Endangered gray wolf population on the rise in southwest US
THE EDGE OF THE GILA WILDERNESS, N.M. — A voice interrupted the crackle of the radio at basecamp: “Starting pursuit.”
The rest of the team on the ground was anxious to hear those words after the low-flying helicopter crew had been working all morning to get close to one of the Mexican gray wolves that had been targeted as part of an annual survey of the endangered predators.
For months, crews combed the rugged mountains of the southwestern United States, tracking collared wolves and looking for evidence of new packs to build the most accurate picture possible of just how many wolves are roaming the wild in New Mexico and Arizona.
The results of the painstaking effort were finally released Wednesday, revealing there are more wolves in the wild than at any time since federal wildlife managers initiated efforts to conserve the animals decades ago.
Since the first wolves were released in 1998, the program aimed at re-establishing the species across its historic range has had its share of fits and starts due to illegal shootings, courtroom battles and politics. The challenges are mounting as ranchers and rural residents say the situation for them has become untenable as 2019 marked a record year for livestock kills.
Weinstein moved to state prison day before 68th birthday
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein was transferred to a state prison in New York on Wednesday as he begins to serve a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault in his landmark #MeToo case.
The disgraced film mogul, who will turn 68 on Thursday, is locked up at the maximum security Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, according to state prison officials. He is known behind bars as inmate No. 20B0584.
The prison, six hours by car from Manhattan, is likely just a temporary stop for Weinstein. While he’s there, he’ll be evaluated to determine which state prison facility meets his security, medical, mental health and other needs.
Weinstein’s spokesman called the move “harsh.”
Weinstein, convicted Feb. 24 and sentenced last week, had been splitting time between New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex and a Manhattan hospital.
The show will go on. Just from their living rooms
NEW YORK — The spreading coronavirus canceled several touring performances from A-list musical artists, but those acts have found a new venue to sing: their living rooms.
John Legend, Bono, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Pink, John Mayer, Keith Urban and more have held virtual concerts from their homes as the world continues to practice social distancing to slow the spread of the virus.
“I mean, we don’t normally do concerts live from our house in a robe,” Legend told The Associated Press late Tuesday, hours after performing a nearly hour-long concert which streamed on Facebook and Instagram Live. “This is a cool way to connect with people and make them feel some kind of love and intimacy and connection, even though they have to be stuck at home.”
“So many people are dealing with a lot of stress right now, trauma, anxiety, all those things. And they don’t know what to do. And a lot of musicians and artists and entertainers are unable to go out and do the thing that we do best, which is perform live at venues with lots of people,” he added. “So we’re trying to find ways to stay in touch with people and give them some love.”
The piano-playing superstar took requests from fans as he crooned from his living room like he does at one of his typical live concerts. Legend’s performance was in support of the World Health Organization’s newly-launched online concert series “Together at Home,” created in efforts to fight the coronavirus, which causes only mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but can be severe in some cases, especially older adults and people with existing health problems. People with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may need six weeks to recover.