Southwest
From Alabama to Texas, US travel spots to soak up American science and innovation
The United States has led the world in science and innovation for most of its history, and that claim has been backed up by science.
To cite one notable testament of leadership in global science: The U.S. boasts 411 winners of Nobel Prizes in physics and medicine.
The number of Americans among Nobel Prize honorees dwarfs the U.K., which is the No. 2 nation on the list with 137 winners, and is more than the next four nations combined.
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The U.S. has led the world in advances in atomic and nuclear power, space travel and the digital economy.
A cast of a Tyrannosaurus rex head that was found in Montana and excavated by noted dino-hunter Jack Horner (pictured left). A boy (pictured right) is seen exploring a Mercury space capsule at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Alabama. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images; Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The nation also boasts one of the world’s richest repositories of dinosaur fossils.
Here’s a look at five family-friendly tourist landmarks to visit as you learn more about American science.
Alabama – U.S. Space & Rocket Center
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama, 2010. (Photo by Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
The family-friendly showcase of American exploratory power boasts perhaps the world’s largest display of rocketry and memorabilia from various NASA programs.
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Among the highlights at the Huntsville museum: the Apollo 11 virtual reality experience, which puts visitors inside the mission that first put men on the moon; and summertime “astronaut chats” with the nation’s most celebrated space explorers.
Michigan – Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
The “Sweepstakes” car, part of the “Driven To Win” exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. (Wes Duenkel/The Henry Ford via AP)
Few did more to shape modern America than Henry Ford. The Museum of American Innovation is a fitting tribute to that impact — highlighted by a heavy dose of our country’s national history. The Henry Ford, as it’s often known, is a collection of several sites sprawling across 250 acres.
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The flagship museum includes jaw-dropping Americana memorabilia, such as the Rosa Parks bus, George Washington’s camp bed and the limousine in which President Kennedy was assassinated, among many other exhibits and events.
Montana – Museum of the Rockies
A replica of the 66-million-year-old creature, dubbed the “Nation’s T. rex,” which was found by ranchers Kathy and Tom Wankel, stands outside the Museum of the Rockies. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Long before humans inhabited North America, the land was ruled by dinosaurs, notably the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex. Skeletons of the giant “king of the lizards” were first found in the American West.
The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman offers one of the world’s greatest collections of North American dinosaur fossils — not just the T.rex but also the horned Triceratops and a nearly complete skeleton of an Allosaurus, a predecessor of the lizard king.
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The museum also includes exhibits dedicated to native peoples of the area and to the homesteaders who settled Montana in the 19th century.
New Mexico – White Sands National Park
Ripple patterns are captured in White Sands National Park, New Mexico. (Jon G. Fuller/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images))
This geological oddity is an American wonder for its natural beauty and sobering role in the history of modern warfare.
It was on this site in July 1945 that American scientists, led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, first unleashed the power of the atomic bomb, a victory of American ingenuity and industrial power amid World War II.
The achievement also had lingering ramifications for mankind. The Trinity test at White Sands was a prelude to the atomic attacks the following month on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan that ended World War II.
White Sands National Park includes 275 square miles of glistening gypsum sand — the largest dunefield of its kind on Earth — surrounded by the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range.
The park today offers spectacular vistas and touring by automobile, hiking, biking or pack animals. It still closes for missile testing.
Texas – Space Center Houston
Apollo 13 – NASA, 1970. Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas: Three of the four Apollo 13 flight directors applaud the successful splashdown of the Command Module Odyssey, 17 April 1970. Artist NASA. (Photo by Heritage Space/Heritage Images via Getty Images)
“Houston, we have a problem.”
The phrase entered the American lexicon in 1970 when astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 mission reported a potential disaster to flight control at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The more recent addition, Space Center Houston, opened in 1992. It is considered the world’s most prestigious aerospace museum and serves as the visitors’ center to the famed NASA complex. It has a spectacular collection of rocketry and artifacts.
Among the treasures: the space capsules flown and returned to Earth by the Mercury 9, Gemini 5 and Apollo 17 missions, the latter of which in 1972 carried astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, the last two men to walk on the moon.
The museum also showcases a collection of moon rocks and space suits.
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Events and protests were held in downtown Los Angeles Saturday on the one-year anniversary of one of the largest immigration enforcement actions in California.
One June 6, 2025, federal agents stormed the L.A. Fashion District, arresting and detaining dozens of workers.
The enforcement action served as a catalyst, igniting a wave of subsequent raids across Southern California. In response, city leaders affirmed their “unwavering commitment to the immigrant communities” in Los Angeles, as events were held throughout the city to remember those who were deported and those whose immigration cases remain unresolved.
Protesters advocating for immigrant communities gathered outside a federal detention center in downtown Saturday, waving flags and signs. One woman was arrested during a clash with police.
The initial raid in the L.A. Garment District swept up workers, including the father of one woman who described the experience as “one of the most traumatic experiences” of their lives. This operation was among the first deportation actions that resulted in families being separated and triggered days of civil unrest.
At a commemoration event, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and the Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of L.A. stood together, vowing to protect immigrant communities living in fear.
“We all felt attacked, and I think what’s so critical today, is to know and remember and acknowledge that this is still going on every day,” Bass said.
While the Department of Homeland Security maintains that its enforcement operations target criminals, families of those detained argue that immigration enforcement terrorizes hardworking people. These families contend that many immigrants pay taxes and contribute to society, even if they are not U.S. citizens.
Immigration attorneys report that thousands of individuals are still trying to locate their loved ones. They also highlighted that hundreds of people swept up in immigration raids last year remain detained in facilities, facing medical neglect, inhumane conditions and the denial of basic due process protections.
Watch the full report from KTLA’s Sara Welch in the video at the top of this story.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTLA. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTLA staff before being published.
Los Angeles, Ca
Pasadena motorist knocked unconscious in unprovoked assault after other driver flashes high beams at him
A motorist was rendered unconscious after what authorities are calling an unprovoked attack that occurred after another driver flashed their high beams at him, authorities say.
According to the Pasadena Police Department, the victim, a 63-year-old man, was driving northbound on Raymond Avenue near Washington Boulevard when a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction flashed him around 1 a.m. Saturday.
“The victim reported that he was driving northbound on Raymond Avenue from Washington Boulevard when he observed a vehicle traveling southbound flashing its high beams at him,” a Pasadena Police Department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. “The victim stated he stopped his vehicle and exited. He was then assaulted by an unknown suspect. The assault was unprovoked.”
The attack left the man unconscious and with a three-inch deep laceration to his head, police added. Upon regaining consciousness, the man transported himself to Huntington Hospital, and it was around 1:20 a.m. when police responded there to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon and began their investigation.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the victim told police that, due to his injuries, he was not able to provide a description of a suspect, vehicle or the weapon used, nor was he able to tell police the exact location where the assault occurred, although it was confirmed to be somewhere near Raymond Avenue and Washington Boulevard. La Pintoresca Park is located near that intersection.
No further details were immediately available.
Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to contact the Pasadena Police Department right away.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
A woman was struck and killed by a driver while crossing the street on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.
On June 3, the female pedestrian was using the crosswalk at Pacific Coast Highway and Pacific Avenue around 4:50 a.m.
She had walked against a red light and was hit by a 19-year-old driver in a Chevy sedan, Long Beach police said.
Despite lifesaving efforts, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.
“At this time, impaired driving, distracted driving and excessive speed are not believed to be a factor in this collision,” police said.
The woman’s name is being withheld pending identification by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information on the incident is asked to call Detective Joseph Johnson at 562-570-7355.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
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