Mongkol is a 61-year-old former logging elephant. His captive-held life was spent hauling trees in the Thai forest. His body shape is deformed through hard labor, and he lost his right eye and tusk in this brutal logging practice. Mongkol was rescued and brought to Elephants World to spend the rest of his days relaxing peacefully in freedom by the River Kwai. He is an extremely gentle and sensitive elephant who enjoys music, especially this slow movement by Beethoven, which is often played for him during the day and night.
Millions of years ago, the Mississippi River was vastly different from today—at certain points it was up to five miles wide, and whales from the Gulf of Mexico could swim far inland through its waters. Remarkably, fossils of these ancient whales have even been discovered in Michigan.
The Mississippi River was once far larger than it is today.
Following the last Ice Age, massive amounts of glacial meltwater poured southward, creating an enormous river system with channels and floodplains that stretched for miles. In some places, the Mississippi basin was nearly five miles wide.
These waterways were connected to the Gulf of Mexico, allowing marine animals such as whales to travel surprisingly far inland. Although the Mississippi remained a freshwater river, some ancient whales—much like certain species today—could tolerate freshwater for extended periods while moving through connected river systems.
Whale remains have been discovered hundreds of miles from the ocean, including in Michigan. Other inland whale fossils date to even earlier periods when shallow seas covered large portions of North America.
Over thousands of years, retreating glaciers, changing sea levels, and shifting river channels dramatically reshaped the landscape. What is now a single river was once part of an immense freshwater network connected to the Gulf, carrying enough water to help transform an entire continent.
De Niro: I hate to say it, but loving our country is starting to sound like an abused spouse saying they love their abuser.
I can’t love a country that starts stupid and inhumane wars, killing thousands of innocents and indirectly causing the deaths and suffering of millions more.
I can’t love a country that takes healthcare away from millions of people and uses that money to enrich their pals in the Trump-Epstein class.
I can’t love a country that sends out masked militias to shoot citizens in the streets, torture our neighbors, and separate families.
I can’t love a country that’s led by a racist, misogynist, xenophobic tyrant.
And let me just say it: I can’t love a country that’s led by Donald Trump and his sycophant Congress.
There’s been a lot of talk in this race about what makes a "real man."
A man does what’s right when no one is watching. He upholds his commitments to his family and neighbors. He doesn’t lie, cheat, & steal his way through life.
Real men serve others. Weak men serve themselves.
✨ OWN IT, THEN OUTGROW IT
"Accountability is not self-punishment. It is the honest starting point from which everything better is built."
The era of blaming others, circumstances, and timing is over. Owning your part — fully, without shame — is the most empowering thing you can do. It turns victimhood into agency. Own it and grow. 💪
James Talarico: “The Southern Baptist Convention was pro-choice until the late 1970’s. This idea that to be a Christian means you have to be anti-gay and anti-abortion, there really is no historical theological biblical basis for that opinion”
🚨BREAKING: Rep. Ansari stepped out of Pam Bondi's Epstein files interview to tell the American people what's happening behind closed doors.
"The DOJ has been weaponized by Donald Trump to ensure that the most massive cover-up in American history is carried out."
She didn't stop there.
Ansari also accused James Comer, Mike Johnson, and Republican leadership of helping enable it.
They’re not even trying to hide it anymore. A total sham.
.@jamestalarico: I've had a lot of interviews with national media. No one's ever asked me about the cost of housing. No one's asked me about the cost of prescription drugs. The only thing the media wants to ask me about are trans athletes.
The only minority destroying this country is the billionaires. Trans people are 1% of the population. Undocumented people are 1% of the population. We are all focused on the wrong 1%.
Trans people aren't taking away our healthcare. Undocumented people aren't defunding our schools. It's the billionaires and their puppet politicians
A Chinese woman who has been planting trees in an Inner Mongolia desert for decades has invited an American who donated US$5,000 in 1999 to visit the area that has been turned into a forest.