Feb. 12 Daily Brief: Reading to cats, flocks of birds, and an allbino aligator
Children in grades 1-8 read to the cats as a way to improve their reading skills and gain confidence, A flock of migrating starlings is seen as they perform their traditional dance fly before landing to sleep, and two albino alligators, the result of a captive breeding program which protect endangered species.
- A flock of migrating starlings is seen as they perform their traditional dance fly before landing to sleep during the sunset near the southern Israeli village of Tidhar, in the northern Israeli Negev desert, on February 12, 2014. (Menahem Kahan/AFP/Getty Images)
- The road is empty leading out of downtown Atlanta as drivers heeded advice to not drive during an ice storm in Atlanta, Georgia, February 12, 2014. A deadly winter storm brought heavy snow, freezing rain and a possibly historic accumulation of ice to the southeastern United States on Wednesday, causing hundreds of thousands of power outages and treacherous driving conditions, meterologists said. (REUTERS/Tami Chappell)
- Desmond Allen reads to “Ginger,” a cat up for adoption, during “The Book Buddies Program” at the Animal Rescue League of Berks County in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania February 11, 2014. Children in grades 1-8 read to the cats as a way to improve their reading skills and gain confidence. The shelter animals can be a non-evaluative presence that can provide support and comfort to participants without judging them. Students showed sustained focus and maintained a higher state of awareness, as well as improved attitudes toward school, according to researchers at Tufts University. Photo taken February 11, 2014. (REUTERS/Mark Makela)
- Volunteers enjoy the Black Sea near the Olympic Park during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics February 12, 2014. (REUTERS/Issei Kato)
- A man drags his possessions in a peli-case as he wades along a flooded road near Staines, west of London on February 12, 2014. Flooded communities in Britain faced a fresh battering from storms and high winds as emergency efforts in stricken areas picked up following criticism of a sluggish response. (Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images)
- A flock of migrating starlings is seen as they perform their traditional dance fly before land to sleep during the sunset near the southern Israeli village of Tidhar in the northern Israeli Negev desert on February 11, 2014. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)
- A flock of starlings fly over an agricultural field near the southern Israeli city of Netivot February 12, 2014. The starlings migrate from central and Eastern Europe to spend the winter in Israel, said an employee of Israel’s nature and parks authority on Wednesday. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
- President Barack Obama shakes hands with French President Francois Hollande during a joint press conference following their meetings in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 11, 2014. Hollande’s three-day state visit to the US, which is designed to underscore historic ties and a burgeoning security relationship between America and its oldest ally, takes place as he tries to shrug off embarrassment over his love life. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)
- Jikany Nuer White Army fighters, a local youth militia affiliated with the rebels, walk in Upper Nile State February 12, 2014. South Sudanese rebels withdrew on Tuesday a threat to boycott peace talks with the government, saying mediators had promised to address their list of demands. (REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic)
- A demonstrator with a Venezuelan flag draped around himself protests against the government of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, in front of a riot police line in Caracas February 12, 2014. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)
- A man herds cattle in flooded Camiaco, some 55 km (34 miles) from Trinidad in the Beni department February 11, 2014. There is end in sight for flood-weary Bolivians as floodwaters continue to sweep across parts of the country and authorities work to rush food and aid to victims. Picture taken February 11, 2014. (REUTERS/David Mercado)
- Aquarium specialist Sylvain Joumier holds one of the two one-year-old albino alligator at the Tropical aquarium in Paris February 12, 2014. The two alligators are the result of a captive breeding program which protect endangered species and will presented to the public in a vivarium. (REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer)
- Pope Francis walks as he leads the general audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican February 12, 2014. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile)
- An investigator works near the wreckage of a military plane which crashed near the village of Ouled Gacem in eastern Algeria, about 500km (311 miles) from the capital Algiers February 12, 2014. The military transport plane carrying members of the Algerian armed forces and their relatives crashed into a mountain on Tuesday, killing 77 people, the worst air disaster in the North African country in a decade. (REUTERS/Louafi Larbi)
- An Afghan girl walks past a residence near Shuhada lake in Kabul on February 12, 2014. Some nine million Afghans or 36 percent of the population are living in “absolute poverty” while another 37 percent live barely above the poverty line, according to a UN report. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)
- A close up shows a tractor delivering water to a young coffee plant in a coffee plantation in Santo Antonio do Jardim February 6, 2014. In Brazil’s coffee belt, frost has long been the biggest risk for farmers and commodities traders alike. But after years of migration to warmer confines, farmers here now find themselves scrambling to overcome a unusual threat: blistering heat. January was the hottest and driest month on record in much of southeastern Brazil, punishing crops in the country’s agricultural heartland and sending commodities prices sharply higher in global markets. As signs emerged that the world’s largest coffee crop was withering, futures prices shot up 26 percent over a seven-day stretch to a nine-month high. Picture taken February 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker)