Obama: Warming is damaging parks

Obama: Warming is damaging parks

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif.

President Barack Obama said Saturday that climate change already is damaging America’s national parks, with rising temperatures causing Yosemite’s meadows to dry out and raising the prospect of a glacier preserve without its glaciers someday.

“Make no mistake. Climate change is no longer just a threat. It’s already a reality,” Obama said from a podium, with Yosemite Falls, one of the world’s tallest at 2,425 feet, as a backdrop.

At the California park, where Obama was spending the weekend with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha, the president also talked about how a rabbit-like animal known as a pika is being forced farther upslope at Yosemite to escape the heat.

2 journalists among 6 sentenced to death

CAIRO

An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced six people, including two Al-Jazeera employees, to death for purportedly passing documents related to national security to Qatar and the Doha-based TV network during the rule of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Morsi, the top defendant, and two of his aides were sentenced to 25 years in prison for membership in the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group but were acquitted of espionage, a capital offense.

Pakistani woman held in killing of pregnant daughter

ISLAMABAD

Police in Pakistan have arrested a mother suspected of killing her pregnant daughter Friday for marrying against the wishes of her family, the latest in a series of so-called “honor killings” in the conservative Muslim country.

Local police official Arshad Mahamood said Saturday that the mother and her son slit the throat of 22-year-old Muqadas Tofeeq in the village of Butrawala in Punjab province. Tofeeq was the mother of a 10-month-old infant.

Mom saves son from mountain lion

DENVER

A Colorado woman saved her 5-year-old son’s life by prying his head from the mouth of a mountain lion that was attacking the boy in their front yard, authorities said Saturday.

The mother heard screaming Friday evening while the boy was playing with his brother outside their home near the resort town of Aspen, Pitkin County deputy sheriff Michael Buglione said.

She ran outside, saw her son struggling with the animal and rushed to his aid.

“She said the mountain lion was on top of her son, crouched down on top of him,” Buglione said. “She grabbed a paw and lifted it up, and put her right hand in its mouth to pry the boy out of its mouth so the boy could get free.”

The animal ran off.

The boy suffered deep cuts to his face, head and neck and was taken to a Denver hospital, Buglione said. The mother had bite marks on her hand and scratches on her leg. She was treated and released.

SW heat wave

PHOENIX

In 120 degree temperatures, some airplanes might not take off. Power grids strain as the outside air keeps transmission lines from cooling. And for desert dwellers, a cold bottle of water and some shade can mean the difference between life and death.

Parts of the U.S. Southwest, long accustomed to triple-digit temperatures, are preparing for a heat wave.

In Phoenix, the high for Saturday was 111. But officials are warning residents the mercury may rise to 120 today and Monday, approaching the city’s record of 122.

Associated Press