Strange noises came from the nursery each night —everything seemed fine until I got a baby monitor

By
Monica Pop
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My evenings at home with my baby daughter Ivy were small miracles. Her soft laughter, the warm cocoa, and the quiet joy of a baby finally asleep seemed to be everything I have always longed for.

That evening, as my baby girl nestled in her ducky blanket, her breathing calm and gentle, and my husband Judson stirred cocoa in the kitchen, I lay on the couch and thought to myself, “So this is what happiness looks like.”

Indeed, the world was at my feet and I felt like the happiest person there was.

However, as days passed by, there came the nights that weren’t that peaceful. At first, I just thought I was just imagining things, and Judson tried to convince me that I was too tired to be thinking clearly, but I knew I wasn’t making things up, that faint rustling coming from my baby’s room was as real as that coffee mug I was holding in my hand. I could hear it, sense it, feel it…

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As the noises from the nursery kept coming back night after night, Judson tried to convince me that it was the house settling, the pipes, or the old windows making it.

At the end of the day, the house was indeed an older one and things needed to be repaired, but that strange sound… it was definitely coming from my daughter’s room.

No matter how much everyone tried to convince me to let it go, I simply couldn’t, so I called Kaylie, my friend who knew everything about baby gadgets.

“Are you out of your mind?” she asked me when I told her I was suspecting someone was entering my house at night. She even started laughing, but still, she told me everything about that baby monitor she had purchased for herself months prior. It had night vision, audio, video — everything.

That night, I set it up carefully and felt a sense of security.

I went to bed, ready to have the much-needed sleep when I heard a scream. It was 03:15 in the morning and the baby monitor showed shadows.

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I woke Judson up and rushed to Ivy’s room. She was disturbed by something and wouldn’t stop crying.

“You are making a big deal out of this,” Judson said. “She’s still just a baby, and babies cry… for no apparent reason.” He then asked me to stop being paranoid because it affected everyone. But I knew what I saw. There were shadows on the baby monitor, and I was certain someone was sneaking into my daughter’s room.

And then, I saw Ivy’s milk bottle was on the floor, and it was warm, as though someone had just warmed it for her.

I started panicking even more. Was I going mad?

Judson explanation was that perhaps I’d sleepwalked, maybe it was the hyper-vigilance of new motherhood. But I knew better. Someone was there, and I was about to prove him wrong.

I made sure everything was closed, the front door, the garage door, everything. And then, just as I approached the window, I saw it, a pendant — a cracked silver heart. I hadn’t seen that pendant in years. It belonged to someone who was not part of my life any longer.

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Morning came and I left Ivy with the babysitter. “I’ll be back in no time,” I said. Then I got into my car and drove to the house I haven’t visited in what seemed like an eternity — my mother’s house.

Time seemed frozen there. Lace curtains, chipped ceramic owl on the porch. And my mother, waiting.

“You broke into my house,” I yelled.

“I just wanted to hold her, just once,” my mother said.

“But how did you get inside? How did you get past the security system?” I asked, needing answers.

But just as my mom was about to start speaking, Judson appeared at the house — “Honey, I can explain,” he said.

“What is going on? Judson, you knew my mother was the one getting inside our house and let me believe that I was imagining things? That I was going mad?”

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It turned out Judson caught my mother sneaking, but she then told him the whole story about her life and he decided to trust her.

“What’s the whole story, Judson?” I asked. “Well, that’s not my story to tell,” he answered, leaving me alone with my mother.

What my mom said next changed my world. It turned out my father was having an affair with ant Jessie, the woman whom I frequently saw while growing up. The one I believed was like a mother to me. The same woman who kept telling me my mother left me and had nothing to do with me.

What Jessie and my father did was used their influence to put her in a psychiatric facility. They said she was unstable.

“They kept me locked away for five years. Jessie was head of the department. She and your father made sure I couldn’t see you. Couldn’t call you. Nothing.”

My mom also told me she watched me from a distance. When I started college, when I got married… but now that I had a child, she wanted to be part of the baby’s life, and Judson helped her.

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He approached slowly and said, “I believed her, Reina. I didn’t want to at first. That’s why I hired a private investigator. I needed to know the truth. And she was telling the truth. Everything checked out. When I found out, I went to a lawyer. We’re working on it now.”

Judson also explained that he let my mom enter by disabling the security system in the house.

I was disappointed she and Judson lied to me, but they assured me they just waited for the right time to tell me the truth. And for whatever reason, I wasn’t mad at them any more.

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What happens to the soul after cremation?

By
Monica Pop
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Cremation is the process of incineration of the body of a deceased person at very high temperatures, with only a relatively small amount of “ash” left at the end, for the family to either keep, bury or scatter. The truth is that cremation remains taboo in many cultures and religions, but despite that, it has gained popularity over conventional funerals in recent years.

There are many misconceptions surrounding the process of cremation, which leads people to feel scared of it — but that fear simply comes from the unknown.

Lauren, a former funeral home worker who goes by @lovee.miss.lauren on TikTok, decided to walk her followers — over 2.5 million — through the process of cremation and bust a few common myths.

According to her, the most common question she gets is, “How can I be certain that the ashes I receive truly belong to my loved one?”

Lauren walks families through the process, explaining that when a body arrives at the crematory, it is tagged with a metal ID plate carrying a unique number. That plate stays with the body throughout cremation. Afterward, the ashes are sealed in a bag with the proper identification, and the family is given a cremation certificate listing the person’s name and registration number.

Some of the questions people ask may sound unusual, but they address real concerns. For instance, one person asked if a tampon is removed when a woman passes away during her menstrual cycle. Lauren explains that, in most cases, an autopsy is performed before cremation, and items like tampons are removed—especially if embalming is part of the process. All of this is done following strict protocols and only with the family’s consent, ensuring the body is treated with dignity and respect.

Louise Singer, manager of Bramcote Bereavement Services in the UK, explained that before cremation, coffins are inspected for items that cannot be burned, such as metal objects. She stressed the importance of checking for pacemakers, as they can explode in the heat and even shift a massive cremation chamber.

Well, not only does the process of cremation itself raise questions for those who decide to have their loved ones cremated, but also the question of what happens to the soul afterward. This especially bothers those who are religious and believe in the afterlife and in the concept of the soul living forever.

Different religions, traditions, and beliefs offer different answers to this question.

Though the mechanics of cremation are clear, what happens to the soul is still shrouded in mystery.

1. Hinduism and Buddhism: A Path to Liberation

In Hinduism, the cremation is the preferred process when a person dies. It is believed that the soul (atman) is eternal and simply leaves the body at the time of death. The act of cremation helps the soul detach from its physical form and move on to its next life through the cycle of reincarnation (samsara).

In Hindu belief, fire is considered a sacred purifier that releases the soul from the body.

In Buddhism, just like in Hinduism, cremation is commonly practiced, with the difference that Buddhism does not hold to the idea of a permanent soul. This religion teaches that consciousness continues in a cycle of rebirth. According to those who practice Buddhism, cremation isn’t only a ritual but a gesture of acceptance, honoring impermanence while opening the path to what comes next.

2. Christianity: Faith in the Afterlife

Over the centuries, Christian views on cremation have changed. For Christians, especially Catholics, burial was historically favored because of the belief in bodily resurrection. Today, most Christian denominations accept cremation, provided it doesn’t reject the belief in resurrection.

Christians believe that the soul is judged by God and moves to heaven, hell, or a waiting state like purgatory after a person dies. The body’s treatment—whether burial or cremation—does not affect the journey of the soul, but faith and one’s relationship with God are what truly matter in determining the soul’s path after death.

3. Islam: Preservation of Dignity

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In Islam, cremation is strictly prohibited. Muslim tradition calls for the body to be buried as soon as possible following death, in a manner that is both simple and respectful.

Muslims believe the soul leaves the body at the moment of death, but remains linked to it until the Day of Judgment. This prohibition emphasizes the dignity owed to the human body, with burial serving as an expression of respect and obedience to God’s commands.

4. Secular and Spiritual Views

In today’s world, there are plenty of people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, or they simply adopt a more secular perspective.

Cremation, in these contexts, is often viewed as a natural return of the body to the earth. Some hold that the soul journeys to another plane, becomes one with the universe, or lives on through the memories and impact left behind.

Others, particularly scientists and humanists, view consciousness as ending at death, making cremation a personal or ecological choice rather than a spiritual concern.

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My wife became distant – then suddenly, she was gone, with only an envelope left in her place

By
Monica Pop
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Sometimes, you believe that you know someone better than you know yourself, but that suddenly changes and that person starts feeling like a stranger all of a sudden. I felt exactly like that when my wife of fifteen years started pulling away, not only from me but from our daughter too. Honestly, I couldn’t understand why because Levine had always been a devoted mother and a loving wife.

She used to be the woman who filled our lives with warmth, and then out of the blue, she suddenly became so distant that her laughter was replaced by silence. I would see her staring out the window, lost in her thought, or quietly wiping away tears when she thought no one was watching. Whenever I would ask her what bothered her, she’d simply say, “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

When things went too far, I begged her to tell me the truth, because it was more than obvious something was wrong, but she said it wasn’t the right time for any truths to be revealed, and told me to wait.

Then came the day everything unraveled — I returned home with Emily, our daughter, and found an envelope on the table with my name on it.

Inside was a letter from Levine in which she opened up about the things that led to her estrangement from her own family.

Levine had cancer; stage 3. She wrote it was incurable and the prognosis was dull.

Further, she explained that she wasn’t afraid of dying but of the thought of burdening Emily and me, so she checked herself into a hospice two states away.

At that moment, I couldn’t stop my tears. My hearts shattered into pieces when I realized Levine’s silence came from love, not indifference.

Despite her wish to be alone, Emily and I traveled to the hospice the very next day. Seeing her frail broke me, but her face lit up when she saw us. Emily sobbed, “Mom, why didn’t you tell us?” Levine whispered, “I thought it would be easier this way.”

We remained by her side in those final weeks, trying to make new memories. Though her strength faded, her spirit blossomed, offering Emily words of love and wisdom for the days ahead.

When Levine’s last moment arrived, she wasn’t alone. She left this world holding my hand, with Emily by her side. She had hoped to protect us from pain, but in the end, we faced it as one.

Today, Emily and I live with her memory.

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Rude man insults a woman at the airport, not knowing he’ll soon regret it

By
Monica Pop
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When Dr. Carter saw a short line at the airport, she felt relieved because she was in a desperate need to catch a flight quickly for a critical case. But then, she accidentally dropped her purse and everything inside scattered on the floor. As she knelt to collect her belongings, Michael and Dana, a couple, approached the counter.

“I need two tickets to Santa Monica, please,” Michael said. The man at the counter looked worried. “We only have two seats left,” he said, sharing an edgy look with Dr. Carter.

“I need to get on this flight, please. It’s an emergency. I’m a doctor,” Dr. Carter said while picking up her things. Michael didn’t want to wait. “The tickets are clearly ours,” he insisted, showing his credit card. Dana felt sorry for Dr. Carter. “Maybe we should wait, honey?” she suggested to Michael. But Michael disagreed. “We’re not changing our plans,” he said firmly.

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Dr. Carter begged him, explaining that it’s about saving a life. But Michael wouldn’t listen. “Life’s tough. We all have our problems,” he said and asked the man at the counter, Luke, to proceed with the booking.

Dana wasn’t pleased with the way Michael treated the doctor and tried to tell him that, but Michael simply wouldn’t listen.

Once on the plane, Dana felt disappointed with him again after watching how poorly he treated the flight attendant. Michael’s acts made her question their relationship.

At one point, he asked for free martini drinks, which made Dana uncomfortable, but Michael didn’t seem to care.

As he was having one drink after another, he suddenly started gasping for air after an olive from the martini had gone down the wrong way.

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Dana quickly wrapped her arms around Michael’s waist and pushed upward. Passengers stared as she tried again and again. At last, the olive popped out of his throat and bounced off the seat ahead.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Michael coughed and then asked for more drinks, this time without olives in it.

“Michael, you need to be more careful, especially with your heart condition.”

Michael laughed. “My heart’s just fine, Dana. It takes more than an olive to take me down.”

But he wasn’t right. Moments later, he collapsed onto the floor of the aisle. A nurse on board rushed over, saying Michael was in tachycardia and needed urgent care. Dana grew anxious as paramedics met the plane and rushed him to the hospital. There, under harsh white lights, staff hurried him down the corridor. “BP’s dropping,” a nurse called out with concern. “Where’s Dr. Carter? We need her,” one of the doctors could be heard saying, and Michael knew that same sounded familiar.

Some time later, Dana found herself sitting beside Michael in the hospital room. “He’s stable, but it’s touch and go,” a nurse said.

When Michael awoke, weak and disoriented, Dana told him, “You had a heart attack. Dr. Carter saved you.”

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The name triggered a flood of memories, the airport, their argument, and the searing chest pain. Moments later, Dr. Carter entered, and Michael recognized her at once. “You… you’re the one from the airport,” he said.

“Yes, I got here on a charter flight. Lucky for my patient and you, too,” Dr. Carter replied.

Michael was embarrassed. “I’m sorry for how I acted before… you saved my life. Thank you.”

Dr. Carter smiled. “Take better care of yourself. You’ve got a second chance,” she advised.

Michael then looked at Dana and apologized. He was now aware of his behavior and he realized how poorly he treated people around him. But this experience taught him that he needed to change. He needed to become a better person.

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Bill to make tips tax-free

By
Monica Pop
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On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) into law. Under OBBB, tax reductions worth trillions that were scheduled to expire in 2025 will now remain in place permanently. It also adds new breaks, including tax-free overtime pay and an extra deduction for seniors. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the measure is expected to raise federal deficits by $3.4 trillion over the next decade.

The No Tax on Tips Act, a provision under OBBB that will allow tipped workers to deduct up to $25,000 from their taxable income, has been passed by the US Senate.

This is expected to provide direct financial relief to millions of Americans who are part of the service industry.

This bill is popular among workers, especially those who work in hospitality, but just like the overtime deduction, it isn’t technically a true tax cut but a targeted deduction that favors some groups over others.

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Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who introduced the bill along with Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, said, “This is about fairness. These workers are putting in long hours and living paycheck to paycheck. They deserve to keep more of what they earn.”

Senator Rosen emphasized that service workers in tourism-heavy economies like Nevada are the “backbone of the economy,” and that the bill offers them “the respect and support they deserve.”

The No Tax on Tips Act proposes amending the federal tax code to make tip income exempt from federal income taxes. Under current law, tipped workers must report their tips as income, and employers are required to withhold taxes. If the bill becomes law then tips from customers would still need to be reported but they would no longer be taxed at the federal level. The change applied to tips only and excludes wages and employer-paid bonuses.

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The deduction excludes automatic service fees, such as mandatory 20% tips for large parties. It also doesn’t apply to anyone in Specified Service Trades or Businesses (SSTBs), which covers professions like law and finance where skill is the main asset.

According to supporters of the bill, it eases burdens on small businesses and increases take-home pay for workers.

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80s movie bombshell unrecognizable after quitting fame and escaping stalker nightmare! Can you guess who?

By
Monica Pop
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Fans of The Fall Guy might remember Heather Thomas as the stunning stunt double-turned-bounty hunter who shared the screen with Lee Majors in the ’80s.

Besides being an actress, Thomas was also a model who graced posters in bedrooms and dorms across the country. However, once The Fall Guy wrapped in 1986, she slowly pulled back from Hollywood and eventually stepped away from acting completely at the age of just 41.

Recently, gorgeous Heather Thomas opened up of the reasons that led to the decision to end her acting career.

Speaking on Still Here Hollywood podcast with Steve Kmetko, she explained that her role of Jody Banks came with a toll—a flood of stalkers that simply wouldn’t leave her alone.

The former actress revealed that the situation was “really bad” and that at one point, she was dealing with “at least two a week.”

“I had tons of restraining orders,” she further shared, adding: “I had two little girls, and a guy’s jumping our gate with a giant buck knife. In those days, I don’t know if this is true now, but people would fixate. You could be in a soap commercial, and they would fixate on you.”

She explained that at the time “there weren’t a lot of stalker laws, and I just needed to be home anyway.”

Thomas recalled: “Someone sent me a box of bullets, and people would send me funeral wreaths they stole from a graveyard,” and that she “always had a bodyguard in the house because that’s where I didn’t want to come home to a dark house.”

She shared one specific incident where she was forced to shoot one of her stalkers. “I had one guy one night cut my screen in my bedroom and got in, and I shot him,” she revealed. The gun didn’t have any real bullets but gun salt, and she never learned if the perpetrator was ever jailed.

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During her time on The Fall Guy, Thomas took on a role in the 1982 teen comedy Zapped! with Scott Baio and guest-starred on The Love Boat and T.J. Hooker. Later, she appeared in films such as Cyclone (1987), several TV movies, and smaller projects, including Red Blooded American Girl, with her final film being My Giant (1998).

In 1992, Thomas married entertainment attorney Harry Marcus “Skip” Brittenham.

The couple have three daughters, Shauna and Kristina from Brittenham’s previous marriage, and daughter India whom they welcomed in 2000.

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Man’s final wish to see his dog before execution leads to an unforgettable moment that changed everything

By
Monica Pop
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A touching story from a rural town found its way to the hearts of many. It wasn’t a story of crime and punishment, as everyone thought it would be, but one of loyalty and love like no other.

What started as a last wish of a man who was about to be executed, turned into something much bigger. It turned into a story of redemption and connections that go beyond what words can describe.

As the man’s final moments of his life approached, he was granted one last wish. What he said next, surprised the guards. He didn’t ask for any special food or a person he loved. He wanted to see his dog one last time.

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For many, hearing such a wish could sound strange, but not to the people who knew the man and his dog, and their friendship that lasted a lifetime. In fact, the two were inseparable for years. The dog was with him through thick and thin. It was the best companion anyone could ever ask for.

The authorities granted the man’s wish and took the dog to the facility. Everyone who was present, including guards, officials, and witnesses, stood there quietly, waiting to see what was going to happen.

The moment the dog spotted its owner, it felt like the world stopped spinning. He immediately ran towards him, wagging its tail, and trembling with joy. It was an emotional reunion between two friends.

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Even the toughest guards couldn’t hide their tears. The man wrapped his arms around his dog, whispering words only they understood. The dog rested his head on his owner’s shoulder, refusing to leave. It wasn’t just goodbye but a symbol of love, peace, and a bond that no one could ever break.

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My bride slipped me a note asking me to ‘say no at the altar’ — it sounded crazy, but I trusted her plan

By
Monica Pop
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When I met Emily, I somehow felt that she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. From the moment she entered the office, her presence radiated calmness and peace, the same two feelings she soon brought into my life.

Three years forward, we were planning our wedding and our life together. Honestly, Emily has always been loved by everyone, except for one person, her stepmother Margaret.

When she saw the ring I proposed Emily with, she asked if the diamond was real or one of the fake ones, grown in a lab.

She wanted to be involved in the planning of our wedding, but only because she wanted to make mean comments, judging our choices every step of the way.

“Oh, Emily, do you thing there is really need for such a big venue, you don’t have a lot of friends anyways,” she’d say, ironically.

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She commented on the choice of the wedding dress, saying it looked cheap and that it would look better to someone with a better figure.

It has always been “small” things like that that Margaret would say at every chance she got.

When I asked Emily about it, she told me that her stepmom made her life a living hell while growing up, but whenever she tried to bring that up in front of her father, he wouldn’t believe her because Margaret pretended to like her in front of him.

So, fast forward to the day of our wedding, Emily slipped me a note that read, “Say no at the altar.”

I froze. However, I never doubted her judgement so I decided to play along because I knew she had something on her mind.

When the priest asked me if I take Emily to be my wife, I simply said, “No.” And that’s when Margaret showed her true face in front of everyone.

While everyone looked in confusion, she stood up and started laughing. “Well, well, well,” she said. “I told you. I told you all.”

“We spent so much on this wedding,” she snapped. “I told you it was pointless, a total waste of money. But no, you insisted on going along with this silly fantasy.” She threw her hands toward the decorated hall. “And for what? I told you this would happen!”

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And she didn’t stop there. On the contrary, she told Emily that it was obvious this would happen since she wasn’t worth to marry a man like me. “You really thought he’d marry you?” she sneered. “I told you, sweetie. No one wants you.”

I wanted to defend Emily, but looking at how calm her face was, I stood quiet, knowing she asked me to say “no” for a reason.

“Thank you, Margaret,” Emily said confidently.

“For what?” Margaret asked.

“For showing your true colors.”

Emily turned to the guests, especially her father, and said, “Da, you always thought she was just strict, trying to make me responsible, but what she really did was tear me down every chance she got. I was never good enough, never pretty enough, never anything enough. She made me feel like a burden after Mom died.”

Emily continued, “So today I let her think she had won. Because I knew that if Adam said no, she wouldn’t be able to hide her reaction. And now you see the truth, don’t you, Dad?”

Not only her father, but everyone who heard Margaret’s words realized how much she disliked Emily.

Margaret scoffed. “Oh, please. He was never going to marry you. I just called it before it happened.”

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Emily smiled. “That’s where you’re wrong. Because he is going to marry me.”

I stepped forward, taking her hands. “Damn right, I am.”

Emily’s dad asked Margaret to leave, and we proceeded with the wedding. It was the best day of our lives.

Eventually, Emily’s dad and Margaret reconciled, but at least he knew what kind of woman she has always been. As of us, we cut every contact with her for good.

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