A bottle containing a note from a Newfoundland couple is shown on a beach in southwestern Ireland - credit Kate Gay, handout
A bottle containing a note from a Newfoundland couple is shown on a beach in southwestern Ireland – credit Kate Gay, handout
From the shores of Newfoundland to the shores of Ireland comes the story of two young lovers frozen in time within the blue glass of a wine bottle.
Separated by 5 time zones, 1,800 miles, and 13 years, the humble message in a bottle proves once again to have a unique power for connecting human beings.
It was 2012, and Brad and Anita were enjoying a picnic on Bell Island, off the coast of Newfoundland. The long-distance daters then got the idea to write a letter and stuff it in the wine bottle they had just emptied.
“Today we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other on the edge of the island,” Anita wrote. Brad, then a greenhorn police officer, stood up and gave it all he had into the waters of Conception Bay, unsure if it cleared the rocks.
On July 7th, according to the Canada Press, the bottle was found by Kate and Jon Gay on the Maharees Peninsula in southwest Ireland, over 1,800 miles away. That night, they broke it open with members of their local conservation society, read the letter out loud, and hurried to get in touch with the authors.
Less than an hour later, a local named Martha Farrell confirmed to the Maharees Conservation Association that, according to the text message she had just received, Brad and Anita were still in love—but now were married with three children.
“And then I said, ‘Yay, love conquers all—and the Atlantic Ocean!’” Farrell said in an interview.
The Squires were married in 2016, and next year will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary alongside their two teens and younger child. The Maharees Conservation Association, co-founded by Farrell in 2016, is also celebrating its 10th anniversary next year.
“Anita and I both feel like we have new friends, and we’re all equally amazed,” Brad Squires told Canada Press. “I guess we have some people to visit and a trip to probably plan.”
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Quote of the Day: “The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” – G. K. Chesterton
Photo: Dariusz Sankowski
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Belle Isle Marsh Reservation - credit NewtonCourt CC BY-SA 4.0.
Belle Isle Marsh Reservation – credit NewtonCourt CC BY-SA 4.0.
There are roughly 1,000 native bird species in the 50 States, and if you stand long enough on the walkways of Boston’s Belle Isle Marsh Reservation, you could see around one-fourth of them.
This protected Mid-Atlantic salt marsh remnant has recorded an astonishing 271 species of birds. It offers Bostonians a cool, breezy refuge of salty air and bird calls not far from Logan International Airport.
It’s the only remaining salt marsh in city, which was once surrounded by them. It protects neighborhoods from coastal erosion, absorbs storm surges, and delights the community who campaigned to protect it in the 1980s in the early days of the environmentalism movement.
“You can be out there on the main street then you come in here and you’re in a different place in a different time,” Heather Famico of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) told CBS News Boston.
The 359-acre marsh is nestled between the urbanized cities of Boston and Revere where it serves as a much-needed respite for migrating birds and as a habitat for many species including some on the Endangered Species List, while providing a beautiful and rare open green space to relax in.
That description was made by the Friends of Belle Isle, a grassroots advocacy group that formed in the 1980s when salt marshes, then a more common feature of the greater Boston landscape, were disappearing.
Belle Isle was looked at for development, but the organization prevented that from happening.
Longtime readers will know that GNN breaks for birders, and here one has a chance of spotting threatened and endangered birds like the least bittern, short-eared owl, and king rail. Other species like the saltmarsh sparrow, Virginia rail, and American oystercatcher, are all considered to have special conservation interest.
“It’s a cool oasis in a hot city. We need this,” said Kannan Thiruvengadam from the Friends of Belle Isle. “We need to be out here, enjoying, appreciating, advocating and learning what it is that we need so we can then protect it.”
WATCH the story below from CBS Boston…
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Caana, the Maya's central architectural complex in Belize discovered by Diane and Arlen Chase in the 1980s. The tomb was found in an acropolis to the right - credit, Caracol Archaeology Project / University of Houston
Caana, the Maya’s central architectural complex in Belize discovered by Diane and Arlen Chase in the 1980s. The tomb was found in an acropolis to the right – credit, Caracol Archaeology Project / University of Houston
A major breakthrough in Maya archaeology had been made down in Belize, as the royal tomb of a major city’s first-known ruler is discovered by a husband-wife archaeology team.
Buried with elaborate jade, ceramics, and symbolic artifacts, the tomb offers unprecedented insight into early Maya royalty and connections with the non-Mayan Mexican city-state of Teotihuacan.
Caracol was a metropolis of its time in the lower Yucatan Peninsula, and one of the first great Mayan cities of the Classical period.
Its connection with Teotihuacan is key to the story of this discovery and the story of the life of Te K’ab Chaak, a warrior-king whose remains were found by excavations led by Arlen and Diane Chase, archeologists from the University of Houston who have been working at Caracol, among other sites, for 40 years.
They began excavation season by returning to a site that was first dug in 1993—the northeast acropolis, where burial chambers had been found previously. Striking through the floor of the first burial chamber revealed that it was also the ceiling of deeper, older set of tombs, one of which was filled with grave goods.
11 richly-decorated ceramic vessels along with jade earflares, a mosaic jadeite funerary mask, carved bone items, and loads of red pigment left no shadow of a doubt that Diane and Arlen had turned up a “one-percenter.”
The North Acropolis at Caracol sits enveloped by dense jungle vegetation, preserving centuries of history beneath the surface – Caracol Archaeology Project / University of Houston
“This guy is a one-percenter and that’s why he has so many vessels and three sets of jade earflares in that chamber,” Arlen, a professor of comparative cultural studies, said in a statement on the discovery released by his university.
“The Early Classic period is the time when the rulers assert the fact that they oversee everything, completely distant from the rest of the population. That changes at the end of the Early Classic period, especially in Caracol, when, after the successful warfare against Tikal, they start to share the wealth with the general population. But not this person.”
The northeast acropolis was still covered in trees and earth and completely invisible in aerial surveys, but standing next to it, the manmade nature of the structure becomes clear.
Diane said in a video interview that across their careers, one set of jade earflares is rare, much less three. When you add in a jadeite death mask, something she and her husband have found only on one other occasion, you suddenly get the sense of the power and influence of this person. Additionally, much of the tomb floor and walls were covered in cinnabar.
Four jadeite tubular beads showing live and dead spider monkeys – Caracol Archaeology Project University of Houston
“You’re dealing with some of the highest royalty when the things get covered in cinnabar, which is red,” said Arlen. “So everything is colored red like the rising sun in the east.”
Ascending to the throne in 331 CE, Te K’eb Chaak ruled over a city larger than the metropolitan footprint of the modern-day Belize capital, if such a thing can be believed. He lived a long time, as his skull was void of all teeth. Caracol was a center of trade, and Arlen’s assertion that he commanded and controlled that trade is backed up by iconography found on one of the ceramic vessels.
Atop the lid of one is a depiction of Ek Chuah, the Maya god of traders, surrounded by offerings. Ek Chuah is not seen almost at all in Early Classic Mayan iconography. Yet there he was, Arlen said in the same video, at 350 CE.
The covered vessels – credit, Caracol Archaeology Project / University of Houston
A different kind of Mexico
“Maya carved stone monuments, hieroglyphic dates, iconography, and archaeological data all suggest that widespread pan-Mesoamerican connections occurred after an event in 378 CE referred to as ‘entrada,’” said Diane Chase in the statement.
This is the crux of the discovery from the point of view of the archaeologist, who wants to uncover as much information as possible about life in the past. While the public breaks for the jade death mask and colored ceramic vessels, Te K’ab Chaak offers a rare opportunity to explore life in the Mayan political world before this ‘entrada.’
30 years before Te K’ab Chaak took the throne in Caracol, Teotihuacan, some 640 miles northward, was already a massive trading hub that dealt in many products across Mesoamerica.
In Caracol, two other tombs were found with Te K’ab Chaak in the northeast acropolis, including one which contained cremated remains of several people radiocarbon dated to 350 CE.
Fifteen pristine blades of green obsidian from Pachuca, Mexico, (north of Teotihuacan) several pottery vessels also likely came from central Mexico, and a carved atlatl projectile tip—atypical for the Maya but typical for a Teotihuacan warrior—were included in the cremation.
The royal tomb was ultimately accessed in 2025 by carefully excavating through the floor of an earlier tomb built above it, first discovered in 1993 – Caracol Archaeology Project University of Houston
The cremation itself and its placement in the center of a residential plaza are also more typical practices for a high-status Teotihuacano and do not accord with standard Maya burial practices.
Based on other ceramics in this cremation, the main individual was likely a Caracol royal family member that had adopted central Mexican ritual practices. This individual may even have served as a royal Maya envoy who had lived at Teotihuacan and returned to Caracol.
In other words, relations between these two great population centers, separated by roughly 153 days of travel on foot through the jungle, were already firmly ensconced by the reign of Te K’ab Chaak—a whole generation before such relations and connections are generally thought to have been established.
The royal dynasty founded by Te K’ab Chaak continued at Caracol for over 460 years, and the connections between the two regions were undertaken by the highest levels of society during that time.
It presents the picture of a bustling and interconnected Mexico long before the modern world arrived with its roads, airports, and skyscrapers.
“We need to sort of rethink how we view the past when we get finds like this,” Arlen concludes.
WATCH the video below from the university…
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A pine marten spotted on a trail cam - credit, Two Moors Pine Marten Project, via SWNS
A pine marten spotted on a trail cam – credit, Two Moors Pine Marten Project, via SWNS
Camera trap footage has conservationists celebrating what are probably the first pine martens born in southwest England in over 100 years.
Their births follow a “pioneering” reintroduction project that sought to rebalance the predator-prey dynamics of a wild England by bringing back these arboreal, small game specialists.
credit – Devon Wildlife Trust
The project saw the release of 15 pine martens, eight females and seven males, at undisclosed locations in England’s southwest back in autumn 2024. Now camera trap footage has revealed the first glimpses of kits, recorded at a secret site in Dartmoor National Park in June this year.
Devon Wildlife Trust’s Tracey Hamston, who leads the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, described the news as a “historic moment” and admitted the team were “ecstatic” when they saw the footage.
“When our volunteers discovered the footage of pine marten kits on one of our trail cameras we were ecstatic,” she said. “This is a historic moment for the return of a native animal and for the future of the southwest’s woodlands.”
“To have breeding pine martens back after a century’s absence signals a positive step in nature’s recovery. It’s also testament to the many hours work undertaken by the project partnership and dozens of local volunteers,” she concluded.
Two videos show the adorable youngsters exploring their new home, and in another, three kits are seen chasing each other through foliage and up a bank in their Dartmoor woodland home, before disappearing from sight.
A pine marten spotted on a trail cam – credit, Two Moors Pine Marten Project, via SWNS
Another film shows the same mother with two kits as they scamper along a fallen tree close to a fast-running stream.
Part of the Mustelidae family that includes weasels and ferrets, martens were once common in the southwest of England but fell victim to the loss of their favored woodland habitat and the fur trade.
Since the animals’ release in September 2024, the team has spent hundreds of hours tracking the movements of the 15 pine martens, installing den boxes for them, and checking camera traps to learn more about their whereabouts and behavior.
“Staff and volunteers have been checking camera traps for several months and over the past few weeks have been eagerly anticipating seeing kits,” said Jack Hunt, Woodland Trust Assistant Site Manager at Devon said. “This sighting is wonderful news.”
Female pine martens usually give birth to two or three kits in spring, and the youngsters spend their first seven to eight weeks hidden in their dens before emerging in early summer. They then stay with their mothers through autumn and into winter, before becoming fully independent the following spring.
The animals have been brought back to the region thanks to the work of the Two Moors Pine Marten Project: a partnership of seven organizations including among others Dartmoor National Park Authority and Devon Wildlife Trust.
Project experts anticipate that the southwest’s population should now grow gradually over coming years. Their nocturnal habits and elusive nature mean sightings are likely to be rare.
The project is now preparing for a further release of animals in autumn 2025. After rigorous health checks by vets, the animals (likely to number around 20 in total) will be released with landowner permissions at secret locations on Exmoor, the other “moor” in the “Two Moors” Pine Marten Project.
“Exmoor’s woodlands are well-suited to the animals,” said Hamston. “Their arrival in early autumn will coincide with the local natural harvest of wild berries—food which pine martens love.”
The Two Moors Pine Marten Project is keen to hear from anyone who does come across one of the beautiful animals in Devon; people can get in touch on their website.
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The original scientists, by Vincenzo108 – CC license
70 years ago today, 18 Nobel laureate scientists signed the Mainau Declaration publicly decrying nuclear weapons. Within one year, 34 others—mostly chemists and physicists—joined the German nuclear scientists Otto Hahn and Max Born in calling for an end to perilous radioactive bombs. READ the text of the Declaration… (1955)
Biologist Stephen Wallace - credit Edinburgh Innovations
Biologist Stephen Wallace – credit Edinburgh Innovations
Scientists in Scotland recently engineered bacteria to be able to turn plastic into a precursor to the painkiller acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol.
Though far from scalable at the moment, the reaction nevertheless underpins a potential starting point for greener production and recycling systems, as acetaminophen is produced with fossil fuels, and plastic pollutes the environment.
The precursor compound, known as para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), can be made endogenously by Escherichia coli bacteria, and so those used in the study had this ability removed through genetic engineering.
In this way, the bacteria needed to perform a Lossen rearrangement—or the process by which a nitrogen bearing molecule from the environment is converted to PABA, which is also the precursor to the vitamin B9, or folic acid.
The molecule selected was polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most common plastic polymers used today. Forming plastic water and beverage bottles, packaging, and other items, 350 million tons of this strong yet lightweight plastic turns into waste and pollution every year.
At room temperature, 92% of the PET was converted over 48 hours by the engineered bacteria into PABA—the active ingredient in acetaminophen/paracetamol, which themselves are the active ingredient in name brand painkillers like Tylenol and Panadol.
The factories that create these medications are often powered by fossil fuels, but the E. coli performed the rearrangement without any detectable carbon emissions. The PET plastic, meanwhile, was recycled in the solution.
“This work demonstrates that PET plastic isn’t just waste or a material destined to become more plastic, it can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease,” said Professor Stephen Wallace
UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Chair of Chemical Biotechnology who participated in the research and co-authored the paper presenting it.
“Based on what we’ve seen, it’s highly likely that many—or even most—bacteria can perform these kinds of transmutations,” Wallace said. “This opens up a whole new way of thinking about how we might use microbes as tiny chemical factories.”
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A before and after of the Suradevi Road site, Koradi - credit Dr. Lal Singh, supplied
A before and after of the Suradevi Road site, Koradi – credit Dr. Lal Singh, supplied
In Western India, bamboo is being used to rejuvenate lands choked with ash from thermal power plants.
One of the largest coal-burning nations owing to its large population and drive for economic development, India has nevertheless likely contaminated thousands of acres of marginal and arable land with “fly ash.”
Fly ash is the heavy particulate matter ejected during coal and wood burning, and in the case of coal, the presence of heavier minerals like silica make farming under its influence all but impossible.
In the Indian state of Maharashtra, Dr. Lal Singh from the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR) has spent 12 years pioneering a 5-step program to restoring fly ash-degraded lands using bamboo and soil amendments.
Working in the Vidarbha region, three thermal power plants had significantly polluted the surrounding lands. In villages like Ubagi and Khapari, 24 acres of small-holder farms were covered covered in ash, strangling the livelihoods of any who would otherwise farm there.
“The fly ash has a component called ‘silica’ which usually settles on the crops,” Dr. Singh tells The Better India in an exclusive interview. “This cut down the productivity of the crops. Bamboo is a plant that attracts silica, and this helps in making sure crops are not affected as the bamboo sites attract most of the silica in the air.”
There are over one-thousand species of bamboo, and one that could help one village may not be suitable for another. Dr. Singh has worked long and hard, step by step, tree by tree, to develop a replicable approach.
A fly ash dump site in Koradi – credit Dr. Lal Singh, supplied
The first is to identify the active contaminant: silica in many cases, but not all. The next is a screening of the potential plants tolerant of the contaminant. Then the excess ash is removed, the soil is amended and inoculated with fungal and microbial strains, before eventually the bamboo is planted.
Up until now, Dr. Singh’s work has primarily taken place in Maharashtra. He’s currently expanding his method to sites in UP and Odisha.
“After Odisha, our team will work on lands in Uttar Pradesh’s Anpara, which is under the fly ash threat and is affecting a water reservoir. We plan to develop a green belt around Anpara to protect the reservoir and prevent water pollution,” Dr. Singh said.
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Following eight years of excavations, research, and interpretation, a newly-discovered ancient settlement in Peru has been opened to visitors.
First inhabited some 3,800 years ago north of the modern-day capital Lima, Peñico is believed to have linked remote Andean mountain settlements with the cultural, religious, and economic hubs of Caral by the coastline.
Caral-Supe is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and oldest-known in the Americas, and Peñico likely inherited that legacy and wealth after Caral declined.
18 buildings have been identified in Peñico, which sits at 1,800 feet above sea level, including one monumental public center where higher order goods such as conch shell instruments and clay figurines were uncovered.
“This urban center developed following the cultural tradition of the Caral,” said Ruth Shady Solis, lead researcher and director of the Caral Archaeological Zone (ZAC), which is attached to Peru’s Ministry of Culture, in a press release.
“Due to its strategic location, it connected coastal and mountain towns of Supe and Huaura, as well as those living in the Andean-Amazonian and the high Andean region”.
Radiocarbon dating has shown that the oldest periods of activity in the settlement seem to correspond with the latest periods of activity in Caral, suggesting perhaps that the latter’s decline was linked to the former’s rise. There would have been some overlap of though, as the statement explains.
“After the loss of prestige of the first and oldest major cities of the Supe Valley, such as the Sacred City of Caral, the inhabitants of Peñico continued to actively participate in the networks of social and economic interaction consolidated in earlier times,” it read.
A similar passing of traditions occurred in Ancient Mesopotamia, when Eridu the region’s first city and religious center gave way in importance to Uruk.
“It is possible that the prestige achieved by the Peñico society in the valley, added to its function as a node in the exchange network, was linked to the extraction and circulation of hematite. This mineral, used to make a red pigment, had a high symbolic importance within Andean cosmology.”
The site is now open to archaeologically-inclined visitors, and includes trails through the ancient ruins, an interpretation center, and attached museum.
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Workers assembling the boring machine that was used in the tunnel when it collapsed - credit Salini Impregilo / WeBuild Group
Workers assembling the boring machine that was used in the tunnel when it collapsed – credit Salini Impregilo / WeBuild Group
If just a few more feet of loose soil fell from the tunnel ceiling, 27 Los Angeles digging contractors would have been trapped.
As it happened, tragic headlines were denied those last few feet, and with the help of their comrades on the other side, all 27 men escaped from last Thursday’s partial tunnel collapse with their lives.
The contractors were employees of Flatiron Dragados, a firm that’s currently tunneling 450 feet below the city of Los Angeles on a major, half-billion dollar sanitation project dubbed Clearwater. At 18-feet wide and 7-miles long, it’s an immense undertaking to transport treated wastewater from a plant in Carson to the ocean.
Around 8 p.m. local time, the soil in the ceiling portion of the tunnel began collapsing down behind 27 men who had the large tunneling machine in front of them. The collapse occurred 6 miles from the only access point to the tunnel.
Various first response and emergency services rushed to the scene, including all the city’s urban search and rescue teams, but fortunately there was a space of about 3 to 4 feet through which the 27 men crawled to escape, all while 4 of their colleagues on the other side worked to enlarge the gap.
An hour later, all 31 walked out unharmed.
“I just spoke with many of the workers who were trapped,” Mayor Karen Bass wrote in a post to X. “Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately. You are LA’s true heroes.”
Tim McOsker, the current councilman for Los Angeles City Council District 15 who sits on the sanitation board, said the men, mostly engineers and electricians, were highly-trained by Flatiron Dragados. They recognized the situation and responded orderly and effectively to escape.
“This is a highly technical, difficult project, and they knew exactly what to do. They knew how to secure themselves,” said McOsker, said at a news conference. “They knew all of the signals as we spoke to them.”
The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also known as Cal/OSHA, said it is investigating the collapse. The project will be put on hold until the investigation is concluded.
Tunnels like these are built at the same time they’re being dug, with cement walls and ceilings being laid after the boring machine has passed. Speaking with CNN, Robert Ferrante, chief engineer and general manager of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, said the cause of the incident was “squeezing ground” which occurs when the tunneling and cement laying deforms the structure of the soil considerably.
Assuming no major delays from the incident, the Clearwater Project, meant to replace aging wastewater infrastructure, will be opened by 2028.
WATCH the video on CBS News…
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Quote of the Day: “Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.” – Simone Weil
Photo by: яғ ★ design – CC license
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
10 years ago today, Earth’s scientists completed the first survey of our solar system as the New Horizons spacecraft completed a flyby of distant Pluto. It took ten years for the little space probe to arrive at our most distant neighbor, and is now beginning a long cold journey out into the great beyond, never to return. Along with Pluto, New Horizons also imaged its moons of Nix, Styx, Kerberos, Charon, and Hydra. READ more of what it discovered… (2016)
Electron image with different shades of grey highlight different chemical compositions of the minerals making up the rock – CREDIT: Dr. Joshua Snape / University of Manchester
Electron image with different shades of grey highlighting chemical compositions of the minerals making up the rock – CREDIT: Dr. Joshua Snape / University of Manchester
An ancient Moon rock that fell to Earth in Africa is rewriting what we know about lunar volcanoes. The rare meteorite with its unique chemical makeup bridges a billion-year gap in lunar rock samples, and suggests the Moon had internal heat sources that persisted for ages.
The 2.35 billion-year-old meteorite was discovered in Africa in 2023 and reveals that the Moon was volcanically active far longer than previously thought.
The research, presented this week at the world’s foremost geochemistry gathering, the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague, offers fresh insights into how the Moon’s interior evolved.
The analysis from the University of Manchester, UK, dates the rock’s formation to a period from which few lunar samples exist, making it the youngest basaltic lunar meteorite discovered on Earth.
Its rare geochemical profile sets it apart from those returned by previous Moon missions, with chemical evidence indicating it likely formed from a lava flow that solidified after emerging from deep within the Moon.
Dr. Joshua Snape, who presented the research before 4,000 attending delegates called the sample serendipitous.
“It just happened to fall to Earth and reveals secrets about lunar geology without the massive expense of a space mission,” he said in a media release.
“Lunar rocks from sample missions are fantastic in the insights they provide us, but they are limited to the immediate areas surrounding those mission landing sites.”
By contrast, this rock’s melted glassy pockets and veins suggests it was jettisoned to Earth after the impact of a meteorite or asteroid, which could have happened anywhere on the Moon’s surface.
“The age of the sample is especially interesting because it fills an almost billion-year gap in lunar volcanic history,” said Dr Snape. “It’s younger than the basalts collected by the Apollo, Luna and Chang’e 6 missions—but older than the much younger rocks brought back by China’s Chang’e 5 mission.”
Containing relatively large crystals of the mineral olivine, the rock is a volcanic type called olivine-phyric basalt. It contains moderate levels of titanium and high levels of potassium.
The Pb isotope composition of the rock – a geochemical fingerprint retained from when the rock formed – points to it originating from a source in the Moon’s interior with an unusually high uranium-to-lead ratio. These chemical clues may help identify the mechanisms that have enabled periods of ongoing internal heat generation on the Moon.
“Its age and composition show that volcanic activity continued on the Moon throughout this timespan, and our analysis suggests an ongoing heat generation process within the Moon, potentially from radiogenic elements decaying and producing heat over a long period.
“Moon rocks are rare, so it’s always interesting when we get something that stands out and looks different to everything else.”
“This particular rock provides new constraints about when and how volcanic activity occurred on the Moon.
“There is much more yet to learn about the Moon’s geological past, and with further analysis to pinpoint its origin on the surface, this rock will guide where to land future sample return missions.”
The 311-gram meteorite (equaling around 11 ounces) is one of 31 lunar basalts officially identified on Earth, according to the researchers who were funded by the Royal Society. The team plans to publish their findings in full in a peer-reviewed journal later this year.
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Philadelphia Phillies service dog Tugger –Courtesy: Team Foster / Warrior Canine Connection @Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies just expanded their roster—adding a four-legged friend that’s arguably the cutest teammate in franchise history.
Last week, the baseball team formally announced their sponsorship of Tugger, a 10-week old pup that will soon begin his training to become an accredited service dog destined to support a disabled veteran.
The yellow Labrador’s name is a nod to Phillies legend and fan favorite Tug McGraw, who served in the Marine Corps before becoming a major-league relief pitcher and a 1980 World Series Champion with the Phillies.
He was also the father of country music superstar Tim McGraw, who cheered Tugger’s entrance to the majors in a team press release, saying, “Ya gotta believe young Tugger’s going to be a hero.”
“My father loved the Phillies and took immense pride in his service with the U.S. Marine Corps. The thought that this little pup will one day contribute to enhancing the quality of life for a veteran is truly remarkable. I am certain my father would have felt deeply honored to have Tugger named in his memory.”
Two nonprofit organizations will help prepare the retriever over the next two years. The Warrior Canine Connection, will train the service dog and Team Foster, a Philadelphia-based charity that has helped connect over 500 veterans with service dogs, will find Tugger’s next owner.
Philadelphia Phillies service dog Tugger –Courtesy: Team Foster / Warrior Canine Connection @Phillies
Tugger is the second service pup sponsored by the Phillies. The first one, Major, was just recently placed in a fur-ever home, bringing some much-needed assistance to a local veteran.
Earlier this week, the pup was introduced to hometown fans at Philadelphia’s ballpark. Not surprisingly, he quickly won over the entire crowd, even while sleeping for an inning in a player’s arms.
Eventually, Tugger’s training will ‘round third’ and be headed toward home with a veteran in need—a guaranteed home run by the Phillies, delivered by the newest—and cutest— member of the team… (See more Good News Sports stories here.)
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New frog species Pristimantis chinguelas found in Peru – Ivan Wong / SWNS
New frog species Pristimantis chinguelas found in Peru – Ivan Wong / SWNS
Three new types of frogs were discovered during off-road scientific expeditions in the remote cloud-shrouded peaks of the Andes.
The secretive amphibians were found between 2021 and 2024 in the Cordillera de Huancabamba mountains of northern Peru—in forests and mountain trails with no road access.
The species were recently confirmed and named, and each one tells a different story, according to the team’s findings published in the journal Evolutionary Systematics.
“They’re small and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” said Peruvian herpetologist Germán Chávez, who led the research.
Pristimantis chinguelas, discovered on a cliffside, has a body dotted with prominent large tubercles on both sides.
Its high-pitched “peep” can be heard on humid nights, reported the researchers.
P. nunezcortezi lives near a cool mountain stream in a regenerating forest.
New frog species in Peru – Pristimantis nunezcortezi (via SWNS)
With large black blotches on axillae and groins, it was named in honor of ornithologist Elio Nuñez-Cortez, a conservation trailblazer in the region.
P. yonke, the smallest of the three, was found nestled in bromeliads at a chilly altitude of nearly 3,000 meters (9,800 feet).
Its name was a nod to ‘yonque,’ a sugarcane spirit consumed by locals to brave the highland cold.
The Cordillera de Huancabamba mountains in the Andes of northern Peru-SWNS science study
Study co-author Karen Victoriano-Cigüeñas said, “Exploring this area is more than fieldwork – it’s an immersion into wilderness, culture, and resilience.”
“Many of these mountain ridges are isolated, with no roads and extreme terrain,” said co-author Ivan Wong.
“The weather shifts within minutes, and the steep cliffs make every step a challenge.
“It’s no wonder so few scientists have worked here before—but that’s exactly why there’s still so much to find.”
The number of individuals in the species is unknown, but co-author Wilmar Aznaran points out that the Cordillera de Huancabamba is not just a remote range.
“It’s a living archive of biodiversity and cultural legacy. And we’ve barely scratched the surface.”
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Message on 35-year-old toilet paper roll –Charlotte England-Black / SWNS
Message on 35-year-old toilet paper roll –Charlotte England-Black / SWNS
A couple renovating their new home discovered hidden inside their loft a heartwarming message written by a little girl 35 years ago—on the side of an empty toilet paper roll.
Charlotte England-Black found the touching note, which was concealed in the attic of their property in Nottingham, England, in 1989 when the little girl was moving out.
The 30-year-old moved into the house with her husband five months ago, but only found the hidden time capsule last Friday.
The note was penned by Emma—who was seven years old at the time—as a secret message for the home’s future owners.
Written in red marker, it reads: “I hope you enjoy staying here. Lots of love, from a friend.’
It began, “My name is Emma Waddingham. My birthday is February the 4th. I was born in 1982. I’m seven years old and nearly eight.
Charlotte immediately wondered where Emma was now—so she reached out on a Facebook community page in a bid to track her down. Amazingly, she was found within the hour.
“It’d been up there years,” Charlotte told SWNS news agency. “It was discovered along with an old sink, a vintage cap and some used overalls.
“It was really cute. She’d obviously written it hoping someone would find it one day. It really is quite touching.
Message on toilet paper roll left by girl 35 years ago –Charlotte England-Black / SWNS
“We posted it on a community page on Facebook. Within ten minutes someone had tagged her in it and others had commented saying they’d remembered her from the street, which was great.
“I thought, I bet she could easily be found and it’d be nice for her. It’s just a connection with the past.”
Today, Emma’s last name is Smith, and she still lives in Nottingham. Now 43-years-old, Emma doesn’t remember penning the note, but says she had fond memories of living there.
“I don’t remember doing it and why I chose the toilet roll,” she said. “We’ll forever be wondering.
“It was a lovely place to spend those years. I had amazing wallpaper in my bedroom of Tom and Jerry.”
In the future, when Charlotte moves out, she plans to leave the cardboard tube in the attic for the next homeowners, so they can also discover the time capsule.
Quote of the Day: “To activate your mind to manifest anything you must first stop identifying with your past.” – Neville Goddard
Photo by: Jason Blackeye
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106 years ago today, the R34 airship made the first transatlantic crossing going from west to east, arriving in Norfolk, UK on July 13th after 75 hours of flying time. Built for World War I but failing to see any action until after it had ended at Versailles, R34, and her sister dirigible R33, served as semi-reliable passenger aircraft. READ the wonky, makeshift lifespan of R34… (1919)
Englishman John Massey in his garden in Kingswinford, West Midlands – SWNS
Englishman John Massey in his garden in Kingswinford, West Midlands – SWNS
A self-taught gardener has spent 27 years transforming the land outside his bungalow into a spectacular four-season oasis considered one of the finest private gardens in Britain.
Stunning pictures show John Massey’s backyard bursting with glorious summer color, 36 miles west of Birmingham, England.
The 76-year-old has spent almost three decades devoted to his labor of love, planting 20,000 flowers, trees, and shrubs across his ten-acre property.
Despite no formal education, he became a four-time gold medalist at the iconic Chelsea Flower Show.
Not only that, he’s opened up the garden to the public for the last 22 years to raise money for charity—and has recently reached the incredible milestone of half a million pounds ($675,000).
Since it began as a patch of grass in 1998, the garden in Kingswinford, West Midlands, has evolved to feature UK plantings alongside rarer and more exotic species from Japan, South Africa, and Turkey.
John Massey’s backyard decades ago – SWNS
“The garden hasn’t really been planned, it’s just evolved over 27 years,” said the retired green-thumb. “I started by the house and just moved out—and just kept going and going. I absolutely love it all.
“We’re all plant nutters and it’s a full-time job looking after it. I usually get up at 7am and take the dogs out and I go around the garden until the last walk at night to check for snails and slugs—usually 10pm until 11pm.”
Nestled against the backdrop of the scenic Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal, John’s gardens have become so vast it now requires four people to help him maintain it.
SWNS
Each corner is brimming with vibrant flowers and an abundance of greenery, with a range of conifers and shrubs surrounded by ornate pots.
His inspiration came from the late Princess Greta Sturdza, a Norwegian who established one of France’s finest gardens—Le Vasterival, in Normandy. He told SWNS news agency that they became friends.
“She invited me over and had, in my mind, the greatest garden that I’ve ever seen. She taught me how to garden. Her big thing was transparency pruning, you prune every tree, shrub and conifer so it was its own sculpture in its own right.”
John Massey patio garden with tropical plants – SWNS
John, who was previously awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s highest honor ‘the Victoria Medal of Honour’, inherited his love of gardening from his grandfather who owned a plant nursery next door. John was asked to take control of it when he was just 18.
He stepped away from day-to-day duties at Ashwood Nurseries in 2000 to focus on his own garden. Since then, John and his team have won over 50 gold medals at royal flower shows.
“We work on three layers. The big trees we raise the canopies and lift the branches; we lift the canopy of the shrubs so that we can work under that.
“Some beds are replanted twice a year. If we want to keep people coming back we need change.”
John Massey’s succulent garden – vertical shot – SWNS
Summer in the garden is dominated by blue, pink and white hydrangeas, while Autumn has the grass bed and the asters which look their best in September and October. Winter sees various cornus and spindle trees, with Spring bursting full of hellebores, bulbs, and different narcissus, anemones, and viburnums—all ensuring that the garden is always well-stocked and blooming.
“There are certain plants we don’t grow as we’re in a real frost pocket,” he explained in an interview with SWNS news. ‘We try and grow plants that are hardy in this area.
“We’ve got a wonderful selection of conifers, both dwarf and large varieties. Witch hazels are often considered to be most abundant, with over 40 different varieties.
“I do love the whole garden—I love it all. It is constantly changing, with something majoring on different groups of plants right the way through the season.
“We had the Danish horticulture society here the other day and they said each corner there’s something different to look at.”
The site is open to the public between February and December every Saturday, for an admission price of £8 a ticket.
“I’ve been in horticulture for 57 years and I’m still learning, it’s one of those subjects where the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know.
“A friend of mine described horticulture as the slowest form of art as it takes 20 years to reach its maturity.
“I wouldn’t like to think how much I’ve spent on it. It’s a passion, but it would be frightening to know. The main thing is we’ve raised a lot of money for good causes in the process.”
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Chihuahua helps rescue owner on Swiss glacier – Released by Air Zermatt
Chihuahua helps rescue owner on Swiss glacier – Released by Air Zermatt
Like a miniature St. Bernard, a Chihuahua is being called a “four-legged hero” after helping to save his owner who had fallen down an icy crevasse in the Swiss Alps.
The Air Zermatt helicopter company credited the long-haired pup with leading them to the location of the man who was hiking the Fee Glacier in Valais.
The company said the fall happened in early afternoon when he suddenly broke through a snow bridge and plunged 26 feet into the crevasse.
“While the man was stuck in the glacier ice, his faithful companion, a small Chihuahua, was left at the edge of the crevasse.
Luckily, the accident victim was carrying an amateur walkie-talkie with which he was able to call for help—but the person who received the call was unable to learn the exact location of the accident.
Searching for the collapse-site proved difficult for the 3-person helicopter crew because the glacier surface was wide and the hole barely visible.
Then, one of the rescue specialists spotted a small movement on a rock: the Chihuahua. And right next to it was the collapsed hole.
Lifesaving rig rescues hiker – Credit: Air Zermatt media release
The rescuers then abseiled down to the casualty and were able to pull him out and fly the pair to a hospital in Visp.
“The little dog did not move during the entire operation and closely followed every movement of the rescue,” said Air Zermatt in a media release.
“It is fair to say that his behavior contributed significantly to the successful rescue.
“The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master’s life in a life-threatening situation.
