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A photographer captures life in America’s last remaining old-growth forests

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A photographer captures life in America’s last remaining old-growth forests

From mosses to mountain lions, the temperate old-growth rainforests of the Pacific Northwest provide the complexities and conditions necessary to support high levels of biodiversity. The Northwest Forest Plan has provided protection for these ancient ecosystems over the last 30 years and has helped advance forest management in Oregon, Washington and California. Developed in response to decades of unsustainable logging practices, the plan has helped restore forest ecosystems in 17 national forests.

David Herasimtschuk


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David Herasimtschuk

“As humans, our everyday lives are sustained by the behaviors and interactions of forest organisms,” photographer David Herasimtschuk writes of old growth forests. “Yet, because these processes and relationships occur in places and at scales rarely observed, our connection with forest biodiversity and the role it plays in nurturing our well-being often goes completely unnoticed.”

In the last 10 years, Herasimtschuk has photographed forests across the Pacific Northwest, documenting the inhabitants of these last remaining old-growth ecosystems. From salamanders and salmon to bears and mountain lions, his images illustrate not only the beauty of the forests and their creatures but the symbiotic relationships which are vital to the forests’ health and the planet’s welfare.

We interviewed Herasimtschuk about his efforts to educate people about the importance of preserving these ancient forests. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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A group of pink salmon return home to the waters where they were born, bringing with them a pulse of nutrients that helps drive stream and forest ecosystems. From old-growth trees to aquatic insects, hundreds of species rely on the large amount of marine-derived nutrients that salmon provide. As salmon numbers have declined throughout the Pacific Northwest, this important ecological resource has been lost from many forest and river environments in the region. Its now estimated that only 3-7% of the nutrients salmon deliver make it back into freshwater environments.

A group of pink salmon return home to the waters where they were born, bringing with them a pulse of nutrients that helps drive stream and forest ecosystems. From old-growth trees to aquatic insects, hundreds of species rely on the large amount of marine-derived nutrients that salmon provide. As salmon numbers have declined throughout the Pacific Northwest, this important ecological resource has been lost from many forest and river environments in the region. It’s now estimated that only 3-7% of the nutrients salmon deliver make it back into freshwater environments.

David Herasimtschuk

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What motivates you to photograph old-growth forests?

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Protecting intact, mature and old-growth forests worldwide has been found to be one of the most immediate and cost-effective solutions to mitigating the impacts of climate change, yet adequate policy to manage these forests for ecosystem health and carbon storage has been limited.

The temperate rainforests of western North America have the highest carbon storage potential of any forest type in the world and are recognized as some of the most valuable ecosystems on the planet. Yet, conflicts over these forests have been ongoing since the 1980s, with the timber industry and conservation community battling over how they are managed.

Celebrating the beauty and importance of these environments, this photo essay is a present-day look at the complex connections we share with these forests. Currently, there are numerous proposed policy initiatives that are focused on creating a new framework for forest health and old-growth protection in the Pacific Northwest. This includes a movement to protect mature forests, which are made up of trees that are 80-150 years old and viewed as comprising the next generations of old-growth forests.

Climbing through an understory of fallen Douglas firs, a young black bear explores an Old-growth forest in Oregon’s Coast Range. Researchers are finding that fallen trees, also known as “dead wood” play an important role in forest ecosystems, and influence everything from moisture and carbon storage to providing habitat for a number of species.

Climbing through an understory of fallen Douglas firs, a young black bear explores an old-growth forest in Oregon’s Coast Range. Researchers are finding that fallen trees, also known as “dead wood,” play an important role in forest ecosystems and influence everything from moisture and carbon storage to providing habitat for a number of species.

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These legislative actions also contain policy to update and rethink how private and state forests are managed in the state of Oregon, as well as work to modernize forest protection on federal lands nationwide. In an effort to advance our country’s climate initiatives, the Biden administration enacted an executive order in 2022 that committed the federal government to protecting the few remaining mature and old-growth forests we have left. In response to that order, the U.S. Forest Service plans to make major revisions to both the National Forest Plan and Northwest Forest Plan this year.

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With many decisions currently being discussed about the fate of our forests in the Pacific Northwest, it’s important that the public and decision-makers understand how healthy forests function, and have the information they need to make science-based decisions in regard to forest management.

A clear cut forest in Oregon’s Coast Range Forest. Recent research and analysis has shown that industrial logging practices impact both water quality and quantity. In Oregon’s Coast Range stream flow was found to decrease by 50% on tree plantations that were cut on 40-50 year rotations.

A clear-cut forest in Oregon’s Coast Range Forest. Recent research and analysis has shown that industrial logging practices impact both water quality and quantity. In Oregon’s Coast Range, stream flow was found to decrease by 50% on tree plantations that were cut on 40- to 50-year rotations.

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David Herasimtschuk

How long have you been working on this project?

I have been working, living and exploring in the Pacific Northwest since 2011, and started this old-growth focused project in 2022.

What kinds of images were you hoping to capture with your work?

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From the top of the canopy to the waters below, my goal for this project is to create a series of photos that provide an entire ecosystem aesthetic. To do this, I work to create wide-angle images that put a species, or human, in context of the forest or habitat type.

Currently, a large amount of my work focuses on the connections between forests, rivers and fish. In the Pacific Northwest, the relationship between salmon and forests embodies a sense of connection that seems almost mystical. Delivering a pulse of nutrients, returning adult salmon nourish some of the largest trees in the world, and in return, these ancient forests provide a foundation for the complexity of conditions that salmon and other fish rely on. For millions of years, salmon, trout and numerous other aquatic species have adapted to the conditions created by these massive trees. From bank stabilization and water filtration to the creation of cover and spawning habitat, large trees provide a multitude of ecosystem services for aquatic environments.

In the Pacific Northwest it’s becoming increasingly difficult to experience large salmon runs that are similar to what was seen historically. With the forests of the Pacific Northwest having some of the highest carbon storage potential of any forest type in the world, and the ability for certain tree species to grow up to three times faster with salmon nutrients. It is believed that salmon restoration could be an important tool to help increase a forest’s ability to sequester carbon in the region.

In the Pacific Northwest, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to experience large salmon runs that are similar to what was seen historically. The forests of the Pacific Northwest have some of the highest carbon storage potential of any forest type in the world. With certain tree species’ ability to grow up to three times faster when supported by the nutrients salmon bring to a forest’s ecosystem, it’s believed that salmon restoration could be an important tool to help increase a forest’s ability to sequester carbon in the region.

David Herasimtschuk/Freshwaters Illustrated


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To illustrate these relationships, or to show how these connections have been lost, I work to find opportunities where I can put fish and forests in the same image. This type of image often helps share the story of how forest management plays a critical role in salmon conservation.

A male coho salmon migrates to its spawning waters in a small creek in Oregon’s Coast Range. Over a century of commercial logging has removed most of the old-growth trees from the region, resulting in riparian forests that are made up of much smaller trees. This lack larger trees has had a major impact on forest and river ecosystems in the Northwest, and remains as a major factor limiting in the conservation of federally protected fish, like coho salmon.

A male coho salmon migrates to its spawning waters in a small creek in Oregon’s Coast Range. Over a century of commercial logging has removed most of the old-growth trees from the region, resulting in riparian forests that are made up of much smaller trees. This lack of larger trees has had a major impact on forest and river ecosystems in the Northwest and remains as a major factor limiting in the conservation of federally protected fish, like coho salmon.

David Herasimtschuk/Freshwaters Illustrated

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What have you learned about the forest’s ecosystem since you’ve started this project?

One of the most important concepts I’ve come to understand while working on this project is that not all forests are equal. How we manage a forest can have huge repercussions that impact numerous species and processes, and can often lead to changes in ecosystem services that humans rely on.

Historically, the idea of old-growth forests as important natural systems was not the dominant perspective in our society. These ancient trees were once considered crops and perceived as “biological deserts.” Industrial logging in the 20th century removed most of the old growth, resulting in the younger forests we experience today. While some areas on federal land have been protected, allowing forests to regrow, there have also been large tracts of private land that are now managed for timber, and are cut every 50-80 years to meet the demand for timber.

A giant Douglas Fir disappears into the fog in Oregon’s Coast Range. The temperate rainforests of Western Oregon have some of the highest potential to capture carbon of any forest type in the world storing an average 1,127 metric tons per hectare. Citation - https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/1051-0761%282002%29012%5B1303%3APUBOCS%5D2.0.CO%3B2

A giant Douglas Fir disappears into the fog in Oregon’s Coast Range. The temperate rainforests of western Oregon have some of the highest potential to capture carbon of any forest type in the world, storing an average of 1,127 metric tons per hectare.

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Over the last 50 years, science has been working to understand how these impacts have changed forest ecosystems in the region. Beyond carbon sequestration, scientists are finding these environments play an important role in a multitude of ecosystem services, including water quantity and quality, and that management decisions can greatly impact these processes.

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What have you learned that’s surprised you? 

Looking beyond their physical beauty, scientists are discovering that old-growth forests are home to a network of almost unfathomable connections that showcase the importance and complexity of regions biodiversity. One of the greatest examples is the relationship between salmon and trees. Salmon are fundamental to the health of forest ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. As they return home to spawn and die, they bring with them a large pulse of nutrients that helps drive stream and forest ecosystems. By absorbing the nutrients from decaying fish, researchers have found that salmon actually provide nitrogen to trees, which is a limited nutrient in forest ecosystems. It’s even been discovered that certain tree species can grow up to three times faster when influenced by salmon. As populations of these vital fish continue to decline throughout the Pacific Northwest, scientists worry that trees and forests no longer receive nutrients they need to reach their full ecological potential.

A Western red-backed salamander navigates the understory leaf litter in a mature forest in Oregon’s Coast Range. Researchers in the Northwest have found that woodland salamanders actually play an important role in carbon storage by feeding on invertebrates that release carbon. Citation - https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/45487

A western red-backed salamander navigates the understory leaf litter in a mature forest in Oregon’s Coast Range. Researchers in the Northwest have found that woodland salamanders actually play an important role in carbon storage by feeding on invertebrates that release carbon.

David Herasimtschuk/Freshwaters Illustrated


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Beyond the salmon and trees, some of the largest surprises in these forests come from some of the smallest species, like salamanders. Due to the cryptic nature of these amphibians, it’s hard to grasp their true importance within an ecosystem, but recent research has demonstrated that these amphibians play an important role in the global carbon cycle.

In Northern California, scientists have revealed that, by hunting and preying on insects that spend their lives ripping, shredding and feeding on leaves — a behavior that actually releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — salamanders effectively prevent this carbon from entering the atmosphere and allow it to stay locked in leaves and on the forest floor.

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A group of rough-skinned newts interact with a breeding pair of newts in a small pond in Oregon’s Coast Range Mountains.

A group of rough-skinned newts interact with a breeding pair of newts in a small pond in Oregon’s Coast Range Mountains.

David Herasimtschuk/Freshwaters Illustrated


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What is your process for documenting the wildlife in the forest? Do you need special equipment?

Working and photographing in old-growth forests definitely comes with a unique set of challenges, and through trial and error, I’ve been able to develop methods that work relatively well in these environments. Documenting these forests from an ecosystem perspective often means I need a wide range of gear. This includes everything from underwater housings and drysuits to document fish, to camera traps to photograph large mammals like bears.

For me, personally, I also really enjoy the process and exploration that goes into the creation of each photograph. For each image, this often results in many miles hiked, and snorkeled, to learn the best locations and approaches to photograph different species. Most days aren’t a great success, photographically speaking, but I love being in the forest, and with each outing, I feel like I learn a little more.

Biologists from Oregon State University survey for trout and amphibians at HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. Tucked in the Cascade Mountain Range in Western Oregon, this long term ecological research site is one of the most studied old-growth ecosystems on the planet and has laid the foundation for how we understand forests world-wide.

Biologists from Oregon State University survey for trout and amphibians in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. Tucked in the Cascade Mountain Range in western Oregon, this long-term ecological research site is one of the most studied old-growth ecosystems on the planet and has laid the foundation for how we understand forests worldwide.

David Herasimtschuk/Freshwaters Illustrated

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Do you work with scientists studying forest ecosystems? If so, how does that collaboration work?

Working at the confluence of science, conservation and storytelling, I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with many passionate scientists working at the forefront of forest ecology. Much of the imagery created for this project has been guided and inspired by the research and science from H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, a forest co-managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University. Tucked in the Cascade Mountain Range in western Oregon, this long-term ecological research site is one of the most studied old-growth ecosystems on the planet and has laid the foundation for forest science, understanding and policy worldwide.

As we move forward in our approach to address climate change, finding engaging and novel ways to communicate science becomes more important than ever. Working closely with the researchers who are uncovering the importance and mysteries of our natural world, this project focuses on creating imagery that sparks curiosity and helps celebrate the interactions and relationships in nature that are difficult to see.

A young black-tailed deer blends in among a pair of decomposing Douglas Fir snags in Oregon’s Coast Range. Providing critical habitat for over one hundred species, snags help create nesting, shelter and foraging locations, and are an incredibly important component to healthy old-growth ecosystems. Citation - https://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/publications/1599

A young black-tailed deer blends in among a pair of decomposing Douglas fir snags in Oregon’s Coast Range. Providing critical habitat for over one hundred species, snags help create locations for nesting, shelter and foraging, and are an incredibly important component to healthy old-growth ecosystems.

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What are some of your favorite images?

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I think some of my favorite images so far for this project have been the ones created using camera traps. Communicating the size of old-growth trees is often difficult, so it’s helpful to have a subject in the image to convey scale. Few species symbolize wild environments better than mountain lions and bears, so to be able to create images of these elusive predators as they explore their old-growth habitats is truly special.

Navigating a maze of giant Douglas firs, a large black bear explores it’s home in one of the last old-growth stands left in Oregon’s Coast Range. These towering trees provide important habitat for bears, who use tree cavities as denning sites for their young and for hibernation.

Navigating a maze of giant Douglas firs, a large black bear explores its home in one of the last old-growth stands left in Oregon’s Coast Range. These towering trees provide important habitat for bears, who use tree cavities as denning sites for their young and for hibernation.

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David Herasimtschuk

Creating a useful image with a camera trap can often take months of work and fine-tuning, and even then, it’s rare to get the shot you hoped for. The cameras sit in the forests for long periods of time, exposed to the elements and curious wildlife. It’s not uncommon to return to a trap to find it has been dismantled by a bear or knocked over from falling trees and branches.

Yet, with a little luck and a lot of persistence, every now and then you create a photo where all the elements come together. These unique photos provide an intimate perspective of these environments that few have ever seen, making them a valuable tool to help teach audiences about the importance of these forests.

What do you want people to come away with after looking at these images?

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As the climate and planet continue to change, many people are trying to understand and grasp how the natural world is connected to their everyday lives. So often, the question is asked, what is the value of an individual species? Or what is the value of biodiversity? By creating storytelling imagery that helps audiences recognize the relevance of forest life, my hope is that this project will engage and inform audiences about the importance of old-growth ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. Bringing to attention the individual species and relationships within ecosystems that play a role in maintaining our planet, my goal is to spark curiosity and wonder, encouraging people to want to learn more.

As our demand and impact on forests continues to grow worldwide, I believe images and stories of the environments and species affected will play a critical role in visually connecting forest ecosystems to their would-be stewards. Understanding the importance of biodiversity and how forests function is a critical part in creating that connection.

A hiker photographs a large Western hemlock in and old-growth forest in Oregon’s Coast Range. Coastal forests in the region have some of the highest carbon storing potential of any forest type in the world.

A hiker photographs a large western hemlock in an old-growth forest in Oregon’s Coast Range. Coastal forests in the region have some of the highest carbon-storing potential of any forest type in the world.

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David Herasimtschuk is a documentary photographer whose work focuses on forest and freshwater environments. You can find more of his photography on his website, DavidHerasimtschuk.com, and on Instagram, at @davidherasimtschuk.

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Scott Adams, the controversial cartoonist behind ‘Dilbert,’ dies at 68

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Scott Adams, the controversial cartoonist behind ‘Dilbert,’ dies at 68

Cartoonist Scott Adams poses with his a life-size cutout of his creation, Dilbert, in 2014.

Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images


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Scott Adams, the controversial cartoonist who skewered corporate culture, has died at age 68, He announced in May 2025 that he had metastatic prostate cancer and only months to live.

Months later, in November, Adams took to X to request — and receive — some very public help from President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in addressing health insurance issues that had delayed his treatment with an FDA-approved cancer drug called Pluvicto.

Adams said he was able to book an appointment the next day. Despite the Trump administration’s public intervention, Adams shared on his YouTube show in early January 2026 that “the odds of me recovering are essentially zero.”

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Adams’ former wife, Shelly Miles, announced his death Tuesday during a YouTube livestream, and then read a statement from Adams who said, “I had an amazing life. I gave it everything I had. If you got any benefits from my life, I ask you pay it forward as best you can.”

Adams rose to fame in the early 1990s with his comic strip Dilbert, satirizing white-collar culture based on his own experiences working in company offices. He made headlines again in the final years of his life for controversial comments about race, gender and other topics, which led to Dilbert‘s widespread cancellation in 2023.

Dilbert, which at its height was syndicated in some 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries, spawned a number of books, a video game and two seasons of an animated sitcom.

“I think you have to be fundamentally irrational to think that you can make money as a cartoonist, and so I can never answer succinctly why it is that I thought this would work,” Adams told NPR’s Weekend Edition in 1996. “It was about the same cost as buying a lottery ticket and about the same odds of succeeding. And I buy a lottery ticket, so why not?”

He said that he had “pretty much always wanted to be a famous cartoonist,” even applying to the Famous Artists School, a correspondence art course, as a pre-teen.

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“I was 11 years old, and I’d filled out the application saying that I wanted to be a cartoonist,” he said. “It turns out, as they explained in their rejection letter, that you have to be at least 12 years old to be a famous cartoonist.”

Turning to more practical matters, Adams studied economics at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. and earned an MBA from UC Berkeley. He also trained as a hypnotist at the Clement School of Hypnosis in the 1980s.

Adams began his career at Crocker National Bank, working what he described in a blog post as a “number of humiliating and low paying jobs: teller (robbed twice at gunpoint), computer programmer, financial analyst, product manager, and commercial lender.”

He then spent nearly a decade working at Pacific Bell — the California telephone company now owned by AT&T — in various jobs “that defy description but all involve technology and finances,” as Adams put it in his biography. It was there that he started drawing Dilbert, working on the strip on mornings, evenings and weekends from 1989 until 1995.

“You get real cynical if you spend more than five minutes in a cubicle,” he told NPR’s Weekend Edition in 2002. “But I certainly always planned that I would escape someday, as soon as I got escape velocity.”

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Adams satirized corporate culture for decades 

Scott Adams works on his comic strip in his California studio in 2006.

Scott Adams works on his comic strip in his California studio in 2006. He announced in May that he was dying of metastatic prostate cancer.

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Dilbert revolves around its eponymous white-collar engineer as he navigates his company’s comically dysfunctional bureaucracy, alongside his sidekick: an anthropomorphized, megalomaniac dog named Dogbert.

“Dilbert is a composite of my co-workers over the years,” Adams wrote on his website. “He emerged as the main character of my doodles. I started using him for business presentations and got great responses … Dogbert was created so Dilbert would have someone to talk to.”

Dilbert — with his trademark curly head, round glasses and always-upturned red and black tie — fights a constant battle for his sanity amidst a micromanaged, largely illogical corporate environment full of pointless meetings, technical difficulties, too many buzzwords and an out-of-touch manager known only as Pointy-haired Boss.

Even after Adams quit his day job, he kept a firm grasp on the absurdities and mundanities of cubicle life with help from his devoted audience.

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He included his email address on the strip and said he got hundreds of messages each day. Recurring reader suggestions ranged from stolen refrigerator lunches to bosses’ unrealistic expectations.

“So they all, for example, say, ‘I need this report in a week, but make sure that I get it two weeks early so I could look at it,’” Adams said. “Just bizarre stories where it’s clear that they either have never owned a watch or a calendar or they are in some kind of a time warp.”

Dilbert‘s storylines evolved alongside office culture, taking aim at a growing range of societal and technological topics over the years. In 2022, Adams introduced Dave, the strip’s first Black character, who identifies as white — a choice critics interpreted as poking fun at DEI initiatives.

That ushered in an era of anti-woke plotlines that saw dozens of U.S. newspapers drop the strip in 2022, foreshadowing its widespread cancellation just a year later.

The comic strip was cancelled over Adams’ comments

Adams didn’t limit himself to cartoons. He was a proponent of what he called the “talent stack,” combining multiple common skills in a unique and valuable way: like drawing, humor and risk tolerance, in his case.

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He ventured briefly into food retail at the turn of the millennium, selling vegetarian, microwavable burritos called Dilberitos. He published several novels and nonfiction books unrelated to the Dilbert universe over the years.

Adams was open about his health struggles throughout his career, including the movement disorder focal dystonia — which particularly affected his drawing hand — and, years later, spasmodic dysphonia, an involuntary clenching of the vocal cords that he managed to cure through an experimental surgery.

And he opined on social and political events on “Real Coffee with Scott Adams,” his YouTube talk series with over 180,000 subscribers.

His commentary, which often touched on race and other hot-button issues, led to Dilbert‘s widespread cancellation in February 2023.

In a YouTube livestream that month, Adams — while discussing a Rasmussen public opinion poll asking readers whether they agree “It’s OK to be white” (which is considered an alt-right slogan) — urged white people to “get the hell away from Black people,” labeling them a “hate group.” The backlash was swift: Dozens of newspapers across the country ditched Dilbert, and the comic’s distributor dropped Adams.

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The incident also renewed focus on numerous controversial comments Adams had made in the past, including about race, men’s rights, the Holocaust and COVID-19 vaccines. Adams defended his remarks as hyperbole, and later said getting “canceled” had improved his life, with public support coming from conservative figures like Elon Musk and Charlie Kirk.

Adams, in his final years, was a vocal supporter of President Trump and a critic of Democrats.

But he extended his “respect and compassion” to former President Joe Biden in a video the day after Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis became public in May 2025.

The prognosis was personal for Adams: He shared that he too had metastatic prostate cancer and only months to live, saying he expected “to be checking out from this domain sometime this summer.”

“I’ve just sort of processed it, so it just sort of is what it is,” he said on his YouTube show. “Everybody has to die, as far as I know.”

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Iran acknowledges mass protest deaths, but claims situation under control as Trump mulls response

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Iran acknowledges mass protest deaths, but claims situation under control as Trump mulls response

Iran’s theocratic rulers are under the most intense pressure they’ve felt in years, as President Trump leaves the option of a U.S. military intervention on the table in the face of a fast-mounting death toll amid more than two weeks of anti-government protests across the Islamic Republic.

Mr. Trump said Sunday that Iranian officials had called him looking “to negotiate” after his repeated threats to intervene if authorities kill protesters. In an unusual move, meanwhile, Iran‘s state-controlled media aired video on Sunday showing mass casualties in and outside a morgue in a Tehran suburb.

The video shared widely online shows dozens of bodies outside the morgue, which CBS News has geolocated to the southern Tehran suburb of Kahrizak. The bodies were wrapped in black bags, and people can be seen grieving and searching for their loved ones at the site.

The state TV reporter says in the clip that some of those seen dead may have been involved in violence, but that “the majority of them are ordinary people, and their families are ordinary people as well.” 

An image from video posted on social media on Jan. 11, 2026, shows people outside the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Center in Tehran, trying to identify loved ones amid the bodies of dozens killed in a wave of deadly anti-government demonstrations across Iran.

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Video posted by social media users on Sunday showed scenes from the same morgue, and people could be heard wailing in the background as others appeared to be looking for loved ones amid the bodies.  

It is unclear why Iranian authorities might have chosen to show the mass casualties, but it could be an attempt to show sympathy with the protesters and to bolster their narrative that it is more radical actors, inspired by Mr. Trump’s messages of support, behind the violence, not the government.

President Trump and Iranian officials have escalated their warnings over the past week, with both sides insisting they’re ready for, but not seeking a military confrontation. 

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On Sunday, however, Mr. Trump said Iran’s leadership had called looking to talk.

Trump issues fresh warning, says Iran seeking negotiations

“The leaders of Iran called” yesterday, he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One, saying “a meeting is being set up … They want to negotiate.”

“We may have to act before a meeting,” Mr. Trump warned. He first warned 10 days ago that if Iran killed protesters, the U.S. would “come to their rescue,” but he’s yet to say what exactly would prompt some action against the regime, or what that might entail.

A senior U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that the president had been briefed on new options for military strikes in Iran, after Mr. Trump warned that if the regime started “killing people like they have in the past, we would get involved.”

“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts,” he said at the White House. “And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”

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The U.S. has not yet moved any forces in preparation for potential strikes on Iran, officials with the military’s Central Command told CBS News over the weekend.   

Iran’s top diplomat claims protests “under total control”

Iran did not confirm any direct outreach to the Trump administration, but speaking on Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested the regime had brought the protests under control – repeating the government’s claim that the U.S. was to blame for the violence.

The “situation is now under total control,” Araghchi said, according to the Reuters news agency, as Iranian state TV aired video of massive pro-government demonstrations around the country.

iran-pro-regime-demo-jan-2026.jpg

An image from video aired on Jan. 12, 2026 by Iranian state TV, shows a funeral procession for protesters killed in what the network said were “terrorist acts” amid anti-regime protests across the country, in Ardabil, northwest Iran.

Reuters/Iranian state TV

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Government-controlled broadcaster IRIB called one demonstration and funeral march an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism.”

In the face of Mr. Trump’s repeated threats, Araghchi said Iran was “ready for war, but also for dialogue” with the U.S. at any time.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi makes a speech amid amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks on state television amid anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 12, 2026, in a screengrab obtained from a handout video.

IRIB/Handout/REUTERS


In another indication that the regime may believe it is weathering the storm, the foreign minister said internet service would be resumed in coordination with Iran’s security services, though he offered no specific timeline. 

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Rights groups say death toll from protests could be in the thousands

According to human rights groups based outside the country, which rely on contacts inside Iran, the death toll has already climbed into the hundreds. 

The Washington D.C.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said that, as of Sunday, the 15th day of protests, at least 544 people had been killed, including 483 protesters and 47 members of the security forces. HRANA said the unrest had manifested in 186 cities across all of Iran’s 31 provinces.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), which is also based in the U.S., said over the weekend that it had “eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown,” accusing the regime of carrying out “a massacre.” 

The Iran Human Rights (IHR) organization, based in Norway, said Saturday that it had confirmed at least 192 protesters were killed, but that the number could be over 2,000.

“Unverified reports indicate that at least several hundreds, and according to some sources, more than 2,000 people may have been killed,” IHR said in a statement, adding that according to its estimate, more than 2,600 protesters had been arrested. 

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HRANA estimates that over 10,000 people have been detained.

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Video: What Our Photographer Saw in Minneapolis

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Video: What Our Photographer Saw in Minneapolis

new video loaded: What Our Photographer Saw in Minneapolis

David Guttenfelder, a visual journalist for The New York Times, was at the scene in Minneapolis immediately after an ICE agent killed a 37-year-old woman in her vehicle. He walks us through the photos and videos he took over the next few days as outrage and protests mounted in the city.

By David Guttenfelder, Coleman Lowndes and Nikolay Nikolov

January 12, 2026

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