As mental health issues become increasingly prevalent, innovative solutions are crucial. One such innovation is the use of virtual companions, which have shown promising results in offering support and alleviating symptoms of mental health conditions. Virtual companions are a product of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) designed to interact with individuals in a human-like manner, providing […]

A screenshot of a tweet shared on Facebook claims British MP David Lammy posted about presidential assassinations on X following a shooting at 2024 Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump’s July 13 campaign rally in Butler, PA. Verdict: False The claim is false. Lammy published the tweet on X in 2019, not recently. Fact […]

'That sounds like a no'

The photo is from an Ohio rally in 2022

Watch out for the moon this weekend!

The footage predates the 2024 RNC by several months.

A first-of-its-kind report has discovered that altering the ingredients list or manufacturing methods of widely used medication can really cut back on carbon emissions. They found a reduction of 26 million tons, enough to cancel out the whole carbon footprint of the city of Geneva for a decade. Best of all, it’s already happening, and […] The post World’s Leading HIV Drug Reduces Carbon Emissions By 26 Million Tons in Comparison to Predecessor appeared first on Good News Network.

The post I’ll Scratch Your Back if You Scratch Mine: Itchy Cats by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi, I’m Dr. Lauren! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two adventurous cats, Pancake and Tiller. As a vet, this is a common time of year that I get all sorts of complaints about itchy cats. The warm weather leads to plants and trees that blossom, increasing the number of pollens and other allergens, insect levels skyrocket, and cats become itchy. But a cat doesn’t have to lose hair or be actively scratching to mean they are itchy. Sometimes cats show itching in very unexpected ways… let’s take a look. Signs of an Itchy Cat Typical signs of itchiness include the obvious like the physical act of scratching and hair loss. A less well known sign is the “itch response” -something we were commonly taught about in vet school in relation to sheep, but that I also observe in many itchy cats in clinics. If a cat has general itchiness (the Latin term is pruritus) then scratching them or petting them on the top of their butt can elicit a chewing response. Odd one! Hair loss, and scabs, can also indicate that physical scratching is traumatizing the hair coat and skin. But you may not realize that an itchy cat might also only present as a cat that is frequently grooming. Now, certainly most cats will spend a fair amount of time grooming their haircoat. But itchy cats often lick or groom when they are itchy, rather than outright scratching, like a dog may do. Try to look at the times your cat is grooming, if you are trying to decide if it is normal or not. Normal grooming behavior happens after meals, or before a nap. Itchy cats often groom at random times- they will be walking through a room, and then stop to do a brief grooming session. Or you pet them, and they suddenly have a frenetic cleaning session. They will also groom in front of strangers or in unusual places- where they otherwise wouldn’t and shouldn’t feel entirely relaxed. Common Causes of Feline Itch Just like people, cats can also get allergies. Fleas are a common one that many cats experience. Food is another, especially to proteins like beef and fish. But ectoparasites, like fleas, and skin mites, can also cause itch even in non-allergic cats. Ways to Help an Itchy Cat It’s always best to start with a visit to your cat’s vet. Bring photos and videos of anything questionable, as sometimes they can be hard to see in the clinic, or your pet may not display the behavior. Ensure, too, that your cat is up to date on flea and worm treatments. (Some tapeworms can cause extremely itchy behinds for some patients! And fleas are a main cause of feline tapeworms!) Also remember that even a small amount of fleas can cause some cats to be very itchy, if they are allergic. And if that itchy cat has a tendency to groom, they may ingest all evidence of fleas before they can be detected. Therefore, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure! Your vet can also guide you on other treatments that may help your cat, which can include diet trials to detect food allergies, and itch suppressing medications. Generally, itch is very treatable in cats, so never be afraid to scratch that itch, so to speak, and dig deeper into the issue by seeking professional help. The post I’ll Scratch Your Back if You Scratch Mine: Itchy Cats by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Party platforms are a way of signaling to voters the policies that politicians are likely to pursue if they’re elected to office. But platforms also send a message to a party’s candidates about what policy positions the party expects them to support. If elected officials go against their own party’s platform, they might expect to be challenged in a primary. That’s why the fact that the new Republican Party platform endorses universal school choice is such an important development. For the first time, the Republican Party is signaling to voters and its own politicians that they should pursue policies that enable all families to choose the educational options that align with their values and work best for their own children—whether public or private, religious or secular. “We believe schools should educate, not indoctrinate,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday on the second night of the 2024 Republican National Convention. “We stand for parents’ rights, including universal school choice.” Ron DeSantis: "We believe schools should educate, not indoctrinate. We stand for parents' rights, including UNIVERSAL SCHOOL CHOICE." pic.twitter.com/JUrqUEQ8yP— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) July 17, 2024 That’s a dramatic departure from the platforms the Republicans adopted in 2016 and 2020, which only mentioned school choice in passing and did not fully embrace making choice available to all families. Before now, Republican politicians could say they were adhering to their party’s platform if they were only willing to support school choice policies that were limited to specific populations, like families with low-incomes, students with special needs, or those enrolled in failing public schools. Now, the bar has been raised. If Republican officeholders and candidates want to abide by their party’s platform, they will have to support universal school choice policies for which all families would be eligible. There has been a wave of adoption of those universal school choice programs over the past four years, with 11 states embracing that approach. All 11 of those states have Republicans in control of both legislative chambers and the governor (except North Carolina, where the Democratic governor allowed it to become law without his signature). In some states, such as Iowa, school choice advocacy groups funded primary challenges that replaced Republican legislators who had previously opposed choice bills with others who backed the policy. This enforcement of party discipline helped ensure that Republican legislative majorities translated into school choice victories. In other states with Republican majorities, legislators have split over whether they favor passing universal programs or more limited, targeted school choice policies. Unable to get agreement among Republicans on the right approach has delayed adoption of any school choice bills in some states, such as Texas and Idaho. The adoption of a national Republican Party platform that fully endorses universal school choice may end that delay by pushing more Republican legislators wishing to adhere to their party’s platform to switch to the universal camp. Those who don’t get on board may face primary challenges, even if they support limited choice programs. Backing universal school choice is becoming the new standard for Republican state policymakers. Of course, sometimes elected officials stray from their party’s platform without consequences. But when parties signal that an issue is a top priority, party discipline to the national platform tends to become the norm. We saw that with respect to the abortion issue. For a number of years, there were pro-life Democrats and pro-abortion Republicans. But the issue became salient enough that both parties enforced discipline and either drove those who dissented out of office or people switched their positions. The same process appears to be underway on the issue of school choice. Democrats who have been supportive of school choice, even with more limited policies such as charter schools or means-tested vouchers, are being forced to change their positions or face defeat in primaries. The opposite is occurring among Republicans, who are facing pressure to support universal programs or lose to opponents who do in the primaries. In the short term, this sharper divide between the parties will make adoption of limited school choice harder in states controlled by Democrats. But in states where Republicans control both legislative chambers and the governor, adoption of universal school choice policies may get easier. There are currently 23 states fully controlled by Republicans compared to 17 fully controlled by Democrats, with the other 10 states with split control. Given that only 10 of those 23 Republican-controlled states have universal school choice, we might expect to see more than a doubling in the number of universal school choice states over the next several years as party discipline on this issue begins to be enforced. If so, more than half of K–12 students nationwide would be eligible for school choice, up from about 36% eligible today. The universal school choice wave has just gotten started and shows no signs of slowing down. The post The New GOP Litmus Test on School Choice appeared first on The Daily Signal.