The Full Belmonte, 2/6/2023
Powerful quake rocks Turkey and Syria, kills more than 1,300
By GHAITH ALSAYED AND SUZAN FRASER
“AZMARIN, Syria (AP) — A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,300 people. Hundreds were still believed to be trapped under rubble, and the toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.
On both sides of the border, residents jolted out of sleep by the pre-dawn quake rushed outside on a cold, rainy and snowy night. Buildings were reduce to piles of pancaked floors, while major aftershocks, some nearly as strong as the first, continued.
Rescue workers and residents in multiple cities searched for survivors, working through tangles of metal and concrete. A hospital in Turkey collapsed, and patients, including newborns, were evacuated from facilities in Syria.
In the Turkish city of Adana, one resident said three buildings near his home were toppled. ‘I don’t have the strength anymore,’ one survivor could be heard calling out from beneath the rubble as rescue workers tried to reach him, said the resident, journalism student Muhammet Fatih Yavus.
A man searches collapsed buildings in Diyarbakir, southern Turkey. (Depo Photos via AP)
‘Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise,’ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. ‘Our hope is that we recover from this disaster with the least loss of life possible.’
The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, was centered north of Gaziantep, a Turkish provincial capital.
It struck a region that has been shaped on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria. On the Syrian side, the swath affected is divided between government-held territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey, meanwhile, is home to millions of refugees from that conflict….” Read more at AP News
Biden 2024? Most Democrats say no thank you: AP-NORC poll
By JOSH BOAK and HANNAH FINGERHUT
FILE - President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris stand on stage at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting, Feb. 3, 2023, in Philadelphia. A majority of Democrats now think one term is plenty for Biden, despite his insistence that he plans to seek reelection in 2024. That's according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
“WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of Democrats now think one term is plenty for President Joe Biden, despite his insistence that he plans to seek reelection in 2024.
That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that shows just 37% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, down from 52% in the weeks before last year’s midterm elections.
While Biden has trumpeted his legislative victories and ability to govern, the poll suggests relatively few U.S. adults give him high marks on either. Follow-up interviews with poll respondents suggest that many believe the 80-year-old’s age is a liability, with people focused on his coughing, his gait, his gaffes and the possibility that the world’s most stressful job would be better suited for someone younger.
‘I, honestly, think that he would be too old,’ said Sarah Overman, 37, a Democrat who works in education in Raleigh, North Carolina. ‘We could use someone younger in the office.’
As the president gives his State of the Union address on Tuesday, he has a chance to confront fundamental doubts about his competence to govern. Biden has previously leaned heavily on his track record to say that he’s more than up to the task. When asked if he can handle the office’s responsibilities at his age, the president has often responded as if he’s accepting a dare: ‘Watch me.’
Democratic candidates performed better than expected in the 2022 midterm elections, a testament to Biden’s message that he is defending democracy and elevating the middle class. Democrats expanded their control of the Senate by one seat and narrowly lost their House majority even though history indicated there would be a Republican wave.
Overall, 41% approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, the poll shows, similar to ratings at the end of last year. A majority of Democrats still approve of the job Biden is doing as president, yet their appetite for a reelection campaign has slipped despite his electoral track record. Only 22% of U.S. adults overall say he should run again, down from 29% who said so before last year’s midterm elections.
The decline among Democrats saying Biden should run again for president appears concentrated among younger people. Among Democrats age 45 and over, 49% say Biden should run for reelection, nearly as many as the 58% who said that in October. But among those under age 45, 23% now say he should run for reelection, after 45% said that before the midterms….” Read more at AP News
Russia’s Casualties in Ukraine Near 200,000
The estimates come as Moscow’s forces push to seize an advantage as the anniversary of the war approaches
Russian reservists line up during a ceremony in Omsk, Russia. A law in Russia prohibits publishing any military death data that is not officially released.PHOTO: ALEXEY MALGAVKO/REUTERS
“MOSCOW—Close to 200,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the war in Ukraine, according to estimates from U.S. and European officials, a toll that is likely to continue to rise as the Kremlin readies a fresh offensive in the coming weeks.
The U.S. military, which keeps rough estimates on Russian casualties in Ukraine, puts the figure for wounded and dead at roughly 180,000, though officials stressed such figures aren’t precise, a U.S. defense official said.
The tally matched assessments by Norway’s defense chief Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, who said last week that the number of Russian soldiers killed or injured was approaching 180,000. Mr. Kristoffersen estimated that 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded, in line with an estimate Pentagon officials put out in November.
The casualty count comes as Moscow’s forces press an eastern offensive in an effort to seize the advantage on the battlefield before tanks pledged by Kyiv’s allies begin to arrive in Ukraine and as the conflict approaches its one-year mark on Feb. 24.
The Kremlin and Ministry of Defense didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the Western casualty assessments.
In September, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, said 5,937 Russian military personnel had been killed in the conflict in Ukraine. That was only the second time Russian authorities had released any official casualty count. That figure hasn’t been updated since….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Moscow, Tehran Advance Plans for Iranian-Designed Drone Facility in Russia
The two countries are deepening a military partnership that has alarmed the West
A drone seconds before it fired on buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, in October. PHOTO: EFREM LUKATSKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Moscow and Tehran are moving ahead with plans to build a new factory in Russia that could make at least 6,000 Iranian-designed drones for the war in Ukraine, the latest sign of deepening cooperation between the two nations, said officials from a country aligned with the U.S.
As part of their emerging military alliance, the officials said, a high-level Iranian delegation flew to Russia in early January to visit the planned site for the factory and hammer out details to get the project up-and-running. The two countries are aiming to build a faster drone that could pose new challenges for Ukrainian air defenses, the officials said.
Tehran has already provided Moscow with hundreds of drones it has used to hit military and civilian targets in Ukraine, U.S. officials have said. And the Biden administration has warned that Russia and Iran are developing a ‘full-fledged defense partnership.’ The White House says Moscow was training Iranian pilots to fly Russian jet fighters, with the intent of sending Tehran those jets by year’s end.
In December, the White House warned that Moscow and Tehran were considering whether to build a joint drone-production line in Russia.
Now, the U.S.-aligned officials said, the talks have morphed into concrete plans with the Jan. 5 visit to the Russian town of Yelabuga, about 600 miles east of Moscow. They toured the empty site where leaders from the two nations are planning to build a new factory that can produce at least 6,000 drones in the coming years, they said.
Ukrainian rescuers at the site of a Kyiv residential building destroyed in October by a Russian drone, which local authorities consider to be Iranian-made.PHOTO: OLEKSII CHUMACHENKO/SOPA IMAGES/ZUMA PRESS
The officials said the Iranian delegation was led by Brig. Gen. Abdollah Mehrabi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization, and Ghassem Damavandian, the chief executive of Iran’s Quds Aviation Industry, a key defense manufacturer that the U.S. says is central to developing and building the country’s drones.
Russian and Iranian officials didn’t respond to requests for comment….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
China accuses US of indiscriminate use of force over balloon
By EMILY WANG FUJIYAMA
“BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it ‘seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.’
The U.S. shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft.
Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over the ‘U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.’
‘However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,’ Xie said.
The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions.
Xie repeated China’s insistence that the balloon was a Chinese civil unmanned airship that blew into U.S. airspace by mistake, calling it ‘an accidental incident caused by force majeure.’
China will ‘resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard China’s interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,’ he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden issued the shootdown order after he was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. Military officials determined that bringing down the balloon over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 meters) would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.
‘What the U.S. has done has seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations since the Bali meeting,’ Xie said, referring to a recent meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Indonesia that many hoped would create positive momentum for improving ties that have plunged to their lowest level in years….” Read more at AP News
The brazen balloon
The balloon's remnants drift Saturday above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail below. Photo: Chad Fish via AP
“For ‘pure gall,’ David E. Sanger writes in the N.Y. Times, ‘there was something different about the balloon,’ despite superpowers' constant spying on one another.
The incident ‘speaks volumes about how little Washington and Beijing communicate,’ Sanger adds.
The fact ‘that Chinese officials, realizing that the balloon had been spotted, did not call to work out a way to deal with it was revealing.’
The balloon traversed the continental U.S. for most of last week, ending with the shoot-down at 2:39 p.m. ET Saturday. The search for debris continued yesterday. Map: AP
The balloon's journey: Traveling at 60,000 feet, the ‘high-altitude surveillance balloon’ appeared to pass sensitive U.S. bases, Reuters reports.
Those include Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, which oversees 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos ... and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, home to U.S. Strategic Command, which is in charge of nuclear forces.
It also appeared to drift over Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which operates the Air Force's B-2 bomber.
A U.S. official told Reuters that the craft had propellers and rudders, and was able to linger in the winds over specific areas:
‘We saw it do that. It loitered over certain sites. It went left, right. We saw it maneuver.’
China says the balloon was a civilian craft used for meteorological and other purposes, and strayed into U.S. airspace ‘completely accidentally.’ [Axios]
“What the US says was a spy balloon and what China says was a weather craft sent off course by strong wind has sparked fresh tensions between the two powers.
The US shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina and called off a visit to China by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Both sides will be weighing further action. In the meantime, here are some lessons this episode highlights:
1) The leadership in Beijing does not cast an all powerful eye across the vastness of China. Its bureaucracy can be flabby and slow, instructions don’t always cascade neatly out, orders aren’t automatically followed. There is some question as to whether the balloon was timed deliberately or a clumsy mistake. China was contrite initially over the balloon when it became public. And it has since replaced its national weather chief.
2) Once US Republicans got wind of the balloon they loudly demanded action, which potentially forced President Joe Biden’s hand. The Republican-controlled House may push the White House more on China policy in the run up to the 2024 election, especially as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to visit democratically governed Taiwan (which China claims as its territory) at some point.
3) It’s not just the most advanced military technology that does the lifting. Surveillance balloons have some utility even in the era of satellites. Countries still want photos, footage, maps and plans. They can get information from hacking. But they also need to get a direct look at places. Russia’s war in Ukraine has also shown the value of old-fashioned weaponry, like artillery.
4) All countries spy on each other. Many spy on their friends. There is a second balloon floating over Latin America, including countries where China does a lot of business (and where the lack of criticism of Beijing for that balloon is telling). The US is believed to have used spy balloons itself. And recall the claims that surfaced in 2013 that then-Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s phone was tapped by Australia, which alongside the US is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group.
5) Neither side seems to want this to spiral. Blinken spoke with his counterpart Wang Yi and there are lines of communication open. Both Xi Jinping and Biden have domestic imperatives to sound tough (and China seems to be using the episode to fan nationalism). Beijing may opt to retaliate, be it via trade or a military show of force. The US may respond further, too. But Xi also needs to get his economy back on track. And both Biden and Xi have articulated a desire to at least put a floor under ties.
6) In the long run the relationship may be headed toward collision and confrontation either way. An emerging multipolar landscape will also sow division between advanced nations and what is known as the ‘Global South.’ We are seeing that already in other ways, including the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. — Rosalind Mathieson [Bloomberg]
Debt ceiling
“A Republican co-chair of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus said Sunday that GOP members are ready to break with their party leadership on some aspects of the debt ceiling negotiations, but they remain committed to attaching some spending cuts. ‘We can't have a clean debt ceiling increase,’ Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick told CNN, indicating that it is still a red line for moderate and swing-district Republicans. He would not specify what cuts he believes are necessary, instead arguing that the entire structure of the debt ceiling should be changed. Fitzpatrick's comments come after Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held talks at the White House last week to address the debt limit. McCarthy signaled optimism following the meeting that both he and Biden can reach consensus ‘long before’ the US defaults.” [CNN]
Pope, Anglican, Presbyterian leaders denounce anti-gay laws
By NICOLE WINFIELD
“ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis was backed by the ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyterian minister in calling for gays to be welcomed by their churches as he again decried laws that criminalize homosexuality as unjust.
The three Christian leaders spoke on LGBTQ rights during an unprecedented joint airborne news conference Sunday while returning home from South Sudan, where they took part in a three-day ecumenical pilgrimage to try to nudge forward the young country’s peace process.
They were asked about Francis’ recent comments to The Associated Press, in which he declared that laws that criminalize gay people were ‘unjust’ and that ‘being homosexual is not a crime.’
South Sudan is one of 67 countries that criminalizes homosexuality, 11 of them with the death penalty. LGBTQ advocates say even where such laws are not applied, they contribute to a climate of harassment, discrimination and violence….” Read more at AP News
Recycling
“A new report shows recycling around the world isn't scaling up fast enough to deal with the amount of plastic items being produced, meaning that they are far more likely to be dumped in landfills, on beaches and in rivers and oceans than they are to make it to recycling plants. The world is also creating more single-use plastic waste than ever, data from the report shows, with more than 139 million metric tons of single-use plastic waste generated in 2021. That is 6 million metric tons more than in 2019, when the first index was released. Many climate activists and officials were hoping for that figure to be lower considering governments around the world have been issuing policies to reduce the volume of single-use plastic, banning products like single-use straws, disposable cutlery, food containers, cotton swabs, bags and balloons.” [CNN]
“Israelis take to the streets, again. Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered for the fifth consecutive week this weekend to protest proposed judicial reforms, which critics of the plan say would severely weaken the country’s judiciary and democracy. Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told a crowd gathered in Haifa that they were ‘trying to save the country.’ Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Haaretz, ‘The citizen’s voice isn’t just important at the ballot box—in democracies there are courts, the free press and citizens who make their voices heard and protest.’
Meanwhile, Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he could not be personally involved in the dramatic reforms to the judiciary proposed by his government, as it would be a conflict of interest since the prime minister is currently on trial for corruption.” [Foreign Policy]
“At least 23 killed by Chilean wildfires. Wildfires in Chile have killed at least 23 people, injured at least 60, and left at least 1,500 seeking shelter after 800 homes were destroyed. The state said 87 fires were still being fought and 148 had been reined in. Record temperatures were reportedly making it more difficult to stop the fires.
Chile’s interior minister, Carolina Tohá, said 76 new fires broke out on Friday alone, and that the crisis was evidence of Chile’s vulnerability to climate change. Officials from around the world, including the United States, have reportedly offered help. Emergency orders put in place allow for the deployment of soldiers and additional resources.” [Foreign Policy]
“Ayatollah pardons thousands of prisoners. Iran’s supreme leader has pardoned ‘tens of thousands’ of prisoners, including some arrested in anti-government protests, according to state news. But the pardons reportedly came with conditions: it would not apply to dual nationals, and those accused of ‘corruption on earth,’ the charge under which four people were recently executed.
It would also not apply to those charged with ‘spying for foreign agencies’ or ‘affiliated with groups hostile to the Islamic Republic.’ Rights groups say 20,000 have been arrested in connection with the ongoing protests, and that 500 have been killed in the crackdown so far.” [Foreign Policy]
Tech giants rush to exploit chatbot
Screenshot from ChatGPT's latest welcome screen
“The explosion of interest in ChatGPT and generative AI has tech giants scrambling to rethink and rewrite product plans to capitalize, Axios tech managing editor Scott Rosenberg writes from the Bay Area.
Why it matters: ChatGPT went from zero to millions of daily users on a trajectory that left observers agape. A UBS study estimates ChatGPT topped 100 million monthly active users in just two months, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history.
What's happening: Every major tech company has been investing in AI for years.
AI is already deeply integrated into much of the tech we use every day — from Google Search to Facebook's News Feed to your email spam filters to your phone's voice-to-text function.
But the overnight ChatGPT craze is giving the industry a ravenous appetite for one specific flavor of AI — generative programs that produce text and images in response to user prompts.
Microsoft: Microsoft's longstanding investments in ChatGPT creator OpenAI ensured the business-software giant would take a lead in deploying generative AI-based services.
Last week Microsoft rolled out a premium version of its Teams work collaboration software — integrating ChatGPT-based tools for summarizing meeting notes.
The company is expected to use ChatGPT-style AI to reshape its Bing search engine.
Google: Google has been working for years on the same kind of large language model-based generative AI that powers ChatGPT, and the company pioneered a key element of the technology.
But Google moved cautiously to open up its research out of concerns over applications' accuracy, trustworthiness and potential for bias.
In late January, Google showed off a new generative AI projectthat can generate a wide range of music from a user's text prompt.
Meta: Facebook's parent has sunk fortunes into AI, using it to rank News Feed items, moderate content and translate text.
It has detailed a number of efforts in the generative space, including text-to-image and text-to-video.
‘The two major technological waves driving our roadmap are AI today, and over the longer term, the metaverse,’ Zuckerberg said on the company's earnings calls last week.
Amazon: Amazon uses AI for Alexa's voice recognition, to optimize its warehouse operations and for other purposes.
Apple: CEO Tim Cook said during last week's earnings call that AI has the potential to change just about everything the company does.” [Axios]
Nets Trading Kyrie Irving to Dallas Mavericks After His Request to Leave
Irving’s tenure with the Nets was marred by his refusal to be vaccinated for the coronavirus and his posting of a link to an antisemitic film. In Dallas, he will join the superstar Luka Doncic.
“Kyrie Irving is on his way out of Brooklyn after three and a half scandal-filled years in which the Nets fell way short of realizing their aspirations of seriously contending for an N.B.A. championship.
The Nets reached an agreement on Sunday to trade Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, according to three people familiar with the situation. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced and they were not authorized to speak publicly about it.
The Nets were expected to receive Spencer Dinwiddie, 29, a guard who played five seasons with the Nets from 2016-21; forward Dorian-Finney Smith, 29; a first-round pick in 2029; and multiple second-round picks, two of the people said. The Mavericks will also receive the veteran forward Markieff Morris from the Nets, one of the people said.
The deal could help the Mavericks (28-26) rise enough in the tightly contested Western Conference to contend for a championship this season….” Read more at New York Times
Los Angeles Gives Star Treatment to P-22, the ‘Brad Pitt’ of Mountain Lions
A city filled with famous people comes together over a big cat that made it in Hollywood, against the odds. ‘L.A.’s favorite bachelor’
“LOS ANGELES—This valley is filled with celebrities, both gorgeous and aloof. The December death of one famous resident, who was a little bit of both, has provoked an unusually unrelenting outpouring of admiration.
The icon is the city’s famous mountain lion, P-22, a stealthy native son-turned-antihero, whom many Angelenos felt they knew and certainly loved, though almost no one got close to.
Years ago, the tawny, muscled puma, somehow traversed 10 lanes of hellish California freeway to take up residence in Griffith Park, an urban oasis in the Hollywood Hills and above the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood. To glimpse the ghostly cat became a thrilling celebrity sighting. Paparazzi and journalists stalked him for photos, including a glamour shot in National Geographic of P-22 strutting majestically past the Hollywood sign. Wildlife conservationist supporters dubbed him ‘the Brad Pitt of the cougar world.’
P-22 inspired T-shirts, murals, neighborhood shrines and a “Jeopardy” question. A local beer and cocktail is named for him, the L.A. City Council declared an official P-22 Day, and a special-issue P-22 library card is soon to be out. Petitions now call for a P-22 statue and for the lion to get a star on Hollywood Boulevard, while U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, who is from the L.A. area, has proposed a P-22 stamp and called him ‘a celebrity neighbor, the occasional troublemaker and a beloved mascot for our city.’
On Saturday, the apex predator was honored at a sold-out ‘P-22 Celebration of Life’ at the Greek Theatre, an outdoor venue that holds about 5,900 people. Tickets went so fast organizers compared it to the rush for Taylor Swift concert seats. For those who couldn’t get in, eleven Los Angeles public libraries planned live-stream watch parties. It was the kind of tribute typically reserved for the uber-famous, and held the same weekend the city hosts the Grammy Awards.
‘Who would have ever believed that a cougar could sell out the Greek in two hours?’ said Steven Winter, the National Geographic photographer, and one of several speakers to eulogize P-22.
Allison Brooker, 63, shared her Beachwood Canyon neighborhood at the edge of Griffith Park with P-22. She never spotted him, but says she often looked up into the hills, hoping for a glimpse.PHOTO: ALICIA CALDWELL/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Actor Rainn Wilson, of ‘The Office’ fame, sang an original song about P-22, while Mr. Schiff told the audience, ‘I had the distinct honor of being P-22’s representative in Congress.’
Another speaker, Michael McMahan, said he saw P-22 roving through his backyard in the Cahuenga Pass many times over the years—and he, like so many Angelenos, came to identify with him. ‘We were just two aging bachelors, roaming the Hollywood hills,’ Mr. McMahan said to laughter and cheers. ‘Rest in peace, my friend. P-22 forever!’
There was ‘just something about this cat that captured people’s imagination,’ said Beth Pratt, a regional executive director in California for the National Wildlife Federation, ahead of the event.
‘There’s layers to it. It’s a fun story. A small-town kid makes it in Hollywood and survives a perilous journey,’ added Ms. Pratt, who sports a P-22 tattoo. ‘Not every mountain lion would make it to Griffith Park. Not every mountain lion would have been that chill in Griffith Park.’
Beth Pratt, a regional director with the National Wildlife Federation and P-22's self-described BFF, sported a new pair of Puma sneakers and a sweater in honor of P-22's trek across L.A. notoriously congested freeways.PHOTO: ALICIA CALDWELL/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
P-22 was discovered in the park at about age 2, and named for his place in a puma study that tracked 22 cats at the time. Researchers concluded he was born in the Santa Monica Mountains, about 20 miles and two congested highways away.
Their best guess is that the young cat struck out for Hollywood, like so many other dreamers, by strolling from the mountains near Mulholland Drive before jumping on the 405, and then headed east, likely through Laurel Canyon, and over to the 101.
Unscathed from his epic commute, he set up camp in the Hollywood Hills and claimed Griffith Park, with more than 4,200 acres, as his personal playground with a seemingly unending buffet of deer and critters. His tracking collar showed he spent most of his days napping. His nights were spent on the prowl.
One of many memorials that cropped up for P-22 after his death. PHOTO: WALLY SKALIJ/LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY IMAGES
The occasional residential camera spotted him meandering through dimly lit neighborhoods, like a typical L.A. driver looking for shortcuts. He once was discovered hiding in the crawl space of a family’s Los Feliz home and refused to budge even when authorities shot tennis balls in his direction. ‘He’s real casual…real comfortable,’ an animal-control officer told local media at the time. The next morning, P-22 was gone.
In 2016, he was the prime suspect in the slaying of a Los Angeles Zoo koala named Killarney. Though there were no witnesses or video evidence, the koala’s remains were found on a trail leading away from his enclosure and toward P-22’s hunting grounds. Zoo officials surmised Killarney was on an evening walkabout when the cat leaped the fence and made away with his prey. (When a speaker at the Greek Theatre on Saturday mentioned P-22’s infamous zoo foray and the death of Killarney, P-22 fans shouted ‘allegedly!’ in defense of the hulking cat.)
‘To him I am sure it was just a weird looking raccoon,’ Ms. Pratt ventured. ‘I just remember getting the call…and I was like, ‘he did what?’ I never in the course of my wildlife career thought I’d have to be issuing a statement about a mountain lion eating a koala in Los Angeles.’
At the time she worried Killarney’s death would lead to a push for P-22’s removal from the park. But the collective decision was made to leave P-22 right where he was. ‘I just remember thinking, wow people are really on the side of native wildlife here,’ Ms. Pratt said.
Eventually, P-22 was captured as researchers noticed his behavior had become erratic, with attacks on two chihuahuas in the last weeks of his life.
During his medical treatment, it became clear P-22 had likely been hit by at least one car and was suffering from other illnesses. He probably attacked the dogs, Ms. Pratt said, because he was no longer capable of hunting bigger prey in his twilight years. He was euthanized on Dec. 17 at age 12, considered old for his breed.
‘It wasn’t because he ate a chihuahua,’ Ms. Pratt said of the decision to euthanize P-22. ‘The owners of that chihuahua, they reached out to me. They recognized he wasn’t being bad, he was being a mountain lion. They still love P-22.’
Ouaj Ghribi from Paris, France visits a mural, by artist Corie Mattie, dedicated to the celebrated mountain lion, P-22.PHOTO: DAMIAN DOVARGANES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gerry Hans, president of the Friends of Griffith Park, a nonprofit organization, said P-22 supporters are asking to make donations for any future memorials. He envisions possibly a bronze statue or even a plaque.
A change.org petition calling for installing a P-22 statue in the park had 711 supporters signed on as of Thursday. Years before his death, supporters of a statue for legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully got 735 signatures.
Several murals of the cat are already in place around the city, with more going up. The Library Foundation of Los Angeles has announced an upcoming event, with an open mic, called ‘How P-22 United Our City: Love Letters to L.A.’s Favorite Cat.’
And a wildlife corridor, inspired in part by his harrowing journey across town, is now under way. Organizers of the project said “there may be no single animal more important to today’s conservation movement than P-22.”
Ms. Pratt and others said his legacy will live on in conservation efforts, including the wildlife crossing bridge.
‘I loved what he represents, I love what he achieved,’ Ms. Pratt said. ‘I am so grateful I was on the planet at the same time as him.’” [Wall Street Journal]
Beyoncé emerges as Grammys queen; Styles wins album honor
By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beyoncé sits alone atop the Grammy throne as the ceremony’s most decorated artist in history, but at the end of Sunday’s show it was Harry Styles who walked away with the album of the year honor.
The Grammys spread its top awards among other artists, leaving Beyoncé off stage at the end of the night. But the superstar was a constant presence throughout the night, even when she wasn’t in the room, especially once she won her 32nd award and surpassed late composer Georg Solti in all-time wins.
‘I’m trying not to be too emotional,’ the superstar said after her historic win as her husband Jay-Z stood and applauded her. The singer thanked her late uncle, her parents, Jay-Z and her children for supporting her. ‘I’m just trying to receive this night. I want to thank God for protecting me. Thank you, God.’
The Grammys stage at the end of the night has eluded Beyoncé since 2010, when she won song of the year for ‘Single Ladies.’ She added four trophies to her collection for her album ‘Renaissance.’
Harry Styles, left, embraces Kid Harpoon, center, while Tyler Johnson accepts the award for album of the year for "Harry's House." (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Styles was emotional accepting his album of the year award, saying he was inspired by everyone in the category. ‘A lot of different times of my life, I’ve listened to everyone in these categories. It’s so important to remember that there is no such thing as best.’…” Read more at AP News
Iran singer who faces prison wins Grammy for protest anthem
By JON GAMBRELL
“DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian singer who faces possible prison time for his song that’s become an anthem to the ongoing protests shaking the Islamic Republic wept early Monday after seeing he’d won a Grammy.
Shervin Hajipour appeared stunned after hearing Jill Biden, the wife of President Joe Biden, announce he’d won the Grammy’s new song for social change special merit award for ‘Baraye.’ An online video showed Hajipour in a darkened room, wiping tears away after the announcement.
Hajipour’s song “Baraye,” or “For” in English, begins with: ‘For dancing in the streets,’ ‘for the fear we feel when we kiss.’ The lyrics list reasons young Iranians have posted on Twitter for why they had protested against Iran’s ruling theocracy.
It ends with the widely chanted slogan that has become synonymous with the protests since the September death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Masha Amini: ‘For women, life, freedom.’
Released on his Instagram page, the song quickly went viral. Hajipour then was arrested and held for several days before being released on bail in October. The 25-year-old singer faces charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “instigating the violence,” according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the monthslong protests.
The charges Hajipour faces can carry as much as six years in prison all together. The singer is also banned from leaving Iran.
Wearing a shining, off-the-shoulder Oscar de la Renta dress at the Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles, Biden said that a song ‘can unite, inspire and ultimately change the world.’
‘This song became the anthem of the Mahsa Amini protests, a powerful and poetic call for freedom and women’s rights,’ Biden said. ‘Shervin was arrested, but this song continues to resonate around the world with its powerful theme: Women, life, freedom.’
Those gathered cheered Biden’s remarks. On Instagram, Hajipour simply wrote: “We won.”
There was no immediate reaction in Iranian state media or from government officials to Hajipour’s win. The singer is among over 19,600 people arrested amid the demonstrations, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran. At least 527 people have been killed amid a violent suppression of the demonstration by authorities.
On Sunday, Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for ‘tens of thousands’ of people detained amid the protests, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the crackdown.” [AP News]
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