Twin panda cubs’ chances looking good
WASHINGTON – In more than three decades of trying to breed pandas at the National Zoo, there’s been plenty of heartbreak. More cubs born in Washington have died than survived, and news of a birth has often been greeted warily.
But on Sunday, zoo officials were nearly giddy. They don’t just have an apparently healthy pair of twins, born Saturday night to panda mom Mei Xiang. They have a template to follow that gives the cubs a strong chance of survival.
Pandas won’t usually nurse twins if left to their own devices. They’ll care for one and allow the other to die. But in the past decade, Chinese breeders have come up with a system: Every several hours, they swap out the cubs, giving each one the critical time it needs to nurse and bond with its mother. Meanwhile, the other one is kept in an incubator.
Panda keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo will continue performing these delicate swaps as long as it’s needed and as long as Mei Xiang lets them. By late Sunday afternoon, the twins had traded places three times without incident, with Mei Xiang cradling them in turn.
“If she gets aggressive toward us, we’re not going to get that close,” giant panda biologist Laurie Thompson said Sunday.
La. trooper was shot, critically injured
LAKE CHARLES, La. – A Louisiana state trooper was shot in the head and critically injured Sunday when he tried to stop a driver suspected of being drunk or drugged in southwest Louisiana, Louisiana State Police said.
Other drivers stopped the alleged gunman and helped the officer until paramedics arrived, Col. Michael D. Edmonson, head of state police, said in a message on the department’s Facebook page. The message’s subject line was “Trooper Critically Injured – Prayers Needed.”
Capt. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman, confirmed that the officer, whose name was not immediately released, was shot in the head.
Post-cancer treatment, Carter teaches school
PLAINS, Ga. – The Sunday school lesson was familiar: When your burden grows heavy, ask God for strength. But the message carried a more powerful and personal meaning than usual because of who delivered it: Jimmy Carter.
The 90-year-old former president taught Sunday school in his hometown for the first time since he disclosed Thursday that his cancer had spread to his brain.
With easygoing humor and his usual toothy smile, Carter gave two back-to-back Bible lessons to unusually large crowds totaling more than 700 people – some of whom had traveled hundreds of miles – just three days after undergoing radiation treatment.
He spent less than five minutes recapping his illness before saying, “That’s enough of that subject” and beginning the lesson on faith, love and relationships.
Gas prices sit tight for 2 weeks at $2.71
CAMARILLO, Calif. – The average price of gasoline has remained steady over the past two weeks, holding at $2.71 a gallon.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that while the average remains unchanged, many Midwest cities saw prices jump after a partial shutdown of an Indiana refinery. Many West Coast cities experienced price drops.
The cheapest price recorded in the continental United States was Charleston, South Carolina, at $2.10.
The highest was $3.67 a gallon in Los Angeles.
The national average price of diesel was down 6 cents over the same period to $2.72 a gallon.
Thousands help with papal visit to Philly
PHILADELPHIA – An army of about 10,000 volunteers will be on hand when Pope Francis visits Philadelphia during the Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families and holds the biggest events of his first trip to the U.S.
Volunteers will greet and direct pilgrims, provide translation services, aid guests with special needs and perform a variety of other roles, including posting images and messages on social media, organizers from the World Meeting of Families said.
Six weeks before the pope’s visit, nearly 8,000 had already passed criminal- and employment-background checks.
The checks would have cost the World Meeting of Families more than $300,000 if the nonprofit were paying for them all. But in many cases, volunteers are covering the costs, said Tom Klein, executive director of Verified Volunteers, the company handling the work.
Associated Press
