEM, as diversity in the field is critical for representative and responsible advancements — and despite efforts designed to boost their participation.
Increasingly intensive and frequent wildfires in the western U.S. are deteriorating air quality and causing more premature deaths, a new study found.
The big picture: Fires have damaged federal efforts from the Environmental Protection Agency to improve air quality mainly through reductions in automobile emissions, per the study published Monday in The Lancet Planetary Health.
