Latest news with #DinahVoylesPulver
USA Today
22-05-2025
- General
- USA Today
Endangered right whale gal pals Curlew and Koala spotted in Canada
Endangered right whale gal pals Curlew and Koala spotted in Canada Show Caption Hide Caption Two right whales take rogue winter trip across the Gulf coast Two female right whales traveled across the U.S. Gulf coast during the winter which is rare for the endangered whales, according to researchers. A pair of endangered right whales that made several surprise appearances off Florida's west coast this winter have returned to their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic. "After taking a nice little Spring Break trip in the tropics, the pair was seen a few days ago," said Erin Vande Ven, a senior communications manager with Oceana, an ocean conservation advocacy group. The gal pals, named Curlew and Koala, were seen on May 15 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence north of Canada's Prince Edward Island, Canadian officials said during an international right whale team meeting on Wednesday, Vande Ven said. The pair was spotted by an aircraft with the Conservation and Protection Program within Fisheries and Oceans Canada, according to interactive maps published by the U.S. and Canada. On maps, it appears they traveled a distance of roughly 2,700 miles since they were seen off St. Petersburg 34 days earlier, on April 11. That's an average of about 3.3 mph. Curlew and Koala spent almost three months off Florida's west coast, swimming north and south from near St. Petersburg to beaches along the western Panhandle a couple of times. Whale advocates worried the wayward whales might linger too long in the much warmer Gulf of America, formerly called the Gulf of Mexico. However, after Koala and Curlew were seen on April 11, they were next seen four days later off Bimini in the Bahamas. No known sightings were reported until the pair was spotted on May 15. A portion of the endangered right whale population migrates south to the waters of the U.S. Southeastern coast each winter, including pregnant females, juvenile whales and random male and female adult whales from the waters off New England and Nova Scotia. They navigate through busy shipping lanes and fishing grounds. It's uncommon for any of those whales to keep swimming south and around the Florida Keys. Right whales are identified by individual markings on their heads and bodies, with extensive photo catalogues managed by the New England Aquarium. Because they are critically endangered, with only an estimated 372 remaining, they are monitored by both the U.S. and Canadian governments, with a variety of agencies and nonprofits participating in efforts to conduct whale surveys and sighting networks. During the most recent calving season, 11 mother calf pairs were spotted in the waters between Florida and New England, far below the number officials say is needed to sustain the population. Scientists with Oceana and governmental and conservation organizations say the whales also face dangers from entanglement in commercial crabbing and fishing gear and vessel strikes. Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate change, wildlife and the environment for USA TODAY. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
USA Today
05-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Reopen The Rock? Trump's idea for Alcatraz has been tried before.
Reopen The Rock? Trump's idea for Alcatraz has been tried before. Dinah Voyles Pulver Show Caption Hide Caption Trump says he doesn't know if he must uphold Constitution President Trump said, "I don't know," when asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if he must uphold the Constitution to execute his deportation strategy. For those who've seen any of the dozens of movies featuring Alcatraz over the years, just hearing the word conjures images of the 22-acre island in San Francisco Bay and its notorious former prison, closed down more than 60 years ago. Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage teamed up on there in the 1996 movie The Rock. It was also seen in 1969's "Escape From Alcatraz," with Clint Eastwood and was portrayed in the final battle scenes in X Men: Last Stand in 2006. So when President Donald Trump dropped the words "REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ" in a Truth Social post just before 7 p.m. on May 4, it quickly gathered interest. It's not the first time the idea has been floated to use the aging facilities to house detained immigrants. "It's a symbol of law and order," Trump said in response to a question from Reuters' reporter Steve Holland on Sunday night about what gave him the idea. "It's an idea I had," Trump told reporters in remarks later in the evening. "So many of these radicalized judges, they want to have trials for…every single person that's in our country illegally." "When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm," Trump said in the Truth Social post. "No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets. That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders." At the moment Alcatraz is a very popular national historic destination, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It attracts $60 million in revenue for park partners and attracts 1.6 million visitors a year, according to the National Park Service. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1986. Has Alcatraz been considered for reuse before? When the maximum security prison was closed by then Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1963, the Federal Bureau of Prisons stated it was too expensive to continue operating, because it needed $3 million to $5 million in restoration and maintenance. The bureau reported it was three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison, primarily because of its physical isolation and lack of fresh water. In 1981, Alcatraz Island was one of 14 sites evaluated as the Reagan Administration searched for a location to hold 10,000 to 20,000 Cuban detainees during the Mariel Boatlift. However the site was rejected because of its lack of utilities, historic nature and popularity as a tourist destination. Even at its maximum capacity, Alcatraz would only have held 336 inmates, but its population never reached more than about 300, according to research in a 1994 paper published by the Oxford University Press. This isn't the first time this year that Alcatraz has come up among the Trump family. The president's son, Donald Trump Jr. said on X in January, responding to a post about sending criminal undocumented immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: "Maybe we should also reopen Alcatraz?" What to know about Alcatraz Island's history: One national parks website refers to Alcatraz as "the grimmest symbol in North America of the hand of justice." It once served as a place where the Indigenous Ohlone and Coast Miwok tribes would isolate people who broke tribal law. In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Alaya is said to have name it 'Isla de los Alcatraces,' which translates to Island of the Pelicans. It was the sight of the first lighthouse on the West Coast and became the first navigational lamp on the west coast in 1854, and was the home of a military fort during the California gold rush. It began holding prisoners during the Civil War, and eventually opened as a maximum security prison in 1934. It gained notoriety because its prisoners included infamous criminals such as Al Capone and "Machine Gun" Kelly. It was noted for holding "incorrigibles" for punishment and incarceration, including those who had been a management problem in other prisons, according to histories from the National Park Service and the Bureau of Prisons. Did anyone ever really escape from Alcatraz? Over 29 years, 36 men tried to escape. The outcome of three men who escaped in 1962 remains a mystery, according to the FBI. Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin hatched an escape plan over months, including creating dummy heads made of plaster and real hair to make it appear they were in their beds. They used a homemade drill made from a vacuum cleaner to loosen air vents in their cells, then left the prison through a utility corridor and launched a raft into the bay. That's where the trail went cold, and during a 17-year investigation, the FBI was never able to determine if the men had survived, or not. Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, has covered the environment, climate change and other news for decades. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
An 'omega block' in atmosphere to bring chaotic weather for millions in US
An 'omega block' in atmosphere to bring chaotic weather for millions in US An "omega block" in the atmosphere will enhance the chances for stormy weather and big shifts in temperature over parts of the United States. Show Caption Hide Caption National Weather Service stretched thin after cuts, layoffs The National Weather Service is feeling the effects of budget cuts as funding freezes and layoffs stretch the agency thin. It can't be seen with the naked eye, but a curious weather pattern in the upper level atmosphere above the continental United States is forecast to generate unsettled weather and some big temperature contrasts into the weekend. An "omega block" is expected to form from California eastward into the Ohio Valley, the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center said on May 2. The blocking pattern is so named because its shape resembles the Greek letter omega. The unsettled weather will begin with a swath of heavy rain, flooding and potentially severe weather from the Southern Plains into the Ohio Valley on May 2, stretching from Texas into southern Pennsylvania. The greatest risk will exist from southern and eastern Texas into Kentucky and the weather service has posted flooding advisories across southern Oklahoma. A boundary of moist air along the cold front is forecast to stall in some areas, bringing repeated rounds of rain and storms, with a slight risk of excessive rainfall over portions of the lower Mississippi River Valley and parts of Texas, Arkansas and the southern Plains, the weather prediction center said. Several rivers that have been flooded in Northern Texas could see a slight bump in water levels over the weekend, according to the National Water Prediction Service. Fortunately for those along the Mississippi River, water levels are forecast to continue dropping despite the predicted rain. The front will make some progress south and eastward into Saturday, bringing shower and thunderstorm chances to the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Appalachians, and Southeast, the weather service said, where moderate to locally heavy rainfall is expected with some additional isolated instances of flash flooding possible. As the pattern amplifies over the weekend, stretching from west to east, It's expected to bring big contrasts in high and low temperatures. Parts of the Great Lakes and Midwest may experience cool temperatures well below average, down into the 50s and 60s. Next week will be a farewell to this recent summer preview in the eastern United States, thanks to a weather pattern known as a cut-off low. That's a large area of low pressure that gets "cut off" from the main jet stream and just sits and spins for days. It's forecast to bring a spell of cooler, damper weather to a region that's in desperate need of rain. Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, covers climate change, weather, the environment and other news. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
USA Today
24-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Zelenskyy says he would step down if Ukraine can join NATO
Zelenskyy says he would step down if Ukraine can join NATO | The Excerpt On Monday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he would step down if Ukraine can join NATO, while blasting President Donald Trump's mineral pitch. USA TODAY National Correspondent Dinah Voyles Pulver takes a look at some of the impact from USAID domestically. Pope Francis attended Mass Sunday but remains in critical condition. USA TODAY Money Reporter Bailey Schulz examines why we're seeing more generations living together under one roof. 'Conclave' wins big at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here Taylor Wilson: Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Monday, February 24th, 2025. This is The Excerpt. Today, Ukraine's leader makes some stark comments about his future, also, the many parts of life impacted by USAID domestically, and we take a look at the rise of multigenerational housing. ♦ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would be willing to step down if Ukraine were granted membership in NATO. He said in Ukrainian at a news conference that if it means peace for Ukraine, he's ready to leave his post. Still, NATO membership for Ukraine looks increasingly out of reach in recent days. After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said NATO membership was not realistic for negotiated settlement to the war, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and dispatched a team to negotiate with Russian counterparts and Saudi Arabia last week without any input from Ukraine or its European allies. Zelenskyy also had harsh words for a deal proposed by the Trump administration to gain control of the country's mineral reserves in exchange for continued US support. He said the proposed deal would require Ukraine to pay back aid it was given to defend against Russia's attacks, a term he would never accept. ♦ President Donald Trump's administration said, yesterday, it was placing all personnel at the Foreign Assistance Agency USAID except leaders and critical staff on paid administrative leave and eliminating 1,600 positions in the United States. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has led an effort to gut the US Agency for International Development, the main delivery mechanism for American foreign assistance and a critical tool of US soft power for winning influence abroad. While some Americans have criticized USAID money as government bloat, others say President Donald Trump's recent moves are bad for business and national security. I spoke with USA TODAY National Correspondent Dinah Voyles Pulver for more. Hello, Dinah. Dinah Voyles Pulver: Hello there. Taylor Wilson: You outlined some of the potential impacts here, Dinah, domestically, on some of the US interests that folks maybe weren't thinking about as part of this conversation over the last few weeks. You bring up the example of coffee beans in this piece. How has USAID been involved in this trade, and how do these trade relationships potentially benefit the US? Dinah Voyles Pulver: It was fascinating to me to learn that coffee has been a part of USAID. The agency has spent money to help coffee farmers to help make the production of coffee beans more sustainable and more resilient for some countries to develop coffee beans and to develop their production of coffee because coffee's in big demand, you know. Well, there are a lot of coffee drinkers who take their coffee imports pretty seriously. So USAID is invested, and they've spent money in Indonesia, Peru, Honduras, Ethiopia, to name a few, where they've been working on developing coffee production. What the international experts tell us is that when USAID spends money to help farmers in foreign countries, they're developing goodwill. This goodwill matters to the US when it comes to situations like a name-brand hotel in the US to want to open up its business in that country and develop hotels. Or if the US, for example, is looking to purchase critical minerals or some other product from a country, they're in competition with other countries who also want these same items. So if the US has built up a relationship with these countries through our foreign assistance, whether it's food, water, or developing things like coffee crops, they believe that those countries will look more favorably on the US, and it would help to create and establish these trade relations that can benefit us in myriad ways, including national security. Taylor Wilson: You also bring up potential impacts on domestic shipping and farming. Can you talk through some of those concerns, Dinah? Dinah Voyles Pulver: Whenever the freeze was put into place, there were already ships laden with US food commodities that were on their way to these foreign countries around the globe because there are agreements in place that USAID is required to help US farmers distribute a certain percentage of their products overseas. The shipping aspect of it is interesting because the US Maritime Administration is involved with USAID in ensuring that a certain percentage of all the products that are purchased by USAID are shipped on US vessels because they want to make sure that the US shipping fleet remains viable and productive, so that US goods can be shipped on these US-flagged vessels, and so that the US doesn't have to depend on other foreign countries for shipping its products. Taylor Wilson: When USAID has played a vital role around the world when it comes to the spread of viral disease outbreaks. How so, Dinah? Dinah Voyles Pulver: Cooperating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they monitor outbreaks such as the monkeypox or the Ebola outbreaks that are ongoing right now in Africa. They help monitor those, and they try to treat those to try to prevent the spread from coming to the US. The USAID has also been involved in the development of vaccines. Taylor Wilson: What have past audits actually revealed, and why do Trump and allies really argue for this kind of slashing to USAID? Dinah Voyles Pulver: They've passed the audits. But in the past, they've had suggestions from their own inspector general's office and from the governmental accounting office for accounting practices that they could improve, better ways that they could monitor the spending and keep track of the spending, which is obviously difficult and complicated when they're spending money around the globe. But there've been a number of suggestions about how they could do that better. Part of President Trump's entire campaign premise was to eliminate fraud, waste in government and to downsize bureaucracy. So some of the things that they are seeing with USAID fit in exactly with the kind of things that President Trump had vowed to cut back or to restrict. They went through a lot of the expenditures from USAID and found expenses that involved spreading diversity, equity, and inclusive issues internationally. Also, there were some conversations related to climate change and helping other countries with climate resilience. Some of those programs have come under target from the administration because they have questioned whether they're wasteful. There are questions that the administration has raised about where those expenses were going, and the international experts that we talked to agreed that it is the president's obligation to look for fraud and waste and to try to reduce that in any government agency, not just USAID, but the international experts also said that it would seem to be better to do that on a case-by-case basis rather than issuing a wide sweeping freeze on spending across the board. Taylor Wilson: This was a great, and I think, necessary step-back piece in this moment. Dinah Voyles Pulver is a national correspondent covering the climate and environment for USA TODAY. Thank you, Dinah. Dinah Voyles Pulver: Thank you. ♦ Taylor Wilson: In an update on Pope Francis and his health, the Vatican said earlier today that Francis had a good night in hospital. The 88-year-old remains in critical condition battling double pneumonia. He's also had blood tests that revealed mild kidney issues described as under control. Yesterday, he reportedly attended mass while in the hospital. The Pope has suffered various health issues over the past two years, and he's particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed. ♦ Young adults are driving a major uptick in US households with multiple adult generations living under one roof. I caught up with USA TODAY money reporter Bailey Schulz to learn more. Hey there, Bailey. Bailey Schulz: Hi. Thanks for having me. Taylor Wilson: Thanks for hopping on. So let's just start with this. I mean, tell us about this rise we're seeing in multigenerational housing, and really, why is this happening? Why is multigenerational living on the rise? Bailey Schulz: The definition of multigenerational housing isn't always the same. You'll see some reports saying it's two different generations of adults. Some have three generations under one roof, but either way, it looks like we are seeing numbers for multigenerational households ticking up in the United States. These surveys over and over and these reports over and over kind of point to financial issues and sort of housing costs affecting younger adults as one of the main drivers behind this trend. So there was a 2023 paper from Morton that found nearly half of adults between 18 and 29 lived with their parents, and that's up from about 25% in 1960. So that research really point to housing costs as the main driver behind this. We're seeing another paper from Pew points to financial issues, caregiving, and then the rise in diversity also playing factors in this. But as far as this trend, we're seeing this a lot with these younger Americans, but we're seeing this across age groups as well, where data from Pew found that between 1971, 2021, the percentage of Americans in this sort of multi-generational household went from 7% to 18%, and we're seeing spikes in that data with 25- to 34-year-olds, 35- to 64-year-olds, and then those 65 and older. Taylor Wilson: Bailey, you mentioned an increase in diversity. I want to just circle back to that point for a second. What do you mean by that? Why is that playing a role here? Bailey Schulz: What Pew report is that Asian, Hispanic, Black populations tend to be more likely than White populations to live with a sort of extended family. So based on their reports, as those sort of populations have grown in the United States, so to have these multi-generational living trends. Taylor Wilson: Interesting. So Bailey, what are some of the benefits you're really hearing about from some of the folks you spoke with in these living arrangements? Bailey Schulz: I just heard over and over two things, really. One is financial. Of course, that is a reason that's driving striving so many of these family members together. It's something that can help people deal with high-cost-of-living area with high housing and rent prices. But in addition to that, there's also the sort of emotional relationship side of things where with the people I spoke to who live in these sort of households, they talked about stronger family bonds. I spoke to older Americans who are living with millennials, for example, and they were talking about how they've just been able to learn from these younger generations and how this trend is something that has really helped with the sort of loneliness epidemic in the United States. One advocate I spoke to said that there are surveys that indicate that financial issues often prompt families to start living in multigenerational housing, but the majority of these surveys said that they plan to continue the sort of living. So she told me that that sort of indicates that people are finding that this is a way of living that has benefits and that this is working for them. Taylor Wilson: All right. So have you heard anything in terms of drawbacks for this piece, Bailey? Bailey Schulz: Even the people who are advocating for multigenerational living are very upfront about the fact that the things that are drawing families together, those high housing costs, nursing home costs, financial issues, those things I was talking about earlier, those aren't necessarily things to celebrate, and also the fact that this isn't something that is going to work for everyone or every family. There was one survey that found 75% of those living in a multigenerational home said it caused stress among the family. But we're also seeing that same report show that 76%, so about the same amount of people say that the arrangement has also had a positive impact on their mental or physical health. Taylor Wilson: Okay. So this is obviously not super uncommon in other parts of the world, but how does American society, Bailey, really view this trend? Bailey Schulz: So I think you do see a stigma against anything that's not that sort of nuclear family structure that has become really popular in the United States in the past century. That's especially if you're looking at the younger Americans who are moving back in with parents for some of those financial issues. We see from Pew in 2022, they found that a third of Americans say that more young adults living with their parents is "bad for society." Another survey from Edelman found that while 42% of parents provide financial support for their adult children, last year, 78% said that children should be living on their own by age 25. Taylor Wilson: So just trying to kind of read between the lines, taking a look at the trend data and some of the conversations you've had, Bailey, I mean, do we expect this to kind of keep moving in this direction? Bailey Schulz: Well, I spoke to experts and people who have studied this. There are a lot of people who think that this is a trend that will continue. But because so much of this is tied to those financial issues that we talked about, housing costs, elder care costs, I think a lot of where this trend goes will depend on how the economy shapes up in the coming years. Taylor Wilson: All right. Bailey Schulz covers money for USA TODAY. Thank you, Bailey. Bailey Schulz: Yeah, thank you. ♦ Taylor Wilson: Hollywood's brightest stars made a final sprint to the Oscars last night. The Screen Actors Guild Awards marked the last major awards show before next week's Academy Awards. Pope thriller Conclave made off with the evening's top trophy for outstanding cast while Zoe Saldana for Emilia Pérez and Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain continued their month-long sweeps in acting categories. You can check out all the big winners and more coverage from our entertainment team on ahead of the Oscars on Sunday. ♦ Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA TODAY.
USA Today
13-02-2025
- Science
- USA Today
Tackling technology to track wildlife in a changing world
As warming temperatures change climate conditions, making summers longer and winters shorter, scientists are anxious to know how that's affecting wildlife. Two stories this week highlight how technology is helping researchers learn more about how animals move. Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and the environment. I'm Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent with USA TODAY, and it's always fun to learn something interesting about animals.
