What we’re reading: Coronavirus fear strikes cruise ship, Texas teen awarded scholarship from Ellen

By Daichi Ito

Published Jan 31, 2020

Photo courtesy: Michael Rozman/Warner Bros

People stuck on Italian cruise ship amid coronavirus fear

An Italian cruise ship carrying 6,000 people was kept in lockdown after a 54-year-old woman showed coronavirus-like symptoms, according to CNBC.

The woman, along with her husband, were kept in isolation until authorities confirmed it was not the coronavirus.

The cruise ship arrived at the Italian port of Civitavecchia on Thursday morning, where it had sailed from Palma de Majorca, Spain, as part of its West Mediterranean tour.

The Costa Smeralda cruise ship is docked in the Civitavecchia port near Rome, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. Italian health authorities are screening passengers aboard after a passenger from Macao came down with flu-like symptoms amid the global scare about a new virus. Passengers are being kept on board pending check to determine the type of virus. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

330-million-year-old shark fossil found in Kentucky

Researchers were in disbelief when they stumbled upon a massive fossilized shark while investigating the cave system, according to CBS News.

The research team deemed the shark to be 330 million years old and belonging to a species called Saivodus striatus.

The shark fossils that were discovered come from a layer of rock that extends from Missouri to Virginia. This is the first time shark fossils have been recorded.

Drug tunnel discovered at U.S.-Mexico border

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol discovered the “longest ever” drug-smuggling tunnel Wednesday, according to the Washington Post.

The tunnel stretches from Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego, California, and is approximately 12 football fields long.

This undated photo provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration shows what is believed to be the longest smuggling tunnel between Mexico and the U.S. Authorities have announced the discovery of the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the Southwest border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, the tunnel stretches more than three-quarters of a mile from a small warehouse in Tijuana, Mexico, into the San Diego area. (Drug Enforcement Administration via AP)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Mexican narcotics traffickers had used the tunnel to smuggle drugs into an industrial area of San Diego.

It was complete with a railway, plumbing and ventilation systems.

Student in dreadlock controversy awarded scholarship

A Texas teen surrounded by controversy over his school’s dreadlock policy was awarded a scholarship during Thursday’s “The Ellen Show,” according to ABC News.

Deandre Arnold, a senior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu made headlines earlier this month after the school gave him an in-school suspension because of the length of his dreadlocks.

They also threatened not to let him walk the stage at graduation.

Arnold appeared on the show to discuss the issue with his school over his hair length.

In a surprising move, DeGeneres brought out singer Alicia Keys to present Arnold with a $20,000 scholarship.

Arnold intends to go to college and become a veterinarian one day.