A cat leaned into those who saved him from the street and started doing the "car wash" for petting. GusJulie KrawczykRuthie Weatherly‚ a volunteer for Urban Cat Coalition‚ was working on a TNR effort when she stumbled upon an orange cat with crinkled ears.He was timid and rough around the edges‚ but his sparkling eyes on his enormous face yearned for connection. Ruthie contacted her fellow volunteer‚ Julie Krawczyk‚ and asked if she had room for an orange cat named Gus‚ who needed some TLC.Julie welcomed Gus into her home and noticed the hallmark signs of his past struggles. Julie KrawczykGus was treated for a wound on his face. He had breathing issues‚ stomach troubles‚ and filthy ears. His back was covered with scabs‚ and his chest was full of snot. Julie lovingly bestowed on him the moniker "disaster cake."Upon arrival‚ Gus was nervous and unsure and took refuge in a cubby bed‚ huddled in the back‚ in the dark. "He was afraid to come out of his hiding spot‚" Julie shared with Love Meow. Julie KrawczykJulie let him sniff her hand and gave him time to warm up to her. "When he leaned into my hand for head scratches and then offered up his belly for belly rubs‚ (I knew he would be okay). Belly rubs is the final frontier."The second Gus is petted‚ his eyes light up‚ and his cheeks relax. He rubs his face against Julie's hand over and over‚ doing what is dubbed "the car wash." Gus doing "the car wash"Julie Krawczyk"These callouses on his paws‚ that's years of hard living right there. One of my favorite parts of alley cat rehab is the day those callouses start falling off."That's when his body knows the soft life has really begun. This man is retired." Gus's pawJulie KrawczykGus was a champ at the vet's office‚ getting x-rays and various tests. While he patiently waited for his test results back home‚ he drooled on the floor‚ snoring away peacefully.He may be reserved‚ but once the petting starts‚ his drooling‚ head bumping‚ and purring go off like clockwork. Julie KrawczykThe orange boy has a quirk that reminds Julie of the movie "50 First Dates.""He forgets that he likes me every day. I come home‚ and he dives into his cubby to hide. Then I give him some head scratches‚ and he remembers and comes out stretching‚ purring‚ drooling‚ and happy." Once Gus remembers his foster mom‚ he emerges from his cave‚ stretching and purringJulie KrawczykWith a bit of reassurance‚ Gus emerges from his cave‚ eager for the full car wash treatment."He loves to eat‚ and he loves wet food. He's not super active and doesn't zoom around. He likes to sleep on the radiator and stand on the window sill looking out at the yard. He loves to walk back and forth doing the 'car wash' for petting." Julie KrawczykGus is getting excellent care through the support of Urban Cat Coalition and boundless love from his foster family."His ailments don't seem to bother him at all. He's just a tubby‚ happy little chunky guy." Julie KrawczykAfter his time on the streets‚ Gus is so pleased to have a roof over his head‚ an abundance of food‚ and kind people to remind him that he's loved. Julie KrawczykShare this story with your friends. More on Gus and Urban Cat Coalition on Instagram and Facebook. Thanks to Julie.Related story: Two Kittens Seek Help Together‚ One of Them Appears Blind But Days Later They Discover He Can See

The Tears at WaPo Over the SCOTUS Decision Are Bitter Indeed

The mother of Laken Hope Riley delivered her first public comments since the tragic death of her 22-year-old daughter. The funeral for Riley was held on Friday at the Woodstock City Church in Woodstock‚ Georgia. Lead Pastor Samer Massad recalled how Riley was a "gift to anyone who knew her." "Laken was special. She was a gift to anyone who knew her‚” Massad told the mourners‚ according to WXIA-TV. "She had a gift for making anyone she was around feel comfortable and seen‚” the pastor continued. "But the most special thing about Laken was her faith in Jesus. She didn’t just believe it‚ she lived it. And because of her faith‚ as hard as days like today are‚ we grieve her loss and celebrate her life with the hope that she is now in the presence of Jesus‚ her Savior. We will miss her dearly.”Riley's mother‚ Allyson Phillips‚ shared her first public comment about her daughter's death on Saturday. "As I sat down to write this message‚ I really just have no words‚" Phillips wrote in a Facebook post. "My family has faced the most devastating‚ unimaginable loss that anyone could ever be force to endure."Phillips highlighted her faith in enduring the heartbreaking tragedy. "I would like to thank my Lord and Savior‚ Jesus Christ‚ for being with me and my family during this heartbreaking time‚" the distraught mother explained. "I encourage everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I give Him all the glory for getting us through this. It would be really easy to lose our faith in mankind because of this senseless and avoidable tragedy."Phillips thanked those for their "overwhelming" support during this "horrific nightmare." "Please know that every act of kindness has warmed our hearts and brought us joy during our worst nightmare‚" she continued. "We appreciate all of the time‚ effort and prayers that our family‚ friends and community have showered us with to help ease our pain. We love you all and hope that you feel from the bottom of our hearts how much every single thing that has been done for us has meant. I love you all. Please continue to pray for our family as we put one foot in front of the other moving forward."The family of the slain woman launched the Laken Riley Memorial fundraiser on GoFundMe. The crowdfunding campaign initially had a goal of raising $35‚000 to "assist the family with funeral expenses‚ establish a scholarship in her name‚ raise homicide awareness‚ or any other opportunity the family could use it for during this difficult time."An update on the crowdfunding page noted‚ "On behalf of our entire family we would like send out a heartfelt thank you for your donations and overwhelming support.""She will be missed every day‚ but we promise to honor her life moving forward in a very big way‚" the update read. "Every single dollar donated will go towards starting the Laken Hope Riley Foundation and will be used to drive homicide awareness and safety for women. Again‚ thank you for your kind support and we love you all!"At the time of publication‚ the GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $230‚000. Funeral service held for Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley who was killed on UGA campus www.youtube.com Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

"The Sopranos" star Drea de Matteo blasted Hollywood as a "cesspool" and said that she was blacklisted from the industry after refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The actress credited OnlyFans for helping her recover from nearly losing her house after financial ruin. De Matteo‚ 52‚ told the Daily Mail in a recent interview‚ "I mean‚ that place [Hollywood] is a freaking cesspool.""I'm not gonna lie. TV sucks‚" she added. "There's nothing great. 'Sopranos' opened the door for [me] 100 percent‚" said De Matteo — who starred as Adriana La Cerva in the massively popular HBO mob series between 1999 and 2006.De Matteo recalled a recent meeting with "The Sopranos" showrunner David Chase and executive producers Terence Winter and Matthew Wiener."They were doing a panel and they basically were like‚ 'We don't even trust the audience anymore because it's all of this stuff that societies cram down people's throats‚'" she said and added‚ "It's like‚ I don't even know that it's the audience. I think it's more the industry.""The industry has just... everything that our generation has pushed for‚ whether it be better television‚ whether it be human rights‚ body sovereignty‚ all of these things‚ they took it and made an aberration out of it‚" de Matteo said of Hollywood. "And the same thing went for television. Television is so saturated. Streaming doesn't help anybody except for the big corporations."De Matteo is bitter toward Hollywood after she was reportedly blacklisted from the industry after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. After not being able to work as an actress in Hollywood for refusing to get vaccinated‚ de Matteo said that she fell on hard economic times. "They put me into foreclosure and my house had flooded‚ so I was trying to sell the house quickly‚" she told the British outlet. "I wanted to try and sell it before they took it."She added‚ "At the same time‚ I lost my mom‚ and my other mom‚ who has dementia‚ had run out of money for her caregiver. I didn't know which way was up."In September‚ de Matteo said she had just $10 in her bank account.Without the option of acting‚ de Matteo turned to OnlyFans to help bail her out of financial ruin. "I did it‚ but I didn't want to do it‚" she explained. "I got a lot of heat for doing it and it went f***ing viral and people went nuts."De Matteo said she and her boyfriend did a podcast on the subscription-based platform that typically caters to sexual content. She admitted that some racy content did include her boyfriend rubbing her feet "because you have to add a little something for OnlyFans in there."De Matteo previously told Fox News‚ "I figured‚ ‘OK‚ so everybody’s in their underwear and being sexy on Instagram and I don’t do that‚ but I can do that and get paid for it.’ … I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner."A subscription to de Matteo's OnlyFans page costs $15 a month. De Matteo said‚ "OnlyFans saved my life‚ 100 percent. I can't believe I'm saying that‚ but it really did save us."The "Sopranos" actress said she was able to get her home out of foreclosure within "five minutes" of starting her OnlyFans account because of subscriptions. Speaking about criticism of joining the website known for risque adult content‚ de Matteo proclaimed‚ "I know some people have said some nasty things about me having joined OnlyFans. But‚ you know‚ the way we see it in this house is mommy's a warrior‚ not accepting defeat." When asked if she would ever return to Hollywood‚ de Matteo said‚ "It would have to really be something that was meaningful to me."She added‚ "I'd rather bet on myself than bet on the man at this point."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore said in an unhinged rant on MSNBC that the real enemies of Israel are white Christian Europeans and not the Hamas terrorists who killed hundreds of their citizens. Moore made the comments while being interviewed by Ayman Mohyeldin after an "uncommitted" vote in the Democrat Michigan primary showed some voters' opposition to President Joe Biden's policies in regard to Israel. "Can somebody tell me what the crime is that the Palestinian people‚ as a group of people‚ have committed? What is the crime?" Moore asked rhetorically. "Because according to my knowledge of history‚ the enemies of Israel who have been persecuting the Israelis‚ the Jewish people of this world have been persecuted for 5‚000 years‚ but for the last 2‚000 years‚ most of the persecution has come from white European-centric Christians‚" he claimed. "That's been your enemy!" he shouted. "No Palestinian helped to build Auschwitz. No Palestinian stood on the docks of New York City when boatloads of Jewish refugees trying to escape the Holocaust‚ came here to be protected by this country and were turned away at the docks in New York‚ and sent back to Germany to die!" Moore continued. "No Palestinian did that! No Palestinian ran the Spanish Inquisition!" he said. "Your enemy is not the Palestinian people‚ it is white Christian European people who have been slaughtering jews for the last 2‚000 years!" Mohyeldin interrupted Moore and had him give his final thoughts on the subject. Opponents of Biden's support for Israel called on voters in the Michigan primary to vote "uncommitted" as a form of protest. Anti-Israel activists are calling the campaign a great success after more than 100‚000 voters joined their cause. Leaders in the Arab-American community and other progressives are now asking voters in the primary election in Washington state to continue the protest vote and try to pressure Biden to change his policies in Israel. Among those joining the effort was Vice President Kamala Harris‚ who called for a ceasefire on Sunday. “The VP has called for an immediate ceasefire‚ and urgent aid into Gaza‚” responded Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state. “This is the first time this language has been used by the administration. It is important. Now let’s back it up with policy shift.” Here's the video of Moore's comments: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The ceramic vessels found in present-day Guatemala contained traces of nicotine residue‚ evidence that ancient people in Mesoamerica may have consumed tobacco during rituals. The post Archaeologists Find Traces Of Tobacco In 1‚000-Year-Old Mesoamerican Vessels appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Archaeologists excavating a firehouse in ToruÅ„‚ Poland uncovered a treasure trove of medieval artifacts‚ including an 800-year-old clay horse and remnants of a tower. The post 800-Year-Old Toy Horse Found During Excavations Of A Polish Firehouse appeared first on All That's Interesting.

In May 1998‚ aspiring actress Brynn Hartman shot and killed her husband — then turned the gun on herself. The post Inside The Downward Spiral Of Brynn Hartman And The Murder-Suicide That Left Her And Phil Hartman Dead appeared first on All That's Interesting.

President Joe Biden Says Justice Clarence Thomas 'Likes to Spend a Lot of Time on Yachts'

Defenders of Democracy Alert: AG Garland Calls Election Integrity Laws 'Discriminatory' and 'Unnecessary'