In a heartening yet somber moment, Florida’s brave K-9 Ace made a triumphant return to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, marking just days since a gunshot led to the amputation of his front leg. The dedicated German Shepherd, despite his injuries, was warmly welcomed back by the department on Tuesday.

At seven years old, Ace has been with the Polk County team since March 2020, forging a reputation for unwavering loyalty and bravery. His recent brush with danger occurred during an operation to apprehend 27-year-old Angel Bowers, which turned volatile.

According to authorities, Bowers had evaded a court appearance and, in resisting arrest, allegedly discharged multiple shots at the deputies. The situation concluded with deputies ending Bowers’ life during the confrontation.

Speaking on the incident, Sheriff Grady Judd praised Ace’s actions during the critical moment. The shots from Bowers not only shattered Ace’s leg bone but also tore through an artery, resulting in significant blood loss. Ace’s sacrifices underscore the dangerous reality officers, both human and canine, face every day.

Ace’s partner and handler, Deputy Natalie Oestreich, treated his wounds and carried him to safety, according to the sheriff’s office.

Ace was rushed to Parkway Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Lakeland, where he was stabilized before a Tampa General Hospital Aeromed helicopter transported him to the Veterinary Medical Center at Lakewood Ranch. Veterinarians there performed a several-hour surgery to amputate his left front leg.

On Sunday, the sheriff’s office posted video showing deputies arriving at the veterinary medical center to greet an energetic Ace as he prepared to return home.

“Upon waking from the anesthesia, Ace attempted to walk out of there,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “He has not been deterred since. In fact he outran the camera attempting to film his release this afternoon!”

Video shows Ace interacting with deputies before walking out of the medical center under his own power to thunderous applause while wearing a shirt that read “ride or die.”

Two days later, Ace made his first trip back to the sheriff’s office since being shot in the line of duty.

“Look at Ace. He’s happy; he’s eating; he bit my finger,” Judd said. “We are so proud of Natalie and Ace. They stood in the gap between good and evil and they saved three deputies’ lives. That’s why we’re so proud of him. He did so good.”

Judd said Oestreich will spend time with Ace as he continues to recover before she returns to work. Ace, however, will retire from law enforcement.

“Chill out and enjoy your retirement Ace,” Judd said.

The sheriff’s office also honored Ace in a social media post, writing, “His days of chasing bad guys may be over, but Ace will always be one of our heroes!”

Polk Sheriff’s Charities Inc. has established a K-9 fund to help support Ace’s care. The sheriff’s office said those interested in helping can donate directly to the fund through the organization’s website.

Remarkably, a courageous young goose named Goosey jolted his owners awake in the dead of night when he discovered their barn was burning. Thanks to his quick thinking, both the barn and its animal inhabitants were saved from disaster.

Goosey, just four months old, joined the Gerber family on Mother’s Day. Despite his typically solitary nature, an extraordinary event last Tuesday spurred him into heroic action, as reported by KHOU 11.

Bert Gerber, Goosey’s owner, was napping on the couch when the usually quiet goose erupted into a series of unusual honks, rousing the entire household with sounds they had never encountered before.

To Bert’s astonishment, Goosey’s urgent calls were not in vain—they were warnings. Just outside, a barn teeming with the family’s animals on their Fort Bend County property was ablaze.

Dramatic footage from surveillance cameras captured Goosey, the honking hero, stationed bravely in front of the fiery barn, underscoring his pivotal role in averting a tragedy.

“I just casually came outside and I saw a fire billowing out of there,” Bert recalled. “I grabbed a water hose and ran over there.” 

Bert extinguished the blaze and all the animals inside of the barn were accounted for and safe.

“If I hadn’t been woken up, I think in a couple more minutes, it would have been … out of control,” Bert said.

Bert’s wife Chelsea never wanted a webbed-foot friend but the couple’s daughter Elaine fell in love with Goosey when they went to a “hug a goose” event four months ago.

“When we got him, he was so small and he was just so fluffy,” young Elaine said. “When I got to pet his head, he would just rest his head on my arm and it just made me tear up.”

The family said they are even considering a fellow webbed-foot companion — a Lucy for Goosey, the outlet reported.

“And then we’re going to get babies. I can start my own business,” Elaine said.  

In a groundbreaking legal decision on Tuesday, a surrogate who resisted the biological parents’ request to abort an unborn baby due to a correctable heart defect achieved an initial courtroom success.

McKenna West, an Alaska-based nurse and mother of two, is advocating for the unborn child’s life, whom she has named Gabriel, following the diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

West has approached a family district court in Dallas County, Texas, seeking to allow the unborn baby to stay in the state and receive crucial medical intervention that could save his life.

Her cause has found a powerful ally in Texas Attorney General and Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, who filed a supportive brief asserting that the state mandates physicians to administer necessary medical care.

Within less than a day, an associate judge issued a temporary restraining order ensuring that all essential treatments for the baby, expected to be born early next month, cannot be withheld or obstructed by any parties involved.

The judge also appointed a legal guardian to ensure the child receives all of the necessary treatments for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. 

‘The court has made the right decision in immediately acting to protect baby Gabriel’s life and ensure he receives the care he deserves,’ Paxton said in a statement announcing the order.

‘My office utilized every tool at our disposal to protect life, and we will not back down in continuing to support baby Gabriel’s wellbeing,’ he continued, arguing: ‘Every child in our state deserves to be cared for and protected, and that’s exactly what I’ll fight for.’

Lila Rose, the founder of Live Action, which helped West connect with lawyers, also praised the outcome.

But she noted that the judge also ordered West be prevented from having any contact with the baby after birth. 

‘This is deeply unjust as Baby Gabriel will be separated from the only mother he’s known, left to go through surgery without her comfort or support,’ Rose posted on X, noting that West ‘has been the one fighting for his protection.’

‘Baby Gabriel is not a product,’ she argued. ‘He is a human being. His needs should be the top priority. The fight must continue for Baby Gabriel.’

Her message comes as the child’s biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, continue their lawsuit seeking to establish parental rights through a California court.

They have previously demanded in their own lawsuit that West travel to their home state of California to give birth.

They left it open as to whether they would allow doctors to perform life-saving surgery on the child or if they would only provide him with ‘comfort care’ so he dies shortly after his birth. 

West then filed a counter-suit in the Superior Court of Alaska seeking sole custody of the baby so she can allow doctors in Texas to treat him.

But in Paxton’s legal filing on Monday, he argued the active legal disputes only seek to determine who speaks for the child – and do not determine whether life-saving treatment must be provided. 

The issue about the child’s care and who has parental rights over him began after a 20-week ultrasound revealed that he would have hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Devastated by the news, West did some research and found a hospital in Dallas that has had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries a baby would need right after birth.

Babies who undergo that first surgery have a 75 percent chance of making it to the age of five, and those who make it to their first birthday have a 90 percent chance of making it to the age of 18, according to New York Presbyterian Hospital.  

West then told her contacts at Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialist LLC that she could live with a friend in Texas to mitigate costs to Gilkar and Ahmed.

But a liaison at the agency told her the couple was still concerned about the baby’s future quality of life living with the heart condition.

West then received a call from the liaison telling her the parents officially requested she undergo an abortion – something she was morally against.

As she would be 24 weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion, West said in court documents she was appalled at the idea that doctors would inject the baby with ‘a solution that will stop his heart and then he’ll be literally ripped apart and dismembered as he’s taken from [her] uterus.’ 

As West continued to struggle with the biological parents’ request, her brother reached out to her and offered to adopt the child.

West then flew down to Texas to deliver the child and seek legal protections, as Texas state law recognizes anyone who gives birth in the state as the legal mother of that child.

However, Tuesday’s ruling forbids her from making any medical decisions for or on behalf of the child and states the child’s biological parents can make medical decisions on behalf of their son.

However, neither West nor the child’s biological parents are allowed to intervene if a doctor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center or Children’s Medical Center of Dallas determines that a certain treatment is necessary to save the infant’s life.

If anyone does try to refuse the child’s medical treatment, the court will hold an emergency hearing to determine whether the treatment is necessary and whether any statutory exception applies, according to the order.

West and the child’s biological parents are also forbidden from taking the child out of state after he is born.

The two parties are now due back in court on August 25. The Daily Mail has reached out to Gilkar and Ahmed’s lawyer.

Tragedy struck a Colorado community as five teenage friends, all aged 17, lost their lives in a devastating cliff plunge. Their vehicle careened off a steep hill, leaving grieving families and shocked residents to face the sorrowful reality just as the new school year commences.

The heart-wrenching accident occurred as these teenagers from Grand Junction traveled along Lookout Lane late on Saturday. Investigators revealed that their vehicle abruptly veered off course, sending them tumbling down a steep slope.

According to the Mesa County Coroner’s Office, three of the victims—including the driver and a front-seat passenger—were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. However, two were not buckled in, resulting in their tragic ejection from the vehicle.

All five died from injuries sustained in the crash.

Authorities were not alerted to the wreck until approximately 7:45 a.m. Sunday, when 911 dispatchers received a report that a vehicle may have gone over the edge of a cliff, according to the Grand Junction Police Department.

Police and firefighters responding to the area discovered the wrecked vehicle along the hillside.

Speed is being investigated as a possible factor, police said. Authorities have not publicly identified the driver or said what caused the vehicle to leave the roadway.

The coroner’s office said it would not release the teenagers’ names because of its policy against publicly identifying minors.

Though the teens have been identified by families and loved ones as those in the Grand Junction community share memories and rally around those left behind.

One of the victims was Braden Taylor, 17, whose grandfather, Calvin Wilken, confirmed his death in an emotional Facebook post obtained by News Media.

“Very sad news our youngest grandson Braden 17 died in a car rollover down 5 ledges of a very steep drop off over looking the railroad tracks and the Gunnison River,” Wilken wrote.

“He was a passenger with 4 of his buddies, all deceased,” he added.

Wilken said the crash occurred just blocks from the family’s former home in a ridge-top development above the area.

A GoFundMe established for Braden’s parents said the teenager was their youngest son and that the family is now confronting unexpected funeral expenses while trying to process his death.

“Wade and Michelle are now facing the unimaginable pain of losing their youngest son while also carrying the weight of sudden funeral expenses,” the fundraiser said.

The scale of the loss has rippled across Grand Junction.

Modern Classic Motors, a local business, shared verified donation links for all five families and said the tragedy was weighing particularly heavily on the community as students returned to school.

“Our hearts are broken for the five young lives tragically lost over the weekend and for their family and friends who are left with this unimaginable loss,” the business wrote on Facebook.

“As the new school year kicks off today, we can only imagine the heaviness and sadness that is being felt throughout our schools today,” the post continued.

The four other teenagers were identified by loved ones as Tristan Tucker, Titus Gould, William Simms and Tyler Martinez, according to the Daily Mail.

Tucker had been preparing to begin his senior year of high school, get his driver’s license and experience the milestones that come with being 17, according to a fundraiser for his family cited by the outlet.

He was remembered as being “full of life, potential, and a free spirit.”

A Meal Train was also established to support Gould’s family following his death, according to the Daily Mail.

Martinez’s grandmother, Debbie Gallegos Martinez, publicly mourned her grandson after the crash.

“With a heavy heart and tears rolling down my cheek my grandson was one of this [sic] boys,” she wrote, according to the outlet.

Another family member asked people to keep all five families in their prayers, calling the tragedy “devastating and heartbreaking.”

The Grand Junction Police Department also issued an emotional message.

“Our hearts are heavy following the tragic losses this weekend,” the department wrote. “You’re our neighbors, our friends, and our family.”

“We grieve alongside our community and stand together to support one another.”

A former NFL player is making waves in a different kind of arena—the UFC octagon.

Anthony Wint, who once suited up as a linebacker for the New York Jets, has secured a UFC contract after a decisive victory against Matthew Adams on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” The bout concluded just 34 seconds into the first round, with Wint defeating Adams via TKO, unleashing a cascade of punches that left no room for doubt.

Wint’s impressive debut performance has quickly made a fan out of UFC president Dana White. Following DWCS 87, White shared that Wint is already eager to secure a spot on an upcoming fight card.

“Wint is a blast to watch. He’s been persistent, telling me, ‘I’m not leaving Las Vegas until you guys get me a fight,’ so we’re considering him for [UFC] Sacramento,” White mentioned, as reported by MMA Junkie. “I appreciate fighters who are hungry to get back in the octagon quickly.”

White further emphasized the importance of staying active after a strong showing on the Contender Series, noting it as a crucial step in capitalizing on the momentum gained from such performances.

White said he’s working to make Wint’s request a reality at UFC Fight Night 285 taking place on Aug. 22 at the Golden 1 Center in California’s capital city. 

Wint is now 7-0 in MMA fights. 

The 30-year-old played his college football at Florida International and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jets in 2018, when he played in two games before being waived the following summer. 

Wint was signed by the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats in December 2019, but the 2020 CFL season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and he opted out of his CFL contract in August of that year. 

He began his amateur MMA career in 2021. 

“I played football my whole life. Not only football, linebacker,” Wint said, per NFL.com. “So I was used to lining up against 11 people, having 11 people against me and then dissecting a whole play in 40 seconds.

“Now I just gotta dissect a man in three rounds.”

Although Amy Adams’ daughter is often described as her “mini-me,” she is now being linked to another Hollywood star.

Aviana Olea Le Gallo created a buzz this summer when she appeared with her mom at the Cape Fear premiere. Observers couldn’t help but notice her uncanny resemblance to Scarlett Johansson.

“Still trying to process why Amy Adams’ daughter looks so much like Scarlett Johansson,” tweeted the first person to spot the likeness.

Many others on social media echoed this observation.

“The resemblance is actually WILD,” commented one fan, noting the “twin energy” Aviana shares with Johansson.

‘Multiverse is leaking for sure,’ another said. ‘That’s literally a mini Scarlett Johansson with Amy Adams’ hair.’

One was initially fooled into believing she was Johansson: ‘I did think she was Scarlett,’ they wrote.

Aviana is Adams’s and only child with husband Darren Le Gallo and the couple have made an effort to shield her from the public eye for most of her childhood. 

The youngster is now considering pursuing a career in Hollywood much like her mother. 

‘I think we’ll see what she’s up for,’ Adams recently told People.

‘I know she’s interested in production as a whole, so we’ll see what avenue she decides to focus on.’

Over the last few months, Aviana has begun joining her mother at high-profile events, with her first appearance being in March at Lacoste’s show during Paris Fashion Week.

During the press tour for her film Nightb**ch in 2024, Adams shared with PEOPLE how much she loves having her daughter accompany her as well as how ‘sweet’ she is.

‘It was really great to share that with her. I just love her!’ she said of Aviana attending the film’s Toronto Film Festival premiere.

‘I get really nervous about public speaking, and she’s never been around me [in those moments]. She was like, ‘Mom, you do this all the time. You got this!’ She was supporting me, it was so sweet.’

Adams also shared that Aviana previously discouraged her from ‘wearing make-up’ on the red carpet.

‘She’s like, ‘I just want you to look like Mom, not like Amy Adams.’ And I was like, ‘You got it,”’ she recalled.

‘So there were years where I didn’t wear make-up wherever we went. I mean, I sneaked some mascara.

‘But yeah, I wouldn’t wear make-up because she wanted me to be just mom.’

She lamented that she was ‘the last person to get ready’ and ‘the least manicured at my household’, adding: ‘I think it’s been that way since she was born.’

Now, Adams shared at the time that Aviana is discouraging her from slacking off in the beauty and style department.

‘Per my daughter’s request, I’m working on an upgrade,’ she said.

‘She’s like, ‘You can’t wear workout clothes if you’re not working out, Mom. You can’t just do the leisure part of athleisure.”

Adams and her husband met in an acting class in 2001, and began dating a year later when they collaborated on the short film, Pennies.

Le Gallo proposed to the actress in 2008 and she gave birth to Aviana just two years later in 2010.

The couple had an extended engagement and said they were in no rush to get married, before exchanging vows in 2015 on a ranch just outside of Santa Barbara, California.

Adams told Allure in 2016 that the couple decided to finally get married because Aviana ‘wanted a family wedding.’

‘We always had the commitment, but now he’s stuck with me and I can really act out. I’m kidding,’ she told The Times following their nuptials.

‘The truth is, I feel a stronger sense of family, a bigger sense of permanence, which is a nice thing for me.’

She has also gushed about her husband and the love he has for their daughter, telling Marie Claire back in 2018: ‘It’s sexy to see him raising a girl and teaching her how a man should treat her in a lovely way.’