WASHINGTON -- Washington's National Zoo said one of its two newborn panda cubs died Wednesday after 3 1/2 days.
The zoo's Mei Xiang gave birth to the first cub Saturday at 5:35 p.m. and a second cub about five hours later. Pink, hairless and blind, newborn cubs weigh 3-5 ounces. The zoo said the remaining cub, the larger of the two, appears to be strong, robust and behaving normally. The surviving cub remains with its mother.
The zoo did not immediately announce the cause of the smaller cub's death but said it would perform a necropsy, the equivalent of a human autopsy.
Nothing was obviously wrong with the cub that died, and the zoo doesn't know if it was born with problems, said the zoo's animal care associate director, Brandie Smith. Despite its small size, the cub was within the normal size range for cubs that have survived, she said.
Because pandas won't usually nurse twins if left to their own devices, breeders have adopted a practice where every several hours they swap the cubs, giving each one time with the mother. Animal keepers were feeding the cub using a bottle and a tube.
Central Command claims under review
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon's inspector general is investigating an allegation that the military command overseeing the anti-Islamic State campaign distorted or altered intelligence assessments to exaggerate progress against the militant group, a defense official said Wednesday.
The official was not authorized to discuss the probe publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The investigation was first disclosed by The New York Times. The newspaper reported that the investigation began after at least one civilian Defense Intelligence Agency analyst told authorities that he had evidence that officials at U.S. Central Command were improperly reworking conclusions of assessments prepared for policymakers, including President Barack Obama.
Mormon church to stick with Scouts
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Mormon church announced Wednesday that it will maintain its longtime affiliation with the Boy Scouts despite the organization's decision to allow gay troop leaders -- preventing what would have been a blow to the national association.
The decision from senior leaders of the Mormon church -- the nation's largest sponsor of Boy Scout units -- came as a surprise. The church said it was deeply troubled and considering other options when the Boy Scouts announced July 28 that it would lift its ban on gay adult leaders, while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to continue excluding gay adults.
Church leaders decided to stay with the Boy Scouts after getting assurances that they can appoint troop leaders in accordance with their own religious and moral values, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a news release Wednesday.
The Mormon church sponsors nearly 38,000 Scout units with 427,000 boys -- accounting for about 18 percent of all youth Scouts.
Officials with the Boy Scouts of America said they appreciate the decision, noting that the organization is successful because of affiliations with groups like the Mormon church.
Clerk told gay licenses ruling upheld
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling ordering a Kentucky county clerk to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has said she objects to same-sex marriage for religious reasons. She stopped issuing marriage licenses the day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state bans on same-sex marriage.
Two gay couples and two heterosexual couples sued her. A U.S. district judge ordered Davis to issue the marriage licenses, but later delayed his order so that Davis could have time to appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Wednesday, the appeals court denied Davis' request for a stay.
"It cannot be defensibly argued that the holder of the Rowan County Clerk's office ... may decline to act in conformity with the United States Constitution as interpreted by a dispositive holding of the United States Supreme Court," judges Damon Keith, John Rogers and Bernice Donald wrote for the court. "There is thus little or no likelihood that the Clerk in her official capacity will prevail on appeal."
A Section on 08/27/2015