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San Francisco Zoo to welcome pair of pandas from China, mayor says

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San Francisco Zoo to welcome pair of pandas from China, mayor says
  • San Francisco is set to receive a pair of pandas from China, continuing the tradition of “panda diplomacy.”
  • Mayor London Breed announced the panda loan during her visit to Beijing alongside officials from the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
  • This will be San Francisco’s first long-term hosting of pandas, following a yearlong advocacy campaign.

San Francisco is the latest U.S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing’s famed “panda diplomacy.”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the panda loan in Beijing on Friday, alongside officials from China Wildlife Conservation Association, or CWCA. It will be San Francisco’s first time hosting the beloved animals long-term — the result of a yearlong advocacy campaign, Breed said.

San Diego previously announced it was receiving two pandas back in February.

OUTSIDE OF CHINA, PANDAS ARE ONLY FOUND IN THESE 5 ZOOS AROUND THE WORLD

China is home to the only natural habitat for pandas and owns most of the black-and-white bears in the world. Beijing loans the animals to other countries as a tool for diplomacy and wildlife conservation.

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San Francisco is the latest U.S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing’s famed “panda diplomacy.” (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

“San Francisco is absolutely thrilled to be welcoming giant pandas to the San Francisco Zoo,” Breed said after signing a letter of intent for international cooperation on giant panda conservation.

Breed said the city had been working with its Chinese and Asian communities to advocate for the pandas for almost a year leading up to an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in San Francisco last November, during which the U.S. and Chinese presidents met.

CWCA Secretary General Wu Minglu said the association will work with San Francisco officials to prepare for the pandas’ arrival and to ensure the technical standards for their conservation.

“We look forward to a pair of giant pandas being in San Francisco in 2025,” he said.

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When San Diego broke the news in February that it would receive a pair of pandas, it was the first time in more than two decades that China had agreed to send pandas to the United States.

Only four giant pandas are currently in the U.S., all at the zoo in Atlanta. China in recent years has not renewed loan agreements at zoos in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, sparking fears it was ending its historic panda diplomacy with Western nations due to geopolitical tensions.

The black-and-white bears have been a symbol of U.S.-China friendship ever since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 1972, ahead of the normalization of bilateral relations. China later loaned pandas to zoos to help breed cubs and boost the population.

Friday’s announcement comes ahead of a planned visit to China next week by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

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Washington and Beijing have boosted their diplomatic exchanges in recent months, in an effort to ease escalating tensions. But frictions remain on trade, national security and the countries’ diverging stances on conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war.

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Montana

Bring your Treasures to the Montana Appraisal Fair in Billings

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Bring your Treasures to the Montana Appraisal Fair in Billings


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Nevada

Nevada first responders receive autism training to improve emergency response

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Nevada first responders receive autism training to improve emergency response


First responders from across Nevada gathered for a free training session on how to better recognize and respond to people on the autism spectrum as part of a broader push following the passage of Senate Bill 380 last year.

The free, day-long session, hosted by the Autism Coalition of Nevada, brought together police, firefighters, and emergency personnel from agencies statewide for what organizers call a “train-the-trainer” model. It equipped attendees with tools they can take back to their departments and share with others.

The training is designed to help first responders identify key behaviors associated with autism, such as delayed responses, lack of eye contact, or repetition, and adjust their approach in high-pressure situations where those behaviors could otherwise be misinterpreted.

“The training is to help them understand what’s in front of them, which is a person on the spectrum, and not somebody that’s being combative or argumentative,” said Michelle Scott-Lewing, president of the Autism Coalition of Nevada.

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Advocates said misunderstandings can happen frequently, sometimes leading to unnecessary arrests, and this type of education is aimed at reducing those outcomes.

Senate Bill 380, signed into law by Governor Joe Lombardo, requires autism-specific training for first responders and adds guidance around how officers should be educated on recognizing and interacting with individuals on the spectrum, marking a significant step toward more consistent awareness across agencies.

The session was led by First Responder Autism Training, a national program that travels the country teaching officers and emergency crews how to recognize autism indicators and respond appropriately, with real-world scenarios that emphasize slowing down and de-escalating.

Henderson police said their officers already receive training on a range of mental health conditions, but this builds on that foundation with a more focused approach.

“For officers to be able to recognize those signs and be able to understand like, hey, this person, even though they’re not talking to me or they’re not doing what I’m saying, that doesn’t mean they’re non-compliant,” Deputy Chief Matthew Murnane with HPD said. “It just means maybe, hey, there’s something else going on there.”

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Organizers said they want to expand the training with an additional session this year in Northern Nevada, aiming to make it more accessible statewide and ensure more first responders have the tools needed to safely handle interactions involving people on the spectrum.



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New Mexico

Decision 2026: Gubernatorial candidates discuss education and other topics during second forum

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Decision 2026: Gubernatorial candidates discuss education and other topics during second forum


RIO RANCHO, N.M. — We won’t know who New Mexico’s next governor will be until November, but you’ll be deciding who will be on that ballot in just five weeks.

When it comes to the race for governor there are 6 candidates. Tuesday, the community got more insight into their platforms during a forum held at Rio Rancho Public School headquarters.

They touched on a lot of topics: the economy, crime, healthcare and more but one in particular kept coming up: education. In last week’s forum in Santa Fe, they mainly focused on the economy.

Five candidates participated in the forum: Republicans Gregg Hull, Duke Rodriguez and Doug Turner and Democrats Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman. Independent candidate Ken Miyagishima did not participate.

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All five candidates say when it comes to education, it’s an issue New Mexico is failing at and pointed to the fact that our state ranks last across the nation.

Hull and Turner both believe part of the answer is stopping what they called “social promotion” which means letting a child go to the next grade even if they don’t meet certain goal posts like reading.

“I’m going to be very, very focused on getting Career, Technical Education into all of our school districts, any school district that wants it, we need to be a partner with that and make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the workforce,” Hull said.

“We can’t just promote kids throughout the their school career, because we end up with a workforce that nobody can hire. So if we don’t focus on our children at all levels, we will be we will continue to fail,” Turner said.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez believes the answer is in offering more programs.

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“You can’t have better students without taking care of your teachers, which includes funding their pension plan. We have got to go back to the basics and make our students value their education, make the parents realize the importance,” Rodriguez said.

Both Democrats Haaland and Bregman believe more intervention from educators is needed.

“Our kids need to read sooner. That’s why I want to put reading coaches in the classrooms and make sure that teachers can identify kids that need the help, so that we can make sure that they are ready to go on to the next grade, and that gives builds their confidence,” Haaland said.

“When a first and second grader isn’t up to that grade level, we need to rush in with ped, get them the help they need right away, so that we don’t end up in a situation where they’re at third grade not reading at grade level, at third grade, not doing math at that level,” Bregman said.

All five candidates will be on the primary ballot which will be held June 2.

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The Republican and Democratic nominees will face independent Ken Miyagishima  — if he gets more than 14,000 signatures and files on June 25, per the Secretary of State’s office.



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