US panel approves salmon fishing ban for much of West Coast

A federal regulatory group voted Thursday to officially close king salmon fishing season along much of the West Coast after near-record low numbers of the fish, also known as chinook, returned to California's rivers last year.

US lawsuit seeks to protect endangered coral reef species

An environmental organization is suing the U.S. government and accusing it of failing to protect 12 endangered coral species across the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean that have been decimated by warming waters, pollution and overfishing.