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Death in CRISPR gene therapy study sparks search for answers
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Laura Ungar
Publishing date:Nov 04, 2022 • 18 hours ago • 6 minute read • Join the conversation
Genetic editing and gene research in vitro CRISPR genome engineering medical biotechnology health care concept with a fertilized human egg embryo and a group of dividing cells as a 3D illustration.
Genetic editing and gene research in vitro CRISPR genome engineering medical biotechnology health care concept with a fertilized human egg embryo and a group of dividing cells as a 3D illustration. PHOTO BY FILE PHOTO /Postmedia Network
The lone volunteer in a unique study involving a gene-editing technique has died, and those behind the trial are now trying to figure out what killed him.


Terry Horgan, a 27-year-old who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, died last month, according to Cure Rare Disease, a Connecticut-based nonprofit founded by his brother, Rich, to try and save him from the fatal condition.


Although little is known about how he died, his death occurred during one of the first studies to test a gene editing treatment built for one person. It’s raising questions about the overall prospect of such therapies, which have buoyed hopes among many families facing rare and devastating diseases.

“This whole notion that we can do designer genetic therapies is, I would say, uncertain,” said Arthur Caplan, a medical ethicist at New York University who is not involved in the study. “We are out on the far edge of experimentation.”


The early-stage safety study was sponsored by the nonprofit, led by Dr. Brenda Wong at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The hope was to use a gene-editing tool called CRISPR to treat Horgan’s particular form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The rare, genetic muscle-wasting disease is caused by a mutation in the gene needed to produce a protein called dystrophin. Most people with Duchenne die from lung or heart issues caused by it.

At this point, it’s unclear whether Horgan received the treatment and whether CRISPR, other aspects of the study or the disease itself contributed to his death. Deaths are not unheard of in clinical trials, which test experimental treatments and sometimes involve very sick people.


But trials involving CRISPR are relatively new. And Fyodor Urnov, a CRISPR expert at the Innovative Genomics Institute at University of California, Berkeley, said any death during a gene therapy trial is an opportunity for the field to have a reckoning.

“Step one is to grieve for the passing of a brave human soul who agreed to be basically a participant in an experiment on a human being,” Urnov said. “But then, to the extent that we can, we must learn as much as we can to carve out a path forward.”

FEW ANSWERS YET
A statement from Cure Rare Disease said multiple teams across the country are looking into the details of the trial and its outcome, and the company intends to share findings with the scientific community.

“It will probably be 3-4 months to come up with a full conclusion,” said spokesman Scott Bauman. “At this stage of the game, saying anything is pure speculation.”


The company, which is also working on 18 other therapeutics, said in its statement that the teams’ work is essential not only to shed light on the study’s outcome but also “on the challenges of gene therapy broadly.” Meanwhile, it said, “we will continue to work with our researchers, collaborators, and partners to develop therapies for the neuromuscular diseases in our pipeline.”

Bauman said the company has filed a report on death the with the FDA as required. The FDA declined to release or confirm the report.

Sarah Willey, spokeswoman for Chan Medical School, said scientists there provided data to the company for the report. She later emailed to say no one there would comment further; out of respect for the family’s wishes, all information would come from Cure Rare Disease. Monkol Lek, a Yale genetics expert who has been collaborating on the effort, did not respond to a request for comment. Yale spokeswoman Bess Connolly asked a reporter for context on the story but didn’t respond to a follow-up email or phone call.


A crucial question is whether CRISPR played a part in Horgan’s death.

The chemical tool can be used to “edit” genes by making cuts or substitutions in DNA. The tool has transformed genetic research and sparked the development of dozens of experimental therapies. The inventors of the tool won a Nobel Prize in 2020.

In this case, scientists used a modified form of CRISPR to increase the activity of a gene. The CRISPR therapeutic is inserted directly into the body and delivered to cells with a virus.

But CRISPR is not perfect.

“We know that CRISPR can miss its target. We know that CRISPR can be partially effective. And we also know that there may be issues with viral vectors” that deliver the therapy into the body, Caplan said. “Red flags are flying here. We’ve got to make sure that they get addressed very, very quickly.”


Safety issues have arisen in gene therapy studies before. Late last year, Pfizer reported the death of a patient in its early-stage trial for a different Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy. And in a major earlier setback for the gene therapy field, 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger died in 1999 during a study that involved placing healthy genes into his liver to combat a rare metabolic disease. Scientists later learned that his immune system overreacted to the virus used to deliver the therapy. Many recent studies, including the Cure Rare Disease trial, use a different virus that’s considered safer.

Another difference? The recent trial involved just one person — a type of trial Caplan is skeptical about.

Horgan’s recent death, he said, “may make us think whether we really do like studies that are just on one person, and do we want to say: ‘No, ethically, you’ve got to at least have a trial where you line up 5, 10, 20 people (and) you learn from the data.’ ”


A ‘MEDICAL PIONEER’
On the company’s web site, Horgan was described as a “medical pioneer” who “will be remembered as a hero.”

In 2020, the Montour Falls, New York resident blogged that he was diagnosed with Duchenne at age 3. As a kid, he said, he loved computers — once building his own — and would play catch in the driveway with his family when he could still walk. Later in his life, he used a motorized wheelchair. He studied information science at Cornell University and went on to work at the school in the information science department.

“As I grew up and began to understand what it meant to have DMD, my fears about this disease began to grow as it began to manifest,” Horgan wrote. “There weren’t many, or any, trials available to me through the years” — until this one brought the prospect of a customized drug.


Horgan was enrolled in the study on Aug. 31. The plan was to suppress his immune system to prep his body for a one-time, gene-editing therapy delivered by IV at UMass medical school, followed by monitoring in the hospital. The company explained that the therapy is designed to increase the level of an alternate form of the dystrophin protein using CRISPR, with the goal of stabilizing or potentially reversing the progression of symptoms.

Urnov, scientific director for technology and translation at the Berkeley genomics institute, said no other trial targeted this disease using this kind of virus to deliver this particular payload with its modified form of CRISPR.

Some other gene therapy trials — such as those targeting the blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia — involve removing stem cells from someone’s blood, using CRISPR in the lab, then putting the altered cells back into the person. The first time CRISPR was used to edit genes within the body was to address a blindness-causing mutation.


Given the “exceptional distinctness” of the Cure Rare Disease approach, Urnov said he doesn’t think Horgan’s death will have a major impact on things like using gene therapy to fix blood diseases. But he said pinpointing the exact cause will help inform scientists throughout the field.

“History teaches us that in the case of such fatalities — which have been rare — that a deep dive into what happened was critical for the field to move forward.”


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Hundreds of elephants, zebras die as Kenya weathers drought
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Evelyne Musambi
Publishing date:Nov 04, 2022 • 21 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
The carcass of an adult elephant, which died during the drought, is seen in Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, Samburu, Kenya on Oct. 12, 2022.
The carcass of an adult elephant, which died during the drought, is seen in Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, Samburu, Kenya on Oct. 12, 2022. PHOTO BY LUIS TATO /AFP via Getty Images
NAIROBI, Kenya — Hundreds of animals, including elephants and endangered Grevy’s zebras, have died in Kenyan wildlife preserves during East Africa’s worst drought in decades, according to a report released Friday.


The Kenya Wildlife Service and other bodies counted the deaths of 205 elephants, 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 51 buffalos, 49 Grevy’s zebras and 12 giraffes in the past nine months, the report states.


Parts of Kenya have experienced four consecutive seasons with inadequate rain in the past two years, with dire effects for people and animals, including livestock.

The worst-affected ecosystems are home to some of Kenya’s most-visited national parks, reserves and conservancies, including the Amboseli, Tsavo and Laikipia-Samburu areas, according to the report’s authors.

They called for an urgent aerial census of wildlife in Amboseli to get a broader view of the drought’s impact on wild animals there.

Other experts have recommended the immediate provision of water and salt licks in impacted regions. Elephants, for example, drink 240 litres (63.40 gallons) of water per day, according to Jim Justus Nyamu, executive director of the Elephant Neighbors Center.

For Grevy’s zebras, experts urge enhancing provisions of hay.
GettyImages-1243940308-scaled-e1667581224427[1].jpg
 

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Raccoon bodies piling up across the GTA
Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:Nov 09, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 2 minute read • 11 Comments
Between too many car versus raccoon mishaps, and a current spike in distemper, Toronto Animal Services officers have their hands full this season.
Between too many car versus raccoon mishaps, and a current spike in distemper, Toronto Animal Services officers have their hands full this season.
Article content
Q: Why did the raccoon cross the road?


A: He didn’t — as anyone who lives in the GTA can attest.


Raccoons are useless at crossing roads and that’s why their poor crushed bodies are such a frequent sight on our streets.

Between too many car versus raccoon mishaps, and a current spike in distemper, Toronto Animal Services (TAS) officers have their hands full this season.

A spokesperson for TAS told CP 24 Wednesday that they’ve had a surge in service requests for raccoons since May, including more than 400 calls for dead raccoon pickup in the first week of November.

What usually takes 48 hours is now taking 12 to 14 days, and that’s a lot of rotting corpses on the highways and byways.

Councillor Paula Fletcher posted on social media Wednesday about the cadaver pile-up in her area, Ward 14.

Fletcher included her letter to City Hall, which shows a huge increase in requests to TAS over injured or dead animals — more than 3,000 such calls in both September and October.

Fletcher’s tweet includes information on where in the city the calls are most numerous, and those areas are Wards 14 and 19 (Toronto-Danforth and Beaches – East York), each with more than 1,000 service requests over the past 10 weeks.

Part of the issue is that distemper outbreak among raccoons in Toronto.

If you see a friendly raccoon, keep your distance. Always.

Raccoons come out at night — not in the day — and Toronto currently has an infection problem.


Canine distemper is a virus and raccoons can catch it from other wildlife such as foxes and coyotes.

Animals with distemper often seem disoriented or ‘floppy’ and their coat is sometimes ragged or patchy. They seem more tired than aggressive, but may become aggressive if cornered.

TAS has declared a distemper outbreak. It’s important to make sure your dog’s shots are up-to-date, as wildlife can give distemper to domestic animals (although not to people.)

As always, the first rule of protecting yourself and your pets is don’t feed wildlife, either inadvertently (through unsecured garbage) or on purpose.

If you need to bag a dead raccoon and remove it from your property for 311 (animal services) pickup, wear rubber gloves!
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petros

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Nov 21, 2008
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Low Earth Orbit
Raccoon bodies piling up across the GTA
Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:Nov 09, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 2 minute read • 11 Comments
Between too many car versus raccoon mishaps, and a current spike in distemper, Toronto Animal Services officers have their hands full this season.
Between too many car versus raccoon mishaps, and a current spike in distemper, Toronto Animal Services officers have their hands full this season.
Article content
Q: Why did the raccoon cross the road?


A: He didn’t — as anyone who lives in the GTA can attest.


Raccoons are useless at crossing roads and that’s why their poor crushed bodies are such a frequent sight on our streets.

Between too many car versus raccoon mishaps, and a current spike in distemper, Toronto Animal Services (TAS) officers have their hands full this season.

A spokesperson for TAS told CP 24 Wednesday that they’ve had a surge in service requests for raccoons since May, including more than 400 calls for dead raccoon pickup in the first week of November.

What usually takes 48 hours is now taking 12 to 14 days, and that’s a lot of rotting corpses on the highways and byways.

Councillor Paula Fletcher posted on social media Wednesday about the cadaver pile-up in her area, Ward 14.

Fletcher included her letter to City Hall, which shows a huge increase in requests to TAS over injured or dead animals — more than 3,000 such calls in both September and October.

Fletcher’s tweet includes information on where in the city the calls are most numerous, and those areas are Wards 14 and 19 (Toronto-Danforth and Beaches – East York), each with more than 1,000 service requests over the past 10 weeks.

Part of the issue is that distemper outbreak among raccoons in Toronto.

If you see a friendly raccoon, keep your distance. Always.

Raccoons come out at night — not in the day — and Toronto currently has an infection problem.


Canine distemper is a virus and raccoons can catch it from other wildlife such as foxes and coyotes.

Animals with distemper often seem disoriented or ‘floppy’ and their coat is sometimes ragged or patchy. They seem more tired than aggressive, but may become aggressive if cornered.

TAS has declared a distemper outbreak. It’s important to make sure your dog’s shots are up-to-date, as wildlife can give distemper to domestic animals (although not to people.)

As always, the first rule of protecting yourself and your pets is don’t feed wildlife, either inadvertently (through unsecured garbage) or on purpose.

If you need to bag a dead raccoon and remove it from your property for 311 (animal services) pickup, wear rubber gloves!
View attachment 16361
Where are the crows and ravens to do the clean up?
 

spaminator

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Avian flu outbreak wipes out 50.54 million U.S. birds, a record
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Tom Polansek
Publishing date:Nov 24, 2022 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read

CHICAGO — Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday.


The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds represent the worst U.S. animal-health disaster to date, topping the previous record of 50.5 million birds that died in an avian-flu outbreak in 2015.


Birds often die after becoming infected. Entire flocks, which can top a million birds at egg-laying chicken farms, are also culled to control the spread of the disease after a bird tests positive.

Losses of poultry flocks sent prices for eggs and turkey meat to record highs, worsening economic pain for consumers facing red-hot inflation and making Thursday’s U.S. Thanksgiving celebrations more expensive in the United States. Europe and Britain are also suffering their worst avian-flu crises, and some British supermarkets rationed customers’ egg purchases after the outbreak disrupted supplies.


The U.S. outbreak, which began in February, infected flocks of poultry and non-poultry birds across 46 states, USDA data show. Wild birds like ducks transmit the virus, known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), through their feces, feathers or direct contact with poultry.

“Wild birds continue to spread HPAI throughout the country as they migrate, so preventing contact between domestic flocks and wild birds is critical to protecting U.S. poultry,” said Rosemary Sifford, the USDA’s chief veterinary officer.

Farmers struggled to keep the disease and wild birds out of their barns after increasing security and cleaning measures following the 2015 outbreak. In 2015, about 30% of the cases were traced directly to wild bird origins, compared to 85% this year, the USDA told Reuters.

Government officials are studying infections at turkey farms, in particular, in hopes of developing new recommendations for preventing infections. Turkey farms account for more than 70% of the commercial poultry farms infected in the outbreak, the USDA said.

People should avoid unprotected contact birds that look sick or have died, though the outbreak poses a low risk to the general public, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
 

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Bird flu prompts slaughter of 1.8M chickens in Nebraska
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Josh Funk
Publishing date:Nov 27, 2022 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Join the conversation
FILE - Chickens walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm in Iowa on Oct. 21, 2015. Nebraska agriculture officials say another 1.8 million chickens must be killed after bird flu was found on a farm in the latest sign that the outbreak that has already prompted the slaughter of more than 50 million birds nationwide continues to spread. Nebraska is second only to Iowa's 15.5 million birds killed with 6.8 million birds now affected at 13 farms.
FILE - Chickens walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm in Iowa on Oct. 21, 2015. Nebraska agriculture officials say another 1.8 million chickens must be killed after bird flu was found on a farm in the latest sign that the outbreak that has already prompted the slaughter of more than 50 million birds nationwide continues to spread. Nebraska is second only to Iowa's 15.5 million birds killed with 6.8 million birds now affected at 13 farms. PHOTO BY CHARLIE NEIBERGALL /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Article content
OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska agriculture officials say another 1.8 million chickens must be killed after bird flu was found on a farm in the latest sign that the outbreak that has already prompted the slaughter of more than 50 million birds nationwide continues to spread.


The Nebraska Department of Agriculture said Saturday that the state’s 13th case of bird flu was found on an egg-laying farm in northeast Nebraska’s Dixon County, about 120 miles (193 kilometres) north of Omaha, Nebraska.


Just like on other farms where bird flu has been found this year, all the chickens on the Nebraska farm will be killed to limit the spread of the disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says more than 52.3 million birds in 46 states – mostly chickens and turkeys on commercial farms – have been slaughtered as part of this year’s outbreak.

Nebraska is second only to Iowa’s 15.5 million birds killed with 6.8 million birds now affected at 13 farms.

In most past bird flu outbreaks the virus largely died off during the summer, but this year’s version found a way to linger and started to make a resurgence this fall with more than 6 million birds killed in September.


The virus is primarily spread by wild birds as they migrate across the country. Wild birds can often carry the disease without showing symptoms. The virus spreads through droppings or the nasal discharge of an infected bird, which can contaminate dust and soil.

Commercial farms have taken a number of steps to prevent the virus from infecting their flocks, including requiring workers to change clothes before entering barns and sanitizing trucks as they enter the farm, but the disease can be difficult to control. Zoos have also taken precautions and closed some exhibits to protect their birds.

Officials say there is little risk to human health from the virus because human cases are extremely rare and the infected birds aren’t allowed to enter the nation’s food supply. Plus, any viruses will be killed by properly cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

But the bird flu outbreak has contributed to the rising prices of chicken and turkey along with the soaring cost of feed and fuel.
 

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Pug who went viral on TikTok dies
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Publishing date:Dec 03, 2022 • 22 hours ago • 1 minute read
The owner of Noodle the pug announced on Instagram that his pet passed away.
The owner of Noodle the pug announced on Instagram that his pet passed away. PHOTO BY JONATHAN GRAZIANO / SHOWMENOODZ /Instagram
Noodles, a senior pug who predicted on social media whether it would be a bones day or a no bones day, has died, according to his owner.


Jonathan Graziano posted on Instagram on Saturday that his 14-year-old dog died Friday, calling it a “day I always knew was coming but never thought it would arrive.”



The little dog became famous in 2021 when Graziano began posting morning TikTok videos of Noodle deciding whether he was going to stand up or flop down in his soft dog bed. This coined the phrase “a no bones day” if Noodle decided to sleep in. Graziano would encourage his fans to follow his lead and treat themselves to soft pants and self care, which was a popular message during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He lived 14 and half years, which is about as long as you can hope a dog can. And he made millions of people happy. What a run,” Graziano said in the emotional video.

The geriatric dog even inspired a children’s book that came out this summer.

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Mass seal death in Russia likely due to oxygen deprivation: official
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Publishing date:Dec 05, 2022 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read

MOSCOW — A top Russian environmental official said Monday that the thousands of dead seals that washed up on Russia’s Caspian Sea coast likely died from oxygen deprivation.


Officials in the republic of Dagestan, which has a long coastline on the world’s largest inland body of water, said this week that 2,500 or more seal corpses have been found recently.


Svetlana Radionova of the natural resources watchdog agency Rosprirodnadzor said on Russian state television that hypoxia is being seen as the most likely cause and she said that scientists are investigation whether natural gas emissions in the Caspian could account for low oxygen.

The Caspian Sea has extensive natural gas reserves that are being tapped increasingly.

Radionova said a similar mass death of seals — about 2,000 — was recorded in Dagestan and neighboring Azerbaijan in 2000.
 

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Winnipeg MP Jim Carr dies after long illness
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Publishing date:Dec 12, 2022 • 23 hours ago • 3 minute read

Jim Carr, a Liberal member of Parliament from Winnipeg and a former cabinet minister, has died. He was 71.


Winnipeg MP Kevin Lamoureux asked the House of Commons for a moment of silence before question period Monday. The parties then agreed to suspend the House for the rest of the day.


Carr had represented the riding of Winnipeg South Centre since 2015.

He served as minister of natural resources then minister of internal trade diversification between 2015 and 2019.



In 2019, the day after being re-elected as an MP, he was diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma. He underwent a stem cell transplant in 2020.

“Over the past three years, he fought these diseases bravely and courageously with the incredible support of his staff, colleagues and loved ones,” Carr’s family said in a written statement.

“As a dedicated elected official, business and community leader in Manitoba for over 30 years, Jim was loved and respected by so many and we know he will be profoundly missed.”

Tributes poured in soon after the announcement.

“As a neighbouring MP, I know how dedicated Jim was to serving his constituents,” Leah Gazan, the New Democrat MP for Winnipeg Centre, posted on Twitter.


“A life dedicated to public service and making a difference. Jim will be sorely missed,” posted Nate Erskine-Smith, a Toronto-area Liberal MP.

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson recalled working with Carr on many projects over the years.

“I always admired his unfailing commitment to the betterment of Winnipeg, Manitoba & Canada,” Stefanson said on Twitter.

Jeff Kovalik-Plouffe, who managed some of Carr’s election campaigns and worked with him as an adviser for many years, said Carr cared more about results than scoring partisan political points.

“He didn’t take a hard stance on anything. He would listen to people and wanted to hear different points of view before he made decisions,” Kovalik-Plouffe said in an interview.


“For whatever persona he gave off publicly, he was a thousand times kinder, wiser, (more) respectful and loving as you could hope for in someone you work with.”

Carr’s last vote in the House of Commons was to approve the implementation bill for the fall fiscal update.

That came a day after the passage of his own private member’s bill on Wednesday. The bill would require the minister responsible for economic development on the Prairies — currently Manitoba MP Dan Vandal — to develop a framework to “build a green economy” in the region.

If the bill passes in the Senate, Vandal would be required to come up with a plan within a year of it becoming law.

“I want to start by expressing some deeply held emotion. I love this country, every square metre of it, in English, in French, in Indigenous languages and in the languages of the newly arrived,” Carr said in a speech Tuesday.


While the speech was ostensibly about the bill, he added some reflections on the state of Canada’s democracy.

“My respect for Parliament has grown by leaps and bounds. The wisdom of inviting witnesses to add thoughtful commentary and an opposition that has been respectful though occasionally dissenting are what a democracy is all about, and it is always rooted in strengthening the national fabric, woven as it is from those mini threads that make Canada the envy of the world,” he said.

“With resources, natural and human, comes responsibility to each other and to the world itself. How could we not be humbled by the greatness of this magnificent country?”

Prior to politics, Carr began his career with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as an oboist, before working as a local journalist and columnist. He entered public life in 1988 when he was elected as the MLA for Fort Rouge. Carr then went on to become the founding CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba. He was also the founding co-chair of the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council.
 

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Huge Berlin aquarium bursts, releases flood of fish
"Unfortunately, none of the 1,500 fish could be saved"

Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Frank Jordans and Emily Schultheis
Published Dec 16, 2022 • 3 minute read
Debris lies in front of the Radisson Blu hotel, where a huge aquarium located in the hotel's lobby burst on December 16, 2022 in Berlin.
Debris lies in front of the Radisson Blu hotel, where a huge aquarium located in the hotel's lobby burst on December 16, 2022 in Berlin. PHOTO BY JOHN MACDOUGALL /AFP via Getty Images
BERLIN — A huge aquarium in Berlin burst, spilling debris, water and hundreds of tropical fish out of the AquaDom tourist attraction in the heart of the German capital early Friday.


Police said parts of the building, which also contains a hotel, cafes and a chocolate store, were damaged as 1 million litres (264,000 gallons) of water poured from the aquarium shortly before 6 a.m. (0500 GMT). Berlin’s fire service said two people were slightly injured.


The company that owns the AquaDom, Union Investment Real Estate, said in a statement Friday afternoon that the reasons for the incident were “still unclear.”

Mayor Franziska Giffey said the tank had unleashed a “veritable tsunami” of water but the early morning timing had prevented far more injuries.

In this file photo taken on May 10, 2011 divers clean the “AquaDom” a lobby aquarium in the Radisson Blu hotel in central Berlin. (Photo by KAY NIETFELD/DPA/AFP via Getty Images)
In this file photo taken on May 10, 2011 divers clean the “AquaDom” a lobby aquarium in the Radisson Blu hotel in central Berlin. (Photo by KAY NIETFELD/DPA/AFP via Getty Images)
“Despite all the destruction, we were still very lucky,” she said. “We would have had terrible human damage” had the aquarium burst even an hour later, once more people were awake and in the hotel and the surrounding area, she said.


The website of the AquaDom described it as the biggest cylindrical tank in the world at 25 metres tall (82 feet tall), although Union Investment Real Estate clarified Friday that the tank portion of the attraction had a height of 14 metres (46 feet).

There was speculation freezing temperatures that got down to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight caused a crack in the acrylic glass tank, which then exploded under the weight of the water. Police said they found no evidence of a malicious act.

A view shows the AquaDom aquarium after it burst, in central Berlin near Alexanderplatz, Germany, December 16, 2022, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Niklas Scheele/via REUTERS
A view shows the AquaDom aquarium after it burst, in central Berlin near Alexanderplatz, Germany, December 16, 2022, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Niklas Scheele/via REUTERS
Nearly all of the 1,500 fish that were inside at the time of the rupture died, the Berlin Mitte district government confirmed via Twitter, adding “a few fish at the bottom of the tank” could still be saved. Among the 80 types of fish it housed were blue tang and clownfish, two colorful species known from the popular animated movie “Finding Nemo.”


Veterinarians, fire service officers and other officials spent the afternoon working to rescue 400 to 500 smaller fish from a separate set of aquariums housed under the hotel lobby. Without electricity, their tanks were not receiving the necessary oxygen for them to survive, officials said. They were evacuated to other tanks in the neighboring Sea Life aquarium that were unaffected.

“It’s a great tragedy that for 1,500 fish there was no chance of survival,” said Almut Neumann, a city official in charge of environmental issues for Berlin’s Mitte district. “The focus in the afternoon was clearly on saving the fish in the remaining tanks.”

Various organizations, including the Berlin Zoo, offered to take in the surviving fish.


Aquarium operator Sea Life said it was saddened by the incident and trying to get more information from the owners of the AquaDom. It said what happened with the AquaDom was “unique and unprecedented” and that Sea Life’s exhibits were not in danger of similar damage.

Sea Life Berlin is located in the same building and visitors can tour it and the AquaDom on a single ticket.

About 300 guests and employees had to be evacuated from the hotel surrounding the aquarium, police said.

Sandra Weeser, a German lawmaker who was staying in the hotel, said she was woken up by a large bang and thought there might have been an earthquake.

“There are shards (of glass) everywhere. The furniture, everything has been flooded with water,” she said. “It looks a bit like a war zone.”


Police said a Lindt chocolate store and several restaurants in the same building complex, as well as an underground parking garage next to the hotel, sustained damage. A fire service spokesman said building safety experts were assessing the extent to which the hotel had sustained structural damage.

Hours after the incident, trucks began clearing away the debris that had spilled out onto the street in front of the hotel. Brightly colored Lindt chocolate wrappers were scattered in front of the building where the chocolate shop was damaged. A small crowd of tourists and onlookers snapped photos from behind the police line across the street.

A dead fish lies in the debris in front of the Radisson Blu hotel, where a huge aquarium located in the hotel’s lobby burst on December 16, 2022 in Berlin. (Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
A dead fish lies in the debris in front of the Radisson Blu hotel, where a huge aquarium located in the hotel’s lobby burst on December 16, 2022 in Berlin. (Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Animal rights group PETA tweeted Friday that the aquarium became a “death trap” for the fish housed in it. “This man-made tragedy shows that aquariums are not a safe place for fish and other marine life,” the group wrote.

The aquarium, which was last modernized in 2020, is a major tourist magnet in Berlin. The 10-minute elevator ride through the tropical tank was one of the highlights of the attraction.

Iva Yudinski, a tourist from Israel who was staying at the hotel, said she was shocked by the incident

“Just yesterday we watched it and we were so amazed (by) its beauty,” she said. “Suddenly it’s all gone. Everything is a mess, a total mess.”
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Dignitaries, family and friends gather for funeral of Manitoba politician Jim Carr
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Steve Lambert
Published Dec 17, 2022 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

WINNIPEG — Politicians of all stripes joined hundreds of mourners who gathered on Saturday to pay tribute to Jim Carr, the Liberal member of Parliament who died five days earlier at the age of 71 following a battle with cancer.


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among the cross-section of dignitaries at the memorial service, which also included former NDP and Progressive Conservative premiers of Manitoba, MPs from the government and opposition side of the House of Commons and prominent Indigenous leaders.


“He … inspired me to continue doing difficult things in difficult moments,” Trudeau told the service.

“And then this week, I discovered it wasn’t just me, it was everyone … it was a gift he had.”

Trudeau gave Carr’s family the flag that was flying on Parliament Hill the day of his death.

Carr was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1988 and served for four years. He later became president of the Business Council of Manitoba, then ran for federal office in 2015.


With a reputation as a bridge-builder, Carr was named minister for natural resources and, later, international trade diversification.

Former Manitoba premier Gary Filmon, a Progressive Conservative, spoke as he entered the memorial service of Carr’s willingness to work across party lines, even during a time of constitutional debate.

“Even at the time of Meech Lake, he was a person who was always looking for a positive solution and he always had a wonderful view of life and what was good for Canada,” Filmon said.

Former NDP premier Gary Doer, who succeeded Filmon, remembered meeting Carr during their university days when Doer worked at a jail.

“He worked for the National Film Board when I was working with Vaughan Street detention centre and he brought films over,” Doer said.


Kevin Lamoureux, a Liberal caucus colleague of Carr’s at both the provincial and national levels, said Carr was a politician who was respected by all parties — an attribute that showed recently after the Commons passed a private member’s bill that Carr had put forward.

“Right after he spoke, members from the Bloc (Quebecois) came over to shake his hand,” Lamoureux said.

“The Bloc voted against his bill, but they respected his argument.”

In 2019, the day after being re-elected as an MP, Carr was diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma. He survived kidney failure and later underwent a stem-cell transplant.

Carr’s son Ben delivered the eulogy Saturday and said Carr’s willingness to listen was so extensive, it once led to a two-hour discussion with Jehovah’s Witnesses that had come to the family’s front door.

Ben Carr also read from a speech that his father was set to deliver in the Commons on Wednesday — a farewell he did not get to give.

“Never stop learning. Keep an open mind. Speak only when you have taken the time to consider your words carefully,” Ben Carr quoted from his father’s prepared remarks.

“Seek to build bridges and consensus. Add a chair around the dinner table. Most importantly … be kind to each other.”
 

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Famed L.A. mountain lion euthanized following health problems
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Christopher Weber
Published Dec 17, 2022 • 3 minute read

LOS ANGELES — P-22, the celebrated mountain lion that took up residence in the middle of Los Angeles and became a symbol of urban pressures on wildlife, was euthanized Saturday after dangerous changes in his behaviour led to examinations that revealed worsening health and injuries likely caused by a car.


Officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the decision to euthanize the beloved big cat was made after veterinarians determined it had a skull fracture and chronic illnesses including a skin infection and diseases of the kidneys and liver.


“His prognosis was deemed poor,” said the agency’s director, Chuck Bonham, who fought back tears during a news conference announcing the cougar’s death. “This really hurts … it’s been an incredibly difficult several days.”

The animal became the face of the campaign to build a wildlife crossing over a Los Angeles-area freeway to give mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, deer and other animals a safe path between the nearby Santa Monica Mountains and wildlands to the north.


Seth Riley, wildlife branch chief with the National Park Service, called P-22 “an ambassador for his species,” with the bridge a symbol of his lasting legacy.

State and federal wildlife officials announced earlier this month that they were concerned that P-22 “may be exhibiting signs of distress” due in part to aging, noting the animal needed to be studied to determine what steps to take.

The mountain lion was captured in a residential backyard in L.A.’s trendy Los Feliz neighbourhood on Dec. 12, a month after killing a Chihuahua on a dogwalker’s leash. An anonymous report that indicated P-22 may have been struck by a vehicle was confirmed by a scan that revealed injuries to his head and torso, wildlife officials said.


State authorities determined that the only likely options were euthanasia or confinement in an animal sanctuary — a difficult prospect for a wild lion.

P-22 was believed to be 12 years old, longer-lived than most wild male mountain lions.

His name was his number in a National Park Service study of the challenges the wide-roaming big cats face in habitat fragmented by urban sprawl and hemmed in by massive freeways that are not only dangerous to cross but are also barriers to the local population’s genetic diversity.

The cougar was regularly recorded on security cameras strolling through residential areas near his home in Griffith Park, an oasis of hiking trails and picnic areas in the middle of the city.

P-22 was born in the western Santa Monica Mountains, and he was partly famous for apparently crossing two heavily traveled freeways on his trek east to the 4,200-acre (1,700-hectare) park in the urbanized eastern end of the mountain range.


“P-22’s survival on an island of wilderness in the heart of Los Angeles captivated people around the world and revitalized efforts to protect our diverse native species and ecosystems,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement Saturday.

Ground was broken this year on the wildlife crossing, which will stretch 200 feet (61 metres) over U.S. 101. Construction is expected to be completed by early 2025.

P-22 was outfitted with a tracking collar in 2012. A year later his celebrity was solidified when he appeared in a National Geographic feature with an iconic photo of the big cat on an L.A. hillside with the Hollywood sign in the background.

In 2017, the cougar became the star of a permanent exhibit at the Natural History Museum called “The Story of P-22, L.A.’s Most Famous Feline” that documents the lion’s life and times in Southern California. The exhibit will be upgraded next year to pay tribute to the animal’s legacy, officials said Saturday.


“Even in his death, P-22 continues to inspire L.A. to embrace urban wildlife conservation and the nature that surrounds us,” said Miguel Ordenana, the museum’s Senior Manager of Community Science.

P-22 usually hunted deer and coyotes, but in November the National Park Service confirmed that the cougar had attacked and killed a Chihuahua mix that was being walked in the narrow streets of the Hollywood Hills.

The cougar also is suspected of attacking another Chihuahua in the Silver Lake neighbourhood this month.

Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director of the National Wildlife Federation, said she hopes P-22’s life and death will inspire the construction of more wildlife crossings in California and across the nation. The nonprofit was a major advocate for the L.A.-area bridge.

“He changed the way we look at L.A. And his influencer status extended around the world, as he inspired millions of people to see wildlife as their neighbours,” Pratt said.

— Associated Press reporter John Antczak contributed.
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Husband and family of woman who was decapitated at national park seeking $191 million in damages
Author of the article:postmedia News
Published Dec 07, 2022 • 1 minute read

The husband and family of a woman who was decapitated at a Utah national park are seeking $191 million ($140 million U.S.) in damages from the American government.


Ludovic Michaud and his new wife, Esther Nakajjigo, were driving in Arches National Park in 2020 when a metal gate whipped around, sliced through the passenger door of his car and decapitated Nakajjigo, according to FOX.


Attorneys for Michaud and Nakajjigo’s family gave their opening arguments when the civil trial began Monday. They argue that the U.S. Park Service was negligent and did not maintain the gates at the entrances and exits to the parks, leading to Nakajjigo’s death, according to the report.

FOX 13 Salt Lake City said Nakajjigo was a Ugandan singer and actress who reportedly did charity work.

“She had like a tremendous potential,” Michaud told the TV station. “She could lift mountains, basically, in her own way. I don’t want this incident to reproduce itself ever again.”



United States attorneys do not dispute that park officials shouldered the blame but argued the amount the family should be awarded is far less at just shy of $5 million Canadian.

The prosecuting attorney said Nakajjigo would have gone on to become a non-profit CEO who would have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars, or perhaps more.

The judge is expected to issue his ruling in the coming weeks.
 

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13 bison dead after truck hits herd near Yellowstone park
The animals can be hard to see at night because of their dark brown colour and because their eyes don't reflect light

Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Dec 30, 2022 • 1 minute read

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — Thirteen bison were killed or had to be euthanized after their herd was struck by a semi-truck involved in a collision with two other vehicles on a dark Montana highway just outside Yellowstone National Park, authorities said Friday.


The semi-truck struck the bison after dark on Wednesday night. Some bison were killed in the crash, and others were put down due to the severity of their injuries, the West Yellowstone Police Department said in a statement.


No one in the truck or in the two other vehicles was hurt, said Police Chief Mike Gavagan.

Authorities said they were investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. Highway 191, just north of the town of West Yellowstone. The town serves as a western entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Police initially said all three vehicles struck the bison but later reported that only the truck did.

Speed may not have been a factor in the accident, police said, though “road conditions at the time would dictate travelling below the posted speed limit.”


Bison in the region often congregate near roadways in the winter, where it’s easier for them to navigate amid heavy snow, the police department said. The animals can be hard to see at night because of their dark brown colour and because their eyes don’t reflect light, including headlights, like deers’ eyes do, it said.

“We deal with wildlife being struck and killed on the roadways in our area on a regular basis due to the abundance of wildlife in our area and our close proximity to Yellowstone National Park,” the police statement said.

“We are always saddened by any of these incidents, particularly when so many animals are lost.”
 

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What? No Bawbwa Wahwa?
oops i forgot about baba wawa. 😊 ;)

Barbara Walters, superstar and pioneer in TV news, dies at 93
Broadcasting legend also created and appeared on daytime talk show "The View"

Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Frazier Moore
Published Dec 30, 2022 • 7 minute read

NEW YORK — Barbara Walters, the intrepid interviewer, anchor and program host who blazed the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a career remarkable for its duration and variety, has died. She was 93.


ABC broke into its broadcast to announce Walters’ death on air Friday night.


“She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women,” her publicist Cindi Berger also said in a statement, adding Walters died peacefully at her New York home.

An ABC spokesperson did not have an immediate comment Friday night beyond sharing a statement from Bob Iger, the CEO of ABC parent The Walt Disney Company.

“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself,” Iger said.



During nearly four decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, Walters’ exclusive interviews with rulers, royalty and entertainers brought her celebrity status that ranked with theirs, while placing her at the forefront of the trend that made stars of TV reporters.

Late in her career, she gave infotainment a new twist with “The View,” a live ABC weekday kaffee klatsch with an all-female panel for whom any topic was on the table and who welcomed guests ranging from world leaders to teen idols. With that side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered “The View” the “dessert” of her career.

A statement from the show said Walters created “The View” in 1997 “to champion women’s voices.”

“We’re proud to be part of her legacy,” the statement said.


Walters made headlines in 1976 as the first female network news anchor, with an unprecedented $1 million salary that drew gasps. Her drive was legendary as she competed — not just with rival networks, but with colleagues at her own network — for each big “get” in a world jammed with more and more interviewers, including female journalists following in her trail.

“I never expected this!” Walters said in 2004, taking stock of her success. “I always thought I’d be a writer for television. I never even thought I’d be in front of a camera.”

But she was a natural on camera, especially when plying notables with searing questions.

“I’m not afraid when I’m interviewing, I have no fear!” Walters told The Associated Press in 2008.


In a voice that never lost its trace of her native Boston accent or its substitution of Ws-for-Rs, Walters lobbed blunt and sometimes giddy questions, often sugarcoated with a hushed, reverential delivery.

“Offscreen, do you like you?” she once asked actor John Wayne, while Lady Bird Johnson was asked whether she was jealous of her late husband’s reputation as a ladies’ man.

In May 2014, she taped her final episode of “The View” amid much ceremony to end a five-decade career in television (although she continued to make occasional TV appearances ). During a commercial break, a throng of TV newswomen she had paved the way for — including Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts and Connie Chung — posed for a group portrait.


“I have to remember this on the bad days,” Walters said quietly, “because this is the best.”

Her career began with no such inklings of majesty.

Walters graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1943 and eventually landed a “temporary,” behind-the-scenes assignment at “Today” in 1961. Shortly afterward, what was seen as the token woman’s slot among the staff’s eight writers opened. Walters got the job and began to make occasional on-air appearances with offbeat stories such as “A Day in the Life of a Nun” or the tribulations of a Playboy bunny. For the latter, she donned bunny ears and high heels to work at the Playboy Club.

As she appeared more frequently, she was spared the title of “‘Today’ Girl” that had been attached to her predecessors. But she had to pay her dues, sometimes sprinting between interviews to do dog food commercials.


She had the first interview with Rose Kennedy after the assassination of her son, Robert, as well as with Princess Grace of Monaco and President Richard Nixon. She traveled to India with Jacqueline Kennedy, to China with Nixon and to Iran to cover the shah’s gala party. But she faced a setback in 1971 with the arrival of a new host, Frank McGee, who insisted she wait for him to ask three questions before she could open her mouth during interviews with “powerful persons.”



Although she gained celebrity status in her own right, the celebrity world was familiar to her even as a little girl. Her father was an English-born booking agent who turned an old Boston church into a nightclub. Lou Walters opened other clubs in Miami and New York, and young Barbara spent her after-hours with regulars such as Joseph Kennedy and Howard Hughes.

Those were the good times. But her father made and lost fortunes in a dizzying cycle that taught her success was always at risk of being snatched away, and could neither be trusted nor enjoyed.

Sensing greater freedom and opportunities awaiting her outside the NBC studio, she hit the road to produce more exclusive interviews, including with Nixon chief of staff H.R. Haldeman.


By 1976, she had been granted the title of “Today” co-host and was earning $700,000 a year. But when ABC signed her to a $5 million, five-year contract, she was branded the “the million-dollar baby.”

Reports failed to note her job duties would be split between the network’s entertainment division and ABC News, then mired in third place. Meanwhile, Harry Reasoner, her seasoned “ABC Evening News” co-anchor, was said to resent her salary and celebrity orientation.

It wasn’t just the shaky relationship with her co-anchor that brought Walters problems.


Comedian Gilda Radner satirized her on “Saturday Night Live” as a rhotacistic commentator named “Baba Wawa.” And after her interview with a newly elected President Jimmy Carter in which Walters told Carter “be wise with us,” CBS correspondent Morley Safer publicly derided her as “the first female pope blessing the new cardinal.”

It was a period that seemed to mark the end of everything she’d worked for, she later recalled.

“I thought it was all over: ‘How stupid of me ever to have left NBC!”’

But salvation arrived in the form of a new boss: ABC News president Roone Arledge moved her out of the co-anchor slot and into special projects. Meanwhile, she found success with her quarterly primetime interview specials. She became a frequent contributor to newsmagazine “20/20,”and later co-host. A perennial favourite was her review of the year’s “10 Most Fascinating People.”


By 2004, when she stepped down from “20/20,” she had logged more than 700 interviews, ranging from Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Moammar Gadhafi, to Michael Jackson, Erik and Lyle Menendez and Elton John. Her two-hour talk with Monica Lewinsky in 1999, timed to the former White House intern’s memoir about her affair with President Bill Clinton, drew more than 70 million viewers.

Lewinsky tweeted that she had lunch with Walters a few years ago where “of course, she was charming, witty and some of her questions were still her signature interview style.”

A special favourite for Walters was Katharine Hepburn, although a 1981 exchange led to one of her most ridiculed questions: “What kind of a tree are you?” (Walters would later object that the question was perfectly reasonable within the context of their conversation).


Walters did pronounce herself guilty of being “dreadfully sentimental” at times and was famous for making her subjects cry, with Oprah Winfrey and Ringo Starr among the more famous shedders.

But her work also received high praise. She won a Peabody Award for her interview with Christopher Reeve shortly after the 1995 horseback-riding accident that left him paralyzed.

Walters’ first marriage to businessman Bob Katz was annulled after a year. Her 1963 marriage to theater owner Lee Guber, with whom she adopted a daughter, ended in divorce after 13 years. Her five-year marriage to producer Merv Adelson ended in divorce in 1990. Walters wrote a bestselling 2008 memoir “Audition,” which caught readers by surprise with her disclosure of a “long and rocky affair” in the 1970s with married U.S. Senator Edward Brooke.


Walters’ self-disclosure reached another benchmark in May 2010 when she made an announcement on “The View” that, days later, she would undergo heart surgery. She would feature her successful surgery — and those of other notables, including Clinton and David Letterman — in a primetime special.

Walters is survived by her daughter, Jacqueline Danforth.

“I hope that I will be remembered as a good and courageous journalist. I hope that some of my interviews, not created history, but were witness to history, although I know that title has been used,” Walters told the AP upon her retirement from “The View.” “I think that when I look at what I have done, I have a great sense of accomplishment. I don’t want to sound proud and haughty, but I think I’ve had just a wonderful career and I’m so thrilled that I have.”

— Moore, a longtime Associated Press television writer who retired in 2017, was the principal writer of this obituary. Associated Press journalists Stefanie Dazio and Alicia Rancilio contributed to this report.
 
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