#Cat Protection 2024

[alleycatallies]

24 Ways We Worked to Protect Cats in 2024

Happy almost New Year! We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to you for helping us protect and save cats’ lives every single day. Your compassion, dedication, and action make an incredible impact, and we’re truly grateful to have you with us in our mission to build a world where ALL cats are valued and protected.

Even as we prepare for all the work ahead, we’re also reflecting on the incredible change we accomplished together this year.

Here are 24 ways (there are many, many more!) we worked on behalf of cats in 2024:

1. We Took Historic Legal Action to Protect Community Cats in Puerto Rico

If not for Alley Cat Allies and our supporters like you, a deadly removal of community cats in Puerto Rico would be underway right now.

The United States National Park Service (NPS), which announced intention to eradicate cats from the San Juan National Historic Site late in 2023, planned to start ripping cats from their outdoor homes as early as October 1, 2024.

Alley Cat Allies’ legal efforts—including launching a historic lawsuit against the NPS in March 2024—and refusal to back down forced the NPS to agree to halt all movement on its cruel plan until a federal court decision in 2025. Cats like Bella, Mufasina, and Llorin are still eating, sleeping, and playing amid the surf-swept rocks of their outdoor home because of our action—and our supporters like you who make it possible.

We will continue our fight until the NPS abandons its inhumane and illegal plan permanently, and community cats in Puerto Rico are protected and supported as the community members they are.

2. We Launched Our Community Resource Tool™

The Alley Cat Allies Community Resource Tool is here to help advocates like you protect the cats who are your community. With a few clicks, you can find lifesaving resources for cats in your area including low-cost spay and neuter clinics, cat food banks, and more.

Cats Are Community™ and deserve a community that supports them. With our Community Resource Tool, you can discover local cat advocates and access assistance that benefits cats whether they live outdoors or indoors.

3. We Helped Win a Major Victory for Ohio Cats

Alley Cat Allies’ amicus brief helped inform a critical Ohio Supreme Court decision for cats and kittens. The court ruled that Ohio’s companion animal cruelty law protects all cats, including community cats who are unowned and live outdoors, as “companion animals.”

This is a major victory for cats throughout Ohio and ensures community cats are protected equally under animal cruelty laws.

4. Our Rapid Response Team Saved Cats During Historic Texas Fires

With smoke still choking the air and charred landscape on either side of them, an Alley Cat Allies Rapid Response Team drove directly into the Texas communities most impacted by the historic Smokehouse Creek Fire to deliver lifesaving support for cats and kittens. We connected with local advocates to aid recovery efforts and provided critical care for smoke inhalation and burn wounds to cats like Rubble, Mona, and Phoenix.

5. We Kicked off Our Veterinarian Training Program™

Growing a powerful movement means ensuring the next generation is ready to take up the lifesaving mantle. That’s why we launched the Alley Cat Allies Veterinarian Training Program, starting in the Caribbean islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis!

The goal of our Veterinarian Training Program is to help both experienced and novice veterinarians bring the most effective TNR techniques to their communities to save more lives.

6. We Provided TNR and Food to Thousands of Atlantic County Cats

In 2024, Alley Cat Allies funded spay and neuter, including through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), and other lifesaving care for more than 3000 community cats and indoor cats in Atlantic County, New Jersey. We also provided food to an incredible 600 community cats per day through a first-of-its-kind community cat food bank in the county.

In 2025, our work with the Humane Society of Atlantic County is moving forward to bring critical care to thousands more cats and kittens.

7. We Helped Hundreds of Tennessee Cats with Feline Frenzy®

The Alley Cat Allies Feline Frenzy in Lebanon, Tennessee, this year reached hundreds of indoor and community cats with spay and neuter and vaccinations! On top of that milestone, hundreds more cats received ongoing cat food support—all covered by Alley Cat Allies.

8. We Filed a Lawsuit to Stop the Illegal Killing of Cats in Summit County, Ohio

Alley Cat Allies filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas against Summit County, Ohio, and its county-operated animal shelter to stop the needless, cruel, and illegal killing of cats.

The Summit County Animal Control Department is an entity meant to uphold the laws. Instead, it is improperly and inhumanely ‘euthanizing’ animals and killing cats for simply being deemed ‘feral’.

Stopping the senseless and inhumane killing of cats is our top priority.

9. We Are Providing Legal Support to Achieve Justice for Juliet

Alley Cat Allies is providing prosecution support to achieve justice for Juliet, who was tortured and killed in Hamilton, Ohio. Surveillance video revealed that Juliet was shoved into a garbage bag and then slammed violently on the ground by the perpetrator.

We’ll keep you updated as the case moves forward.

10. We Offered a Reward to Find Who Shot George the Cat

In a horrific act of senseless cruelty, George the cat was shot in the back leg with a shotgun in Henrietta Township, Ohio. He survived his injury but was so badly maimed that his leg had to be surgically amputated. Alley Cat Allies covered the costs of his procedure and he has since recovered.

We offered a sizable reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting George.

11. We Helped Granite Shoals Adopt a TNR Ordinance

The ordinance, which had heavy input from Alley Cat Allies, officially protects TNR and community cats in the Texas city. This step forward came just months after disturbing comments about shooting, poisoning, and killing cats were made by the former Granite Shoals City Manager and a wildlife advisory committee.

Today, we continue to support TNR in Granite Shoals!

12. We Responded After Back-to-Back Hurricanes

In fall 2024, Alley Cat Allies provided lifesaving care to cats and kittens impacted by both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Cats like Jack, Flash, and Toffee were been swept from disaster zones in Florida and into safe spaces to recover thanks to our disaster response in collaboration with advocates, organizations, and veterinarians on the ground in impacted communities.

13. We Celebrated Our Biggest Global Cat Day and National Feral Cat Day Yet

On October 13, we inspired advocates the world over to share the global truth that Cats Are Community, and highlighted communities that are leading with lifesaving, evidence-based Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs from Tennessee to France.

Global Cat Day and National Feral Cat Day continue to grow, as does our movement!

14. We Gave Advocates the Tools to Share the Truth

The truth is one of our movement’s most powerful tools to save cats and kittens. Misinformation costs millions of cats their lives every year, and Alley Cat Allies works to set the record straight.

Our new Share the Truth resource, including a pocket guide, is spreading the facts about cats across the nation and around the world.

15. We Defended Community Cat Caregivers

Alley Cat Allies took swift legal action when a community cat caregiver in Parma, Ohio, was threatened with nearly one year of jail time and over $2,000 in fines for doing TNR in her community. An attorney working with Alley Cat Allies represented the caregiver in court and, in October, all charges against her were dismissed.

16. Mr. Meow Got Justice

In September 2024, Colton Fontes was sentenced to 14 years in prison for felony animal cruelty related to killing tabby cat Mr. Meow in 2022 and several other highly disturbing charges including rape and sexual battery.

Alley Cat Allies was involved in the case from the beginning, attended court hearings, communicated with the Mr. Meow’s family, and brought the case to further public attention. According to the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation into the shooting and killing of Mr. Meow helped make Fontes’ arrest for the other charges possible.

17. We Exposed Misrepresentation of TNR and Community Cats

Alley Cat Allies was compelled to address the shockingly biased, dangerously misinformed, and often downright insulting portrayal of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), community cats, and the people who care for and protect them in a pieces published in The New Yorker and Forbes.

18. We Exposed How Opposition to TNR is Leading to Lethal Action

In our video, we showed our supporters around the world how Alley Cat Allies is fighting opposition to TNR, correcting dangerous disinformation about cats, and saving cats’ lives. We won’t back down until every cat is valued and protected as the community member they are.

19. We Saved Maximus With Unique Surgery

Maximus (AKA Maximus Decimus Merkitteus) is a young cat is full of life and love for anyone and everyone, and has never met a stranger. He’s even best friends with his dog brother. But at not even a year old, Maximus experienced a medical emergency that had his family rushing him to the veterinarian for treatment. The diagnosis: A portosystemic liver shunt.

Alley Cat Allies provides support to veterinary professionals across the nation, which made the unique surgery Maximus needed to survive possible. Now, he’s happy, healthy, and living his life to the fullest—among many other cats and kittens who received access to care through our work together.

20. Our Cat Help Desk Answered the Call to Save Cats’ Lives

Alley Cat Allies is dedicated to ensuring caregivers have the resources and support to provide their cats with the best care possible. That is why the Alley Cat Allies Cat Help Desk is a lifeline, offering expert guidance and resources (including our low-cost veterinary care directory and our animal food bank directory) to help people across the nation and around the world protect cats in their communities.

This year, the work of our Cat Help Desk touched all 50 states and beyond!

21. We Rallied Against Ripping Cats from Their Homes in Alabama

After discovering that owned and community cats faced deadly policies in Birmingham, Alley Cat Allies called on the city and its mayor to cease persecuting cats and their caregivers immediately.

In a shocking situation caught on video, tabby cat Nemo was lured from her own front porch by animal control officers and impounded.

We sent a letter asking the city to stop its aggressive action and rallied advocates to join us. We continue to stand in defense of Birmingham’s cats.

22. We Saved Cats From Suffering in a Shelter

If you met Opal and siblings Aster and Orchid today, you’d never guess they were once languishing in inhumane conditions in a municipal shelter. The kittens were dehydrated and suffering from upper respiratory infections, while Opal was anemic and contending with a coccidia infection.

Alley Cat Allies took a stand to save them, and all have beautifully blossomed under our care. With the right veterinary care (plus a lot of TLC!), Opal, Aster, and Orchid healed fully and took the next steps in their journeys toward a much happier tomorrow!

23. We Defended South Carolina County’s TNR Program

This year, the council of Richland County, South Carolina, considered passing a dangerous amendment to remove the county’s Community Cat Diversion Program—a successful TNR initiative that has saved thousands of cats’ lives. Alley Cat Allies rallied advocates to speak out, and the amendment did not move forward.

This is just one of many communities in which Alley Cat Allies rallied advocates for lifesaving change in 2024.

24. We Continue to Stand Up for Cat Victims of Cruelty

We are seeking justice, including through rewards, in multiple cruelty cases across the country. Apollo, an Ohio community cat, was discovered with a horrific wound to his foot that meant his leg had to be amputated. Alley Cat Allies covered the costs of his surgery and care, and sent out a call for any information.

We also offered rewards for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the killing of several cats in the town of Lake Clarke Shores, Florida, and in relation to a series of disturbing Facebook videos in Washington, Missouri.

Help Us Start 2025 Strong for Cats

Right now, your gift will be 4X-MATCHED to have 4x the impact for cats and kittens in the new year. We have big plans to make big changes for cats, and we need you with us more than ever! Please consider giving today.

Content source: https://www.alleycat.org/24-ways-we-worked-to-protect-cats-in-2024/

[idontgotopartiesanymore]

r.i.p. to my man oscar, he didn’t die they’re just making him drive at seven thirty in the morning

[fistfuloflightning]

jiuyuan w/catjiu (for prompt)

Probably not the catjiu you were looking for… 👀

Homebound SY trying to hide an overly curious escaped lab experiment and things quickly getting out of hand

(also doubles for the Modern AU prompt for Jiuyuan Week!)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

This evening, racist cat-eating hoax-pusher Donald Trump told NewsNation reporter Ali Bradley in an exclusive interview for the network that he would revoke the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio if he is elected “President” again. The cat-eating hoax was started by Trump’s ticketmate and Ohio Senator JD Vance. Dear Mr. Trump, the folks that are on TPS status are here legally, despite your feverish insinuations otherwise. 

Read the full story at Daily Kos.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Thunder City

standalone novel set in the Moral Engines universe

when a small wheeled city is taken over by a rebel faction with a small army of dangerous revenants, a history teacher & the mayor’s son travel to find someone with experience fighting them - and find a young woman who’s grown up battling revenants for entertainment, and offer her an escape

along the way they pick up various unlikely stragglers - including an older mercenary, and an artist

[samanddean76]

Herein lies a modern-day twist on a classic fairy-tale…

Once upon a time, in a city like any other, lived a young man who was not as he appeared. Transformed into a cat by a curse inflicted upon him by a vengeful sorcerer, he was forced to wander, looking for his one true love. Hoping against hope that he would find and convince his love that they were meant to be. Not knowing that he had a powerful guardian, an unassuming fairy godmother who only wanted their favorites to find the vaunted happily ever after. Yeah, but then Chad showed up, and as Jared could tell you, all the carefully laid plans went right out the window.

Rated: Explicit | Pairing: J2 | Word Count: 20.9K

Story on Ao3 | Art on LJ | Art on Dreamwidth | Art on Ao3

I want to thank the very talented @amberdreams1960 for bringing my vision to life of little kitty Jensen! Please check out all of her incredible artwork, some of which cannot be viewed on Tumblr!

[myimaginationplain]

I know most people wouldn't like to think about it for obvious reasons, but in a world where, for whatever reason, Sansa couldn't have been betrothed to Joffrey, I think there's a non-zero chance she would’ve ended up with Edmure. a higher than 50% chance, even

[junemo10]

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️HAPPY PRIDE 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

you are appreciated, you are cared for

See my other cat Duck

[lynlee494]

Chapter Eight is now up!

The Soldier’s understanding of the world begins to unravel after he completes a mission and finds a helpless and shivering kitten. Unable to leave, knowing the frail thing will die in the elements, the Soldier makes a choice...

Overwhelmed and now hiding from his handler's, things only get more complicated when he lays eyes on a picture of a familiar blonde face. . .

The Soldier can not risk contact, capture, and the inevitable return to Hydra and captivity would bring. He may remember Steve Rogers, but he also remembers Captain America. Similarly enhanced, the Captain would have the advantage, the Soldier’s movement would be limited with the kitten’s safety to consider.

He’ll seek out Steve Rogers, who seems to feature in nearly every memory with Bucky, but he’ll be cautious. Can hopefully glean from the exposure more about the time before Bucky – before he – was presumed dead in a war. From before Steve’s Bucky became Hydra’s, time stuttering by till the Soldier was born.

Story features art by @taybay14 ❤️!

[manasastuff-blog]

"World Lion Day"#trending#viral

This day serves as a global reminder of lions' vital role in our ecosystem and the urgent need to protect these magnificent creatures. we delve into the significance of World Lion Day, highlighting the conservation efforts essential to prevent lions' extinction. You'll learn about the current state of lion populations, the challenges they face, and what you can do to help. Whether you're passionate about wildlife conservation or simply curious, will provide you with the insights and knowledge needed to understand why World Lion Day is so crucial.

Call: 7799799221 Website: www.manasadefenceacademy.com

#WorldLionDay#LionConservation#SaveLions#WildlifeProtection#EndangeredSpecies#ConservationEfforts #BigCats#WildlifeAwareness#LionFacts#ProtectLions#trending#viral

[alleycatallies]

Victory! Our Impact for Cats in Legislation and Beyond—Summer 2024 Edition

A Win in Our Fight Against Cruelty in West Virginia

In an important victory, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals sided with Alley Cat Allies and determined that our case to protect animals from cruelty at a Berkeley County shelter will continue to be heard.

Alley Cat Allies has been working to protect cats and dogs in Berkeley County since our in-depth investigation into Berkeley County Animal Control (BCAC) revealed a shocking pattern of animal cruelty in the shelter.

Learn more at alleycat.org/Berkeley.

Summer Goal: Help 1,000 Atlantic County Cats

Meet Sunny, cat #1,000 neutered by our previous grant in Atlantic County, New Jersey! He is just one of thousands of cats who’ve received care since we began a new phase of spay and neuter and TNR work in the area in 2022 (plus tens of thousands of pounds of cat food given through our community cat food bank support).

This summer, Alley Cat Allies and the Humane Society of Atlantic County aim to provide spay and neuter, vaccination, Convenia® injections, and other needed care to 1,000 more cats. We’ll celebrate again when we hit our goal!

Granite Shoals Passed a TNR Ordinance

Just months after the former city manager and a wildlife advisory committee made disturbing comments about killing community cats, Granite Shoals, Texas, passed an ordinance with heavy input from Alley Cat Allies. The new ordinance protects TNR and community cats throughout the city!

This victory is the result of months of our guidance and hard work with the Granite Shoals community. Now, the groundwork is laid for a strong TNR program, and we will continue to provide our expertise and support to pave the way.

Content source: https://www.alleycat.org/victory-our-impact-for-cats-in-legislation-and-beyond-summer-2024-edition/

[batboyblog]

Copy Right and Public Domain in 2024

Happy 2024 all! its also Public Domain Day! a magical holiday here in America where things enter the public domain. Works published in the year 1928 (or 95 years ago!) have entered the public domain, which means they belong to us, all of us, the public!

Mickey's Back!

Yes! I'm sure you've heard, but Mickey Mouse (and Minnie Mouse too) is entering the Public Domain today. This has been news for a few years and indeed Disney's lobbying in the late 1990s is why our copy right term is SO long. So what exactly is now public domain?

Most people know about Mickey's first appearance Steamboat Willie, but a second short film, Plane Crazy was also released in 1928 so will also be public domain. So what's public? well these two films first of all, you're allowed to play them, upload them to YouTube or whatever without paying Disney. In theory you'll be allowed to cut and sample them, have them playing in the background of your movie etc. Likewise in theory the image of Mickey and Minnie as they appear (thats important) in these films will be free to use as well as Mickey's character as he appears in these works will be free to use. Now Mickey's later and more famous appearance

will still be protected. Famously the Conan Doyle Estate claimed that Sherlock Holmes couldn't be nice, smile, or not hate women in works because they still held the copyright on the short stories where he first did those things even though 90% of Sherlock Holmes stories were public domain. It's very likely Disney will assert similar claims over Mickey, claiming much of his personality first appeared in works still copyrighted.

Finally there's copyright vs trademark. Copyright is total ownership of a piece of media and all the ideas that appear in it, copyright has a limited set term and expires. Trademark is more limited and only applies to things used to market and sell a product. You can have a Coke branded vending machine in your movie if you want, but it couldn't appear anywhere in the trailer for your movie as thats you marketing your movie.

Where trademark ends and copyright begins and how trademarked something in the public domain is allowed to be are all unsettled areas of law and clearly Disney in the last few years as been aggressively pushing its trademark not just to Mickey in general but Steamboat Willie Mickey in particular

Ultimately the legal rights and wrongs of this might not matter so much since few people have the money and legal resources of the Walt Disney corporation so they might manage to maintain a de facto copyright on Mickey through legal intimidation, but maybe not?

And Tigger Too!

All the talk about Mickey Mouse and Steamboat Willie has sadly overshadowed other MAJOR things entering the public domain today. Most people are aware Winnie the Pooh entered the public domain in 2022, but they might not realize his beloved friend Tigger didn't. Thats because Tigger didn't appear till A. A. Milne's second (and last) book of Pooh short stories, The House at Pooh Corner in 1928.

Much like Mickey Mouse only what appears in The House at Pooh Corner is public domain so the orange bouncy boy from the 1960s Disney cartoon is still on lock down. But the A. A. Milne original as illustrated by E. H. Shepard is free for you to use in fiction or art. His friend Winnie the Pooh has made a number of appearances since being freed, most notably in a horror movie, but also a Mint Mobile commercial so maybe Tigger too will have a lot of luck in the public domain.

Other works:

Peter Pan; or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up

Peter Pan is a strange case, even though the play was first mounted in 1904, and the novelization (Peter and Wendy) was published in 1911, The script for the play was not published till 1928 (confusing!) meaning while the novel as been public domain for years the play (which came first) hasn't been, but now it is and people are welcome to mount productions of it.

Millions of Cats

The oldest picture book still in print, did you own a copy growing up? (I did)

Lady Chatterley's Lover

The iconic porn novel that was at the center of a number of groundbreaking obscenity cases in the 1960s and helped establish your right to free speech.

All Quiet on the Western Front and The Threepenny Opera in their original German (but you can translate them if you want), The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie, and Orlando by Virginia Woolf will also be joining us in the public domain along with any and all plays, novels, and books published in 1928

for Films we have The Man Who Laughs who's iconic image inspired the Joker

Charlie Chaplin's The Circus, Buster Keaton's The Cameraman, Should Married Men Go Home? the first Laurel and Hardy movie, Lights of New York the first "all talking" movie, The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Wind, as well as The Last Command and Street Angel the first films to win Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively will all be entering public domain

For Musical Compositions (more on that in a moment) we've got

Mack the Knife by Bertolt Brecht, Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love) by Cole Porter, Sonny Boy by George Gard DeSylva, Lew Brown & Ray Henderson, Empty Bed Blues by J. C. Johnson, and Makin’ Whoopee! by Gus Khan are some of the notables but any piece of music published in 1928 is covered

Any art work published in 1928, which might include works by Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keeffe, Alexej von Jawlensky, Edward Hopper, and André Kertész will enter the public domain, we are sure those that M. C. Escher's Tower of Babel will be in the public domain

Swan Song, Public Domain and recorded music

While most things are covered by the Copyright Act of 1976 as amended by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, none of the copyright acts covered recordings you see when American copyright law was first written recordings did not exist and so through its many amendings no one fixed this problem, movies were treated like plays and artwork, but recorded sound wasn't covered by any federal law. So all sound recordings from before 1972 were governed by a confusing mess of state level laws making it basically impossible to say what was public and what was under copyright. In 2017 Congress managed to do something right and passed the Music Modernization Act. Under the act all recordings from 1922 and before would enter the public domain in 2022. After taking a break for 2023, all sound recordings made in 1923 have entered the public domain today on January 1st 2024, these include.

Charleston by James P. Johnson

Yes! We Have No Bananas (recorded by a lot artists that year)

Who’s Sorry Now by Lewis James

Down Hearted Blues by Bessie Smith

Lawdy, Lawdy Blues by Ida Cox

Southern Blues and Moonshine Blues by Ma Rainey

That American Boy of Mine and Parade of the Wooden Soldiers by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra

Dipper Mouth Blues and Froggie More by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, featuring Louis Armstrong

Bambalina by Ray Miller Orchestra

Swingin’ Down the Lane by Isham Jones Orchestra

Enjoy your public domain works!

[nasa]

All-Star Moments in Space Communications and Navigation

How do we get information from missions exploring the cosmos back to humans on Earth? Our space communications and navigation networks – the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network – bring back science and exploration data daily.

Here are a few of our favorite moments from 2024.

1. Hip-Hop to Deep Space

The stars above and on Earth aligned as lyrics from the song “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” by hip-hop artist Missy Elliott were beamed to Venus via NASA’s Deep Space Network. Using a 34-meter (112-foot) wide Deep Space Station 13 (DSS-13) radio dish antenna, located at the network’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California, the song was sent at 10:05 a.m. PDT on Friday, July 12 and traveled about 158 million miles from Earth to Venus — the artist’s favorite planet. Coincidentally, the DSS-13 that sent the transmission is also nicknamed Venus!

NASA's PACE mission transmitting data to Earth through NASA's Near Space Network.

2. Lemme Upgrade You

Our Near Space Network, which supports communications for space-based missions within 1.2 million miles of Earth, is constantly enhancing its capabilities to support science and exploration missions. Last year, the network implemented DTN (Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking), which provides robust protection of data traveling from extreme distances. NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission is the first operational science mission to leverage the network’s DTN capabilities. Since PACE’s launch, over 17 million bundles of data have been transmitted by the satellite and received by the network’s ground station.

A collage of the pet photos sent over laser links from Earth to LCRD and finally to ILLUMA-T (Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal) on the International Space Station. Animals submitted include cats, dogs, birds, chickens, cows, snakes, and pigs.

3. Who Doesn’t Love Pets?

Last year, we transmitted hundreds of pet photos and videos to the International Space Station, showcasing how laser communications can send more data at once than traditional methods. Imagery of cherished pets gathered from NASA astronauts and agency employees flowed from the mission ops center to the optical ground stations and then to the in-space Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), which relayed the signal to a payload on the space station. This activity demonstrated how laser communications and high-rate DTN can benefit human spaceflight missions.

4K video footage was routed from the PC-12 aircraft to an optical ground station in Cleveland. From there, it was sent over an Earth-based network to NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The signals were then sent to NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration spacecraft and relayed to the ILLUMA-T payload on the International Space Station.

4. Now Streaming

A team of engineers transmitted 4K video footage from an aircraft to the International Space Station and back using laser communication signals. Historically, we have relied on radio waves to send information to and from space. Laser communications use infrared light to transmit 10 to 100 times more data than radio frequency systems. The flight tests were part of an agency initiative to stream high-bandwidth video and other data from deep space, enabling future human missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

The Near Space Network provides missions within 1.2 million miles of Earth with communications and navigation services.

5. New Year, New Relationships

At the very end of 2024, the Near Space Network announced multiple contract awards to enhance the network’s services portfolio. The network, which uses a blend of government and commercial assets to get data to and from spacecraft, will be able to support more missions observing our Earth and exploring the cosmos. These commercial assets, alongside the existing network, will also play a critical role in our Artemis campaign, which calls for long-term exploration of the Moon.

On Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at 12:06 p.m. EDT, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

6. 3, 2, 1, Blast Off!

Together, the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network supported the launch of Europa Clipper. The Near Space Network provided communications and navigation services to SpaceX���s Falcon Heavy rocket, which launched this Jupiter-bound mission into space! After vehicle separation, the Deep Space Network acquired Europa Clipper’s signal and began full mission support. This is another example of how these networks work together seamlessly to ensure critical mission success.

Engineer Adam Gannon works on the development of Cognitive Engine-1 in the Cognitive Communications Lab at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.

7. Make Way for Next-Gen Tech

Our Technology Education Satellite program organizes collaborative missions that pair university students with researchers to evaluate how new technologies work on small satellites, also known as CubeSats. In 2024, cognitive communications technology, designed to enable autonomous space communications systems, was successfully tested in space on the Technology Educational Satellite 11 mission. Autonomous systems use technology reactive to their environment to implement updates during a spaceflight mission without needing human interaction post-launch.

A first: All six radio frequency antennas at the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, part of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), carried out a test to receive data from the agency’s Voyager 1 spacecraft at the same time.

8. Six Are Better Than One

On April 20, 2024, all six radio frequency antennas at the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, part of our Deep Space Network, carried out a test to receive data from the agency’s Voyager 1 spacecraft at the same time. Combining the antennas’ receiving power, or arraying, lets the network collect the very faint signals from faraway spacecraft.

Here’s to another year connecting Earth and space.  

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Liz Skalka at HuffPost:

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Joe and Cheryl Backus have plenty of concerns over the influx of immigrants to this central Ohio city. “They’re giving up on our homeless here,” Joe Backus, a retired 80-year-old, said from a loveseat in his living room, referring to the general strain population growth is having on certain sectors of the local government. “They’re ignoring them.” But the spotlight Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio’s own junior U.S. Sen. JD Vance, have put on Springfield and its estimated 60,000 residents hasn’t helped matters — whipping up tensions here to a potentially dangerous degree after the former president baselessly suggested to a live debate audience of 67 million people last week that foreigners here were eating cats and dogs. It’s quickly upended life, leading to bomb threats and general threats of violence that closed schools and government offices.

“I think here in this town, we’re going to have a — well, you wouldn’t call it a civil war — but an uprising,” said Joe Backus, a Democrat who’s in the minority of this red county that went twice for Trump. “Because I think people are going to get tired.” From a recliner across the room, Cheryl Backus, 67, recoiled at the idea of people associating Springfield with the consumption of pets. “Eating the cats and dogs? No, no, no, no, no. We don’t need — no.” The GOP ticket has made this blue-collar city a Midwestern front in the party’s immigration wars, stoking fears about a reign of terror that includes reckless driving and pet-snatching — all as Republicans continue to blame Democrats for a glut of asylum seekers and illegal crossings at the southern border in an election year when Republicans tanked their own border security bill to help Trump.

At the center of it all are people like Steven Pierre, a 32-year-old who emigrated to Springfield from Haiti at age 12. Now he’s a married father of four and works for Amazon. He has a dog, Baba. “It’s sad, because I gotta hear this, and my kids gotta ask questions about it,” said Pierre, who was building a chicken coop in the back of a pristine white home as Baba looked on. “And it’s like, what do I tell them?” “They’re not here to bother anybody,” Pierre said of the Haitians. “They’re here for a goal and to get on with their life. We’re just regular people. We want to be left alone.” Vance, who grew up an hour south of Springfield in a challenged town he popularized in his memoir, acknowledged last week there was no basis for the viral pet smears. But Vance still told his followers to keep sharing the cat memes these rumors helped spawn.

The vice presidential nominee took it a step further Sunday, suggesting he spread the hoax for the greater good of the country. “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” he said on CNN. Trump also vowed to begin his planned mass deportation of immigrants in Springfield, where the Haitian population is mostly here legally, and claimed to know nothing about the bomb threats he helped stoke. “I don’t know what happened with the bomb threats. I know that it’s been taken over by illegal migrants, and that’s a terrible thing that happened,” Trump said Saturday. The rhetoric is beginning to grate on members of even their own party.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who has a prickly relationship with Trump, went on TV this weekend to decry the drama surrounding Springfield as “unfortunate” and the pet rumors as “garbage.” He praised Springfield’s population of “hard-working” Haitians, who are able to work legally under a special immigration status afforded to immigrants from countries suffering from civil unrest or natural disasters. Springfield’s own GOP mayor, Rob Rue, said he was tired and angry, and wouldn’t reveal whether he’d vote for Trump in November. All the attention has turned Springfield into a tinderbox. Right-leaning content creators are prowling the streets, hunting down evidence of pet-eating for a $5,000 bounty. Elementary and middle schools were closed or evacuated for two consecutive days last week due to threats. City Hall also closed due to security concerns, as several city commissioners found themselves targeted with threats.

[...] After decades of economic decline from factory off-shoring, the legal influx of Haitian immigrants seeking blue-collar work at factories and warehouses in Springfield struck a raw nerve in a community with a significant number of boarded-up buildings and homes, and longtime residents struggling to make ends meet. An estimated 20,000 Haitians have flocked to Springfield since the pandemic, stressing the city’s housing infrastructure, schools and hospitals. “The people who have lived here pay taxes and support Springfield all their life. They cannot get help, because it’s all about [the Haitians],” said Carol Lawson, 65, who lives a block over from Pierre. Lawson, who said she does not work and collects disability, repeated an oft-cited complaint about the Haitians: That they drive nicer cars than everyone else and appear to be the beneficiaries of generous government support — even though Temporary Protected Status, while it affords a pathway to getting a Social Security card and eventual citizenship, does not automatically confer public benefits like food stamps.

Over the last week or so, the residents of Springfield, Ohio have been unwillingly thrusted into the spotlight thanks to JD Vance, Donald Trump, and the right-wing media’s amplification of the false and racist insinuation that Haitian migrants are eating pets.

Tensions have risen in the town as a result of the debunked and unsubstantiated rumor.

[mactavishsgfandwife]

Simon "Ghost" Riley and Your New Cat 🌷

simon having beef with a stray cat you brought home silly little idea i had no content warnings, just cute fluff, female reader :3 not proofread!

i just realised the cat’s name changes half way through 😭 i’ve fixed it now - 04/11/2024

"What the hell is tha’?" he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared in disbelief at the little black kitten in your lap.

"I found him. He’s called Lettuce," you grin, cuddling the cat to your chest. You’re well aware that lettuce is a stupid name for a cat, but it just seemed right at the time. The kitten was tiny, and had seemed very weak when you’d discovered him shivering in a box outside your apartment block. Now, he seemed a lot more comfortable, making a little home for himself on your sweater. He was so small - he literally fit in the palm of your hand - but his frizzy black hair stuck out at every angle so that he looked less like a kitten and more like a wiry pompom.

"Love," Simon laughed, rubbing his face with a sigh, "Lettuce looks like a flea. Where the hell di’you find ‘im?"

"Oi, he does not! Well, maybe a bit. I found him in a box. He was meowing at me, he looked so cold…" you stroke the kitten’s cheek with your thumb as you he meows up at you.

"You can’t keep him, he might have diseases. You should give him to a pet shelter." Your boyfriend wasn’t being harsh, he was just worried about you - he didn’t want your little heart breaking because you’d got all attached to a poorly little kitten who might not last the week. But it didn’t come off like that.

"Wh… what..?" you frown, cupping the kitty in your hands to protect it.

"I’ll drive you to the shelter tomorrow, okay?"

"What? Si, no!"

"Baby…" he sighs, trying not to upset you "you can’t just find a scruffy animal on the street and take it home."

"S’what I did with you ," you pout, pulling the same face at him as Lettuce pulls at your sweater sleeve as he paws at it.

"Look," he crosses his arms, about to explain to you the reasons why you two don’t have the space for a cat, nor the prior knowledge. What if the cat walks in on the two of you in bed? What if it bites you and his pretty girl gets hurt? What if you end up loving the cat more than Simon and it steals you away? But your pleading eyes and the tiny, stupid looking kitten chirping in your laps convinces him. If you really wanted anything, you know he’d get it for you, so he’ll let you have your silly kitten.

"Alright, fine. For now." He laughs, ruffling his hair.

"I love you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love you!" you squeal, gently placing the cat down before jumping up with and wrapping your arms around your boyfriend. He rubs your back softly, watching the stupid fluffy ball on the sofa chirp for your attention. Just because he’s letting you have the cat doesn’t mean he won’t see it as his mortal enemy.

The next morning, after having gone out to buy cat food for you, Simon is sitting on the sofa, softly kissing your neck from behind. You’re sitting in his lap… completely ignoring his affection in favour of the kitty.

"Si, look! He can walk!" you grin, holding the kitten up so it looks like it’s standing on two feet.

"Mhm… cute…" Simon mumbles into the nape of your next, a strong hand wrapping around your waist to pull you into his chest. He is not watching the cat, he’s busy with you.

"I know right!" you ignore his advances still, gazing at your new pet with adoration, "I should make him a little hat, he’d look so sweet."

"Yeah, fuck, you’re so sweet…" Si keeps kissing you, moving between your neck and your shoulders, which are hidden inside his old tshirt.

"He’s so cute," you grin, stroking the back of the kitten’s head until it purrs, "I love him so much… he’s my baby."

That catches Simon off guard. He would never admit it to anyone, but he loves it when you call him your baby. He’s the only one you should be calling baby. This cat is stealing his girl. [gasp]

Si shoots the kitten a death stare.

"Oh yeah, he’s your baby?"

"Yeah, he’s the cutest…"

"Mhm. I’m sure," he pouts. When you’re not looking, he glares at the cat and points from his grey eyes to its little beady ones, like he’s trying to intimidate it.

A few days later, the two of you fall asleep together, with Simon spooning you and holding you close. But you forgot to shut the door. So your boyfriend is rudely awakened by a very small, scruffy kitten stomping on his chest.

"No, oi, get off of me," you can hear him grumbling sleepily as you start to stir, alongside the cute chirping of your kitty.

"Listen, Lettu- cat. Stupid name anyways. We can’t have you disturbing the Mrs, alright?"

You can hear him pause until he hears the kitten meow softly in response.

"Tha’s right, soldier. She’s my Mrs, not yours, and if you so much as try to change that, I will never let you see her again. My girl. Mine," he pouts.

The kitten meows again, as if he’s responding to Simon’s orders. You have to try your hardest not to giggle, biting your lip in the dark as you listen to your big, tough boyfriend have an argument with a little kitten.

"Alright, now leave the lady alone." You almost think you can hear him plant a kiss on the cat’s head before he sets it down at the side of the bed.

You’re away for the weekend, visiting family, without your boys (Simon and the kitten). :(

Simon’s fine, he’s a tough guy, he has no issue being alone - that is, until he’s poorly and he needs you to cuddle him and make him tea. But you’re not there, and talking to you over the phone only makes him feel worse.

So he resorts to laying in bed, in the shade, trying to nap. Poor boy feels too ill to do anything else (he has the man flu).

With the back of his hand over his forehead, one leg over the covers and one leg under, not quite sure whether he’s awake or asleep, he closes his eyes and frowns. A little black ball hops up onto his bed, waking him up a little.

It plods around in a little circle, looking around and exploring its new environment. When the fuzz creature spots Simon, he waddles over curiously, his little feet sinking into the soft duvet cover.

"Hey, cat," Simon smiles softly, watching the fluffy baby wander and get closer to his face. It looks up into his eyes, chirping, and brushes its fur against his cheek before settling into the crook of his neck.

He chuckles, closing his eyes as the tiny guy curls into a ball against him. The rivalry isn’t quite over for Simon, but that funny looking kitty is a little piece of you, and he’s happy to have its affection.

When you come home, it’s to the two of them, cuddled up on your bed. Silently, you change into a t-shirt and slip into bed behind Simon, planting a little kiss on his cheek.

"Told you he was cute."

how i imagine your kitten 💗

i spent way longer on this than i thought i would but it’s so cute and i loved writing it! hope you enjoy lovieeees

[yawnderu]

Simon ''Ghost'' Riley — Masterlist 💀🖤

cr: @ave661

Simon Riley Moodboard | Smut Masterlist | Bimbo!Reader Masterlist | Dad!Ghost Masterlist

This Masterlist only has the material I've created in 2024. To explore older works, you can check my Main Masterlist, or use the tags #Simon Riley x Fem!Reader or #Ghost mw2 on my profile to access all my works!

Do not translate, post, or put my content into AI tools.

Ongoing Series Lorelei

Synopsis: Aware of the way his lifestyle doesn't align with your dream life and unwilling to quit his life as a soldier, Simon breaks things off with you. It isn't until a year later that he sees you again, a tiny carbon copy of him held in your arms.

K-9

Simon Riley and his pathetic efforts to get close to the new medic will earn him a scar or two

or

Simon Riley is in love with an uninterested, tired medic.

Angel

Synopsis: Afraid of giving you the same destiny all his loved ones met, an emotionally unavailable Simon does his best to pretend being in love with you for one night, later deciding to introduce you to the one person who can give you the love you want; John Price.

Smut

Silly love-making

Simon's obsession with pornstar!reader

Sex on camera

No man could act this good

Using his naked body for art purposes

Love-making

FWB!Simon cucking your hookup

Tattoo Artist!Simon

Prettiest girl in Edinburgh

Hybrid cat!Reader tag teamed by Simon and Johnny

Soul-crushing devotion and medical emergencies

AI!Reader gets a physical body

Neet!Reader jerks him off

Hybrid wolf!Simon x Catgirl!Reader

Sleep-walking, but fucking instead

Simon becomes vocal when you give him blowjobs

Rimming him

Monster fucker

Dick headcanons

Catgirl in heat

Drabbles

Gym bros Johnny and Simon

Creature!Reader

Tag team 🌶️

Simon Riley is a stray, roughed up cat

Seduction goes against the rules

Nymphomaniac!Reader

Immortal!Reader

The phrase ''the wife'' is always in Simon's mouth

Choking🌶️

Cock warming🌶️

Lipstick marks on his cock

Neet!Reader sniffing his armpits

Milf!Reader drives Simon insane🌶️

Military high ranked!Reader

What turns him off

I have no faith, but I believe in you

You and your daughter love his tattooed arm

Simon is a furnace

Creature!Reader cuddles

Asking for sex after he had a bad day

Cumming too early🌶️

Wearing a white wife beater

Girl dad

Raccoon

Simon makes weird faces under the mask

Juiciest ass in the Task Force

Bulking

Dating a MILF

Naked cuddles

Relationship similar to Batman and Catwoman

Work Song

Cumming on your glasses🌶️

Touch starvation

Fluff & Hurt/Comfort

Expensive presents

Displays of trust

The most broken man turns to religion when you're hurt

A man without big pecs is like an angel without wings

Simon Riley was made for soul-crushing devotion

Broken man in love

Cuddles after a bad day

Simon is a giant black cat

Ai!Assistant Reader

Ai!Assistant Reader bothering Simon

Second chance at being an uncle to your niece

''I'll be the weapon when he needs protection''

Moody catgirl

Red panda hybrid!Reader

Hiccups during sex🌶️

First relationship

Angst

Emotionally unavailable

Immortal!Reader doesn't come back to life

Angel - Part I | Part II