内容摘要：Williams reported from Detroit. Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Williams reported from Detroit. Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atSOCOTRA, Yemen (AP) — On a windswept plateau high above the Arabian Sea, Sena Keybani cradles a sapling that barely reaches her ankle. The young plant, protected by a makeshift fence of wood and wire, is a kind of dragon’s blood tree — a species found only on the Yemeni island of Socotra that is now struggling to survive intensifying

“Seeing the trees die, it’s like losing one of your babies,” said Keybani, whose family runs a nursery dedicated to preserving the species.Known for their mushroom-shaped canopies and the blood-red sap that courses through their wood, the trees once stood in great numbers. But increasingly severe cyclones, grazing by invasive goats, and— which is one of the world’s poorest countries and beset by a decade-long civil war — have pushed the species, and the unique ecosystem it supports, toward collapse.

Dragon’s blood trees are seen from the highest peak on the Yemeni island of Socotra, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)Dragon’s blood trees are seen from the highest peak on the Yemeni island of Socotra, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Often compared to the Galapagos Islands, Socotra floats in splendid isolation some 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the Horn of Africa. Its biological riches — including 825 plant species, of which more than a third exist nowhere else on Earth — have earned it UNESCO World Heritage status. Among them are bottle trees, whose swollen trunks jut from rock like sculptures, and frankincense, their gnarled limbs twisting skywards.

But it’s the dragon’s blood tree that has long captured imaginations, its otherworldly form seeming to belong more to the pages of Dr. Seuss than to any terrestrial forest. The island receives about 5,000 tourists annually, many drawn by the surreal sight of the dragon’s blood forests.between 1992 and 2024, according to the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut, and thousands more are sickened each year. This summer has been especially bad, with five high school players dying since July of suspected heat-related illnesses,

who collapsed during drills last month at his Alabama high school practice.“I just want to know what really happened that day. What was he doing? From the autopsy and the doctor’s standpoint, what did y’all see what was going on? You know, I just want answers,” said Wilkins’ mother, Regina Adams.

found that high school football players are 11 times more likely to suffer heat illnesses than all other sports combined.Experts believe football players are more vulnerable because they wear heavy equipment that traps heat and have bigger body sizes that produce more heat, especially offensive and defensive lineman who can can weigh upwards of 300 pounds. They also may not yet be fully acclimated to working out in summer conditions, sometimes play on artificial turf which increases the heat and may have underlying health conditions.