This rare blue American lobster went from the tank of a Red Lobster restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, last week to a new home at the Akron Zoo.

Blue shell saves lobster’s life

AKRON, Ohio — What could have landed on a plate as an entree instead landed in a zoo.

The Akron Zoo on Monday, July 26, announced on its Facebook page it adopted a rare blue American lobster from none other than a Red Lobster restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Employees at the restaurant last week discovered the blue lobster, which they named Clawde after the the restaurant chain’s mascot, and recognized the rarity of the blue shell. Lobsters with blue shells occur one in every 2 million, according to the zoo. The blue coloration of the shell is the result of a genetic anomaly. The restaurant contacted the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, which in turn reached out to the Akron Zoo.

The Akron Zoo and Red Lobster are conservation partners with Seafood Watch, according to the zoo’s post. The Monterey Bay Aquarium runs the program, which helps consumers and businesses choose seafood that is farmed sustainably and fished in ways to support a healthy ocean.

The animal care staff at the zoo retrieved Clawde and prepared a home for him at the zoo.

But the name did not last long. The zoo on Tuesday revealed the blue lobster was a female, thus Clawde became Clawdia.

The lobster had a few bumps and bruises from her journey, the Akron Zoo also reported, and next few months are critical for Clawdia as she prepares for her annual molt, “a time that is very vulnerable for lobsters of any color.”

Pentagon still hunting for UFOs

WASHINGTON — The Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force is not a classified military program, but The New York Times reported last week that what it deals with is.

According to the Times article from Thursday, July 23, the task force continues the U.S. government’s search for unidentified flying objects. The program operates under the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence and showed up in June in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which outlines spending on the nation’s intelligence agencies for the coming year. According to the spending bill, the purpose of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force is “to standardize collection and reporting on unidentified aerial phenomenon, any links they have to adversarial foreign governments, and the threat they pose to U.S. military assets and installations.”

The bill also noted the committee’s concern with the lack of a “unified, comprehensive process within the Federal Government for collecting and analyzing intelligence on unidentified aerial phenomena, despite the potential threat.”

According to the bill, “The committee understands that the relevant intelligence may be sensitive; nevertheless, the committee finds that the information sharing and coordination across the intelligence community has been inconsistent.”

The bill then directs the Office of Naval Intelligence to work with certain intelligence agencies to submit a report to the “congressional intelligence and armed services committees on un-identified aerial phenomena (also known as ‘anomalous aerial vehicles’), including observed airborne objects that have not been identified.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, is the acting chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He has said he is concerned about reports of unidentified aircraft over American military bases and it was in the government’s interest to find out who was responsible.

The U.S. military and intelligent agencies have overseen several projects to collect and evaluate UFO reports and information or to dissuade the American public from believing in UFOs.

Poland accidentally invades Czech RepublicPELHRIMOVY, Czech Republic — The Polish military recently invaded and for a brief stint even occupied territory in the neighboring Czech Republic. The Polish military called the whole thing a misunderstanding.

NPR and other news organizations reported Polish soldiers in late May crossed the country’s border with Czech Republic and mistakenly turned away Czech citizens from entering a church.

The incident occurred near Pielgrzymow, a village just across the border from Poland, where soldiers assisting the country’s border guard established their post in the wrong location.

NPR reported Czech officials said their diplomats immediately notified their Polish counterparts about the incident, and Poland’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the incident but asserted it did not receive official notification about it.

“According to our information, the case was discussed by the authorities responsible for border protection on the Polish and Czech sides,” the ministry’s press office said in a statement. “In the spirit of good Polish-Czech relations, we believe that this was only a minor misunderstanding that was quickly cleared up.”

— EO Media Group