Russian air force Tu-22M bombers flew into Ukrainian air space on Thursday and dropped unguided bombs on Ukrainian troops in the besieged city of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov coast.
It was the first time the 120-ton, swing-wing, supersonic bombers directly have raided Ukraine since Russia widened its war on the country starting the night of Feb. 23. Before the Mariupol mission, the Tu-22Ms attacked Ukraine without leaving Russian air space—by firing long-range cruise missiles.
The bombing run, which was recorded by a Russian drone andlater confirmed by Ukrainian officials, could indicate that the Kremlin is running low on cruise missiles.
It requires a certain amount of recklessness, or desperation, to fly the big bombers…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN Friday that “all of the countries of the world” should be prepared for the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use tactical nuclear weapons in his war on Ukraine.
Zelensky told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview from the office of the president in Kyiv on Friday that Putin could turn to either nuclear orchemical weaponsbecause he does not value the lives of the people of Ukraine.
“Not only me — all of the world, all of the countries have to be worried because it can be not real information, but it can be truth,” Zelensky said, switching into English to emphasize his point.
WASHINGTON – The price of eggs has soared in recent weeks in part because of a huge bird flu wave that has infected nearly 27 million chickens and turkeys in the United States, forcing many farmers to “depopulate” or destroy their animals to prevent a further spread.
The virus has impacted many different bird species, including penguins and bald eagles. But its spread among poultry has been tremendous, particularly among chickens raised for their eggs.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced yet another outbreak, this one in two flocks in Idaho, making that the 27th state in which the virus has been found since February.
According to the USDA, the price of a dozen eggs in November hovered around $1. Right now, that price is $2.95 and rising.
The illness affects commercial birds, hobbyists’ backyard chicken flocks and wild birds, and is spread via secretions and leads to paralysis, swelling and diminished egg production. There have been no human cases of these avian influenza viruses detected in the United States.
So far, about 1.3% of all U.S. chickens have been affected in this outbreak and about 6% of the U.S. turkey flock, said Grady Ferguson, senior research analyst for Gro Intelligence, an agriculture data platform.
Ferguson tracked the last major outbreak of bird flu in 2015, saying that this outbreak has the potential to be more significant and disruptive to the poultry and egg markets. During the last epidemic, at this point in the outbreak, 66 days after first detection, the percentage of total chickens affected was .02%, ultimately climbing to around 2.5% of chickens infected and 50 million birds destroyed.
“We are above and beyond the rate of spread we saw in 2015,” Ferguson said. “Last time, 81 percent of the cases were in the fourth and fifth month, as things exploded. What chicken egg prices did last time affected the market for years. We are two months into the outbreak now, and the safety protocols haven’t worked. I don’t want to be a Chicken Little, but I think it’s going to be worse than last time.”
He said in addition to higher prices for a carton of a dozen eggs, consumers “will see higher prices for all baked goods and a wide variety of processed foods from cupcakes to salad dressing. Restaurants are going to have a harder time justifying why they should give you a three-egg omelet for a dollar. And on the chicken meat side, the situation is also worse this time than it was last time.”
The majority of birds that had to be destroyed last time were laying hens and pullets (these are sexually immature birds that will be layers) and very few broilers (the birds consumers eat) were affected, Ferguson said. Thus far in this outbreak, 9% of affected animals are broiler chickens, he said, which will lead to already-high prices for chicken going even higher.
Tom Super, senior vice president of communications for the National Chicken Council, said that chicken farmers are “doubling and tripling down” on biosecurity at chicken farms, adding protocols like showers for workers as they enter and exit a facility, and antiseptic tire baths for trucks so that infection isn’t moved from one facility to another.
Super said that avian flu will add to the cost of chicken, but that it just one of several price pressures right now. He lists higher feed costs for animals, higher fuel costs for transporting animals and even the Biden administration’s decision to allow higher levels of ethanol in gasoline, which further drives up the price of corn and soy essential for animal feed.
Emily Metz, president of the American Egg Board, said that about 5% of laying hen flocks have been affected so far, but that she is more optimistic about the trajectory of this outbreak.
“The bottom like is we started a little bit earlier than we did in 2015 [with biosecurity protocols],” she said. “We learned some tough lessons in 2015, that our biosecurity wasn’t where it needed to be. We’ve invested in huge changes.”
She described high-tech new protocols such as laser light systems to ward off migratory birds to prevent them from landing on the farmland or buildings. And while she admits prices are rising, she points to farmers’ input costs as a greater factor than the specter of avian flu.
“It is alarming, and I share in the concern about affordability. But eggs are still one of the most affordable proteins, bar none,” she said.
– – –
The Washington Post’s Andrew Van Dam contributed to this report.
SEE BELOW FOR RULINGS ON CHARGES OF MISCHIEF (mischief must be proved in order to convict for break and enter).
1.judge dismissed the charge that activists sabotaged the pig torture-farm generator (judge stated that the farm showed “negligence” in its treatment of animals).
2.judge dismissed the charge that activists released a pig from a pen (and the judge says it’s “plausible” that the farmer actually did it).
3.judge dismisses charge that activists tampered with farm doors and thermostats. judge states that activists have animals’ “best interests” at heart. judge states that farmer has a “selective memory”.
4.judge finds activists guilty of mischief by delaying “proper care” of animals, such as the morning feeding, and allegedly creating a risk of introducing viruses by entering the pig torture chamber. judge didn’t mention that this filthy crowded hellhole full of mutilated horrifically confined animals NEVER ALLOWS PROPER CARE of pigs.
On charges of Obstructing Police:
The judge just ruled that, even though the 11 heroes did not physically resist arrest, they’re guilty of obstructing cops simply because they initially declined to leave the hellish farm.
The maximum sentence is 6 months imprisonment.
2
o Like
o Reply
o <https://www.facebook.com/groups/animaljusticeacademy/posts/484767686773928/ ?comment_id=484769616773735&__cft__%5b0%5d=AZXPIpaEFCdBV0pSqQUZXWYcywXHK5tWW at5PMEuufEDMI2VEHX_xWL_W-qCJ3pz75-X-72KLGhQvbqEbt1BGqXeEh-gY0JwzLrOBhi-a3cMc gtxBIvIvMR0gybID9cV4o8zoFc107Av1oUdqSHsa74ytnzpw1UDSL_WCLc9szQXaFzt4J3wa241J H7Oalh3eE6dZP1heY4osgFv9_-oHloM&__tn__=R%5d-R> 1h
Looks like the judge was more than reasonable in most of his judgements. The obstruction of police charge was probably beyond his control! I feel very badly that the verdict came down with any charges, it should not have, and yes these activists are truly heroes!!
TORONTO, April 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — While families prepare to celebrate this time of year, a season of rebirth, Parks Canada staffers are preparing yet another round of killing Double-crested cormorants, on Middle Island in Point Pelee National Park.
“None of this makes any sense,” says Liz White, Party Leader. “The science does not support any of the Parks claims about negative impacts of the birds. If Middle Island were pushed 100 metres to the south, into US territory, there would be no endangered species to protect. Yet, despite there being no species at risk and COVID numbers in Ontario on the rise, the park will pack a number of people into a boat with the sole purpose of a four-day cormorant cull. Why is Parks Canada spending thousands of taxpayer dollars, risking the health of their staff and area residents, and killing these beautiful animals, in what is supposed to be a bird sanctuary? Whoever is making these decisions should be ashamed.”
For years Parks Canada has claimed killing the birds is necessary to maintain the ecological integrity of the island. “The ecological fact is that the cormorants, herons and egrets constitute the ecology of the island, as would the white pelicans that seem to be trying to nest there, but are frightened away by the disturbance,” says Barry MacKay, naturalist and Canadian Representative for Born Free USA. “And now that the Ford government has allowed, essentially, an open season on cormorants for Ontario hunters, the population could be in real danger of extirpation.”
Human persecution and pesticide poisoning drove Double-crested cormorants to the brink of extinction over 60 years ago. Thanks to government efforts, this species has rebounded and is now repopulating parts of its former range in the United States and Canada, fulfilling a valuable ecological role. Not only do they benefit biodiversity, they help generate healthy fish populations and should be considered an integral component of the area’s natural heritage.
“There are so many other initiatives that Parks Canada could be taking to be leaders in park management,” continued White. “But instead they choose the archaic approach of killing animals in their parks. What a waste, wasted money and wasted opportunities.”
Park managers in the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) have conducted innovative studies in non-lethal management of cormorants at Tommy Thompson Park, home to one of the largest waterbird colonies in the Great Lakes basin. “The TRCA staff are pioneering techniques that are not only low cost, but also humane and effective. We are grateful for their work and for their willingness to try new methods so that humans can co-exist peacefully with this species,” said MacKay.
CBS’s48 Hoursexplores the death of an American shot while on safari in Zambia, Africa on the Saturday, April 16, 2022 episode airing at 10pm ET/PT. “Death on Safari” examines the events surrounding Biana Rudolph’s death and delves into the investigation that ultimately led to the arrest of Bianca’s dentist husband, Lawrence, in December 2021.
Lawrence claims he had nothing to do with his wife’s death.
48 Hourscontributor Debora Patta spoke with a game scout, a park investigator, and a retired police commander in Zambia in an attempt to answer the question: was Bianca’s death the result of an accident or murder?
CBS released the following description of “Death on Safari:”
Lawrence Rudolph and his wife, Bianca, were getting ready to head back home after a safari vacation in Zambia, Africa in October 2016 when something went terribly wrong…
Joe Biden46th and current president of the United States
The Supreme Court is on the verge of restricting the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
The court’s conservative majority appears likely to side with Republican-controlled states and coal companies inWest Virginia v. EPA, for which the court heard oral arguments on Feb. 28 and is expected to issue a ruling in June. Such a ruling could eliminate some of the key methods that the Biden administration can use to accelerate the power sector’s transition to cleaner sources of energy, potentially hamstringing its ability to meet thepresident’s goalof halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Experts say the court is virtually guaranteed to side with the petitioners — a coalition of red states and coal companies…
Link copiedSAVECreate your free profile or log in to save this article
April 15, 2022, 1:32 AM PDT/UpdatedApril 15, 2022, 8:04 AM PDT
ByNBC News
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its eighth week, it was revealed that earlier this week Russia sent a formal diplomatic note to the United States warning that American and NATO shipments of the “most sensitive” weapons systems to Ukraine could bring “unpredictable consequences” and were “adding fuel” to the volatile conflict.
NBC News has not seen the note, but a White House official who has confirmed the contents of the note first…
The female dolphin washed up on Quintana Beach Sunday and was reportedly pushed back to sea while beachgoers tried to “swim with and ride the sick animal.”
Quintana Beach in Quintana, Texas.Google Maps
Link copiedSAVECreate your free profile or log in to save this article
A dolphin stranded on a Texas beach died after a crowd of people “harassed” the animal and tried to ride it, rescue officials said.
The female dolphin washed up on Quintana Beach Sunday evening and was reportedly pushed back to sea while beachgoers tried to “swim with and ride the sick animal,” the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network said in a Facebook post.
“She ultimately stranded and was further harassed by a crowd of people on the beach where she later died before rescuers could arrive on scene,” the organization said.
Harassing stranded sea animals causes stress and can also be dangerous for the people who interact with them, but it is also illegal, rescue officials said in the post.
Violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act could lead to civil penalties of up to $11,000 and up to a year in prison.
“If a live dolphin or whale strands in Texas, please DO NOT PUSH the animal back to sea, do not attempt to swim or interact with them, do not crowd them,” the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network said.
Ultimately, a person at the beach called Quintana Beach County Park for assistance. The park called the incident a “tragedy.”
