Here’s a look at some of my Halloween costumes through the years and a particular “ugly” sweater that I associate with Halloween. Bugs Bunny (1979) This was my costume for my first time trick or CONTINUE READING... The post Halloween Nostalgia: Costumes and One “Ugly” Sweater appeared first on The Retro Network.

Sometimes, life will take you places you don’t expect, but totally deserve. We can say the same for Harper when her life took a 180 degree turn – from being a neglected dog rescued by an animal shelter, to being a disaster search dog, and now to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Dog Of The Year. The ASPCA unveiled Harper as its 2024 Humane Awards Dog Of The Year recipient on September 18 along with this year’s other heroic winners. As this year’s Dog Of The Year award recipient, ASPCA shares what made Harper the cream of the crop. According to ASPCA, Harper is a Black Labrador mix and was one of the 22 dogs confiscated in a hoarding and neglect case years ago. He was initially placed with the Humane Society of the Black Hills in South Dakota before being accepted into the Search Dog Foundation (SDF)’s program on January 2020. ASPCA revealed that SDF is “an organization whose mission is to strengthen disaster response in America by rescuing and recruiting dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.“ They further revealed that SDF determined that among the 22 dogs rescued from neglect, Harper “showed great potential for becoming a disaster search dog.“ Harper then became a candidate in the pilot program to train to become a Human Remains Detection (HRD) canines for California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2). According to ASPCA, “CA-TF2 is the West Coast’s only internationally deployable task force comprised of physicians, HAZMAT specialists, rescue specialists and canine search specialists.“ And harper was one of the three HRD canines for the task force and she graduated with flying colors on May of 2021. After graduation, Harper was paired with firefighter Edward Ruiz of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. CA-TF2, including Harper and Ruiz, trained diligently until they achieved FEMA certification on July 2022. After Harper’s certification as a disaster search canine in 2022, she and Ruiz have been helping save lives and bringing closure to loved ones. ASPCA reveals that the pair have been deployed multiple times, including to Hurricane Ian in Florida in 2022 and more recently to the Lahaina fire in Hawaii. “Alongside nearly 40 other canine teams, they searched through ash and debris for those lost in the devastating wildfire that swept through the Lahaina community on Aug. 8, 2023,” ASPCA wrote. Hoomans saw the potential Harper had in her all those years ago and she has proved to them, time and time again, that she is a talented, dedicated, and hardworking dog capable of helping save lives. And for her countless contributions, the ASPCA honored her with an award only the goodest of girls and boys deserve – the ASPCA Dog Of The Year award. Matt Bershadker, President and CEO of the ASPCA said, “Our 2024 ASPCA Humane Award honorees are supporting vulnerable animals and elevating critical protections across the country, exemplifying the ASPCA’s vision of a compassionate nation where all animals are treated with respect and kindness.” “From working on the frontlines of disasters, to advocating on behalf of animals who are unable to do so for themselves, this year’s Humane Award recipients are heroes and we are grateful for their service,” he added. The 2024 Humane Awards by the ASPCA honors “both people and animal heroes from across the country who have gone above and beyond to bring attention to animal welfare and better the lives of those around them.” Harper, along with other honorees, will be formally celebrated for their outstanding contributions at a luncheon in New York City on Thursday, October 10.

State health officials are having to buy extra supplies of EpiPens and Benadryl as a result.

A new Netflix documentary set to premiere on October 30th will explore one of the most controversial alien abduction cases in modern history. The Manhattan Alien Abduction revisits the bizarre 1989 incident involving Linda Napolitano, a mother of two from Manhattan, who claimed to have been abducted from her apartment by extraterrestrial beings. On November 30, 1989, Napolitano reported an extraordinary encounter, alleging that a strange “grey biped” appeared in her bedroom in the middle of the night. Even more shocking, she claimed to have been lifted from her bed and levitated out of her apartment window by a blue beam of light. What makes this case particularly compelling are the accounts from multiple witnesses, including people who claimed they saw Napolitano floating outside her high-rise window that night. These witness testimonies have fueled intense debate over the years, with some considering it one of the most credible alien abduction stories ever documented. In the documentary, experts and investigators take a deeper dive into the case, interviewing key witnesses and reexamining the evidence. Was Napolitano really abducted by aliens, or could there be a more earthly explanation for the event? The post Netflix Explores One of History’s Most Bizarre Alien Abduction Case appeared first on Anomalien.com.

NASA is seriously considering growing structures on the Moon and Mars that could eventually be inhabited by people. The US space agency has awarded a $2 million contract to a team of experts from NASA’s Ames Research Center to develop “mycotecture” – the use of fungi-based materials for construction purposes. Such futuristic options are being considered by NASA because launching traditional building materials into space would be very expensive. Architect Chris Maurer, who is part of the research team and founder of redhouse, says the fungal spores could be mixed with lunar materials such as water and regolith to make bricks that would be much cheaper to produce. Preliminary studies have already shown that such mushroom building blocks could even reflect most cosmic radiation and protect people from extreme temperatures. What is especially attractive is that such building materials could be grown in just one or two months. Growing a house of mushrooms on the Moon will begin with sending and landing a special package on the Earth’s satellite. On the surface, it will begin to inflate and grow in size so that mushroom spores, water and algae can mix inside, which will eventually form the outer shell of the dwelling. Early experiments have already shown the effectiveness of this method on Earth, but on another planet or satellite the reality may be completely different. A team of researchers led by NASA Ames Senior Scientist Lynn Rothschild plans to test their method beyond Earth. The scientists want to send a concept model of their invention into space in 2028, along with the launch of the commercial space station Starlab. “In a general sense, there are technological risks,” Rothschild told Al Jazeera. “Will the structure be strong enough? Will it really provide the insulation that we think? What will the material properties be? Will it really grow well?” The post Houses on the Moon and Mars Will Be Grown From Mushrooms appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Ukraine's military claimed it struck a major oil terminal Monday in Crimea that provides fuel for Russia's war effort as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the war has entered a key phase.

Goldman Sachs has lowered the odds of the United States slipping into a recession in the next 12 months by five percentage points to 15%, following the latest employment report that showed better-than-expected data.

The growing list of college women's teams refusing to play a team with a biological male - or trans woman - on its roster could well be a bellwether moment that forces the NCAA to reverse its policy.

Viktor Bout, who was convicted on arms trafficking charges by the U.S. and freed in a 2022 swap, said Monday that The Wall Street Journal report which suggested he was trying to help sell arms to Yemen's Houthis was a fake, the RBC daily reported.

Israelis on Monday marked the first anniversary of the devastating Hamas attack that triggered a war which has sparked protest worldwide and risks igniting a far wider conflict in the Middle East.