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TORONTO -- Most migrating birds have headed south by mid-November, which is why two good friends were concerned when they saw a great blue heron in distress. Allison Prentice and Guy Kinney were taking wildlife photographs in Airdrie, Alta. Source

Twitter has clarified details of its new policy banning political ads to explain that while politicians and political groups will be banned from advertising on its platform, other groups and qualified news outlets will be able to mention political issues in advertisements. Source

The sight of a swollen, slimy leech clamped to your skin sucking away at your blood may evoke a wave of panic and disgust. But resist the temptation to pour salt on it, as folk wisdom recommends, because that could cause the leech to vomit into the wound, posing unnecessary health risks, suggest biologists behind a new exhibit on bloodsucking animals. Source

LAS VEGAS -- Drilling began Friday for a $52.5 million underground people mover being built by a company backed by billionaire Elon Musk to whisk passengers between exhibit halls at an expanded Las Vegas Convention Center. Source

HALIFAX -- Two U.S. senators from Massachusetts, including presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, are calling for an investigation of Canada's regulatory measures to protect the North Atlantic right whale. Democrat senators Edward Markey and Warren sent a letter this week to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arguing Canadian rules for protecting the endangered whales are less strict than those in the United States. Source

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronauts have begun an extraordinarily complicated series of spacewalks to fix a cosmic ray detector at the International Space Station. Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and U.S. astronaut Andrew Morgan ventured out Friday with dozens of tools and four new pumps for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. Source

A new study estimates almost two million pieces of junk lie on the seafloor of the Bay of Fundy between Nova Scotia and New Brunwsick, most of which is plastic and fishing gear, but the number is likely more. Source

Making a phone call or connecting to the Internet can be difficult in remote parts of Alberta, but a group of grads from Red Deer College has a unique — if lofty — solution. While they were students at the school, Jonathan Wong, Austin Wong, Austin Smith, Denon Magnes, Kyler Sereda and Garrett Stewart designed a drone that can be used to cast a Wi-Fi zone almost anywhere. Source

HALIFAX -- A survey estimates more than 1.8 million pieces of mostly plastic garbage are strewn over the bottom of the Bay of Fundy, prompting concerns about potential harm to marine life. The study published today in Marine Pollution Bulletin found an average of 137 pieces of plastic litter, dumped or lost fishing gear and other garbage per square kilometre of ocean. Source

Hello, people! This is our weekly newsletter on all things environmental, where we highlight trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world. (Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Thursday.) This week:How grocery stores could produce less plastic wasteHeated debate over the Australian wildfiresThe second life of electric vehicle batteries Source