By Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — Archaeologists in Spain have uncovered an elephant bone from 2,200 years ago, and they believe it belonged to an animal that served as a “war machine” in an army sent to invade the Roman Republic.

After discovering the ankle bone at the Colina de los Quemados archaeological site in the city of Cordoba in southern Spain, researchers used radiocarbon dating to ascertain that it belonged to an elephant that lived around the early fourth to late third century BC, according to a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Around this time, the city-state of Carthage, in what is now Tunisia, was battling with the Roman Republic for supremacy in the Mediterranean.

The Carthaginians were known to use elephants as “war machines” in their armies, according to the research, and classical accounts suggest the famed commander Hannibal had driven a troop of 37 elephants through modern day Spain and France, ultimately attempting to invade Italy by crossing the Alps during the Second Punic War, which took place from 218 to 201 BC.

The incredible sight of Hannibal’s elephants left its mark on the historical record, but no direct physical evidence of their presence in Western Europe had previously been discovered.

In addition to the radiocarbon dating, which roughly aligns with the timeline of the Second Punic War, researchers said clues to their Hannibal theory also include 12 spherical stone balls used in artillery that they found alongside the bone, which “probably points to a military context.”

Although they acknowledge that the discovery of one bone in isolation does not indicate that the entire animal was at this site, as the bone could have been taken there as a curio or a souvenir, “historical and archaeological record suggest that its association with the events of the Second Punic War, whether direct or indirect, provides the most plausible explanation,” the researchers noted in the study. They cited the presence of projectiles and arrowheads, which may have been left behind following a violent episode.

Prestigious and ‘psychological’ weapons

Battle elephants at this time were “prestige weapons but also psychological weapons,” according to Fernando Quesada-Sanz, the study’s lead author and an archaeologist at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.

The animals were “very impressive and frightening for troops not accustomed to facing them,” he told CNN in a statement Thursday.

“They were also particularly useful against cavalry and to disorder enemy infantry lines,” Quesada-Sanz added. “They were even used as spearheads to lead attacks against the palisades of temporary enemy fortifications such as campaign camps.”

Quesada-Sanz said that “this is the first time, as far as we know, that the actual remains of one of the elephants in the Carthaginian army has been found in European soil,” adding that it could be part of one of the 21 elephants that classical sources say Hannibal left in Iberia before he started his march to Italy.

“This find might be a wake up call for the study of collections from old excavations kept in museum storerooms in Spain, southern France or even Italy that could conceivably yield more examples,” he said. “Also, bones from future excavations have to be checked carefully.”

Eve MacDonald, an archaeologist and senior lecturer in ancient history at the University of Cardiff, Wales, and author of “Carthage: A New History,” who was not involved in the study, told CNN that the discovery is significant because it finally provides physical evidence for the long-held belief that the Carthaginians introduced elephants to the Iberian Peninsula dur

* WHAT…Dangerous rip currents and breaking waves due to
elevated surf.

* WHERE…Santa Barbara County Southwestern Coast and Santa
Barbara County Southeastern Coast.

* WHEN…Through this evening.

* IMPACTS…There is an increased risk of ocean drowning. Rip
currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can
wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats
nearshore.
Remain out of the water due to hazardous swimming conditions, or
stay near occupied lifeguard towers. Rock jetties can be deadly
in such conditions, stay off the rocks.

The post Beach Hazards Statement issued February 20 at 2:18AM PST until February 20 at 10:00PM PST by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Annie Grayer, Gabe Cohen, Evan Perez, CNN

(CNN) — Lawmakers who oversee the Department of Homeland Security say the agency has repeatedly stymied their requests for information in recent months, with even some Republicans alleging they’ve had phone calls go unanswered and data requests left to languish.

As the Department of Homeland Security has found itself embroiled in controversies across the country over high-profile killings by immigration agents and the resulting bitter policy disputes, lawmakers say they’ve stepped up their efforts to try to get answers for the public. But they’ve often been met with resistance, they said — thwarting their ability to hold anyone accountable.

“I’m not going to sit here on bended knee hoping to God that somebody returns the call,” GOP Rep. Mark Amodei, the Republican who oversees the DHS budget in the House told CNN, after his request to speak with White House Border Czar Tom Homan went unanswered for days.

One Republican staffer told CNN that the stonewalling extends beyond just thorny policy questions about immigration enforcement. Requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the status of federal disaster funding and questions over potential crimes committed by those detained by federal officers have also been met with silence or evasiveness, the staffer said.

The result, the staffer said, is not only that GOP lawmakers can’t properly oversee the agency, they can’t help blunt possibly unfair attacks from their Democratic counterparts.

“It’s really a shame that DHS has taken such an adversarial posture on sharing data. In some areas, like on immigration and the border they have a great story to tell, and we could be helping them tell that story,” the staffer explained. “In other areas where the story is not so good, like FEMA, we could also help. But they choose to go at it alone, so it’s on them to defend, which is hard to do when no one believes a word they say or a number they put out. There is no trust and there is no way to verify.”

Democrats, meanwhile, say they have received virtually no response from their inquiries to DHS. At least 15 letters sent by members of the party to the department have either been ghosted, received a cursory acknowledgement or were given a non-answer, a Homeland Security Committee Democratic aide told CNN. Another Democratic staffer told CNN that when they’ve asked for specific FEMA updates, whether it’s on mitigation projects, staffing plans or briefings on various press releases, they’ve gotten no response.

A DHS spokesperson told CNN the department works through “official channels” and would “not be litigating our relationship” with Capitol Hill through the press. But they also dismissed claims they’ve not engaged with members of Congress.

“Any suggestion that DHS has ‘refused’ to engage with lawmakers is simply false,” the spokesperson said in part, adding that “this administration has been the most transparent administration in history and has spent the last year clearing out congressional correspondence that went unanswered under the last administration.”

Some Republicans told CNN they’ve been able to leverage their personal relationships with Trump administration officials to get their questions answered and others said they had no issues getting quick responses from DHS – “I communicate with them all the time,” GOP Rep. Andy Ogles said. But two top Republican congressman specifically tasked with overseeing DHS are among those who say they’ve run into issues.

Amodei, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, sought to speak directly with Homan about the operation in Minneapolis shortly after federal officers’ fatal encounter with Alex Pretti there, as well as to receive a broader status update on the administration’s deportation efforts.

Amodei’s office put in the request in Janua

By Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN

New York (CNN) — Egg prices have been plummeting.

That’s great news for American shoppers, but bad news for American farmers.

The average price of a dozen eggs at the grocery store is $2.58, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about half of what many consumers were paying a year ago.

Bird flocks have been on the rebound after last year’s avian flu outbreak, but that has farmers suddenly selling at a loss.

“Our farmers have traded one crisis for another,” said Emily Metz, president and CEO of the government-created resource group American Egg Board.

Last winter, the avian flu swept the country, killing 70 million egg-laying birds, according to Metz. Consumer demand held steady as supply dwindled, leading to egg shortages and record prices at the grocery store.

Since then, farmers have worked tirelessly to rebuild their flock and tighten biosecurity with assistance from the US Department of Agriculture. It worked: The supply of eggs has ballooned, and prices fell.

The cost of eggs for consumers is 34% lower than last year, according to January’s consumer price index. But for farmers, they have too many eggs selling at rock bottom prices.

The speed at which the prices of eggs went from record highs to recent lows is “remarkable,” said Mike Puglisi, a second-generation egg farmer.

“We appear to be making more eggs than are needed. We got a little break on the (avian flu) outbreaks so people were able to restock and get our flock size back up,” said Puglisi, who owns Puglisi Egg Farms in the eastern United States.

On average, a farm spends 98 cents to $1.05 to produce a dozen eggs, according to Jada Thompson, an associate professor of agricultural economics at the University of Arkansas. That often doesn’t include operational costs like packaging and transportation, which have risen in the last year.

Meanwhile, wholesale egg prices are trading at 92 cents nationally, according to the USDA, their lowest level in three years.

“Now they’re in a situation where (farmers are) dealing with historic low wholesale prices, which means that they’re producing eggs below the cost of production,” said Metz of the American Egg Board.

Puglisi Egg Farms is a midsized company, producing 486 million eggs a year out of their two farms in Delaware and New Jersey. Puglisi didn’t lose any birds last winter, but he’s still operating at a loss. He says it’s far worse for farmers who lost birds last year.

“It would be tough because you were out of business for that timeframe and now you’re getting back into business just in time to take the losses, which is exactly what I was worried about in 2022 when we got avian flu,” said Puglisi, who lost his entire flock that year. “They could be in precarious position at this point.”

For smaller producers, the one-two punch of lost birds and low prices could put them out of business.

“We’re seeing farmers who are struggling in the market, and if these conditions persist, we will lose family farms. And that will be devastating to our industry,” said Metz.

Fewer farms would swing the pendulum again – back to shortages and higher prices, Thompson said.

“The concern long-term for producers is that, okay, well that company goes out of business, you have less competition. So now we might have shortages of eggs later on,” she said.

An easy fix would be for consumers to just buy more eggs. But many Americans have bought fewer eggs because of high prices and shortages last year.

“The high prices of eggs changed habits for the consumer and the exporters. It will take low prices to get consumers to increase their demand, and that will take time,” said Michael Swanson, the chief agricultural economist at Wells Fargo’s Agri-Food Institute.

To better mitigate the wild swings i

By Rachel Tashjian, CNN

(CNN) — For the past few years now, movie stars have publicized their films in promotional drag called “method dressing.” Picking up on the themes or cliches of their films, they appear on the red carpet in looks that function as goofy in-jokes – corsets on Margot Robbie for the bodice- ripping update on “Wuthering Heights,” and ensembles that telegraph “good” and “evil” for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s “Wicked” two-parter.

Increasingly, they look less like movie stars than guests at a very expensive costume ball.

No star is a more committed method dresser than Robbie. Working with stylist Andrew Mukamal, Robbie adopted a wardrobe of Barbie-inspired ensembles to promote the 2023 blockbuster, sometimes tasking designers with recreating an exact Barbie costume. It was hokey and over-the-top, but so is the doll herself, director Greta Gerwig gently reminded us, and the sight of Robbie in hot pink skirt suits, minidresses and gowns set the tone of the film as finely drawn pop cultural froth.

Robbie’s methodology has continued with red carpet appearances for her starring role in Emerald Fennell’s sudsy adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.” There are corsets, puffed sleeves and little old timey trinkets that speak of her and co-star Jacob Elordi’s bond. This has been far less effective than her Barbie-girl, Barbie-world looks, in part because the movie is more serious (allegedly a bookish romance – allegedly!) and because the universe of the Emily Brontë book isn’t known for its extravagant clothes, unlike that of Marie Antoinette’s or Regency-era set “Bridgerton.”

It is unclear what Robbie’s ensembles are meant to tell us, except that she is promoting a period drama – which period, the clothes do not say. In one moment, Robbie wore a look that puts a spotlight on an emerging designer, Dilara Findikoglu, who created a dress braided with synthetic hair, for the film’s London premiere. At another moment, she wore one of the ugliest Chanel dresses in recent memory (see above).

Hollywood is desperate to get audiences back in movie theater chairs, and you can’t blame actors for doing anything to drum up excitement, whether that’s Timothée Chalamet summitting the Sphere, which was transformed into a giant ping pong ball, in Las Vegas to promote “Marty Supreme” or wearing a hideous Chrome Hearts suit in orange homage to his titular character.

Chalamet also went full method dress for his Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” recreating hilariously deep-cut Dylan looks, like a goatee and scarf appearance at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. And Erivo and Grande could have relied on their strange but touching bond to get us to see the “Wicked” movies. But their coordinating overt looks — ONE is evil and the OTHER is “good” and you know because of the COLORS they’re wearing! – showed us just how much they wanted us there. For “Marty Supreme,” “A Complete Unknown” and “Wicked,” the marketing desperation paid off: all were bonafide box office hits.

Method dressing has been popularized by Law Roach, the self-styled image architect who made vintage into the ultimate celebrity fashion flex back when big name brands refused to lend clothing to him. Roach is an expert at using clothes to tell a story, though his yarns tend to be subtler – that Lindsey Lohan is ready to be taken seriously as an adult, or Celine Dio