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Miami Herald
10 hours ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Striped predators make rare appearances — and bring hope for the species
The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All linked stories were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists. In the forests of Asia between the trees, one of the world's largest cats uses its vertical stripes to blend in. Tigers are effective hunters and apex predators, but their populations have been pushed to the brink across their native lands. 'Tiger range has declined by a staggering 92%, with wild tigers living in only a fraction of the space they used to occupy,' the World Wildlife Fund told McClatchy News in an email. Global Tiger Day is celebrated on July 29, according to the WWF, and marks an opportunity to recognize tiger population successes and learning moments from around the world. Take a look at some recent rare sightings and news from captive breeding programs. In Kui Buri National Park, Thailand, a trail camera captured a rare sighting of an adult tiger, marking the park's first such sighting in over a decade. This exciting discovery, attributed to ongoing conservation efforts, has raised hopes for the return of tigers to the area. The park is in southern Thailand, near the border with Myanmar. | Published Jan. 6 | Read More | In Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand, a Bengal tiger mother and her three cubs were unexpectedly spotted on trail cameras. This is the first time a tiger has been recorded raising three cubs in the park, which is home to a small breeding population of Bengal tigers. The park is the largest national park in Thailand, located between the Gulf of Thailand and the eastern border of Myanmar. | Published Feb. 4 | Read More | In the Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand, a female tiger known as F22, who had been elusive for years, was spotted on trail cameras with her two cubs. This sighting, which occurred in February, indicates the success of conservation efforts in the area, as the mother and cubs appeared strong and healthy. The sanctuary, near the border with Myanmar, is home to a diverse array of wildlife, suggesting a thriving ecosystem. | Published April 1 | Read More | In the Hala-Bala forest of Thailand's Bang Lang National Park, a camera trap captured images of the critically endangered Malayan tiger, along with other elusive species. This sighting highlights the forest's rich biodiversity and its ability to support various species. The Malayan tiger is found only on the Malaysian peninsula and Thailand's southern forests. | Published May 9 | Read More | At Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in India, two abandoned tiger cubs were discovered, but only one remained when the team arrived. Trail camera footage later confirmed that the mother returned to retrieve the cub, showcasing a successful case of wildlife conservation. The park is in eastern India near the disputed region of Arunachal Pradesh. | Published May 20 | Read More | McClatchy News continues to follow rare animals, new behaviors and even new species. Check back for the latest stories.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
Shelter worker sexually abusing girl was rehired, lawsuit says, & 5 more cases
The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists. Thousands of legal cases reach U.S. courts every year. From accusations of mistreatment in prisons to fraud to sexual abuse and beyond, here are some of the latest from across the country. Teacher preyed on 20 girls, 'fantasized' about sex acts with MA student, feds say In Boston, federal prosecutors say John Magee Gavin, a former teacher, engaged in sexual conversations with underage girls over Discord. He contacted at least 20 minors from various states and had child sexual abuse material on his phone, according to prosecutors. Gavin faces charges including coercion and enticement of a minor and has pleaded not guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. | Published July 21 | Read More ICE 'abducted' 22-year-old student seeking medical help in Virginia, group says Cristian Romo-Bermejo, a student in Virginia, was taken into ICE custody after seeking medical help during a mental health crisis, according to an immigrant advocacy group, CASA. The organization says Romo-Bermejo, who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years after being brought from Mexico as a toddler, was arrested and is now facing the risk of deportation. His wife and supporters are advocating for his release. | Published July 22 | Read More Dad restrained by cops died after saying he couldn't breathe in AL, lawyers say In Irondale, Alabama, Phillip Reeder died after being restrained by police during a mental health crisis, according to his family's lawyers. The attorneys say an officer kept a knee on Reeder's neck despite his pleas that he couldn't breathe. Reeder's death has been ruled a homicide by the coroner, according to the attorneys. | Published July 22 | Read More 'You're dead.' Man faces prison over threats to Palestinian group in DC, feds say Kevin Brent Buchanan from Utah pleaded guilty to making threats against a Palestinian rights organization in Washington, D.C., federal prosecutors say. Buchanan left violent voicemails threatening the group's staff and now faces up to five years in prison, according to prosecutors. He admitted to targeting the group because of their advocacy for Palestinians, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. | Published July 23 | Read More Shelter worker sexually abusing 13-year-old was fired, re-hired, GA lawsuit says In Georgia, a lawsuit says a youth shelter employee, Caleb Xavier Randolph, sexually abused a 13-year-old girl, with the shelter's leadership allegedly covering up the abuse. The lawsuit says Randolph was fired, then rehired and continued the abuse. The girl's mother is suing multiple parties, including the shelter and local officials, under Georgia's RICO Act, according to the lawsuit. | Published July 24 | Read More William James Purdy, a former Mormon missionary from West Valley, Utah, is accused of sexually abusing 14 boys in Tonga. Federal prosecutors say Purdy fled Tonga as a fugitive in March 2023 and was later arrested in Pittsburgh, where he was attending law school. He faces charges of sexual exploitation of children and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact, according to the Justice Department. | Published July 25 | Read More McClatchy News continues to follow lawsuits and legal cases from around the country. Check back for more legal stories.
Miami Herald
22-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Epstein files: Is it about justice for victims, or just politics
Editor's note: Welcome to Double Take, a regular conversation from opinion writers Melinda Henneberger and David Mastio tackling news with differing perspectives. MELINDA: What infuriates me about Jeffrey Epstein has little to do with Donald Trump, MAGA or politics of any kind. The tragedy of Epstein and his fancy friends, whoever they were, is what they did to those girls, period. That is why it chaps me when people say oh, they're so bored with this whole thing. You know who is not bored, because their lives were stolen before they really even got started? His victims, some of whom were as young as 14. We would know nothing about any of this without our brave McClatchy reporting colleague Julie K. Brown of The Miami Herald. And what she just said on a New York Times podcast with Ross Douthat that I highly recommend is that 'these girls' lives were essentially ruined, even if they had only gone to his house one time.' So no, the ennui is not killing me the way it is some of you who keep telling us how over it you all are even as you also keep writing about it as if it were some joke. (Hey, let's do Gérard Depardieu next!) It is not, as you wrote in comparing it to a 'Seinfeld' episode, 'a scandal about nothing.' Now you can tell me how you didn't mean it that way. DAVID: I'll give you two examples of what I mean by nothing. First there is The Sunday New York Times magazine story with the headline 'An accuser's story.' First the accuser was in her 20s at the time of the wrongdoing she complained of, not 14. Until the time the last man dies, men are going to chase young women in their 20s. It is not a crime and we shouldn't make it one. This isn't even up to the standards of having oral sex with your intern in the Oval Office bathroom. MELINDA: This is not about older men 'chasing' younger women. The story you reference begins this way: 'It was the summer of 1996 when Maria Farmer went to law enforcement to complain about Jeffrey Epstein. At the time, she said, she had been sexually assaulted by Mr. Epstein and his longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. Ms. Farmer, then in her mid-20s, had also learned about a troubling encounter that her younger sister — then a teenager — had endured at Mr. Epstein's ranch in New Mexico. And she described facing threats from Mr. Epstein.' These events, as described, absolutely are crimes. And why are you euphemizing what we know happened? This is a man who, according to Brown, molested hundreds of girls. DAVID: That same accuser's story includes this 'to be sure' paragraph about what is in the Epstein files: 'The story of Ms. Farmer's efforts to call law enforcement attention to Mr. Epstein and his circle shows how the case files could contain material that is embarrassing or politically problematic to Mr. Trump, even if it is largely extraneous to Mr. Epstein's crimes and was never fully investigated or corroborated.' That seems to me to be a long-winded way of saying there is going to be a lot of nothing in the Epstein files. MELINDA: You glean from this that there is nothing worth knowing in the files? Again, Brown is the expert, and here's what she wrote in The Miami Herald months ago: 'Sources also said that the files are voluminous. There are 22 files containing over 500 pages in the FBI vault, a portal on the FBI's website accessible to the public. The bulk of those 11,000-plus pages are heavily redacted, and Justice Department prosecutors have fought their release for years. … One critical source of evidence against Epstein was in the discovery for a Florida civil case brought by Epstein's victims against the FBI in 2008. That case spanned a decade and included tens of thousands of pages of material that sheds light on how federal prosecutors mishandled that early case. Not all the FBI documents connected to that case — or the federal criminal case — in Florida have been made public.' DAVID: When Trump goes down in flames, it will not be because of allegations that may or may not be true and haven't been investigated. If the Wall Street Journal story from last week at the center of Trump's new lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch is an example of the kind of revelations about Trump that we can expect, then, yeah, I stand by my description of it as nothing. A naughty picture? Seriously? So what else did Julie Brown have to say to Ross Douthat? MELINDA: You are looking at this primarily as a story about Trump, but I am not. And no one should ever go down in flames — especially hard on straw men, I think — based on uninvestigated allegations. What I say is, finish the investigation and find out who else was responsible. Douthat asked Brown, 'Do you think it was just Epstein?' 'No, it wasn't,' she said. 'Because over the years a lot of women have come forward. … These women are scared to death.' Another question from Douthat: 'So, from your perspective, then, it is likely that there are some set of men in the world who move through Epstein's mansion — Epstein's island and so on — who are guilty of essentially having girls trafficked to them and in part, having sex with minors.' Here's her answer: 'That's correct.' DAVID: That sure would be a scandal, but it would be Epstein's scandal and he's dead. Anything going forward from here is going to have to be about Trump. And to get excited about what is supposedly in there, you have to believe that the Obama administration didn't leak it to save Hillary Clinton in 2016 and the Biden administration didn't release it in 2024 to save Kamala Harris. Not likely in my view. MELINDA: Why does it have to be about Trump? Stop looking at this as a political story for a minute and you might see what I see. Which is a man who damaged who knows how many lives. He died in jail because the judge denied bond, and the judge denied bond because Epstein's victims feared for their safety. Brown says they are still afraid now, and why would that be, if their only abuser is dead? I do not know the answer, but I want to. How about 'getting excited' — argh — about what more can be known just to see justice done? Run it all down and then we'll be done. No, I do not think the Democratic Party is run by pedophiles. And no, I never understood why one wing of MAGA was ever counting on someone who had a long friendship with Epstein and many allegations of sexual misconduct going back decades to be the man who was going to break up the party. But that doesn't mean Trump is implicated, either. I just want justice for those girls, even if the one you read about was in her 20s. Of course this story reminds me of one I covered for years, about former Kansas City, Kansas, detective Roger Golubski, who like Epstein was charged by the feds with sex trafficking. Golubski, too, acted with impunity for decades and then, on the morning he was supposed to show up for the first day of jury selection in his first federal trial, killed himself instead. No way did he act alone, either. I thought of him as a down-market Epstein a long time before the two of them chose the same way out. Two predators, two cowards, zero 'glee' from me. DAVID: Justice is a rare and delicate thing among us tragically flawed humans. It is nice when we can get it, but expecting it in this life is the road to disappointment. The main culprit died in jail. His main helper is in jail, too. That's pretty good for our flawed system. Often when we pursue perfect justice, what we get is worse. I don't think releasing a bunch of unvetted allegations gets us closer to justice especially if we protect the identities of those making the allegations as many of the efforts to release the Epstein files propose. Being able to face your accuser is among the things we've learned is necessary to get justice. It is time to let God judge Epstein as he will all those who preyed on young women with him. We need to let it go.
Miami Herald
21-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Feds say woman faked immigration kidnapping in Los Angeles & 5 more legal cases
The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists. Thousands of legal cases reach U.S. courts every year. From accusations of mistreatment in prisons to fraud to sexual abuse and beyond, here are some of the latest from across the country. Fake tutor tries to meet child for sex acts, feds say. Florida cops were waiting In Florida, Kevin Patrick Wilson, 39, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being accused of attempting to meet a 12-year-old girl for sex acts, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida. Court documents say Wilson posed as a tutor in a Facebook group and communicated with an undercover detective posing as the girl's guardian. The sting operation led to his arrest on July 24, 2024,according to federal prosecutors. | Published July 15 | Read More Off-duty deputy threatens crypto businessman's rival inside CA mansion, feds say In California, two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were charged with civil rights violations in connection with their work as private security for a cryptocurrency businessman, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Christopher Michael Cadman and another deputy were accused of intimidating a rival of the businessman, leading to a $25,000 transfer, federal prosecutors say. Cadman agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy against rights and a tax offense on July 14. | Published July 16 | Read More 'I'm gonna go postal.' Mail carrier purposely hits USPS vehicle in VA, feds say In Virginia, Lolita Brickhouse, 31, pleaded guilty to causing over $42,000 in damage after federal prosecutors say she purposely crashed into a USPS vehicle. The incident occurred after Brickhouse accused her co-workers of stealing her phone, leading to a violent outburst, court filings say. Brickhouse faces up to 10 years in prison for destruction of government property, according to prosecutors. | Published July 16 | Read More 21-year-old Army soldier hacks databases, threatens to leak stolen data, feds say Cameron John Wagenius, a former U.S. Army soldier, pleaded guilty to hacking and extortion charges after he was accused of accessing data from telecommunications companies, federal prosecutors say. Wagenius and his conspirators attempted to extort $1,000,000 and sold stolen data, according to court documents. He faces prison time, with sentencing scheduled for October, prosecutors say. | Published July 17 | Read More Woman fakes immigration kidnapping, then is found at CA shopping plaza, feds say Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, is accused of faking herimmigration kidnapping from downtown Los Angeles to solicit donations, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors say Calderon and her family falsely claimed she was abducted by masked men, but she was later found at a shopping plaza. Calderon is charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers. | Published July 18 | Read More Woman in crisis was stripped, strapped to chair at Florida ICE center, suit says A federal lawsuit in Florida says a woman was mistreated at an ICE facility, where guards stripped her and strapped her to a chair during a mental health crisis. The woman, a human trafficking survivor, was exposed and mocked by officers, according to the complaint. The lawsuit seeks damages and calls for the closure of the detention center. | Published July 18 | Read More McClatchy News continues to follow lawsuits and legal cases from around the country. Check back for more legal stories.
Miami Herald
15-07-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Discoveries from the Arctic — ancient finds, disappearing islands amid ice melt
The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All linked stories were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists. July 15 marks World Arctic Sea Ice Day, a campaign organized by Polar Bears International to raise awareness about the rapid loss of sea ice on our planet's northern cap. The Arctic is warming at a rate four times that of the rest of the planet, the organization says, leading to monumental losses of sea ice that can harm not only the ecosystem, but also the animals that call the region home. Just like soil in a forest, sea ice acts as the base of the frozen food chain, providing a place for algae to grow which is eaten by Arctic cod, who then in turn are eaten by predators like polar bears, according to Polar Bears International. Melting ice is causing changes to the shoreline, animal behavior and even leading to new archaeological discoveries as centuries-old artifacts are revealed for the first time. Take a look at some recent discoveries made in the frosty landscape, and how that landscape is changing: Melting ice and observant park ranger lead to 1,500-year-old hunting tool in Norway In Breheimen National Park, Norway, melting ice and a vigilant park ranger led to the discovery of a 1,500-year-old 'scaring stick,' used by ancient hunters to trap reindeer. This artifact, made from a young birch tree, was found flattened against rocks due to the pressure of snow and ice. The Secrets of the Ice team plans to explore more sites for similar discoveries. | Published Aug. 28 | Read More | Melting ice reveals centuries-old fabric items still 'beautifully preserved.' See them Archaeologists at Lendbreen glacier in southern Norway uncovered a beautifully preserved piece of textile likely from the medieval period or Viking age. The site also revealed other artifacts, including a leather or hide object and well-preserved Iron Age arrows. | Published Sept. 10 | Read More | Arctic explorers vanished in 1845. Now, cannibalized body of crew member identified Captain James Fitzjames, who vanished with his crew during the Franklin Northwest Passage expedition in 1845, has been identified through DNA analysis on King William Island, Nunavut, Canada. The discovery of Fitzjames' remains, marked by signs of cannibalism, sheds light on the desperate measures taken by the crew. | Published Sept. 30 | Read More | Schoolchildren check satellite images for island in Russia — then find it's missing In the Arctic Ocean, schoolchildren participating in a Russian program discovered that Mesyatsev Island had vanished due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion. The island, which had shrunk significantly over the years, was completely submerged by September. | Published Nov. 12 | Read More | What do narwhals use their tusks for? First-of-its-kind drone footage offers clues Drone footage from the Canadian Arctic has provided new insights into the purpose of narwhal tusks, revealing their use in hunting and play. The footage shows narwhals using their tusks to stun fish and engage in playful behavior with Arctic char. This discovery highlights the tusks' multifunctional role and the adaptability of narwhals to their environment. | Published March 4 | Read More | Killer whales seen 'kissing' for the first time in the wild, photo shows In the Kvænangen fjords of Norway, above the Arctic Circle, snorkelers captured footage of two killer whales 'kissing' underwater. This rare behavior, observed for the first time in the wild, is believed to reinforce social bonds among juveniles. | Published June 27 | Read More |
