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Being home more during the pandemic, and with less traffic on the roads from stay-at-home orders, many people have heard more bird calls and the sounds of nature in urban areas. Scientists now say at least one bird species has been able to adjust their bird song because of the lack of human noise to compete with.Researchers have been studying the white-crowned sparrows in and around San Francisco for more than two decades. They compare their songs in recent years with recordings made in the 1970s.They found as traffic levels increased over the decades, the lowest frequencies of the sparrows’ song rose. This allowed their song to be heard above the low hum of vehicles. The top frequencies remained the same, so the total frequency bandwidth of their communication was narrowed.Degrading their songs this way, and limiting their range, makes them less effective at deterring rivals, attracting mates, or hearing their own chicks, according to researchers. In noisy environments, birds have to sing louder, which research has shown can result in stress and can speed up a bird’s aging and disrupt their metabolisms.When stay-at-home orders and coronavirus pandemic safety measures were put in place in March, the lead researcher, Elizabeth Derryberry, remembers seeing an image of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco completely empty of cars or humans. She wondered how the sparrows were responding.They compared audio recordings of the bird songs from spring 2015 and 2016, to those taken this spring. The recordings were made in a variety of urban and rural locations around the greater San Francisco area.“We found that birds sung at lower minimum frequencies, achieving greater bandwidth songs in newly open acoustic space. An increase in frequency bandwidth results in the transmission of more information and greater vocal performance,” the study states.The samples taken in 2020 revealed the white-crowned sparrows had changed their tune, so-to-speak, and were singing softer and using a wider range of frequencies. They also were able to communicate twice as far as previous recordings.“This doubling in communication distance could elevate fitness by reducing territorial conflicts and increasing mating potential,” researchers stated.Researchers also say this explains why more people report hearing birds during the pandemic. Since the songs are traveling farther distances, humans are able to hear more of them.They also say the changes in the birds’ songs were more pronounced in urban areas compared to the rural location samples. This would make sense, they say, because the traffic noise did not change as drastically in the rural locations during the pandemic.“Our findings indicate that songbirds like white-crowned sparrows have a striking capacity to exploit newly empty soundscapes following acute but ephemeral amelioration of noise pollution, suggesting that lasting remediation might engender even more promising outcomes, such as demographic recovery and higher species diversity in urban areas,” they concluded. 3055

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Inside Boca Helping Hands, Mel Lazerick mans the pantry desk and hands out apples and bags of produce."I like to do things for other people because I've been fortunate," said Mel, who has devoted most of his life volunteering.At 100-years-old, Mel is the oldest volunteer and donates his time to help feed the hungry three days a week. Executive Director Greg Hazle describes Mel as an inspiration."Just to be active at that age and active helping people is an inspiring way to live," Hazle said.Mel has been handing out groceries at Boca Helping Hands for 20 years with a smile and a sense of humor."I worked it in with my golf and tennis, and I was able to find time," Mel said. "People are very nice to me, and I try to be nice to them."Mel moved from Ohio years ago and settled in South Florida. He recently celebrated his 100th birthday at Helping Hands, and has worked side-by-side with long-time buddy Harold Bader."He's very well-liked. He's very hard-working, even though he's 100," said Bader, who picks Mel up and drives him home. "It made me realize age has nothing to do with your abilities to do things, and he proves that every day.Mel has been volunteering for decades. He joined Big Brothers and Big Sisters more than 70 years ago, and he still keeps in contact with his two younger brothers."One is 65-years-old and one is 92," Mel said.Now, Mel will be honored for his service on October 20, when Boca Helping Hands will celebrate its volunteers. Mel said he has no plans to slow down and hopes to volunteer for another 20 years.  1581

BOSTON, Mass. (KGTV) -- A San Diego man implicated in the college admission scandal appeared in court in Boston Wednesday. Toby MacFarlane is accused of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to get his children into USC. The documents show that MacFarlane reportedly paid an agency to fabricate a soccer profile for his daughter and a basketball profile for his son.MacFarlane reportedly paid 0,000 to various organizations for the admissions. His daughter attended the school from 2014 to 2018 when she graduated, according to the documents. His son attended the school from 2017 to 2018.RELATED: Two San Diegans charged in college admissions schemeMacFarlane is being charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.Another San Diegan is also accused of participating in the scheme. Elisabeth Kimmel, the former owner and president of a media company that owned KFMB reportedly participated in the scheme by conspiring to use bribery to get her son and daughter into prominent schools. MacFarlane appeared in court along with actresses Felicity Huffman, Lori Laughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. 1164

Brittany and Corey Oswell were flying home from their Hawaiian honeymoon in 2016 when Brittany became dizzy and fainted.She came to soon after, but when she later collapsed in the plane's lavatory, a doctor on board who'd been helping her told the flight crew they needed to land quickly, to get her the proper medical treatment.American Airlines Flight 102 was about an hour and a half from Dallas-Fort Worth, its destination. Despite the doctor's warning, the crew stayed the course while the doctor and flight attendants tried to treat Brittany, who was 25 years old at the time. She was taken to a hospital immediately upon landing, but died three days later.Now her family is suing the airline for wrongful death.Brad Cranshaw, the attorney for Brittany's husband and her parents, told CNN Friday the family's main objective isn't winning a financial settlement.They want the airline to re-examine its policy and procedures so this won't happen to anyone else, he said."The family wants something (they) can't have, and that's Brittany back," Cranshaw said. "But we are interested in how American intends to speak to the issues that lead to the circumstance that took Brittany's life and the pilots' decision making."An American Airlines representative said the company was "deeply saddened by this event and our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to Mrs. Oswell's loved ones."We take the safety of our passengers very seriously and we are looking into the details of the complaint," the airline said.  1525

BREAKING: Temporary restraining order granted. The @USPS must stop sending misinformation to Colorado voters.— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) September 13, 2020 167