内容摘要：Blind tennis champion Naqi Rizvi plays a shot during a visually impaired tennis training session in London, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Blind tennis champion Naqi Rizvi plays a shot during a visually impaired tennis training session in London, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The move was necessary because the Tulsa Zoo has other Asian elephants who will provide important socialization for Billy and Tina because “keeping them in larger groups is crucial for their well-being,” especially at their advanced age, the LA Zoo statement said. Asian elephants typically live around 60 years.A move to a sanctuary was considered, but the Tulsa Zoo was the top recommendation based on the standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Elephant Species Survival Plan, which considers “space, herd dynamics, and expertise of the staff,” the LA Zoo said.

“This option also ensured that Billy and Tina would be able to remain together,” the statement said.Davis said he expects the Los Angeles lawsuit will be dismissed but his group will not give up the fight to get Billy and Tina a sanctuary retirement home. He said his team is exploring legal options in Oklahoma. The Tulsa Zoo didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.A lawsuit filed this month by an LA resident sought to halt the elephants’ transfer, but a judge denied an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order. That lawsuit includes a declaration by the singer Cher, who has advocated for the elephants for years, the

“Billy and Tina have served their time in confinement,” Cher said in the declaration. “They deserve the chance to live out their lives in peace and dignity.”The LA Zoo referred questions about the court actions to the city attorney’s office, which said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion in April requiring the zoo to explore sanctuary options for the pair. But before the council could act, the zoo went forward with the move, “thwarting public discourse and transparency,” In Defense of Animals said in a statement Wednesday.

The nonprofit said the Tulsa Zoo’s enclosure is “cramped, unnatural, and harmful to elephant health,” with seven animals “jammed into an enclosure less than one percent the size of their smallest natural range.”But their proposal appears to stand little chance of becoming law, given most Republican lawmakers’ deference to Trump and the president’s veto power. “That train has left the station,’' said trade lawyer Warren Maruyama, who was general counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in the administration of President George W. Bush.

For now, many American businesses are struggling to cope with Trump’s tariffs, which have lifted America’s average tariff to the highest level since 1934 — even after awas announced Monday, according to Yale University’s Budget Lab.

Victor Schwartz of New York City has spent the last 39 years building a business importing wine and spirits from small producers across the world. The tariffs are hitting his business hard. His customers want regional wines from around the world, so he can’t just shift to American vintages. And the state requires him to post prices a month in advance so it’s tough to keep up with Trump’s ever-changing tariffs.His business — V.O.S. Selections — is one of the five plaintiffs in Tuesday’s hearing. “It’s a race against time,” he said. “Will we get through it? I’m not sure exactly.”