Kelly Slater snagged his 50th World Tour win on Thursday, edging out Australian Joel Parkinson at the Hurley Pro at Trestles. The 40-year-old surfer, who won his first World Tour event in 1992, trailed Parkinson into the final before switching to a four-fin board and taking the lead. "I know I went out there feeling like I didn't have anything to lose because Parko was the form guy," Slater said. The competition, held near San Clemente, California, is Slater's second win in the past three even... Read More
An elderly American couple was dragged out to sea after being hit by a giant wave while walking along a Baja California beach in Los Cabos, Mexico. The husband, 72-year-old Ted Park, drowned in the incident, according to an Associated Press report. A navy boat discovered his body about 800 yards from where the wave initially hit. Park’s wife, 66-year-old Shinae, survived but suffered spinal injuries and respiratory problems as a result. The couple was visiting from Walnut Creek, Californ... Read More
The National Park Service defended it's elk-management policy in Rocky Mountain National Park before a federal court of appeals on Thursday. In a hearing, wildlife advocacy group WildEarth Guardians argued that the Park Service failed to seriously consider the option of reintroducing wolves to the park. The park has a large elk population with few natural predators. The group unsuccessfully sued the NPS in 2008, at the start of the park's elk-thinning program, saying that recruiting volunteers... Read More
Six people arrested during the Operation Puerto doping raids in 2006 will finally go to trial on January 28 in Madrid's Superior Court. The defendants include Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and former head of Liberty Seguros team Manolo Saiz, both of whom are suspected of helping cyclists cheat using blood doping and anabolic steroids. The raids, in which police searched businesses and houses in Madrid and Zaragoza, implicated some 50 cyclists, including Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso, both of whom ar... Read More
Primates may laugh at the misfortune of others, according to new research on laughter that finds apes appear to enjoy slapstick comedy. "The use of language-based jokes is clearly unique to humans," said Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. "There is some suggestion that apes 'play practical jokes' or laugh at another's misfortune,” such as enjoying watching someone trip on a banana peel. The research also demonstrated how laughter evolved and... Read More
