At the retirement party, Bear took photographs with his human co-workers as they wished him a happy farewell. An officer also read a proclamation hailing the dog’s accomplishments during its over-half-a-decade career. Bear initially joined the force in April 2015. At the time, a now-closed local restaurant, Moe’s Southwest Grill, donated $8,000 to help the sheriff’s office acquire a dog, the Abilene Reporter News wrote. Though the dog was initially named Moe, after the donating restaurant, the canine eventually took on the name of Bear....

In a statement published on the website of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechaev said that Germany’s decision was “extremely dangerous” and “contradicts” statements from German politicians about the country’s unwillingness to be drawn into the Ukraine conflict. “Unfortunately, this happens over and over again,” Nechaev said. “Once again, we are convinced that Germany, like its closest allies, is not interested in a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, it is set up for its permanent escalation and unlimited pumping of the Kyiv regime with more and more deadly weapons....

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’ criticism of China came as the International Red Cross warned this week of a “widening global vaccine divide” and said wealthy nations need to increase the rate of fulfilling global vaccine distribution pledges made, the Associated Press reported. Maas also accused Russia’s vaccine distribution as being used for political motives. “We note, in particular with China, that the supply of vaccines was also used to make very clear political demands of various countries,” Maas said....

The Germans struck five times in the opening 35 minutes at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, and Celia Sasic scored a first-half hat-trick in what was the second-biggest margin of victory in Women’s World Cup history. The largest also came at the hands of the Germans, an 11-0 romp over Argentina in 2007. MORE: Must-see women’s World Cup photos | USA vs. Australia: 17 reasons to hate your opponent Anja Mittag also netted a hat trick, combining with Sasic to score Germany’s first six goals....

WWE to crown UK champion In an effort to expand overseas and create unique content for its streaming network, WWE announced on Thursday that it will crown its first-ever UK Champion. The WWE Network will air a live, two-day tournament on Jan. 14-15 from Blackpool, England featuring 16 competitors with the winner becoming champion. MORE: John Cena on ‘Saturday Night Live’ The company plans on using this as a launching pad for a weekly show much like NXT and “205 Live”....

No one, for example, knows how music originated. Despite Beethoven’s storms and Messiaen’s bird songs, few scholars believe it began as an imitation of natural sounds. Storr thinks it probably developed from the “crooning, cooing tones and rhythms” in the vocal but nonverbal exchanges between mothers and infants; this helps explain its power to make us weep or exult. But music moves us literally as well as figuratively-as anyone who’s tried to still a tapping foot can testify....

The revelations would come from separate litigation involving Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who filed a defamation lawsuit against Maxwell in 2016. In a court filing on Wednesday, Giuffre asked a federal judge to unseal the names of eight “John Does.” These anonymous individuals weren’t parties to the lawsuit and whose lawyers have kept their names secret out of concern of embarrassment or media attention. Giuffre’s filing argued it’s time for that secrecy to end....

The British socialite was handed a 20-year jail sentence in June 2022 for trafficking girls for her former boyfriend to abuse. She told Talk TV’s Jeremy Kyle Live: Ghislaine Behind Bars: “I believe that he was murdered. I was shocked. Then I wondered how it had happened? Because as far as I was concerned, he was going to, I was sure he was going to appeal. “And I was sure he was covered under the non-prosecution agreement....

The results were released on Wednesday by scientists working with the MicroBooNE neutrino experiment based at Fermilab—a particle physics facility in Illinois. Working with neutrinos is a difficult and painstaking process because they are incredibly small. In fact, for a long time scientists thought neutrinos didn’t have any mass at all and they’ve even been dubbed “ghost particles.” What is a neutrino? A neutrino is a fundamental particle of the universe, meaning that, as far as we know, it isn’t made of anything else....

Only two days into an Antarctic excursion in 1914, Shackleton’s ship became stuck in thick ice. He famously saved the 27-man crew by telling them to abandon ship. The Endurance drifted on the ice, becoming increasingly damaged, for nearly a year before it finally sank in November 1915. The stranded crew had to fight for survival after losing the ship, but all returned alive. Now, explorers have finally found the shipwreck lying 10,000 feet below the surface of the Weddell Sea....

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) the cold-blooded pythons like to venture out into the open more frequently in cooler weather in order to catch some sun and warm up—meaning people are more likely to encounter them. Carillo told CBS4 that after finding the python outside their home, the family were very concerned about the snake because they have children who enjoy playing outside. The family called several organizations—including private animal removal companies and the City of Coral Gables—but they said they would not remove the giant python....

The owner of the impressive decorations lives in East Aurora, upstate New York, with local kids demanding to visit the home every night, according to a neighbor who shared photographs of the spectacle on Twitter. However, any Halloween-fans hoping to recreate the spooky magic outside their own home may be disappointed, as the homeowner designed the dramatic spider display himself. According to the East Aurora NY TikTok account, which shared the original video that has amassed 6....

Incredible footage of the beast was uploaded to TikTok by a passenger stuck in the traffic jam the gator was causing. The clip, shared by Rlshama, shows the roughly five-foot-long gator lying down in the middle of the I-75, near Ocala. The gator seems unperturbed by the numerous cars at the intersection, which were forced to brake and put their hazard lights on. A few cars try and creep around the reptile, before a police car turns up to try and shift the giant gator....

MORE: What Week 1 taught us After the game, Berhe received a notice from the league, and it wasn’t a congratulations on his impressive play. Berhe, 25, apparently was called for a random drug test. He wasn’t thrilled with the timing. Berhe, selected by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, missed the entire 2015 season after undergoing calf surgery to remove a blood clot. He racked up 15 total tackles in 16 games with New York during his rookie year....

Last year, the Cowboys allowed 386.4 yards per game, a bottom-10 mark in the NFL, and allowed 29.6 points per game, a bottom-five mark in the league. The Cowboys badly need to keep adding talent on that side of the ball and they will likely spend a majority of the 2021 NFL Draft doing that after retaining some offensive continuity via a long-term deal with Prescott this offseason. Of course, the team does still need to upgrade some spots on offense....

THE RUMOR: The Giants are “making a strong push” for free agent right-hander Johnny Cueto. REPORTED BY: Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal . THE DETAILS: The Giants, looking to bolster their rotation, would be making their second big-money addition after signing Jeff Samardzija for $90 million by looking hard at Cueto, who reportedly is seeking a $140 million to $160 million deal (and turned down $126 million from the Diamondbacks)....

Then, they unfurled a 100-yard American flag for the singing of the national anthem. It was a moment that, although in coordination with the NFL’s month-long “Salute to Service,” diluted the effect of the tribute moments earlier. MORE: NFL not expected to fine players for Paris support | Sports world reacts Of course, it’s not like the Giants or any other football team would have an enormous French tricolor laying around, as many Twitter users pointed out … But maybe, just for one day, the comically large American flag could have been kept in storage, with the color guard on hand already having the stars and stripes....

An uneven start by the New England offense allowed New York to remain in striking distance into the second half, but the Patriots’ ferocious defense didn’t allow the Giants to entertain hopes of a late-game comeback, sealing a 35-14 win by not allowing a point after halftime. The first points of the night came on a blocked punt returned for a touchdown late in the first quarter. Patriots running back Brandon Bolden got into the backfield to deflect the kick and linebacker Chase Winovich caught the ball in the air....