Latest news with #southeasternUS
The Independent
19-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Endangered whales gave birth to few babies this year as population declines
A vanishing species of whale gave birth to few babies this birthing season, raising alarms among scientists and conservationists who fear the animal could go extinct. The whale is the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers only about 370 and has declined in population in recent years. The whales give birth to calves off the southeastern United States from mid-November to mid-April, and federal authorities have said they need to have at least 50 calves per season to start recovering. The whales didn't come anywhere near that number this year. The calving season produced only 11 mother-calf pairs, scientists with the New England Aquarium in Boston said. The lack of baby whales underscores the need for protection of the whales, conservationists said Monday. The whales are vulnerable to entanglement in marine fishing gear and collisions with large ships. 'They're also reproducing more slowly than they used to,' said the International Fund for Animal Welfare in its calving season report card. "This is likely due to stress from entanglements, navigation amongst busy maritime traffic, increasing ocean noise, and the changing distribution of their food sources." The calving season did have some bright spots. Several females gave birth for the first time, and that gives hope for the future, the aquarium said in a statement. The whale population only has about 70 reproductive females left. 'With past calf counts ranging from 39 to zero, we never know how any calving season will unfold. While the calf count is relatively low this year, I am encouraged by four new mothers being added to the reproductive pool,' said Philip Hamilton, senior scientist in the Aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. The whales can weigh up to 150,000 pounds (45,360 kilograms) and were heavily exploited during the era of commercial whaling. They've been protected for decades, but have been slow to recover. In recent years, scientists have said the whales have strayed from established protected zones in search of food, and that has put them at elevated risk of entanglements and collisions. The whales migrate migrate from the south to New England and Canada to feed on tiny ocean organisms.
Malay Mail
17-05-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
Pregnant brain-dead woman kept on life support in US sparks outcry over abortion law
GEORGIA, May 17 — A 30-year-old pregnant woman in the southeastern US state of Georgia has been kept on life support for three months—despite being declared brain-dead—due to the state's abortion restrictions, the woman's mother says. April Newkirk said the decision to keep her daughter Adriana Smith alive was made without input from her family. 'This decision should've been left to us,' she told local NBC broadcaster WXIA-TV. Newkirk said Smith, a registered nurse, was suffering serious headaches in February when she was nine weeks pregnant. An initial hospital visit ended with only a prescription for medication. The next morning, when she was taken to the hospital where she worked, doctors found multiple blood clots in her brain, and she was declared brain dead. Georgia law bans all abortion treatments after six weeks of pregnancy—one of the so-called 'heartbeat' laws, referring to the approximate first detection of a fetal heartbeat. As Smith was nine weeks along, doctors were hesitant to do anything that could contravene the law, according to Newkirk. Smith has been kept on life support ever since, and is now 21 weeks into her pregnancy. 'I'm not saying that we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy, what I'm saying is: we should have had a choice,' Newkirk said. Smith, who has a son, has been kept on a ventilator to bring the fetus to term, though Newkirk said doctors are not sure the pregnancy will be viable or without health complications. Chilling effect Katie Watson, a professor at Northwestern University specializing in medical ethics and reproductive rights, said the abortion law does not apply to a case like Smith's. The 'Georgia abortion statute is completely unrelated to removing a ventilator from a brain-dead person. It has nothing to say about that, even if that person is pregnant at the time of their death,' Watson told AFP on Friday. 'If the family's report of what the hospital told them is accurate, the hospital has made a surprising misinterpretation of Georgia's abortion law,' she added. Watson said it was possible the hospital's actions were out of fear of legal liability, 'which is a chilling effect of these statutes' against abortion. Emory Healthcare, the hospital system where Smith is being treated, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by AFP. The saga provoked a strong reaction by Democrats and abortion rights organizations. 'Everyone deserves the freedom to decide what's best for their families, futures and lives,' Democratic congresswoman Nikema Williams of Georgia said in a statement. Williams accused US President Donald Trump and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, both Republicans, of 'forcing people through unimaginable pain.' 'It is deadly to be Black and pregnant in a state where reproductive care is limited and criminalized,' said Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, an advocacy group focusing on reproductive justice for women of color. Since the US Supreme Court's decision to end federal protection of abortion rights in 2022, states like Georgia have adopted tough anti-abortion laws. Trump, who in his first term appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, has frequently credited himself on contributing to the overturning of Roe v Wade, which had secured the right to terminate a pregnancy. — AFP
CBS News
12-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Dry Monday before rain and storm chances increase rest of week
Take advantage of this dry Monday as rain and thunderstorm chances increase tonight and continue for the rest of the week. Periods of rain will develop later this evening and continue through Tuesday. Scattered heavy and gusty thunderstorms become more common Wednesday afternoon through Saturday afternoon. It's been a beautiful Monday morning with temperatures quickly climbing into the 60s and 70s. Sunny skies this morning will eventually fade away to clouds this afternoon. Despite the clouds, we are not expecting any wet weather today. Highs will top out in the upper 70s and lower 80s. Today is the last day we can guarantee dry weather until this upcoming Sunday, so get any weather dependent outdoor activities and work done today! A large area of low pressure that's been impacting the southeastern United States will drift northward later tonight into Tuesday. We will be on the northern fringe of the storm system, which means we'll see showers developing as early as later this evening and then rounds of rain likely Tuesday. Tuesday looks much cooler with on and off rain, but right now doesn't appear to be a complete washout. A batch of heavier rain and thunderstorms will be possible late Tuesday evening into the early overnight hours Wednesday. This is when some areas may receive locally 1" of rain or higher. Wednesday will be warm and muggy with a few isolated showers during the morning hours. Any sunshine Wednesday will not be our friend as numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected by afternoon and evening. These storms will have the capability to produce drenching downpours, lightning, thunder, and gusty winds. Rainfall rates during these storms could be 1 to 2" per hour, so localized street and highway flooding is possible in poor drainage areas. If we have any sunshine, isolated strong to severe storms would be possible. We are in a similar weather pattern Thursday and Friday with partly sunny weather during the morning hours with scattered hit or miss strong thunderstorms during the afternoon and early evening hours. Not every neighborhood will get a storm these afternoons, but places that do could see strong gusty winds, hail, lightning, and drenching downpours. This stretch looks warmer with highs in the upper 70s to middle 80s. A cold front approaching Saturday will spark off more thunderstorms, especially during the afternoon and evening hours. Depending on the timing of the front, Saturday has our best chance of severe weather. Stay with the WJZ First Alert Weather Team as we continue to finetune Saturday's forecast. Despite any storms, temperatures should warm well into the 80s Saturday afternoon. Sunday looks less muggy, but pleasantly warm with partly sunny skies and highs in the lower to middle 80s.
