Golden Gate National Recreation Area via Facebook
Strange tracks have California park rangers baffled, Major insurers will no longer cover these 2 popular cars, Actress Annie Wersching dead at 45, School warned 3 times on day armed 6-year-old shot teacher, World champion US skier dies in avalanche.
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) in California posted a photo on January 23 of strange-looking animal tracks that have park rangers there baffled, Yahoo reported. The GGNRA posted a photo on Facebook asking: “What creature left these tracks? What are those?” The photo showed footprints that were oddly shaped, with five pointed toes that had talon-like nails.
Users quickly speculated that the pawprints could be from a cryptid-like creature including the Latin American legend “Chupacabra” and the old standby “Bigfoot.” However, it appears the rangers were trolling viewers by asking a rhetorical question. Without something to give the tracks perspective, they weren’t as large as they appeared in the photo. The tracks were ultimately revealed to belong to a raccoon.
State Farm and Progressive, two major US automotive insurance companies, said they will no longer write policies for certain Kia and Hyundai models manufactured between 2015-2019, Yahoo reported. They cited a lack of anti-theft devices, namely electronic immobilizers that prevent theft. Currently, thieves can bypass the ignition.
Thefts have spiked during the pandemic, and these vehicles are being targeted because they’re easy to steal, fast, or worth a lot of money, the New York Post reported. According to a report, such anti-theft immobilizer devices were standard in only 26 percent of Kia and Hyundai vehicle models in 2015, but 96 percent in all other manufacturers.
Annie Wersching, best known for her roles on TV series such as “24,” “Runaways,” “Bosch,” and “Star Trek: Picard,” passed away at the age of 45 after a long battle with cancer following a diagnosis in 2020. The representative said the actress died on Sunday. She is survived by her husband Stephen Full, and their three boys Freddie, 12, and Ozzie and Archie, 4, Fox reported.
Virginia students returned to an elementary school with heightened security measures on Monday for the first time in nearly a month after a 6-year-old student allegedly shot his teacher, the New York Post reported.
An attorney for the wounded teacher said administrators at the Virginia elementary school were warned three times on the day the educator was shot that a 6-year-old boy had a gun and was threatening other students in the hours before the shooting occurred, Yahoo reported. The attorney said the administration “was paralyzed by apathy” and didn’t call the police, remove the boy from class, or lock down the school.
Kyle Smaine, 31, a retired world champion halfpipe skier, was one of five foreign skiers caught in an avalanche on 8,100-foot-high Mount Hakuba Norikura in Nagano Prefecture on Japan’s Honshu Island, according to a police spokesperson, Reuters reported. Smaine and another skier were found without vital signs after the avalanche, according to NBC News. The other skier has not been identified by authorities, Yahoo reported.
