
Great Barrier Reef explodes into life in 'magical' spawning event
CNN
The Great Barrier Reef has "given birth" in its annual coral spawn, creating a cacophony of color on the Australian landmark.
(CNN) — The Great Barrier Reef has "given birth" in its annual coral spawn, creating a cacophony of color on the Australian landmark.
Scientists working beneath the waves say they witnessed the event, in which coral simultaneously release sperm and eggs en masse, overnight Tuesday off the coast of Cairns, Queensland, hailing it as a positive sign the reef was able to regenerate despite ecological threats.
"Nothing makes people happier than new life -- and coral spawning is the world's biggest proof of that," Australian marine biologist Gareth Phillips, who had a front row seat to this year's coral spawn, said in statement via Queensland Tourism and Events.

As Trump’s ‘two week’ deadline for Russia expires, he faces a series of unresolved foreign conflicts
Two weeks after President Donald Trump set a 14-day timeline for determining the willingness of his Russian counterpart to end the conflict in Ukraine, he says he is coming to believe Vladimir Putin doesn’t care about the human cost of his war.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he plans to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this year’s hurricane season, offering the clearest timeline yet for his administration’s long-term plans to dismantle the disaster relief agency and shift responsibility for response and recovery onto states.