Manatee sent to Columbus Zoo for rehabilitation

Manatee sent to Columbus Zoo for rehabilitation

POWELL, Ohio

An 18-month-old female manatee has arrived at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium from a zoo in Tampa, Fla.

Columbus Zoo officials say Agua arrived Friday from Tampa’s Lowery Park Zoo. She had been in Tampa since June 2016 after her mother was struck by a boat. The mother died two months later.

Zoo officials say Agua wasn’t injured but has required extra care after being orphaned at a young age. She will be released into Florida waters after her Columbus rehabilitation stint is completed.

Agua joins five other manatees in the zoo’s 300,000-gallon Manatee Coast exhibit, which includes a rare set of twins.

The Columbus Zoo is part of the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership and provides the second stage of rehabilitation before animals are released into the wild.

Two accused of waterboarding girl as punishment

ALIQUIPPA, Pa.

A Pennsylvania couple is accused of having subjected a 12-year-old girl to waterboarding last spring as a form of punishment.

The Beaver County Times reports that the girl told police and Beaver County children and youth services officials that she was dragged into the Aliquippa home’s basement in April, a wet towel was placed over her face and her chair was tilted backward as a bucket of cold water was poured onto her, preventing her from breathing.

Aliquippa police said the couple told them they learned about waterboarding through a movie.

Thirty-four-year-old Dion Stevens and 41-year-old Malisa Stevens were charged with strangulation, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, child endangerment and reckless endangerment.

Report: Climber killed in Yosemite tried to save wife

LONDON

A British newspaper is reporting that the Welsh climber killed by falling rock in Yosemite National Park last week died while trying to shield his wife.

The Times says Andrew Foster’s wife, Lucy, told her husband’s aunt that he jumped to cover her as tons of rock came cascading Wednesday down the face of El Capitan, a 3,600-foot granite monolith that attracts climbers from around the world.

The couple, who lived in Cardiff, Wales, described their love of the outdoors in a blog, Cam and Bear.

Price’s exit further complicates GOP health care push

BRANCHBURG, N.J.

The ouster of Tom Price as President Donald Trump’s health secretary is yet another self-inflicted blow for Republicans wishing to put their own stamp on health care – and the latest distraction for a White House struggling to advance its agenda.

Price resigned Friday amid investigations into his use of costly charter flights for official travel at taxpayer expense.

The health secretary’s exit capped a week in which a last-ditch GOP health care bill failed to advance in the Senate. Regaining momentum will be more difficult now that the White House also has to find a replacement for Price. That makes it harder to visualize how the administration and congressional Republicans can fulfill their goal of remaking the health care system along conservative lines, although Trump has said he’s confident a plan can pass early next year.

Associated Press