Science
Wild Coast Raw Food for Cats Is Recalled Over Bird Flu Risk
A company in Washington State voluntarily recalled a raw food product for cats this week because of the potential risk that it may have been contaminated with bird flu amid outbreaks in poultry and cows across the United States, federal safety regulators said.
Wild Coast Raw of Olympia, Wash., issued the recall for its frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula raw pet food for cats, according to a statement issued on Saturday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At least one pet had died after consuming the product, the company said.
The product, which had been distributed to pet food retailers in Washington and Oregon, “has the potential to be contaminated with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 also known as bird flu,” the F.D.A. said.
“The recall is a precautionary measure,” Tyler Duncan, the founder of the company, said in a social media post.
In a letter to customers, published on the company’s website, Mr. Duncan said: “The safety of our products and that of our customers’ beloved pets is always our top priority. We were devastated to learn of the passing of a beloved pet, and our hearts go out to the owner.”
The F.D.A. said that the company and the Washington State Department of Agriculture were working together to address the source of the problem.
The recall affects 16 oz. and 24 oz. sizes of the chicken formula, which is frozen in a small round white plastic container with a green label. The affected lots, identified by a sticker on the lid, include those with the numbers #22660, #22653, #22641, #22639, #22672 and #22664, with a best buy date of December 2025.
Scientists have said that cats are highly susceptible to the virus. At least 99 domestic cats have been infected since late 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported six human cases and one death in relation to the outbreak.
While there have been no reported human infections among people who handle raw pet food products, people can become infected if the virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, according to the F.D.A.
Consumers who fed their pets the recalled goods should be on the lookout for symptoms of bird flu, which can include fever, lethargy, low appetite and reddened or inflamed eyes. Other related symptoms include discharge from the eyes and nose, difficulty breathing and neurological signs like tremors, stiff body movements, seizure, lack of coordination or blindness.
“People with pets exhibiting these signs after feeding this product should contact their veterinarian,” the F.D.A. said. People who have bought the recalled product should discard it, the agency added.
The recall was announced days after the Washington State Department of Agriculture alerted pet owners on Feb. 26 that at least two domestic indoor cats in two counties had tested positive for bird flu. The pet owners had reported feeding their cats the potentially contaminated pet food that was recalled.
One cat was euthanized because of “the severity of the illness,” the state’s agriculture department said, noting that the second cat was being treated by a veterinarian.
Science
Video: Crowds Flood New York City Streets for First Day of Manhattanhenge
new video loaded: Crowds Flood New York City Streets for First Day of Manhattanhenge

By James McManagan
May 29, 2026
Science
Oxnard man smuggled baby crocodiles, among 1,700 reptiles, gets 5 years
An Oxnard man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for smuggling at least 1,700 reptiles worth more than $739,000 into the U.S. over six years, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
The animals, including baby crocodiles and Yucatán box turtles, were bought and sold over social media and came from Mexico, Hong Kong and elsewhere, an investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revealed.
From January 2016 to February 2022, Perez and co-conspirators brought in wild animals without the permits required by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — and without declaring them, the Justice Department said.
In August 2022, Jose Manuel Perez pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of smuggling goods into the country and one count of wildlife trafficking.
The animals smuggled from Mexico were advertised on social media, with defendants posting photos and videos of the reptiles being captured in the wild.
People working with Perez would collect the reptiles including Mexican box turtles and Mexican beaded lizards, at from an airport in Ciudad Juárez, then move them by car over the border to El Paso.
According to federal authorities, Perez paid people a “crossing fee” each time they traversed the border. Payment depended on how many animals they trafficked, the size of the package and the level of risk they faced.
Sometimes Perez and another person would traveled to Mexico to buy animals taken from the wild to smuggle into the U.S. Once shipped, they were transported to Perez’s home, in Missouri and then California after he moved there.
When the sentence came down, Perez was already serving nine years for felony possession of firearms. Due to convictions in Ventura County Superior Court for “street terrorism” and assault with a deadly weapon, he is not allowed to have firearms, the department said.
According to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, illegal wildlife trafficking is the second-largest threat to species after habitat loss and the world’s fourth-most-lucrative trafficking industry.
“Illegal wildlife trafficking not only diminishes the populations of targeted wildlife species, it also impacts related species, their interconnected ecosystem, local and global economies, and has the potential to impact the health of people through zoonotic disease transmission,” the alliance says on its website.
Reptiles get caught in the fray. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced that a Daly City man suspected of purchasing and exporting hundreds of poached turtles from Florida was facing federal wildlife trafficking charges.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of California and a section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations, assisted federal wildlife officials with the investigation into Perez’s dealings. The case was prosecuted in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Science
Video: Blue Origin Rocket Explodes on Florida Launchpad
new video loaded: Blue Origin Rocket Explodes on Florida Launchpad
transcript
transcript
Blue Origin Rocket Explodes on Florida Launchpad
A rocket built by the Jeff Bezos-owned space company, Blue Origin, blew up during a test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
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“Oh, no, that’s an explosion.” (explosion erupts) “That is crazy.” “What?” “Oh, my God!”

By Nailah Morgan
May 29, 2026
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