https://news.yahoo.com/rare-pink-dolphins-spotted-swimming-133252797.html

Li Cohen

Updated Wed, July 19, 2023 at 12:29 PM PDT·2 min read

Thurman Gustin has been fishing along a river in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, for more than 20 years. Last week, he came across something he’s never seen before – two rare, pink dolphins.

He captured one of the dolphins on video popping out of the water. He said that there are always dolphins in the area, but this one took him by surprise. Gustin said the sighting ranks among the highest of other experiences he’s had with other wildlife – even a bobcat swimming across a bayou in Texas.

“That was cool,” the Houston, Texas, native said of the bobcat, “but nothing like this.”

“As we were going I noticed something just under the water that I knew wasn’t normal. I [stopped] the boat and up popped this beautiful pink dolphin,” he said, adding that his first reaction when he saw it was, “I had to record it.”

– ADVERTISEMENT –

https://s.yimg.com/rq/darla/4-11-1/html/r-sf-flx.html

The dolphin was among “several” swimming in the area, he said, adding that the large one he recorded wasn’t the only pink dolphin among the pod.

“The big pink one went by and had a smaller one next to it,” he said. “My girlfriend also noticed the differences in the size.”

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F729749920%2Fvideos%2F121743684306363%2F&width=500

While there is a species known as the pink river dolphin, that particular species lives in freshwater river basins across South America, according to the World Wildlife Fund. These animals were likely bottlenose dolphins, which are typically gray in color and are often found in the Gulf of Mexico. Cameron Parish, where Gustin saw the dolphin, borders the Gulf.

According to the Blue World Institute, pink- or white-colored bottlenose dolphins are rare, and it’s a trait seen among those that have albinism.

“Albino dolphins are uncommon and therefore attract human attention leading to some of them being unfortunately captured and held captive,” the Institute says.

This particular dolphin may have been southern Louisiana’s famous dolphin, Pinky, which was first seen in 2007 in the Calcasieu River in the same area Gustin was in. Scientist Greg Barsh, who studies color variation in genetics, previously told National Geographic that Pinky is likely an albino dolphin, given its reddish eyes and blood vessels, indicating a lack of pigment.

Pinky has since garnered her own Facebook page with thousands of followers, where people share footage of their own encounters with the animal. The animal seen by Gustin could also potentially be a member of Pinky’s family, as Pinky has been spotted with a calf in the past.

“I love nature,” Gustin said. “…always be inspired by nature, it’s God’s way of saying hello.”

Duvan Perez, 16, dies at Mar-Jac factory in Hattiesburg amid rollback of child labor laws across several US states

Gloria Oladipo

@gaoladipoWed 19 Jul 2023 10.46 EDT

• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/19/guatemalan-boy-dies-mississippi-child-labor-law

A 16-year-old from Guatemala died on Friday after sustaining a workplace injury at a poultry plant in Mississippi, authorities confirm.

The child, identified as Duvan Tomas Perez, died at Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, about two hours outside of Jackson, NBC News reported. He migrated to the US six years ago from the town of Huispache and was a middle school student.

The accident occurred on Friday at about 8pm central time, the Forrest county coroner, Butch Benedict, told the Guardian.

The teenager’s death was caused by workplace equipment, Benedict confirmed. Benedict added that an autopsy had been completed and details would probably be released next week.

https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.581.0_en.html#goog_1610718310

https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.581.0_en.html#goog_1011961441

https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.581.0_en.html#goog_1259993621Video appears to show Wagner chief for first timesince aborted mutiny

An employee who was working at the time of the incident told NBC that he heard the boy cry for help.

“Two times he began to scream, ‘Help! Help!’” the worker said to NBC. “I knew he had died.”

Minors in Mississippi are not allowed to be employed in poultry plants. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) and the labor department have launched investigations into the boy’s death, NBC reported.

Companies in violation of labor rules could face fines of over $30,000 per incident.

Several employees have died at Mar-Jac over the years, Benedict said. Perez’s was the third death since 2020, when a 33-year old worker died after being injured at the plant, Hattiesburg American reported.

A 48-year employee also died in June 2021 after sustaining injuries from heavy machinery, the American reported.

Several US states have recently rolled back child labor protections, an effort mostly led by Republican lawmakers, despite child labor law violations increasing by 37% in 2022 and by 283% since 2015.

In May, the Iowa governor, Kim Reynolds, received widespread criticism after signing legislation overturning several child labor protections including how many hours children can work and the type of industries.

The new legislation also provides employers with exemption from liability if minors are sickened, injured or killed at work.

Such rollbacks in protections often affect migrant children who can be at an increased risk of exploitation, said Elora Mukherjee, a professor of law at Columbia Law School.

“Rather than being in school and being generously supported by the communities they’re in, many of these children are forced to work in exploitative conditions to try and support themselves and their family members,” said Mukherjee, emphasizing the need for migrant children to receive support.

Mukherjee said it was hard to pin down an exact figure on how many migrant minors are being employed illegally.

Federal investigations have been opened in at least 11 states to better understand the scope of the problem, Mukherjee added, calling those inquiries an important first step.

“It’s clearly just a first step. It’s not enough,” Mukherjee said, adding that the government should be investing more into such investigations and targeting firms and employers who are hiring migrant children.

Monetary fines that companies face for violations can also be minuscule and “not sufficient to deter child labor violations”, especially for multinational corporations who make millions in profits, Mukherjee said.

Mukherjee called the death of Duval a “tragedy” that reflects the difficult situations migrant minors face.

• Asher Notheis, Washington Examiner
• Jul 19, 2023 Updated 6 hrs ago
• https://gazette.com/news/wex/white-house-alters-kamala-harriss-transcript-speech-over-reduce-population-comment/article_0258e26a-e9a8-54c0-83cc-4408e77ee0b3.html

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Print
• Copy article link
• Save

The White House has made an adjustment to the transcript of a speech Vice President Kamala Harris made on Friday after Harris made a statement seemingly promoting population reduction.

Harris’s comment was made during a speech about climate change, during which she called for investment in clean energy and electric vehicles, along with the statement on reducing population. As of Saturday morning, the transcript for the speech has been updated to read as “pollution” instead of “population,” implying that Harris meant to say the former.

WOMEN VETERANS IN CONGRESS WEIGH IN ON PENTAGON ABORTION POLICY DEBATES

“When we invest in clean energy and electric vehicles and reduce population [pollution], more of our children can breathe clean air and drink clean water,” the transcript currently reads.

Harris’s speech was delivered at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

The apparent slip up by Harris received pushback on social media, including criticism from Twitter owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk

“Reducing population is [nuts]. We need to increase population,” Musk tweeted.

Sign up for free: Springs AM Update

Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening.

Sign Up

View all of our newsletters.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Earlier in the week, Harris was also criticized over an attempt to explain Artificial Intelligence during a meeting with labor union and civil rights leaders.

“I think the first part of this issue that should be articulated is AI is kind of a fancy thing,” Harris said during a roundtable in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday “First of all, it’s two letters. It means artificial intelligence, but ultimately what it is, is it’s about machine learning.”

July 16, 20238:04 AM ET

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/16/1187992847/in-new-mexico-temperatures-are-too-high-for-birds-to-use-their-usual-coping-meth

Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday

By 

Bryce DixLISTEN· 1:23

1-Minute ListenPLAYLIST

• Download
• Embed
• Transcript

Extreme heat in New Mexico is creating unsafe conditions for people as well as wildlife, especially birds.

Sponsor Message

BRYCE DIX, BYLINE: And this is Bryce Dix in Albuquerque, N.M., where the heat wave has triggered statewide excessive heat warnings. The scorching heat spells trouble for humans, but it’s also hurting wildlife, especially bird populations. Normally to keep cool in heat waves like this, birds have a variety of tools at their disposal. Some urinate on their own legs, but the most common is a sort of avian panting. That’s where the bird will open its mouth and flutter its neck muscles. But that panting can cause birds to lose water and become dehydrated rapidly. Now, experts say the climate is warming much too fast for birds to adapt.

BLAIR WOLF: We’re talking about birds that breed once a year.

DIX: That’s University of New Mexico biologist Blair Wolf. He’s concerned for bird diversity in the Southwest and across the world as global temperatures recently reached the hottest they’ve ever been in history, causing unprecedented dehydration and loss of food sources.

WOLF: So there’s not a lot of good news, and people need to wake up when you have 120 degrees over in Phoenix and 130 in Death Valley.

DIX: Those susceptible birds might include small songbirds like goldfinches, which get dehydrated fast, or birds like the curve-billed thrasher, which only live in the desert and can’t move to cooler places. Some, he says, could be wiped out.

WOLF: The birds that are most susceptible to heat stress are just going to be gone.

DIX: In the meantime, blistering temperatures are expected to loom over the region throughout the next week, potentially breaking heat records in the process.