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iStock(WASHINGTON) -- A family who had a close encounter with a bear while hiking in Washington shared their story -- and video of the incident -- as a reminder for others to stay vigilant in the wilderness.Less than half an hour into the family's hike near Myrtle Falls at Mount Rainier National Park on Sunday, a small bear wandered up to Jasmine Bartley's teenage brother, according to ABC News Seattle […]

iStock(NEW YORK) -- One year after Travis Snyder returned home from deployment in Afghanistan, a close friend from his task force died by suicide.Snyder, 32, knew of the harrowing statistics of suicide among veterans, but his friend's death last April left him shocked."Before that, I read about it and had awareness but I didn't fully understand the magnitude that this epidemic has on people," Snyder told ABC News on Thursday.There […]

iStock(GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga.) -- The northern snakehead fish, an invasive species that can breathe air and survive on land, has been found in Georgia waters, according to wildlife officials.Native to the Yangtze River basin in China, the species likely entered Georgia through unauthorized release, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. It has been reported in 14 other states in the U.S.An angler reported catching two juvenile northern snakeheads […]

Roger Utting Photography/iStock(PORTLAND, Ore.) -- A black man who says he was kicked out of a Portland, Oregon DoubleTree for taking a phone call in the lobby, despite being a guest of the hotel, filed a lawsuit against the hotel this week alleging false arrest and racial discrimination.In a lawsuit filed in an Oregon circuit court on Tuesday, Jermaine Massey claims he was falsely arrested and racially discriminated against in […]

milehightraveler/iStock(SAN FRANCISCO) -- Pacific Gas and Electric is restoring power to some California homes whose electricity was cut Wednesday in order to reduce the risk of wildfires -- but the utility says that it could take days before all affected customers are back to full power. The first phase of outages cut power to 513,000 customers in 22 counties early Wednesday, with the second phase affecting an additional 234,000 customers […]

sonsam/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- Partially inspired by the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a new rule to reduce exposure to lead from drinking water around the country on Thursday. "The action that we're taking tomorrow is targeting probably the largest source of lead in people's lives today -- and particularly children -- and that's in the drinking water system," EPA chief Andrew Wheeler told ABC News in an […]

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Gusty, dry winds continue to impact parts of the West, including California, Thursday. Some of the wind gusts have already surpassed 50 mph in parts of Northern California, with humidity as low as 3 percent. Because of the very dry conditions, the Briceburg fire in Mariposa County has more than doubled in size, and evacuations are in effect. The fire is burning in relatively rural area […]

toos/iStock(LOS ANGELES) -- A 21-year-old woman surrendered her newborn to a Los Angeles fire station this week, shedding light on the power of Safe Surrender laws.The baby was taken to a downtown L.A. fire station at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and found to be in good health, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The child was then taken to a hospital.California's Safe Surrender law aims "to save lives of […]