WASHINGTON The talks to end the Iran war had hit a snag.Vice President JD Vance had flown to Pakistan for negotiations with the Iranians, a sign that the two sides had narrowed their differences and the White House might be poised to announce a breakthrough.As the marathon April meeting unfolded, though, U.S. negotiators began to worry: It looked like the Iranians were changing the terms of a potential deal. So, during a pause, they phoned Secretary of State Marco Rubio to get a steer on what they should do next, an administration official with direct knowledge of the matter said in an interview. Rubio agreed that they couldnt accept Irans offer, the official said. There would be no deal.Rubio isnt the face of the Iran negotiations. Hes kept a discreet public distance as the unpopular war grinds on. Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and the presidents longtime friend and special envoy Steve Witkoff are the main protagonists in the push to end both the Iran and Russia-Ukraine conflicts.The arrangement is an unusual one. Past secretaries of state commanded the spotlight when it came to war and peace. Henry Kissinger won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for negotiating a ceasefire in the Vietnam War during the Nixon administration. John Kerry, in the Obama administration, flew back and forth between Washington and the Middle East as he tried in vain to broker a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians.Still, Rubio has been a hidden hand throughout, helping craft the Trump administrations strategy while privately advising the officials who play a more public role in the peace talks.He holds a unique place in the Cabinet, one of the most expansive in the modern presidency. Rubio doubles as national security adviser first in an acting capacity, now permanent meaning he has a spacious office in the West Wing and gets more face time with Trump than most Cabinet members.This account is based on interviews with 12 present and former administration officials and others close to Rubio and the White House. Many spoke on condition of anonymity to talk freely about internal policy and political dynamics.The reason that the American people perhaps dont see Secretary Rubio as front and center on Iran is because he really does have the rest of the world to worry about and pays enormous attention to the Western Hemisphere and our European allies, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told NBC News. President Trump is so busy and active around the world, it takes more than one person. So, Secretary Rubio is leading the other efforts around the world that are so important to Americas stability and future promise.Trump has given Rubio wide latitude, allowing Americas top diplomat to be selective when it comes to the public parts of the job. Rubio was more visible in the early phase of the Iran war than in the later stages. That could prove advantageous down the road.Polls show widespread American disenchantment with the conflict. As public opinion hardens, Rubio may be better positioned to sidestep any political backlash than Vance, who has attended futile rounds of peace talks in far-flung locales.Rubio has said publicly that he currently has no plans to run in 2028, and two people familiar with the matter have told NBC News he has also said that privately. He has acknowledged behind closed doors that the landscape may be tough for Republicans in 2028 and suggested that a presidential run in 2032 or 2036 may be more promising, a person close to him said.But Rubios comments dont close the door completely. A second person close to him said that he has not ruled out a potential 2028 presidential run, but he is not discussing his future plans.Nobody knows what hes going to do, the source said. Political calculation does not factor into literally anything that hes doing right now.Another consideration is personal. Rubio has also said privately that after nearly three decades in public office he may want to take a job in the private sector when Trumps term ends, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.His financial disclosure form shows his net worth to be no more than $240,000 apart from his house, listed in a range between $1 million and $5 million. Those are modest sums in an administration packed with officials worth $100 million or more.Rubio could readily land a lucrative job that would be a boon to himself, his wife and their four children if he sat out the race, and at 55, he is young enough to mount a campaign later on.

Relationship with Trump

Once angry rivals, Rubio and Trump have developed a good rapport. Rubio may be in and out of the Oval Office five or six times a day, a White House official told NBC News. Both love sports, and theyve been overheard jawing about baseball batting averages or a knockout punch in the latest mixed martial arts match, the official said.Olivia Wales, a White House spokesperson, said in a prepared statement: As President Trump says, Marco Rubio will go down as one of the greatest Secretaries of State in history. The president and Secretary Rubio have successfully restored American dominance on the world stage and are relentlessly working to advance our foreign policy interests.After spending 14 years in the Senate, Rubio grasps the politics and legislative tactics needed to pass bills into law and will advise the president on ways to push his agenda through Congress, the official said.I can think of many times in which were talking about whatever he [Trump] is focused on that day and hell say, What do you think, Marco? Ive heard that more times than I can count, a person close to the White House said. They jell well together. Ive seen people who dont jell well with the president, and Marco is not one of those people.

Rubios influence in the peace talks is largely behind the scenes. Witkoff checks in with him before agreeing to attend negotiating sessions, takes guidance before meetings and briefs him afterward, the administration official said. Last weekend, the two men spoke by phone multiple times about an escalating conflict involving Iran and Yemen. On Saturday, Witkoff reached Rubio while the secretary of state was at the University of Florida football stadium in Gainesville, watching his son play for the Gators, the official said.Leaving the Senate last year to work for Trump was a gamble for Rubio. The two faced off in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, where they one-upped each other in schoolyard taunts. Trump derided the Florida lawmaker as Little Marco. Rubio mocked the New York businessmans hand size.Time and pragmatic politics have transformed the rivalry into a partnership. The Senate confirmed Rubio by a vote of 99-0, a feat that has impressed even Trump.Its not an easy job to be both the secretary of state and the national security adviser, but Secretary Rubio has managed it beautifully, Wiles said. He is an experienced, smart and intuitive adviser to the president and the rest of the team, be it national security or foreign affairs.

Venezuela and a legacy

Other Cabinet secretaries have flamed out since Trump began his second term. Attorney General Pam Bondi is gone, as are Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.Rubio, by contrast, has thrived in a job that aligns with his political and policy interests. One of his main priorities is building American clout in the Western Hemisphere, where he is leaving an imprint. He helped forge an oil deal with Venezuela this summer that the Trump administration believes will buoy both the U.S. and Venezuelan economies. Earlier this month, Rubio met with heads of state in Latin America as he sought to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking.The son of Cuban migrs, he is also driving the administrations effort to transform Cuba and bring an end to the regime in Havana. If he can nudge Venezuela and Cuba toward democratic governance, that could be an enviable legacy for a secretary of state who is nursing presidential ambitions. Rubios statement to a Colombian radio station earlier this month that he currently has no plans to mount another campaign was not a hard-and-fast denial. Even if it was, it might not matter. When Rubio first ran for president, he made clear he was done with the Senate. And he sounded adamant.I have only said like 10000 times I will be a private citizen in January, he wrote on social media in May 2016, two months after he dropped out of the presidential contest. The following month, he did an about-face, ran for re-election and won.If Vance enters the race and falters in the Republican primaries, Rubio might jump in the contest, the second person close to Rubio said.Another possibility would be for Rubio to become Vances running mate, something he would be inclined to do if asked, this person said. Trump himself has suggested the two men pair up in 2028, and his opinion counts given his grip on the Republican base.Trump likes to ask people privately who they think should be the GOP nominee. Whoever the Republican nominee is in 2028, Donald Trump will decide, the White House official said. Of course, the primary process will run. But the president will have such an outsized influence in it, and I think he does wish they would run together.After the midterm elections in November, attention will turn to 2028 and the post-Trump era. Rubio wont have much time to decide his future.If hes serious about running, he would have to say so reasonably soon, the White House official said. Once youre elected, you never really get rid of that bug. Ultimately, if theres an opportunity and an opening, youd be almost fighting your instincts not to do it.This article was originally published on NBCNews.comThis article originally appeared on NBC News at https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/marco-rubio-role-iran-war-keeping-options-open-future-rcna596618 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:47:05 +0000

Rep. Mara Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican up for re-election in November, released an ad on Thursday in which she criticized President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown, just months after he endorsed her campaign.Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far, Salazar said in the ad. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today."You can be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism," she continued. "Im not talking about giving them amnesty. Im talking about giving them a dignified life in this promised land. And only you can do that.The video marked a stunning break from the President who backed Salazars re-election bid earlier this year. In February, Trump said in a Truth Social post that the Congresswoman was doing a truly fantastic job representing the wonderful people of Floridas 27th Congressional District! and that she knows the Wisdom and Courage required to confront the Corrupt Fake News. He said that she had his Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election before telling voters that Salazar WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!Salazar joins a growing number of Republicans who have publicly pushed back on Trumps policies.Trump has railed against other members of his party who have broken with him, going so far as to endorse several of their challengers in the primaries. The President endorsed Ed Gallrein, for instance, who ultimately defeated Rep. Thomas Massie in the May Republican primary for the Kentucky Congressmans seat, after Massie broke with Trump on various issues, including objecting to the One Big Beautiful Bill and leading the effort to push the Department of Justice to release the so-called Epstein files.Salazars campaign said that the video released on Thursday is the first of multiple ads that it plans to run before the upcoming midterm elections, in which Salazar is facing off against Democratic nominee Eliott Rodrguez. Both Salazar and Rodrguez are Cuban American, and previously worked as journalists.Rodrguez criticized Salazar for the ad in a video that he shared on social media on Thursday, claiming that she had "desperately sought Donald Trump's endorsement" but was now speaking out "because [Trump's] immigration policy is political poison in her re-election campaign." Rodrguez went on to accuse his Republican opponent of being a "pathetic rubber stamp for Donald Trump."

"Mara Elvira Salazar did thismake no mistake about it," Rodrguez said. "She owns all of these deportations, ICE harassment, family separations, and racial profiling. She voted for it. She gave Donald Trump the money and the tools to do it. Now, just 47 days before the midterm election, she is trying to convince voters that she disagrees with Trump's inhumane practices on undocumented people with no criminal record."The Cook Political Report indicates that Salazar, a three-term Congresswoman, is expected to hold on to her seat come November, rating it as Likely Republican.In the district Salazar represents, the foreign-born population makes up more than 54% of the total populationone of the largest proportions of all the districts in the lower chamber.Thursdays ad isnt the first time that Salazar has expressed concerns about the Trump Administrations immigration enforcement efforts. Earlier this week, she responded to reports that Luis Galeano, an exiled Nicaraguan journalist whose U.S. asylum application has been pending for years, had been detained by federal immigration agents.America must always know the difference between a criminal and a political exile, Salazar said in a statement shared on social media. Luis is a respected journalist who paid a price for telling the truth about the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship. The regime persecuted him, forced him into exile, and stripped him of his citizenship. That history matters. He cannot be sent back into the hands of the people who targeted him.I have been clear with the Administration: enforce the law and deport dangerous individuals, but do not treat political exiles like criminals, she continued.Salazar has also been backing a bipartisan measure in the House that would grant immigrants who dont have a criminal history a route to secure legal status in the U.S., but not a pathway to citizenship.

This article originally appeared on Time at https://time.com/article/2026/09/17/trump-immigration-florida-republican-maria-elvira-salazar-midterms/ Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:30:05 +0000

The Federal Reserves first rate hike in three years has ushered in a new twist to the already unusual relationship between President Donald Trump and the worlds most powerful central bank. Trump raised eyebrows on Wednesday evening by appearing to suggest that he gave Kevin Warsh, his handpicked Fed chairman, permission to raise rates even though it was the wrong move. The president implied that Warsh had no choice but to embrace a rate increase because the Fed chief was outnumbered on the hostile rate-setting committee he oversees. I talked to Kevin and I said you might as well vote with the board because its not going to matterI said, Do what you want because it doesnt matter because he doesnt have the votes, Trump told reporters. The remarks raise plenty of questions about how much if at all Warsh is consulting with a president who has been willing to cross red lines in his quest for dramatically lower interest rates. Those questions are especially sensitive because the Fed is designed to be insulated from the political winds in Washington. Central bankers are required to make trillion-dollar decisions on whether to raise or lower interest rates based on whats best for the economy, not for the political party in power. Tellingly, some Fed watchers and former officials reacted to the remarks with disbelief. Its an unusual and unfortunate comment to make. Clearly, the Fed chair does not need the presidents permission to raise rates, Eric Rosengren, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, told CNN on Thursday. The implication is that the chair got a hall pass. I have no idea how truthful the comment was. Krishna Guha, vice chairman and head of economics and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI who criticized Warshs initial stumbles, dismissed Trumps claims. The market believes and with good grounds that Kevin Warsh owned this decision and that the committee was strongly united behind him, Guha said. There is no evidence here or to the market at large that Warsh was dragged into this by colleagues or permissioned by the president.

We stay in our lane

The risk is that Trump fuels suspicions that swirled on Wall Street this summer that Warsh may not be truly independent. Thats dangerous because a Fed doing the White Houses bidding could lose control of market-set interest rates, dramatically increasing the cost of mortgages and car loans. And a loss of faith in Fed independence could unhinge inflation expectations among investors and consumers. The Fed declined to comment to CNN about Trumps remarks. For his part, Warsh tap-danced around questions related to the man who nominated him. Im not a Wall Street newsletter. Part of the independence of the Federal Reserve is we stay in our lane. Independence is a two-way street, Warsh said during the press conference on Wednesday. Well let people that do trade policy and fiscal policy stay in their lane, too. Thats how we can stand up here and call them the way we see them. Asked by a reporter when he last spoke with the president, Warsh said: I dont have anything for you on discussions with the president. Tim Mahedy, CEO and chief economist at research firm Access/Macro, said he found that response from Warsh strange. The right answer is, I didnt talk to the president. I dont think the president is talking to Warsh beforehand. That would be shocking, said Mahedy, a former official at the IMF and San Francisco Fed.

The day the Fed became Warshs

The other risk is that, intentionally or not, Trump diminishes Warsh as an ineffectual leader just as he appeared to be starting to find his footing. It makes it seem like Warsh has no control over this committee, like he was completely ineffectual in convincing his colleagues, said Mahedy. Warsh emerged from the meeting looking independent. Not only did he preside over a rate hike the White House did not want, but he explained it clearly and with the unanimous support of his colleagues including former Fed Chair Jerome Powell. It felt like the day the Fed became Warshs Fed, Evercores Guha said. He was a lot more assured, coherent and credible yesterday. What hes saying basically adds up. But now if Warsh and a majority of his colleagues on the committee decide against a rate hike, he will face questions about whether the president put his finger on the scale. In the past, most presidents have gone out of their way to even avoid the appearance of interfering with the Fed because it was widely accepted that an independent Fed builds confidence.

Trump praises Warsh for now

None of this is to say Trump unleashed on the Fed in a way that would have unnerved investors. In fact, Trumps initial reaction to the first rate hike under Warsh was relatively mild, especially compared with his relentless and deeply personal condemnation of Powell, his last handpicked Fed chair. While Trump bashed Warshs colleagues as very hostile and very political, he singled out the Fed chief for praise. Hes a good man, Kevin Warsh, Trump said. People were fearful of a fierce backlash from the president against this decision to raise rates and a resumption of the conflict between the White House and the Fed, Guha said. Of course, the Warsh-Trump relationship will continue to evolve, likely guided by what happens next to inflation, borrowing costs and the path of the S&P 500 and all-important Treasury rates. Mahedy said he worries that the relationship will break down if the Warsh-led Fed continues to raise rates as many suspect it will be forced to. Its not hard to see more blame being put on the Fed and Warsh and then it will start to look a lot like Powell, said Mahedy. Its kind of a train wreck but a slow-moving one. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN Business at https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/17/economy/fed-trump-rate-hike-warsh Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:05:31 +0000

By Katharine Jackson and Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday to provide at least 30 days' notice before taking any steps to demolish the Kennedy Center, the landmark performing arts venue that has become a flashpoint in his efforts to reshape the U.S. capital. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper issued the order after lawyers for a Democratic congresswoman who is suing to keep the venue open and Trump's name off its facade submitted new evidence citing theRepublican president's comments on Wednesday referring to demolishing the Kennedy Center. "I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down," Trump told reporters in North Carolina, referring to putting his name on the facility established by Congress and opened in 1971 as a memorial to slain President John Kennedy. MattFloca, the Kennedy Center's Trump-backed executive director, said in a court filing earlier on Thursday that the building was being temporarily closed to assess safety risks in areas "exhibiting severe structural deterioration." Democratic U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty, who sued Trump last year over his Kennedy Center plans,responded in a filing in federal court in Washington that the closure "is a recipe for defendants extending their shutdown forever and closing the Kennedy Center for the next two years the very thing this court said they could not do without its permission." Beatty's lawyers also cited a photo circulating on social media that depicted the president aboard Air Force One looking at a poster they said appeared to be titled "Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED."The photo has not been independently verified by Reuters. Trump last year had the White House's historic East Wing demolished to make way for a ballroom project he has pursued. EMERGENCY HEARING DENIED Cooper turned down a request by Beatty for an emergency hearing on her lawsuit after the Kennedy Center's board, including Trump and his hand-picked appointees, voted this week to close the venue for up to two years for a $257 million renovation project. Beatty, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center's board, said the venue is no longer accessible to the public during normal operating hours. New barriers were visible outside the building on Wednesday. Beatty and other critics have accused Trump of seeking to place his name on the Kennedy Center out of vanity. Trump's name had been placed on the building's facade until the judge in May ordered it removed, saying only Congress can change the name. Cooper earlier directedthe board to explain by Thursday whether the administration's plan violates an earlier order he issued limiting its ability to shut its doors. The board said on Thursday morning that it was not in violation of the order, and the seven-day emergency closure was separate from the larger renovation plans. The Trump administration said it would ask the judge by Friday to dissolve the prior order to allow for what the government called "closure necessary to complete the restoration and renovations." Cooper, in a ruling on Tuesday,rejected the center's latest effort to put Trump's name on the building to reflect his role in the planned renovation. The administration has appealed, and Trump said on social media the Kennedy Center "is destined to doom" if it is not permitted to close for repairs. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Will Dunham, Doina Chiacu, Andrea Ricci, David Bario and Rod Nickel) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/court-filing-cites-trump-comments-140537765.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 18:25:44 +0000

In 2016, Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a biologist and National Geographic Explorer working in Bolivia, received a call from a local wildlife sanctuary that had just been given what they described as a weird cat. It came from a local man who found it as a kitten on a road near a forest. The man took the animal home, believing it to be a domestic breed. But after about a year of living with the clearly wild animal, he realized it would be better off at a sanctuary.As the lead scientist and founder of the Bolivian Felids Research Program (Programa de Investigacin de Flidos Bolivia), Nogales-Ascarrunz was intrigued. The animal had a small, scrunched-up face, short and round ears, and long whiskers. It was, indeed, too small to be a housecat, and, most notably, it was covered in leopard-like spots. So she went to visit the creature at the Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary on the subtropical flank of the Bolivian Andes.I took a hundred pictures of it, remembers Nogales-Ascarrunz. I was so fascinated.What she couldnt know at the time was that this curious cat had a secret. It would become the first new species of felid (i.e. the cat family) discovered in over 100 years, according to a study published today in the journal Current Biology. Whats exciting is the discovery is not a validation of a species proposed in the distant past, nor a previously recognized subspecies raised to species statuswhich are both more commonly reported and important findings. No, this cat was something totally new to science.At the time though, Nogales-Ascarrunz assumed the unusual cat was a member of the species Leopardus tigrinus. Sometimes called tigrinas, oncillas, tigrillos, or little spotted cats, this species was described back in 1775 from a single illustration of an animal seen in French Guiana and was subsequently presumed to exist across Central and South America, including, at the time, Bolivia.But then in 2019, while she was preparing a booklet about Bolivias cat species, she realized the cat shed photographed didnt look like a guidebook reference photo from neighboring Brazil. Her tiger cat had rosettes that were much larger than the ones across the border. This is so wrong, she thought.It would take another few years before Nogales-Ascarrunz developed her skills in genetic analysis to the point where she could investigate the mystery cats genome with any accuracy. Then, working with Eduardo Eizirik, a geneticist at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and study co-lead author Jonas Lescroart from the University of Antwerp, the team was able to find its distinct place on the cat family tree.In their paper, the researchers propose the cat should be known as Leopardus tilcayo, in honor of the word local people know it by. "We asked the local people, Why do you call it tilcayo? says Nogales-Ascarrunz, who is herself from Bolivia. And they said, I dont know! My grandpa called it tilcayo, so I call it tilcayo. (The name does not appear to mean anything particular in Spanish or the Quechua language spoken in Bolivia.)So far, all scientists can say is that L. tilcayo lives in Bolivias Yungas forest ecoregion, which lies on the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains. But as to what these cats eat or get eaten by, how they reproduce, and many other facets of their day-to-day lives, much mystery remains. So many basic things are not known, says Nogales-Ascarrunz, who is co-lead author of the new study.But the discovery is monumental, and not just because its the first new cat discovered since the pampas cat in 1923. The new paper doesnt just name a new species; it redraws the cat family tree to have a lot more branches than previously thought. Whats more, the researchers hope the methods used to identify L. tilcayo may soon be used to find even more cat species spread across the world, and even transform how we protect them.While physical differences such as tail length, rosette size, or teeth shape are always important indicators for scientists looking to delineate species, genomic analyses are increasingly the gold standard, simply because they can tell a story hidden from the naked eye.Weve been working on tiger cats for 25 years or so, trying to sort out the whole genus, Leopardes, says Eizirik. The deeper these scientists look into these cats genomes, the more hidden variation they find.In 2013, scientists provided evidence that Leopardus tigrinus the species Nogales-Ascarrunz originally assumed the new cat to be a member of were actually made up of two distinct species. Then in 2024, the landscape changed again with the proposal that another genetically distinct species be peeled off from the previous two. Now, the newest study makes five tiger cat species. What we once thought to be a single species, weve started to see that it was actually a species complex, Eizirik says.While this kind of confusion would be unheard of in, say, the Panthera genus which includes cats such as tigers, snow leopards, and lions the worlds small wild cats are much less studied. They are also exceptionally good at remaining out of sight. Even photos taken by remote trail cameras may not provide enough evidence to distinguish the species. For instance, one of the museum specimens included in the new study was originally thought to be another small, spotted cat called a margay, until it was later identified as a tiger cat (L. tigrinus) due to the direction of its nape hairs. Modern genomics lets scientists see deeper differences photographs and fieldnotes miss. In the new study, when the researchers compared complete genomes from 38 individuals across the Leopardus genus, the results showed that not only was L. tilcayo different from the other tiger cat species, but it had diverged from them around 1.4 million years agoan evolutionary distance comparable to that between modern lions and extinct cave lions.While the discovery of yet another new tiger cat is itself surprising news, the results obtained profoundly change how small cat specialists group small cat species in genus Leopardus, says James Sanderson, founder and director of the Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation who was not an author on the new publication. To that end, the study also provides evidence for a new sub-species of tiger cat in Peru, Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo, and according to Sanderson, its findings also hint that the margaywhich scientists have assumed to be one species spread across Mexico through Argentina is not one species, but four.This study hints that, having split from a common ancestor close to [one million years ago], four distinct margay species exist, says Sanderson, who is also a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, in an email. For his part, Eizirik says a more focused study of margay genetics will be needed before hed make such a claim.Sanderson says this is likely just the beginning of more discoveries. Its by no means a stretch of the imagination that the improved methods used in this study will reveal new species of small wild cats in Africa and Asia, he says.All of these additional branches on the cat family tree will have real world consequences for conservation.One of the key factors to establish a species conservation status is its geographic distribution. If you think [the tiger cat] is a single thing from southern Brazil all the way to Costa Rica, youre going to find its not endangered, says Eizirik. But if we find that its not a single thing, but actually five things, each of them must be assessed separately.According to Sanderson, such distinctions add urgency to conservation efforts. Once three species become five species, each population is reduced, he says. Therefore conservation efforts must increase, perhaps urgently, depending on estimated population sizes. (For now, scientists are unsure of how many tilcayos exist in the wild.)Genetics and questions of taxonomy aside, Nogales-Ascarrunz doesnt want to lose focus on the wonder. Our world is extremely complex, she says. Sometimes we think that most of it is known, that there's not a whole lot to discover, but in fact, it's the other way around.It is now commonplace for scientists to announce the discovery of new species, though the description of new insects, microbes, and other small organisms dominates the literature. And that makes sense, because they are easily hidden, hard to find, and often evade our understanding. But a five-pound felid?Even in the cats, there are things out there that are undescribed, things that people haven't found yet, says Nogagles-Ascarrunz. So let's go out and find them and protect them.Jason Bittel is a National Geographic Explorer and author of Grizzled: Love Letters to 50 of North Americas Least Understood Animals.

Joel Sartore is a National Geographic Explorer, photographer and founder of the National Geographic Photo Ark, which uses the power of photography to inspire people to help protect at-risk species before its too late.The nonprofit National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, funded Explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunzs work. The Society also funds Explorer Joel Sartores Photo Ark project. Learn more about the Societys support of Explorers.This article originally appeared on National Geographic at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/meet-the-first-new-cat-species-discovered-in-100-years Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000