NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — An underweight baby seal is getting all the fish it could want at an aquarium after being rescued off the streets of Connecticut near Yale University.
The seal was found Sunday afternoon by the New Haven Police Department after a passerby called to report spotting a potentially injured seal, according to officer Christian Bruckhart, a police department spokesperson. The seal was more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) from the nearest river.
“We assumed he was here to try the clam pizza but I can’t confirm that, we’re just happy he’s safe,” Bruckhart said in an email.
Officers stayed with the seal until it was able to be moved to Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, for rehabilitation.
Officers visited the seal on Tuesday at the aquarium, where staffers were working to get it up to an ideal weight so the animal could be released. They plan to release the seal in a safer spot, possibly along the eastern shoreline, but not too far from where it was found, said Bruckhart.
The gray seal, believed to be about five to six weeks old, had been spotted by aquarium staff at least two other times since last week, according to WTNH-TV. They moved the animal to a beach, but it just made its way back to the middle of the city, likely working off instincts to get away from water and other seals that could hurt it.
Gray seals are found in coastal waters across the North Atlantic Ocean and typically feast on fish, crustaceans, squid, octopuses, and sometimes seabirds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They weigh about 35 pounds (16 kilograms) when they're born and in the first three weeks typically gain about 3 pounds (1.4 kilogram) per day.
This photo provided by New Haven Police Department shows an underweight baby seal that was found at Chapel Street and East Street in New Haven Conn. on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Officer Zerella/New Haven Police Department via AP)
This photo provided by New Haven Police Department shows an underweight baby seal that was found at Chapel Street and East Street in New Haven Conn. on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Officer Zerella/New Haven Police Department via AP)
SAO PAULO (AP) — Peru's former First Lady Nadine Heredia and her youngest son arrived in Brazil on Wednesday after the neighboring country granted her asylum, her lawyer and the foreign ministries of both countries said.
A spokesperson at Brazil’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Heredia's flight arrived in the capital, Brasilia, at around 12 p.m. local time, but did not provide more details.
Earlier, Heredia’s lawyer Julio Espinoza told Peruvian radio RPP that she departed early Wednesday on an official plane provided by the Brazilian government.
On Tuesday, a Peruvian court sentenced Heredia and her husband, Former President Ollanta Humala to 15 years in prison for laundering funds received from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance his 2006 and 2011 campaigns.
Humala, who attended the court session, was immediately jailed, while Heredia, 48, took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy with their son, Samin Humala, 14.
On Tuesday night, Peru's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Brazil granted diplomatic asylum to the former first lady and her son under a 1954 convention to which both countries are signatories. The ministry said Peruvian authorities granted them safe passage to Brazil.
Peru's Foreign Ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
Former First Lady Heredia’s brother, Ilán Heredia, also was sentenced to 12 years in prison for money laundering in the same case.
The judges of Peru's National Superior Court found that Humala and Heredia received almost $3 million in illegal contributions for political campaigns from Odebrecht and the government of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013).
Humala, a 62-year-old retired military officer, came to power in 2011 after defeating right-wing politician Keiko Fujimori in the second round.
The trial began in 2022, and alongside Humala and his 48-year-old wife, the court convicted eight others. Both Humala and Heredia were held in pretrial detention from 2017 to 2018 at the prosecutor’s request to prevent their flight.
Odebrecht’s 2016 admission of widespread bribery across Latin America preceded the initial investigations against Humala, which started in 2015, a year before the company’s revelations.
Most of the presidents who governed Peru since 2001 have faced legal problems due to their connections with Odebrecht. Toledo is currently imprisoned, while former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is under house arrest. Alan García, who served two non-consecutive terms (1985-1990 and 2006-2011), died by suicide in 2019 as authorities moved to arrest him in connection with Odebrecht bribes.
Beyond former presidents, prominent figures like former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori and numerous ex-governors are also under investigation.
AP journalist Franklin Briceño reported from Lima. AP journalist Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
FILE - Peru's former President Ollanta Humala, accompanied by his wife Nadine Heredia, speaks to reporters at the entrance of their home after they were released from prison in Lima, Peru, April 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Joel Alonzo, File)
