[ozswede]

Crack squad reunite 2,000 lost dogs with owners using spy-in-the-sky drones

A crack squad of volunteers is tracking down lost dogs with spy-in-the-sky drones. More than 2,000 runaway pooches have been reunited with their owners after being spotted from above. The “canine-nine-nine” rescue service was launched by dog lover Graham Burton after he saw owners were going on Facebook pleading for drone pilots to look for their missing pets.

Graham set up the Drone Search and Rescue network in 2017. It now has more than 1,700 volunteers across the UK and Ireland – and they don’t charge a penny. Retired photographer Graham, 66, said: “Some people do this for money, sadly, but we do this purely for the joy of reuniting a dog with its owners. The feeling is unbelievable.


Drone SAR for Lost Dogs is led by grandad Graham Burton who has been thrilled to reunite the runaway canines with their owners.

“From the height that the drones can fly, we can see far more than what anybody can see on the ground. Sometimes you will find them within minutes. Sometimes it can take days. But a drone can cover fields far more quickly than walking them.”

Owners post pictures and information about their missing dogs on the Drone SAR Facebook group and pilots comment if they are in a position to help.

Esther Seymour-Shaw hailed the group as “unsung heroes” after volunteers helped reunite her sister Belinda with her beloved black labrador Crumble. Ex-teacher Belinda, of Manchester, said rescue dog Crumble had a history of abandonment and she and Esther “feared the worst” when they became separated from the pup. Esther hailed the “incredibly skilled, knowledgeable and caring group of volunteers” who located Crumble.

She said: “If we’d followed our panicked instincts we could have lost her forever.”

George Wiltshire and daughter Alice, five, were devastated when an older dog charged at his four-month-old pup Tommy, who fled across Southampton Common in fear. Tommy was missing for an agonising two days. But George’s post in Drone SAR amassed more than 4,000 shares, and Tommy was soon spotted at Poundland, where a kind couple picked him up, by someone in the group.


Alice reunited with puppy Tommy after he fled across Southampton Common and was missing for two days

George, 23, said: “Our little girl was so happy when she came home from school to see him running up to her to give her a cuddle.”

Michelle Burrow, a support worker from South Wales, spent an agonising 36 hours looking for her dog Louie. They were also reunited thanks to Drone SAR’s efforts. Michelle, 37, said: “I was so happy and relieved when they found him.”

The network has even amassed the odd celebrity client, including “a couple of rock stars” and TV baker Mary Berry, 86. Mary asked for help in 2017 – but her dog turned up at a neighbour’s.

As well as dogs, rescuers have traced a pig, cows, horses, goats and the odd cat. Their expertise has also been sought on missing persons cases.

Graham, of Pontypridd, South Wales, explained: “We have been contacted a number of times to ask if we can help by different forces. It normally comes via the missing person’s family, but as long as they get clearance from the police then we will help.”

The most recent was the search for teenager Frankie Morris, from North Wales, who disappeared in June after attending an illegal rave in a quarry. The 18-year-old’s body was found a few weeks later – and Graham’s team attended his funeral.

Graham came up with the idea for the rescue group five years ago, having used a drone to keep tabs on his Staffordshire terrier cross, Meg.

He didn’t expect much interest but soon changed his mind after learning that drone pilots had quoted an old lady £800 to find her labrador. Graham, who was angered by the price, said: “A couple of guys I knew got together and they found her dog and they never charged a penny.”

Drone SAR has been inundated with requests during the pandemic as dog thefts surged by 250%. Looking ahead, the sky’s the limit for the group. Graham added: “We have more pilots joining by the day, it’s incredible and non-stop with people wanting to help volunteer.”

Source

[Fatima99]

Ex-racing greyhound with cheesy grin hopes his smile will help him find a home

Ross the 'excitable' sighthound’s party trick is showing off his teeth in a cheesy grin, but he needs to find a home to suit his needs



An ex-racing greyhound is hoping his hilarious smile will win someone over and help find him a home.

At nearly three years old, Ross has recently retired from the track - but has never lived in a home.

The "excitable" pooch’s party trick is showing off his teeth in a cheesy grin, just like when Friends character Ross got his teeth whitened, reports TeamDogs.

Cheshire Dogs Home, based in Warrington, said: “Ross is an excitable boy who has recently retired from racing, he can’t wait to see what the big wide world has in store for him.

"As you can see his most distinguishing feature are his amazing 'teefs', we have no doubt that he will turn heads as you walk down the street.”



The grinning greyhound has never been without the company of other dogs, having moved from racing kennels to rescue kennels - and as such, is likely to act out some puppy behaviour in his new home.

A spokesperson for the charity added: “Ross may need to act out some puppy behaviour, like chewing, which ex-racers typically quickly outgrow. Greyhounds are eager to please and can be trained with patience, consistency and positive reinforcement.

“Most greyhounds do not know how to sit, climb stairs, or play games only because they have not yet learned. With time they can learn all of these things. Likewise, they have not been exposed to general household items, hoovers, TVs and suchlike, they generally adapt quickly but will need time to adjust to these new experiences.”

[prokroustis]

What Did Ancient Greek Athletes Eat? The Diet of the Olympians



Although the Olympic Games in ancient Greece were much different from our own, ancient athletes accomplished many astonishing feats of sport in antiquity. But what diet fueled these ancient athletes and Olympians?

Well, early on in the history of the Olympic Games, which began in 776 BC, the diet of ancient Olympians was not much different from the diet of normal ancient Greeks.

The ancient Greek diet, somewhat surprisingly, was mostly vegetarian. The vast majority of Greeks, even those in the higher classes, did not eat red meat or even poultry on a daily basis.

Ancient Greek diet was mainly vegetarian
Many meals consisted of barley porridge, (as wheat was considered unhealthy and decadent), along with cheese, fresh vegetables, and seasonal fruits of some kind, with figs being the most popular fruit in antiquity.

In fact, the sweet little fruits were an essential part of the diet of Spartan athlete Charmis. Fascinatingly, records of Charmis’ diet provide us with the earliest details regarding what ancient athletes consumed in Greece.

Charmis of Sparta, the winner of the 200-meter race at the ancient Olympics in 668 BC, trained on a diet mainly composed of dried figs.

Lentils and beans were also an integral part of an athlete’s diet in ancient Greece, but they were controversial, as some claimed they had negative health effects.

Seafood and eggs were an important part of the ancient Greek diet as well, and likely served as good sources of protein for ancient Olympians.

Athletic trainers were integral in creating diet plans for ancient athletes

Athletic trainers, like today, were very important for the success of athletes in ancient Greece. In antiquity, there were two types of trainers — one who dealt with the general physical health of the athletes, like a sports doctor, and another who trained them in their particular sport.

These trainers often had a background in medicine. Herodicus of Megara, who is the first athletic trainer who is mentioned by name in ancient texts, taught medicine to Hippocrates, who is considered the father of that field.

When diet is mentioned in the writings of Hippocrates, the ancient Greek father of medicine makes it clear that his interest in the subject stems from his fascination, and the fascination of ancient Greek doctors generally, with the diets of athletes.

Around 600 BC, over 100 years after the first iteration of the Olympic Games, “anankophagia,” or a required diet for ancient athletes, came into effect.

The guidelines of these special diets were often varied and depended on the trainer who created them, and athletes were expected to follow their diet plans strictly.

Meat and the diet of ancient Olympians
At this time, the diets of ancient Olympians began to vary from the standard ancient Greek diet.

When they did eat meat, which was much more rarely than most contemporary Olympians do, ancient athletes ate different types of meat according to their own sport.

According to ancient sources, boxers ate bull meat, wrestlers pork, and runners goat.

Although ancient athletes’ consumption of animal-based proteins was less frequent than our own, it was certainly more often than the average ancient Greek.

As the history of the Olympics progressed, athletes turned toward meat more and more, until it became a standard part of the ancient Olympian’s diet.

The first ancient Greek athlete who subsisted on a nearly entirely meat-based diet was Dromeus of Stymphalus, who participated in the Olympics as a long distance runner in 480 BC, as mentioned by the ancient historian Pausanius.

Other sources claim that it was Eurymenes of Samos, a heavyweight boxer, who took up a meaty diet on the advice of his trainer, mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras.

Strangely, Pythagoras himself was a strict vegetarian.

Milo of Croton, one of the most successful Olympians in world history with seven Olympic gold medals in wrestling and 26 wins at the Panhellenic Games, was also a meat lover.

Due to his fame as not only as an incredibly talented athlete, but also as somewhat of a “character,” Milo’s dietary preferences were the subject of much interest.

According to ancient sources, Milo of Croton’s diet consisted of a whopping 20 pounds of bread, another 20 pounds of meat, and 18 pints of wine a day.

An ancient story about the athlete says that he once carried a bull around the stadium at Olympia, killed it with a single punch, and then ate it.

Sweets were not part of the diet of ancient athletes
In terms of hydration, athletes were allowed to drink water and wine, with certain stipulations. Cold water was completely forbidden, and wine was only permitted at specific times of day.

Ancient sweets, like honey cakes, were not recommended to ancient Greek athletes. Epictetus, an ancient Greek stoic philosopher, warned Olympians to steer clear of empty calories in confections and sweets, and to avoid overeating.

Philostratus, an ancient Greek sophist living in the Roman Empire during the second century AD, provides us with the only surviving book dedicated completely to ancient athletics.

Amazingly, rather than idolizing the athletes themselves, Philostratus criticized the Olympians of his day, who he believed had been made into divas by their coaches, who crafted elaborate diets with many stipulations and restrictive routines for them.

Like many thinkers throughout history, Philostratus considered past centuries to be the golden age of sports, when athletes were honest and had true talent with little fuss, while his contemporary Olympians were a bit weak and finicky.

You're my flavorite! Gruesome moment two-headed snake named Ben and Jerry eats two mice using both of its mouths at the same time

A video shows a two-head snaked consume a pair of mice for a meal
Each head grabs a mouse, both of which were already dead, and slowly chomps down
The snake is a result of bicephaly, which occurs from the incomplete splitting of an embryo

By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com

Published: 14:35 EDT, 28 July 2021 | Updated: 15:07 EDT, 28 July 2021

An incredible video captures the moment a two-headed snake called Ben and Jerry devours two mice in each of is fanged mouths.

Reptile enthusiast Brian Barczyk shared the clip to his Instagram account, which shows each of the heads slowly chomping down on a pair of dead mice.

The two-headed reptile is the result of a phenomenon known as bicephaly, which occurs from the incomplete splitting of an embryo.

This process also leads to conjoined twins in humans, although snakes and turtles are more commonly found with two heads and one body.

Ben and Jerry is a California Kingsnake and is one in 10,000 snakes that were born with two heads.

'99.9% of two headed animals never see their first birthday, but once they survive to adulthood, which Ben and Jerry are, they usually live a full life, Barczyk told DailyMail.com in an email.

'We expect them to live 20-25 years.'
An incredible video captures the feasting of two-headed snake named Ben and Jerry
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Reptile enthusiast Brian Barczyk shared the clip to his Instagram account, which shows each of the heads slowly chomping down on a pair of dead mice
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An incredible video captures the feasting of two-headed snake named Ben and Jerry. Reptile enthusiast Brian Barczyk shared the clip to his Instagram account, which shows each of the heads slowly chomping down on a pair of dead mice

The video shows each head separately consuming its own meal during the feeding event, but the snake has only one digestive system.

Barczyk, who has been collecting reptiles since 1989 and founded The Reptile Army, purchased the four and a half-year-old snake three years ago from a friend.

'A friend produced them. It is a freak of nature and totally unexpected. It took me 1 1/2 years of begging before he sold them to me,' he told DailyMail.com.

The video also shows the snake eating baby mice, which Barczyk says is because the two heads will overload their food intake if allowed.
The video shows each head separately consuming its own meal during the feeding event, but the snake has only one digestive system
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Ben and Jerry are a California Kingsnake and is one in 10,000 snakes that were born with two heads
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Pictured is a two-headed turtle
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Barczyk also works at the reptile zoo 'The Reptarium,' in Utica, Michigan, which is home to thousands of reptiles and one sloth. Left is 'Salt,' an albino alligator and right is a two-headed turtle

'We have about 10 one-of-a-kind animals including Ben and Jerry, also a two headed turtle, and several one-of-a-kind albino and other color mutations,' said Barczyk.

'We also have albino alligators and a rare all black alligator. Their names are Salt and Pepper.

While Ben and Jerry have spent their life in captivity, another two-head snake was found slithering in the wild lands of Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) shared images last October of the rare snake on its Facebook page, saying it was found slithering around a home.
While Ben and Jerry have spent their life in captivity, another two-head snake was found slithering in the wild lands of Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) shared images last October of the rare snake on its Facebook page, saying it was found slithering around a home
+7

'A rare two-headed southern black racer was recently found at a residence in Palm Harbor by Kay Rogers and family,' read the post.

'Both head's tongue flick and react to movement, but not always in the same way.

'Two-headed snakes are unlikely to survive in the wild as the two brains make different decisions.'

Officials say the snake will remain in captivity because it makes different decisions with having separate brains that inhibit its ability to feed or elude predators.

[BigGlen]

Texas tollway officials seek owner of roadside wedding dress

July 29 (UPI) -- Tollway officials in Texas said they are trying to find the owner of an unusual piece of debris rescued from the side of a highway -- a wedding dress.

The North Texas Tollway Authority said workers doing a cleanup project on the Dallas North Tollway in Frisco spotted a white box at the side of the road that contained the dress.



The tollway authority posted a photo of the white dress and train on Twitter in the hopes of finding the owner.

"This is not a Sally Field, Smokey and the Bandit deal, it didn't go flying out of a vehicle per se. It's boxed up. It's clearly somebody's memory somewhere along the way they lost track with it and we like to reunite them," spokesman Michael Rey told KTVT-TV.

Rey said documents inside the box indicate the dress was boxed more than 20 years ago, but the papers didn't provide many other clues pointing at the identity of the owner.

He said the authority will hold the dress for at least 90 days while officials try to find the owner.

[PennySerenade]

Landmarks across Canada will be lit up in blue and white to mark return of Blue Jays



TORONTO -- Landmarks across Canada, including Niagara Falls and the CN Tower, will be lit up in blue and white tonight to mark the return of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Jays are playing their first home game at the Rogers Centre in nearly two years on Friday night and cities across Canada are celebrating the homecoming.

In Niagara Falls, the team’s colours will adorn a number of popular tourism attractions, including the Canadian Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls.

“Niagara Falls Tourism and our destination’s experiences are thrilled to join Canada in celebrating the return of the Toronto Blue Jays,” Janice Thomson, president and CEO of Niagara Falls Tourism, said in a statement released on Thursday morning.

“The illumination of Niagara Falls in blue [and] white is a breathtaking welcome home for Canada’s beloved Blue Jays and a unique symbol of the united support the team has received from both nations these past two years.”

The Skylon Tower and Fallsview Casino will also be lit up in blue and white on Thursday night.

Blue Jays flags will be raised in Yellowknife, Regina, and Fredericton, and at Fairmont Banff Springs today.

In Toronto, the CN Tower and the Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips Square will be illuminated in the baseball club’s colours and at Rogers Place in Edmonton there will be an LED display in honour of the team.

Due to border restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Jays played most of their home games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo during the 2020 and 2021 season.

On Thursday, Mayor John Tory thanked the City of Buffalo for hosting the team.

“We are so fortunate to have a supportive nearby U.S. city such as Buffalo that enabled our Jays to continue playing baseball during these difficult times. You and the residents of Buffalo opened your doors, your arms, and your hearts to our Jays and we are grateful for that,” Tory wrote.

“Seeing our Blue Jays playing again when the MLB season returned in 2020 and again this year has helped bring a much-needed sense of normalcy to Toronto fans while we worked to fight COVID-19 and get people vaccinated to bring this pandemic to an end and get on with reopening.”

Woman shares what false teeth look like in nightclub as material reacts to light

A woman has shared the horrifying truth of what happens to false teeth in UV light, such as in nightclubs - and it's a shocker.

TikTok star Emma, 23, saw a video about a woman with false teeth and when she shined an ultraviolet light on her smile some of her teeth shone, and some didn't.

That's because the material used in false teeth reacts differently and they appear much darker than real ones, so the teeth that have been replaced will still leave a gap in your smile.

This means that in a nightclub if you've had a front tooth replaced when you smile at someone they will definitely be able to tell - as Emma demonstrates in this horrifying video.




Emma uploaded the video with the description: "I was so shook y'all I'm literally going to cry."

In the video, she said: "This can't be true, it can't be that bad. Either mine aren't that bad or all my friends are liars, so ok let's check."

Then, she shines a UV light on her teeth, and sure enough, there's a dark gap where her two front teeth are, making it appear as if they are missing from her smile.

She said: "Uhm I've lost my will to live completely. Oh my God!"

Uploaded on July 2, the video has been viewed over 10 million times, had over a million likes, and nearly six thousand comments of support.

[mrvictor]

New Yale Study Suggests That Mammals Might Dream About the World Before They Are Even Born



As a newborn mammal opens its eyes for the first time, it can already make visual sense of the world around it. But how does this happen before they have experienced sight?

A new Yale study suggests that, in a sense, mammals dream about the world they are about to experience before they are even born.

Writing in the latest issue of Science, a team led by Michael Crair, the William Ziegler III Professor of Neuroscience and professor of ophthalmology and visual science at Yale, describes waves of activity that emanate from the neonatal retina in mice before their eyes ever open.

This activity disappears soon after birth and is replaced by a more mature network of neural transmissions of visual stimuli to the brain, where information is further encoded and stored.

“At eye opening, mammals are capable of pretty sophisticated behavior,” said Crair, senior author of the study, who is also vice provost for research at Yale.” But how do the circuits form that allow us to perceive motion and navigate the world? It turns out we are born capable of many of these behaviors, at least in rudimentary form.”

In the study, Crair’s team, led by Yale graduate students Xinxin Ge and Kathy Zhang, explored the origins of these waves of activity. Imaging the brains of mice soon after birth but before their eyes opened, the Yale team found that these retinal waves flow in a pattern that mimics the activity that would occur if the animal were moving forward through the environment.

“This early dream-like activity makes evolutionary sense because it allows a mouse to anticipate what it will experience after opening its eyes, and be prepared to respond immediately to environmental threats,” Crair noted.

Going further, the Yale team also investigated the cells and circuits responsible for propagating the retinal waves that mimic forward motion in neonatal mice.

They found that blocking the function of starburst amacrine cells, which are cells in the retina that release neurotransmitters, prevents the waves from flowing in the direction that mimics forward motion. This in turn impairs the development of the mouse’s ability to respond to visual motion after birth.

Intriguingly, within the adult retina of the mouse these same cells play a crucial role in a more sophisticated motion detection circuit that allows them to respond to environmental cues.

Mice, of course, differ from humans in their ability to quickly navigate their environment soon after birth. However, human babies are also able to immediately detect objects and identify motion, such as a finger moving across their field of vision, suggesting that their visual system was also primed before birth.

“These brain circuits are self-organized at birth and some of the early teaching is already done,” Crair said. “It’s like dreaming about what you are going to see before you even open your eyes.”

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/yale-st ... fore-born/

[Zbignieww]

Rare bird thought to be extinct appears on Hawaiian volcano


A remarkable discovery on Wednesday is providing a morale boast and hope to the dozens of experts working to save kiwikiu from extinction: One bird, released into the Nakula Natural Area Reserve on the leeward slopes of Haleakalā, was found alive and well, after being thought dead for 605 days.

From beyond the grave, this believed-dead bird has made an appearance.

In a failed attempt to help the critically endangered kiwikiu, or Maui Parrotbill, seven of the gold-and-green birds were translocated to Maui’s Nakula Natural Area Reserve in October 2019. However, an epidemic of avian malaria transmitted by “non-native” mosquitos killed five of them. The remaining two were assumed dead — until this Wednesday, SFGate reported.

Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources researcher Zach Pezzillo was at the Haleakalā volcano-based reserve when his keen ear picked up a very specific bird song in the distance.

“I first heard what I thought might be a distant kiwikiu song,” Pezzillo said in a statement, according to SFGate. “It then sang about ten times across a gulch in some koa trees.”

The creature, which birders thought had perished in the bird epidemic or the years since, then began acquiring various items, all while continuing its ditty.

“It dropped down into some kolea trees where it spent the next twenty minutes calling and actively foraging through the berries, bark and leaves,” he said. Taking a closer look, Pezzillo was able to confirm that the bird was one of the two lost Maui Parrotbill’s thanks to a banded mark on its leg.

That the chirping fellow is still alive and kicking is a miracle, experts said.

“This bird has been exposed to disease, as the others were, and has somehow persevered,” said Dr. Hanna Moucne of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.

Its apparent survival offers hope for the survival of other similar species in the reserve’s specific environment.

“This is an amazing sign of hope for the species as we still may have time to save them…This is a hopeful sign that a population of kiwikiu and other native forest birds could survive in restored landscapes in the future, especially without mosquitoes and disease,” Moucne said.

https://nypost.com/2021/07/27/rare-bird ... n-volcano/

Woman convicted of swapping pebbles for gems in London heist



This undated photo issued by the Metropolitan Police shows Lulu Lakatos. A purported gem expert has been convicted of using sleight of hand to steal 4.2 million pounds ($5.7 million) worth of diamonds from a luxury jeweler in London’s tony Mayfair district. Lulu Lakatos, 60, was sentenced Wednesday July 28, 2021, to 5 1/2 years in prison after the trial at Southwark Crown Court in London. (Metropolitan Police via AP)



LONDON (AP) — A woman who secretly swapped seven pebbles for 4.2 million pounds ($5.7 million) worth of diamonds has been sent to prison for her role in the audacious heist at a luxury jewelry store in London’s tony Mayfair district.

Lulu Lakatos, 60, was sentenced Wednesday to 5 1/2 years in prison after a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London found her guilty of conspiracy to steal.

Lakatos was part of an international gang that fled to France after stealing the diamonds from Boodles on New Bond Street on March 10, 2016. The gems haven’t been recovered.

“This was an audacious theft, carried out in plain view of experienced and professional staff at a renowned jewelers,” Detective Sgt. William Man of London’s Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement. “The meticulous planning and execution of this theft reveals to me that those involved were highly skilled criminals.”

In the days leading up to the heist, the criminals held a series of meetings with Boodles staff on the pretense that they represented a wealthy Russian investor who was looking to purchase gems, police said.

Lakatos, who was born in Romania and lived in France, posed as a gem expert named “Anna” who then went to Boodles to value seven diamonds for the buyer.

After she inspected the gems, which included a 20-carat heart-shaped diamond valued at more than 2.2 million pounds, they were individually wrapped and placed in a locked bag that was supposed to be held in the jeweler’s vault until payment was received. But when Boodles’ own expert became suspicious the next day, the bag was X-rayed and the store discovered nothing but seven ordinary pebbles.

Lakatos had used a distraction to swap the bag containing the diamonds for an identical one containing the pebbles before it was locked in the vault, according to security camera video released by police.

After leaving the store, Lakatos handed the bag containing the diamonds to one of her female accomplices, before ditching the long coat, hat and scarf she wore as a disguise and boarding a high-speed Eurostar train to France.

She was arrested on a European arrest warrant last September and returned to Britain to stand trial.

Two men who worked with Lakatos previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and were sentenced to 3 years and eight months in prison. Police are still investigating the involvement of two other women.

[goldie0608]

Suni Lee wins Olympic gold for U.S. in women's gymnastics all-around



An American finished atop the podium in the women's Olympic gymnastics all-around, just like always. Suni Lee became the fifth straight American woman to claim the Olympic title on Thursday, edging Rebeca Andrade of Brazil in an entertaining and hotly contested final while defending champion Simone Biles cheered from the stands.

Lee's total of 57.433 points was just enough to top Andrade, who earned the first gymnastics all-around medal by a Latin American athlete but missed out on gold when she stepped out of bounds twice during her floor routine. Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova earned bronze two days after leading the Russian Olympic Committee, or ROC, to gold in the team final.

Lee and the Americans earned a silver in that event, one in which Biles withdrew after one rotation when she decided she was not mentally prepared to compete.

Biles opted to pull out of the all-around final, too, leading to the jarring sight of the gymnast considered the greatest of all-time watching the biggest meet in five years from the stands alongside teammates Grace McCallum, Jordan Chiles and MyKayla Skinner.

"The outpouring love & support I've received has made me realize I'm more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before," Biles tweeted.

The 24-year-old Biles' absence created an opportunity the 24 women who took the floor at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre probably didn't think possible when they landed in Tokyo earlier this month: a legitimate shot at the top of the podium. Biles had captured every major international competition since 2013 except the 2017 world championships, which came during the year she took off after her triumph in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.

Yet if Lee, Andrade and the rest of the contenders were nervous, it hardly showed. Andrade's near-perfect Cheng vault gave her an early lead, but Lee used her spectacular uneven bars set — the hardest one currently being done in competition — to pull closer.

Lee, an 18-year-old Hmong-American from Minnesota, gutted her way through a nervy beam routine. She nearly came off while executing a wolf turn — basically a seated spin — and basically needed to suction cup her toes to the 4-inch slab of wood to stay on. Her score of 13.833 moved her in front of Andrade heading into the floor exercise.

In a video posted to Twitter, members of Lee's family jumped for joy and cheered when she won the gold.

Going first, Lee opted for a routine with three tumbling passes instead of four, hoping better execution would override any potential tenths she gave up by not doing a fourth pass. Her 13.700 was steady, but it left an opening for Andrade.

The 21-year-old Brazilian, two years removed from a third surgery to repair a torn ACL in her knee, had the best floor score of the contenders during qualifying. Yet she bounded out of bounds with both feet at the end of her first tumbling pass. And her right foot stepped off the white mat and onto the surrounding blue carpet.

Needing a 13.802 to win, she received a 13.666 instead, extending the U.S. dominance in one of the marquee events at the Olympics. The Americans have won each of the Olympic finals since Carly Patterson triumphed at the 2004 Athens Games.

Biles was heavily favored to extend that streak before opting out. Lee, who dealt with ankle injuries so painful she was limping at times during the U.S. championships last month, stepped into the void. She actually beat Biles during the second night of the Olympic Trials at the end of June.

A month later, she found herself standing atop the podium as one of the new faces of a sport that is becoming increasingly diverse in the U.S. She is the third straight woman of color to grab Olympic gold for the Americans, joining Biles in 2016 and Gabby Douglas in 2012.

Jade Carey, who replaced Biles in the finals for the U.S. team, finished ninth.

[lush]

Fireballs Burn Through the Sky in Texas and Norway
July 28, 2021 *

• It’s the End Times! The End of Days is upon us!

Fire raining from the skies is a pretty good indicator that the Judgement Day is coming. And if the recent events around the globe are anything to go by, the end of times might just be at hand.

Both Texas and Norway recently got their fair share of ominous signs of Doomsday. On the same day, July 25, blazing fireballs split the night sky in both locations, roughly on the opposite sides of the globe.

We couldn’t find out whether there’s anything connecting these two events. There has also not been an official confirmation of what the fire-y object were.

Logically speaking, it’d seem likely that both fireballs were meteors from the same cluster. But for the lack of official confirmation, we’re saying that this is a sign that the world is about to end.


This is what we imagine Norway must look like.

‘Bright Glowing Orange Circle’

The Texas fireball appeared in the sky a bit after 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 25. The object appeared as a bright ball with tail of green flames streaking behind it.

Soon after, reports started flooding in to the American Meteor Society (AMS). The AMS has received more than 150 reports so far.

The phenomenon wasn’t visible only in Texas, either. The society has received word that people across the South, from Louisiana to Oklahoma and Arkansas spotted the fireball.

The reports ranged from a “huge burning object” to a “potential UFO.” One of the people who saw the fireball was Bremond, Texas, resident who submitted their reported under the name Val G.

“It was a bright glowing orange circle that was on its way down, like falling like an orange full moon,” Val G. said.

“I was driving down a dark country road with pastures and trees and I didn’t see it go all the way down in its arc because of trees in the way of my line of sight. I have seen shooting stars and this object moved slower and did not break up, it was a full orange circle.”

In addition to the visible ball of light, some reported hearing a loud boom as the object hurtled towards the ground. Vehicles from Rockwall Emergency also responded to unconfirmed reports that the fireball had crashed somewhere in the vicinity of the Texas road FM 551.

We Have Statistics

Although we still have no official confirmation of what the fireball was, experts have had some time to study the phenomenon. NASA, together with the AMS, have released some facts and numbers about the meteor.

According to them, it traveled through the atmosphere at a speed of more than 52,000 miles per hour. The fireball occurred at the height of 53 miles above ground and lasted for about four seconds, before extinguishing at the height of 34.5 miles.

The experts say that the meteor was not a part of Perseids Meteor Shower that was occurring around the same time. The Texas meteor was traveling in the wrong direction and its speed was too slow – relatively speaking.

This slow speed, NASA says, suggests that the meteor could’ve been a small piece of an asteroid. The object finally fragmented 27 miles above the ground east of Avery, Texas.

As the fireball was at least as bright as a quarter moon, NASA was able to make a guesstimate about its size. They say that it was likely larger than six inches in diameter and weighed around 10 pounds.

Meanwhile, in Norway…

The Norwegian fireball, on the other hand, occurred around 1 a.m. local time. That translates to 6 a.m. Texas time, so Norway got to enjoy the show first.

On top of Norway, this meteor was visible in much of southern Scandinavia. Just like in Texas, local residents reported seeing a blazing fireball with a tail appearing in the sky for a few seconds, accompanies by a loud roaring sound.

The Norwegian Meteor Network estimates that this meteor traveled at around 36,000 miles per hour – significantly slower than its Texan counterpart. It was likely heavier, though, with an estimated weight of at least about 20 pounds.

The meteor is suspected to have landed in a forested called Finnemarka, some 37 miles west of the capital city of Oslo. Lucky shot there – it could’ve been bad if the meteor landed in the city.

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
FRIDAY JULY 30
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -5)
2:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
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No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

California restaurant hires robot to offset worker shortage

A California restaurant struggling with a worker shortage is employing a food delivery robot to help pick up the slack.

The Sugar Mediterranean Bistro in Stockton unveiled the newest member of its staff, a food-carrying robot, in a Facebook video.

"Look at our new team member," the post said.

General Manager Ana Ortiz said the restaurant purchased the robot to ease the burden on staff amid a worker shortage.

"It is a lifesaver. You know, it helps us bring out all of the food," Ortiz told KOVR-TV. "The table that is closest to the patio, I press 'go' and it will take it right out."

She said the robot helps carry food, but customers still get face-to-face interactions with their servers.

"No, we don't want to give that up. We love to see our people. We love to see their faces. We love to see them happy and after a while, they become family to us," Ortiz said.

Ortiz said the eatery is still looking to fill the vacant server and bartender positions.

"This thing by no means replaces an employee. By no means is it taking somebody's job away, because we still want to hire people. We still want people to come in and work with us," Ortiz told KCRA-TV.


The restaurant is currently taking name suggestions for the robot from customers.

[ozswede]

Woman unaware she had $39M lottery ticket in purse for weeks

Lottery officials say a woman in Germany carried a winning ticket in her purse for weeks without realising it was worth about 33 million euros ($39 million).



Lotto Bayern said that the 45-year-old woman was the sole winner of a draw on June 9, having correctly guessed seven fields on a German lottery ticket.

It quoted the woman, who wasn’t named, saying “I still get dizzy at the thought that I carelessly carried almost 33 million euros around in my purse for several weeks.”

The mother of one had picked random numbers on the 1.20-euro lottery ticket and doesn’t plan to play again, saying the win was “more than enough for my husband, my daughter and me,” the company quoted her as saying.

It said she plans to use her lucky windfall to live a healthy life and do more for the environment.

Source