WOLVES ARE ENDANGERED
With wolves in Colorado, here's everything you need to know: It's complicated

Miles Blumhardt, Fort Collins Coloradoan
Mon, January 31, 2022

The most polarizing predator of the West is back in Colorado, and recent kills by wolves have stoked the embers of emotions on the issue.

For the first time in eight decades, the state has a wolfpack whose six pups were born in Colorado.

That pack over the past month has killed three cows and a working cattle dog north of Walden in Jackson County, with the state's voter-approved reintroduction of wolves still a year away.


Emotions have heightened while ranchers, wolf advocates and state wildlife officials scramble on how to quell the killing. That anxiety has created a swell of misinformation and misconceptions on both sides of the issue, quieting the science of wolves' behaviors and impacts.

With that backdrop, here are answers to 10 frequently asked questions regarding wolves compiled from wolf experts, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado State University's Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence.

Helping hand: Neighbors, officials assist Colorado rancher with wolf hazing fencing
Where did the wolves in Colorado come from? Were they reintroduced?

The wolfpack was not reintroduced; the parents of the pack naturally migrated into the state from Wyoming over the past several years.

The pack consists of two adults and six young, which were born last spring. The female had a tracking collar on her from Wyoming, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife captured the male and attached a tracking collar.
Why are we reintroducing wolves if they are already in Colorado?

Wolves were eradicated in Colorado by the 1940s largely through shooting, trapping and poisoning.

There have been infrequent sightings of wolves in the state since then and no breeding packs in the state until last year, when the pair was discovered right around the time the measure to reintroduce wolves was working its way onto the ballot.

Some groups wanted to speed up the process to restore wolves to a sustainable level on the Colorado landscape, like what had been done in Wyoming and Idaho in 1995 when wolves were reintroduced there.

Supporters received enough signatures to get a wolf reintroduction measure on the 2020 ballot. Voters narrowly passed Proposition 114: 50.91% for and 49.09% against.

The measure requires the Colorado Parks and Wildlife to complete a plan that includes reintroducing wolves west of the Continental Divide no later than the end of 2023. It also mandates that landowners be compensated for livestock losses due to wolves.

Do wolves kill a lot of livestock?

Wolf depredation is a small economic cost to the livestock industry overall, but the impacts to individual ranchers can be substantial.

There are many ways to break down the data, depending on which numbers you use, but overall, an accurate percentage of loss of livestock to wolves is somewhere in the single digits.

Colorado controversy: Experts say wolf depredation on cattle needs urgent attention
Why do wolves kill cattle and sheep instead of elk and deer?

The main prey base of wolves are elk, deer and moose, but wolves are opportunistic predators, meaning anything is on the menu if the amount of energy to kill it is rewarding.

Wolves are known to live among cattle and sheep and cause no harm. Other wolfpacks have found killing livestock is easier than killing wildlife. Experts agree that this learned behavior is difficult to break and can require killing (where legal) or removing all or part of the pack to address the issue.

In Colorado, where killing wolves is illegal except to protect human life and removal is considered a low-level option, various methods of nonlethal hazing of wolves are advocated. The effectiveness of these methods varies but usually lasts several weeks to several months before wolves move on or are no longer afraid of the devices.

Will wolves wipe out our deer and elk herds?

Like in the livestock industry, in some areas where wolves exist at a sustainable population level, wolves have impacted deer, elk and moose populations. When this happens, it can have an economic impact on small communities and outfitters that rely on business from hunting.

At a statewide level, wolves are unlikely to have a major impact on overall deer, elk and moose populations or hunting opportunities in Colorado, based on evidence from northern Rocky Mountain states.

Colorado boasts the largest elk population of any state, with a stable number estimated at 287,000. The mule deer population is estimated to be 450,000, which is about 25% below what is desired. The moose population is about 3,000 and thriving.

Why are livestock owners who lose livestock to wolves compensated?

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is required by state statue to compensate ranchers and farmers for depredation by predators, such as coyotes, black bears, mountain lions and now wolves. It also compensates landowners for such things as hay eaten by elk and moose tearing down fences.

The ballot initiative required compensation to landowners for confirmed wolf kills of livestock. Funding for wolf depredation comes from the state's general fund, the Species Conservation Trust Fund, the Colorado Nongame Conservation and Wildlife Restoration Cash Funds or other sources from nongame species.

How do they determine how much to pay a rancher for the loss of livestock?

That is the million-dollar question.

Generally, the rancher is paid market price.

Livestock owners point out the compensation doesn't pay them for the loss of young that could have been produced if a female is killed, reduction in birth rates and weight loss from wolves harassing their livestock. Others say that is the price of doing business where predators share the landscape.

Do wolves kill people and pets?

Wolves attacking or killing humans is extremely rare and infrequent for dogs.

Unless habituated to humans with food, wolves instinctively avoid humans.

There were no documented accounts of humans killed by wild wolves from 1900 to 2000, and few reports of wolves attacking people.

Wolves may have killed a person in Canada in 2005 and a woman jogging alone in a remote part of Alaska in 2010.

Since wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995, there have been no attacks on humans there despite annual visitation of 4.5 million people.

Wolves see dogs as competition to their territory and food supply and will aggressively attack and kill them, just as they will other wolves, coyotes, mountain lions and black bears.

Do wolves consume what they kill or do they kill for fun?

On average, wolves are successful when hunting wild game less than 20% of the time, and a wolf will consume approximately 7 to 10 pounds of meat per day.

On rare occasions, wolves eat only a portion of what is killed. And though rare, confirmed "surplus kills'' have been reported on elk and sheep. Surplus killing is when animals kill more prey than they can immediately eat and then cache or abandon the remainder.

Surplus killing by wolves is more common on domestic livestock than wild game, which have natural defenses against predators.

The leading theory of surplus killing behavior is it occurs usually in late winter, when prey are more vulnerable and easier to catch. Wolves are programmed to kill whenever possible, so they take advantage of an unusual killing opportunity.

Are wolves endangered?

Wolves are likely the most adaptable and thus among the easiest species to return to sustainable populations ever listed on the federal Endangered Species Act.

They were largely killed off in the contiguous U.S. by 1973, when they were added to the ESA. They were delisted in 2021 after their numbers exceeded 7,000, including more than 3,000 in western states.

More than 10,000 gray wolves live in Alaska.

The number of wolves in an area is largely determined by humans, which are the primary threat to their existence.

When the federal government delisted gray wolves, management within Colorado was transferred to Colorado State Parks and Wildlife. Wolves remain a designated endangered species in Colorado, and it is illegal to kill wolves in the state except to protect human life.

The penalty for illegally killing a wolf in Colorado is a fine up to $100,000, up to one year in jail and possible loss of hunting privileges for life.

Wolves in Rocky Mountain National Park?: Some believe it should be a release site
Dig deeper into Colorado wolf information

Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Visit https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/Wolves-in-Colorado-FAQ.aspx

Colorado State University: Visit https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/centerforhumancarnivorecoexistence/

Reporter Miles Blumhardt looks for stories that impact your life. Be it news, outdoors, sports — you name it, he wants to report it. Have a story idea? Contact him at milesblumhardt@coloradoan.com or on Twitter @MilesBlumhardt. Support his work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Wolves in Colorado: An FAQ on attacks, behavior, environmental impact

MBS personally called Netanyahu to intervene after Israel blocked Saudi access to a military-grade spyware program, report says

Bill Bostock
Mon, January 31, 2022

A composite image showing former Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R.)

Getty/Hasan Bratic/


Pegasus is a powerful software from NSO Group that lets governments surveil electronics.


Israel's defense ministry stopped Saudi Arabia from using Pegasus in 2020, NYT Magazine said.


So MBS personally called Netanyahu and told him he needed to intervene, the magazine said.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to intervene after his country blocked Saudi Arabia from accessing the powerful, Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, The New York Times Magazine reported.

Pegasus, a tool made by Israel's NSO Group for governments to spy on the electronics of terrorists and criminals, has also been used by governments including Saudi Arabia to spy on activists, state critics, and foreign officials.

In October 2020, the Israeli defense ministry declined to renew NSO's export license to a Saudi security agency, citing Riyadh's past abuse of Pegasus, the magazine said.

The lack of a new license meant that NSO could not update the Pegasus software for the Saudis, and it started crashing, the report said.

This prompted Crown Prince Mohammed to call Netanyahu, the magazine reported.

After the call, Netanyahu ordered the defense ministry to solve the issue and a new export license was granted within hours, giving Saudi authorities full use of Pegasus, the report said.

NSO, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC, and the Israeli defense ministry did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

NSO first welcomed Saudi Arabia as a client in 2017 but canceled the contract in late 2018 after the Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi was found to be murdered by Saudi state security agents.

The Post reported that the phone of Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's wife, was infected with the Pegasus software.

Despite this, Saudi Arabia's access to Pegasus was restored by NSO in early 2019, the magazine said.

In November, the US added NSO to a banned-entity list, preventing American companies from engaging with NSO.

Indian opposition says government misled parliament over spyware use


The logo of Israeli cyber firm NSO Group is seen at one of its branches in the Arava Desert, southern Israel

Mon, January 31, 2022
By Alasdair Pal

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian opposition parties said on Monday they will move parliamentary motions accusing the government of providing misleading information around the use of technology from Israeli spyware firm NSO Group.

The New York Times reported on Friday India purchased NSO's Pegasus software as part of a $2 billion weapons package in 2017.

The government has previously denied reports it used Pegasus to spy on activists, journalists and politicians.

"This government is misleading the House, the Supreme Court, the people... as opposition, it's our responsibility to raise this issue," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the opposition Congress in parliament's lower house, told local media.

The Trinamool Congress, a second opposition party, said it would move a similar motion in the a session of India's parliament, that began on Monday.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Pegasus: India parliament opens amid furore over Pegasus 'lies'


Mon, January 31, 2022

PM Modi's government is facing fresh allegations of buying Israeli spyware

India's parliament opened amid a political storm over fresh allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government bought Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to snoop on its critics.

The New York Times reported on Friday that India acquired Pegasus from Israel as part of a defence deal in 2017.

Similar allegations emerged last year, and the government had denied them.

Opposition parties are now accusing the government of lying to parliament and misleading the house.

The main opposition Congress has called for a "privilege motion" in parliament - used in instances when members are accused of committing a breach of privilege - against information and technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for "deliberately misleading the House".

Why Pegasus' snooping threatens India's democracy

"The government, on the floor of the House, always maintained that it had nothing to do with the Pegasus spyware and it never bought the spyware from the NSO Group... in light of the revelations… it appears that the Modi government has misled the parliament and the Supreme Court," Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, wrote in a letter to the Speaker.

The allegations are expected to result in a heated debate as parliament assembles for a joint session of both houses. This comes ahead of the annual budget, which will be tabled on Tuesday, and days before five states go to the polls to elect a new government.

A fresh plea seeking a police investigation has been filed in the Supreme Court, which began an inquiry into the matter when allegations first emerged last year.
What are the allegations?

Last year, Indian media outlet The Wire reported that some 160 Indians, including prominent activists, lawyers and politicians, were spied on using the Pegasus malware.

Pegasus infects iPhones and Android devices, allowing operators to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones.

An investigation by a global consortium of media outlets showed how the malware was used by governments around the world to hack phones of dissidents. The targets' phone numbers were on a database believed to be of interest to clients of Israeli firm NSO.

It's unclear where the list came from or how many phones were hacked - and NSO has denied any wrongdoing. It said the software was intended for tracking criminals and terrorists and was only sold to military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies from countries with good human rights records.

NSO was also accused of cyber attacks against Indian journalists and activists in 2019 - NSO Group denied the allegations.

Mr Modi's visit to Israel was followed by a rare trip to India by Mr Netanyahu

But the New York Times reported on Friday that Pegasus and a missile system were the "centrepieces" of a roughly $2bn deal that took place between India and Israel in 2017 when Mr Modi made his first trip to the country. The visit - and a subsequent one by Mr Netanyahu the following year - marked a significant turn in India's relationship with Israel.

The fresh allegations sparked a political storm, with opposition leaders demanding answers from Mr Modi.

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi accused the government of treason, and Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of acting "like the enemies of India".


What has Mr Modi 's government's said?

The government has denied that it ordered any unauthorised surveillance.

Last year, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had called the allegations a "sensational" attempt "to malign Indian democracy and its well established institutions" - he told parliament in September that the government "has not had any transaction with NSO Group Technologies".

But there has been no statement from Mr Modi or his ministers since the latest allegations emerged. Opposition politicians have questioned the government's "silence" on the issue and demanded that Mr Modi address the country.

In September, the Supreme Court set up a panel to look into the allegations after the government repeatedly failed to respond to its questions, citing national security. The court had said the government had left it with "no option but to accept the prima facie case made out by the petitioners".

USW Rejects Marathon's Most Recent Proposal, Offers 24-Hour Rolling Extensions to Current Oil Agreements

PR Newswire

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 1, 2022

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers union (USW) announced today that it rejected Marathon Petroleum's most recent proposal for a pattern settlement on wages, benefits and working conditions for approximately 30,000 USW members in the oil and petrochemical industry. The union then offered rolling 24-hour extensions of the current labor agreements.

"USW members were on the front lines of the pandemic, ensuring that our nation could meet its energy needs while company executives were safely tucked away, working from home," said USW International President Tom Conway. "Management needs to finally come to the table ready to negotiate a deal that reflects our members' hard work, commitment and sacrifice."

The USW has been in talks with Marathon, which represents industry as its lead negotiator, since Jan. 13. The current national agreement expired at midnight on Feb. 1.

"Our members remain strong and united in their commitment to reaching a deal that meets their needs on wages, benefits, health and safety and more," said Mike Smith, who chairs the USW's National Oil Bargaining Program. "We call on Marathon to demonstrate the same urgency."

The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.

Virginia shipyard, union reach tentative contract agreement


Steve Helber

The Associated Press
Mon, January 31, 2022, 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Virginia’s largest industrial employer and a key player in the U.S. Navy’s modernization efforts has reached a tentative five-year contract with its biggest union.

The agreement with Newport News Shipbuilding and the United Steelworkers Local 8888 comes after the latter’s members rejected an earlier pact late last year, the Daily Press of Newport News reported.

Both agreements called for annual pay increases.

Union spokesman Dwight Kirk said the latest deal represents an enhancement over the rejected agreement but declined to provide details on the wage stipulations. Kirk said the union planned briefing the 12,000 workers in its collective bargaining union before they’re asked to vote on it.

Kirk also said the agreement includes pension improvements, a cap on health care costs union members pay and the first benefit involving domestic partners.

Newport News Shipbuilding spokesman Danny Hernandez confirmed the tentative agreement was reached Friday.

“In the coming week, we will post the tentative agreement terms, including wage, health care, and pension information to ensure all employees have a complete and accurate understanding of the agreement prior to the upcoming employee vote. Meanwhile, we are pleased that the union is continuing to honor all current contract terms and conditions and that we continue to meet our mission in building ships for the U.S. Navy,” Hernandez said in a statement to Defense News.

About 25,000 people work at Newport News Shipbuilding, which builds and refuels all the Navy’s aircraft carriers and builds nuclear-powered submarines. A strike hasn’t occurred at the shipbuilding yard since 1999, the newspaper said.

The shipyard is critical to the Navy’s top modernization program — the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, according to the newspaper. With a $2.2 billion contract, Newport News shipbuilders are working to build portions of the new boats.

Israel calls on Amnesty not to release apartheid report







1 / 7
 Palestinians use a ladder to climb over the separation barrier with Israel on their way to pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, July 11, 2014. Israel on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, called on Amnesty International not to publish an upcoming report accusing it of apartheid, saying the conclusions of the London-based international human rights group are “false, biased and antisemitic.”

 (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)

Mon, January 31, 2022

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Monday called on Amnesty International not to publish an upcoming report accusing it of apartheid, saying the conclusions of the London-based international human rights group are “false, biased and antisemitic.”

Amnesty is expected to join the New York-based Human Rights Watch and the Israeli rights group B'Tselem in accusing Israel of the international crime of apartheid based on its nearly 55-year military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state and because of its treatment of its own Arab minority.

Israel dismissed the other reports as biased, but is adopting a much more adversarial stance this time around. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has said Israel expects intensified efforts this year to brand it as an apartheid state in international bodies and hopes to head them off.

In a statement issued Monday, he said Amnesty “is just another radical organization which echoes propaganda, without seriously checking the facts," and that it “echoes the same lies shared by terrorist organizations.”

“Israel isn’t perfect, but we are a democracy committed to international law, open to criticism, with a free press and a strong and independent judicial system," Lapid said.

Amnesty did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Amnesty's report “denies the state of Israel’s right to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people.”

“Its extremist language and distortion of historical context were designed to demonize Israel and pour fuel onto the fire of antisemitism,” it added.

Neither Human Rights Watch nor B’Tselem compared Israel to South Africa, where an apartheid system based on white supremacy and racial segregation was in place from 1948 until the early 1990s. Instead, they evaluate Israel’s policies based on international conventions like the Rome Statute, which defines apartheid as “an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group.”

They argue that Israel’s various policies in the territories under its control are aimed at preserving a Jewish majority in as much of the land as possible by systematically denying basic rights to Palestinians. Israel says its policies are aimed at ensuring the survival and security of the world’s only Jewish state.

The International Criminal Court is already investigating potential war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants in the occupied territories. After last year’s Gaza war, the U.N. Human Rights Council set up a permanent commission of inquiry to investigate abuses in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, including “systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity.”

Israel has accused both the ICC and the U.N. rights body of being biased against it.

DUTY TO ACCOMODATE
He got fired after going to church instead of work on a Sunday. Now employer will pay


Michael Conroy/AP

Hayley Fowler
Mon, January 31, 2022, 1:19 PM·3 min read

An employee in Florida who negotiated his work schedule around going to church was fired after he failed to show up for a Sunday shift, according to court documents.

Now the company owes him $50,000.

Tampa Bay Delivery Service LLC, an Amazon delivery partner out of Florida, agreed to settle allegations of religious discrimination after the former worker filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC, which is tasked with enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws in the workplace, launched a lawsuit on his behalf last year.

Under the terms of the agreement, which a federal judge approved on Jan. 27, Tampa Bay Delivery Service denied any wrongdoing but agreed to provide better training to managers and dispatchers as well as hire a religious accommodation coordinator.

“We commend Tampa Bay Delivery Service for working collaboratively with EEOC to resolve this lawsuit,” Robert E. Weisberg, regional attorney for the EEOC Miami District, said in a news release. “The company’s willingness to address EEOC’s concerns will help in preventing future employees from being forced to choose between employment and a religious belief.”

A representative and lawyers for Tampa Bay Delivery Service did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Monday, Jan. 31.

According to the EEOC’s complaint, Tampa Bay Delivery service hired the man in May 2019 as a delivery driver. He reportedly told the company during the hiring process that he could not work on Sundays because he is a Christian and attends church on Sundays.

The owner agreed — if the man agreed to work on Saturdays, according to the lawsuit.

About four months later, Tampa Bay Delivery Service scheduled the employee to work a Sunday shift, the EEOC said. He told them that he could not work that day and went to church instead. The company fired him later that same day, the complaint states.

The former employee filed a charge of religious discrimination with the EEOC shortly thereafter, and the agency determined there was reasonable grounds to believe Tampa Bay Delivery Service had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Its attempts to resolve the matter outside of court fell short, and the EEOC filed a complaint in the Middle District of Florida on Sept. 29.

The parties filed a proposed consent decree around the same time, which the judge didn’t approve until last week, court documents show.

Under the two-and-a-half-year agreement, Tampa Bay Delivery Service will pay the former worker $25,000 in back pay and $25,000 in compensatory damages. The company also agreed to:


Designate someone as the “Religious Accommodations Decision maker” who will decide all requests for religious accommodations from employees


Create an anti-religious discrimination policy


Post a public notice about the EEOC’s allegations and resulting settlement


Provide 90 minutes of in-person training on religious discrimination to all managers and supervisors

An Amazon warehouse manager faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing $273,000 worth of computer parts and selling them to a wholesaler

Dominick Reuter
Mon, January 31, 2022

Robots called "pods" inside an Amazon Fulfillment Center in France.PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images

A 27-year-old North Carolina man pleaded guilty to mail fraud after stealing Amazon merchandise.

For more than a year, the man stole computer parts and sold them to a wholesaler in California.

The scheme targeted high-value components, including hard drives, processors, and GPUs.

A former Amazon employee has pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud related to a scheme involving the sale of stolen computer parts worth $273,000.

Douglas Wright, 27, admitted to stealing high-value components including internal hard drives, processors, and GPUs when he was an operations manager at an Amazon warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, the US Department of Justice announced Friday.

From June 2020 to September of last year, Wright used his access to Amazon's inventory-tracking systems to locate specific packages, which he then took home and sold to a wholesaler in California, prosecutors said.

The penalties for mail fraud include a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Justice Department is no stranger to mail-fraud investigations involving Amazon.

In December, prosecutors said a Virginia man pleaded guilty to a scheme in which he claimed refunds on goods worth $300,000 and sending back similar items of significantly lesser value.

And in October, another North Carolina man pleaded guilty to engaging in more than 300 fraudulent transactions with Amazon over four years, causing losses to the company worth over $290,000.

RUSSIAN WHITE NATIONALISTS VS UKRAINIAN WHITE NATIONALISTS

Notorious Russian Mercenaries Pulled Out of Africa Ready for Ukraine

Philip Obaji Jr.
Mon, January 31, 2022

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty

ABUJA, Nigeria—The infamous Wagner Group—run by one of President Putin’s closest associates—is pulling dozens of battle-hardened mercenaries out of Africa to send them to Eastern Europe where Russian forces are threatening Ukraine, The Daily Beast has learned.

According to two senior military officers in the Central African Republic (CAR) unprecedented numbers of Wagner mercenaries left the country for Eastern Europe in January and more are preparing to leave in the coming weeks.

“Usually when we hear that some have left we find out that they are just a handful—sometimes five or six people within a month,” an officer, who works at the military headquarters in the CAR capital, Bangui, told The Daily Beast. “It’s the first time we are hearing that dozens have departed in a month.”

One man who was recently detained by Wagner Group forces told The Daily Beast that he overheard CAR troops in the camp where he was being held describe a sudden exodus of mercenary fighters heading directly to Ukraine.

The move comes at a time when Ukrainian authorities have said Russia is boosting supplies of weapons, ammunition and military equipment to separatist regions in Ukraine while actively recruiting mercenaries to fight in the ongoing conflict. Kyiv’s military intelligence service said last week that Moscow was undertaking “active recruitment of mercenaries” who are being sent to separatist-controlled regions.

Some have called Wagner Putin’s “private army.” It is often dispatched undercover to regions where Russia denies having any official military presence.

Russian Paramilitaries Accused of Torture and Beheading in Landmark Legal Case Against Wagner Group

It's not the first time the Wagner Group has re-deployed private special forces soldiers from Africa or other combat zones in line with Putin’s evolving foreign policy objectives—despite Kremlin denials that Wagner has any links to the Russian government.

An investigation by Bellingcat published in November found that more than 200 Russians had been sent to Belarus to destabilize the country in the run-up to its August 2020 presidential elections from other hotspots where the Wagner Group was deployed, including CAR.

If Putin was asking his friends at Wagner to increase the destabilization inside Ukraine, it would be likely that some of those Russian mercenaries would be drafted in from sub-Saharan Africa.

This is the first time the Russians have left in large numbers since Wagner mercenaries arrived in CAR at the request of the government more than four years ago, according to a military official, who said the mercenaries that have departed had come from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and are returning to where they came from.

“We have specifically been told by their supervisors that about 20 Russians departed this January for Eastern Europe,” another official, who works closely with the Russians, told The Daily Beast privately. “What we understand is that the Russians who’ve left, and those who will leave later on, are doing so as part of their assignment rotation policy and that they would be replaced in due course.”

But no one seems to know when exactly the replacements for the departing mercenaries will arrive—if at all. The operations of the Wagner Group are often so shrouded in secrecy that even the people they work with in CAR have very little information about what they do.

“Yes, they share intelligence with us,” the military official said. “But that’s where it often ends. We rarely know anything about their itenary or plans.”

More than 1,000 Russians are deployed to CAR by the Wagner Group, which first gained international notoriety in Ukraine at the height of the 2014 incursion when they were accused of war crimes.

The organization was founded by Dmitry Utkin, who was once a member of the Russian special forces and is currently under U.S. sanctions for aiding Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

According to a CNN report, Utkin was once head of security for Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin. Prigozhin became famous as a restaurateur, and earned the nickname,“Putin’s chef” because of the lucrative contracts handed out to his catering company. Russian business outlet RBC reported a few years back that Utkin’s name appeared in a corporate database as the general director of one of Prigozhin's companies.

Progozhin denies that he is the financier of Wagner—a secretive and, under Russian law, illegal organization of private military contractors. But the allegations are persistent, the denials are pro forma, and its existence is an open secret. In 2016, the Russian broadcaster RBC published a detailed report on Wagner in the context of the global private military contractor industry.

The group has recruited many of its mercenaries from the Russian military intelligence agency known as the GRU, and its founder, Utkin (nickname: “Wagner”), is a veteran of the GRU’s elite Spetsnaz special-operations forces. RBC reported that the group operates under the supervision of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

Last week, The Daily Beast reported that one of the most feared offshoots of the group known as Task Force Rusich hinted at its own intention to fight undercover in Ukraine, where it is believed to have committed war crimes during the 2014 fighting between Russian separatists and Ukrainian armed forces.

Neo-Nazi Russian Attack Unit Hints It’s Going Back Into Ukraine Undercover

A 26-year-old trader, who was arrested at the start of January by Wagner mercenaries in the CAR town of Bria, told The Daily Beast about his experiences in the camp where he was held. He said he and dozens of other young men were forced to demolish old brick houses and then recover the bricks for use in the construction of a new base for the Russians near a diamond buying office. He said he heard soldiers for the official CAR military—known as FACA—discussing amongst themselves how the mercenaries that arrested him had now traveled to Ukraine and may not return anytime soon.

“For the 15 days we stayed in the camp, we only saw the four Russians that arrested us the first two days when we arrived,” said Patrice Gaopandia, who was picked up along with three others when the Russians stormed the area he lived and embarked on a systematic arrest of young people for forced labor.

“It was later we heard FACA soldiers say that the Russian soldiers had left for Ukraine," said Gaopandia, who was later released.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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#CRYPTID #CRYPTOZOOLOGY

A 'sea pickle'? An animal that can grow to 60 feet long is washing up on the Oregon coast

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY

Tue, February 1, 2022

Hundreds of animals nicknamed "sea pickles" have been washing up on the shores of Oregon, and they are causing quite a stir in the Beaver State.

"They're not the easiest things to describe," Tiffany Boothe, administrator at the Seaside Aquarium in the state, told USA TODAY.

While they are called "sea pickles" based on their looks, the animals are actually a pyrosome. It is a "colony" of multi-celled organisms called zooids, meaning individual zooids will be tightly packed together to form a bigger version of themselves, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

National Geographic refers to them as the "cockroaches of the sea," and they are able to illuminate the ocean waters.

A single zooid is about the size of a grain of rice, but conjoined together, these colonies can make the creature about 60 feet long and wide enough for a human to fit in, according to Oceana, a non-profit ocean conservation organization.

In 2018, a pair of divers encountered a 26-foot long pyrosome, and Boothe said she heard recently a diver took a photo of themselves riding one.

She added that since the creatures have a body part resembling a backbone, they are more closely related to humans than the similar-looking jellyfish.

'Once in a lifetime': Rare blanket octopus spotted off Australian coast

'2021 is pulling out all the tricks': Fish rain from the sky in rare phenomenon in Texas

As terrifying as this creature may sound, they aren't rare. "Sea pickles" are typically found in the warm, open ocean waters around the world, but strong currents can push them north. They first puzzled researchers in 2017 when they made it all the way up to the Alaskan coast, the first time they had ever been observed that far up north.

Boothe said recent storms in the south Pacific Ocean have created those strong ocean currents to where hundreds of people have spotted pyrosomes throughout the Oregon coast. However, these aren't the 60-foot long ones, with most there measuring around 2-feet long.

"When somebody who hasn't come across one of these on the beach comes across one, it creates a lot of questions because they are so so odd-looking," Boothe said.

So far, there have been no other reports of the creature in any other Pacific states, but if someone does spot the creature, she encourages people to get an up-close look at them. If they're washed up on shores, that means they are dead.

"If you're interested, pick it up and take a closer look at it. It's not gonna harm you since it's not alive anymore," Boothe said, "It's just kind of an interesting creature to try to wrap your mind around."

As for what they feel like?

"Kind of jellyfish-like. Gelatinous, rigid and bumpy," Boothe said.

Boothe said scientists are still trying to understand the impact pyrosomes appearing so far north have by appearing in the north. Fish have been eating them, but since they have no known nutritional value, it's unknown if they are good or bad.

"These big blooms could have implications in the marine environment that we're just not sure of yet," Boothe said.

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sea pickles wash up on Oregon beaches by the hundreds. What are they?

California eyes giving 500,000 fast food workers more power


 Fast-food workers drive-through to protest for a $15 dollar hourly minimum wage outside a McDonald's restaurant in East Los Angeles Friday, March 12, 2021. On Monday, Jan. 31, 2022 California lawmakers approved a first-in-the-nation measure by Assemblyman Chris Holden that gives California's more than half-million fast food workers increased power and protections. 

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)More

DON THOMPSON
Mon, January 31, 2022

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's more than half-million fast food workers would get increased power and protections under a first-in-the-nation measure approved by the state Assembly on Monday.

Workers would be included alongside employers and state agencies on a new Fast-Food Sector Council to set statewide minimum standards on wages, working hours, training and working conditions including procedures designed to protect employees from the coronavirus pandemic.

It would be limited to fast food restaurants with at least 30 establishments nationally.

“California has a chance to lead the country and address outstanding issues in the fast food industry," said Democratic Assemblyman Chris Holden, a former franchisee himself. “It is about fairness and it is about bringing all the responsible parties to the table to collaborate on solutions.”

Organized labor made the bill regulating the fast food industry and boosting the voice of the most populous state's estimated nation-leading 557,000 fast food workers a priority. But it initially failed in June even in a Legislature overwhelmingly dominated by Democrats, falling three votes short of the 41 it needed to pass the 80-member Assembly.

It passed the state Assembly Monday on a 41-19 vote and now heads to the state Senate.

It passed over the objections of some Democrats who said it delegates too much legislative power to the council. The Legislature would have 60 days to overrule the council's regulations before they take effect.

Other opponents objected to singling out fast food workers for a council when employees in other fields may also have similar wage and safety concerns.

The bill "just drives entire franchises and franchise brands away from California,” said Republican Assemblyman Kelly Seyarto.

Supporters said fast food workers make up the largest and fastest growing group of low-wage, private sector workers in the state, but have lacked protections specific to their industry.

They estimate that about 80% of the workers in California are Latino, Black or of Asian descent, two-thirds are women, and many live in working class communities that have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

But the International Franchise Association said a growing number of women and racial minorities own franchise establishments.

“This potential for continued growth is threatened” by the bill, the group said in opposition, as is “continuing an economic recovery from the pandemic.”

Fast food workers as well as local franchisees “are often at the mercy” of fast food chains, Bob Schoonover, president of 700,000-member SEIU California, said before the vote. The bill “addresses this imbalance of power by bringing workers and franchisees together to raise standards and protections across the California fast food industry.”

Among other things, employees could sue the restaurant if they contend they have been fired, discriminated or retaliated against for exercising the rights created under the bill. And franchisees could bring actions against franchisors if they believe the corporations are impeding their compliance with health, safety and employment laws.

The council would be under the Department of Industrial Relations, with 11 members appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, all currently Democrats.

It would include two representatives of fast food restaurant employees, two representatives of advocates for fast food restaurant employees, one representative of fast food restaurant franchisors and one representative of fast food restaurant franchisees.

The remaining five members would be representatives of state agencies.

The bill was first introduced by Lorena Gonzalez, a longtime labor advocate perhaps best known nationally for her law aimed at giving many independent contractors the same rights and benefits as full-time employees. Gonzalez resigned this month to become executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation.