NEWS OF THE DAY

_1 Endangered wolves: There are more Mexican gray wolves in the wild now than at any time since the U.S. government began reintroducing the endangered species in the American Southwest more than two decades ago. At least 163 wolves were counted during a recent survey, says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in New Mexico. That marks a nearly 25% jump from the previous year and puts wildlife managers about half way to declaring the species recovered. Once common throughout the Southwest U.S. and northern Mexico, the Mexican gray wolf is now the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America.

_2 Body recovered: The body of a 13yearold boy was recovered Saturday in a southeastern Indiana creek, the last of six people presumed to have drowned when two vehicles were swept off a roadway after torrential rainfall deluged the region’s hill country, authorities said. The boy’s body was found where the bodies of his sisters, ages 7 and 4, and the siblings’ mother, Felina Lewis, 35, of Laurel, Ind., were recovered Friday, said Franklin County Coroner Brian Baxter. The children’s names were not expected to be released, he said.

_3 Alaska rescue: Three mushers participating in Alaska’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race were rescued after they activated their SOS beacons because of deep overflows of water near the last checkpoint before the finish line in Nome. Even before the rescue of 52yearold Tom Knolmayer, 28yearold Sean Underwood and 37yearold Matthew Failor, more than onethird of the participants in this year’s 1,000mile race had quit largely because of conditions. The winner, Thomas Waerner of Norway, arrived at the finish line in Nome on Wednesday. Iditarod officials confirmed the three rescued Friday had withdrawn from the race. That brings the number of those who scratched to 22, short of the record of 24 set in 1980.

_4 Gun permits: The coronavirus pandemic has led to a rush to purchase firearms and ammunition in the Philadelphia region and across Pennsylvania, leading to long lines at some gun shops. But the Philadelphia police department has shut down its gunpermits unit. Firearm owners without a licensetocarry permit will not be able to carry the weapons without risking arrest. Sheriff ’s offices in seven Pennsylvania counties — Montgomery, Allegheny, Lackawanna, Erie, Monroe, Somerset, and Washington — have also stopped issuing permits, according to gunrights groups. Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny said issuing permits is “not an emergency service in my view.”

_5 Terrorism chief: Lora Shiao, a career intelligence officer, will be the next acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the government’s central clearinghouse for intelligence on terrorist threats, Trump administration officials said Saturday. Shiao, who is currently the center’s thirdranking official, replaces Russell Travers, who was abruptly replaced last week amid planned cutbacks by the acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, that prompted fears among career officials of potential political retribution and a loss of expertise.