Several bald eagles have died of late in the north central part of Utah all from similar symptoms. The count is now at 5 and officials from Utah wildlife are fearful that as many as 13 bald eagles may have died due to the same reason.

Mark Hadley a spokesman for the Utah Division of Wildlife said last week that another bald eagle was found and later died at a rehab facility in Ogden. A sixth bald eagle was found in Davis County and remains at the Ogden facility with the same symptoms as the others including head tremors.

Another 7 eagles were also found during the same two-week period and officials from Wildlife Resources fear those seven might have all died from the same problem.

Until forensic tests are completed, officials will not know the exact cause or causes of death, since no one saw if the eagles also had tremors prior to dying.

Each winter, thousands of the national birds migrate to the state of Utah, with many staying near the Great Salt Lake, where they can eat carp in the freshwater. The large number of deaths has caused alarm throughout Utah.

Hadley said he could never recall having seen so many eagles die over a short period. He called it very unusual.

Preliminary results on forensic exams from Utah State University are expected the beginning of this week for the four eagles first found that died while at a rehab center. The results should help to give clues to solve the mysterious fatal illness.

One possibility said officials is encephalitis, which can be caused from the West Nile Virus, though health officials said it seems to be too late during the year for that problem. Officials also believe the eagles had not been killed on purpose.

To determine the cause of death of the other group of seven, wildlife officials sent the bodies to a lab in Wisconsin. Those necropsy results could take as much as one month to receive due to a back log of work and people on vacation during the holidays.

All of the dead or dying eagles were found in the month of December and in four separate counties.

Several bald eagles have died of late in the north central part of Utah all from similar symptoms. The count is now at 5 and officials from Utah wildlife are fearful that as many as 13 bald eagles may have died due to the same reason.

Mark Hadley a spokesman for the Utah Division of Wildlife said last week that another bald eagle was found and later died at a rehab facility in Ogden. A sixth bald eagle was found in Davis County and remains at the Ogden facility with the same symptoms as the others including head tremors.

Another 7 eagles were also found during the same two-week period and officials from Wildlife Resources fear those seven might have all died from the same problem.

Until forensic tests are completed, officials will not know the exact cause or causes of death, since no one saw if the eagles also had tremors prior to dying.

Each winter, thousands of the national birds migrate to the state of Utah, with many staying near the Great Salt Lake, where they can eat carp in the freshwater. The large number of deaths has caused alarm throughout Utah.

Hadley said he could never recall having seen so many eagles die over a short period. He called it very unusual.

Preliminary results on forensic exams from Utah State University are expected the beginning of this week for the four eagles first found that died while at a rehab center. The results should help to give clues to solve the mysterious fatal illness.

One possibility said officials is encephalitis, which can be caused from the West Nile Virus, though health officials said it seems to be too late during the year for that problem. Officials also believe the eagles had not been killed on purpose.

To determine the cause of death of the other group of seven, wildlife officials sent the bodies to a lab in Wisconsin. Those necropsy results could take as much as one month to receive due to a back log of work and people on vacation during the holidays.

All of the dead or dying eagles were found in the month of December and in four separate counties.

Several bald eagles have died of late in the north central part of Utah all from similar symptoms. The count is now at 5 and officials from Utah wildlife are fearful that as many as 13 bald eagles may have died due to the same reason.

Mark Hadley a spokesman for the Utah Division of Wildlife said last week that another bald eagle was found and later died at a rehab facility in Ogden. A sixth bald eagle was found in Davis County and remains at the Ogden facility with the same symptoms as the others including head tremors.

Another 7 eagles were also found during the same two-week period and officials from Wildlife Resources fear those seven might have all died from the same problem.

Until forensic tests are completed, officials will not know the exact cause or causes of death, since no one saw if the eagles also had tremors prior to dying.

Each winter, thousands of the national birds migrate to the state of Utah, with many staying near the Great Salt Lake, where they can eat carp in the freshwater. The large number of deaths has caused alarm throughout Utah.

Hadley said he could never recall having seen so many eagles die over a short period. He called it very unusual.

Preliminary results on forensic exams from Utah State University are expected the beginning of this week for the four eagles first found that died while at a rehab center. The results should help to give clues to solve the mysterious fatal illness.

One possibility said officials is encephalitis, which can be caused from the West Nile Virus, though health officials said it seems to be too late during the year for that problem. Officials also believe the eagles had not been killed on purpose.

To determine the cause of death of the other group of seven, wildlife officials sent the bodies to a lab in Wisconsin. Those necropsy results could take as much as one month to receive due to a back log of work and people on vacation during the holidays.

All of the dead or dying eagles were found in the month of December and in four separate counties.

The Winter Olympics in Solchi, Russia are less than two months away. The delegation from the U.S. will not include any members of President Obama’s family or a Cabinet member, but the group will have athletes that are openly gay – a clear jab at the recently approved anti-gay laws in the host country.

Billie Jean King, the tennis legend will join Janet Napolitano the former Secretary of Homeland Security and Brian Boitano the figure skater at the opening ceremonies February 7, said the White House.

Rob Nabors an aide at the White House and the ambassador to Russia from the U.S. will round out the Sochi delegation.

King was one of the first athletes at a professional level to come out in the 1980s as gay.

William Burns the Deputy Secretary of State will lead the U.S. delegation at the closing ceremony. Joining him will be speed skaters Eric Heiden and Bonnie Blair, along with Caitlin Cahow a hockey player who is also openly gay.

It is just the first time in over a decade that the President, First Lady, Vice President or a former president has not been in attendance for the opening or closing ceremonies for the Olympics.

For the Summer 2012 London Olympics, the U.S. delegation was led by Michelle Obama the First Lady, and then President George Bush went to China in 2008 for the games in Beijing.

Joe Biden the U.S. Vice President and his wife led a group from the U.S. to the most recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Not sending a high-ranking official from the U.S. amounts to nothing more than a snub at Russia, whose diplomatic relations with the U.S. have been fractured over the last 12 months.

Russia granted Edward Snowden the admitted leaker of NSA documents temporary asylum and Vladimir Putin the President has used the veto power of Russia in the U.N. Security Council to block U.S. action against Syria.

Obama also canceled a September meeting with the Russian President, though they both met in the Group of 20 meetings in St. Petersburg.

Fueling problems with Russia are new laws that ban gay propaganda in Russia that critics say are so vague anyone could be prosecuted for just wearing the rainbow T-shirt.

A senior commander with Hezbollah was shot and killed outside his Beirut home, said the militant group from Lebanon on Wednesday. The group immediately placed the blame on Israel for the shooting and warned it would suffer consequences.

Hassan al-Laqees was killed late Tuesday in the Lebanese capital while returning from work, said Hezbollah in a prepared statement.

The statement said the Israeli enemy is held responsible for what we call a heinous crime. Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Israel denied any involvement by Israel, reported various news agencies.

Palmor said Israel was not involved in the incident and the automatic accusations are just innate reflexes by Hezbollah. The group said Palmor do not need any evidence or facts, they just place blame for anything on Israel.

The Hezbollah commander suffered five shots to the neck and head, said a local newspaper. Hezbollah said that Laqees spent his entire life serving against Israel and lost one son during the 2006 war the group had with Israel. On several occasions prior to Tuesday, there have been unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Laqees.

Though Hezbollah turns its suspicions to its enemy Israel, there has been an increase in tension in Lebanon between Sunni extremist groups and Shiite Hezbollah. The Sunni’s oppose Hezbollah’s role in the Syria Civil War, where they are fighting side by side with the governmental forces in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

Over the last year, targets tied to Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, have been hit. These attacks have included bombings in suburbs south of Beirut where Hezbollah has its stronghold.

Anrar al-Sunna Baalbek Brigade, a group that is little known, claimed on twitter responsibility, but no verification of the claim could be made. The tweet spoke harshly of the arrests by Hezbollah of Sunnis in Lebanon’s Baalbek area.

Laqees was gunned down just after a television broadcast in Lebanon of an interview with Hasan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah. In the interview, Nasrallah accused the country of Saudi Arabia of supporting Lebanon based groups tied to al-Qaeda including one that had claimed responsibility for carrying out the double suicide bombing on November 19 of the Iranian Embassy.