COVID Emergency Policies Keep ICE From Detaining Migrants?! REALLY?!

An unfortunate fox that lodged its head in a sink drain has been successfully rescued in the UK. South Essex Wildlife Hospital in the southeast of England responded to a call last week regarding a curious cub that had become stuck in an unusual place.Tom Linsel, a Slovakia-born veterinarian who works at the South Essex Wildlife Hospital, arrived on the scene and found the poor fox had been trapped there for several hours. It had also cut its paws while struggling to free itself. With “a little wiggling and patience,” the rescue centre wrote on Facebook, the fox was set free. The animal was rushed back to the hospital where its paw was treated before receiving a course of medication to help ease the swelling. “The cub is fine and has since been released back to its den in the garden it was found," a spokesperson for the South Essex Wildlife Hospital told IFLScience. Working hard to free the young fox.Image courtesy of South Essex Wildlife HospitalIf you wish to help support the work of South Essex Wildlife Hospital, consider giving them a donation at https://southessexwildlife.org/donate.Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are common in the UK, as well as large swathes of the Northern Hemisphere including North America, Asia, and Europe, as well as parts of North Africa. They have also been introduced to Australia, where they are considered a major damaging invasive species.Intelligent and adaptable, the species are happy to live in an array of habitats, from rural countryside to bustling cities. Urban living has it advantages, like plenty of food to scavenge and lots of places to shelter, although it does come with challenges – such as getting heads stuck in drains. Interestingly, foxes that live in urban environments have adapted to become more similar to pet dogs as they adapt to the pressures of city life. Compared to country bumpkins, urban foxes have significantly longer, thinner snouts and smaller craniums. Scientists think this might be a sign of "domestication syndrome," a collection of traits that arise during domestication, including smaller brains, coat color changes, reductions in tooth size, and changes in craniofacial shape. In short, urban foxes are becoming more domesticated just like a pet dog.

In 2018, the world got very excited about an unusual star. KIC 8462852, better known as Boyajian's star or just the "alien megastructure" star, it was found to be dimming in an unusual way. As a planet orbits a star, it blocks out a certain amount of light and causes it to dim from our perspective on Earth. When we looked at Boyajian's star, however, we found that it was dipping by variable amounts. This led to wild speculation that we could have found a "Dyson sphere" – a theoretical megastructure built by an advanced extraterrestrial civilization around a star to harness its energy. Of course, the explanation turned out to be dust. But that hasn't stopped the search for supposed advanced alien civilizations (Type II on the Kardashev scale) that may wish to construct such megastructures. Two teams have recently come out with papers on their searches for potential Dyson Spheres, finding potential candidates worthy of closer inspection.                Looking at the light emitted from stars, we can tell all sorts about their composition, age, and type. When looking for Dyson Spheres, astronomers are looking for two things; variable luminosity as the structure passes in front of the star from our perspective, and an excess of infrared light caused by heat waste that could be emitted by a megastructure.The problem, as noted by both studies, is that excess infrared can be a sign of circumstellar dust, protoplanetary disks, or debris disks. In short, you would expect excess infrared from younger stars, but this diminishes as the star ages and the matter coalesces into planets and asteroid belts. Excess infrared radiation has been detected in older stars, aged between 10 and 200 million years – 16 to be precise – while one case has been found in a star over 1 billion years old. These are thought to be cases of Extreme Debris Disks (EDD), potentially caused by collisions between rocky planets. However, there are still unanswered questions about how this could happen."The stellar ages of these candidates are in tension with the current models of rocky planet formation which predict that most collision events (leading to such disks) should occur within the first 100 Myr," one team writes in a not-yet peer-reviewed paper posted to pre-print server arXiv. "Therefore, these objects might indicate that these processes last longer than thought or that other processes lead to such disks."The good news is that searching for extreme excesses of infrared light can help us to learn more about these unusual and rare systems and potentially locate candidates for Dyson Spheres at the same time, making it a double win.Using machine learning to search through data on nearly 4.9 million stars and identify cases where infrared emissions are much higher than expected, the first team found 53 potential candidates. These include stars thought to be younger, but also more mature stars, making them better candidates for potential alien megastructures. Precise aging and further observation of these stars is necessary to draw more conclusions, and of course, the explanation is likely to be down to non-alien explanations. A second paper accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society focused on searching for partial Dyson Spheres – megastructures that do not entirely surround the star – and looked at a catalog of around 320,000 stars and identified "seven sources displaying mid-infrared flux excess of uncertain origin". Interestingly, these candidates appear to be M-dwarf stars in their main sequence, or stars smaller in mass than our Sun which are in the main stable period of their lifespan. This is surprising."M-dwarf debris disks are very rare objects, and up to date, only a reduced number has been confirmed," the team explains, adding that proposed explanations for this lack of debris discs include detection and age biases, or different processes taking place around these smaller stars."However, the temperature and the fractional infrared luminosity [...] of our candidates are different from those of typical debris disks, which tend to be cold (10 - 100 K) and to have low fractional luminosities [...] These high fractional luminosities [...] is a feature more compatible with young disks compared to those of ordinary debris disks [...], but the lack of variability seems to be inconsistent with the young-star scenario," the team writes, adding that there are several natural explanations for excess infrared, though none of them clearly explain what is going on with these candidates, given that they are M-dwarfs."Are our candidates’ strange young stars whose flux does not vary with time? Are these stars M-dwarf debris disks with an extreme fractional luminosity? Or something completely different?"It is worth noting that these stars have been speculated to be both good and bad candidates for hosting life. Many rocky planets have been found around them, but the light hitting them is longer in wavelength, potentially making them poor candidates for photosynthetic life.This team stresses that though these candidates appear to be consistent with partial Dyson Spheres, it is extremely premature to assume that this is the cause, and further observations are needed. We have found plenty of weird objects that defy our expectations, and precisely zero aliens. Expect this pattern to continue, until hopefully, one day, it doesn't.The first study is posted to pre-print server arXiv, while the second is accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

According to a significant new report, NASA remains unable to fully explain the mysterious sightings observed in the sky. A panel convened by the space agency to investigate Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) emphasized the necessity for additional and enhanced data to comprehend these occurrences. Recent accounts from various sources, notably military pilots, have detailed sightings of unidentifiable objects across the United States. While certain sightings have been attributed to known natural or human-made causes, others persist in confounding explanation. Bill Nelson, NASA’s chief administrator, acknowledged the challenge posed by the lack of comprehensive information, making it exceedingly arduous to elucidate these remaining anomalies. “There is a global fascination with UAPs,” Mr Nelson said during a panel discussion following the publication of the report. “Much of that fascination is due to the unknown nature of it. “Think about it: most UAP sightings result in very limited data. That makes it even more difficult to draw scientific conclusions about the nature of UAP.” To better understand where those still mysterious phenomena are coming from, the space agency’s panel urged it to come up with “a rigorous, evidence-based, data-driven scientific framework” to better examine and understand them. Some of that can be done by Nasa, it said, and the space agency should play a “prominent role”. But the research must be done across the US government. Nicola Fox, the associate administrator of Nasa’s Science Mission Directorate, says begins the report by saying that UAPs are “one of our planet’s greatest mysteries”. “Observations of objects in our skies that cannot be identified as balloons, aircraft, or natural known phenomena have been spotted worldwide, yet there are limited high-quality observations,” she writes. “The nature of science is to explore the unknown, and data is the language scientists use to discover our universe’s secrets. “Despite numerous accounts and visuals, the absence of consistent, detailed, and curated observations means we do not presently have the body of data needed to make definitive, scientific conclusions about UAP.” The post NASA says mysterious UAP sightings cannot yet be fully explained appeared first on Anomalien.com.

There is a time and place to be critical of a political leader if you are a news organization. However, the time to be critical of such a person is most definitely NOT just hours after an assassination attempt in which such a person lies in a hospital in critical condition from multiple bullet wounds. And yet the BBC, with the soul of a ghoul, went ahead on Wednesday and did just that hours after the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico was shot multiple times. BBC Prague correspondent Rob Cameron somehow thought the very day of Fico being the gravely wounded victim of an assassination attempt would be a good time to write up this hit piece, "How Robert Fico rose to dominate Slovak politics." First came the smear in Cameron's story followed by a medical description of the one he just smeared just a sentence earlier. Robert Fico's ability to reinvent himself has kept him at the top of Slovakia’s politics despite repeated scandals. Now surgeons are battling to save his life after an assassination attempt that followed a government meeting in a small town. Class act, Rob. And true to form, Cameron reverted immediately to smear mode the very sentence after revealing his life threatening situation in the hospital. His most recent fall from grace was in 2018, when mass protests forced his resignation in the wake of the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée. What followed in the rest of the article was a cascade of slams directed at Fico fighting for his life in the hospital: During the six months he has been in office this time, he and his coalition allies have taken a sledgehammer to Slovakia’s institutions. Reform of the criminal justice system included abolition of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, set up 20 years ago to investigation serious crime and corruption. ...The national broadcaster – RTVS – is to be shut down in June and replaced with a new body with a new director. Mr Fico says RTVS cannot be objective as it is in permanent conflict with his government, and this ‘unsustainable’ situation can only be rectified by replacing it. Observers – including the opposition, the European Commission and the European Broadcasting Union – have warned the move would be a blow to media freedom in Slovakia. "Public broadcasters" don't object when European governments dismantle "far-right public media," as NPR lauded Poland for well, "taking a sledgehammer" to the critical public broadcaster there.  ...However if 59-year-old political veteran Mr Fico pulls through, he will likely draw new strength from this attempt on his life. Amid the calls for calm and an end to the hateful rhetoric, his closest political allies are already laying the blame squarely on the liberal opposition and the media. One coalition ally – deputy prime minister Andrej Danko – said the country was heading for "political war". The political temperature has certainly risen in Slovakia since he formed what is his fourth administration in October. Okay, BBC, we get that you have a great deal of antipathy towards Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who doesn't want to aid Ukraine. But on the very day of an assassination attempt upon him which left him critically wounded in a hospital, is it too much to expect you to give your hate a rest?

Click to Skip Ahead What Is in Mustard? Can Cats Eat Mustard? Do Cats Like Mustard? What Should I Do If My Cat Eats Mustard? Cats aren’t shy about sneaking a bite of unattended food, and whether it’s a hot dog, burger, or turkey sandwich, there’s a good chance they had a bit of mustard in the mix. Mustard is too common a condiment for a cat to miss if they frequently partake in human fare. But while it’s likely not an issue if they grab the occasional tiny taste, mustard is not an ingredient cats should eat. What’s the problem with mustard, and what happens when your cat takes an accidental bite? Find out as we explore if cats can eat mustard and the issues of overindulgence. What Is in Mustard? Distilled vinegar and mustard seed are the primary components of most types of mustard. Additional ingredients include salt and various spices, such as: Paprika Turmeric Garlic powder Onion powder Some of these can be toxic to cats, and therefore mustard should not be fed to cats. Many varieties may also incorporate flavor enhancers like sugar, honey, citric acid, and tartaric acid. Dijon mustard adds white wine to replace some of the vinegar content, giving it a unique taste. The essential difference between any mustard style is the type of mustard seed they use. Spicy brown mustard, for instance, uses more pungent and hotter brown mustard seeds for added kick. Image Credit: fuji01, Pixabay Can Cats Eat Mustard? Even putting the toxic ingredients aside, the condiment can cause mild to severe gastroenteritis. The inflammation of the stomach and intestines isn’t uncommon with new foods, and mustard is far from a cat’s typical diet. You may notice some irritation even if your cat hasn’t eaten much. Signs of gastrointestinal upset from eating mustard may include: Vomiting and diarrhea Tenderness around the stomach Decreased activity Reduced appetite Monitoring your pet for a few hours after they accidentally ingest mustard is vital in ensuring they don’t have a life-threatening reaction. Contact your vet if your cat exhibits signs of severe pain or food poisoning. Do Cats Like Mustard? Fortunately, a cat vegging out on mustard-covered foods isn’t terribly likely. Mustard’s spiciness and flavor aren’t particularly appealing to obligate carnivores looking primarily for meat. The powerful aroma advertises its heat, so your cat may not even dare to try mustard when given the chance. Image Credit: Pexels, Pixabay What Should I Do If My Cat Eats Mustard? Monitor your cat for behavioral changes or GI upset for several hours after eating mustard. When your cat vomits or has soft stools or diarrhea, keep fresh water available and encourage them to drink to avoid dehydration. If they don’t show improvement after a few hours, follow up with your vet.   Final Thoughts Mustard is far from the worst thing your cat could ingest, and at the same time, it’s not healthy, can cause gastrointestinal issues, and may contain toxic ingredients. Don’t sweat your cat eating a small amount of it, but don’t encourage its consumption. Your cat won’t appreciate the flavor, nor will you enjoy the potential mess and vet visit that follows, making it well worth your time to keep your cat away from the mustard in general. Sources Every Cat PetMD Featured Image Credit: Aleks shutter, Shutterstock The post Can Cats Eat Mustard? Vet-Reviewed Health Risks & Safety Guide appeared first on Pet Keen.

Act fast if you want to save big with this Corsair K70 RGB Pro gaming keyboard deal. As Corsair's top-tier full-size gaming keyboard, it packs in masses of features making for an ultra-fast and responsive typing tool that's currently 40% cheaper than usual. While it's the TKL version of Corsair's K70 that sits on our best gaming keyboard list, the full-size version is just as desirable, and ideal for anyone who needs a versatile typing/data-entry tool as well as a gaming interface. Continue reading Save $70 in this amazing Corsair K70 RGB Pro gaming keyboard deal MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Corsair HS80 Max headset review, Corsair M75 Air mouse review, Best gaming keyboard

A prehistoric monument formed by two horseshoe-shaped enclosures, one of them with an opening at the bottom, interlocked with a central circular enclosure has been discovered in Marliens, 12 miles east of Dijon. The horseshoe-and-circle design, which seen from above looks like a bow tie with one loop unfastened, is unprecedented on the archaeological record. Radiocarbon dating results have not come in yet, but only cut flint objects were found in the ditches, which suggests the monument dates to the Neolithic period (ca. 7,000-2,000 B.C.). Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) excavated 15 acres of the site to salvage any archaeological material before the extension of a nearby gravel pit. They found the monument with a layer of gravel in the two side enclosures that indicates there was a palisade originally, now gone. The stratigraphy of the site points to the three enclosures having been built at the same time. Artifacts found just under the topsoil date to the Bell Beaker period (Early Bronze Age, ca. 2800–1800 B.C.). Among them are a bundle of seven flint arrowheads, two archer’s wrist braces, a flint lighter and a copper alloy dagger. Iron oxide residue from fire lighting was found on one of the braces. This is the full gear of an archer, and such kits are typically found in graves, but in this case no surviving evidence of a burial has been found. Several pits from the Early Bronze Age are the only remaining elements of a settlement from the period. Thick clay layers at the bottom suggest the pits may have been wells, and analysis of pollen, seeds, fruits and other plant materials preserved in the clay may answer questions about the landscape and human usage of the site. The next stage of occupation dates to the Middle Bronze Age, between 1500 and 1300 B.C. It is a necropolis consisting of five circular enclosures, four open and one closed, covering an area of ​​1.5 acres. No inhumed remains survived the high acidity of the soil, but a smattering of cremation burial and pyre remains were found in the largest of the open enclosures. Five copper alloy pins and a necklaces of 40 amber beads were found in the ditch of this enclosure. Ceramic fragments found in the other four enclosures confirm the date range. The last evidence of occupation is a second necropolis dating to the Early Iron Age. It is small with only six cremation urn burials found thus far. The urns each contained a single bone deposit, and some also held funerary offerings of jewelry.

According to a report by The Hill, President Joe Biden is planning to send off an additional $1 billion of weapons to Israel.  His regime will do as he is simultaneously holding up heavy bombs over…

On May 13, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set off a series of controlled explosions to help free the Dali, better known as the ship that plowed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26. What most…