With few resources left, animal rescuer in Gaza hopes to save hundreds of animals

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(GAZA) — An animal rescue organization in the Gaza Strip says it’s trying to keep alive not only family members amid the Israel-Hamas war, but also hundreds of dogs, cats and donkeys.

“We have already lost everything, but at least the animals are still with me,” Saeed Al Err, the founder of Sulala Animal Rescue, told ABC News.

Al Err said he and his family, including the animals he’s currently able to care for, have relocated three times since Oct. 7, when the Hamas terrorist group, which governs Gaza, launched an unprecedented surprise attack on neighboring Israel. The Israel Defense Forces retaliated with a bombing campaign and siege of Gaza, where now more than 2 million Palestinians are displaced and suffering from a lack of food, water and medicine, according to the United Nations.

In Gaza, at least 27,947 people have been killed and 67,459 others have been injured since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health. In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others injured since Oct. 7, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. Meanwhile, at least 564 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Oct. 7, including 227 since the ground operations in Gaza began, according to the IDF.

Humanitarian groups have warned that the possibility of a “full-fledged famine” looms large across Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, and the United Nations says almost all residents of the coastal enclave are now reliant on food aid for sustenance. Some people in northern Gaza told ABC News they’re using bird feed in place of flour to stave off starvation. The World Food Programme says roughly two-thirds of Gaza’s population relied on food aid before the start of the war and now an estimated 26% face starvation.

“Hunger and diseases have caused enormous hardship for the population of Gaza, including for some of its most vulnerable residents: thousands of pets,” Annelies Keuleers, who volunteers for Sulala from abroad and communicates with Al Err daily, told ABC News.

More than 30 dogs — 20 of which the organization says are disabled — as well as 120 cats and four donkeys are currently in Al Err’s care, he said. But in an already overcrowded southern Gaza, where more than half the population has relocated following the IDF’s evacuation orders, Al Err said finding space or resources feels impossible.

“There is barely enough space for people,” he told ABC News. “The logistical challenges are huge.”

Israel, supported by Egypt, has imposed an indefinite blockade on Gaza since Hamas came to power in 2007, restricting the movement of goods and people in and out of the strip. Those restrictions have tightened amid the latest outbreak of war, with Israel saying it must limit Hamas’ access to weapons.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) says Israel provides too few authorizations to make deliveries into some areas and that heavy fighting often makes it too dangerous for aid workers to operate. The aid arriving in northern Gaza has been particularly restricted, UNRWA says. Israel disputes the criticisms.

Israeli officials denied accusations they’re not letting enough food and aid into Gaza and blame Hamas for stealing aid. They said they conduct necessary inspections on the trucks, and also blamed the U.N. and other aid agencies for creating logistical bottlenecks.

The U.N. has disputed the Israeli officials’ claims, saying, on average, far less than 200 trucks are entering Gaza most days. U.N. officials have said excessive Israeli inspections, as well as arbitrary rejections of some aid, frequently hold up deliveries.

Al Err said his rescue organization completely ran out of animal food at the beginning of January and that they haven’t received animal food supplies since Oct. 9.

On New Year’s Eve, a truck containing 2 tons, or about 4,400 pounds, of pet food organized for Sulala by Australian animal protection organization Animals Australia made it to the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing, according to Keuleers. Animals Australia posted about its donation on Instagram in mid-January, writing that it sent “an initial two tonnes [sic] of animal food and extensive veterinary supplies to the Rafah border.”

“We received news that a truck carrying 2 tons of animal food and medicine was approved on the Israeli side and we are waiting for it to arrive inside Gaza any day now,” Keuleers told ABC News earlier this month. “It’s enough for maybe a month. We are already searching for other donations.”

As of today, Keuleers said they are still waiting for this truck carrying animal supplies to be allowed inside Gaza.

“So we are still waiting,” she added.

Animals Australia also told ABC News the aid they helped organize for Sulala is stuck at the crossing, saying “increased attacks” in the area is “hindering its entry.”

ABC News reached out to UNRWA about the truck Keuleers says they are waiting on, but the request for comment wasn’t immediately returned.

Inside Gaza, as they wait for some sort of aid, Al Err said he and his family are searching for a new location for their animals, fearing another possible attack from the Israeli forces.

“The army is closing on us once again,” Al Err told ABC News.

Although space and resources are lacking, Al Err said he continues to rescue more pets. Last week, he said he found a German shepherd from an area whose residents were ordered to evacuate three weeks ago. “The poor thing was starving, so it’s good that he’s with Saeed now,” Keuleers told ABC News as she got the news from Al Err.

Al Err said his eight children all support his mission. While the older ones — Celine, Sa’ed, Mubarak and Mohammad — help him with the fieldwork, he said, the younger ones are in charge of the cats. He said his youngest, 6-year-old Diana, used to join him on “feeding tours” for stray animals when the organization still had food.

“They feed them, clean after them and especially, they play with them,” Al Err told ABC News.

Before the war, Sulala sheltered more than 400 dogs in northern Gaza, but their family had to abandon that shelter early in the conflict, Al Err said. Before fleeing, and with a broken heart, Al Err said, he freed the dogs so they could save themselves and look for food. Nine of them found their way back to him 5 miles away weeks later, he said.

“I was so happy. It really made my day to see them,” Al Err said. “Some were very skinny and that made me worry even more about the ones that were still left behind. Others seemed healthy. I felt great relief when they reached me, and I also felt hope. Those times are the only ones during the war I felt happy.”

Sulala continues to receive donations, but the rescue organization says they’re useless if aid cannot get in. “My greatest fear is having to leave behind the animals or having to leave Gaza and having to sit in a tent not knowing what will happen to them,” Al Err said.

“The animals rely on me,” he added. “I have no other choice, this is my duty.”

‘They Called Him Mostly Harmless’ documentary puts spotlight on true crime community

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Alliance for Women in Media Foundation

(NEW YORK) — In 2018, an emaciated male body was found in the Florida wilderness with little clues about his identity.

But through a group of internet sleuths, the man was later identified as a hiker known by his nickname of Mostly Harmless.

The story is now being re-examined in a Max documentary “They Called Him Mostly Harmless,” which premiered Thursday.

ABC News Live’s Phil Lipof spoke with Emmy award-winning director Patricia Gillespie about the documentary and the interest in true crime.

ABC NEWS LIVE: This looks fascinating. What made you want to turn this story into a documentary?

PATRICIA GILLESPIE: I was initially approached with this story by my colleague, Ethan Goldman at Anchor Entertainment. And at that point, it was the story of this man who had been found deceased and had no identity. But what I saw when I looked deeper was a bigger story about the true crime community and the sleuthing community and why these stories really grab us and move us. And I was interested in exploring that and some of these themes about what it means to be alive in the digital age.

ABC NEWS LIVE: There are quite a few cases of unidentified persons, as you know, what was it about Mostly Harmless that intrigued internet sleuths in that community so much?

GILLESPIE: Yeah, I mean, I think there are some sort of straightforward answers about, the fact that he had met so many people on the trail but not giving them his name; the fact that he died in this very unusual circumstance. He was emaciated but had food in his tent. There were a bunch of facts about the case that made him interesting. But at the end of the day, I also think it’s worth mentioning he’s a good-looking, relatively young white guy and that’s very shareable. And there are thousands and thousands of others, those who don’t find themselves in that demographic, and their stories don’t get shared. So I appreciate you asking that question.

ABC NEWS LIVE: We’ve all heard about these amateur investigators, who use the internet to look into these cases. What did you find out about them as you interviewed them for this documentary as a community? What is it about them?

GILLESPIE: Yeah. So I think there’s been a lot of discourse around true crime, lately, and I think some of it has been kind of dismissive and or critical. And I never mind when they’re critical of us, the makers. But there’s something that always bugs me when they’re critical of our audience.

ABC NEWS LIVE: You have said before that you don’t like how people are critical of this particular community. Why is that?

GILLESPIE: I think that the true crime audience is skews female. And I think like a lot of things that skew female, it’s easy to dismiss or make light of. But in reality, there’s this perception that these are like lonely women who like gory details or whatever. But I think what’s actually going on is an exercise in empathy. I think these are women who are interested or people, the true crime audience, are people who are interested in examining life with these very high stakes of life and death, who are interested in seeing people maintain their goodness in the face of something dark or evil or scary.

And I really wanted to examine it through these women, in this story, because I felt they weren’t just spectating. They were doing something and I felt that was special and deserved to be highlighted.

ABC NEWS LIVE: There was a write-up in the New York Times. I’m sure you saw it. It was a nice write-up about the documentary. One line stuck out to me at the very end. The critic had said, the best documentaries turn the camera on us. I’m paraphrasing if she’s watching, but, that that was what I that was what I thought. And so I want to know, did you go into this thinking you were going to focus on Mostly Harmless or the community that was trying to solve the mystery?

GILLESPIE: As a filmmaker, I tried to go in with questions rather than answers. But what started to emerge to me that was that to me, the real story wasn’t about the details of this private citizen who had unfortunately died under these mysterious circumstances. It was about who he became as sort of this cipher on the internet that all these people, the hikers, the sleuths poured an idea into. And it was usually an idea of him being who they needed him to be, or wanted him to be, or wished him to be. And we do that so much online.

Heavy rain and flood risks loom over the South this weekend

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — This weekend will bring severe storms and a flood risk to the southern U.S., while the Rockies and Western Plains are expected to see heavy snow. Meanwhile, the Northeast will see record warm temperatures.

A very slow-moving storm system will bring heavy rain and storms to the South over the next three days. On Saturday, a flash flood threat looms from east Texas to western Tennessee, including Shreveport, Louisiana, and Memphis, Tennessee. This area could see 1 to 3 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts up to 4 inches.

Severe storms are also possible across the South through Monday.

Today’s storm threat could bring large hail to San Antonio, Texas. An isolated tornado and damaging wind is also possible in Texas, with all threats beginning Saturday evening and continuing overnight when the storms begin marching east.

On Sunday, the severe threat reaches from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, and includes New Orleans, Louisiana. Damaging wind and tornadoes will be possible with these storms. The greatest threat is after dark and overnight.

On Monday, the storm pattern will hit the Southeast, centering around Georgia and Northern Florida and its panhandle. Damaging wind and tornadoes are the main threats here.

Heavy snow

On the backside of this storm system, there is quite a bit of snow expected for the Rockies and western Plains over the weekend. Snow is already falling from New Mexico to Wyoming.

From Denver to Greeley, Colorado, anywhere from 1-8 inches of snow have fallen. More snow is expected on Saturday, leading to storm totals between 2 to 12 inches depending on the location. Denver is expecting 2 to 6 inches.

Winter Storm Warnings are out for New Mexico, including Santa Fe. Lower elevations are expecting 3 to 8 inches with the mountains seeing up to 16 inches of snow this weekend.

Winter Storm Watches are set for western Oklahoma, which could see 3 to 5 inches of wet snow between Saturday night and Sunday evening. Winds may gust up to 40 mph, reducing visibility. In the Texas panhandle, between 3 and 10 inches of snow is expected between Saturday night and Sunday night.

One more day of record warmth

On Friday, Chicago tied a record daily high of 56 degrees; Grand Rapids, Michigan, tied at 55 degrees; Detroit, Michigan, tied at 64 degrees; and Syracuse, New York broke its previous daily record reaching 63 degrees, well above its 59 degree record from 1925.

Saturday is the last day with possible record highs. The extremely warm February weather will be in the Northeast. Burlington, Vermont, could break its old daily record of 46 degrees by reaching the 50s. Albany, New York, is also among the likely records on Saturday, reaching the upper 50s. The storm system in the South will head to the Northeast on Tuesday with snow possible.

Ex-Matt Gaetz associate cooperating in House Ethics investigation: Sources

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Orlando Sentinel / Contributor via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Joel Greenberg, a one-time close friend of Rep. Matt Gaetz who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges including federal sex trafficking, is cooperating with the House Ethics Committee probe into the Florida congressman, sources familiar with the committee’s work tell ABC News.

Greenberg, who is currently in prison, served as a top witness in the Justice Department’s years-long probe into Gaetz that concluded with the DOJ’s decision not to being charges against him.

Greenberg has been in contact with the Ethics Committee for weeks and has provided documents related to the case, sources told ABC News.

The New York Times was first to report Greenberg’s cooperation with the committee.

The House investigation, which was reopened last summer, continues to ramp up, as the committee in recent weeks has contacted multiple new witnesses as part of its ongoing investigation into the Florida congressman, sources said.

In a statement, Greenberg’s attorney Fritz Scheller told ABC News that Greenberg “has and will cooperate with any congressional request.”

“In a functioning democracy, he has no other choice,” Scheller said. “One would hope that the Department of Justice shares in such a perspective. But then again, hope is the quintessential human delusion. Regardless, the documents provided to Congress are not subject to any investigative privilege since they were not provided to the defense by the DOJ.”

Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing. In a statement, a spokesperson for the congressman said, “The DOJ received the same material, deemed it unreliable, and declined to press charges. The press should not be laundering smears from people in prison.”

Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, reached a deal with investigators in May 2021 in which he pleaded guilty to multiple federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a minor and introducing her to other “adult men” who also had sex with her when she was underage.

He also agreed to provide “substantial assistance” to DOJ prosecutors as part of their ongoing investigation into Gaetz and others, according to sources familiar with the arrangement.

How Biden campaign, allies are doing damage control after special counsel report

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The Biden-Harris campaign, its surrogates and allies were forced to do damage control on Friday after special counsel Robert Hur’s report about President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents painted a scathing picture of his age and memory, raising new questions for voters nine months before the November election.

Despite Hur not bringing criminal charges, his report levied what amounted to a political indictment against the 81-year-old president, with investigators writing that a main reason for not pursuing charges was because “Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Biden clapped back in a hastily-scheduled news conference Thursday night, just hours after the report was released, telling reporters, “I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I’m doing.”

The president’s top surrogates, from Vice President Kamala Harris to congressional Democrats, kept pushing back on Friday, dismissing the special counsel’s report as “politically motivated” and “inappropriate.”

The Biden campaign declined to comment when asked how it’s trying to quell renewed concerns about the president’s age.

A source familiar with the campaign’s thinking told ABC News that Republicans attacking the president’s age is nothing new, saying that strategy didn’t work in 2020 and won’t work in 2024, when the source said voters value experience and wisdom as well.

Here are five ways Biden allies are striking back:

Hur is a Trump appointee and Republican

Biden surrogates have been quick to point out that Robert Hur, a Republican, was appointed by former President Donald Trump to be U.S. Attorney in Maryland in 2018. However, it was Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Biden-appointee, who chose Hur to lead the investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Some are now accusing Hur of having an agenda despite not having enough evidence to criminally indict Biden.

“At the end of the day, it looks as though the special counsel couldn’t charge him with anything, so he just threw the books at him anyway,” said former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile, an ABC News contributor. “The report read like it was going to get published in the New York Post or on Trump campaign website. It did not read like a legal document.”

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., in an interview with ABC News on Thursday, called the report’s descriptions of Biden “partisan editorializing by a Republican-appointed prosecutor.”

“This is a Republican special counsel who completely went out of his way to editorialize, to include material in his report that is unnecessary and irrelevant to what he was tasked with doing,” Goldman said, of Hur. “The fact that he’s a Republican and he’s exonerating President Biden, he knows he’s going to be under attack because Republicans want to create this false equivalency between President Biden and former President Trump.”

Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, at an unrelated news conference on Friday, deemed the comments by Hur “unfair” and “unnecessary,” also noting he was a Republican appointee.

“I smell a rat in the comments that were made,” he told reporters.

Hur had no comment.

Doesn’t compare to Trump’s classified docs case

Biden aides and allies say the bottom line is that while the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents ended with charges, Biden fully cooperated, and Hur decided there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him.

Juxtapose that, they say, to Trump’s case, in which he’s charged with obstructing efforts to secure the documents.

Jim Messina, former President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign manager, urged his social media followers not to equate a “heavily editorialized special counsel’s report” as a bigger liability than the 91 criminal charges pending against Trump. (Trump has denied all wrongdoing).

“Hur, a lifelong Republican and creature of DC, didn’t have a case against Biden, but he knew exactly how his swipes could hurt Biden politically,” Messina said in a post.

“We’ve got to stop treating a single line in a gratuitously long, heavily editorialized special counsel’s report–in which no crime was found btw–by a partisan Republican investigator like it’s a bigger liability than Trump’s 91 criminal charges and being found liable for rape,” he said in another.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also highlighted on social media Friday the differences between Trump and Biden’s respective investigations.

“Read the documents. It’s not hard. Biden fully cooperated. Trump obstructed at every turn,” he said in a post. “They know this. And they know how damaging their arguments are to Americans’ confidence in their democracy.”

While Trump’s popularity among Republican voters has risen with each criminal indictment, according to his national polling average on 538, Biden’s mishandling of documents might not be as easily accepted by his base.

There’s also a gap when it comes to perceptions of Trump, 77, and Biden, 81. A recent NBC News poll found 62% of voters have “major concerns” about Biden’s age whereas only 34% have “major concerns” about Trump’s age.

The special counsel has no business making ‘gratuitous’ statements

“Gratuitous” is swiftly becoming a buzzword for Democrats to describe the language they take issue with in Hur’s report.

“The way that the president’s demeanor in that report was characterized, could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly, politically motivated, gratuitous,” said Vice President Kamala Harris, a former federal prosecutor. “When it comes to the role and responsibility of a prosecutor in a situation like that, we should expect that there will be a higher level of integrity than what we saw,” she added.

The Democratic National Committee War Room on Friday blasted a press email listing nearly a dozen instances of other prosecutors and legal experts questioning whether Hur’s comments on Biden’s memory were appropriate, with the email characterizing them as “political cheap shots that came straight from MAGA Republican talking points.”

Among the voices was former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, who said in a post on X that the report had “many gratuitous remarks and is flatly inconsistent with long standing DOJ traditions.”

Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House counsel’s office, was among the first to characterize Hur’s criticisms of Biden’s memory as “inaccurate, gratuitous and wrong.”

Recounting personal Biden stories about mental agility

Biden allies are also offering first-hand accounts of Biden’s sharpness as they face renewed questions about his mental acuity.

Goldman has recounted in multiple interviews how he spoke with Biden the day before the president’s voluntary interview with the special counsel on Oct. 8, the day after Hamas attacked Israel.

“He was incredibly on point. His recall, his knowledge of a very tricky geopolitical situation was remarkable right off the bat. And he had spoken to a number of leaders, and he knew exactly where the pressure points were,” Goldman said. “And that’s where his age is so beneficial because he has 50 years of foreign policy experience.”

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison also shared his Biden story in a post, moments after the president’s impromptu Thursday night news conference.

“On AF1 I chatted with him on a myriad of topics from politics to family. Saw him bring down the house in SC talking about the promises made and the promises kept!” Harrison assured his followers.

Other Democrats are flatly stating the undeniable truth: Biden is old.

But so, they add, is Trump.

“President Biden and former President Donald Trump have both old, and if that’s the only issue in the 2024 campaign, then the American people will have to judge between two elderly men,” Brazile said. “The president has has acknowledged that he is an elderly man, and he also has acknowledged that he’s still up to doing the work on behalf of the American people. I don’t know what else we can say.”

The youngest member of Congress, Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., in a press call for the Biden-Harris campaign on an unrelated topic on Friday, flatly acknowledged Biden “is old” but deflected to the administration’s record, which he said is what Democrats will run on.

“Number one, yes. OK. President Biden is old. OK. Yeah. It doesn’t sound like breaking news to me,” said Frost, who is 27. “When it comes down to how this is gonna impact folks down ballot and how Joe Biden’s candidacy will impact folks down ballot, I see nothing but positivity — because we’re looking at an agenda and we’re looking at a record that is positive.”

Biden isn’t the only one confusing names – so are Trump and Johnson

The report alleging Biden couldn’t recall the years he served as vice president or when his son, Beau, died, followed the president twice this week confusing European leaders with their dead predecessors — instances his allies are dismissing as common mistakes.

“If he had a momentary blip where he couldn’t remember, as his mind is racing from the war in the Middle East to the questions that he’s been asking, I think that’s understandable for any of us,” Goldman told ABC News Live.

After Biden mistakenly called Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi the president of Mexico during his news conference, surrogates were quick to pounce on the fact that Biden isn’t the only big-name politician to recently confuse a name.

Goldman called it “nit-picking” and “inappropriate,” he said, “unless you’re also going to do it with Speaker Mike Johnson or anyone else who makes a mistake.”

Notably, the House speaker confused Iran with Israel last week on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, and Trump, at a rally last month, twice mentioned Nikki Haley when he meant Nancy Pelosi. Trump has also repeatedly confused former President Barack Obama with Biden at recent rallies.

‘No survivors’ after helicopter crashes in Mojave Desert: Sheriff

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(Nipton, CA) — No survivors were located after a helicopter crashed in the Mojave Desert in California Friday night, authorities said.

The crash was reported shortly after 10 p.m. Friday night, a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday.

“The scene of the crash was determined to be east of the 15-Freeway, near Halloran Springs Road,” the statement added. “We are not able to confirm how many people were on board or their names. No survivors have been located.”

A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration said a helicopter crashed near Nipton, California, Friday night.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Why there may be much fewer monarch butterfly sightings in the US this summer

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Monarch butterfly sightings may be sparser than usual in the U.S. and Canada following a drastic drop in populations wintering in Mexico, researchers told ABC News.

The annual census of the number of monarchs that winter in Central Mexico showed that the population decreased “precipitously,” the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, which conducts the research alongside the World Wildlife Fund-Mexico, announced on Wednesday.

The number of monarchs dropped from 2.2 hectares in the 2022-2023 season to 0.9 hectares in the 2023-2024 season — making this past winter the second-worst year ever recorded, according to the environmental nonprofit.

Each hectare is measured to contain about 21 million butterflies, Chip Taylor who is an emeritus professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas and the founder and former director of conservation nonprofit Monarch Watch, told ABC News.

Monarch populations have declined drastically over the past 40 years, Anurag Agrawal, an evolutionary ecologist and professor of environmental studies at Cornell University, told ABC News.

In 1996, there were about 18 hectares — or about a billion — butterflies, Taylor said. The lowest year was during the 2013-2014 season when only 0.67 hectares were occupied, the researchers said.

Monarch butterflies typically spend the winter in a 50-mile stretch in Mexico at mid-elevations, from about November to February and early March, Taylor said. They feed on nectar, which converts into the fat the butterflies rely on to get through the season.

Once they make their way back north, it takes them 10 to 15 days to get to Texas and Oklahoma and other southern states and spend about six weeks laying their eggs, Taylor said. As the offspring are born in April and May, they migrate north and colonize the rest of the U.S. and southern Canada before the migration south begins during the first week of April.

During the most recent migration, as the monarchs moved south into Oklahoma and Texas, they faced drought, Taylor said. Once they got to Mexico, the drought that struck the region was so bad there was little nectar for the butterflies to feed on, Taylor said.

Insects all over the planet are facing a massive decline, Taylor said, adding that researchers are trying to figure out why.

Monarchs are especially an indicator species that could highlight overall environmental issues, Agrawal said.

“What makes monarchs so special is that they traverse Canada to Mexico, as, I like to say, tasting their way as they move,” he said. “And so, when their numbers are low, it suggests potentially that there are some threats.”

The biggest threats monarchs face are habitat loss and changes in weather patterns, Taylor said.

Warmer temperatures are having a negative effect on how monarch populations develop, Taylor said. In recent years, temperatures that remained “far too high” in September led to fewer monarchs being able to reach overwintering sites because it took too long for them to get there, Taylor said.

“There’s a lot of mortality during the winter, and then they have got an 800-mile trip to get back to the United States,” he said. “And that 800-mile trip, right now looks like it’s gonna be tough, because there’s a lot of drought.”

The warmer temperatures are also pushing monarchs further north, which could have implications on their current overwintering sites in Mexico in the future as well as the timing of the migration pattern, Agrawal said.

Despite the challenges, monarchs have historically displayed the capacity to deal with catastrophic mortality, the experts said. Monarchs have a good reproductive rate, presenting the possibility for them to bounce back, given the right conditions.

“Several bad years in a row means the demise of a species,” Agrawal said.

Monarchs are one of the more “charismatic” butterfly species because their abundance allows them to exist in playgrounds and backyards — places where people recreate, Agrawal said.

“It’s one of the reasons they’re so charismatic and have captured our imaginations as an icon of nature and of conservation,” he said.

Creating more habitat is the biggest priority in monarch conservation, the experts said. Individuals who want to help can plant a pollinator garden with milkweed and nectar plants native to the region to encourage the monarchs to feed along their annual migration route.

“Fewer monarchs hibernating in their traditional forest habitat in Mexico greatly concerns all of us,” said Jorge Rickards, general director of WWF Mexico, in a statement. “It’s critical that all communities, governments, non-governmental organizations, scientists, and others continue to strengthen our conservation and protection efforts to support the monarch’s unique migration.”

While monarch butterflies are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, its eligibility to be added as a protected species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act hangs in the balance.

In December 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the species as “warranted but precluded.” This decision made monarch butterflies a candidate for protection, but its listing will be delayed as the agency prioritizes other candidates.

Moving forward on the listing is necessary to maximize protection and restoration of habitat across the monarch’s range and to protect them from toxic pesticides, said Scott Black, the executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, in a statement.

Biden administration announces $5 billion commitment for research and development of computer chips

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration announced Friday that it expects to commit $5 billion in a public-private consortium for research and development of computer chips.

The White House said this would advance President Joe Biden’s goals of driving research and development in the United States, which include cutting down on the time and cost of commercializing new technologies.

The development comes as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are gearing up for the global chips competition through a new partnership that would tap into what they say is one of America’s greatest strengths: diversity

HBCU leaders and federal government officials convened on Thursday to support research and development in advanced computer chips and diversify the semiconductor industry.

“It’s a moment for everyone to get in the boat and row in the same direction,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in her remarks at the HBCU CHIPS Network event, adding “[It] may be the first time in the United States’ history we make sure that the people who get these jobs look like America.”

Sec. Raimondo said the semiconductor industry needs diversity if the country wants to out-compete China, Taiwan, and the rest of the world.

“I’m just here to say we need you,” Raimondo said to the auditorium of HBCU leaders.

During the network’s public kickoff in Washington, D.C., more than a dozen HBCUs joined White House and Commerce Department officials to discuss the Biden administration’s Chips and Science Act. The legislative victory became law in August 2022 and provides funds to support the domestic production of semiconductors. In addition, the law authorizes various programs and activities of the federal science agencies, according to the text.

The HBCU CHIPS Network, which is unaffiliated with commerce’ CHIPS for America under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), held its convening of stakeholders and institutions at commerce’s headquarters in D.C. The event sparked an opportunity for Black schools to pool their resources together with help from Georgia Tech University.

Chip production, according to Morgan State University’s Willie E. May, is an “existential issue” for America. He believes it’s time to include African Americans in this movement.

“The only way that we can succeed is to invest in our natural resources,” Mays said. “It’s the talent that resides in the Black community.”

HBCUs enroll nearly 10% of all Black undergraduates and promote the majority of Black engineers, and other scientific and technological professionals, according to United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. As a matter of national security, Tuskegee University Provost S. Keith Hargrove said the U.S. shouldn’t depend on one country or company. Therefore, he said the partnership is as important now more than ever.

Provost Hargrove told ABC News there are three major challenges facing the U.S., including national security risks since chips power our military weaponry, supply chain shortages of consumer products, and semiconductor workforce.

CHIPS for America Chief Opportunity and Inclusion Officer Kylie Patterson said her unit is dedicated to supporting underrepresented and overlooked individuals nationwide. This event led many of the country’s leaders in higher education to Washington so that they could engage with the federal branch.

“This is one of those moments where we can be super intentional about creating a table where everyone is at the table,” Patterson told ABC News.

CHIPS for America leads the execution of the department’s efforts to establish activities that engage “economically disadvantaged individuals,” as stated in provision 104 of the Chips and Science law. Georgia Tech values diversity of thought, according to the university’s Senior Director of Partnerships George White, who said his team reached out to the HBCUs to boost collaboration and help them with research.

“It’s not so much specifically with the HBCUs but it’s also the communities that those HBCUs serve,” he said, adding “as we start lifting those boats up, then it kind of gravitates to the community.”

This comes as federal government data found HBCUs have been underfunded for decades and higher education advocates previously told ABC News that it’s time to support these institutions with the resources they are owed. UNCF Senior Director of National STEM Programs and Initiatives said HBCUs have been behind since the start of the race.

“We have been, in some cases, intentionally debilitated by lack of funding and lack of support so it’s hard to compete,” UNCF’s Chad Womack told ABC News.

Neelam Azad is vice president for research at Hampton University. She said additional funding for research would help HBCUs build on their overall capacity.

“Build our infrastructure, build our capacity,” Azad said. “If our capacity, our capability, if our infrastructure is stronger, we can explore [more] things.”

“Freshly independent” Paramore to be 2024 Record Store Day ambassadors

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Paramore will be the ambassadors for Record Store Day 2024.

The news comes after the “Misery Business” outfit confirmed that they’d finished out their deal with their longtime label, Atlantic Records, which fans had theorized was the reason they wiped their social media profiles in December.

In a statement on Saturday, February 10, Paramore writes, “After a long career in the music industry we have decided to announce that… we are going to continue to have a long career in the music industry (sorry for any inconvenience).”

“Our first order of business as a freshly independent Paramore is to shine a light on independent record stores — a vital part of our journey from music obsessed school friends to professional music makers,” the band continues. “With that being said, we are humbled to be your Ambassadors for Record Store Day 2024. The timing feels kismet.”

Record Store Day 2024 will be held in independent record stores on April 20. The list of exclusive releases has yet to be announced.

Previous RSD ambassadors include Dave Grohl, Jack White, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, St. Vincent, Pearl Jam and Paramore pal Taylor Swift.

What to know about landmark AI regulations proposed in California

February 10, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(Sacramento, CA) — Sweeping advances in artificial intelligence have elicited warnings from industry leaders about the potential for grave risks, including weapon systems going rogue and massive cyberattacks.

A state legislator in California, home to many of the largest AI companies, proposed a landmark bill this week that would impose regulations to address those dangers.

The bill requires mandatory testing for wide-reaching AI products before they reach users. Every major AI model, the bill adds, should be equipped with a means for shutting the technology down if something goes wrong.

“When we’re talking about safety risks related to extreme hazards, it’s far preferable to put protections in place before those risks occur as opposed to trying to play catch up,” state Sen. Scott Wiener, the sponsor of the bill, told ABC News. “Let’s get ahead of this.”

Here’s what to know about what the bill does and how it could impact AI regulation nationwide:

What would the bill do to police the risks of AI?

The bill would heighten the scrutiny faced by large AI models before they gain wide option, ensuring that state officials test the products prior to their release.

In addition to mandating an emergency off-switch, the bill would implement hacking protections to make AI less vulnerable to bad actors.

To bolster enforcement, the measure would establish the Frontier Model Division within the California Department of Technology as a means of carrying out the regulations.

Since the legislation focuses on extreme risks, it will not apply to small-scale AI products, Wiener said.

“Our goal is to foster innovation with safety in mind,” Wiener added.

Even more, the bill would promote AI development by creating CalCompute, a publicly owned initiative that would facilitate shared computing power among businesses, researchers and community groups.

The effort would help lower the technical threshold for small firms or organizations that may lack the immense computing capacity enjoyed by large companies, Teri Olle, the director of nonprofit Economic Security California, told ABC News.

“By expanding that access, it will allow for there to be research and innovation and AI development that is aligned with the public interest,” said Olle, whose organization helped develop this feature of the bill.

Sarah Myers West, managing director of AI Now Institute, a nonprofit group that supports AI regulation, applauded the preventative approach taken by the measure.

“It’s great to see the focus on addressing and mitigating harms before they go into the market,” Myers West told ABC News.

However, she added, many current risks posed by AI remain unaddressed, including bias in algorithms used to set worker pay or grant access to healthcare.

“There are so many places where AI is already being used to affect people,” Myers West said.

For his part, Wiener said the California legislature has taken up other bills to address some of the ongoing harms caused by AI. “We’re not going to solve every problem in one bill,” Wiener added.

How could the bill impact AI legislation nationwide?

The California measure on extreme AI risk comes amid a surge of AI-related bills in statehouses nationwide.

As of September, state legislatures had introduced 191 AI-related bills in 2023, amounting to a 440% increase over the full previous year, according to BSA the Software Alliance, an industry group.

Legislation proposed in California carries special weight, however, since many of the largest AI companies are based in the state, said Olle, of Economic Security California.

“Regulations in California set the standard,” Olle said. “In complying with these standards in California, you affect the market.”

Despite recent policy discussion and hearings, Congress has achieved little progress toward a comprehensive measure to address AI risks, Myers West said.

“Congress has been kind of stuck,” Myers West added. “That does mean there’s a really important role for the states.”

Dylan Hoffman, executive director for California and the Southwest at industry lobbying group TechNet, emphasized the importance of U.S.-based AI regulation that shapes global rules surrounding the technology.

“America must set the standards for the responsible development and deployment of AI for the world,” Hoffman told ABC News in a statement. “We look forward to reviewing the legislation and working with Senator Wiener to ensure any AI policies benefit all Californians, address any risks, and strengthen our global competitiveness.”

While crafting the bill, Wiener borrowed some concepts from an executive order issued by President Joe Biden in October, such as the threshold used to determine whether an AI model reaches a large enough scale to warrant regulation, Wiener said.

Still, Wiener said he remains skeptical of the likelihood for federal legislation that would mimic the approach taken by the California bill.

“I would love for Congress to pass a strong, pro-innovation pro-safety AI law,” Wiener added. “I don’t have extreme confidence that Congress will be able to do anything in the near future. I hope they prove me wrong.”

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