Patrick Whittle

Stay informed with Patrick Whittle’s coverage and analysis for Fortune.

FILE – Surfers walk past a flag warning of strong currents just north of the Imperial Beach Pier on Sept. 9, 2022, in Imperial Beach, Calif. (Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, File)

Fecal matter could spoil your last summer beach escape

By Patrick Whittle, Mingson Lau, and others

Shark

Climate change means more great white sharks in the waters of New England every summer

By Patrick Whittle and The Associated Press

Jellyfish

‘We’ve never seen anything like this’: Delaware beach-goers swear they feel the jellyfish sting more than ever

By Mingson Lau, Patrick Whittle, and others

Michael Pimentel, center, a resident at the Gabriel House assisted living facility, in Fall River, Mass., receives assistance from an emergency medical worker, right, outside a temporary shelter, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Fall River, following a fire that started late Sunday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Residents at Massachusetts assisted-living facility say staff fled without helping them during fire that killed 9

By Michael Casey, Kimberlee Kruesi, and others

Osprey

Osprey lovers cry foul at fishing industry’s billion-pound annual haul of bird’s precious food source

By Patrick Whittle, Allen Breed, and others

Person leans over a crate of asparagus

After an early boom, organic farming is falling: ‘We can’t find anybody as willing to work’

By Caitlyn Daproza, Patrick Whittle, and others

FILE – In this July 27, 2018, file photo, a sternman on a lobster fishing boat photographs the sunrise on the way out of Portland Harbor off South Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Trump is loosening red tape to help America’s $20 billion seafood trade deficit. Conservation groups worry overfishing could unravel the ocean’s ‘safety net’

By Patrick Whittle and The Associated Press

CORRECTS NAME SPELLING: Seafood dealer Togue Brawn speaks to a reporter at a processing facility, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Bremen, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A Maine seafood distributor says she is losing tens of thousands of dollars because of DOGE funding cuts: ‘This is not a business-friendly environment’

By The Associated Press and Patrick Whittle

President Donald Trump speaks at the Governors Working Session in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.

Trump threatens to withhold federal funding from Maine after governor vows state will ‘follow the law’ on transgender athletes

By Michelle L. Price, Patrick Whittle, and others

A county truck with a snowplow drives down a road in Kansas.

Schools and government offices in several states across the U.S. closed due to winter blast of snow and ice

By Patrick Whittle, Brian Witte, and others

This June 2023 image provided by Pelagic Research Services shows remains of the Titan submersible on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. (Pelagic Research Services via AP)

Government engineer says Titan’s carbon fiber hull showed signs of manufacturing flaws

By Patrick Whittle, David Sharp, and others

Remains of the Titan submersible on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

OceanGate founder hopes tragedy inspires more deep-sea exploration

By Patrick Whittle and The Associated Press

This June 2023 United States Coast Guard still frame from video provided by Pelagic Research Services, shows remains of the Titan submersible, center, on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard Video courtesy Pelagic Research Services via AP)

Titan’s scientific director says the sub malfunctioned days before it imploded and hung one passenger upside down

By Patrick Whittle and The Associated Press

The remains of the Titan submersible on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

OceanGate employee who warned of Titan safety issues testifies disaster was preventable

By Patrick Whittle and The Associated Press

(Pelagic Research Services via AP)

OceanGate former lead engineer who refused to pilot Titan testifies to pressure to get sub into the water

By Patrick Whittle, Lisa J. Adams Wagner, and others