Whales

Below-zero temperatures and shifting winds continued to threaten three stranded whales Tuesday as rescuers readied for a dangerous, go-for-broke attempt to free the animals. The effort has become a race against time, complicated by the wind, bitter cold and shifting ice. Observers said that the young California gray whales were tired and at least one has pneumonia.

A beached whale that stranded itself off the coast near Tampa, Fla., early Thursday was euthanized later in the day, but not before attracting hundreds of onlookers. The 30-foot sperm whale was about 20 feet offshore and near death already,  the Associated Press reported. The whale, a deep-water species that has no business coming close to shore, was already skin and bones and didn't move significantly in the time it was observed, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman told the AP. In the early afternoon, a strong sedative was administered to the animal and then a six-foot needle was plunged into its chest cavity and a drug was injected to stop its heart, according to WTSP Channel 10 News.

Just in time for the annual migration of California gray whales, La Paz, near the southern tip of Baja California, has beefed up its fleet of whale-watching tours. Seven outfitters are now available, including Fun-Azul Fleet , which kicked off new eco-tourism dive trips. An estimated 18,000 California gray whales, which spend the summer months in the Bering Sea, migrate south in the fall, ending up in the quiet lagoons of Baja California to spend the winter. The 12,000-mile round trip may be the longest migration of any mammal on Earth.

Mary Finch Hoyt Press secretary to Rosalynn Carter Mary Finch Hoyt, 89, White House press secretary to former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, died Oct. 17 in Washington, according to Carter's spokeswoman Deanna Congileo. She had cancer, the Washington Post reported, citing her family. Carter said that Hoyt was a "trusted adviser and loyal friend who served the nation with honor and distinction. " During the 1968 presidential campaign, Hoyt served as press secretary to Jane Muskie, wife of Democratic vice-presidential candidate Edmund Muskie, and in 1972, she served in the same role for Eleanor McGovern, wife of Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern.

Re "Future of Whales' Lagoon Grows Murky," March 13: While I am no eco-terrorist, I am saddened that one of the few remaining whale breeding areas might be threatened by a salt mining concern, especially one not based in this country. I do not want to state that salt mining is wrong per se, and it may be helpful to other areas, but whales are increasingly limited and still mysterious as to their intellect and sentience. JAMES DITCHIK Woodland Hills

The annual Dana Point Festival of Whales celebrates the 5,000-mile journey of the California gray whale down the coast. Dana Point is a natural landmark against which the whales check their migration route, and the community marks the occasion with whale watching, live music, educational programs, recreational activities and ocean-themed events. Dana Point Harbor. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Activity schedule and prices vary; see website for details. (888) 440-4309. www.festivalofwhales.

Re "Malibu's great blight whale," Dec. 7 Once again we're reminded of the dangers that large whales face along the West Coast. Whales are forced to dodge ships traveling into port. Many don't make it. Ship strikes are one of the biggest remaining threats to the recovery of whales, and in the last decade they have become all too common. Our busy shipping lanes on the West Coast overlap with important foraging habitat for whales. The federal government, charged with protecting endangered species, needs to impose mandatory speed limits on vessels in whale habitats.

The U.S. is initiating a closed-door negotiation that could open new areas to whale hunting for the first time in decades, part of an attempt to end a long-standing impasse over whaling limits with Japan, the world's most avid whaling nation. The tentative plan, outlined in documents obtained by the Washington Post, seeks to achieve a breakthrough in the dispute that has raged since the International Whaling Commission voted in 1986 to ban commercial whaling.

Our leadership OKs Navy use of sonar and harassment of whales (July 16). Harassment, in this case, means tearing apart delicate tissues in the air cavities and near the whales' brains, causing them to hemorrhage and commit suicide by beaching themselves, as in the Bahamas recently. This, I suppose, is in the name of fighting terrorism. Jim DuBois Ventura

A rare whale known for its saber-like teeth and preference for frigid subarctic waters washed ashore in a highly unlikely place Tuesday night: Venice Beach. The female Stejneger's beaked whale - also known as the Saber-toothed whale - was loaded onto the bed of a truck early Wednesday and taken for an autopsy that will give scientists a rare glimpse into the lives of the elusive mammals. So rare, in fact, it sent Nick Fash, an education specialist for Heal the Bay, pedaling his bike down to the site "as fast as I could.

NEW YORK - JPMorgan Chase & Co. has made a rare declaration for Wall Street: The nation's biggest bank admitted it broke the law. The financial giant acknowledged Thursday that it violated securities laws and agreed to pay fines of $920 million as part of settlements over the "London Whale" trading debacle. The Securities and Exchange Commission and other government authorities alleged the bank suffered widespread breakdowns in controls and management. Regulatory settlements are commonplace for big financial firms.

Scientists probing a giant plug of earwax pulled from a dead blue whale have discovered in its hardened layers a detailed biography of the wild animal's life, from birth to death, in 6-month chapters.  Their new technique, described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, arms researchers with a tool to understand a whale's hormonal and chemical biography --  and a window into how pollutants, some long discontinued, still pervade...

Just in time for the annual migration of California gray whales, La Paz, near the southern tip of Baja California, has beefed up its fleet of whale-watching tours. Seven outfitters are now available, including Fun-Azul Fleet , which kicked off new eco-tourism dive trips. An estimated 18,000 California gray whales, which spend the summer months in the Bering Sea, migrate south in the fall, ending up in the quiet lagoons of Baja California to spend the winter. The 12,000-mile round trip may be the longest migration of any mammal on Earth.

NEW YORK -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. could pay $800 million or more in penalties to settle investigations into its "London Whale" trading debacle, according to a person familiar with the bank's negotiations with regulators. The talks with four agencies were fluid and the total amount in penalties could change, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly. It was unclear which regulators might announce their settlements as soon as this week. The regulators in question were the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve and the British Financial Conduct Authority.

WASHINGTON - Members of Congress from across the political spectrum reacted with deep skepticism Sunday to President Obama's bid for approval of strikes against Syria, with lawmakers raising doubts about whether a vote would succeed. Few of the approximately 100 members of Congress who returned to Washington for a classified intelligence briefing Sunday said they would support the administration's request to authorize the use of force, even though they showed little doubt that Syrian President Bashar Assad's government was behind the alleged chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21. The administration now appears to face a two-front battle to win the support of Congress, needing to convince skeptical representatives of a war-weary public on the one hand and more hawkish lawmakers seeking an even tougher response on the other.

Appropriately enough, the award-winning recording artist Moby, nicknamed for his ancestor Herman Melville's great white whale, joined the Young Literati 's party Thursday to read to the group from the classic American novel. "My dad gave me the name 10 minutes after I was born," said Moby, who is actually named Richard Melville Hall. Calling the nickname ironic, owing to his tiny size at the time, he later said, “I don't think that either of my parents thought that 47 years later, I would still be saddled with my infant joke nickname.” Other “readers” at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica included actor Colin Hanks, of “Dexter,” “Orange County” and “Parkland”; author Mark Z. Danielewski of “House of Leaves” and “Only Revolutions”; and author Attica Locke of “The Cutting Season” and “Black Water Rising.” Dhani Harrison, son of the late Beatle George Harrison, and his band, thenewno2, came to perform, while artist Shepard Fairey served as the night's DJ. The cocktail party celebrated Amanda Fairey's new role as chair of Young Literati -- a support group for the Library Foundation of Los Angeles -- which is targeted at Angelenos in their 20s, 30s and 40s.  Previously, Amanda and her husband had been honorary chairs.