Compiled by Andrew Townsend

The Olympic hubbub in Vancouver is hampering police investigations into the disappearance of actor Richard Stabone. Constable Tim Fanning of the Vancouver police said that local media is usually invaluable in spreading information and creating a buzz about a missing person. However, heavy Olympic coverage is relegating the story to the back pages of newspapers and not garnering as much public attention as desired. Richard Stabone is most famous for portraying the character ‘Boner’ on the 1980s show Growing Pains.

CBC

Fabrizio Schifano of the University of Hertfordshire in the UK recently conducted a study on fatalities where stimulant drugs were the cause of death. The results showed that people between the ages 16 and 24 were more powerfully affected by ecstasy and that young people were more susceptible to the drug’s deadly outcomes. By compiling and comparing data from the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths database, as well as the the British Crime Survey, Schifano and his team were able to conclude that victims who died from Ecstasy were younger, healthier, and less likely to be known as drug users.

National Post

A Pennsylvanian school district has recently come under fire for spying on its students by activating the remote cameras in their laptops. The school district claims it was doing so in order to ascertain the whereabouts of 42 missing computers. The ACLU has condemned the school for violating student privacy and using the cameras to illegally gain information about students’ home lives. Officials from Lower Merion School District claim that the schools did nothing wrong in activating the cameras for the purpose of retrieving school board property. Blake Robbins, a student who is suing the school district, was accused by his principal of engaging in drug-related activities using photographs obtained secretly with the laptops’ cameras.

Globe and Mail

An ultra-rare copy of Action Comics #1, which originally retailed for a meager 10 cents in 1938, sold online for a record $1,000,000. The comic is notable for hosting the very first appearance of beloved superhero icon Superman. This price shattered the previous record bid on a comic book, a mere $317,200, also on a copy of Action Comics #1. There are only around one hundred copies of the 72-year-old book still in existence. Such a purchase is a rare one, as collector and auctioneer Stephen Fishler claims such a book comes by once ever twenty years or so.

BBC