The man was trapped under a boulder that the police said likely weighed a “literal ton” and could not reach his phone. He used Apple’s Siri to call 911, his mother said.

A tropical storm was moving through the area when the 90-foot lava rock formation disintegrated, the National Park Service said.

A federal judge ruled that initial preparatory steps, including testing out paints on the building’s gray granite exterior, could proceed for now.

© Allison Robbert for The New York Times

The man had been driving this month on a popular route through the park when a rock dislodged from a cliff face and struck his vehicle. Such fatal episodes are rare, officials said.

© Tim Rains/NPS

Workers are filing lawsuits against the countertop industry as cases of silicosis, a deadly lung disease, rise.

© Luke Sharrett for The New York Times

Climbers have used the 70-pound rock, which they call Portable, to practice balancing and gripping. Months after it went missing, it was found 19 hours away.