Florida manatees were listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 .

By the early 1990s , the manatee population in Florida had dwindled to less than 1,300 .

Seagrasses are vital to the health of marine ecosystems and provide food for aquatic herbivores.

Aarin-Conrad Allen : Improving water quality, protecting food sources, and further research are critical to ensure the long-term survival of manatees.

Allen: Manatees face multiple, synergistic threats, including water quality and food sources.

He says community outreach and education are critical for the survival of this iconic Florida species.

U.S. staff receiving the notices this week will stay on Boeing 's payroll until January .

Boeing plans to cut 17,000 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce.

News that Boeing would send out the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) in mid-November was widely expected.

Russian defense official visits China 's premier military showcase in a sign of unity.

Sergei Shoigu , secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council , was in Zhuhai to view Chinese and Russian aircraft and other military hardware.

China is not known to have directly provided military support to Russia , but has sold it dual-use technologies that could boost its ability to attack Ukrainian targets.

Abigail Jo Shry pleads guilty to threatening to kill U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan .

Prosecutors say Shry left a voicemail with the chambers of the D.C. judge.

She is slated to be sentenced Jan. 31 .

Shry was charged last year amid a surge in threats to judges nationally.

Space Forge wants to send satellites equipped with tiny clean rooms into space, where they’ll grow semiconductor crystals before transporting them safely back to Earth .

Manufacturing semiconductors in space has the potential to provide efficiencies that could create superior versions of military tools such as radar.

Space Forge has piqued the interest of the 1 billion ($ 1bn ) NATO Innovation Fund ( NIF ).

The NIF is a defense-focused version of the World Bank .

The fund acts as a conduit to link European defense ministries and startups.

One billion euros is not enough to fix Europe , a region whose issues are a mix of strategic and economic.

In theory, the NIF will become a funding model that’s self-sustaining for NATO innovation priorities.

A majority of Americans say they have confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests.

Confidence ratings have moved slightly higher in the last year , marking a shift away from the decline in trust seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Americans are split over scientists’ role in policymaking.

In April 2020 , an 85% majority of Republicans said they had a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists, compared with 14% who had little or no confidence.

Overall, White, Black and Hispanic adults express similar levels of confidence.

Asian adults hold the most positive views of scientists across racial and ethnic groups.

Democrats are more likely to assess research scientists positively on their traits and characteristics.

51% of Americans say scientists should take an active role in public policy debates about scientific issues.

Americans are not convinced that scientists make better policy decisions than other people.

Fewer than half of Americans think scientists are usually better than others at making good policy decisions.

Virginia Democrats advance efforts to protect abortion, voting rights, marriage equality.

The House Privileges and Elections Committee advanced three proposed constitutional amendments.

The committee also discussed measures to repeal a now-defunct state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Virginia is the only state that permanently bans anyone convicted of a felony from voting.

“Let's do the compassionate thing and care for mothers and all unborn children,” resident Sheila Furey said. The audience gave a collective “Amen,” followed by a round of applause. ___ Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill , New Jersey , contributed to this report. ___ Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative ..

China unveils two new fighter jets capable of operating from aircraft carriers.

The J-15 T and the D-15D are both variants of the family of carried-based fighter aircraft.

They are among the new Chinese military aircraft that broke cover at the airshow in Zhuhai , a city in the southern region of China .

The U.S. Navy has the world's largest "flattop" fleet, while the Chinese navy is the biggest in the world.

Russia enacted a new decree on Wednesday that limits payouts for injured soldiers based on their wounds.

Soldiers with less severe wounds now have their $ 30,000 payout knocked down to $ 10,000 , or even $ 1,000 .

Previous foreign estimates found that Russia had to spend 6% of its budget on casualty payouts.

Appeals court throws out $1.68 billion judgment against Iran 's central bank.

It was won by family members of troops killed and injured in 1983 bombing of U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut .

Bombing victims sought to hold Iran liable for providing material support for the October 23, 1983 , suicide attack.

Bank Markazi claimed immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act .