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How this NYC airport is changing the game for pet travel

Four-legged flyers are getting a taste of the "suite" life.

Over 2 million animals fly commercially each year.

It's looks less like this:


"Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. You are now free to sniff each others' butts." Photo by Thinkstock.

And more like this:

"Can we at least get some pretzels?" Photo by ilovemytank/Flickr.

The experience is often chaotic and stressful for humans and animals alike. While animals have a 1 in 50,000 chance of suffering injuries or death during air travel, stories of incidents often spread rapidly.

As such, pet owners are looking for any way to make sure their furry friends are happy and healthy throughout the travel experience.

That's why John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City is stepping up big time for animals and their owners.

To assist four-legged travelers and the humans who love them, Kennedy is turning an unused cargo terminal into The Ark at JFK, a full-service, USDA-approved airport facility just for animals.

And from the looks of it, it's going to be doggone fancy.

No word on whether they're tuned to Animal Planet, but The Ark does have flat-screen TVs just for pets. Image by Ark Development.

Named for the biblical vessel, The Ark at JFK is more than a terminal, it's set to be a first-class destination for pets.

Opening in early 2016, the 178,000 square foot space will replace Vetport, a 10,000-square-foot facility built in the 1950s.

The Ark will house a pet spa (complete with "pawdicures"), dog suites, a cat adventure jungle, an animal training center, and a veterinary hospital. Pets can spend the night or just pop in between flights.

This is the place your dog is running to when she kicks her paws in her sleep. Image by Ark Development.

It will also be a comfy spot for larger animals like horses and livestock, who definitely can't fit comfortably under the seat in front of you.

When horses and livestock enter the United States, they're required to remain in quarantine to check for contagious diseases. Depending on their country of origin, the animal's stint in quarantine could last anywhere from three to 60 days! At The Ark, their stay will include climate-controlled, hay-lined stalls.


"What is this, Horseville? 'Cause I am surrounded by nay-sayers! Wordplay!" Quote from "30 Rock." Image by Ark Development.

This isn't just to make humans feel good about where their pets are; The Ark is designed to minimize stress on pets and livestock, thanks to input from architecture and animal experts.

The space was designed by master architects and leaders in animal facility design including Temple Grandin Livestock Handling Systems.

You may know the name Temple Grandin because she is a leading animal expert, advocate for people with autism,and the subject of the eponymous HBO film.

Grandin's systems encourage calm and humane animal transport and will be found throughout The Ark.

If you saw "Temple Grandin," you may remember Grandin espousing the importance of moving livestock in circular patterns to cut down on stress. That system will be put to use in The Ark. Image by Ark Development.

Staying at The Ark won't come cheap, but for many owners, it's a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Prices for are still in the works, but a first-class dog "suite" could run pet parents $100, and that's on top of airline tickets and fees.

But for the 63% of pet owners who see their animal as a member of the family and who contributed to the $58 billion spent on pets last year, it may be a small price to pay for their comfort and safety during long and stressful trips.

I will do a lot of things in this life, but I'll never be as cool as this dog. Photo By Manny Ceneta/Getty Images.

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10 anti-holiday recipes that prove the season can be tasty and healthy

Balance out heavy holiday eating with some lighter—but still delicious—fare.

Albertson's

Lighten your calorie load with some delicious, nutritious food between big holiday meals.

True

The holiday season has arrived with its cozy vibe, joyous celebrations and inevitable indulgences. From Thanksgiving feasts to Christmas cookie exchanges to Aunt Eva’s irresistible jelly donuts—not to mention leftover Halloween candy still lingering—fall and winter can feel like a non-stop gorge fest.

Total resistance is fairly futile—let’s be real—so it’s helpful to arm yourself with ways to mitigate the effects of eating-all-the-things around the holidays. Serving smaller amounts of rich, celebratory foods and focusing on slowly savoring the taste is one way. Another is to counteract those holiday calorie-bomb meals with some lighter fare in between.

Contrary to popular belief, eating “light” doesn’t have to be tasteless, boring or unsatisfying. And contrary to common practice, meals don’t have to fill an entire plate—especially when we’re trying to balance out heavy holiday eating.

It is possible to enjoy the bounties of the season while maintaining a healthy balance. Whether you prefer to eat low-carb or plant-based or gluten-free or everything under the sun, we’ve got you covered with these 10 easy, low-calorie meals from across the dietary spectrum.

Each of these recipes has less than 600 calories (most a lot less) per serving and can be made in less than 30 minutes. And Albertsons has made it easy to find O Organics® ingredients you can put right in your shopping cart to make prepping these meals even simpler.

Enjoy!

eggs and green veggies in a skillet, plate of baconNot quite green eggs and ham, but closeAlbertsons

Breakfast Skillet of Greens, Eggs & Ham

273 calories | 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (5 oz) pkg baby spinach

2 eggs

1 clove garlic

4 slices prosciutto

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 medium zucchini squash

1/8 cup butter, unsalted

1 pinch crushed red pepper

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

bow of cauliflower ham saladGet your cauliflower power on.Albertsons

Creamy Cauliflower Salad with Ham, Celery & Dill

345 calories | 20 minutes

1/2 medium head cauliflower

1 stick celery

1/4 small bunch fresh dill

8 oz. ham steak, boneless

1/2 shallot

1/4 tspblack pepper

1/4 tsp curry powder

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

1/8 tsp paprika

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

tofu on skewers on a plate with coleslawPlant-based food fan? This combo looks yums. Albertsons

Grilled Chili Tofu Skewers with Ranch Cabbage, Apple & Cucumber Slaw

568 calories | 20 minutes

1 avocado

1/2 English cucumber

1 (12 oz.) package extra firm tofu

1 Granny Smith apple

3 Tbsp (45 ml) Ranch dressing

1/2 (14 oz bag) shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix)

2 tsp chili powder

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

frittata in a cast iron skilletSometimes you just gotta frittata.Albertsons

Bell Pepper, Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata with Parmesan

513 calories | 25 minutes

6 eggs

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted

2 oz Parmesan cheese

1 red bell pepper

1/2 medium red onion

8 sundried tomatoes, oil-packed

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with slices of grilled chicken and a caprese saladCaprese, if you please.Albertsons

Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Classic Caprese Salad

509 calories | 25 minutes

3/4 lb chicken breasts, boneless skinless

1/2 small pkg fresh basil

1/2 (8 oz pkg) fresh mozzarella cheese

1 clove garlic

3 tomatoes

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 3/4 pinches black pepper

1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

four stuffed mushrooms on a plateThese mushrooms look positively poppable.Albertsons

Warm Goat Cheese, Parmesan & Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms

187 calories | 35 minutes

1/2 lb cremini mushrooms

1 clove garlic

1/2 (4 oz) log goat cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 sundried tomatoes, oil-packed

1 1/4 pinches crushed red pepper

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

2 pinches salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with open English muffin with goat cheese and sliced baby tomatoes on topMove over, avocado toast. English muffin pizzas have arrived.Albertsons

English Muffin Pizzas with Basil Pesto, Goat Cheese & Tomatoes

327 calories | 10 minutes

3 Tbsp (45 ml) basil pesto

2 English muffins

1/2 (4 oz) log goat cheese

1/2 pint grape tomatoes

3/4 pinch black pepper

2 pinches salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

pita pocket on a plate filled with veggies, meat and cheeseThis pita pocket packs a colorful punch.Albertsons

Warm Pita Pocket with Turkey, Cheddar, Roasted Red Peppers & Parsley

313 calories | 20 minutes

1/4 (8 oz) block cheddar cheese

1/2 bunch Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

4 oz oven roasted turkey breast, sliced

1/2 (12 oz) jar roasted red bell peppers

1 whole grain pita

3/4 pinch black pepper

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp mayonnaise

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with toast smeared with avocado and topped with prosciuttoDid we say, "Move over, avocado toast?" What we meant was "Throw some prosciutto on it!" Albertsons

Avocado Toast with Crispy Prosciutto

283 calories | 10 minutes

1 avocado

2 slices prosciutto

2 slices whole grain bread

1 5/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

bowl of chili with cheese and green onions on topVegetarian chili with a fall twistAlbertsons

Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili with Cheddar

444 calories | 30 minutes

2 (15 oz can) black beans

1/2 (8 oz ) block cheddar cheese

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

2 green bell peppers

1 small bunch green onions (scallions)

1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin purée

1 medium yellow onion

1/2 tsp black pepper

5 7/8 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes, visit albertsons.com/recipes.

Image shared by Madalyn Parker

Madalyn shared with her colleagues about her own mental health.


Madalyn Parker wanted to take a couple days off work. She didn't have the flu, nor did she have plans to be on a beach somewhere, sipping mojitos under a palm tree.

Parker, a web developer from Michigan, wanted a few days away from work to focus on her mental health.

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Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy

From musical babies to big-hearted basketball players, here are 10 things that made us smile this week.

Few things are as heartwarming as humans helping one another, whether it's something practical, like assisting with a flat tire, or something more existential, like offering a kind word when someone's feeling down.

This week's list of things that made us smile has several examples of the latter—times where someone's support or words of encouragement made a difference. It's a good reminder that we're truly all in this together and that a connection between human hearts is really the most smile-worthy thing there is.

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Education

Kids in 1966 shared their predictions for the year 2000 and it's fascinating to see now

In many ways, the future turned out much brighter than these youngsters expected it to.

Thankfully, this girl's prediction was way off.

The idea of predicting the future has been the subject of countless books, movies and televisions shows (and is basically the basis of all gambling). Outside of a few uncanny instances, no one can tell exactly what the future holds, especially for the world at large. But people sure love to predict it anyway.

The BBC shared a video compilation of kids in 1966 sharing what they imagine the year 2000 would be like, and their predictions are fascinating. After five or six kids share, it becomes clear what some of the most pressing concerns of the 1960s were. Some kids thought we'd have bombed ourselves into oblivion. Others believed we'd be so overpopulated we would be packed like sardines and wouldn't be able to build houses anymore.

Not all of the predictions were so dark. Some kids had some hilarious predictions about cabbage pills and robots. Others thought we'd have better cures for diseases and less segregation among the races, which we have.

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Pets

A dog dressed for business is breaking other dogs out of their fences to go on adventures

The people in the neighborhood do not appreciate his impromptu playdates

A dog in a tie has been breaking out dogs for adventures

What on earth could be better than a dog in a collar and tie? A dog that dresses for business as he sets out to free all the dogs in the neighborhood who look like they may want to help him run a muck–that's what. Recently Ailea, a TikTok user uploaded a video talking about a dog in her neighborhood trying to start a cult with the other dogs.

Ailea has two dogs of her own which is how she came to notice the dapper dog. But it wasn't until she was attempting to get an explanation from the furry dog boss that she realized he had a neighborhood operation going on.

"I see that he's wearing a tie. Very distinguished. So I'm like, cool. I'm going to go out front and I'm going to talk to this dog, have a rational conversation with this dog in a tie," Ailea says. "Maybe find out where he lives, help him find his way home, you know that sort of thing."

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@maybeashleymarie/TikTok

A woman shares how much her 'angle Tree" gifts meant to her as a kid

Every year, the Salvation Army Angel Tree helps provide a little bit of Christmas magic to thousands of children across the country who might otherwise miss out.

The way it works is simple: children and senior adults are assigned donors, aka “Angels” in the community, whom they share a personal Christmas wish list with. The angels then purchase those items, which are distributed semi-anonymously.

As a child with incarcerated parents, I was an Angel Tree kid, and I can still remember the feeling I got opening up the exact art set my heart yearned for. It was the feeling of truly being seen.

Getting my Angel Tree present was about more than just accumulating stuff—it reminded me that there were adults I could count on (even if I didn’t actually know them) and it allowed me to simply be a kid again for a moment, during a time when that often seemed impossible.

It’s these types of priceless memories the Angels provide, with little to no awareness of how deeply their generosity impacted the lives of those they gave to.

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20 high school students lift car to rescue mom and toddler

Some people are in the right place at the right time when tragedy strikes. A mother and her 2-year-old are both lucky to be alive after being struck by a car that was blinded by the sun. Bridgette Ponson was walking across the parking lot of Layton Christian Academy in Utah when the accident occurred.

Students rushed to the car realizing that Ponson and her two small children were stuck beneath it. While the 3-year-old managed to free themselves to crawl from under the car, the mom was trapped on top of her younger child unable to move. Help arrived nearly instantly in the form of more than 20 high school students, an United States Airman.

The school's surveillance cameras caught the entire heart-stopping rescue on video as the teens struggled to lift the car. Eventually, the high schoolers were able to lift the car high enough for senior airman Dominique Childress to help pull the mom and toddler to safety.

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