Crabs cross a road in Giron, Cuba, Sunday, April 10, 2022. Millions of crabs emerge at the beginning of the spring rains and start a journey to the waters of the Bay of Pigs to spawn in a yearly migration. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Every year in Cuba, millions of crabs emerge from the forest at the beginning of the spring rains and head for the waters of the Bay of Pigs, crossing streets and highways on a perilous journey to mate and reproduce.
Now underway, the migration causes concern to drivers who try to swerve in an often futile attempt not to kill the crustaceans. The crabs are a nuisance to residents but the sight of their road-crossing is a wonder for tourists and other first-time onlookers.
“They got here before us,” said Amaury Urra, a 50-year-old hiking guide who spent his entire life in this part of the Ciénega de Zapata, the largest wetland in the Caribbean, particularly picturesque for the backdrop of turquoise sea waters and the coastal cliffs. ″We’re used to this.″
“Where I live, which is in the center of the town of Girón, the crabs don’t get there as much,″ though there are plenty on the outskirts, he said.
Located about 180 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of Havana, the area was the scene of a 1961 failed invasion by Cuban exiles who signed up for a covertly CIA-funded operation to overthrow Fidel Castro.
This year, the crabs started their journey early. At the end of March, the municipal authorities issued a warning to drivers to avoid traveling in the morning and evening hours - the favorite crossing times for the crabs. Environmentalists usually demand the closure of the main road, especially at key migration times.
The passage of the red crustaceans — the species is called gecarcinus ruricola — could last until July. The largest amount of traffic occurs between April and May. Residents have to be careful: When the crabs feel threatened, they can puncture car tires with their pincers.
Official figures estimate that some 3.5 million crabs die each season on the road, many crushed by passing vehicles. They take a minute and a half to cross.
This type of crab lives and migrates in the Bahamas, Nicaragua, Jamaica and Dominica. But only here, and perhaps in another sector of the coast towards the neighboring province of Cienfuegos, does its path collide so dramatically with human traffic.
Jurors in the trial against Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes have entered day six of deliberations. Holmes is accused of lying to investors about the functionality of a newly developed blood-testing technology. Andrew George, partner at Baker Botts, joined Cheddar to break down key points in the case and what the jury might be considering during their deliberations. He also noted that the rest of Silicon Valley, including Holmes' business partner, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who is facing identical charges, is closely watching the outcome of deliberations — as it could set the tone for future regulations and Balwani's own trial.
According to researchers, the state of California's cap-and-trade program is currently being undermined by forest fires caused primarily by climate change. Over the past few years, trees that were set aside for the program have been releasing carbon as they continue to burn in fires. Climate Researcher and Policy Director at CarbonPlan Danny Cullenward, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The CDC's latest update to its COVID-19 quarantine guidelines reduces the isolation period from ten days to just five for people who test positive but are asymptomatic. Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, regional clinical director at Carbon Health, spoke to Cheddar's Baker Machado about the new guidance. She noted that while the reduced quarantine time "makes sense," the CDC should also require that a person test negative after their quarantine and before interacting with the public. "There is science behind it. We know that the majority of illness happens, or transmission, one to two days before the onset of symptoms and then two to three days as you have symptoms. So there is science behind the reducement of the actual five days," she said.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
As the Omicron variant is fueling a surge in COVID-19 cases, parents and schools are faced with tough choices between absences and outbreaks. Matt Barnum, a national reporter at Chalkbeat, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Ron Gutman, Co-CEO of Intrivo, joins Cheddar News to discuss how the company is creating a test and tech solution for Covid testing called 2Gather, and how it's using data-driven digital diagnostics to make these tests widely available and affordable.
As 2021 winds down, the number of positive COVID-19 cases has surged dramatically with numbers not seen since the heights of the pandemic. Dr. Laolu Fayanju, the regional medical director at primary care provider Oak Street Health, joined Cheddar to discuss the numbers, how the healthcare system is handling the surge this time around, and what it means that the CDC just cut the quarantine time guideline in half for those who are infected. "These are incredibly high numbers because they reflect the transmissibility of the omicron variant," Fayanju said.
