Belgian Olympian Evi Van Acker, who won the bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics for Women’s sailing in the Laser Radial class, is the first sailor to fall sick after sailing in the heavily polluted Guanabara Bay at this year's Rio Olympics.

Van Aker reported feeling ill after her races on Wednesday and her coach, Wil Van Bladel, believes that it was the water's fault. He said that both of Van Acker's poor performances of the week, and her current state, are caused by a severe intestinal infection that she developed while training in Rio this July.

“Evi caught a bacteria in early July that causes dysentery,” said Coach Van Bladel. “Doctors say this can seriously disrupt energy levels for three months. It became clear yesterday that she lacked energy during tough conditions. She could not use full force for a top condition. The likelihood that she caught it here during contact with the water is very big.”

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According to Darryl Seibel, the World Sailing spokesman, Van Acker is the only sailor who has reported feeling sick during the Games so far, and that this appears to just be an isolated incident.

Last week, two policemen drove over 600 miles to return a dog to its rightful home after they promised a man in need of medical attention that his dog would be taken care of.

Frank Kuhl, from Wall, N.J., was called to the aid of a 34-year-old man from Myrtle Beach, S.C., who was in need of medical attention. The man was passing through the Garden State at the time with Bella, his female basset hound.

Bella was given into the custody of the Monmouth County Humane Society while her owner was receiving medical care. But according to the organization’s policy, the pooch could only be reserved for a week before being put up for adoption.

After one week, neither the man nor the dog’s co-owner, who was a member of the man’s family, could make the long trip to pick up the dog.

Kuhl, who had promised the man that Bella would be kept safe, took it upon himself to make sure the dog was returned to her rightful family.

“It pulled on my heartstrings a little bit,” Kuhl said. “I have two dogs at home, and I got a vibe that this guy feels the same way about dogs that I do.”

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Instead of letting the dog be put up for adoption, Kuhl and his family took temporary custody of Bella and began planning the 650-mile road trip down to Myrtle Beach to return the pooch to her owner.

“My whole family pitched in a lot during that time,” said Kuhl. “Bella got along great with everyone.”

A few weeks ago, hoping to capitalize on Pokémon Go’s unprecedented popularity, the Smithfield Police Department in Virginia posted on Facebook that a rare Pokémon had popped up in their processing room. They then invited a group of “randomly chosen citizens” to come down to the police department for their chance at catching the rare Pokémon.

Although it was a cordial gesture, none of the invited individuals were very keen to try and catch the rare Pokémon, as they all had outstanding arrest warrants.  

When interviewed, the administrator for the Smithfield Police Department’s Facebook page, Sgt. Bryan Miller, told the Virginian Pilot that he wanted to spruce up a boring list of outstanding warrants. “I have a sense of humor,” he said. Miller then added that he was not actually expecting anyone to fall for the fake advertisement and show up.

Although no one did fall for the ruse, the clever advertisement did lead to an arrest.

With a lick of honey, what is most likely the longest running hunger strike in the world, has come to an end.

The Indian activist Irom Sharmila, nicknamed the “Iron Lady of Manipur,” was 28 when ten civilians were killed after a government-controlled paramilitary force opened fired on a crowd of civilians waiting at a bus stop in a small Indian village. The event would become known as the “Malom Massacre.”

The paramilitary group was immune to any repercussions from the slaughter under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives the Indian military the power to kill anyone that is suspected of being a rebel in certain "disturbed" areas of the country. It also grants full immunity to the military, even if the dead happen to turn out to not be a threat.

Many critics of the law claim that the government is able to commit atrocities and abuse power under the pretext of crushing potential rebellion.

After the massacre, Sharmila decided to go on a hunger strike until AFSPA was repealed. For almost 16 years, Sharmila hasn't eaten because the law  hasn't been repealed.

The Olympic Games have always been a time for the countries of the world to put aside their hostilities and compete under the olive branch. Although the build up to this year’s Olympic games has been especially fraught with scandal, some athletes have still been able to interact with their fellow athletes in the true spirits of the Olympic games.

In an almost unprecedented moment of camaraderie, South Korean rookie gymnast Lee Eun Ju and veteran North Korean gymnast Hong Un Jong, posed for a photograph together during a practice session on Saturday, in preparation for Sunday’s qualification round.

German citizens seem to have lost faith in their chancellor, Angela Merkel, and her immigration policy after a string of terrorists attacks over the last month. While Germany has succeeded in avoiding the large-scale terrorist attacks that have rocked other European nations, they have not been entirely safe from harm, especially in this last few particularly bloody weeks.

In the most recent poll, which consisted of 1,003 participants and was conducted from August 1st-2nd, 65 percent claimed that they were dissatisfied with Merkel’s open door refugee policy, while a record low 34 percent claimed that they were either satisfied, or very satisfied, with her stance. This is the lowest public approval rate since the question first began to be asked last October.

Her overall approval rating has also plummeted, most likely due to the crumbling support of her refugee policy. In a recent survey for the public broadcaster ARD, Merkel’s approval rating dropped 12 point from her rating in July. She now stands at a 47 points. In comparison, Merkel had a solid approval rating of 75 points last April.

Merkel’s early August approval rating is her second lowest score since she was re-elected back in 2013.

Horst Seehofer, one of Merkel’s harshest critics, has received an 11 point jump in his approval ratings, and is now resting at a 44 approval rate. He has been a major proponent for placing restriction on immigration as a way of increasing security.

North Korea has seemed rather obsessed with rockets recently, having conducted a series of successful missile tests over the last couple of months. The hermit kingdom even had the audacity to crash land a missile not too far from the Japanese coast. But, despite the increasing number of military missile tests, Kim Jong Un may have his sights set a little higher than just world domination.

According to North Korean officials representing their nation’s space program, nicknamed NADA (yes, the Spanish word for "nothing"), Kim intends to plant his nation’s flag on the moon. The DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) first plans to launch a high-tech communication satellite by 2020, and then hopes to use that technology to execute a successful moon landing within the next ten years.

“Even though the U.S. and its allies try to block our space development, our aerospace scientists will conquer space and definitely plant the flag of the DPRK on the moon,” said Hyon Kwang II, director of the scientific research department of North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration.

So, instead of using its vital resources to feed its citizens, North Korea had decided to try and join the small list of nations that have landed on the moon. Maybe they still think the moon is made of cheese.

City officials in Phoenix, Ariz., announced Tuesday exactly how much money two Black Lives Matter protests in July cost their tax-paying citizens. Combined, the two protests sucked up nearly $250,000 in city funds.

“This shows a complete disrespect for the taxpayer and our great police department,” said councilman Sal DiCiccio in statement. “This disrespect can be easily added up. Add up the loss of taxpayer monies, the cost to local small business owners, [and] the waste of limited police resources.”

“To be clear, I am a fierce proponent of free speech and people's right to protest, but the way the protesters exercised their right squandered critical resources away from the serial killer investigation and our community,” added DiCiccio.

The two protests, held on July 9 and July 15, drew a total of roughly 1,100 protesters. The first rally, which was attended by about 1,000 activists, quickly got out of hand as protesters tried to enter a major interstate highway before being dispersed with tear gas and pepper spray. Six people were injured and three were arrested.

Despite their varying size, both protests used up more than 1,500 of the police department's man hours to a tune of about $124,000 per event.

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Twitter is up in arms over the Monday shooting of a 23-year-old black woman by a cop in Baltimore, Md., that left her dead and her five-year-old child injured. But the wave of tweets that declare her a martyr and all cops "pigs" seem to contradict the facts that are known about the case.

According to the Baltimore Police Department, three officers were sent to arrest a man and a woman in Baltimore County around 9:20 a.m. The man was wanted for assault while the woman, 23-year-old Korryn Gaines, was wanted for failure to appear in court over “an array of traffic charges, including disorderly conduct and resisting the arrest.”

When police arrived at the apartment where the suspects were reportedly staying, the officers said they heard voices inside the apartment but were refused entry. The cops were able to obtain a key to the apartment after some time.

When they opened the door, the police officers immediately came face-to-face with Gaines, holding her young son in one hand, and a shotgun in the other.

“The officers quickly retreated to the hallway outside of the apartment and called for additional support,” the spokesperson for the police reported. The man who was in the apartment tried to escape with an infant, but was soon apprehended by police.

A new Texas law went into effect on Monday that allows people over the age of 21 and with a concealed handgun license to legally carry handguns on public college campuses.

The law, passed back in 2015 and nicknamed the “campus carry” law, allows eligible students to keep their guns with them as they go about their average day at college. Proponents of the law say that more guns on campus will deter mass shootings, and will help students protect themselves against a would-be shooter.

With this law, Texas will become the 8th state to mandate that concealed handguns be allowed on public college campuses. There are already 21 other states that allow the decision to be decided by the individual colleges.

Under the law, schools can still put some particular restrictions in place. Texas A&M University, for example, will allow teachers to ban guns from their offices. Guns still won't be allowed in medical centers and sports arenas.

The law went into effect on the 50th anniversary of one of the most tragic college shootings in American history. In 1966, a student at the University of Texas at Austin shot 14 people from a clock tower. The shooting spree ended when armed citizens began to fire on the sniper.

The armed citizens were able to keep him from killing any more students until police arrived on the scene.

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