Currentaffairsnews (Headlines)

Former vice president Joe Biden said Tuesday that he would prefer to choose a woman or a person of color as his running mate should he win the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.“Whomever I pick, preferably it will be someone who was of color and/or a different gender, but I’m not making that commitment until I know that the person I’m dealing with I can completely and thoroughly trust as authentic and on the same page,” Biden said.He added, however, that the main quality he would prioritize in a potential vice president is being "simpatico" with his values.“The one thing I know is the job of being president in 2020 as in 2016 and in 2008 is too big for any one person,” former president Barack Obama's running mate said. “You’ve got to have somebody you can turn to.”Obama “knew that he and I had the same value set and the same political disposition as what we should do, and he knew if I ever had any doubt, I would come back to him,” Biden continued. “That’s what I most want in whomever I pick. They’ve got to be simpatico with what I stand for and with what I want to get done.”Some black Democratic lawmakers have floated Senator Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Tamil Indian heritage and is running against Biden for president, as a potential running mate should Biden secure the Democratic nomination. Rumors swirled earlier this year that Biden has also considered tapping Stacey Abrams, who lost her bid for Georgia governor last year but made headlines for alleging voter suppression afterward.Biden told CNN last month that it “would be great” to have a female running mate but declined to get into specifics, saying he did not want to be perceived as "arrogant."

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President Trump has responded after a report by the Justice Department inspector general found that ex-FBI Director James Comey had broken federal rules by leaking a memo on his meetings with the president but did not recommend his prosecution.

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The Democratic infighting over the next presidential debate really boils down to one issue: Lower-tier candidates think the party rules are narrowing the field too early. One candidate says winning a statewide race should be added as a criterion.

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Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian refugee found guilty of shooting U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy to death in 1968, was wounded in a stabbing at a California prison on Friday, according to media reports. Celebrity website TMZ, citing unnamed sources, was first to report that Sirhan, 75, had been stabbed. Replying to a request for confirmation that Sirhan was wounded, Jeffrey Callison, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said an inmate had been stabbed at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego.

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After months of debate, a Straight Pride Parade took place place Saturday in Boston. They were outnumbered by counter protesters.

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Nearly 5,000 bodies have been found in more than 3,000 unmarked graves since Mexico deployed the army to fight drug trafficking in 2006, the government said Friday in its first comprehensive report on the carnage. Mexico has been hit by a wave of violence since launching the so-called "drug war," and activists and family members of the country's 40,000 missing persons have been denouncing mass graves for years. It found 3,024 unmarked graves nationwide, with at least 4,974 bodies, Karla Quintana, head of the national search commission for missing persons, told a news conference alongside President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on International Day of the Disappeared.

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An Iranian oil tanker pursued by the U.S. on Friday again listed its destination as Turkey but the Turkish foreign minister added to the confusion by saying the vessel is headed to Lebanon — statements that were promptly denied in Beirut as America's top diplomat alleged it still would head to Syria. The flurry of contradictory statements further muddies the waters for the Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as the Grace 1, and obscures where its 2.1 million barrels of oil will ultimately go.

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Hurricane Dorian has gained fearsome new muscle as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm. Latest models show Dorian turning before landfall in Florida meaning possible impact near the NC coast later this week.

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A new poll shows Trump trailing the top Democratic contenders in a hypothetical 2020 general election match-up. The next step for Democrats is a strong debate performance on Sept. 12. Also crucial is a campaign’s follow-through.

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A 19-year-old man was killed and another nine wounded, three seriously, on Saturday in a knife attack near the French city of Lyon, a regional official and emergency services said. Two men, one armed with a knife and the other with a skewer, carried out the attack in Villeurbanne, a Lyon suburb, in southeastern France, the official said, without giving further details on the motive for the stabbing.

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Donald Trump has said the decision on whether to evacuate residents of Florida to protect them from Hurricane Dorian, would be made on Sunday after meeting with officials.As he left the White House for the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland, he said members of the federal emergency management agency (FEMA) would be joining him to monitor events.

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The governor of lllinois said Friday he's erased the drug conviction of an Army veteran who was deported to Mexico in 2018, a step that the man's supporters hope will help him return to the U.S. "I recognize this pardon is not a perfect solution, but it is the most just action to take to allow a U.S. veteran the opportunity to be treated fairly by the country he served," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. Miguel Perez Jr., 41, who was born in Mexico, doesn't have U.S. citizenship but had a green card as a permanent U.S. resident.

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Bonnie Deutsch Burdman of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation discusses the remarks of U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman and the impact of white nationalism.

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Hurricane Dorian's path is nearing Florida, where it is no longer projected to make landfall, but still cause 'devastating hurricane-force winds.'

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(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong police arrested prominent opposition figures including Joshua Wong -- and warned other protesters could share their fate at illegal demonstrations this weekend -- raising tensions as authorities seek to quell pro-democracy demonstrations that have raged for almost three months.The 22-year-old Wong, who was scheduled to speak about the protests in the U.S. next month, was among well-known pro-democracy activists arrested by police on Thursday and Friday. Those arrested included Wong’s fellow leader of 2014 Occupy protests, Agnes Chow; independence advocate Andy Chan; and District Councilor Rick Hui.Police said more than 20 people were arrested since Thursday, and warned at a briefing Friday that others could be charged if they take part in protests without official approval. A colonial statute passed during a wave of deadly riots in the 1960s allows authorities to the power to imprison those who participate in unlawful assemblies for as long as five years and more than 900 have been arrested on a variety of charges since June.The arrests were part of a broader push back against the largely leaderless protest movement, which flared up in June over now-suspended legislation allowing extraditions to China before widening into a broader push for more democracy. The Civil Human Rights Front -- the organizer of the biggest recent demonstrations -- said Friday it was forced to cancel a rally planned for Saturday after police withheld approval.The crisis in the former British colony threatens to distract from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s celebrations of 70 years of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1, which will highlight the country’s rebound from imperialism, war and inner turmoil. Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive, Carrie Lam, earlier this week called for a dialogue with the opposition, while refusing to rule out invoking a sweeping colonial-era law that allows for easier arrests, deportations, censorship and property seizures.“We still keep on our fight and we shall not surrender,” Wong told reporters as he and Chow emerged from court after being released on bail on charges related by unlawful assembly. “I urge the international community to send a message to President Xi, sending troops or using emergency ordinance is not the way out.”The summer’s political unrest has been the worst since the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997, with demonstrations that have resulted in often-violent clashes between protesters and police. Political observers said the moves ran the risk of drawing more people into the streets for unauthorized rallies, which can more easily get out of hand.“Such actions are tantamount to inciting trouble at a time when the government is talking about dialogue and trying to lower the temperature,” said Kevin Yam, a political commentator and member of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Progressive Lawyers Group. “You can’t on the one hand say, ‘Let’s lower the temperature, let’s talk, let’s make nice,’ and on the other hand do something like this.”Ronny Tong, a member of Lam’s advisory Executive Council, acknowledged that “the timing could have been better,” said said he had faith in Hong Kong’s rule of law and the police.“The most important thing is that Hong Kong is a place where the rule of law still is alive and kicking,” Tong said. “We have a very able and independent judiciary. And the police know that. They know that unless they have a reasonable chance of a conviction, they would not try to arrest somebody at random only to give out a political message.”Separately, Reuters reported Chinese authorities had earlier this month rejected a Hong Kong government proposal to formally withdraw extradition legislation that sparked the protests. The bill’s withdrawal and an independent inquiry into the unrest were seen as the most feasible compromises, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed senior Hong Kong government official.Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. warned employees not to take part in a general strike planned for next week, after the airline’s chief executive, Rupert Hogg, stepped down to take responsibility for the uproar over airline staff’s participation in earlier actions. Two other organizers of recent protests, including CHRF leader Jimmy Sham and Max Chung, were attacked Thursday in the latest of several reported incidents of mob violence against activists.891 Arrests, 2,071 Tear-Gas Canisters: Hong Kong’s Protests By the NumbersTaiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen -- who has helped resuscitate her re-election prospects by criticizing Beijing’s handling of the protests -- was among the first officials to express concern about the arrests. She called on authorities to comply with their promises of democracy, freedom and human rights to the city’s people, according to a statement from her office.While the three arrested activists are among Hong Kong’s most prominent opposition voices --- Wong was the subject of a Netflix documentary titled “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower” -- none was seen as a central figure in the recent protests. The decentralized movement relies on social media apps and chat rooms to propose and revise protest plans on the fly.Still, Wong has come under scrutiny for his meetings with U.S. officials, with China’s foreign ministry singling out one particular meeting with a U.S. diplomat. Wong was also planning to travel to the U.S. in September to speak out against what he described as authorities’ plans to establish “martial law” ahead of the National Day holiday.Countdown to 2047: What Will Happen to Hong Kong?: QuickTakeThe latest charges against Wong resulted from his role in a June 21 rally, in which he encouraged demonstrators to surround the police headquarters complex in Wan Chai, days after his release from jail on separate protest-related charges. Chan, the pro-independence founder of the banned Hong Kong National Party, said in a post on his personal Facebook page that he was stopped at the city’s airport departures area on Thursday night.“They’re trying to plant a seed of fear in people’s minds, so that people will stop from attending protests, either the one tomorrow or ones in the future,” said Alvin Yeung, a pro-democracy lawmaker. “But my judgment is they won’t succeed, because Hong Kong people are very brave.”(Updates with Executive Council member comments in eighth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Sheryl Tian Tong Lee and Shawna Kwan.To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net;Annie Lee in Hong Kong at olee42@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Karen LeighFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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The debate could stretch into two nights if more candidates meet the polling and fundraising qualifications before Oct. 1.

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The Odessa Police Department said it was looking for at least one suspect who was "driving around Odessa shooting at random people."

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A spokesman for the federal agency said in a statement Friday that "we must stand as one community to focus on aiding the victims."

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"Mr. President: Your Numbers Are Fake," reads El Nuevo Dia's headline, referring to Trump's claim that the U.S. has allocated $92 billion for P.R.

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Iran has gone further in breaching its nuclear deal with world powers, increasing its stock of enriched uranium and refining it to a greater purity than allowed, the U.N. atomic agency report said on Friday. The quarterly report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is policing the 2015 deal, confirms Iran is progressively backing out of the deal in retaliation for Washington's withdrawal form the accord and renewal of sanctions that have hit Iranian oil sales. Iran has said it will breach the deal's limits on its nuclear activities one by one, ratcheting up pressure on parties who still hope to save it.

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Tevin Biles-Thomas, the brother of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, has been arrested and charged in a shooting at a Cleveland AirBnB.

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The latest forecast has Dorian strengthening into a major Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph by Sunday off the U.S. East Coast.

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West Virginia state Sen. Mike Maroney has been charged with soliciting a prostitute. The Republican lawmaker turned himself in and was arraigned Wednesday morning, a Marshall County court clerk said. Maroney exchanged text messages to discuss prices and set up meetings with a woman who has acknowledged being a prostitute, according to a criminal complaint.

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President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States will keep a permanent presence in Afghanistan, with 8,600 troops initially, even after a deal is reached with the Taliban. "We're going down to 8,600 and then we make a determination from there," Trump said in an interview with Fox News radio. Despite overwhelming advantages in firepower, the US military has little to show for its efforts and Trump is hoping he can declare the war over in time for his 2020 reelection campaign.

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The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday a blue-ribbon panel of experts around the world will need a few more weeks to finish its review into the Boeing 737 MAX certification. Boeing Co has said it hopes to receive regulatory approval for updated flight control software at the center of both crashes in October, but it could take a month or two for airlines to train pilots on the new software and prepare the jets for commercial flight after sitting idle for months. In September the NTSB plans to outline airplane design certification procedures, the head of the agency, Robert Sumwalt, told Congress in July.

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A 19-year-old freshman arrested in his dorm room at a North Carolina university with two firearms was planning a shooting spree, police say.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar under fire from Federal Election Commission; Gillian Turner has the details.

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A policy change announced by the Trump administration this week that would end automatic citizenship for the children of certain U.S. military personnel or government employees stationed abroad was denounced as “disgusting and disgraceful” by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.

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Alabama Governor Kay Ivey apologized Thursday for a blackface skit she participated in while a student at Auburn University during the 1960s.“I offer my heartfelt apologies for the pain and embarrassment this causes, and I will do all I can — going forward — to help show the nation that the Alabama of today is a far cry from the Alabama of the 1960s,” Ivey said in a statement. “We have come a long way, for sure, but we still have a long way to go.”The Republican governor, 74, stopped short of capitulating to calls from Alabama Democrats to resign, however.“While some may attempt to excuse this as acceptable behavior for a college student during the mid-1960s, that is not who I am today, and it is not what my Administration represents all these years later,” Ivey insisted.The governor claimed she cannot recall either the skit or a 1967 interview on a campus radio program with her then-fiancé, who described how Ivey had "had put some black paint all over her face" for the bit. However, she acknowledged she had likely participated in such a skit and said she has "genuine remorse" now for her involvement.Democratic state representative Terri Sewell dismissed Ivey's apology as not reparation enough, saying the governor's actions are "reprehensible and are deeply offensive."Her words of apology ring hollow if not met with real action to bridge the racial divide," Sewell added.

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Donald Trump has suggested he should be given “stolen time back” due to “how unfairly” he has been treated by the FBI and its investigations into him.“The disastrous IG Report on James Comey shows, in the strongest of terms, how unfairly I, and tens of millions of great people who support me, were treated,” Mr Trump tweeted on Friday morning.

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An Ohio man confessed to raping and photographing a 5-year-old boy in a case authorities say is the worst they’ve ever seen.

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A woman has filed a lawsuit after she said she was forced to deliver a baby alone on a bench in a jail cell at the Denver County Jail.

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An American service member was killed in Afghanistan, the US-led NATO mission said Friday, the latest US fatality as talks between the US and the Taliban continue. "A US service member died during combat operations in Afghanistan, August 29, 2019," NATO's Resolute Support mission said in a statement. The death brings to at least 15 the number of members of the US military to be killed in action in Afghanistan this year, just as Washington is seeking a way out of its longest war.

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A lawsuit over a faulty background check that allowed a South Carolina man to buy the gun he used to kill nine people in a racist attack at a Charleston church was reinstated Friday by a federal appeals court. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling from a lower court judge who threw out the claims brought by relatives of people killed by Dylann Roof in the 2015 massacre, and by survivors. The FBI has acknowledged that Roof's drug possession arrest in Columbia, South Carolina, weeks before the shooting at AME Emanuel Church should have prevented him from buying a gun.

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As Hurricane Dorian hurtles into the Caribbean, airlines are issues waivers, and cruise lines are modifying routes. Here's what you need to know.

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An Iranian oil tanker pursued by the U.S. on Friday again listed its destination as Turkey but the Turkish foreign minister added to the confusion by saying the vessel is headed to Lebanon — statements that were promptly denied in Beirut. The flurry of contradictory statements further muddies the waters for the Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as the Grace 1, and obscures where its 2.1 million barrels of oil will ultimately go. The tanker has taken center stage recently amid a crisis roiling the Persian Gulf and escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers over a year ago.

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Nearly 5,000 bodies have been found in more than 3,000 unmarked graves since Mexico deployed the army to fight drug trafficking in 2006, the government said Friday in its first comprehensive report on the carnage. Mexico has been hit by a wave of violence since launching the so-called "drug war," and activists and family members of the country's 40,000 missing persons have been denouncing mass graves for years. It found 3,024 unmarked graves nationwide, with at least 4,974 bodies, Karla Quintana, head of the national search commission for missing persons, told a news conference alongside President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on International Day of the Disappeared.

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The leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland has quit her post one day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to suspend Parliament ahead of Brexit.

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"I hate that we live in a world where you have to be protected from fellow humans," said Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota.

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The Boy Scouts of America is facing a threat from a growing wave of lawsuits over decades-old allegations of sexual abuse. The Scouts have been sued in multiple states in recent months by purported abuse victims, including plaintiffs taking advantage of new state laws or court decisions that are now allowing suits previously barred because of the age of the allegations. A lawyer representing 150 people who say they were abused as Boy Scouts is planning a suit in New Jersey when the state's new civil statute of limitations law takes effect Dec. 1.

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A group of 155 migrants forced their way into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco on Friday, Spanish authorities said. "They are all from sub-Saharan Africa, the majority from Guinea," a spokesman for the central government's office in Ceuta told AFP.

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Another spanner has been thrown into the works in the countdown to Brexit. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked the Queen to suspend parliament which will scupper MPs chances to block a no-deal Brexit. On Wednesday, the Queen approved Johnson's request, prompting a national outcry and protests across the country.During a Central London protest against prorogation (the official term for the suspension of parliament), a Portuguese woman, who has lived and worked in the UK for 20 years, interrupted an interview and delivered an impassioned and extremely moving speech about Brexit's impact on her life."I'm Portuguese and I worked here for 20 years and I have no voice and the Settlement Scheme is not working," the woman -- whose name is unknown -- told Sky News. The woman is referring to the EU Settlement Scheme, which allows EU citizens to apply to continue living in the UK once it's no longer part of the European Union. She had been attending the protest, stating her reason for attending as "because I need a voice." "I gave this country my youth, I'm very grateful for what you taught me but you must make me part of all this process," she said. "I can't just be kicked out, I've built things for you, I've looked after your children, I looked after the elderly in this country, now you kick me out with what?"> A Portuguese national interrupted an interview to speak passionately to Sky News during protests against prorogation, saying she had "given her youth" to the UK > > For more on this story, head here: https://t.co/Bw9GJrZl0b pic.twitter.com/sFCZ1cnvrO> > -- Sky News (@SkyNews) August 28, 2019Per BBC News, a no-deal Brexit would result in the UK immediately exiting the EU with no agreement on Oct. 31. "Overnight, the UK would leave the single market and customs union -- arrangements designed to help trade between EU members by eliminating checks and tariffs (taxes on imports)," the BBC explains.The woman said she is "very, very hurt" by what's happening to the country. As she was about to walk away from the interview, the Sky News journalist urged her not to go away, and asked what was happening with her Settlement Status application. She explained that she'd been told her National Insurance number (the UK version of Social Security) didn't "correspond to the right thing" and she's been told she has to restart the whole process. "Oct. 31 is fast approaching, what am I going to do? What am I going to do? How am I going to stay? What are my rights?" she said.  WATCH: Watch Zuckerberg's face freeze after a far-right politician credited Facebook for Trump's win and Brexit

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Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell tweeted that she is "rooting" for Hurricane Dorian to make a "a direct hit" on President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

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James Reardon, 20, whose case is one of many thwarted potential mass shootings reported by U.S. law enforcement in recent weeks, faces one count of transmitting threatening communications via interstate commerce, federal prosecutors said as his indictment was unsealed on Thursday. Federal authorities said their investigation is ongoing.

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The new policy applies to Green Card holders who serve in uniform. "Why are we targeting people who want to serve?" a leading veterans advocate said.

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An automotive legend gone too soon.The automotive world has suffered a huge loss. Racer, television personality, fabricator, and all-around female gearhead, Jessi Combs, was attempting to break her own land speed record behind the wheel of a 52,000-horsepower jet car in Oregon’s Alvord Desert. For reasons yet unknown, the jet-powered car she was driving crashed during the land-speed record attempt, killing Combs.Combs held the title of “fastest woman on four wheels” after driving that same North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger to a staggering 398 miles per hour back in 2013. Last year, she attempted to beat her speed record and clocked a 483.227 mph shakedown run, but mechanical issues arose and ended the attempt early.At just 36 years old, Combs has accomplished so much in the automotive industry, and her untimely death is mourned by many. She has appeared on multiple television shows such as Overhaulin’, All Girls Garage, Mythbusters, and she was a co-host on Extreme 4x4 on PowerBlock TV (now PowerNation).A role model for women in the motorsports industry, Combs was a skilled automotive builder and fabricator. Whatever she set her mind to, she accomplished. Combs represented the American Welding Society and designed a line of women’s welding gear.Combs was also a force to be reckoned with in the off-road world, competing in the Baja 1000. At a King of Hammers event, she was the first woman to place. Given the nickname “Queen of Hammers”, Combs finished first place overall in 2016 at King of Hammers.Combs’ accident follows a couple of jet-powered car crashes that have also ended in tragedy. Katarina “Kat” Moller, just 24 years of age, died from her injuries after her Larsen Motorsports “American Dream” jet dragster crashed at Sebring International Raceway during an exhibition run in November. Doug Rose, 80, was behind the wheel of his own Green Mamba jet dragster at Norway Speedway in Michigan’s northern peninsula last August when a failed turn sent him into a guardrail resulting in his death. Back in 1966, Rose had both legs amputated below the knees after the Green Monster jet car he was driving also hit a guard rail, but that didn’t stop his love for the sport.It’s safe to say that Jessi Combs was a female advocate in the automotive world, a hands-on role model for women in a male-dominated industry. She paved a path doing what she loved, but the world lost a bright light in the automotive world and beyond. Our condolences go out to her loved ones. Rest in peace, Jessi.

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Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday said the Trump administration is blocking investigators from touring immigrant detention facilities nationwide after recent visits revealed what they called “serious ongoing problems” concerning how detainees are being treated. Representative Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said committee staff were barred from visiting 11 U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities days after previous inspections found conditions that threatened the health and safety of the adult and child migrants being held, writing in a letter to Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. The administration, Cummings said, had also imposed new restrictions on visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities that also house migrants, including a two-hour time limit.

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"I hate that we live in a world where you have to be protected from fellow humans," said Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota.

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* Rockslide on banks of Fraser River created impassable barrier * Heavy machinery and helicopters used to help gather fishA vessel used to transport salmon up the Fraser River. Crews have leaned heavily on local Indigenous communities to help gather tens of thousands of fish. Photograph: Darryl Dyck/APHelicopters, heavy machinery and nearly 200 workers are frantically working to free millions of salmon trapped by a landslide in western Canada.Government crews in the area have worked relentlessly along the banks of the Fraser River to clear debris after a rockslide, discovered in a late June, created an impassable 5m-high waterfall.Each year, several species of Pacific salmon – sockeye, chinook, pink and coho – travel up British Columbia’s Fraser River to reproduce. But the newly formed barrier has blocked the fish from accessing critical watersheds for egg laying.Weeks of excavation have shown success: already, 12,000 salmon have passed through carefully constructed channels. And 44,000 salmon – as many as 3,000 per day – have been transported by helicopter.“Nothing is off the table unless it’s determined as not being feasible. We are looking at any and all options,” Michael Crowe of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, told reporters on Wednesday. The team hopes to continue moving fish by truck, after the road was rebuilt, as well as developing a fish ladder.Emergency crews have leaned heavily on local Indigenous communities, and their knowledge of salmon spawning, to help gather tens of thousands of fish.“First Nations’ technical knowledge in fish capture – from beach-seining crews to a second fish wheel – underpins the operation,” said the government in a media release.Muddy, fast-moving water has made it difficult for officials to estimate the number of salmon trapped below the landslide site. In previous years, said Crowe, millions of salmon would be passing through this section of the Fraser River. A number of fish have been outfitted with radio tracking collars in order to give a clearer picture of how many have successfully moved upstream.The landslide, and the frantic effort to clear it, highlights the barriers – natural and human-made – that salmon face each year.In much of western North America, hydroelectric dams have blocked critical spawning routes. In recent years, the plight of displaced salmon has prompted increasingly dramatic attempts to move the fish, including the “salmon cannon” – footage of which recently went viral.The efforts in British Columbia to free the trapped salmon comes amid a difficult times for the fish: recent data suggests sockeye salmon have plummeted 75% over the last century in Canada. Last week, the department of fisheries and oceans confirmed the dire state of sockeye when it warned only 600,000 were expected to spawn this year, as apposed to the normal return of five million. Chinook salmon, which are also stranded in the river, are also endangered.

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