The $4.3-billion observatory will aid the search for "Earth twins" and explore the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

The four-seat gain Democrats need to win control once seemed all but out of reach. Odds are looking up, though the party still faces a tough path, with toss-up races in a half dozen (mostly red) states.

The presidential aide spent much of her early life in Southern California, where she was home-schooled and attended a mega-church on Sundays, her brother said.

As France fights wildfires this summer, it looks to California and its experience with fighting or preventing fires.