Fijian Masked Bee Decline Estimated at 99%

A roundup of unusual recent stories included researchers’ estimate that Fiji’s tiny masked bee has lost about 99% of its population in 150 years, with climate change, habitat loss and invasive species among the suspected causes. In France, hackers reportedly tampered with internet-connected refrigeration at more than 250 supermarkets, spoiling food and causing major losses. Other oddities included a record-size pop-up book on display in Los Angeles and a Canadian woman setting a new abdominal-plank record. Separate reports described triangular lights spotted near a plane over Utah and above a Mexican volcano, a black bear trapped inside a Subaru in Alaska, and a deer that crashed through a laundromat window in North Carolina.