A ship carrying 700 tons of gold ore and a nine-person crew has gone missing in stormy seas off Russia’s Pacific coast. The ship was sailing from the coastal town of Neral to Feklistov Island in the Sea of Okhotsk when it sent a distress call and disappeared. The mining company that hired the ship, Polymetal, said it had used the same route before and had no reason to suspect any danger. The ore was due to be processed at its destination, where the gold would be extracted. A spokesman fo... Read More
A new analysis of the three-million-year-old fossil known as "Lucy" indicates that the hominid species Australopithecus afarensis likely climbed trees. The findings come from a 10-year analysis of the bones of Selam, a three-year-old of the same species as Lucy, discovered in Ethiopia in 2000. “The position or orientation of the shoulder joint was very gorillalike,” said Dr. Zeresenay Alemseged, one of the study’s authors. Researchers aren’t sure how much time the speci... Read More
Despite Monday's reassurances from race officials, Hurricane Sandy might interrupt Sunday's New York City Marathon, as crippled public transportation, flooded streets, and power outages persist. On Monday, New York Road Runners President Mary Wittenberg said they were prepared for the worst. “We have time on our side," she said. “We've been through close to it all.” The course largely skirts the high-risk storm areas, but major flooding has made it uncertain whether there wil... Read More
Despite being one of the most vocal critics of the International Ski Federation's new mandate of longer, straighter skis, American Ted Ligety handily won the World Cup season opener in men's giant slalom on Sunday. This season marks the first time racers will be required to use skis with the stipulated 40-meter turning radius in an effort improve safety. Skiers have opposed the rule, which takes the turning radius back to manufacturing blueprints of the 1980s. “It would be like going fro... Read More
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for two crew members of the HMS Bounty after the tall ship sank off the coast of North Carolina in Hurricane Sandy. The three-masted replica was headed to St. Petersburg, Florida, in an attempt to outrun the storm, when one of its generators failed and the ship started taking on water. In 18-foot seas, the crew was forced to abandon ship for covered life rafts. Coast Guard helicopters were able to airlift 14 of the crew, but two were washed overboard. The Boun... Read More
