Recaptured Zebra in Washington State
A zebra that had been roaming the foothills of western Washington for several days was successfully captured on Friday evening, nearly a week after it escaped along with three other zebras from a trailer near Seattle.
Local residents and animal control officers managed to corral the zebra, known as “Shug,” in the community of Riverbend, approximately 30 miles east of Seattle, as reported by the Regional Animal Services of King County.
Despite her extended time in the woods, the zebra appeared to be in good condition, according to the agency.
Escape and Capture
Shug was part of a group of four zebras that fled while being transported from Washington to Montana the previous Sunday. The incident occurred when the driver stopped at the Interstate 90 exit for North Bend, located in the Cascade mountain foothills east of Seattle, to secure the trailer, resulting in the animals breaking free and running into a nearby rural neighborhood.
While three of the zebras were swiftly captured after being corralled in a pasture, the fourth zebra, initially referred to as “Z,” managed to jump a fence and disappear. Shug’s escapade garnered significant public interest, leading to various social media memes depicting the zebra in different scenarios.
There were legitimate sightings of Shug in the area, with some residents spotting her on trail cameras, raising concerns due to recent cougar sightings in the vicinity.
Recapture Efforts
Authorities in King County took measures to close off trail access points along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail in the Boxley Creek Natural Area, where Shug was frequently seen. This was done to prevent any disturbances that could hinder the recapture process. Feeding zones were established to lure the zebra out for a safe rescue.
The owner of the zebras, Kristine Keltgen, revealed that she had purchased the animals in Lewis County, Washington, and was en route to her petting zoo near Anaconda, Montana. The escape occurred when she noticed a floor mat in the trailer was loose, prompting the zebras to bolt out. Despite efforts from bystanders, including a rodeo clown and horse trainers, Shug managed to evade capture until now.
Regional Animal Services of King County announced that Shug would be transported to Montana to rejoin the rest of the zebra group.
The Associated Press
Published by The Associated Press
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Faeser wants an internal conference on attacks on election campaigners
Unknown people beat an SPD politician to the hospital. In view of the violent attacks, the Federal Minister of the Interior is urging rapid consultations with the federal states. Demos are planned in Berlin and Dresden.
After the brutal attack on an SPD politician in Dresden, the federal and state interior ministers are expected to discuss protective measures very soon. According to a media report, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) suggested a special conference next week. She made a corresponding request to the current chairman of the Conference of Interior Ministers, Brandenburg’s department head Michael Stübgen (CDU), as the “Tagesspiegel” reported, citing government circles. Meanwhile, two alliances called for this Sunday under the motto “Violence has no place in our democracy!” to spontaneous demonstrations in Berlin and Dresden.
In Berlin, protests will take place in front of the Brandenburg Gate from 6 p.m., and in Dresden from 5 p.m. at Pohlandplatz, as stated in the Instagram posts published on Saturday evening by the Internet portal “Together Against the Right” and the alliance “We are the Firewall Dresden”. The alliances had already called for demonstrations against the right in February.
On Saturday, Faeser had already declared it urgent to convene a conference quickly. “The constitutional state must and will respond to this with tough action and further protective measures for the democratic forces in our country,” she said, referring to the violent attacks on politicians.
The Greens in Saxony have already reacted to other attacks last weekend in Chemnitz and Zwickau and are no longer sending their members alone to post posters. Other parties now also have such considerations and guidelines.
What happened
The Saxon SPD’s leading candidate for the European elections, Matthias Ecke, was beaten up by four unknown people while hanging up election posters in Dresden on Friday evening. The 41-year-old MEP has been in hospital ever since and needs surgery. Shortly before, according to police, the same group had allegedly attacked and injured a 28-year-old Green Party campaign worker nearby.
According to police, the four young men are estimated to be between 17 and 20 years old. According to witnesses, they were dressed in dark clothing, a police spokesman said. A witness assigned her to the right-wing spectrum. The investigation would show whether that was true. According to the Saxon Interior Ministry, the State Criminal Police Office is now investigating.
What other attacks there were
The incidents in Dresden are part of a nationwide series of attacks on party members before the local and European elections on June 9th. Only on Thursday evening, after a Green Party event in Essen, Bundestag member Kai Gehring and his party colleague Rolf Fliß said they were attacked and Fliß was beaten. The Green Bundestag Vice President Katrin-Göring-Eckardt was aggressively harassed and prevented from leaving after an event in eastern Brandenburg a week ago. According to police, a member of the AfD state parliament was beaten at an information stand in Nordhorn, Lower Saxony, on Saturday morning.
The target group of the attackers has shifted somewhat in recent years: in 2019, representatives of the AfD were primarily the target of hostility, but now it is the Greens. According to preliminary figures, 478 cases were recorded nationwide for the AfD in 2023, and 1,219 for the Greens. A total of 10,537 crimes were reported for all parties from 2019 to 2023, according to a government response to a small question from the AfD parliamentary group.
Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) speculated in the editorial network Germany: “In the case of the recent attacks against people who, for example, put up election posters, we have to assume that these are planned acts that are not carried out spontaneously, but in a targeted manner. This is a new level of escalation that has the declared aim of intimidation.”
What politics says
Given the injuries, the Dresden attack sparked particular outrage. “This outbreak of violence is a warning,” wrote Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a statement on Saturday. He appealed to everyone to conduct the political debate peacefully and with respect and called on supporters of liberal democracy to stand together across party lines against attacks.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said in Berlin: “Democracy is threatened by something like this, and that’s why shrugging your shoulders and accepting it is never an option.” Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on the X platform, formerly Twitter: “Brutal attacks on committed democrats, campaigners and politicians are attacks on the foundation of our #democracy: free elections.” Violence is never a means of democracy – regardless of the spectrum.
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Faeser wants an internal conference on attacks on election campaigners
High-end smartphones have become 83 percent more expensive in 10 years
Current high-end smartphones from major brands have become 16 times more expensive in ten years than the basic models from the same manufacturers: for many premium models there is a good 1,000 euros between the flagships from 2014 and those of today. Last but not least, the explosion in memory makes the devices more expensive – the surcharge for larger memory variants is often in the three-digit range. The current market analysis by the comparison portal Verivox shows the biggest hardware price drivers.
High-end segment has grown strongly
While the most expensive iPhone 5s cost 899 euros in 2014, today the iPhone 15 Pro Max costs up to 1,949 euros. The difference is even bigger at Samsung: While the Galaxy S5 cost 699 euros ten years ago, the high-end version of the Galaxy S24 costs 1,809 euros today. The major manufacturers now often even offer several luxury model series, from “Pro” or “Plus” to “Max” or “Ultra”. There are correspondingly many high-quality devices on the market today; Such a broad high-end portfolio was still completely unknown in 2014.
Marketing is a major cost driver
“Germany is a very attractive market for smartphone manufacturers, where high marketing budgets flow,” says Jens-Uwe Theumer, Vice President Telecommunications at Verivox. “Large brands invest significantly more than smaller ones – that drives up the end customer price.” Ten years ago, an average of 729 euros was due for a high-end model from the market leaders – today it is 1,333 euros, i.e. 83 percent more than in 2014. This means that the price increase is well above general inflation. The situation is completely different with the basic models from the same manufacturers: these have only increased in price by 5 percent over the past ten years.
Tip: Buy your smartphone separately and use it for longer
“We observe a high affinity for top smartphone models, especially among young people. Often the tariff is just a vehicle to get the device supposedly cheaply,” says Theumer. “But as a rule, purchasing the smartphone and tariff separately is the much cheaper option. The cost savings are on average 22 percent and are highest with average data consumption.”
If you want to save even more and act sustainably, you can use existing devices for longer or rely on professionally refurbished devices. Modern smartphones are so technically sophisticated that the differences to previous models are becoming smaller and smaller.
Larger device storage is much more expensive than cloud solution
Compared to the top models of 2014, today’s high-end devices from Samsung, Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi have an average of 15 times larger memory on board: At that time, 16 GB was standard; today up to 1,000 GB are possible (Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max). But manufacturers usually pay dearly for larger memories: for example, the iPhone 15 with 512 GB costs 380 euros more than the basic model with 128 GB.
In the cloud, however, there is additional storage space for significantly less money: 50 GB costs around 12 euros per year at Apple; Google charges 24 euros for 100 GB (reduced to just under 20 euros). 2,000 GB costs less than 120 euros per year for both cloud solutions. Another advantage: The additional storage space in the cloud can be shared with up to five people.
“The high surcharges for larger device memories only have a marginal cost background,” says Theumer. “In fact, they are a consciously used customer loyalty instrument: If a customer decides on cloud storage, they remain in the ecosystem of Apple, Samsung & Co. This makes a possible manufacturer or system change all the more difficult.”
methodology
The prices of the new smartphone releases from the manufacturers with the largest market shares were determined from March 2013 to March 2014 (Apple, Samsung, Sony, HTC) and from March 2023 to March 2024 (Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei). The premium models include the flagship series of the upper class, the basic models the cheapest standard model series from the same manufacturers. Data as of April 29, 2024.
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High-end smartphones have become 83 percent more expensive in 10 years