All 5 of the Philadelphia Zoo’s meerkats have died from a mystery toxin
PHILADELPHIA — All five meerkats at The Philadelphia Zoo have died this month after an apparently accidental poisoning that is under investigation by both zoo officials and animal welfare groups.
Rachel Metz, the zoo’s vice president of animal well-being, said necropsy results were still pending. But zookeepers suspect the poisoning was linked to the dye used to differentiate the near-identical meerkats. Zoo management has launched a probe alongside the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Something different happened and we don’t know what that is,” Metz said. “We’ve started our initial fact-finding and are talking about everything that happened, step by step.”
Gregarious and weasel-like, meerkats are known for their playfulness as well as for their communal living style. The five meerkats — named Nkosi, Lula, Nya, Kgala, and Ari — had called the zoo home since February 2013, delighting guests for years as they skittered throughout a maze of caged trails that ran throughout the zoo. In videos, they pal around like close friends.
Morgan State professor's alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein investigated
BALTIMORE — A Morgan State University math professor offered Jeffrey Epstein a chance to improve his reputation in the Black community for $5 million in 2019. The university said it did not participate in the solicitation and is investigating the matter.
Jonathan Farley, a Morgan State associate professor of mathematics since 2013, contacted Epstein in prison with a July 30, 2019, email, according to files acquired by VICE’s Motherboard through a Freedom of Information Act request. Farley suggested that Epstein grant money to him and to endow a Morgan State chair, writing, “Our accepting your $5 million will show the world you are not a pariah and may help you avoid a conviction like Bill Cosby,” according to VICE.
Epstein was arrested for federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges in July 2019. He ended his life on Aug. 10, 2019.
Farley wrote in an email to The Baltimore Sun that Epstein called him in 2017 and later Skyped with him. Farley did not share the reason behind their correspondence years prior.
—The Baltimore Sun
German far-right party overtakes Scholz’s Social Democrats in poll
The far-right AfD leapfrogged Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats for the first time to rank as Germany’s No. 2 party in a poll for broadcaster RTL.
The AfD had the support of 19% of those surveyed, up two percentage points from a week earlier, with the SPD stuck on 18%, RTL said. The conservative CDU/CSU alliance dropped one point to 29%, the Greens remained on 14% and the FDP on 7%. Forsa interviewed 2,504 people between June 6 and June 12.
The AfD’s rise in recent months has been fueled by discontent among citizens over issues ranging from record immigration, persistently high inflation and costly climate protection measures.
The party questions the impact humans have on global warming and wants to stop more foreigners from coming to Germany. It has exploited infighting in Scholz’s ruling coalition of his center-left SPD, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.
—Bloomberg News
Drexel and Salus universities in Pa. will proceed with merger
PHILADELPHIA — The presidents of Drexel and Salus universities announced Tuesday that they will proceed with a merger of the two institutions and will aim to have it take effect next summer.
The boards of both institutions have given approval, pending the necessary regulatory approvals, including consideration by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the accrediting body.
The two colleges said in April that they were exploring "an affiliation" that would link the schools' graduate health sciences education and clinical practice programs.
"This is going to be a really nice fit," said John A. Fry, president of Drexel, one of the largest private universities in the Philadelphia region, with 23,200 students. "We are so complementary in our programs. The physician assistant's program is really the only overlap, and they're so much in demand. We can't produce enough."
Michael Mittelman, president of Salus, a small, private health sciences university based in Elkins Park, which enrolls more than 1,100 students, said for that reason, he didn't anticipate layoffs in the teaching force.
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
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