Democrats in the Senate just voted to block a bill which would pay both military personnel and federal workers during Chuck Schumer’s shutdown. Here’s the news: ? BREAKING: Every single Senate Democrat . . .

In a video posted yesterday, Candace Owens actually blamed both Israel and Trump for killing Charlie Kirk. Totally not kidding here. Just watch: I don’t know what to say about this level . . .

In the mid-1990s, a line of pellet-filled plush toys ignited one of the oddest speculative booms of the early internet. Beanie Babies, introduced by Ty Inc. in

One of my favorite sayings is from the poet and author Dr. Maya Angelou: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." I like it because it applies to people of all walks of life and from relationships to politics. It's evergreen.

“Semi-fascist.” That was how Joe Biden described “some Republicans” ahead of his stemwinder on how the GOP was corrupting the nation’s “soul.” Kamala Harris dropped the “semi” when accusing Donald Trump of harboring affinities for national socialism, a charge that the experts said fits within the ideology’s modern “looser definition.” Indeed, the GOP’s latent Naziism is overdetermined. It’s evident in their malign misuse of “redistricting and gerrymandering,” political instruments Democrats scrupulously abjure, to the “body language” and “hand gestures” that are rendered suspect by virtue of Republicans’ use of them.

People often pay to go on whale watching tours in hopes of mayyyyybe catching a single glimpse of a tail splashing the water—if they’re lucky. Sometimes, even that's enough excitement. Just the smallest glimpse of one of the world's largest species. There's something powerful about feeling that small and insignificant.On August 13, 2022 however, folks in New York City got the whale watching cruise of a lifetime as they were able to witness not one, not two, but NINE whales swimming in the harbor. An incredibly rare sight, at the time.While onboard a tour with American Princess Cruises, Celia Ackerman, who works as a naturalist for the company, captured multiple breathtaking photos of the creatures with a view of New York’s skyline as the backdrop.Here’s just one of the beauties: Gorgeous all images taken by Cecilia Ackerman, used with permission from Gotham Whales Ackerman is also a research associate for Gotham Whale, a marine mammal research, education and advocacy organization. Gotham Whale tweeted the images not only to let others join in on nature’s spectacle, but also to raise awareness and avoid potential collisions.“Amazing day to say the least,” Gotham Whale’s caption read.This once-in-a-lifetime sighting might be less of a miracle and more a result of concerted efforts to clean New York’s waters. Back in 2019, the New York Post cited a study that showed New York’s harbors were the purest they’ve been in nearly 110 years, not since “Albert Einstein had just published his theory of relativity,” according to the Post article. This was largely due to the Clean Water Act of 1972, in addition to volunteer environmental groups, according to the article.Cleaner water means more fish, and more fish means a whale buffet. Not to mention some amazing photos: Breach incoming! Celia Ackerman “Something else to make your heart happy!” someone commented alongside a blue whale emoji.Humpback whales, in particular, are an amazing conservation success story. In the 1940s, when whaling oversight first began, humpbacks were nearly extinct. Now they're thriving. What's not to love about this photo? Celia Ackerman This is the stuff fairy tales are made of y'all.Whales used to pass through New York harbor on their way to more fertile feeding grounds, but the water cleanup efforts have motivated them to stick around and feed. That's how you get incredible sights like this. Over-whale-mingly cool. Celia Ackerman Hands down, most successful whale watching cruise ever. No question. One fish, two fish… Celia Ackerman These whales gave a water show and everything (see below): We're in the splash zone. Celia Ackerman There’s even a video of three breaching whales from the same day, shared by science and health reporter Aaron Tremper. — (@) “I would’ve been screaming. This is so magical!” wrote one person.Of course, the new-and-improved coastline (and all the fish that comes with it) is not only attracting whales. On August 8, 2022, two sharks were spotted off a beach in Queens, New York. And there were 15 shark sightings in one day the previous week, according to ABC7 New York. However, shark attacks are still quite rare.I know what you’re thinking—where are the dolphins?! Don’t worry, Ackerman found some of those, too.Like this Clymene dolphin below, whose most well-known party trick is spinning while jumping out of the water. He's auditioning for the "Flipper" reboot. Celia Ackerman These images come as a respite after the news that Freya, a walrus in Norway who captured hearts by sunbathing in various boats, was euthanized by authorities after being declared a “threat to human safety.” Her death was considered by many to be an avoidable act of cruelty, brought on by human negligence. However, the walrus named after a Norse goddess of love aptly still commands reverence by her followers, who have started a fundraiser to erect a statue in her honor.Since these photos surfaced in 2022, the whale population in New York has continued to grow. Now, it's so big that officials are growing worried over whale-ship collisions. The next step, after cleaning up the waters, may be to implement lower speed limits on passing vessels. One step at a time. But we're making progress. - YouTube www.youtube.com We don’t always do right by our animal friends. But when we do, it shows. New York’s impromptu whale party is literal living proof of that. Finally, some good news about growing traffic!This article first appeared three years ago. It has been updated.

Llama Llama Red Pajama first debuted 20 years ago, and tells the story of young Llama Llama who gets scared while waiting in his bed for his mother. He begins to scream until his mother, Mama Llama, retreats to comfort him. It’s a simple story that teaches children to feel safe when alone in their beds.But what takes this simple bedtime story to the next level is the bouncy way it is written, with a perfect, satisfying rhyming meter. It also helps that the main characters, Llama Llama Red Pajama and Mama Llama, have names that rhyme. A sample of the book:Llama llama red pajamaFeels alone without his mamaLlama llama red pajamaCalls down to his llama mamaMama says she'll be up soonLlama llama red pajamaWaiting waiting for his mamaLike many parents over the past few decades, North Carolina dad Austin Wade noticed that the story lent itself to a rap song, so he filmed himself reading the book over "Mask Off" by Future. The video is cute because dad is doing his best to spit tight bars, while his son, Carter, watches on in amazement. In just four days since being posted, it has received nearly 2 million views. @austinwade_ Kids rap album coming soon. Yes, I also do birthday parties. ? #dadsoftiktok #parentingtips #kids #dadtok #llama "We do a calm bedtime story during the evening and a fun story time during the day," Wade told Good Morning America. "We try not to get him too excited right before bed! He's still a little confused when dad raps to him, but we think he likes it!" The viral post received a lot of love from commenters."The way he didn’t miss one beat tells me this wasn’t his first performance," Julie wrote. "'That’s NOT how daddy does it' - that sweet baby, anytime someone else reads that book to them in 2/3 years," Tori added. “I’m telling my kids you are Eminem when I play this for them at bedtime," Laureness wrote in the comments.This isn’t the first time someone has gone viral for rapping Llama Llama Red Pajama; it’s been a popular part of The Cruz Show on Real 92.3 in Los Angeles. The host, J Cruz, has a son who loves the book, and that gave the DJ the idea to have some of hip-hop’s top rappers perform the song live on air.There have been plenty of notable rappers who have taken on the Llama Llama Challenge. Who do you think did it best?Glorilla @real923la #Glorilla takes over on REAL 923s #llamallamaredpajama challenge?? Ludacris @jrzradio #ludacris #llamallamaredpajama #power106 #fyp Chance the Rapper @thecruzshow #CHANCETHERAPPER TAKES ON @thecruzshow #LLAMALLAMAREDPAJAMA CHALLENGE ?? STARLINE OUT NOW? VISIT CHANCESTUFF.COM Rae Sremmurd @real923la #RaeSremmurd killed this #llamallamaredpajama challenge!! Ultimately, the great thing is seeing a father read to his child not once, but twice a day. In an era when fewer and fewer people read for entertainment, it’s great to see parents instilling the joy of reading in their children at a very young age. Studies show that kids who hear their parents read five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to. That huge difference can significantly impacts their vocabulary and reading development.