In the news
■ Moby Solangi, executive director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, said the next few days would be critical for a baby dolphin discovered struggling off a beach in Gulfport, Miss., while staff members at the institute run tests to evaluate its health.
■ Morgan Sommerville, regional director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, has recommended that, because of the coronavirus pandemic, hikers should postpone plans this year to traverse the nearly 2,200-mile trail that runs through 14 states from Georgia to Maine.
■ Anne Hoguet, the director of the Fan Museum in Paris, said it was a “huge relief” when city officials instructed the building’s landlord to delay the closing of the museum and extend the deadline to pay over $140,000 in back rent.
■ Rick Taylor, the executive director of the Convention Commission in Hattiesburg, Miss., announced that the Hattiesburg Zoo is opening a giraffe exhibit, which will begin in the late spring or early summer with a female and her offspring, and that the zoo intends to add a male giraffe in the future.
■ Tim Phillips, the chief sheriff’s deputy in Roane County, Tenn., confirmed a female employee at a big cat sanctuary in Kingston was hospitalized after she was bitten by an animal, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said it was investigating the incident.
■ Meg Seki, head of the United Nations Environment Program’s Ozone Secretariat, said that the organization has launched an animated film and game called “Reset Earth” that is aimed at engaging teenagers on the importance of protecting the ozone layer.
■ Jymieka McDowell, 28, and Ryshawnna Poole, 39, were arrested after they used red and blue lights and a siren to conduct a fake traffic stop in Sarasota, Fla., part of which was livestreamed on Facebook, according to law enforcement authorities.
■ Franklin Bynum,a judge in Harris County, Texas, dismissed a theft charge against Dr. Hasan Gokal, criticizing prosecutors for charging Gokal — who, according to his attorney, was only trying to ensure that vaccine from a punctured vial was not wasted when he administered doses to family and friends.
■ James Samuels, 55, a former fire captain in Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to six years in federal prison plus three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a fine of more than $11,000 for illegally selling guns, including to convicted felons.