Free Republic

A beloved Arizona yoga teacher who vanished after he set out for a would-be romantic meetup with a blind date last month has been found dead. The body of Marcus Freiberger, 45, was discovered at a rock quarry in Phoenix, about 6 miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, on March 19 — nearly one month after the scheduled date, AZ Family reported, citing the Phoenix Police Department. His sister, Tina Hall, broke the news of her brother’s death on Tuesday in a heart-wrenching Facebook post. “It is with a heavy heart that I share the tragic news that Marcus...

Nine hundred kilometers off the east coast of Madagascar lies the tiny island paradise of Mauritius. The waters are pristine, the beaches bright white, and the average temperature hovers between 22°C and 28°C (72°F to 82°F) year-round. But conditions there may not have always been so idyllic. A new study suggests that about 4000 years ago, a prolonged drought on the island left many of the native species, such as dodo birds and giant tortoises, dead in a soup of poisonous algae and their own feces. The die-off happened in an area known as Mare aux Songes, which once held...