Conservationists in South Africa are scrambling to save the country's national bird, the blue crane, from risk of extinction, after it was recently recategorized from a "near threatened" to "vulnerable" status.

Overberg District Municipality

The blue crane, South Africa's national bird, has been moved from 'near threatened' to 'vulnerable' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, reflecting a growing risk of extinction. Population numbers in the Overberg region have dropped by 44 percent between 2011 and 2025, according to citizen science data.

Experts attribute the decline to intensified agricultural practices, reduced breeding success, and increased fatalities from power line collisions. Conservationists are urging utility companies to install bird flight diverters and are implementing a multi-stakeholder plan to mitigate risks from agriculture, infrastructure, and habitat loss.

South Africans scrambling to save blue cranes from extinction

South Africa's national bird, the blue crane, is now at a greater risk of extinction in the wild. In June, the birds were moved from near-threatened to vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. The Overburg region of the Western Cape was once a stronghold for the species, but numbers have dropped by 44 percent between 2011 and 2025, according to a long-running citizen science project called the Coordinated Avifaunal Road Counts. Farmer Mick Dalton has seen the shift firsthand. Blue cranes breed and nest in open farmlands, and intensified agricultural practices are putting them under pressure. The types of crops that are being sown, the turnover time, the intensity of the cropping, these are all starting to negatively impact on the ability of the birds to breed. The Endangered Wildlife Trust's Dr. Christy Craig has found that breeding success in the area has halved since the last published study 30 years ago. Craig is in the area investigating another threat to the blue crane, power lines. This is a line that we know is a problem for blue cranes because there's a blue crane roost here. Yeah, this is very sad. It looks like a juvenile crane, probably within its first year. Yeah, and unfortunately, this crane must have collided perhaps on its way into roost or out of roost. Conservationists are urging utility companies to install bird flight diverters to prevent deaths. Craig says South Africa's blue cranes are increasingly becoming unintended casualties of a changing landscape, including climate shifts, fencing, poisoning and infrastructure. A multi-stakeholder plan led by her group is underway to mitigate power line risks, reduce agricultural threats and protect the remaining natural habitats. We need to see the decline in the population stop, otherwise we are going to see quite a dramatic decline over the next 20 to 30 years.

Donald Trump says American-made weapons bought by NATO are being shipped to Ukraine. Trump's also threatening sanctions, saying his aim is to force Putin to negotiate an end to the war. But with Ukraine under nightly attack, there’s scepticism over whether he'll achieve anything.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

U.S. ships NATO purchased Patriot missiles to Ukraine

Syria condemns Israel for fatal strikes on several government buildings in Damascus. The escalation threatens to disrupt new U.S.-brokered security talks between Israel and Syria, with both sides expressing concerns over stability in the region.

Damascus

Middle East Conflict

Israeli airstrikes on Syria threaten security talks

U.S. President Donald Trump is still dealing with fallout from his own supporters over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. CBS News Department of Justice reporter Jake Rosen has more.

Washington

Trump says Epstein conspiracy theory is hoax started by Democrats

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that she spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and that the two had agreed to strengthen trade collaboration, particularly in light of the tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump set to go in effect on August 1.

Mexico City

Global Tariffs

Mexico plans to strengthen trade with Canada

Former President Barack Obama joined his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, on her latest podcast episode with her brother Craig Robinson to address divorce rumors.

Obamas address divorce rumors on Michelle’s podcast

Israel struck Syrian military targets as well as central Damascus on Wednesday (July 16) as it continued its campaign to protect Druze minority communities in southern Syria.

Israel strikes Damascus as fighting rages in southern Syria

U.S. ambassador Mike Huckabee's appearance at Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial follows President Trump's call for Israel to throw out the case or pardon the Israeli prime minister.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

U.S. ambassador attends Netanyahu trial to show support from Trump

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. would impose a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia under a new agreement with the Southeast Asian country and more deals were in the works as he continued to press for what he views as better terms with trading partners.

Trump eyes more trade deals soon as EU readies retaliation

At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday (July 16) at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in what the U.S.-backed group said was a crowd surge instigated by armed agitators. This video contains graphic images.

Jerusalem

Crush at Gaza aid site kills at least 20, GHF blames agitators

Police in Los Angeles have arrested a 22-year-old suspect in the double homicide of American Idol executive Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca. The couple, both 70 years old, was found shot to death in their home earlier this week.

Encino

Police make arrest in murders of American Idol executive, husband

Streaming shows dominated nominations for the 2025 Emmy Awards. "Severance" earned the most series nominations with 27. Meanwhile, "The Studio" earned the most-ever nominations for a debut comedy series with 23.

Hollywood

'Severance' and 'The Studio' earn top Emmy nominations

The United Torah Judaism party has decided to quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition over its failure to secure military service exemptions. Members of the ultra-orthodox community have been exempted from enlisting in the army since 1948.

Major cracks in Netanyahu coalition as ultra-Orthodox party quits

New information about the Jeffrey Epstein case may soon be made public after a reversal from U.S. President Donald Trump and weeks of criticism — the loudest of which has come from within the MAGA movement.

Epstein files may be released after Trump reversal

Russia's Vladimir Putin has rejected President Trump's ultimatum for Moscow to sign a ceasefire deal with Ukraine in the next 50 days. Trump has threatened to issue a 100% tariff on any country that does business with Russia if no ceasefire deal is reached.

Moscow

Russia rejects Trump's ultimatum for ceasefire in Ukraine

Fighting has erupted in the southern Syrian city of As Suwayda just six hours after a ceasefire was announced. Earlier on Tuesday, Syrian government forces withdrew heavy vehicles from the city, hoping to ease tensions.

As Suwayda

Fighting erupts in Syria’s As Suwayda hours after ceasefire deal

Two laptops and hard drives containing watermarked and unreleased music by Beyoncé were stolen from her choreographer’s rental car in Atlanta, according to police.

Atlanta

Unreleased Beyoncé music stolen from choreographer’s rental car

The House Committee on Education and Workforce is holding its ninth hearing in 18 months on antisemitism on college campuses. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul has more details.

Anger at House committee hearing on antisemitism in college campuses

An Air India Boeing airplane crashed in northwestern India in June, killing all people on board but one passenger. India's aviation regulator has now ordered airlines to examine fuel control switches on several Boeing models.

New Delhi

India orders airlines to inspect Boeing airplane models after crash

Controversy on Capitol Hill over the so-called Epstein Files is seemingly not going away anytime soon.

House Republicans block Democratic push to release Epstein documents

An Israeli scheme to move hundreds of thousands of already uprooted Palestinians to a so-called "humanitarian city" in Gaza has led politicians to spar with the defense establishment. Critics inside and outside Israel have denounced the proposal.

Critics slam Israeli scheme to move Gazans to 'humanitarian city'

At least two people were killed in a New Jersey flash flooding event, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday morning as heavy rains are expected to continue battering the Northeast. CBS News' Rob Marciano has more details.

New Jersey

Two killed in New Jersey flash flooding

After over a week of negotiations in Doha, a truce in Gaza remains elusive, despite intensified efforts by mediators. The stalemate continues as both Hamas and Israel trade blame over ongoing strikes.

Doha

Gaza truce still out of reach after Doha talks

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump's administration to resume dismantling the Department of Education, part of his bid to shrink the federal government's role in education in favor of more control by the states.

U.S. Supreme Court clears way for Trump to gut Education Department

Syria's government troops entered the Sweida region following deadly clashes on Tuesday, while Israel carried out strikes against them, saying it was acting to protect the Druze minority.

Syrian forces enter Sweida city following deadly clashes

Heavy rains slammed the Northeast and caused flash floods in the New York City subway system. CBS News' Rob Marciano has the latest.

New York

Flash flooding pummels NYC and slams subway lines

US President Donald Trump told Russia to end its war in Ukraine within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions, as he laid out plans for infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via NATO. "We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent," Trump said.

Trump gives Moscow 50-day ultimatum over Ukraine war

A Gaza-bound boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid left Sicily, over a month after Israel detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel.

Sicily

New Gaza-bound aid boat leaves Italy

The U.S. will manufacture more weapons to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. President Trump said European nations will be footing the bill.

U.S. to send more weapons to Ukraine

Christian leaders have accused Israeli settlers of attacking sacred sites in the West Bank. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III - visiting the Christian town of Taybeh with other clerics - said settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th century church there last week.

Clerics accuse West Bank settlers of attacking Christian sites

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Beijing ahead of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He's there to broaden economic cooperation with China, which is Australia's top trade partner, while taking into account security concerns.

Breakdown