The contract was awarded to Skanska — operating in select markets in the Nordics, Europe and the United States — by the California Department of Transportation for the job, which will fully close the key connector over the Port of Los Angeles for the duration of the work.

The long-anticipated closure period that will be needed to complete the work, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said on Thursday, Feb. 12, is now tentatively estimated to span from November to March 2028.

The project — through a joint venture with California Engineering Contractors — is a modernization effort that is designed to “reinforce the bridges role in supporting regional mobility and economic activity for generations to come,” according to a news release from Skanska.

The total cost of the entire project overseen by Caltrans is estimated at more than $700 million. Of that, $534 million has been allocated to Skanska-CEC Joint Venture for the construction of the deck replacement, according to Caltrans.

The Vincent Thomas Bridge spans the port’s main shipping channel between San Pedro and Terminal Island, and serves as a critical freight and commuter corridor for the Port of Los Angeles and the South Bay region.

The work is needed to replace the aging bridge deck with durable precast, prestressed concrete deck panels, which are engineered for extended service life, improved load capacity, and resilience against harsh marine conditions such as saltwater spray and corrosive coastal winds.

The project scope includes:

• Removing and replacing the existing deck.
• Installing new expansion joints and corrosion-protection systems.
• Integrating real-time structural health monitoring technology.
• Using high-performance precast, pre-stressed concrete deck panels designed for heavy freight loads and marine exposure.

Altogether, the three-year project involves a phased deck replacement on the iconic Vincent Thomas Bridge. The bridge will be closed for 16 months along a portion of State Route 47, a freight and commuter corridor serving the Port of Los Angeles.

Seroka, during the Thursday harbor commission meeting, said the port is continuing “to get the message out” about the upcoming project. An estimated two-thirds of the cargo moving in and out of the port by truck rely on the bridge route currently, he said, but preparations are being made to minimize any possible delays once the work begins.

Gate cameras and truck reservation systems, along with more than 700 cameras throughout the harbor district, Seroka said, will help address and adjust to any delays. The port is working with the other stakeholders, Seroka said, including unions and shipping companies, to ensure the temporary route transition goes smoothly.

Seroka said he foresees no “degradation in service” and that “cargo will continue to flow.”

Caltrans has detour routes identified as the effort to inform the public of the changes continues to roll out. The bridge is also a main connector for motorists traveling between San Pedro and Long Beach.

“Delivering this critical infrastructure allows us to apply advanced engineering solutions that improve safety for the traveling public, modernize essential bridge components, and help Caltrans maintain a vital economic corridor serving Terminal Island,” said James Bailey, executive vice president of Skanska USA Civils West Coast operations.

Skanska and CEC will employ precision demolition, modular deck installation, advanced scheduling and environmental controls to reduce noise and air quality impacts, according to a news release, to “ensure efficient delivery while safeguarding surrounding communities and ecosystems.”

“CEC looks forward to working with our partner Skanska to successfully complete this complex project,” Wahid Tadros, president of California Engineering Contractors Inc., said in a written statement.  “The CMGC process allowed the Skanska-CEC Joint Venture to work closely with Caltrans during the pre-construction phase of the project to develop innovations and technical engineering solutions which resulted in a customized project plan that best serves the community while maintaining safety, quality and schedule during every phase of the project.”

Work is scheduled to begin in the spring, according to the release, and is expected to be completed by March 2029, with the bridge reopening to traffic in the first half of 2028. The project, the release also said, “will reinforce the bridges role in supporting regional mobility and economic activity for decades to come.”

Information and updated timelines can be found at the Caltrans website.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) ' Puerto Ricos governor on Thursday signed a bill that amends a law to recognize a fetus as a human being, a move doctors and legal experts warn will have deep ramifications for the U.S. Caribbean territory.

The amendment was approved without public hearings and amid concerns from opponents who warned it would unleash confusion and affect how doctors and pregnant or potentially pregnant women are treated.

The new law will lead to 'defensive health care,' warned Dr. Carlos Díaz Vélez, president of Puerto Ricos College of Medical Surgeons.

'This will bring complex clinical decisions into the realm of criminal law,' he said in a phone interview.

He said that women with complicated pregnancies will likely be turned away by private doctors and will end up giving birth in the U.S. mainland or at Puerto Ricos largest public hospital, noting that the islands crumbling health system isnt prepared.

'This will bring disastrous consequences,' he said.

Díaz noted that the amended law also allows a third person to intervene between a doctor and a pregnant woman, so privacy laws will be violated, adding that new protocols and regulations will have to be implemented.

'The system is not prepared for this,' he said.

Gov. Jenniffer González, a Republican and supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, said in a brief statement that 'the legislation aims to maintain consistency between civil and criminal provisions by recognizing the unborn child as a human being.'

The amendment, in Senate Bill 923, was made to an article within Puerto Ricos Penal Code that defines murder.

The government noted that the amendment complements a law that among other things, classifies as first-degree murder when a pregnant woman is killed intentionally and knowingly, resulting in the death of the conceived child at any stage of gestation. The law was named after Keishla Rodríguez, who was pregnant when she was killed in April 2021. Her lover, former Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo, received two life sentences after he was found guilty in the killing.

Some cheered the amendment signed into law Thursday, while opponents warned that it opens the door to eventually criminalizing abortions in Puerto Rico, which remain legal.

'A zygote was given legal personality,' said Rosa Seguí Cordero, an attorney and spokesperson for the National Campaign for Free, Safe and Accessible Abortion in Puerto Rico. 'We women were stripped of our rights.'

Seguí rattled off potential scenarios, including whether a zygote, or fertilized egg, would have the right to health insurance and whether a woman who loses a fetus would become a murder suspect.

Díaz said doctors could even be considered murder suspects and condemned how public hearings were never held and the medical sector never consulted.

'The problem is that no medical recommendations were followed here,' he said. 'This is a serious blow … It puts us in a difficult situation.'

Among those condemning the measure was Annette Martínez Orabona, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union in Puerto Rico.

She noted that no broad discussion of the bill was allowed, which she said is critical because the penal code carries the most severe penalties.

'There is no doubt that the measure did not undergo adequate analysis before its approval and leaves an unacceptable space for ambiguity regarding civil rights,' she said.

'The legislative leadership failed to fulfill its responsibility to the people, and so did the governor.'

After a brutal year for the US electric-vehicle industry, Rivian Automotive handed investors a rare reason for optimism.

The EV manufacturer based in Irvine reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and its first-ever annual gross profit, a key milestone after years of consistent losses. The signs of progress come as the company prepares to begin selling its R2 midsize SUV, a lower-priced EV that Rivian hopes will appeal to a broader swath of car buyers.

The results offered a measure of relief to investors, who sent the shares up 16% in postmarket trading on Thursday, the most since Nov. 5.

They also marked a rare bright spot in an otherwise bleak US electric vehicle industry. Sales have been in a tailspin since a $7,500 US tax credit for EV buyers expired in late September, fueling questions about what true demand for battery-powered cars will be without those subsidies.

The business of producing EVs grew even harder still in other ways. Republican-led moves to unwind EV-friendly US policies essentially killed demand for regulatory credits ' a source of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue for EV makers Rivian and Tesla Inc.

Mainstream automakers including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV have each announced billions of dollars in writedowns as they dialed back their EV ambitions.

Despite those industry challenges, Rivian reported an adjusted loss of 54 cents a share in the fourth quarter, better than the 69-cent deficit expected by Wall Street. Revenue of $1.29 billion narrowly topped Wall Streets prediction.

Gross profit was $120 million in the fourth quarter, helping the company post a positive full-year result by that measure after a $1.2 billion loss in 2024. The profit was helped by software and services, including its venture with Volkswagen AG, which more than offset ongoing losses from its automotive sales.

The company also cut more than $7,200 in costs per vehicle delivered in the fourth quarter compared with the prior-year period. The company saw reduced material costs tariff impacts during the year.

With the R2 in its lineup, Rivian expects to deliver between 62,000 and 67,000 vehicles this year, compared with about 63,400 expected by analysts.

The company said the R2 will go on sale in the second quarter, initially with a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive configuration. Its first manufacturing validation builds for the vehicle were completed in mid-January at its factory in Illinois.

The company has not specified the vehicles initial starting price when it first goes on sale.

Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe has said the vehicle would launch with equipment and at a price point that would make 'the most people the most happy.' The vehicles starting price is expected to be about $45,000 at some point after sales begin.

Still, the companys expected to continue to see losses this year, forecasting a 2026 adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.8 billion to $2.1 billion. The midpoint of that range slightly exceeds the roughly $1.8 billion loss on that basis expected by analysts.

WASHINGTON (AP) ' The press gallery overlooking the U.S. House chamber has been renamed after the abolitionist, writer and presidential adviser Frederick Douglass in a bipartisan move brokered by Black lawmakers.

The renaming of the press gallery, spearheaded by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., was conceived over the last year after the congressman said he brainstormed with his staff on ways to commemorate the history of prominent Americans, including Black Americans, across the Capitol.

'When we talk about Frederick Douglass, we are talking about a man who possessed a profound and unshakable faith in Americans, in Americas family,' Donalds said in remarks celebrating the dedication.

Douglass wrote about congressional proceedings from the chamber during the Civil War. His public speeches and letters to President Abraham Lincoln and northern Republican congressmen helped galvanize support among lawmakers and the public for the abolition of slavery.

'Its an important thing for us to give honor where honor is due. Thats a biblical admonition,' House Speaker Mike Johnson said during the unveiling of a plaque that now overlooks the entrance to the gallery. 'Frederick Douglass is certainly deserving of that honor.'

A bipartisan celebration in a divided Washington

Prominent Black conservatives, including activists, faith leaders and senior Trump administration officials, mingled with lawmakers at a ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol. Staffers from the Library of Congress displayed artifacts from Douglass life.

The celebration, which came during Black History Month and the 100th anniversary of the earliest national observance of Black history, coincided with intense debate over how race, history and democracy are understood in the U.S.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year targeting the teaching of history in the Smithsonian Institution, which the order claimed had 'come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology' that 'promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.'

Another order signed by the president claimed that in U.S. K-12 schools, 'innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors.' Trump ordered federal agencies to develop a comprehensive strategy to end 'indoctrination' by teachers who may promote 'anti-American, subversive, harmful, and false ideologies on our nations children.'

Critics argued that the orders, with the removal of some public displays by the National Park Service related to race and identity, and the White Houses ongoing efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, represented a whitewashing of history that could ultimately fuel discrimination against minority communities.

But the administrations allies argue that the policies are a corrective to an overly critical narrative about Americas past. Black conservatives, in particular, have defended the moves and argued that more positive stories of individual triumph, like Douglass life story, need to be more widely told.

'This is what we did when I was growing up. We knew about our Black heroes,' said Rep. Burgess Owens, a Utah Republican who is Black and attended the dedication. 'When we stop telling the good, then people start thinking that were not the country that is the promise that we gave. So we need to talk about our history, our success.'

Rep. Steve Horsford, a Nevada Democrat who worked with Donalds on the renaming, said it was important to find bipartisan agreement where possible.

'I wouldnt be here if it were not for the desire to want to work across the aisle, to not just recognize our history and culture, but to solve our problems that people face today,' Horsford said.

The life and legacy of Frederick Douglass

Born in Maryland, Douglass escaped slavery by fleeing to New York as a young man. He become one of the most influential activists for abolition and later moved to Capitol Hill in Washington, where he advocated for civil rights.

An estate he bought after emancipation in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington is now a national park.

Douglass, who taught himself to read and write, fiercely condemned the dehumanization of people of African descent and delivered numerous influential speeches throughout his life. His 1852 speech 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' denounced the contradictions of the countrys founding ideals with its embrace of slavery.

In an 1867 essay, Douglass urged Congress to allow Black men to vote and called for more aggressive Reconstruction efforts in the South to guarantee multiracial democracy.

'What, then, is the work before Congress? It is to save the people of the South from themselves,' Douglass wrote. 'It must enfranchise the negro, and by means of the loyal negroes and the loyal white men of the South build till a national party there, and in time bridge the chasm between North and South, so that our country may have a common liberty and a common civilization.'

Douglass, who did not know the day he was born because records were rarely kept about enslaved peoples lives, celebrated his birthday on Valentines Day because his mother called him her 'little Valentine' before he was separated from her as a child.

Donalds praised Douglass for his ability to 'love this country enough to tell the truth about it.'

'His life story, from the field, from the slavery fields to the world stage, is one of the greatest narratives of perseverance in U.S. history,' Donalds said.

The California Housing Finance Agency updated CalAssist eligibility on Thursday, Feb. 12, extending to applicants from high-income households whose homes were severely or completely damaged in either governor-proclaimed or president-approved disaster declarations from Jan. 1, 2023, through Jan. 8, 2025.

'By offering a full year of mortgage assistance and expanding income eligibility, were making it clear that this support is real, available, and intended for families who are still recovering,' said Rebecca Franklin, CalHFA’s chief deputy director, in a statement.

Also see: Mismanaged Eaton fire evacuations in Altadena to be investigated by California DOJ

Household income limits vary by county, capped at $360,000 in Orange County, $281,400 in Los Angeles County and $274,300 in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, among others. Qualified properties include single-family homes, condos, or permanently affixed manufactured homes.

The funds come 13 months after wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu turned to ash more than 23,448 acres, killed a dozen people, destroyed 6,837 structures and damaged nearly 1,000 others before extinguished on Jan. 31. In Altadena wildfires burned 14,021 acres, killing 19 people and destroying 9,414 structures. Another 1,074 buildings were badly damaged.

Among other qualified disasters are Sept. 2024’s Airport and Bridge fires across Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino. The Airport fire swept through 23,526 acres between Orange and Riverside counties, burning for 26 days. That fire damaged 160 structures ' including homes, sheds, vehicles ' and damaged 34 others. That fire coincided with the Bridge fire, which damaged 54,795 acres, destroying 81 structures and damaging 17 others.

Homeowners can have payments that are late, current or in forbearance. Those who already received assistance from FEMA or from other programs are still eligible, the state said.

The money is being pulled from the $105 million CalAssist Mortgage Fund, created after the National Mortgage Settlement. The $25 billion agreement by 49 states, the federal government, and the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers ' Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Rescap/Ally and Wells Fargo ' was in response to foreclosure abuses and questionable mortgage practices that led to the Great Recession in 2007-09.

The mortgage relief increases come eight months after its first grants were capped at $20,000, targeting low- to moderate-income survivors.

'Those are the most vulnerable homeowners, when you have lost your primary residence in a disaster, theres a lot of financial burden,' Franklin said. 'Now that weve been running the program for a few months, we feel confident that we can expand our assistance to help even more survivors of disasters through these funds.'

Also see: LA County opposes Trump order, rejects federal takeover of local permitting in fire zones

The expansion also comes a week after President Donald Trump sent members of his administration, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler, to strategize with Pacific Palisades businesses and residents over rebuilding priorities. That visit followed the citys vote to waive permit and plan-check fees, and Trumps executive order to take over wildfire remediation.

Program facilitators hope the grants will help those who have missed payments and are reaching the end of their forbearance.

'Were here to give those disaster survivors a little bit of breathing room while they focus on recovering and rebuilding,' Franklin said.

For more eligibility and application information, go to calhfa.ca.gov/CalAssist/index.htm

The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that climate change is a danger to public health, an idea that President Donald Trump called 'a scam.' But repeated scientific studies say its a documented and quantifiable harm.

Again and again, research has found increasing disease and deaths ' thousands every year ' in a warming world.

The Environmental Protection Agency finding in 2009, under the Obama administration, has been the legal underpinning of nearly all regulations fighting global warming.

Thousands of scientific studies have looked at climate change and its effects on human health in the past five years and they predominantly show climate change is increasingly dangerous to people.

Many conclude that in the United States, thousands of people have died and even more were sickened because of climate change in the past few decades.

For example, a study on 'Trends in heat-related deaths in the U.S., 1999-2023 ' in the prestigious JAMA journal shows the yearly heat-related death count and rate have more than doubled in the past quarter century from 1,069 in 1999 to a record high 2,325 in 2023.

A 2021 study in Nature Climate Change looked at 732 locations in 43 countries ' including 210 in the United States ' and determined that more than a third of heat deaths are due to human-caused climate change. That means more than 9,700 global deaths a year attributed to warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

A new study published this week found that 2.2% of summer deaths in Texas from 2010 to 2023 were heat related 'as climate change brings more frequent and intense heat to Texas.'

Research is booming on the topic

Its been a much-researched topic.

In the more than 15 years, since the government first determined climate change to be a public health danger, there have been more than 29,000 peer-reviewed studies that looked at the intersection of climate and health, with more than 5,000 looking specifically at the United States, according to the National Library of Medicines PubMed research database. More than 60% of those studies have been published in the past five years.

'Study after study documents that climate change endangers health, for one simple reason: Its true,' said Dr. Howard Frumkin, professor emeritus of public health at the University of Washington and a former director of the National Center for Environmental Health appointed by President George W. Bush.

'It boggles the mind that the administration is rescinding the endangerment finding; its akin to insisting that the world is flat or denying that gravity is a thing.'

In a Thursday event at the White House, Trump disagreed, saying: 'It has nothing to do with public health. This is all a scam, a giant scam.'

Experts strongly disagree.

'Health risks are increasing because human-cause climate change is already upon us. Take the 2021 heat dome for example, that killed (more than) 600 people in the Northwest,' said Dr. Jonathan Patz, a physician who directs the Center for Health, Energy and Environmental Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 'The new climate attribution studies show that event was made 150-fold more likely due to climate change.'

Patz and Frumkin both said the 'vast majority' of peer-reviewed studies show health harms from climate change. Peer-reviewed studies are considered the gold standard of science because other experts pore over the data, evidence and methods, requiring changes, questioning techniques and conclusions.

More than just heat and deaths

The various studies look at different parts of health. Some looked at deaths that wouldnt have happened without climate change. Others looked at illnesses and injuries that didnt kill people. Because researchers used different time periods, calculation methods and specific aspects of health, the final numbers of their conclusions dont completely match.

Studies also examined disparities among different peoples and locations. A growing field in the research are attribution studies that calculate what proportion of deaths or illness can be blamed on human-caused climate change by comparing real-world mortality and illness to what computer simulations show would happen in a world without a spike in greenhouse gases.

Last year an international team of researchers looked at past studies to try to come up with a yearly health cost of climate change.

While many studies just look at heat deaths, this team tried to bring in a variety of types of climate change deaths ' heat waves, extreme weather disasters such as 2017s Hurricane Harvey, wildfires, air pollution, diseases spread by mosquitos such as malaria ' and found hundreds of thousands of climate change deaths globally.

They then used the EPAs own statistic that puts a dollar value on human life ' $11.5 million in 2014 dollars ' and calculated a global annual cost 'on the order of at least $10 billion.'

Studies also connect climate change to waterborne infections that cause diarrhea, mental health issues and even nutrition problems, Frumkin said.

'Public health is not only about prevention of diseases, death and disability but also well-being. We are increasingly seeing people displaced by rising seas, intensifying storms and fires,' said Dr. Lynn Goldman, a physician and dean emeritus at the George Washington University School of Public Health.

'We have only begun to understand the full consequences of a changing climate in terms of health.'

Cold also kills and thats decreasing

The issue gets complicated when cold-related deaths are factored in. Those deaths are decreasing, yet in the United States there are still 13 times more deaths from cold exposure than heat exposure, studies show.

Another study concludes that until the world warms another 2.7 degrees (1.5 degrees Celsius) from now, the number of temperature-related deaths wont change much 'due to offsetting decreases in cold-related mortality and increases in heat-related deaths.'

But that study said that after temperatures rise beyond that threshold, and if society doesnt adapt to the increased heat, 'total mortality rises rapidly.'

The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic says it is now valued at $380 billion, cementing its position alongside rival OpenAI and Elon Musks SpaceX in a trio of the worlds most valuable startups that investors will be watching closely this year to see if they will become publicly traded on Wall Street.

'These are the three biggest names that could go public this year,' said Angelo Bochanis, an associate at Renaissance Capital, which researches the potential for initial public offerings.

Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude, said Thursday its valuation grew after it raised $30 billion in its latest round of funding, led by Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC and the U.S.-based investment firm Coatue, along with dozens of other major investors.

The funding also includes a portion of the $15 billion that Nvidia and Microsoft said they would invest in Anthropic in November, part of a deal that would eventually commit Anthropic to buying from Microsoft some $30 billion in computing capacity it needs to build and run AI systems like Claude. Anthropic has also been heavily backed by cloud providers Amazon and Google.

Anthropics chief financial officer Krishna Rao says the company will use the surge of investments to continue building 'enterprise-grade products' and AI models.

Renaissance Capital counts Anthropic as third among the most valuable private firms. Its behind ChatGPT maker OpenAI, valued at $500 billion. Both San Francisco-based AI companies trail rocket maker SpaceX, which recently merged with Musks AI startup xAI, maker of the chatbot Grok.

Anthropic isnt profitable but said Thursday it is on track for sales of $14 billion over the next year, a rapid rise from 'its first dollar in revenue' that came less than three years ago. While OpenAI has dabbled in a number of revenue models, including digital advertising, Anthropic has tailored Claude products to be a workplace assistant on tasks such as software engineering.

Anthropic was founded by ex-OpenAI employees in 2021. Its co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei has promised a clearer focus on the safety of the better-than-human technology called artificial general intelligence that both San Francisco firms aimed to build. Anthropic also this week announced a new $20 million bipartisan organization to influence AI regulation in the United States.

OpenAI first released ChatGPT in late 2022, revealing the huge commercial potential of AI large language models that could help write emails and computer code and answer questions. Anthropic followed that with its first version of Claude in 2023.

Whichever company is first to do an initial public offering will have 'an opportunity to raise even more money,' Bochanis said. 'Its an opportunity to be a big headline and get that sort of boost to your public image.'

The risks are that theyll have to invite public inspection of their business models as they continue to lose more money than they make.

'Private markets have been throwing dozens of billions of dollars at these companies, even as valuations multiply again and again and again,' Bochanis said. 'With public markets, theres going to be a little more scrutiny. A single earnings report could tank a stock.'

By deeming six populations of pumas as “threatened” under the California Endangered Species Act, it will mean any entity proposing new developments or roads near mountain lion habitat must formulate a plan to mitigate the harm to these big cats.

It could also bring in funds for additional wildlife crossings to increase the mobility and safety of wildlife movement.

Already, the nearly $100 million Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing being built over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills with mostly private dollars will enable penned-in mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains to cross safely into northern ranges. This will enable them to roam in a more expansive area, for food and to find mates in order to perpetuate the species.

Biologists are examining the possibility of building another crossing over the 5 Freeway in the area between Kern and northern Los Angeles County. Also, the status could generate dollars and support to help keep the wild cats off the toll roads in Orange County and off I-15, where many are struck and killed by vehicles every year.

Two environmental groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Mountain Lion Foundation, received a positive response to their nearly seven-year-old petition for more protections for six subsets of mountain lions. These cougars are located in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Central Coast, Santa Monica Mountains, San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, Santa Ana Mountains and Eastern Peninsular range in San Diego County.

Mountain lions need wide ranges to hunt, usually for deer, and for males to find unrelated females for breeding. These large felines are boxed in by freeways and when they dart across lanes of speeding traffic, they are usually killed, making vehicle strikes the leading cause of death. Secondly, they can get sick with weakened immune systems that can lead to death from eating small prey such as rats, mice and squirrels that have ingested rat poison left outside near wildlands, as the poison transfers into their systems.

This marks the first time California has recognized pumas as a threatened species. That presents a legal mandate for all state agencies to protect these six pockets of cougar populations, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

'This is a major milestone for a California icon,' said Tiffany Yap, urban wildlands science director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

'Mountain lions are a marvel but too many across the Golden State and are struggling in the diminished and fractured wild places where they live. This state isnt willing to stand back and watch our precious wildlife vanish forever,” Yap added.

The new status is a bittersweet development, signaling these animals are in danger of extinction due to inbreeding if nothing is done. But it also brings more attention to their plight and possibly more help.

'This is an epic win for Californias iconic big cats,' said Katie Nolan, Wild Animals campaigner for In Defense of Animals, an international animal protection group based in Marin County. Nolan, who spoke at the meeting Thursday, said in a statement: 'Not only will protection give inherently valuable individuals a much-needed lifeline, it will have a cascading impact that will improve biodiversity.'

Mountain lions in these locations face multiple threats, from badly planned development, widespread use of rat poison, car strikes when crossing highways, wildfire and disease.

Southern Californians fell in love with P-22, a mountain lion that crossed two freeways, only to end up in Griffith Park, a city of Los Angeles park with trails, wild areas, but also with playgrounds, kitty rides and the Griffith Observatory.

P-22 was the only wild cat to live in a city park. He lived there for 10 years, until disease and being hit by a car caused him to be so ill that he was euthanized on Dec. 17, 2022. A celebration of his life was held at the Greek Theater in Griffith Park a few months later, the first public memorial service for a wild animal in Los Angeles history.

“Im celebrating this vote as a new chapter for pumas and I hold so much hope for their future,' said Yap.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to make arrangements to allow some of the Venezuelan migrants deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador to return to the U.S. at the governments expense.

The case has been a legal flashpoint in the administrations sweeping immigration crackdown. It started in March after President Donald Trump invoked the 18th century Alien Enemies Act to send Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members to a mega-prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.

In Thursdays ruling, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington criticized the White Houses response to his earlier order that it come up with a plan to give the men a chance to challenge their removals.

'Apparently not interested in participating in this process, the Governments responses essentially told the Court to pound sand,' Boasberg wrote. Nominated to the federal bench by President Barack Obama, the judge has repeatedly clashed with the administration over the deportations.

An email to the White House was not immediately returned.

The 137 men were later returned to Venezuela in a prisoner exchange brokered by the United States.

Lee Gelernt, their attorney in the U.S., said at a court hearing on Monday that plaintiffs attorneys are in touch with a handful of them who have since managed to leave Venezuela and are now in a third country. These men are interested in clearing their names, he said.

Boasbergs order says U.S. officials must provide the men in third countries who wish to fly back to U.S. with a boarding letter. The government must also cover their airfare. He noted the men would be detained upon their return.

Those men and the migrants who remain in Venezuela can also file new legal documents arguing the presidential proclamation under which they were deported illegally invoked the 18th century wartime law, the judge ruled. The legal filings can also challenge their designation as members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Boasberg said he could decide later whether to require hearings and how to conduct them, but it was up to the government to 'remedy the wrong that it perpetrated here and to provide a means for doing so.'

'Were it otherwise, the Government could simply remove people from the United States without providing any process and then, once they were in a foreign country, deny them any right to return for a hearing or opportunity to present their case from abroad,' he wrote.

In March, Trump officials flew the Venezuelan men to the prison, despite a verbal order from Boasberg for the aircraft to turn around. Boasberg subsequently started a contempt investigation, though the dramatic battle between the judicial and executive branches has been paused by an appeals court.

The administration has denied violating his order.

Gelernt said in a statement on Thursday Boasberg had 'begun the process of giving these men their right to challenge their removal.'

'Remarkably, although the government does not dispute the men were denied due process, it still was not willing to do what was right without a court order,' he said.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ' Analilia Mejia, a longtime progressive organizer allied with Sen. Bernie Sanders, has emerged victorious in a crowded Democratic primary in the special election to fill the U.S. House seat formerly held by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

The Associated Press declared Mejia the winner Thursday, one week after the closely contested race ended on Feb. 5.

Mejia, 48, overcame former Rep. Tom Malinowski and about a dozen other candidates in New Jerseys 11th District.

Malinowski had already conceded the race, and Mejia has consolidated support among top Democratic leaders in the state ahead of the April 16 special general election against Republican Joe Hathaway.

The progressive victory shows the evolution of New Jerseys 11th District, which includes parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties and some of New York Citys wealthier suburbs. The district was reliably Republican until President Donald Trumps first term, when Sherrill won as part of a Democratic wave in 2018.

Now, instead of backing a more moderate replacement for Sherrill, primary voters chose Mejia, who campaigned on populist economic policies and the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Republicans plan to portray her as too far left for the district.

A former director of the Working Families Alliance in New Jersey, Mejia was a regular presence in the state capitol, advocating for progressive causes. She served as Sanders political director during his 2020 presidential run, and she was the deputy director of the Labor Departments Womens Bureau under President Joe Biden.

In addition to Sanders, she was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Another key player in the race was the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose affiliated super PAC tried to thwart Malinowski after he questioned unconditional aid to the Israeli government. Their efforts appeared to backfire as Mejia, who said she agreed Israel committed genocide in Gaza, edged out a victory.

The winner of the April 16 special general election will serve out the remainder of Sherrills term, which ends in January. There will also be a regular primary June 2 and a general election Nov. 3 for the new term.