GREAT LAKES

Sweltering temperatures are lingering in a large swath of the central U.S., causing misery from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes.

Drifting smoke from the ongoing wildfires across Canada is creating curtains of haze and raising air quality concerns throughout the Great Lakes region, and in parts of the central and eastern United States.

If you’ve turned on the news in the last few days, you probably already know about the Titan submersible, a submarine of sorts that has been missing since Sunday after a voyage to the wreckage sight of the Titanic.

Federal officials are delaying a decision on whether to approve an oil pipeline tunnel in a Great Lakes waterway.

According to Great Lakes Ice Tracker, ice cover on the Great Lakes was at a record low of 7.5%, eclipsing the previous Feb. 12 record of 8.5% set in 2012.

Shoreman left Youngstown, New York at roughly 4 p.m. ET on Friday and finished his trip across Lake Ontario at around 1 p.m. Saturday in Toronto.

Mike Shoreman said he is ready for his final conquest, one he hopes will inspire millions around the world who have struggled with mental health.

It took nearly 28 hours and more than 44 miles, but a Canadian man is now one step away from completing his quest to cross all five Great Lakes via paddleboard.

Mike Shoreman will depart from Union Pier, Michigan on Tuesday night, with plans to finish along Chicago’s North Avenue Beach at around noon Wednesday.

An avid paddleboarder, Mike Shoreman was told he could never paddleboard again. But he didn’t pay attention to that edict and now is trying to make history.

A Houston dredging company has been ordered to pay a $1 million fine for an oil spill that occurred when a subcontractor cut through a pipeline during Louisiana barrier island restoration work in 2016.

The Great Lakes are the world’s largest collective bodies of fresh water, and feature many picturesque nature spots, so it always has seemed like a natural area for cruise ships to venture.

It’s a good bet there aren’t many bathtubs — if any at all — that could fit this rubber duck.

Scientists have fanned out across the Great Lakes' frozen surfaces to learn what happens underwater during winter.

Michigan would seem the last place to worry about water shortages.

President Joe Biden has signed a bill granting a three-week extension of government funding and allowing Congress more time to reach an overdue deal financing federal agencies through the rest of the fiscal year.

Winter is changing across the Great Lakes region, and scientists want to know what that will mean.

The Biden administration's new infrastructure package will pump more funding into two high-profile Great Lakes projects.

Some parts of the Northern Great Lakes region were greeted by their first significant snowfall of the season earlier this week, but not even the arrival of the fluffy white stuff could mask these historic times for the Great Lakes themselves.

Maybe you’re in Michigan, with family in Wisconsin (or vice versa). Or perhaps you’re planning some sort of trip across state lines, and you came across the idea of using a ferry to save some time around the Great Lakes.

Those along the Great Lakes and rivers near Detroit and Canada have taken notice of a special boat that’s been sailing those waters this summer.

Chapman said she has been without power for two nights and is using the propane to keep warm. The worst U.S. power outages were in Texas, affecting more than 2 million homes and businesses. Texas officials said more than 400,000 doses due now will not arrive until at least Wednesday because of the storm. Several cities had record lows: In Minnesota, the Hibbing/Chisholm weather station registered minus 38 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 39 degrees Celsius). Sioux Falls, South Dakota, dropped to minus 26 Fahrenheit (minus 26 degrees Celsius).

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Michigan's environmental agency said Friday it has approved construction of an underground tunnel to house a replacement for a controversial oil pipeline in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. AdThe project requires permits from the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “We have issued permits designed to ensure that if a tunnel is constructed, it will be in strict compliance with relevant statutes and adhere to stringent protections against impacts to the Great Lakes,” Clark said. State officials emphasized the tunnel project was a separate legal matter from the dispute over the existing pipeline, which was laid in 1953. It has taken steps to prevent future anchor strikes and says the tunnel project would eliminate that danger.

The structure on the Des Plaines River is a choke point between the Illinois River, which is infested with the invasive carp, and Lake Michigan. The next step is developing design and engineering specifications, expected to take three to four years and cost about $28.8 million. Under the new agreement, the Corps will pay $18 million and Michigan $8 million. Both states will collaborate with the Corps as it designs the complex mechanism, which will require thousands of pages of drawings. Government agencies, advocacy groups and others have long debated how to prevent them from reaching the Great Lakes, where scientists say they could out-compete native species for food and habitat.

If you’re driving in your car a lot today, don’t be surprised if you hear more Gordon Lightfoot than usual.

Both feared and revered by people, gray wolves have recovered from near extinction in parts of the country but remain absent from much of their historical range. Federal wildlife officials contend thriving populations in the western Great Lakes region, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest ensure the species' long-term survival. “In the early part of the 20th century the gray wolf had essentially become a ghost throughout the United States," Bernhardt said. The decision keeps protections for a small population of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest. Fish and Wildlife Service would have no say about moving ahead with the plan, if voters approve it.

A Michigan regulatory panel refused Tuesday, June 30, 2020, to grant quick permission to run a new oil pipeline beneath a channel that connects two of the Great Lakes, deciding instead to conduct a full review. Enbridge filed an application in April with the Michigan Public Service Commission to relocate a segment of its Line 5 that extends beneath the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lakes Huron and Michigan. (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy via AP)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. A Michigan regulatory panel on Tuesday refused to grant quick permission to run a new oil pipeline beneath a channel that connects two of the Great Lakes, deciding instead to conduct a full review. The state Public Service Commission's decision involved a proposed replacement for a segment of Enbridge's Line 5 that extends beneath the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lakes Huron and Michigan. Enbridge filed an application in April with the Public Service Commission to relocate the underwater section of Line 5 into the proposed tunnel.

How about escaping to a lighthouse in the middle of the Great Lakes? Right in the middle of Lake Michigan, 7 miles from the nearest shore, is the White Shoal Lighthouse, and it's about to start taking reservations. As of now, dates available for reservation at the lighthouse are Aug. 1, 20, 21, 26 and 27. There is a 13-mile boat trip from Big Stone Bay inside Wilderness State Park, which is 12 miles west of Mackinaw City. An overnight stay will give people approximately 24 hours at the lighthouse.