A group of shark fin suppliers is suing California over a recent state-wide ban on the sale or possession of fins. The San Francisco-based Asian American Rights Committee of California argues that the ban infringes on Congress's authority to regulate interstate commerce. "By outlawing the acquisition, possession, or sale of all shark fins in California, the shark fin ban not only burdens but entirely eliminates this interstate trade," the group said in a filing. On Thursday, President Obama ca... Read More
On Friday, at least 4,000 Air Australia passengers were stranded in airports in Hawaii and Thailand after the airline ran out of money to refuel its planes. Travelers have been told they must find alternate ways to their destinations. Company executives put the airline into voluntary administration overnight, a legal move similar to bankruptcy. "[Passengers] need to manage their own affairs. They actively should be trying to find another airline," said Mark Morda, a company spokesman. Some 10... Read More
Some 200 elephants have died at the hands of poachers already this year in Cameroon's Bouba Ndjida National Park, conservation groups said on Friday, in what may be a response to growing demand in Asia for ivory. "We are talking about a very serious case of trans-frontier poaching, involving well-armed poachers with modern weapons from Sudan and Chad who are decimating this wildlife species," said local governor Gambo Haman. Cross-boarder poaching, though common during Cameroon's dry season,... Read More
An off-duty Keystone Mountain ski patroller died in an avalanche in southern Colorado on Thursday, becoming the state's sixth avalanche fatality of the season and the second in four days. According to the Summit Daily, the man was a first-year patroller from New Zealand. The Mineral County Sheriff's department has not yet released his name. The man was skiing with two partners in a backcountry area on Wolf Creek pass, of Route 160 near Wolf Creek Ski Area. The Colorado Avalanche Information Ce... Read More
