Latest news with #NationalParks
E&E News
8 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
Parks advocacy group boss to step down
The head of the National Parks Conservation Association plans to step down at the end of this year, the organization announced Tuesday. Theresa Pierno, who joined the parks advocacy group in 2004 and led the organization since 2015, plans to stay on the job while the board conducts a formal search for its next leader, NPCA announced. 'After 21 years with National Parks Conservation Association — 10 of them as CEO — I have made the deeply difficult decision to step down this winter,' Pierno posted on LinkedIn. Advertisement 'I am endlessly proud of the work NPCA has done to protect and strengthen our national parks,' she said in a statement the group posted on its website. She added, 'I know the time is right for me to hand the reigns over to the next person who will continue this proud legacy of leading what NPCA's founder called the 'fearless and outspoken defender of the people's parks.''
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix's new mystery thriller series is one of the best binge-watches of 2025 so far — and you can stream it now
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. I didn't expect 'Untamed' to grip me the way it did. Netflix's new wilderness-set mystery thriller looked, at first glance, like your standard slow-burn six-episode series: brooding lead, scenic drone shots and just enough murder to justify the 'thriller' label. And sure, it has all of that. But it also has something I didn't see coming, which is actual momentum. The series puts Eric Bana in the leading role as Kyle Turner, a National Parks agent called to Yosemite after a woman is found dead. At first, it seems like a tragic climbing accident. But Turner, who's got just the right amount of baggage and that thousand-yard stare required by all streaming detectives, isn't so sure. What follows is basically a classic murder mystery, just with fewer city streets and more moss-covered rocks. Along the way, he's paired with a rookie ranger, runs into old colleagues and keeps finding himself in situations where you're not sure whether the biggest threat is a person or a bear. And yet, I was into it. 'Untamed' fully embraces its identity as a solid, serious show with a hint of self-importance and it does so confidently. So if the idea of a murder investigation set in a national park sounds even remotely interesting to you, chances are you'll want to stick around for the whole thing. Here's why 'Untamed' deserves a spot on your Netflix watchlist now that it's streaming, even if it's just for the scenery. What is 'Untamed' about? 'Untamed' follows Special Agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana), a seasoned investigator with the National Park Service's elite Investigative Services Branch. When the body of a young woman is discovered at the base of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, the initial assumption is a climbing accident. But Turner suspects something more sinister. Teaming up with rookie ranger Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), Turner begins to unravel a trail of inconsistencies that point toward foul play. As the pair dig deeper, their investigation leads them into the park's vast, treacherous backcountry where clues are scarce and dangers are plenty. Turner is soon forced to reconnect with Paul Souter (Sam Neill), an old friend and Yosemite's long-serving chief ranger, as well as confront tensions with his ex-wife Jill Bodwin (Rosemarie DeWitt), a counselor working inside the park. With time running out and more bodies surfacing, Turner finds himself at the center of a far-reaching mystery. 'Untamed' is a suspense-filled descent into the dark heart of the wild 'Untamed' starts how most mystery thrillers do — with the crime itself. Two climbers scaling a mountain are nearly sent to their deaths when a woman mysteriously falls from a ledge, dying in the process and getting tangled in their climbing ropes. It's pretty brutal from the start, but it sets the tone for the rest of the series. From there, we're introduced to the brooding Kyle Turner, played brilliantly by Eric Bana, who knows how to play the gruff archetype without becoming another Joel from 'The Last of Us' or Rick from 'The Walking Dead.' Instead, he's trying to do his job without outside interference, all while suppressing his personal baggage, which inevitably resurfaces in each episode. Thankfully, the show doesn't drag out the investigation. In the first episode, Kyle is already scouring the area for clues, and we follow him as he discovers bloodstains on leaves and a bullet hole in a tree. Even though it leans on some genre tropes, it's still compelling enough to keep you watching. Another trope I wasn't initially keen on was the classic 'hardened investigator paired with a rookie' setup. You know, when the rookie questions everything, is too sensitive and challenges the main character's authority by being impulsive. Fortunately, as the episodes go on, 'Untamed' steps out of this cliché and makes Vasquez, the rookie, a genuinely likeable character with a meaningful backstory. She has a dark past, and once that becomes tied into the main storyline, it feels natural. As for the other side characters, they mostly earn their screen time. Bana's Kyle Turner is really the only one you can fully focus on or connect with, especially as his past is fleshed out through conversations with his ex-wife and fellow community members. Sam Neill's Paul Souter, while not featured as much as I would've liked, has an interesting dynamic with Turner as old allies. That said, the mystery is so compelling that I found myself less invested in the characters and more eager to dive deeper into the plot, wishing for more twists and revelations instead of character moments. Alongside the mystery, 'Untamed' delivers some seriously impressive visuals that show just how vast and overwhelming Yosemite National Park really is, and it's kind of terrifying. For context, Yosemite sees a high number of search and rescue (SAR) operations, with over 730 incidents reported between 2018 and 2020. That alone makes 'Untamed' feel a lot more believable when it comes to its central mystery. And that's before you even factor in the bears… Overall, though, 'Untamed' is the kind of bingeable series you might easily finish in one night. The characters aren't especially deep (aside from Turner, who gets some solid development), so you'll probably find yourself most invested in the investigation itself. Just a heads up: Once you press play on episode 1, don't be surprised if you power through the whole thing. You need to stream 'Untamed' on Netflix If you're after a mystery that doesn't rely on gimmicks or overblown twists, 'Untamed' is the rare Netflix thriller that keeps things feeling real and that's exactly what makes it work. It's not exactly original material, but it still leans into what the genre does best: a solid investigation, tension, and a lead performance that holds it all together. The setting alone is worth tuning in for, but it's the slow-creeping suspense and clever unraveling of clues that will keep you pressing next episode. At just six episodes, there's no filler which is more than can be said for a lot of recent limited series. 'Untamed' is now streaming on Netflix, and I definitely recommend checking it out. For more recommendations, see what else is new on Netflix in July 2025. More from Tom's Guide Netflix just got Prime Video's most overlooked crime drama 7 new Netflix shows and movies I'd stream this week Netflix's new mystery thriller series has already broken into the top 10
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Non-Americans Are Sharing The Things They Actually Admire About America, And I Just Wiped A Single Tear From My Eye
Recently, I came across a thread from a now-deleted user on the popular Ask Reddit forum asking, "Non-Americans of Reddit, what is something about America you admire?" and the answers were so wholesome and positive, I had to share. There's so much to appreciate, and it's nice to take the time to do it! So, here are some of the best answers people had: 1."The Smithsonian Museums. Very cool and very fun to walk around and see. And they're free." Win McNamee / Getty Images, Kirkikis / Getty Images —u/GullibleIdiots "The Smithsonians are a treasure. I remember being astonished when I moved to another city and realized most museums require you to pay to go inside." —u/optsynsejo 2."National Parks." Francesco Riccardo Iacomino / Getty Images, Brian Evans / Getty Images/iStockphoto —u/Premier_Poutine "This. I've traveled the world pretty extensively; the National Park system is the most amazing undertaking I've ever seen. America has innumerable flaws, but preserving the most amazing places in the world was something the country got unquestionably right." —u/nutella-is-for-jerks Related: 3."Your wildlife. Lots of beasties on that continent." —u/TheLairdStewart98 4."If you guys want, you can go to pretty much any climate without a passport. You have tropical, desert, oceanside, lakeside, and mountain climates." Rebecca Harding / Getty Images, Alexandra Simone / Getty Images/Cavan Images RF —u/deleted 5."Drinking fountains everywhere. Nearly all public toilets are free." —u/bounded_operator 6."The amount of nature. Mountains, forests, valleys, deserts, waterfalls, etc. Where I live, we've got a few hills and there's no place anywhere in the country that is completely untouched or so far from civilization that you can't hear traffic." —u/BombBombBombBombBomb 7."Verbal communication skills. When people are interviewed on TV, they can really explain in detail what happened, and it is easily understood. It's like everyone has a communication major." "In Australia, we generally are really bad at this. For example, interviewing eye witnesses to a shark attack in Australia: 'Yeah, nah it was pretty bad!'" —u/Alpacamum 8."The scale and grandeur. I'm used to nature being small, but everything in America is bigger: bigger storms, bigger mountains, bigger horizons. Even the sky People in America are casually dealing with everything from alligators to bears, pitching tents on the sides of cliffs, and walking their dogs through literal wilderness; I genuinely feel like a hobbit watching Aragorn saunter through Middle Earth like it's nothing while I've never been beyond the end of Farmer Maggot's farm before. I love it." Jeff Manes / Getty Images/iStockphoto, New Line Cinema / Via —u/coffee_up "Funny you should mention the sky, I live on the Colorado Front Range, which is about 1,610 meters above sea level. On an unpolluted day, you can see every friggin detail of the cumulus clouds in bright white. It looks like a hyper-realistic painting." —u/Leucipuus1 Related: 9."It's so big. Like, to be real, if you wanna do a road trip that's like two weeks. Maybe more." —u/no_sarcasim "A friend of mine had some guests from the UK. They wanted to drive to Disneyland for the day. From Maryland. That is 4,400 km (2,734 miles) each way." —u/substantial-freud 10."Cornbread." Fox / Via —u/Jdawgred 11."The arts. Jazz, rhythm and blues, and the early rock and roll that inspired the British Invasion. The authors. The films." Paramount Pictures / Via Bettmann / Bettmann Archive —u/LoudTsu 12."King's Hawaiian sweet rolls." —u/rhonda1973 "I use those to make my compound-butter garlic bread after years of using baguettes. GAME CHANGER." —u/dramboxf Related: 13."NASA is America's best PR. Sure, they could really use triple the budget to seriously get things done, but what they do is admired globally." —u/alltherobots 14."Southern cuisine, from BBQ all the way to Creole type guys know how to eat down there." —u/I_hate_traveling 15."Films and TV shows." Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images, Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images —u/LaptopGeek92 16."I always hear complaints about the portion sizes, which is fair, they're big. But we gotta give America credit for how socially acceptable it is to take the leftover food home. As a frugal Dutch person, this mesmerizes me, and I'm very sad this is not as acceptable here." —u/MarieLoew 17."How madly diverse it is. Admittedly, I've only seen it on TV, but the fact that the Bronx and Texas are in the same country is mind-boggling." —u/cdbman 18."I love how spread the infrastructure is across the country. Literally, massive multinational companies are headquartered in so many smaller cities. Manufacturing can occur in even more towns. Here in Australia, our population is so concentrated in our three biggest cities, it's difficult for big businesses to survive elsewhere, so they move to the big cities and perpetuate the problem. Half our population is in those three cities." —u/stupidperson810 19."I'm from Portugal and living in the US right now. One thing that really impressed me when I got here was how green the US is, and how many trees they have." —u/jpereira73 Related: 20."How the national identity is so culturally mixed. It seems like if you move to France, you don't become French; you just become a foreigner. But everyone who lives in America at all is American." —u/ITheReader 21."Fruity pebbles." —u/Z00TH0RNZ 22."I like how open-minded the people are and how much they seem to enjoy varied interests. I've found in my country, we tend to be pretty judgmental of anything we aren't used to seeing, and most people have basically the same hobbies." —u/purple-nomad 23."Americans always know how to get a conversation going! 'Hey, where are you from?' and then they are genuinely interested in hearing the answer, even if perhaps they've never heard of that place. They are great at small talk, and friendly (doesn't matter if it's 'fake' sometimes, e.g., the server in a restaurant, it is still a skill to be that friendly and welcoming, in my opinion). They make people feel like a million bucks." —u/BaileysBaileys "I waited tables for 20 years, and I loved talking to people visiting from other countries. Chances are I'm never going to be able to visit where you're from, and I was genuinely interested in what your lives are like there. I also wanted to make sure you were enjoying your time in our country and recommending amazing must-see places in our area. We genuinely want you to enjoy yourselves." —u/dorkmagnet123 24."Some of the best roller coasters on Earth." —u/Dr_Skeleton finally: "New York City. Hot Dogs. Your friendliness. Hollywood. Yellowstone. Baseball. Ford GT. Road trips. Coca-Cola. NASA. Southern BBQ. Burgers. Yosemite. Your infectious love of the outrageous. Jaws. Your love of English accents ;). Harrison Ford. Rock and fuckin' roll. Nike. Magic Mountain. Pamela Anderson. Red Vines. The video game and animation industries. Dr Pepper. Maine lobster rolls. Skateboarding. Ralph Lauren. The Sopranos. Jack FM. Baskin-Robbins. Car park cookouts. Wakeboarding. Ruby's Diner. Long Island (Iced Tea). Eddie Murphy. Technological innovation. Soul. Southern California. Star Wars. Ford Broncos. Key lime pie." Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, PhotoQuest / Getty Images, Anthony Neste / Getty Images —u/liam_crean It's kinda nice hearing all these positives, IMO. What do you think? Tell me about it in the comments! Note: some comments have been edited for length and/or clarity. Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds:
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Untamed' takes the gritty murder mystery to a new locale: Yosemite National Park
Within minutes of his arrival at the crime scene, Turner establishes himself as the most competent agent in the park — and also the most unpopular, as he swiftly alienates his colleagues with his standoffish behavior. Only his longtime boss and mentor Paul Souter (Sam Neill) has the patience to put up with his attitude. That is, until Turner gets paired up with an energetic rookie, former LAPD cop Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), who needs to learn the ropes of solving crimes in the wilderness. Her first lesson requires her to travel by horse instead of car, a strategy that Turner argues is crucial for tracking clues through rough terrain. (L to R) Sam Neill as Paul Souter, Eric Bana as Kyle Turner. Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix/RICARDO HUBBS/NETFLIX Created by screenwriters Mark L. Smith ('American Primeval') and Elle Smith ('The Marsh King's Daughter'), 'Untamed' is more polished and mature than your average Netflix original, but it isn't exactly breaking new ground. Virtually every element of this miniseries is founded on a well-worn genre cliché, from the interplay between the gruff Turner and his upbeat sidekick to the structure of their investigation, uncovering sordid secrets about the deceased Jane Doe. As Turner tries to figure out what the woman was doing in Yosemite and how she came to die, he must also confront the fallout of an old, unsolved case that continues to haunt his career. Advertisement Best known for co-writing the Oscar-winning Leonardo DiCaprio Western ' Opening with a terrifically perilous rock-climbing scene, 'Untamed' leans into its title, constantly reminding us of the dangers of the Yosemite landscape. Epic in scope, the park spans hundreds of thousands of acres, full of mountains and forests where a person could easily die or vanish without trace. Yet there's still a small-town vibe to Turner's interactions with the locals; a diverse population that includes National Parks employees, hippie squatters and a Native American community, many of whom he's known for years. Given what you know of Kyle Turner so far, you probably won't be surprised to hear that he lives alone in a log cabin, drunk-dialing his ex-wife ( Advertisement Among the supporting cast, Lily Santiago provides a relatable counterpoint to Turner, and we meet a handful of memorable side-characters, including Wilson Bethel as a suspicious, gun-toting Yosemite local. Neill, the other big name star attached to the project, is given shockingly little to do for most of the season, to the point where you may wonder what he's doing there. Tapping into the UNTAMED Starring: Eric Bana, Sam Neill, Lily Santiago, Rosemary DeWitt. On Netflix
Tom's Guide
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Netflix's new mystery thriller series is one of the best binge-watches of 2025 so far — and you can stream it now
I didn't expect 'Untamed' to grip me the way it did. Netflix's new wilderness-set mystery thriller looked, at first glance, like your standard slow-burn six-episode series: brooding lead, scenic drone shots and just enough murder to justify the 'thriller' label. And sure, it has all of that. But it also has something I didn't see coming, which is actual momentum. The series puts Eric Bana in the leading role as Kyle Turner, a National Parks agent called to Yosemite after a woman is found dead. At first, it seems like a tragic climbing accident. But Turner, who's got just the right amount of baggage and that thousand-yard stare required by all streaming detectives, isn't so sure. What follows is basically a classic murder mystery, just with fewer city streets and more moss-covered rocks. Along the way, he's paired with a rookie ranger, runs into old colleagues and keeps finding himself in situations where you're not sure whether the biggest threat is a person or a bear. And yet, I was into it. 'Untamed' fully embraces its identity as a solid, serious show with a hint of self-importance and it does so confidently. So if the idea of a murder investigation set in a national park sounds even remotely interesting to you, chances are you'll want to stick around for the whole thing. Here's why 'Untamed' deserves a spot on your Netflix watchlist now that it's streaming, even if it's just for the scenery. 'Untamed' follows Special Agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana), a seasoned investigator with the National Park Service's elite Investigative Services Branch. When the body of a young woman is discovered at the base of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, the initial assumption is a climbing accident. But Turner suspects something more sinister. Teaming up with rookie ranger Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), Turner begins to unravel a trail of inconsistencies that point toward foul play. As the pair dig deeper, their investigation leads them into the park's vast, treacherous backcountry where clues are scarce and dangers are plenty. Turner is soon forced to reconnect with Paul Souter (Sam Neill), an old friend and Yosemite's long-serving chief ranger, as well as confront tensions with his ex-wife Jill Bodwin (Rosemarie DeWitt), a counselor working inside the park. With time running out and more bodies surfacing, Turner finds himself at the center of a far-reaching mystery. 'Untamed' starts how most mystery thrillers do — with the crime itself. Two climbers scaling a mountain are nearly sent to their deaths when a woman mysteriously falls from a ledge, dying in the process and getting tangled in their climbing ropes. It's pretty brutal from the start, but it sets the tone for the rest of the series. From there, we're introduced to the brooding Kyle Turner, played brilliantly by Eric Bana, who knows how to play the gruff archetype without becoming another Joel from 'The Last of Us' or Rick from 'The Walking Dead.' Instead, he's trying to do his job without outside interference, all while suppressing his personal baggage, which inevitably resurfaces in each episode. Thankfully, the show doesn't drag out the investigation. In the first episode, Kyle is already scouring the area for clues, and we follow him as he discovers bloodstains on leaves and a bullet hole in a tree. Even though it leans on some genre tropes, it's still compelling enough to keep you watching. Another trope I wasn't initially keen on was the classic 'hardened investigator paired with a rookie' setup. You know, when the rookie questions everything, is too sensitive and challenges the main character's authority by being impulsive. Fortunately, as the episodes go on, 'Untamed' steps out of this cliché and makes Vasquez, the rookie, a genuinely likeable character with a meaningful backstory. She has a dark past, and once that becomes tied into the main storyline, it feels natural. As for the other side characters, they mostly earn their screen time. Bana's Kyle Turner is really the only one you can fully focus on or connect with, especially as his past is fleshed out through conversations with his ex-wife and fellow community members. Sam Neill's Paul Souter, while not featured as much as I would've liked, has an interesting dynamic with Turner as old allies. That said, the mystery is so compelling that I found myself less invested in the characters and more eager to dive deeper into the plot, wishing for more twists and revelations instead of character moments. Alongside the mystery, 'Untamed' delivers some seriously impressive visuals that show just how vast and overwhelming Yosemite National Park really is, and it's kind of terrifying. For context, Yosemite sees a high number of search and rescue (SAR) operations, with over 730 incidents reported between 2018 and 2020. That alone makes 'Untamed' feel a lot more believable when it comes to its central mystery. And that's before you even factor in the bears… Overall, though, 'Untamed' is the kind of bingeable series you might easily finish in one night. The characters aren't especially deep (aside from Turner, who gets some solid development), so you'll probably find yourself most invested in the investigation itself. Just a heads up: Once you press play on episode 1, don't be surprised if you power through the whole thing. If you're after a mystery that doesn't rely on gimmicks or overblown twists, 'Untamed' is the rare Netflix thriller that keeps things feeling real and that's exactly what makes it work. It's not exactly original material, but it still leans into what the genre does best: a solid investigation, tension, and a lead performance that holds it all together. The setting alone is worth tuning in for, but it's the slow-creeping suspense and clever unraveling of clues that will keep you pressing next episode. At just six episodes, there's no filler which is more than can be said for a lot of recent limited series. 'Untamed' is now streaming on Netflix, and I definitely recommend checking it out. For more recommendations, see what else is new on Netflix in July 2025.
