By CHRISTINA LARSON and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press
The once-controversial idea of relocating an imperiled species to another island, country or continent for conservation is gaining increasing acceptance among scientists as a measure of last resort. Yet the potential danger — and scientific debate — lies in what humans can't predict. Recently scientists have moved Tristram's storm petrel chicks from beaches being submerged by rising sea levels to shores they've never bred on, 500 miles away on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Such relocations are still rare, but wildlife officials in the U.S. have drafted a proposal to guide scientists in deciding when it's appropriate to deliberately move a threatened species outside its historical range.
The U.S. and Japan are ready to seal an agreement to bolster their cooperation on space. It's the latest in a series of moves by Japan as it looks to build security cooperation with allies in a time of provocative Chinese and North Korean military action. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held wide-ranging talks at the White House on Friday. Later Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa will sign a U.S.-Japan Space Cooperation agreement. Kishida's Washington visit is the capstone on a weeklong tour of five European and North American capitals.
An uneasy quiet has settled over Kyiv despite air-raid sirens that blared there and across the rest of Ukraine after a Russian cease-fire declaration for Orthodox Christmas went into effect. No explosions have been heard in the Ukrainian capital. And reports of sporadic fighting elsewhere in the country could not be confirmed. Clashes there could take hours to become public. Kyiv residents ventured out into a light dusting of snow to buy gifts and groceries for Christmas Eve celebrations. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his forces to observe a unilateral, 36-hour cease-fire. Ukrainian and Western officials have dismissed the move as a ploy. Ukraine's president issued a Christmas Eve message saying Ukrainians are one big family united in a belief in victory.
By LOLITA C. BALDOR and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press
The U.S. will send Ukraine nearly $3 billion in military aid, in a massive new package that will for the first time include several dozen Bradley fighting vehicles. That's according to U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the package have not been publicly announced. The aid — totaling about $2.85 billion — is the largest in a series of packages of military equipment that the Pentagon has pulled from its stockpiles to send Ukraine so far in the war. Also Thursday, Germany announced it was sending armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.
Snowpack in California's mountains is off to one of its best starts in 40 years. State officials said Tuesday that the statewide snow depth is 174% of the historical average this year. Much of that is because of a spate of recent storms that have dumped snow in the Sierra Nevada. Even more snow is expected later this week and over the weekend. But state officials cautioned that the recent weather isn't enough by itself to end the drought. The past three years in California have been the driest ever recorded dating back to 1896. Many more storms will be needed to officially end the drought.
