Alligator escaped poachers, but lived with cord slicing its jaw, FL video shows
The alligator was discovered at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park near Gainesville, leading to a risky rescue operation.
'He had a rope that was tied around his top jaw,' trapper Ron Sanderson reported in the video shared June 7 by Gatorland.
'It was actually so tight that it had grown in and it's messed up his bone on his top jaw. So we were able to capture it and remove this (rope) and it's just amazing that somebody would do this on purpose to this alligator.'
Closer inspection revealed it was a bungee cord and serious damage had been done to the alligator, Gatorland officials reported.
The cord was likely tied to the alligator during a 'very illegal' attempt to catch it, the park reported. There was also evidence someone had been hand feeding the alligator, officials said.
Sanderson reports it took about an hour to trap the alligator, and a Gatorland veterinarian determined the wound would likely heal on its own, the video reports.
The alligator, now named Bungee, will live out the remainder of its life at Gatorland, the video reports. The 110-acre theme park in Orlando is known as 'The Alligator Capital of the World.'
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Yahoo
17 hours ago
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Fact Check: Don't believe video showing cross catching fire during Mass at Dallas church
Claim: A video authentically shows a cross catching on fire during a Mass service at St. Michael's Church in Dallas on June 15, 2025. Rating: A rumor that circulated online in August 2025 claimed a video showed a cross catching on fire during a Mass service at St. Michael's Church in Dallas, Texas. The clip's narrator said the incident occurred weeks earlier, on June 15. For example, on Aug. 11, a manager of the Daily Faith Ministry YouTube channel posted the video (archived) allegedly showing the large cross, affixed to the wall behind the altar, catching on fire during a church service. The clip's title read "A Cross Caught Fire During Mass in Dallas!!" Daily Faith Ministry also shared the video on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and TikTok (archived), collectively receiving around 5.5 million views. A reverse-image search found several other users also shared the clip on the same platforms. The video's narrator told the story as follows: A giant cross suddenly ignited, forming a human silhouette in the middle of mass. It was June 15th, 2025, at 10:37 a.m. in St. Michael's Church, Dallas, Texas. Security cameras captured everything, with over 80 people present. The wooden altar began smoking at its base without explanation. By the 12th second of the video, flames burst from within, climbing rapidly and wrapping the entire cross. We from the Daily Faith Ministry are here to show you something extraordinary. For less than 3 seconds, the flames shaped a human figure with outstretched arms, like the crucified Christ. Then, the fire vanished, leaving no burn marks. Firefighters found the cross intact. Some call it coincidence. But in Luke 21:11, Jesus spoke of great signs from heaven. Could this be one of them? However, the video displayed numerous signs someone created the clip with an artificial-intelligence tool. For example, several shots of the sanctuary displayed differences in the size of the cross, including the statue representing Jesus Christ visible on the cross prior to the fire. Also, as the video continually switches shots, there were differences in chandeliers, columns, items affixed to columns and statues below the cross. Several other factors proved someone fabricated the story, as well. Searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo located no news media outlets — including those based in Dallas — reporting about a cross bursting into flames in Dallas in 2025. Had such an incident occurred, and had someone captured the moment on video, outlets worldwide would have reported the stunning development. Also, the video's narrator — a voice resembling AI-generated voices featured in past fact checks — said "security cameras captured everything." However, the only view of the alleged fire showed the perspective from a parishioner's handheld camera or smartphone, and no footage from security cameras. Further, the narrator said the fire occurred at a church named St. Michael's Church in Dallas. A search for a church in Dallas matching that name found only Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. As confirmed by a photo (archived) hosted on the church's Facebook page, Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church has a sanctuary that does not match the appearance of the one shown in the AI-generated video. Snopes emailed Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church to ask about the claim and will update this article if we receive further information. Looking for the original post One of the earliest postings of the video, if not the original post, appeared in a clip (archived) on the @retolamysusnoticias TikTok account on July 20. That video, receiving over 11.7 million views, featured a puppet, as well as a Spanish-language narrator telling basically the same fabricated story later appearing in English in the Daily Faith Ministry clip. The Daily Faith Ministry's video displays only the top of the puppet's head, showing @retolamysusnoticias' post served as the basis for whoever edited other elements on top of the puppet. A caption appearing in the clip claimed, without providing evidence, that the Vatican demanded to know how the fire started. The @retolamysusnoticias TikTok account also featured other AI-generated videos showing a man turning into a goat, a lion walking the street in Detroit, scientists finding the city of Atlantis and an exorcism, among others. We reached out to a manager for the account to ask questions, including inquiring about the AI tool they used to create their clips. We will update this story if we receive details. For further reading, another fact-check investigated a story claiming a drifter named Ronald McDonald murdered 12 children in 1892, inspiring the modern-day McDonald's fast-food chain mascot of the same name. "Search with an Image on Google - Computer." Google Search Help, "Saint Michael and All Angels - Dallas, TX." Saint Michael and All Angels, Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
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Putin's failed experiment to lure anti-woke Americans to Russia
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New York Post
3 days ago
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Gen Z's latest obsession — coming out as ‘graysexual': What it means, and how they're discovering they're ‘gray'
They're not gay — they're 'gray.' A surprising number of people are choosing to identify as 'graysexual,' with many now sharing the moment they realized they were 'gray.' Graysexuality exists in what many describe as a 'gray area' between being allosexual – experiencing regular sexual attraction — and asexual — experiencing none. Those who identify as graysexual may feel sexual attraction rarely, inconsistently, or only under specific circumstances. Reddit users are posting in the r/Graysexuality subreddit — a growing online community of over 8,300 members — about their experiences dating and being intimate. 3 On platforms like TikTok and YouTube, videos exploring the term are gaining thousands of views. georgerudy – In one post, user @The_Archer2121 explained that they had spent much of their life assuming they were just a 'late bloomer.' Crushes came 'decades apart,' rarely lasted long, and they often didn't feel sexual attraction — even to their own boyfriend. As Dan Beeson, a graysexual man from London, told Cosmopolitan UK, 'Graysexual… is not 'I just don't fancy it tonight'. For me, it's being completely devoid of sexual desire in bouts, which can last months, and then one day waking up and realising that instinct has returned.' 'I'd been aware my drive for sex wasn't as regular as others, but I just put it down to my own relationship with sex. That may still be true, but finding out others were having similar feelings and there was at least a community of some number of us was reassuring,' he added. 3 It's not the same as simply not being 'in the mood,' and it's not a phase. lordn – Others online chimed in with similar stories. One user said they only ever felt 'true' sexual attraction once in their life, explaining, 'When I see someone attractive, I don't have that 'I'd hit that' internal feeling. I just want to be near them.' Another recalled being pressured to experiment with sex in college, confused about why their peers seemed to experience desire so intensely and frequently. 'Ended up getting married (not a good life choice), and things didn't go well in the sexual department.' 'I was constantly ridiculed and pressured into doing things that I didn't want to do.' That mismatch in sexual expectations eventually led the person to discover graysexuality through online communities. One person wrote that their attraction would 'turn on' only every few months, making them flip-flop between identifying as allosexual and asexual, until they found graysexuality — and a sense of peace. Interest in graysexuality is growing rapidly — especially with Gen Z. On platforms like TikTok and YouTube, videos exploring the term are gaining thousands of views. Creators like podcaster Mark (@notdefining) have helped bring nuance to the identity, describing it as 'a bit of sexual attraction… but to a low degree.' Many assume that graysexual people don't want romantic relationships or are simply repressed. But as psychotherapist Jane Czyzselska explains, 'It can be hard in both queer and wider culture to confidently own a sexuality that acknowledges desire differently.' She encourages those exploring the label to reflect on what contexts spark or suppress desire, and to trust their own changing boundaries. 'No one should tell you who you should be or who you are,' she says. 3 Those who identify as graysexual may feel sexual attraction rarely, inconsistently, or only under specific circumstances. Koegelenberg Coop/ – The term graysexual first appeared on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) in 2006 and has since become an important identity for those who never quite fit into the binary of sexual or asexual. Some people who identify as graysexual may also relate to terms like demisexual — sexual attraction only after a strong emotional bond — queer, or pansexual. As one Reddit user summed it up: 'I was so repressed in this regard out of pure confusion… It was such a relief to finally have a word for how I feel.' The rise of identities like graysexuality comes amid what researchers are calling a 'sex recession' — with younger generations reporting fewer sexual partners and less interest in sex overall. But rather than a simple lack of desire, experts like writer Carter Sherman argue it's more nuanced, involving social media pressure, body image issues, and political anxieties.
