Axios Exxon shareholders, bucking company management, voted to install at least two new members to the oil giant's board in a push to make Exxon more aggressive on addressing climate change and more disciplined in its oil investments.Why it matters: Exxon management campaigned strongly against the entire slate of four people nominated by Engine No. 1, the activist investment group whose campaign was backed by several major pension funds.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThe election of two of the four would avoid what could have been a categorical rebuke of the oil giant's strategy, but it still represents significant investor dissent.The vote in favor of the two new board members shows that many investors see Exxon, which has had a rocky financial performance in recent years, as poorly positioned for the future. Driving the news: Shareholders voted to add Gregory Goff and Kaisa Hietala at the oil giant's annual meeting Wednesday, Exxon said at the conclusion of voting. Tabulations on other candidates are still pending, though one of the Engine No. 1 candidates was voted down, Exxon stated in a press release. It's possible that one other activist candidate will still prevail.Hietala is a a former renewables executive with the refining company Neste and Goff is the former CEO of the refiner Andeavor.What they're saying: Charlie Penner, one of Engine No. 1's leaders, told shareholders at the meeting that Exxon management is "determined to fight off the future for as long as possible," but added: "change is coming. "The big picture: The battle over replacing members of Exxon's 13-person board comes amid increasing pressure on oil majors to do more on climate change.European-based multinational giants are diversifying more widely and vowing long-term transformations to "net-zero" emissions companies by 2050.Engine No. 1 also says Exxon lacks "any serious diversification efforts" that will prepare it to thrive in a low-carbon world. The group says Exxon needs a more cautious investment approach around oil and gas.Engine No. 1's candidates won the backing of some of the company's largest shareholders, including BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street.Yes, but: Exxon says it's in step with the evolving energy mix, citing growing emphasis on carbon capture and large market opportunities there, and efforts on hydrogen and biofuels.Exxon also argues its adjusted capital strategy will deliver strong returns in oil and gas, which it notes will remain huge markets for decades despite low-carbon energy growth.The company recently set new near- and medium-term targets to cut emissions intensity (that is, emissions per unit of output), but has eschewed the long-term carbon neutrality vows of its European peers.“ExxonMobil is in a strong position to create differentiating value throughout the energy transition,” CEO Darren Woods said, touting Exxon's oil-and-gas portfolio and its investment in climate technologies. "We welcome the new directors Gregory Goff in Kaisha Hietala to the board and look forward to working with them constructively and collectively on behalf of all shareholders," Woods said.Go deeper: The intensifying battle for Exxon's futureLike this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.<doc-sep>"When they arrived, fire personnel located the deceased woman inside of the lagoon and recovered her body, while deputies interviewed witnesses," said police A 45-year-old woman was attacked and killed by an alligator around 9:30 a.m. on Monday when she was walking her dog on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue and Sea Pines Security personnel responded to a lagoon off of Wood Duck Road in Sea Pines Plantation to a report of an alligator attacking a woman. Get push notifications with news, features and more. The victim was later identified as Cassandra Cline, a resident of Sea Pines Living. “When they arrived, fire personnel located the woman inside of the lagoon and recovered her body, while deputies interviewed witnesses,” they wrote in a statement. Cline was walking her dog near the lagoon when she was attacked and pulled underwater by the 8-foot alligator. American Alligator Relaxes on Fallen Tree in Lake Credit: John J. Dreyer/Getty Images Sea Pines Living officials wrote in a statement on Facebook that they are “shocked and heartbroken” after hearing the news. “It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the tragic loss of one of our Sea Pines property owners Cassandra Cline,” they wrote. “The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement earlier today stating that Ms.Cline was killed by an alligator in a lagoon in the Club Course area of Sea Pines. An alligator—believed responsible for the attack—was located and removed from the scene.” According to the Sheriff’s Office, the Beaufort County Coroner, Edward Allen, scheduled an autopsy to be performed at the Medical University of South Carolina to determine her cause death. Cline’s dog did not appear to be harmed during the incident. David Lucas of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources told ABC News that “they were able to get her out of the water and she was still alive, but she died at the scene.” Lucas added that the only other reported death in South Carolina that was possibly related to an alligator in over four decades was in 2016.<doc-sep>
A woman was killed after being attacked by an 8-foot alligator while walking her dog on South Carolina's Hilton Head Island on Monday morning, according to officials. The woman — identified by the Beaufort County Coroner as Cassandra Cline, 45 — was in the neighborhood of Sea Pines Plantation when the animal attacked, Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Witnesses said she was pulled under the water by the alligator. Fire personnel were able to recover her body after killing the reptile. Cassandra Cline. Courtesy Family "An alligator — believed responsible for the attack — was located and dispatched at the scene," the coroner said in a statement. Cline died trying to protect her dog from the attack, her mother, Julia Meza, said in an interview. "The maintenance man on the golf course saw it happening," Meza said. "They tried to resuscitate her but it didn't work." The dog, a Shetland sheepdog named Kylie, was not harmed. Cline — known as Sassy — was a kindergarten teacher in Endicott, N.Y. She planned on retiring to South Carolina next year, Meza said. "She call[ed] Hilton Head Island her happy place," Meza said. Since 1976 there have been 20 non-fatal alligator attacks in South Carolina, said Robert McCullough, a spokesman with the state Department of Natural Resources. In 2016 the state recorded its first alligator death after an elderly woman was found in a retention pond, he said. Ron Magill, spokesman with Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, said in an interview that the animals are in nesting season, an aggressive time of year for female alligators. "It's also the hottest time of the year," he said. "Understand the heat is the engine for alligators. It keeps their metabolism going. It's also a time where they need to feed more so they're much more active at this time of year." Alligators, he added, "don't think — they react. They're instinctive." "One of the biggest mistakes you can make this time of year is to walk along a body of water, especially with a small child or a small animal," he said. "The vibrations it causes could be interpreted as distress by an alligator come to a fish dying or a duck swimming or something like that, so it lunges after the dog and then it's too late."