Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Animal Welfare Institute marine mammal scientist Naomi Rose said only one captive orca — Keiko, which inspired the 1993 movie "Free Willy" — has been released to the wild, though he remained dependent on caretakers.(Photo: Ron Batzdorff, WB Production LTD.)
A whole new (sea) world
It worked. Three years after we watched<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Blackfish<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in horror,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>SeaWorld announced it's ending its<span style="color: Red;">*</span>controversial<span style="color: Red;">*</span>orca breeding program.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The killer whales living at its parks now will be the last. That means no more shows. Well, technically. SeaWorld says there will<span style="color: Red;">*</span>still be "natural orca encounters."<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The whales now at SeaWorld are going to stay there, which is causing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(more!) controversy. Some animal rights activists say they should be moved to sea pen sanctuaries (like land sanctuaries for elephants). SeaWorld bought its first killer whale, Shamu, in 1965. We didn't know much about orcas then, like how they have tight family bonds and even different cultures and dialects. In the wild, orcas have the same maximum life expectancy as humans,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but at SeaWorld, most<span style="color: Red;">*</span>didn't live past their teens. After the decision was announced, social-media sentiment about SeaWorld turned positive for the first time in a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>year.
Oh<span style="color: Red;">*</span>no big deal, just possibly 'THE DISCOVERY<span style="color: Red;">*</span>OF THE CENTURY'
There are hidden rooms in King Tut's tomb.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>In Thursday's announcement,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty said finding out what's inside the secret chambers<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"could be the discovery of the century." Why? The rooms may<span style="color: Red;">*</span>house the remains<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of Egypt's famed Queen Nefertiti. Archaeologists have been looking for her forever. History lesson: Nefertiti was married to King Tut's dad,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Pharaoh Akhenaten.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tut, Nefertiti<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and Akhenaten’s family ruled Egypt during one of its most turbulent times, which ended with a military takeover by Egypt’s top general.
In this Oct. 15, 2009 file photo, the 3,300-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti is seen at the "Neues Museum" in Berlin, Germany.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Markus Schreiber, AP)
This is why saying the Islamic State committed genocide is important
The designation could be a first step toward war crimes trials. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that the Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq. The declaration doesn't require the United States to ramp up military activity against the terrorist group. Kerry said the ultimate determination of crimes against humanity must be made by an impartial court, and the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>U.S. will work to document such crimes.
If you care about sports, you should care about this
USA TODAY Sports' Christine Brennan says the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>best thing going on in basketball isn’t North Carolina or Kansas or Virginia or Michigan State. It’s not even Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, at least for the next couple of weeks. It's this:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"A team that’s too good for its own good. A team so untouchable that we take its success for granted. <span style="color: Red;">*</span>A team that has no peer or rival, which ends up making it less interesting to the masses." That would be<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Breanna Stewart<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Connecticut Huskies.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
Parents are the worst
The estranged father of Scientology's leader is going to talk about his son, and Xenu knows what he's going to say. Ron Miscavige's upcoming memoir,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me, will tell the story of David Miscavige's childhood and his path to the head of the controversial Church of Scientology, which the elder Miscavige left.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The question: Will it be as shocking as the HBO documentary (physical abuse, torture, hard labor, harassment). We'll find out May 3.
Extra Bites
It's St. Paddy's Day, not St. Patty's Day. The more you know.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
What you're clicking on: Trump won by losing Ohio
The Dow has shaken off its funk. You can thank these stocks.
This is what the cops found<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at Chumlee's house.
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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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