Southeast
Burmese python and bobcat face off as snake tries to protect nest: ‘1st recorded instance’

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An interplay between a Burmese python and bobcat in South Florida has contributed to scientific analysis as behavioral ecologists publish findings on the primary identified occasion of predation and antagonism directed in direction of the invasive snake species’ younger.
Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) arrange a hidden still-photograph motion digicam at Massive Cypress Nationwide Protect from June 1, 2021, to September 9, 2021.
The wildlife surveillance digicam was positioned to seize pictures of a nest website that belonged to an grownup feminine Burmese python.
FLORIDA MOM AND PYTHON HUNTER SAVE THEIR CAR FROM SERPENT AHEAD OF THANKSGIVING
Burmese pythons have been an invasive species within the protect and the Larger Everglades Ecosystem in Florida for many years and have brought about ecological injury because of the snake not having pure predators.
A male bobcat circles a Burmese python nest that was left unattended in June 2021. Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey recorded the interplay with a hidden still-photograph motion digicam at Massive Cypress Nationwide Protect.
(U.S. Geological Survey )
Researchers had been stunned to seek out {that a} male bobcat frequented the python’s unattended nest on a number of events throughout its three-month evaluation and preyed on the snake’s eggs.
Within the journal of Ecology and Evolution, researchers reported that the bobcat consumed, trampled, cached and uncovered eggs from the unguarded nest over the course of two days (June 1 and June 2, 2021).
SNAKE CATCHER REMOVED A GIANT PYTHON AFTER A COUPLE REPORTED THEIR CLOGGED DRAIN: ‘NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING’
By the night of June 2, 2021, the bobcat returned to the nest whereas the python was close to however didn’t method or work together with the massive serpent, which measured round 13.9 ft on the time.
The subsequent day, the 2 predators reportedly confronted one another with out interacting straight. It didn’t take for much longer for the python to reply to the bobcat’s unwelcome visitation.
“On the morning of 04 June, the bobcat once more returns to the nest website, triggering the digicam to disclose that the python had apparently struck on the bobcat,” the USGS researchers wrote of their research. “The strike was decided from the primary images in that sequence, which captures the python’s head at placing distance from the remainder of her coils close to the bobcat’s ft.”
FLORIDA HUNTERS CAPTURE RECORD BREAKING 18-FOOT BURMESE PYTHON
The research’s combat abstract states that subsequent images present will get again on her coil dealing with the bobcat whereas the wild feline swipes again from the left aspect and strikes to the correct.
“The python visually tracks the bobcat” and “the bobcat advances and once more swipes on the python [from the right] however no bodily contact is obvious.”
Closing images the USGS captured present “the bobcat flanking the Burmese python.”

The Burmese python and bobcat combat close to the snake’s nest on June 4, 2021. The bobcat repeatedly stopped by the nest to prey on eggs.
(U.S. Geological Survey )
Researchers arrived on the scene two hours after the still-movement digicam captured the python and bobcat’s combat.
Forty-two eggs within the nest had been discovered to be “inviable or destroyed” whereas 22 had been discovered to be “broken however doubtlessly viable,” and had been transferred to incubators.
The eggs didn’t survive and “confirmed apparent indicators of decay (as much as 26 days later).”
Additional interactions between the python and bobcat weren’t documented on-camera, however the bobcat did return to the nest on three separate events to scavenge destroyed eggs from June 17, 2021, to Aug. 30, 2021.
Researchers estimate the bobcat weighed about 19.8 kilos and would probably not have survived if the feminine “python had been excited by feeding.”
Prior cases of predation or antagonistic habits directed at grownup pythons occurred with snakes that had been smaller than 14 ft.
Burmese pythons not often depart their nests throughout brooding (laying eggs), which takes roughly three to 13 days for profitable hatching, researchers wrote within the journal.
Throughout this era, brooding pythons will attempt to stay close to their nests and keep away from consuming to guard their unborn younger from predators.
“As a result of pythons could solely briefly depart their nests throughout brooding, alternatives for profitable nest predation are restricted and sure uncommon,” the USGS researchers wrote. “Herein we describe, to our information, the primary recorded occasion of a Burmese python actively defending a nest and the primary report of a bobcat depredating a python nest.”
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Southeast
University of Virginia president resigns amid pressure from Trump admin over DEI initiatives

University dean out of job after pushing DEI
Oklahoma state superintendent Ryan Walters and The Mom Wars’ Bethany Mandel react to UNC Asheville Dean of Students Megan Pugh being ousted from her position after admitting to pushing DEI initiatives.
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The University of Virginia president stepped down on Friday after facing intense pressure from the Trump administration over the institution’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
James E. Ryan, who had led the school since 2018, said he had already decided that next year would be his last and decided not to “fight the federal government in order to save my own job” until then.
To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University,” Ryan wrote to the UVA community on Friday. “But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job. To do so would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld.”
“This is especially true because I had decided that next year would be my last, for reasons entirely separate from this episode—including the fact that we concluded our capital campaign and have implemented nearly all of the major initiatives in our strategic plan,” he continued.
TRUMP’S DOJ PRESSURING UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA TO AXE ITS PRESIDENT OVER DEI PROGRAMS: REPORT
University of Virginia President James E. Ryan stepped down after facing intense pressure from the Trump administration. (Getty Images)
Robert D. Hardie, leader of the University of Virginia’s governing board, said in a statement he accepted Ryan’s resignation with “profound sadness,” adding that he had been an “extraordinary president,” led the institution to “unprecedented heights” and that the university “has forever been changed for the better as a result of Jim’s exceptional leadership.”
This comes after the Trump administration had privately demanded that the university remove Ryan to help resolve a Justice Department probe into the institution’s DEI practices, according to The New York Times.
The Justice Department argued that Ryan had failed to dismantle the school’s DEI programs and misrepresented the steps taken to eliminate them, amid the administration’s efforts to root out DEI in higher education, the newspaper reported.
The federal government’s moves targeting higher education include pulling billions of dollars from elite universities such as Harvard, which has been the subject of investigations by various agencies over issues such as DEI initiatives, admissions practices and alleged antisemitism on campus.
But this was the first time the administration had pressured a university to remove its president.
“That sham virtue signaling of DEI has no place in our country, and the Trump administration is working tirelessly to erase this divisive, backward, and unjust practice from our society,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital.
“Any university president willingly breaking federal civil rights laws will be met with the full force of the federal government, and it would behoove every school in America to prioritize the civil rights of every student and end DEI once and for all,” he continued.

James Ryan, who had led the school since 2018, said he had already decided that next year would be his last. (AP)
Ryan had focused on increasing diversity at the university, bringing in more first-generation students and encouraging community service. These efforts had ruffled the feathers of conservative alumni and Republican board members who argued he was “too woke” and wanted to impose his beliefs on students.
Before his time as the university’s president, Ryan served as the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he received recognition for his commitment to DEI programs.
In a joint statement, Virginia’s Democratic senators said it was “outrageous” that the administration would demand Ryan’s resignation over “‘culture war’ traps.”
“Decisions about UVA’s leadership belong solely to its Board of Visitors, in keeping with Virginia’s well-established and respected system of higher education governance,” Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said. “This is a mistake that hurts Virginia’s future.”
Conservative groups have lambasted Ryan for what they regard as insufficient steps toward compliance with the administration’s plans to eliminate DEI. America First Legal, a nonprofit launched by Trump advisor Stephen Miller, accused the University of Virginia last month of rebranding DEI programs to skirt Trump’s executive orders aimed at ending diversity initiatives.
HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS AFTER TRUMP CUTS BILLIONS IN FUNDING

The Trump administration had privately demanded that the university remove Ryan to help resolve a Justice Department probe into the institution’s DEI practices. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Rebranding discrimination does not make it legal, and changing a label doesn’t change the substance,” Megan Redshaw, an attorney at America First Legal, said in a statement at the time. “UVA’s use of sanitized language and recycled job titles is a deliberate attempt to sidestep the law.”
The group took direct aim at Ryan, noting that he joined hundreds of other college presidents in signing a public statement condemning the administration’s “overreach and political interference.”
On Friday, the group vowed to continue to use every available tool to root out DEI.
“This week’s developments make clear: public universities that accept federal funds do not have a license to violate the Constitution,” Redshaw said in a statement to The Associated Press. “They do not get to impose ideological loyalty tests, enforce race and sex-based preferences, or defy lawful executive authority.”
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Southeast
House GOP freshman celebrates young American's safe homecoming amid Iran-Israel conflict

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Rep. John McGuire, R-Va., welcomed 21-year-old Seth McCready home from Israel this week, as the State Department issued a security alert for U.S. citizens traveling worldwide and the conflict between Israel and Iran raged on.
McCready talked to Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview at the Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday after he traveled from Israel to Jordan to Egypt before catching his final flight home.
The Virginia native was greeted by his father and two brothers at the International Arrivals Gate, all sporting big smiles and embracing as their congressman stood by with red, white and blue balloons and an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol.
“God protected me and the people I was with, and he’s protecting Israel too,” McCready said. “I 100% believe Israel’s gonna pull through, no problem.”
REPUBLICANS CONGRATULATE TRUMP AMID IRAN CEASEFIRE AS DEMS HOLD BACK APPLAUSE
Rep. John McGuire welcomed Seth McCready home from Israel on Tuesday. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
McGuire’s office was in constant contact with McCready during his days-long journey home from Israel, according to the young American.
TUGBOATS, CRUISE SHIPS AND FLIGHTS: ISRAEL BEGINS EMERGENCY EVACUATION OF CITIZENS AMID IRAN WAR
When the Jewish state launched its initial attacks on Iran, which President Donald Trump has referred to as the “12-day war,” McCready was visiting family in Israel. He told Fox News Digital that he was later able to volunteer with a ministry group, preparing rooms and even delivering food to those in need as the strikes continued.
“We did get a couple impacts. There was one that was like a kilometer away from me, and the whole building shook,” McCready said, describing a strike that slipped through Israel’s defenses.
McGuire, who joined McCready’s family to welcome him home on Tuesday, said, “I’m just so happy for his family. You can’t always help somebody, but when you can, that’s the best part about this job.”

McCready said McGuire’s office was instrumental in his journey home from Israel. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
The freshman Virginia congressman said he worked with the State Department to secure McCready’s path home. Both McCready and McGuire thanked his political director, Ramona Christian, for her vital role in getting McCready home.
“It’s just a big team effort, and this is the second young person we helped get home in a week. And now we’ve got a couple of other folks that have reached out to our office, and we’re hoping to be able to help them as well,” McGuire told Fox News Digital in an interview.
McGuire celebrated McCready’s homecoming as the fragile ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel had just begun.
Questions remained about whether the ceasefire would hold when Trump announced on Monday evening that “It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE.”

Smoke rises from the building of Iran’s state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo)
Trump said the U.S. successfully struck three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night, but questions remain on Capitol Hill as to what degree the strikes set back Iran’s nuclear program.
McGuire, a Trump loyalist who secured his endorsement in 2024, said the “ability for Iran to project power has been greatly diminished.”
“We had an imminent threat of a nuclear weapon in Iran, and we just couldn’t have that,” McGuire added. “That threat has been eliminated.”
Israel had launched a series of coordinated attacks on Iran on June 13, which Iran retaliated against, prompting the countries to exchange strikes for 12 days. After the U.S. struck Iran, the Islamic Republic launched retaliatory attacks on a U.S. air base in Qatar.
But McGuire affirmed he is “very hopeful” that the ceasefire between Israel and Iran will hold and that there will be peace in the Middle East.
The Virginia Republican is a member of the House Oversight Committee and the House Armed Services, bringing his 10 years of experience as a Navy SEAL to the position.
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Southeast
Environmental groups try blocking Trump's 'Alligator Alcatraz' with last-minute lawsuit

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Multiple environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday alleging officials did not evaluate ecologic impacts when constructing “Alligator Alcatraz,” an illegal immigrant detention center near the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve.
The lawsuit, filed by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity in the Southern District of Florida, aims to pause construction at the federal site, which is being built at the reportedly unoccupied Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.
“It’s a lazy lawsuit, and it ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.
An image from an undated video released by the Office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier shows an isolated Everglades airfield about 45 miles west of Miami that state officials say will house a detention center, “Alligator Alcatraz.” (Office of Attorney General James Uthmeier via AP)
FLORIDA BUILDING ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ WHERE ICE DETAINEES FACE NATURE’S OWN SECURITY SYSTEM
The 30-square-mile property will be home to 5,000 ICE detainees and is guarded by alligators and pythons.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday it had approved the project, and crews started working on the transformation Monday.
Attorneys allege the installation of housing units; the construction of sanitation and food services systems, lighting infrastructure, diesel power generators; and the use of the runway to transport detainees, pose “clear” environmental harms, according to a FOX 13 Tampa Bay report.
Environmental groups and Native Americans who live in the reserve protested outside the airport Saturday, calling on officials to protect their homeland from additional pollution.

Environmental advocates protest against the “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE detention center being built at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Fla., Saturday. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION APPROVES ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ, WHERE ICE DETAINEES FACE NATURE’S OWN SECURITY SYSTEM
“The defendants, in their rush to build the center, have unlawfully bypassed the required environmental reviews,” according to court documents. “The direct and indirect harm to nearby wetlands, wildlife and air and water quality, and feasible alternatives to the action, must be considered under NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] before acting.”
Lawyers also accused officials of violating Miami-Dade County code and noted Emergency Management’s lack of authority to construct and manage a correctional center, according to the report.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” Friday that illegal immigrants could begin arriving by Tuesday, clarifying no permanent changes would be made.

Environmental advocates protest against the “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE detention center being built at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Fla., Saturday. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
UNCLE SAM’S DEVIL’S ISLAND: FROM AL CAPONE TO ‘MACHINE GUN’ KELLY, MEET ALCATRAZ’S MOST INFAMOUS INMATES
“It’s all temporary,” DeSantis said. “We’ll set it up, and we’ll break it down. This isn’t our first rodeo. The impact will be zero.”
He added the center will be a “force multiplier,” aiding in the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s mandate.
Funded by the state, the center will cost about $450 million to operate annually with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursements.

An alligator rests on the surface of the water near the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport as people rally against the state’s forthcoming “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE detention center in Ochopee, Fla. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
As the lawsuit seeking an injunction moves its way through the courts, work is continuing at the site, FOX 13 reported.
The suit names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie and Miami-Dade County.
Florida Emergency Management and ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Miami-Dade County could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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