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Neighbors form human chain for rare rescue of Australian black swans found on Long Island

A rare summer sighting helped rescue two abandoned black swans.

Two Australian black swans were found in Southold, New York, when local Long Island residents formed a human chain to keep the birds safe until they were able to be rescued.

“I got a call Wednesday morning with someone saying, ‘Hey I looked out my window and I see these swans,'” John Di Leonardo, president of Long Island Orchestrating for Nature, told FOX News. Di Leonardo was more than two hours away at the time. “Neighbors jumped in kayaks and stayed with the swans waiting for me to come and catch them.”

Two Australian black swans were found in Southold, New York after local Long Island residents formed a human chain to keep the birds safe. (Karen Testa of Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons)

Tony Bellissimo spotted the birds with their bright red bills earlier this week outside his home in Corey Creek and initially thought they were covered in oil from a potential oil spill, but after doing some research, he realized they were rare Australian swans, the Suffolk Times reported.

The exotic birds were also reportedly seen in Florida and in ponds in the Newport Beach, California-area last year.

John Di Leonardo from Long Island Orchestrating for Nature and Karen Testa from Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, both non profit animal rescues. (Karen Testa of Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons).

The black swans could have potentially been released or escaped from captivity, Di Leonardo said.

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Neighbors spotted the majestic birds out on kayaks and formed a circle until Di Leonardo arrived.

“When we got out there. I started by throwing a little bait – a wild animal would typically be in flight mode but these guys were totally tame. They started eating the bait within a foot of me. The boats got a little too close so they got spooked. I quickly netted the male. When I realized they were going to swim I put him in a carrier on the shore and I carried the female. We were able to reunite them,” Di Leonardo said, adding that he is now fostering them. “These guys aren’t equipped for the wild at all.”

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Di Leonardo said he will find a sanctuary that’s best suitable for the swans.

Iowa racetrack announcer fired for ‘darker-toned skin’ rant

An Iowa racetrack announcer is out of a job after ranting against fans and athletes with “darker-toned skin” who refuse to stand for the national anthem — telling them to “find a different country.”

In a since-deleted video posted to Twitter Thursday, it captured the July 15 tirade by the fill-in announcer, identified in reports as Lon Oelke, telling a crowd at the Kossuth County Speedway in Algona that he had a “social service” message to share.

“If you won’t stand for our flag, if you’re gonna take a knee, if you’re gonna feel you have rights — you have the right to remain silent for most of the time — but I got four words for you: Find a different country, if you won’t do it,” Oelke told the fans, some of whom started cheering.

“Get the hell out of Dodge,” he continued. “A lot of people have sacrificed many things in their lives for us to be able to do these liberties. And if you feel that’s all right, well, I don’t know, you just don’t have a right.

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Oelke then turned his attention to the NFL’s plan to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — unofficially known as the “black national anthem” — before some games this upcoming season.

“I’ve heard about all the stuff going on in the NFL and now they’re going to have another national anthem for those folks, for the … I guess … darker-toned skin color — I’ll just say blacks,” Oelke said. “They want a different national anthem and the NFL is thinking about doing it. So I say shut the TVs off and let them play in front of nobody. Yes! That’s my announcement.”

Racetrack officials condemned the rant in a statement Thursday while saying the fill-in announcer would not be returning.

“We do not tolerate discrimination at our racing events and welcome race fans of all color, gender, religion and creed to join our racing family,” the statement read. “We acknowledge that though this is an isolated incident, that does not make it okay.”

The statement did not identify the announcer and the racetrack said it would not comment further on the matter.

“Kossuth County Speedway looks forward to proving to our fans, drivers and crews that we can and will do better,” officials said.

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Fairmont Raceway in Minnesota identified the announcer on its Facebook page as its track commentator, the Associated Press reported. The post was no longer visible on the page early Friday.

A promoter at Fairmont Raceway, Jon McCorkell, wrote in a comment that Oelke would be getting the “loudest standing ovation” when he announces races there Friday, a screenshot shows.

Click here to read more on the New York Post.

GM adding Super Cruise with hands-free towing to 6 pickups and SUVs in 2022

Hands-off with Cadillac’s Super Cruise

The 2021 Cadillac Escalade is available with the latest version of GM’s hands-free Super Cruise highway driving aid. Fox News Autos Editor Gary Gastelu lets it take him for a ride.

General Motors said Friday that it will include its expanded, hands-free driver-assisted technology on six vehicles next year.

The 2022 GMC Sierra pickup, like this prototype, will offer hands-free towing capability with Super Cruise.
(GMC)

GM‘s “Super Cruise” assisted vehicles can indicate when a lane change is safe and initiate the maneuver. Drivers can also go hands free while pulling a trailer.

(GMC)

Model year 2022 Super Cruise enabled vehicles include the Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac CT4, Cadillac CT5, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Hummer EV Pickup and GMC Sierra. The capabilities will be introduced on the vehicles in the first quarter of next year.

GM said that Super Cruise, which was launched in 2017, will be available on 22 vehicles by 2023, including on the Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer.

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Other vehicles that offer versions of Super Cruise include the 2022 Cadillac XT6 and the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV.

Prom dress made entirely from duct tape wins teen $10k scholarship

Making your own prom dress can save you money, but making your prom dress out of duct tape can win you a scholarship.

That’s what happened when Larissa Leon won Duck Brand’s 21st annual Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest with her stunning folklorico-inspired dress – all of which was made from Duck brand duct tape.

Larissa, 17, told Fox News her colorful gown was made with 47 rolls of duct tape and weighs about 20 pounds.

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Larissa Leon, 17, created a duct tape prom gown inspired by Folklorico dresses. These cultural garbs are used in traditional Mexican dances. Her creation won Duck Brand’s 21st annual Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest.
(Ob Cruz / Ob Cruz Photography)

Every single part of the dress is made out of duct tape, including its striped ribboning, embroidered flowers, flowy sleeves and intricate lacework.

She also crafted a matching duct tape purse, flower crown, earrings and shoes. Duck Brand duct tape prices range from roughly $4 to $7 per roll depending on size and color.

In total, Larissa says it took her 163 hours to put the whole look together, and her hard work certainly seems to have paid off considering she won Duck Brand’s grand prize for “Best Dress” – a $10,000 scholarship.

“I knew that I wanted to do something really big, something very colorful, not only a dress I wanted it to like represent me and be a part of me because I didn’t just want to do a regular old prom dress,” Leon said during a phone interview. “I wanted it to be a part of me. So, with that, I took a lot of inspiration from my Mexican culture with folkloric dance and those types of dresses.”

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Larissa Leon told Fox News her colorful gown was made with 47 rolls of duct tape and weighs about 20 pounds. (Ob Cruz / Ob Cruz Photography)

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Every single part of the dress Larissa Leon created for Duck Brand’s scholarship is made out of duct tape, including its striped ribboning, embroidered flowers, flowy sleeves and intricate lacework. (Ob Cruz / Ob Cruz Photography)

Larissa Leon also made a matching duct tape purse, flower crown, earrings and shoes to go along with her submitted duct tape prom dress. (Ob Cruz / Ob Cruz Photography)

While Larissa demonstrated to the world that she has some serious duct tape-based fashion skills, her dream career is to become a dermatologist.

In the next year, Larissa plans to apply to the University of Washington and the University of California, Los Angeles, as she completes her final year of high school.

When asked how she learned about the Duck Brand scholarship, Larissa said she found out about the company’s Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest when duct tape crafting surged in popularity during the 2010s.

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As someone who has liked to crochet, sew and work on DIY projects from a young age, Larissa says she told herself she’d apply for the scholarship when she became old enough. Before that day came, though, she got plenty of practice in designing duct tape wallets and other accessories.

“Larissa has always been very creative and artistic since she was very little. She has always been doing some sort of art project, designing or doing a science experiment, so when she started doing this project I was like, ‘Oh no, here we go again,’” Larissa’s mother, María Perez, told Fox News.

Larissa Leon told Fox News it took her 163 hours to create her winning duct tape prom dress, which earned her Duck Brand’s scholarship grand prize for “Best Dress.” (Larissa Leon)

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Larissa Leon told Fox News it took her 163 hours to create her winning duct tape prom dress, which earned her Duck Brand’s scholarship grand prize for “Best Dress.” (Larissa Leon)

According to Perez, her daughter worked on her entry for around three months and their home was covered with duct tape during that time. Some nights Leon hardly got any sleep while she balanced school work and designing.

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“I was amazed [with] how nice it had turned out and how from a distance it looked like real fabric,” Perez said of Larissa’s final product. “It makes me really happy and proud to know that all her hard work paid off and that people recognize the beautiful dress she created. I know this means a lot to her, and as her mother, I’m so proud of her for setting goals [for] herself and achieving them.”

Larissa, who is from Sunnyside, Washington, told Fox News she wants to thank her community for their support.

“I’m very thankful because I strongly believe if it wasn’t for people going out and voting for their favorite dress, I don’t think I would have won, because, in order for them to determine a winner, it’s based on community voting. So, I’m very thankful for everyone that voted because I strongly believe that those people are the reason why I won.”

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Aside from community votes, Duck Brand’s Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest had a panel of judges ranked entries based on five categories all worth 20% of their final score, including workmanship, originality, use of color, accessories and use of Duck Brand duct tape.

Larissa Leon says she’s grateful to everyone who showed her support and voted for her Duck Brand Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest entry. She plans to use her scholarship to pursue her dream of becoming a dermatologist.
(Ob Cruz / Ob Cruz Photography)

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“Each of our participants pushed the boundaries with their designs to enter this year’s contest and we’re beyond impressed by their determination and skill to make never-before-seen looks out of Duck Tape,” said Ashley Luke, a senior product and global brand manager for Duck Brand’s parent company, Shurtape Technologies.

Woman’s hilarious adoption ad for ‘hellion’ foster dog goes viral: ‘He is exhausting’

Hank may be adorable, but don’t be fooled – this dog is quite a handful.

That’s according to Christine Clauder, from Houston, who found Hank, a stray, a few months ago in an industrial part of town.

Though he’s “an amazing dog,” he’s also high energy and requires a lot of attention, something Clauder and her family aren’t equipped to handle, Clauder told Fox News.

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“It’s not that we don’t love him, it’s not that we don’t want to keep him,” Clauder said.

Instead, she explained that she’s currently looking for a job and once she starts working again, she won’t be able to stay home with Hank all day. Similarly, her husband is gone for eight hours a day, too.

A website to help Hank the dog (pictured) find his forever has gone viral for its humor and use of curse words.
(Courtesy of Christine Clauder)

“Hank cannot be [alone], and he doesn’t deserve to be alone – at least during this stage in his life,” Clauder said, adding that Hank doesn’t do well locked in a crate. “That’s just not his personality.”

Clauder said she built a website, to help find Hank a forever home.

The site has since gone viral for its hilarious descriptions and use of curse words.

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On the site, pleaseadopthank.com, Clauder jokes about the moment she and her family found Hank writing, “While we were parked outside the Red Bull factory, Hank flew into our passenger side and immediately helped himself to our stash of road trip snacks like a teenager raiding the fridge after school.”

The ad continues: “He’s 54 pounds of pure, unadulterated, kinetic energy with eyes like the ocean. Unfortunately, that ocean also sank the Titanic.”

Clauder also describes Hank as having an “always-on personality” and needing a “loving, active home with someone willing to train him.”

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Clauder, who has a background in digital marketing, explained that she chose to use humor and curse words because that was going to “capture the attention of the people I want to advertise to.”

She added that it also “reflected my feelings.”

Christine Clauder told Fox that she and her family found Hank in an industrial part of Houston and quickly found out how much energy and attention Hank needs.
(Courtesy of Christine Clauder)

“I was very, very, very tired,” she said. “I love this dog, but he is exhausting.”

“I needed the website to be absolutely clear in terms of Hank’s personality,” she added. “But I also needed to be truthful because I did not want to build a website or I did not want to advertise Hank as just a great family dog with small babies and children, because that’s not Hank. And being honest about his personality would reduce the chances of a return.”

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Though some people were offended by Clauder’s use of curse words, she told Fox it was intentional.

“If you’re offended by words on a website, Hank isn’t the dog for you because Hank is an offensive dog…and you will need a thick skin and that sense of humor to be able to raise him,” she said.

Clauder made the website to help find Hank a home and said she used humor and curse words to attract the right kind of people.
(Courtesy of Christine Clauder)

Clauder admits she built the site without permission from Friends for Life animal shelter – which is handling Hank’s adoption – and she anticipated being asked to take the site down.

Instead, Clauder said, the shelter’s executive director posted a link to the website on Facebook and wrote: “F—ing Adopt Hank.”

“I felt like I had received the golden blessing from the top of the top. And we just went from there,” Clauder said.

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Some of Hank’s best qualities, according to Clauder, are his loyalty, curiosity and intelligence.

“He makes us laugh every single day with his shenanigans and he is so sassy,” Clauder said. “He just stares at you with those bright blue eyes and you can see exactly what he’s thinking.”

Though her family isn’t equipped to care for Hank, Clauder told Fox that he’s a “fantastic dog” and makes her family laugh every day.
(Courtesy of Christine Clauder)

Hank has also helped Clauder heal after the loss of another pet. She explained that her previous dog died just the day before she and her family found Hank.

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Since Clauder’s adoption ad has gone viral, hundreds of people have called the Friends for Life shelter and at least 50 people have applied to adopt him.

Though he hasn’t been adopted yet, Hank is meeting families and doing sleepovers with families to see if he can find a family that’s a good fit. But Clauder adds that making sure Hank gets placed with the right home is more important than rushing to get him adopted.

Though she’s had some pushback on the curse words, Clauder told Fox: “If you’re offended by words on a website, Hank isn’t the dog for you because Hank is an offensive dog.”
(Courtesy of Christine Clauder)

“I really do think that he is a fantastic dog…we’re looking for his perfect family,” she said.

Washington authorities find 8 pythons in park prompting city to plead: ‘Do not release pets into the wild!’

Police and animal control personnel in southern Washington state found eight nonnative pythons slithering around a recreational area on Thursday.

The capture of the 3-to-6-foot-long reptiles prompted the city of Camas, Washington – across the border from Portland, Oregon – to warn people “please do not release pets into the wild!”

“You’ve heard of other duties as assigned, well maybe not like this!” the city tweeted of the find.

Authorities didn’t say who might have left the snakes in the park but assumed they didn’t get there on their own.

Pythons don’t live in the Pacific Northwest but they can be found naturally in southern Florida.

The snakes aren’t venomous, and while the ones found in the 312-acre Lacamas Regional Park were considered medium-sized, some larger pythons can grow big enough to constrict their owners, according to Reptileknowledge.com.

Only 17 people have been killed in constrictor snake-related deaths in the U.S. since 1978, according to the Humane Society.

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The snakes were taken to an animal shelter to be examined and potentially given new homes, FOX 12 of Portland reported.

Blue or brown? Rare butterfly could spark internet debate similar to ‘the dress’

This butterfly is taking flight all over the internet.

A rare butterfly is sparking a debate over the color of its wings on the internet. (SWNS)
(SWNS/Andrew Fusek Peters )

A rare butterfly species found in Britain, has a set of wings in which its true colors are in-question. The Purple Emperor, as it’s called, has wings that appear to be blue to some people, but brown to others, the Good News Network reported.

The Purple Emperor butterfly appears blue to some.
(SWNS/Andrew Fusek Peters )

The butterfly has some news outlets forecasting an internet divide similar to the 2015 argument over “the dress” in which some social media users were torn over whether the viral garment was blue and black or white and gold.

Depending on the angle, others may view the Purple Emperor as having brown wings.
(SWNS/Andrew Fusek Peters )

The photo was shot by wildlife photographer Andrew Fusek Peters who snapped images of the majestic insect from a number of angles.

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It appears the butterfly’s wing colors seem to change when viewed from above (which appear brown) and have more of a blue hue when viewers glance from a side angle.

96-year-old believed to be ‘oldest working nurse in America,’ hangs up her scrubs

A woman said to be the oldest working nurse in the country is hanging up her scrubs after more than 70 years.

Washington-based Florence “SeeSee” Rigney, 96, is headed into retirement after her final day as a nurse at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital last Friday. MultiCare shared a news release July 18 in which it claimed Rigley is America’s “oldest working nurse.” Her career spanned seven decades, according to MultiCare.

“I don’t like to sit around – I’ve always got to have something to do. That’s my nature,” Rigney said in a statement adding that she’s always wanted to become a nurse. “I love to interact with patients and give them the help that I can.”

A Washington-based nurse said to be the oldest working nurse in America retired at 96-years-old.
(Courtesy of MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital. )

Rigney, a mother of two, traveled across the country for her career throughout Washington, Texas and Wyoming as an operating nurse where she would set up operating rooms to help surgeons and patients before surgery. And well into her nineties, Rigney would walk up to three miles – according to her Fitbit – during her shifts.

The vivacious woman once tried to retire when she was 65 but could only be away from her beloved post for six months, MultiCare said, adding that she returned to Tacoma General hospital to work full-time as an operating room nurse before shifting to part-time.

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Rigney says she’ll enjoy more time with friends and family in her retirement and reflected on the changes and medical innovations she’s witnessed throughout her career. It all began more than 70 years ago when she put on her white uniform of a student nurse in the Tacoma General School of Nursing in Washington.

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While Rigney will leave behind quite a legacy – she has some advice for fellow nurses.

“Don’t ever think that you know it all,” she said in a statement. “I kind of did that when I was in the operating room and you have to always be open. You never stop learning.”

Ring video shows dog trying to find his owner in the 2-way talk doorbell

Dogs are used to barking at doorbells, not the other way around.

Yet, that’s exactly what happened to a 10-month-old Labrador retriever named Finn who was left puzzled by his owner’s video doorbell, according to a viral video shared by Ring – a smart home security company.

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“Emily’s pup Finn loves to be outside in the sunshine,” the company captioned the clip on its YouTube channel and other social platforms Tuesday. “But when she checks in on him using Two-Way Talk, the 10-month-old lab is left wondering how the heck his mom got trapped inside the doorbell.”

Tens of thousands of people watched the black lab search for Emily while she spoke to him through her doorbell’s two-way talk system.

“Hey, Finn. Hi Finn, hi bud,” was all the adorable canine need to hear to look up from where he stood.

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Adding in a head tilt before he walked up to the doorbell’s speaker, Finn is greeted with more affectionate hellos.

“He is so cutely confused,” one YouTube commenter wrote. “Love that innocence”

“‘Great, she gone got herself stuck in the magic box again. Time to save her with the good ol fashioned nose boop,'” another commenter joked from Finn’s perspective.

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The humorous video was submitted to the doorbell company’s RingTV page, a digital platform where Ring shares remarkable real-life moments that are captured by its home security technology.

In a statement sent to Ring, Emily described her two-way talk doorbell as a “game changer” that lets her check on Finn while she’s away, according to the video’s YouTube description.

“He gets to live his best life sniffing all the glories of the outside world and I still get to keep my eye on him,” the statement goes on.

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It’s not just Finn and Emily who have shared a sweet moment on a video doorbell.

In recent years, Ring and other security doorbell companies have posted videos that show some dogs have adapted to this new technology the same way humans have.

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For example, a Golden retriever named Charlotte went viral last year for ringing her owner’s Ring doorbell in Quarryville, Penn., so she could be let inside. Similarly, a trio of dogs named Lola, Leo and Chewy did the same when they were done with their outdoor playtime.

Bear cub killed by driver prompts heartbreaking warning from Yosemite Park ranger

A park ranger at Yosemite National Park recently issued a warning on Facebook after they came across a sad scene of a mother bear standing beside her deceased cub.

The ranger cautioned against speeding while driving through the California state park, as the consequences can often be heartbreaking.

Sad bear mom
(Yosemite National Park)

One of the park’s rangers included a photo of the scene along with their experience responding to a report of a bear being hit by a car. According to the post, this isn’t an uncommon call and the ranger wrote that they were experienced in dealing with it.

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Normally, a ranger will arrive on the scene, move the body away from the road to prevent scavengers from also getting hit and then take some samples.

This time, however, the ranger wrote that the bear that had been hit and killed was a cub. While the call had come in around 4:00 p.m., the bear was likely struck around noon. By the time the ranger found it, it was long dead, according to the post.

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The ranger said they suddenly spotted another bear in the area. After banging a stick against a tree to scare it off, the ranger said the bear returned. Then, it let out a soft grunt. According to the ranger, this is the sound a mother bear makes when she’s calling for her cubs.

The ranger wrote, “My heart sinks. It’s been nearly six hours and she still hasn’t given up on her cub. I can just imagine how many times she darted back and forth on that road in attempts to wake it. It’s extremely lucky that she wasn’t hit as well. The calls to the cub continue, sounding more pained each time. I glance back finding myself hoping it would respond to her call too, but of course, nothing. Now here I am, standing between a grieving mother and her child. I feel like a monster.”

A remote camera captured a photo of the mother bear standing over the cub.

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He concluded the post, “Remember that when traveling through Yosemite, we are all just visitors in the home of countless animals and it is up to us to follow the rules that protect them. Go the speed limit, drive alertly, and look out for wildlife. Protecting Yosemite’s black bears is something we can all do.”

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