Fred Bever

Begging is an ancient practice, and in recent years U.S. cities have been cracking down on panhandlers. But now a handful are trying a different approach — paying panhandlers to work.

The number of H-2B visas available to foreigners seeking work in the U.S. is down from last year. A Maine hotel owner is among those worried about finding enough workers to stay open over the summer.

A trawling experiment in the Gulf of Maine aims to scoop up abundant and profitable flatfish, while bypassing the once plentiful but now depleted cod population. So far, the results are promising.

The recovery of the bald eagle is bad news for herons, loons and other rare birds. Their numbers are being decimated by eagles who prey upon them.

Why are chefs adopting sea greens in their cuisine? They're tasty and nutritious, and growing them is good for the planet. Maine's budding seaweed business is boosting an endangered coastal economy.

U.S. drug officials have traced a sharp spike in the already climbing death toll from heroin overdoses to an additive — acetyl fentanyl. The fentanyl is being cooked up in clandestine labs in Mexico.

Thousands of people turned out to welcome the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots back to Boston on Wednesday. Fans braved cold temperatures and stood in piles of snow along the ...

Years of training helped save lives at last year's marathon, and it's an exemplary part of Boston history. The subsequent effort to capture the bombers leaves a legacy whose lessons are more complex.

More Americans are wearing safety helmets when they ski or snowboard. The helmets prove their worth in preventing relatively minor injuries, and may help to reduce the severity of brain injuries.

The news for moose is not good across the country's northern tier and in some parts of Canada. A recent and rapid decline of moose populations in many states may be linked to climate change, and to the parasites that benefit from it.

In Minnesota, moose populations have dropped ...

Rocky, windswept Eastern Egg Rock, about 6 miles off the coast of Maine, was once a haven for a hugely diverse bird population. But in the 1800s, fishermen decimated the birds' ranks — for food and for feathers.

When ornithologist Stephen Kress first visited 40 years ago, the 7-acre ...