Category: News

New law in Spain classifies animals as ‘sentient beings’

At some point, every pet owner has wondered what their animals were thinking. If you’ve ever stared into a dog or cat’s eyes, you’ve certainly seen a spectrum of emotions and thoughts reflected back to you: love, anger, trust, curiosity, playfulness and so on. Skeptics say attached animal owners are simply projecting human traits onto creatures that still exist purely on a primal level, free of the consciousness that supposedly makes human beings unique.

But a new law in Spain challenges that assumption with real weight behind it, labeling all animals, including wild ones, as sentient beings.

According to El Pais: “From now on, animals will be treated as “sentient beings,” and as such will have a different legal standing than an inanimate object. They will no longer be able to be seized, abandoned, mistreated or separated from one of their owners in the case of a divorce or separation, without having their wellbeing and protection taken into account.”

Support for the law gained momentum last month after a divorcing couple in Spain were granted joint custody of their border collie Panda after each argued in court for sole custody of the dog. The judge in the case described both owners as “reasonable” people who had cared for the dog and therefore the dog should not suffer from being separated from one of its owners in their divorce.

“What is novel is to be able to use the convention to avoid having to define the pet as a shared thing or property and instead to focus on the animal’s welfare, the emotional bond and the shared responsibility of taking care of an animal, beyond the pet being considered a property,” Lola García, a lawyer specializing in animal welfare and who represented the plaintiff in the case, told the Washington Post.

In an approach remarkably similar to child custody arguments, García cited evidence such as shared vet bills, adoption contracts and even photos the couple took with Panda, according to the Post. “There’s an emotional bond that the justice system needs to recognize,” she told the paper.

One of Spain’s congressional members who supported the bill called it a “moral victory” citing an estimated 200,000 pets that are abandoned in Spain each year.

Several European countries have similar animal sentient laws and similar regulations are seen as part of a larger trend sweeping the globe. In the United States, several federal bills have been passed that seek to eliminate animal cruelty. However, according to the Animal Protection Index, no laws or legislation currently exist seeking to expand similar protections to all animals.

That could change sooner than later with a growing awareness and changing of general attitudes about animal rights around the world.

In Spain, the bill had broad bipartisan support, with only the country’s smaller right-wing party objecting.

“We are the only species that recognizes the suffering of others and as such we have an obligation to prevent that suffering,” said Guillermo Díaz, from the country’s center-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) party.

Oklahoma found itself in uncharted territory a week ago when head football coach Lincoln Riley left the program to become USC’s head coach, the first coach to voluntarily leave Oklahoma in decades. Bob Stoops stepped in to take over the program once again on an interim basis, but the sudden coaching search began and left the Sooners needing to find their place in the college landscape.

With a looming move to the SEC, the job wasn’t necessarily as coveted as it once was, as they’ll go from top dogs in the Big 12 to fighting with Alabama, Georgia, and others to be tops in their new conference. Still, it’s Oklahoma, one of the best and most consistent programs in the entire country, and one that has a rich history that they like to stay connected to. As such, it came as little surprise that they went looking for coaches with ties to Norman, and have ultimately landed on Clemson defensive coordinator (and former Oklahoma assistant) Brent Venables, with a deal finalized on Sunday evening (apparently at Venables’ lake house).

Venables has been at Clemson since leaving Oklahoma in 2012, leading a Tigers defense that is perennially among the best in the country. This season, despite Clemson’s general struggles, the defense was again the strong point. Venables was once considered one of the hottest assistants in college football for his work at Clemson, who consistently raised his pay to keep him in South Carolina as overtures were made from potential suitors. There had been a sense that Venables maybe didn’t want to make the jump to head coach, happy to continue piling up accolades and titles at Clemson under Dabo Swinney, but the Oklahoma job proved too good to pass up.

It’ll be interesting to see how Clemson proceeds from here, given the importance of Venables to creating the foundation of their culture on the defensive side of the ball. For Oklahoma, it’s not the splashiest hire, but they land someone with a tremendous resume on the defensive side of the ball with Sooner ties to salvage things after Riley’s sudden departure.

The Detroit Lions won their first game of the season on Sunday in a thriller against the Minnesota Vikings that saw them lose a two-point lead late in the fourth quarter only to score a walkoff touchdown to win after marching down the field in the two-minute drill.

The win got the Lions to 1-10-1, finally securing a win after coming so close on a few occasions, only to see record-setting field goals beat them and even earning a tie in a ridiculous overtime with Pittsburgh. The joy and relief that came pouring out on the field was one of the things that’s great about sports, even at the professional level where you see how much a win can mean for a team that’s had a dreadful season.

Beyond finally picking up a win on the field, the Lions felt like they were playing for much more on Sunday, as coach Dan Campbell opened his postgame press conference by making sure to dedicate the game ball to the victims of the school shooting in Oxford, Michigan, reading off the names of everyone who was shot in the tragedy that claimed four lives.

Campbell also wore an Oxford Wildcats hat on the sideline throughout the game, paying tribute to the school that is still trying to deal with the aftermath of the latest horrific school shooting. It’s a nice sentiment from Campbell to take the time right after the best moment of the Lions season to stop and make sure he called out something much more important in the grand scheme, listing off all the names of the victims and making sure those impacted knew they had support and love from the team and greater Michigan community.

To the surprise of no one, Adele’s 30 is a hit. The singer was absent over the last six years, and it was clear that people wanted her back. When the album dropped last week, it debuted at No. 1 thanks to 839,000 album units sold. That number not only gave Adele the biggest sales week of the year but the largest in the last four years. A week later, Adele’s reign on the Billboard album chart continues.

30 earns its second consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated December 11 thanks to 288,000 more units sold. This number is comprised of 225,000 pure album sales and 61,000 streaming equivalent album units. This week’s total of 288,000 units for 30 makes for the largest second week for an album in three years. Back in 2018, Scorpion tallied 335,000 in its second week after it debuted on the chart with 732,000 units.

Recently Adele announced the dates for her Las Vegas residency Weekends With Adele. Starting on January 21, Adele will take over the Caesers Palace’s Colosseum every Friday and Saturday through to April 16 (except for the weekend of February 18 and 19).

Elsewhere on this week’s chart, Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Red (Taylor’s Version) checked in at No. 2 with 102,000 units while Michael Buble’s Christmas climbed to No. 3. The No. 4 and No. 5 spots are occupied by Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy.

Perhaps one day we’ll learn why so many on the right spent the pandemic spreading dangerous misinformation that led to their own base to die en masse. (Meanwhile, we’ll probably never learn what’s wrong with the guy who nonsensically argued that it’s really the libs’ fault.) In the meantime, we still, almost two years into the COVID age, have to regularly deal with conservatives spouting inane nonsense, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene not seeming to know that cancer isn’t contagious.

Then there’s her sometime pal Matt Gaetz. The Florida representative took some time from being under federal investigation over ties to a sex trafficking ring to tell his supporters to, uh, catch COVID.

“The best vaccine we’ve found is Mother Nature’s vaccine. It’s contracting the virus,” Gaetz asserted. “That is what has provided the greatest protection, the most durable protection, over the longest period of time.”

Yeah, none of that’s right. Vaccines are safe, effective, and free. Catching COVID is dangerous and, if you even survive, the antibodies don’t protect one as well as a vaccine.

Gaetz isn’t the first to make this reckless claim, and he won’t be the last. In October, far right pundit Dennis Prager actually bragged about catching COVID on purpose and miraculously surviving thanks to an expensive cocktail of drugs.

When Gaetz incredibly dangerous words went viral, people made sure to call him out.

In the meantime, a new strand known as Omicron is currently coursing through the nation, and just in time for the cold weather and the holidays to send people indoors, where COVID more easily spreads. Don’t listen to the Matt Gaetzes and Dennis Pragers and MTGs of the world. Listen to Dr. Fauci and believe that a virus that has killed about 775,000 Americans “overhyped.”

We may see a collaboration between Lana Del Rey and Migos in the future after the singer spoke highly of them during a recent interview. During her appearance on the red carpet at Variety’s Hitmakers Brunch award ceremony, she was asked which artist she’d want to collaborate with the most. She said Migos. “I love them. Everything they do,” she said. “There was kind of like a new revolution of sound 11 years ago in the singer-songwriter community, which I loved seeing. And then with Migos, I think they kicked off a new super fun, super autobiographical, completely different style of rap. I love them.”

At the award ceremony, Lana took home the award for Artist Of The Decade. She accepted the honor from Mike Dean, who won Producer Of The Year, and she delivered a speech to the crowd. “Thank you, Variety,” she said. “I’m really always grateful for any acknowledgment and also super grateful for all the criticism… I get a lot.” She also said that the biggest challenge for her over the last decade was “turning criticism into something that you can reflect upon … There’s a lot of opinions. I’m very sensitive.”

Lana’s recently dropped her eighth album Blue Banisters in October. It was her second full-length release of the year after Chemtrails Over The Country Club dropped in March.

On Sunday, Bob Dole, former Senate majority leader and both a vice presidential and presidential candidate, died. He was 98 years old. His cause of death is not yet known, but earlier this year he announced that he had been diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer.

Dole served in World War II, and over his life he overcame both poverty and war wounds to launch a prolific political career. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1951 and he moved to the Senate in 1969. He was Gerald Ford’s running mate in 1976, losing to Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. He ran for president in 1996, losing to the incumbent Bill Clinton. (His 1996 website is still, somehow, up.)

It was during this time that Dole’s public profile became bigger than ever. Not only was he regularly on television, he was also an oft-parodied public figure, lampooned repeatedly on The Simpsons. (In one Halloween episode, he and Clinton were both kidnapped and replaced with alien imposters, who subsequently conquered Earth.)

And Dole was sent up on Saturday Night Live. Norm Macdonald made him one of his signature impersonations, portraying the politician as a blowhard who referred to himself in the third person. On the episode that aired November 16, 1996 — a mere 11 days after he lost to Clinton — Dole himself appeared on the cold open, meeting Macdonald in full Dole regalia. The meet-up wasn’t contentious. Instead, Dole showed that he could be a good sport.

At one point, Macdonald broke character and asked him to run for president again, if only so he can continue impersonating him. “It would help keep you on the front pages,” Macdonald told him.

“Believe me, Norm. Running for president doesn’t always keep you in the front pages — unless you take a dive off the podium,” Dole joked, referring to the time, two months prior, when he’d fallen off the stage during a rally. “Thanks for noticing here at Saturday Night Live,” Dole told Macdonald. “I appreciated it.”

Macdonald responded, “I don’t write a lot of this stuff.”

After news broke of Dole’s passing, people shared clips of Macdonald’s impersonation.

It was extra bittersweet because Macdonald passed away back in September, prompting an avalanche of mourning. Among those who eulogized him was no less than Bob Dole, who called him “a great talent,” that he “loved laughing with him on SNL. *Bob Dole* will miss Norm Macdonald.”

You can watch Dole’s SNL appearance on Peacock.

(Via THR)

After working on their sobriety and recovery for years, Demi Lovato had a very public relapse and overdose, and eventually made a documentary about their experience. But following up recovery from that relapse, the singer frustrated some people in the sober community earlier this year when they declared themselves “California sober,” which basically means no hard drugs ever, but alcohol and weed in moderation. For many people in recovery, moderation itself is impossible, so Lovato’s claim that they could occasionally use alcohol and weed fell flat. Still, the process is different for everyone, so many still supported Demi in her journey.

Except, it seems like those hardline critics of Lovato’s “California sober” stance might’ve been in the right after all, because in an Instagram story this weekend the pop star let her fans and followers know that she is full-on sober now. “I no longer support my ‘California sober’ ways,’ they wrote in the story. “Sober sober is the only way to be.” Given how much the holidays lead into drinking and parties and overindulgence, it seems like an ideal time for Demi to double down on the decisions they’ve made to protect themselves. Kudos to you, Demi, we will always be rooting for you and supporting you. Check out the story below.

The Detroit Lions had been painfully close to getting a win through 11 weeks of the NFL season. After multiple losses on walkoff kicks including an NFL record 66-yarder from Justin Tucker, a tie against Pittsburgh in one of the worst games of the season, and some Dan Campbell gambles on 4th down the just didn’t pan out, it seemed like this Detroit team might never get over the hump.

But on Sunday, they finally kicked that door down with a walkoff win of their own against the Minnesota Vikings in a game that may very well spell the end of the Mike Zimmer era in Minneapolis. The Lions led throughout the game, but rolled the dice with four minutes to play on a 4th and 1 inside their own 25, which ended disastrously for Jared Goff who got strip sacked.

That led to a Vikings touchdown to go up four with 1:50 seconds to play (they missed the two-point), and Detroit would need a touchdown drive in order to notch their first win of the season. Goff led the Lions down the field into the red zone, including their first third down conversion of the game, and, naturally, the game came down to a 4th and 2 from the 11.

The Vikings were playing very soft coverage and their defensive backs bailed too far into the end zone, allowing Amon-Ra St. Brown to hook up two yards into the end zone and catch the game winning touchdown pass from Goff. That win saves the Lions from going winless for the second time in a decade, and rewards a group that has been more competitive than their record indicates for not giving up on a season that has been nothing but pain — a familiar feeling in Detroit. For the Vikings, it is a dreadful loss that pushes them further from the playoff picture and could be the last straw for Mike Zimmer who has become loathed by the Minnesota faithful for late-game execution.

For most people, changing hair color is an exciting update that a few friends will notice and pay compliments to… when you’re Billie Eilish, that update is a news story. Or at least, Eilish set the tone for dramatic shifts in her hair back when she flipped the script from dark brunette with green streaks, and went full-on bombshell blonde for a Vogue cover that surprisingly showed off her figure, something she’d sought to avoid up until that point in her career. After that cover broke an Instagram record, racking up one million likes, it became clear that fashion statements from Billie were going to be very impactful.

And so a shift back in the brunette direction felt equally shocking when Eilish posted the new look on Instagram this weekend, especially considering all the promo for her Happier Than Ever album cycle was tied to her dramatically blonde, pouty look. Now that Grammy nominations are in place, maybe it felt like the right time to change things up again, as Eilish captioned the first post with her darker hair: “Miss me?” Though the pics are very close up, it looks like her hair might be significantly shorter, too.

Billie capped off the weekend by announcing that her “Male Fantasy” video would drop tomorrow morning, also noting that it was directed and edited by her. Take a look at the clip below and be on the lookout for that full video tomorrow.