[BigGlen]

AUGUST 30 in HISTORY



August 30 is the 242nd day of the year (243rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 123 days remain until the end of the year.

Pre-1600
70 – Titus ends the siege of Jerusalem after destroying Herod's Temple.
1282 – Peter III of Aragon lands at Trapani to intervene in the War of the Sicilian Vespers.
1363 – The five-week Battle of Lake Poyang begins, in which the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders (Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang) meet to decide who will supplant the Yuan dynasty.
1464 – Pope Paul II succeeds Pope Pius II as the 211th pope.
1574 – Guru Ram Das becomes the Fourth Sikh Guru/Master.
1590 – Tokugawa Ieyasu enters Edo Castle. (Traditional Japanese date: August 1, 1590)
1594 – King James VI of Scotland holds a masque at the baptism of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle.

1601–1900
1721 – The Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia ends in the Treaty of Nystad.
1727 – Anne, eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain, is given the title Princess Royal.
1757 – Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf: Russian force under Field Marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin beats a smaller Prussian force commanded by Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt, during the Seven Years' War.
1791 – HMS Pandora sinks after having run aground on the outer Great Barrier Reef the previous day.
1799 – The entire Dutch fleet is captured by British forces under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral Sir Charles Mitchell during the War of the Second Coalition.
1800 – Gabriel Prosser postpones a planned slave rebellion in Richmond, Virginia, but is arrested before he can make it happen.
1813 – First Battle of Kulm: French forces are defeated by an Austrian-Prussian-Russian alliance.
1813 – Creek War: Fort Mims massacre: Creek "Red Sticks" kill over 500 settlers (including over 250 armed militia) in Fort Mims, north of Mobile, Alabama.
1835 – Australia: Melbourne, Victoria is founded.
1836 – The city of Houston is founded by Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Richmond: Confederates under Edmund Kirby Smith rout Union forces under General William "Bull" Nelson.
1873 – Austrian explorers Julius von Payer and Karl Weyprecht discover the archipelago of Franz Josef Land in the Arctic Sea.
1896 – Philippine Revolution: After Spanish victory in the Battle of San Juan del Monte, eight provinces in the Philippines are declared under martial law by the Spanish Governor-General Ramón Blanco y Erenas.

1901–present
1909 – Burgess Shale fossils are discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott.
1914 – World War I: Germans defeat the Russians in the Battle of Tannenberg.
1916 – Ernest Shackleton completes the rescue of all of his men stranded on Elephant Island in Antarctica.
1917 – Vietnamese prison guards led by Trịnh Văn Cấn mutiny at the Thái Nguyên penitentiary against local French authority.
1918 – Fanni Kaplan shoots and seriously injures Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, which along with the assassination of Bolshevik senior official Moisei Uritsky days earlier, prompts the decree for Red Terror.
1922 – Battle of Dumlupınar: The final battle in the Greco-Turkish War ("Turkish War of Independence").
1936 – The RMS Queen Mary wins the Blue Riband by setting the fastest transatlantic crossing.
1940 – The Second Vienna Award reassigns the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.
1941 – The Tighina Agreement, a treaty regarding administration issues of the Transnistria Governorate, is signed between Germany and Romania.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of Alam el Halfa begins.
1945 – The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong comes to an end.
1945 – The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur lands at Atsugi Air Force Base.
1945 – The Allied Control Council, governing Germany after World War II, comes into being.
1959 – South Vietnamese opposition figure Phan Quang Dan was elected to the National Assembly despite soldiers being bussed in to vote for President Ngo Dinh Diem's candidate.
1962 – Japan conducts a test of the NAMC YS-11, its first aircraft since World War II and its only successful commercial aircraft from before or after the war.
1963 – The Moscow–Washington hotline between the leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union goes into operation.
1967 – Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
1974 – A Belgrade–Dortmund express train derails at the main train station in Zagreb killing 153 passengers.
1974 – A powerful bomb explodes at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Marunouchi, Tokyo. Eight are killed, 378 are injured. Eight left-wing activists are arrested on May 19, 1975, by Japanese authorities.
1974 – The Third World Population Conference ends in Bucharest, Romania. At the end of the ceremony, the UN-Romanian Demographic Centre is inaugurated.
1981 – President Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar of Iran are assassinated in a bombing committed by the People's Mujahedin of Iran.
1983 – Aeroflot Flight 5463 crashes into Dolan Mountain while approaching Almaty International Airport in present-day Kazakhstan, killing all 90 people on board.
1984 – STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off on its maiden voyage.
1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Azerbaijan declares independence from Soviet Union.
1992 – The 11-day Ruby Ridge standoff ends with Randy Weaver surrendering to federal authorities.
1995 – Bosnian War: NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces.
1998 – Second Congo War: Armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and their Angolan and Zimbabwean allies recapture Matadi and the Inga dams in the western DRC from RCD and Rwandan troops.
2002 – Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4823 crashes on approach to Rio Branco International Airport, killing 23 of the 31 people on board.
2008 – A Conviasa Boeing 737 crashes into Illiniza Volcano in Ecuador, killing all three people on board.
2014 – Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane flees to South Africa as the army allegedly stages a coup.
2019 – A huge accident during the 2019 F2 Spa Feature Race caused young driver Anthoine Hubert to die after sustaining major injuries.
2021 – The last remaining American troops leave Afghanistan, ending U.S. involvement in the war.

[lush]

Goats climb on Alabama deputy's patrol car, eat paperwork
AUG. 29, 2022 / 1:46 PM*



Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A sheriff's deputy in Alabama captured photos and video when a pair of goats accosted his patrol vehicle and ate some of his paperwork.

The Madison County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that Deputy Casey Thrower returned to his patrol vehicle after delivering some legal documents and found two curious goats investigating the car.

One of the goats climbed into the vehicle through the open driver's side door and started eating some of Thrower's paperwork. The other goat climbed up on the hood of the car, the sheriff's office said.

"Deputy Thrower explained that due to the number of homes he visits daily, on occasions he leaves his vehicle door open because he's had to retreat from being attacked by canines in the past," the post said.

Thrower was eventually able to shoo the animals away.

[Fatima99]

Couple Now Gets Daily Visits From Wild Lorikeet Birds That Broke in a Year Ago



Georgina Brough and Christian Allen get daily visits from a group of wild lorikeets—birds that broke in a year ago and now want to hang out constantly.

The new feathered friends first visited the young couple in early 2021.

They flew in through their balcony door hoping to score some lunch at their apartment in Australia.

The birds lived in trees opposite their patio table and the couple often saw them eyeing ‘hopefully’ whenever they would eat lunch—especially grapes—outside.

After leaving their door open one summer morning, the birds saw their opportunity and broke in, which began their daily visits.

Georgina, who is a bartender, and Christian, who is a laborer, said the lorikeets will watch TV with them, sit on their laundry, hang out on their couches—and would probably explore the apartment all day if they were allowed.

“They are super friendly birds,” said Georgina. “We can touch them and hold them, so naturally we love them.”



The couple, who are both 21-years-old, described one downside of their visitors: They are ‘super loud’ and frequently wake up the couple, begging for more grapes.

However, close bonds have been formed with the birds, who are now a part of their daily lives. They would never want things to change.

“We have named a few and have started to recognize which ones are breeding pairs. They bring over their offspring too, which is amazing.

“We have one called Limpy (because he has one bad leg) who comes over with his ‘wife’ and baby.

”They all have different personalities and qualities that make them unique, so they are easy to recognize."

NYC woman falls through apartment’s bathroom floor into basement



A Bronx woman fell through the bathroom floor of her apartment and straight into the basement Sunday, neighbors told The Post.

The victim, who lives in a first-floor apartment with her husband and young child, plummeted after a section of concrete under the floor of her bathroom gave way at the six-story brick building at 1204 Shakespeare Ave. in Highbridge, neighbors said.

Her condition was not immediately available.

“She went through the bathroom floor to the basement,” stunned resident Raysa Mota, 37, said. “She fell into the basement! I heard the trucks come to help.”

The accident left a 2-foot by 4-foot hole in the bathroom floor, according to a city Department of Buildings vacate order Sunday.

City officials posted the building vacate order on the front of the structure.

https://nypost.com/2022/08/28/nyc-woman ... -basement/

[goldie0608]

Marine Pilot Set to Become First Native American Woman in Space: 'It Has Been a Long Journey'

Nicole Aunupu Mann said her International Space Station mission will help prepare for "sustained human presence on the moon"



NASA is set to send the first Native American woman to space when the next crew arrives at the International Space Station.

Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann is currently training for NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission, which is scheduled for liftoff on Oct. 3, according to Reuters and Mann's biography on NASA's website.

"It has been a long journey, but it's been so well worth it," Mann, 45, told Reuters about her career.

A member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Northern California, Mann added that her upcoming mission has brought excitement and interest about NASA's work to "an audience that we don't get an opportunity to reach out to very often."

"I feel very proud," Mann said. "It's important that we celebrate our diversity and really communicate that specifically to the younger generation."

Mann's incoming status as the first Native American woman in space follows John Herrington, the first Native American man in space, who traveled to the ISS in 2002, according to Reuters.

The SpaceX Crew-5 mission is "the fifth rotational mission to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft," according to NASA. Beyond Mann, the mission will include NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina, according to CBS News.

Mann, who was born in California, earned a mechanical engineering degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1999 and a master's degree from Stanford University from Stanford University in 2001, according to NASA. She is a Colonel in the Marine Corps who worked as a test pilot for the F/A - 18 Hornet and Super Hornet aircraft and was deployed on aircraft carriers twice during American combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the space agency.

She joined NASA in June 2013.

Mann's mission to the ISS is set to follow NASA'a Artemis I test rocket launch, which was delayed Monday due to an issue with one of the rocket's four engines. While it's unclear whether the Artemis I launch's delay will affect Mann's mission launch schedule, she said that her crew on the ISS will be working to prepare for the future success Artemis I promises for space exploration.

"What we're doing in low earth orbit not only trains the astronauts but provides the technical development and operational concepts that we're going to need to live (with a) sustained human presence on the moon and eventually take us to Mars," Mann told Reuters.

Mann told Reuters she will bring a dreamcatcher, a well-known and handmade Native American protective charm, to the ISS with her among other personal items to keep her company in space.

"I think it's important that we communicate this to our community," Mann told Indian Country Today on August 10 about the upcoming mission. "So that other Native kids, if they thought maybe that this was not a possibility or to realize that some of those barriers that used to be there are really starting to get broken down."

[PennySerenade]

This Toronto street has been named one of the coolest in the world



A Toronto street has been named one of the coolest streets in the world.

Ossington Avenue placed 14th in Time Out's 33 coolest streets in the world list, released on Thursday.

The U.K.-based media company said the west end street is a go-to place in Toronto for "some of the city's best restaurants, live music nearly every night of the week, and the kind of nights out that call for leather jackets, not heels."



Time Out noted that the most noteworthy stretch on Ossington Avenue is between Dundas Street West and Queen Street West as it is where people "can parade the street and shop everything from carefully selected vintage to garms by rising Canadian designers."

The company recommended grabbing an ice-cream sandwich or cone from Bang Bang, drinking a pint at Sweaty Betty's "for a true dive bar experience," and buying grown-up friendship bracelets at Melanie Auld.

Time Out said the list, which debuted in 2021, was assembled based on the results of its annual survey of more than 20,000 global city residents.

"Its aim is to shine a spotlight on some of the most culturally-vibrant and dynamic microcosms of cities globally," the company said.

"In most of the world, pre-pandemic life has returned with a bang. With people excitedly making plans and going out in their own cities and on city breaks again, our list of the Coolest Streets in the World takes in the key thoroughfares, which clued-up locals—including our expert editors and contributors—recommend strolling down right now," Time Out travel editor James Manning added.

Toronto is one of the new cities included in this year's list, which did not feature a single Canadian city last year.

The other Canadian street on the list is Rue Wellington in Montreal, which has been named Time Out's coolest street in the world this year.

Gertrude Street in Melbourne, Australia, came in second, followed by Great Western Road in Glasgow, Scotland. The fourth coolest street is Yongkang Street in Taipei, Taiwan, while in fifth place is Værnedamsvej in Copenhagen, Denmark.

[Governor3]

One Man Dies, and an Entire Uncontacted Tribe Vanishes in Brazil
Known as the “Man of the Hole,” the last member of an Indigenous group was found dead this month, marking the first recorded disappearance of an isolated tribe in the country.

A still image from a video provided by the Brazilian government showing one of the huts built by the “Man of the Hole” in Rondônia State in 2018

RIO DE JANEIRO — When officials from Brazil’s Indigenous protection agency approached the hut in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, their fears were confirmed: They were witnessing the first recorded disappearance of an uncontacted tribe in the country’s history.

The man lying in the hammock, the last member of his tribe, had died, and with him an entire culture and answers to a thousand questions.

Even his name was a mystery. He was known only as “the Man of the Hole” because of the dozens of holes he had dug over the years in his territory. His age, too, could only be guessed at. He appeared to be about 60, officials said.

It was a sad milestone for a country that in recent years has seen protections for Indigenous groups weakened and undermined by an administration that has prioritized development of the Amazon over conservation.

Officials from Brazil’s Indigenous protection agency, Funai, found the man’s body on Aug. 23 during a patrol in the Tanaru Indigenous Territory, in the state of Rondônia, bordering Bolivia.

The death was most likely the result of natural causes, Funai said in a statement released on Saturday. The agency brought in criminal experts to examine the site and then sent the man’s body to the capital, Brasília, for an autopsy.

A Funai official who was not authorized to speak on the record said the agency would also run DNA tests and then return the body to the forest to be buried.

The man’s body was covered in feathers, according to Marcelo dos Santos, an Indigenous expert, who saw a photo of the remains.

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“Was he waiting for his death?” Mr. Santos said. “Who knows. There was never communication, not even with another ethnic group, to know more about him. So we can’t be sure of the reason.”

Uncontacted tribes are groups that live without sustained contact with the outside world.

While this is the first recorded disappearance of an uncontacted tribe, experts say others have most likely gone extinct without ever being documented.

Funai has reported evidence of at least 114 isolated groups in Brazil, but the existence of only 28 has been confirmed. As a result, the remaining 86 tribes do not benefit from any government protections. The agency is responsible for monitoring Indigenous activity and protecting the inhabited lands from development. However, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has championed industries driving the destruction of the Amazon, which has led to record levels of deforestation.

The Brazilian leader has both loosened regulations to expand logging, ranching and mining in the Amazon and scaled back protections for Indigenous groups and conservation lands. He has also slashed federal funds and staffing, weakening the agencies that enforce Indigenous and environmental laws.

“Many of these ethnic groups become extinct without even the state or society being aware of their extinction, which is very serious,” said Guilherme Martins, an Indigenous expert at Funai.

“So long as the Funai management does not officially confirm them, it will not protect their land, it will not establish a base, and it will not demarcate their land,” Mr. Martins said.

With the enforcement of protection policies, some Indigenous peoples manage to avoid extinction, though others are doomed. The Piripkura tribe, for example, is composed of only three members: an infertile woman and two men living isolated in their Indigenous territory of Mato Grosso State.

Some officials have warned that the agency has not been proactive enough in confirming the discovery of new isolated tribes by field agents, which would then allow the lands where they live to be granted protections.

In Rondônia, the only inhabitant of the 8,000-hectare area lived in complete isolation for at least 26 years after the rest of his group was killed by ranchers advancing the agricultural frontier.

Mr. Santos collected accounts from local residents who confirmed there were at least two attacks against the Indigenous group, one in which they received poisoned sugar (with no clear date), and another in the early 1990s, when the few remaining members, roughly six people, were nearly all gunned down.

“What happened to his people was a genocide,” Mr. Santos said. “It shows we are failing as a society.”

There are some accounts of contact between the man’s tribe and farmers who took over the land from the 1970s, but Funai made direct contact with the last surviving man only in 1996.

Mr. Santos, who led the Funai expedition that met the man, said he was found hiding in his hut.

“We traveled the region to find his house where he was taking refuge,” Mr. Santos said. “We tried to establish a conversation and offered corn and arrows, but he was terrified and very aggressive. From this moment on, we had to respect his isolation.”

One year later, Funai restricted access to the territory to prevent the incursion of loggers and ranchers. The protection decree remains active until 2025.

The Indigenous man would flee upon recognizing the presence of any agent patrolling the area and was known by Funai agents and the Brazilian news media as the Man of the Hole because he dug dozens of 10-foot holes in the land.

“The adornments and utensils he used were similar to those of Indigenous groups of the whole region,” Mr. Santos said. “The only thing that sets him apart is the existence of these holes.”

Some of the holes dug outside the huts contained sharp spearheads, which officials believe were meant for hunting; others inside the huts had scratches.

“This was perhaps an indication that they had a mystical meaning,” Mr. Santos said.

Even with protections in place, the territory suffered widespread deforestation up until about 13 years ago. Attacks on the last surviving man continued, as well, including one by armed gunmen in 2009, according to local news reports.

“As you are driving to the Tanaru territory where the man lived, what struck me was how completely denuded of trees it was, with massive cattle ranching areas,” said Fiona Watson, a research director at Survival International, a London-based rights organization.

Ms. Watson accompanied Funai agents on an expedition in 2005 to confirm that the man was still alive and to monitor the area for signs of illegal activity.

“For me, he was this symbol of resistance and resilience: to be able to survive on his own, not speak to anybody and avoid all contact maybe out of grief or determination,” Ms. Watson said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/29/worl ... razil.html
--------------
I do find this terribly sad, and that was even before it occurred to me that this guy's hut and holes will likely be featured on AirBnB tomorrow - Gov

A spill leaves crushed tomatoes on a California highway



Thousands of tomatoes were left covering the highway after a tomato truck crashed on California's Interstate 80 on Monday, leaving three people injured, according to officials.



The crash occurred in Vacaville, California, according to a tweet from the California Highway Patrol.

The tomato truck driver lost control and hit another car before crashing into the center median, according to CNN affiliate KOVR. A chain reaction of crashes occurred after another car became stuck in the spill. A total of four cars were involved, with one major injury and two minor injuries, says KOVR.
The California Department of Transportation, also known as Caltrans, responded to the crash to clean up the area, said California Highway Patrol. Several lanes were closed for hours as they worked to clear the tomatoes.

[lush]

California penguin gets second chance at life with prosthetic boots
Aug. 30, 2022 / 9:52 AM*


Lucas, a penguin at the San Diego Zoo, was given a second chance at life after he was fitted with a pair of prosthetic boots. Photo courtesy of San Diego Zoo

Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A penguin in California is getting a new lease on life thanks to a pair of prosthetic boots.

Lucas, an African penguin at the San Diego Zoo, was diagnosed with a degenerative foot condition called bumblefoot. This causes painful lesions on the feet and can lead to sepsis, infection and death if left untreated.

Zoo officials said Monday, though, that Lucas had recently been fitted with a pair of prosthetic "shoes" made of neoprene and rubber, which will allow him to walk better and minimize the pressure on his feet when he moves.

The boots were created by the zoo in partnership with animal prosthesis organization Thera-Paw, which makes artificial limbs for a variety of animals.

For Lucas, these boots have been a long time coming.

The four-year-old penguin initially developed a spinal infection as a young chick that left him without the inability to stand properly, according to zoo officials.

The medical team at the San Diego Zoo attempted therapy and acupuncture to try and relieve Lucas' pain, but these efforts were mostly unsuccessful.

As his condition began to worsen, the zoo reached out to Thera-Paw as a last-ditch resort to help their waddling friend.

"I've known Lucas for a long time, so having the ability to provide him with a chance to live a normal life brings a smile to my face," said San Diego Zoo senior veterinarian Dr. Beth Bickense. "The boots are cushioned and Velcroed in place, so they will help Lucas to fully participate in the colony and showcase behaviors that are more typical for a penguin -- such as climbing the rocks, swimming, nesting and finding a suitable mate."

Zoo officials told KFMB-TV the boots were created by having Lucas walk across sand, and then manufacturing a mold that would allow him to stand upright on his ankles.

Zoo officials observed that, following Lucas being fitted with the boots, his posture and gait improved, allowing him to maintain his balance better and move around his habitat more easily.


Zoo workers are seen observing Lucas as he walks. Photo courtesy of San Diego Zoo

"This was such an amazing opportunity, and we were honored to be asked to assist the team at the San Diego Zoo," said Ilaria Borghese, founder and president of Thera-Paw. "Over the years, we've tackled challenging cases like Lucas's, and each is special and memorable. One thing that never gets old is seeing an animal's life dramatically improve after using one of our aids. It inspires and drives us every day."

San Diego Zoo wildlife care specialist Debbie Denton said, "We were pleasantly surprised at the immediate change in Lucas after we fitted him with his new boots. Seeing him move about now gives us hope that he may be okay going forward, and able to live a full life."

"It warms my heart to know that we've been able to do something to make him more comfortable and to make him fit in with the colony a bit better," Denton added.

Lucas' new outlook means that he will have the chance to thrive into adulthood, a welcomed sign for a species that is hurting in the wild.

African penguins are listed as endangered on the IUCN's list of threatened species.

The San Diego Zoo noted that, while there were once an estimated one million breeding pairs of African penguins, that number has declined today to just 18,000.

The total population of the species has reportedly decreased by 23 percent in the last two years alone, mainly due to habitat loss, marine pollution, climate change and a lack of food.

[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
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31
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
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
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

[ozswede]

Emotional support alligator cools off at Philadelphia's Love Park

Bystanders had an up-close and personal encounter with an alligator in Philadelphia's Love Park.

But the reptile isn't a wild beast: It's the emotional support animal of a Philadelphia man who runs several social media accounts documenting his loving relationship with Wally the alligator.

Several visitors to the park, as well as Wally's owner, Joie Henney, posted images and videos of the affable alligator on a leash, greeting visitors and wandering through the water sprayed by the fountain.



Henney told reporters that he acquired Wally six years ago. A longtime reptile rescuer who has worked with alligators for 30 years, Henney was contacted by a friend working in Florida.

"There was an overabundance of gators in that area," Henney said.

In Florida, so-called "nuisance alligators" must be either euthanized or transferred into captivity, he explained.



Wally was removed from a lagoon in Florida, said Henney. His friend brought the baby gator, then just 20 inches long and a little over a year old, to Pennsylvania. Thus began a unique relationship between man and alligator.

"Wally has been quite different than any alligator I've ever dealt with in the past 30 years," said Henney. "He doesn't show anger. He doesn't show aggression. He hasn't since the day he was caught. We never could understand why. He's just loveable. He sleeps with me, steals my pillows, steals my blankets. He's just awesome."

Wally's easygoing personality led Henney to have the gator licensed as an emotional support animal, he said. The alligator has provided comfort for him as he has undergone radiation treatments for cancer.

Most people who see Wally are "really excited and happy to see him," said Henney.



Henney isn't concerned about the possibility of the alligator biting someone, he said. "Wally is the only gator I've ever been around that refuses to bite," he said. "It's mind-boggling -- just hard to believe."

Their visit to the Love Park came after the odd pair visited Philadelphia to film a news segment, accompanied by his close friend Mary Johnson and her children, said Henney. Johnson helps film content for Wally's TikTok and Instagram, and her family is "super special to me," Henney added.

"They just had a blast," said Henney. "People came as soon as they heard Wally was there to get a hug and get a photo with him."



Henney hopes that Wally's story can help encourage people to "be nice to other people." He's proud that Wally can help "put a smile on people's faces -- this world is rough enough."

(Henney claims that Wally "refuses to bite", which is excellent, but he does sound like an annoying bedfellow… )

[Fatima99]

Magic MushGROOM! Chocolate laced with hallucinogenics becomes latest wedding trend



Millennials have moved away from traditional alcoholic beverages and are opting for trippy substances to avoid crippling hangovers the following day.

The drug is often infused with chocolate bars or brownies and sold by a dealer as “edibles” and has hallucinogenic effects when eaten.

A 35-year-old mother of two told The Times newspaper that she has already been to three weddings this year where psychedelic chocolate had been served.

She said: “They’ve definitely become a thing at weddings, especially for people with kids because you don’t get a hangover.

“I think it’s a combination of no weddings for two years and the younger generation moving away from getting really p***** which can make people get quite angry.

“With this, everyone was having a great time.”

[goldie0608]

Alfredo sauce spill partially closes I-55 in Memphis



Northbound Interstate 55 near McLemore is closed Tuesday afternoon after a tractor-trailer wreck created a big mess.

The wreck was reported at 4:43 p.m.

TDOT video from the scene showed alfredo sauce spilled across the road.

Police and fire crews did not confirm what the truck was carrying, but a WREG reporter on the scene confirmed that the truck was carrying jars of Five Brothers alfredo sauce.

No injuries have been reported in the crash.

Authorities have not said how long it will take to clean up the spill.

Officer rescues skunk with head stuck in peanut butter jar



Authorities in the Canadian capital came to the rescue of a skunk spotted wandering in traffic with a peanut butter jar stuck over its head.

Ottawa Bylaw and Regulatory Services, the municipal government branch responsible for enforcing local bylaws including animal control services, said in a Twitter thread that an officer spotted the skunk wandering in a road with its head stuck in a jar.

The tweet said the officer "was able to carefully remove the container -- without getting sprayed."

The post said the skunk "ran away safely without issue."

[Governor3]

Tomatoes Spill Onto Interstate, Causing Crashes, Quips and Confusion
A crash involving a big-rig truck caused 150,000 tomatoes to scatter across Interstate 80 in Vacaville, Calif. Passing vehicles ground them into a slippery red pulp.

Sometimes in Solano County, Calif., where more than half the land is used for agriculture, residents can smell the earthy odor of tomatoes as big-rig trucks carry the product south to the Bay Area. Those trucks typically hold about 50,000 pounds of tomatoes in a hulking pile of red. A few are occasionally lost over the side thanks to sharp turns or bumps on the road.

But about 5 a.m. on Monday, more than 150,000 tomatoes were scattered across the heavily trafficked Interstate 80 in Vacaville, Calif., after a big rig that had been transporting them collided with a vehicle and swerved, striking another vehicle before driving into the center median, Officer Jason Tyhurst of the California Highway Patrol said.

Fist-size tomatoes covered eastbound lanes of the interstate across a distance of about 200 feet, creating a red mass that seemed to be about “two feet deep,” Officer Tyhurst said. He added that he was not being hyperbolic about the depth.

Soon, drivers on the interstate in the dark of early morning failed to detect the tomatoes and drove over them, essentially creating a gooey concoction of watery tomato juice, oil and dirt. Road conditions became dangerously slick.

“Those tomato skins, man,” Officer Tyhurst said. “Once they hit the asphalt, it’s like walking on ice.”

One car became stuck on the slippery roadway and then was struck by another vehicle, Officer Tyhurst said. The tomatoes quickly caused a chain reaction of crashes, he added: Another car struck the two vehicles, and then another was sideswiped by yet another swerving car.

Seven cars were involved in the crash. Three people, including the driver of the truck, had minor injuries, and a fourth was hospitalized with a broken leg, Officer Tyhurst said.

The California Highway Patrol closed nearly every lane on both sides of Interstate 80, causing traffic and delays for morning commuters who looked on as cleanup crews with the California Department of Transportation worked to clear the tomatoes.

“We don’t see that amount of tomatoes fall off a truck and close a highway,” said Vince Jacala, a spokesman for the department. “Like, usually it’s a couple here and there.”

When he saw photos of the tomato-splattered interstate, Mr. Jacala said he thought to himself, “Well, that’s going to close the highway for a while.”

Maintenance crews used a “scooper like a backhoe” to clear the roads and then tossed absorbent powder on the lanes. Mr. Jacala described the powder as “kitty litter but not as grainy.” Crews then used street sweepers, he added.

By about 3 p.m., the interstate was fully reopened, California Highway Patrol said.

The crash came during the state’s tomato season, a time when truck drivers load up on tomatoes in Solano County and use Interstate 80 to transport the fruit to the Bay Area and Sacramento, Mr. Jacala said. The state produces more than 90 percent of the country’s processed tomatoes, according to the California Tomato Growers Association.

“I’m just glad there wasn’t a fatality,” Officer Tyhurst said, “because that easily could have been a fatality.”

The episode drew culinary quips online: A local news outlet wrote that cars had tried to drive through “the sauce.” One person on Twitter noted that there was “salsa on Interstate 80.” And Andrew G. Haubner, a reporter for KOVR-TV, a CBS affiliate in Sacramento, asked on Twitter: “You tell your boss you’re late for work because of a tomato spill on the highway. Do they believe you?”

Officer Tyhurst said that the California Highway Patrol had dealt with tomato spills before in Solano County, but not on this scale. Usually, they’re on less-trafficked roads.

He was not sure whether other fruits or vegetables could cause such dangerous conditions.

But Mr. Jacala guessed that tomatoes posed a particular hazard because they are soft, squishy and slippery.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/29/us/tomato-truck-crash-california.html
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I came across this before I read Goldie's. You know...if the next poster could link a story of a truck that dumped a big shipment of meatballs on a highway we'd have the makings of a fine Italian feast - Gov