News Briefs

Starfish vanish from West Vancouver waters 
Divers that frequent the waters off the shore of West Vancouver have recently alerted the Vancouver aquarium that starfish, or sea stars, have been rapidly disappearing. In the past few years, the population had been booming, but now, these sea creatures are dying in mass numbers with no explanation.

Researchers at the Vancouver aquarium have described this as an epidemic, and dubbed it the "Sea Star Wasting Syndrome," as they have yet to discover why the population has almost completely disappeared.

It's been difficult to identify the root of the problem because there are little to no specimens of starfish left in the water to collect. However, some experts are speculating that because of the previously large population, some sort of disease was developed and passed around, which has now almost completely decimated the population.

Researchers in other others -- Florida and California -- have reported similar incidents with their starfish populations, but it is too soon to tell is these events are in any way linked.

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Running of the bulls kills one, injures three
Earlier today, officials in Spain announced that a woman in her late 50's was killed during an annual festival in the small town of Ferez, in central Spain. She was participating in the running of the bull, a common Spanish tradition, when the bull gored her through the abdomen.

Three other people, including her daughter, were also injured by the bull.

While the running of the bull clearly poses many lethal dangers, it is still a very common traditional in various Spanish traditions, and is preformed multiple times throughout the year in towns and cities around Spain.

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Home Alone: Lost in Las Vegas 
Last week, a 9-year old boy from Minneapolis was able to board a plane and fly to Las Vegas without any parental supervision or a boarding pass. Before boarding the plane, he also got lunch at one of the airport restaurants, and then snuck away without paying by saying he needed to use the washroom.

While this may sound like a dream come true to many children and young adults, it is in reality a terrifying incident that shows the lack of attention staff at this airport had on that day.

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