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From today's featured article The Horse Protection Act of 1970 is a United States federal law, under which the practice of soring is a crime punishable by both civil and criminal penalties. Soring is the practice of applying irritants (including objects such as nails, example pictured) or blistering agents to the front feet or forelegs of a horse, making it pick its feet up higher in an exaggerated manner that creates the "action" desired in the show ring, giving practitioners an unfair advantage over other competitors. The Act makes it illegal to show a horse or enter it at a horse show, to auction, sell, offer for sale, or transport a horse for any of these purposes if it has been sored. It is enforced by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Violations are detected by observation, palpation and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to identify chemicals on horses' legs. Certain training techniques and topical anesthetics can be used to avoid detection by the first two methods. In 2013, an amendment to the Act was proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives to toughen penalties and outlaw "stacks", or layers of pads attached to the front hooves. (Full article...) Recently featured: Thirty Flights of Loving – Cyclura nubila – "Episode 2" (Twin Peaks) Did you know... From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content: ... that the Olympic violet (pictured) is found only on the eastern and northeastern peaks of the Olympic Mountains in Washington state? ... that the murder of 14-year-old schoolgirl Leigh Leigh inspired a theatrical play that was later adapted into a feature film? ... that despite nationwide speculation, John Hay never acknowledged his authorship of The Bread-Winners, published anonymously in 1883? ... that Romanian opera singer and film actress Maria Forescu died in the Buchenwald concentration camp? ... that the oldest memorial in All Saints' Church, Runcorn, Cheshire, is dedicated to two women, "both good wives"? ... that the last Norse–Gaelic King of Dublin, Ascall mac Ragnaill, was captured and executed in 1171 after failing to reclaim his kingdom from the English? ... that in later life, baseball player Dan Casey claimed he was "Casey at the Bat"?

In the news The 41st Chess Olympiad concludes with China winning the open section and Russia winning the women's section of the tournament. Mathematicians Artur Ávila, Manjul Bhargava, Martin Hairer, and Maryam Mirzakhani are awarded the Fields Medal; Mirzakhani is its first female recipient. Actor and comedian Robin Williams (pictured) dies at the age of 63. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wins Turkey's first direct presidential election. Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 crashes near Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 39 people. Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan are found guilty of crimes against humanity by a UN-backed tribunal. Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Gaza conflict – Libyan conflict – Ukrainian unrest Recent deaths: B. K. S. Iyengar On this day... August 21: Youth Day and King Mohammed's Birthday in Morocco; Ninoy Aquino Day in the Philippines 1139 – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeated an army led by Jin dynasty general Wanyan Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song wars. 1689 – Jacobite risings: Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king James VII of Scotland clashed with a government regiment of Covenanters supporting William of Orange, in the streets around Dunkeld Cathedral, Dunkeld, Scotland. 1911 – Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (pictured) was stolen from the Louvre by a museum employee and was not recovered until two years later. 1944 – Delegations from Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, met at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. to discuss the formation of the United Nations. 2007 – Hurricane Dean made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula as a Category 5 storm, causing 45 deaths and US$1.5 billion in damage. More anniversaries: August 20 – August 21 – August 22 It is now August 21, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture Osaka Castle is a castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. Built from 1583 to 1597 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. After Toyotomi died in 1598, control of the castle went to his young son, Hideyori, who was deposed by Tokugawa Ieyasu eighteen years later after a series of sieges. In 1868 the castle, still under control of the Tokugawa shogunate, fell to pro-imperial forces. Since then the castle has been rebuilt several times, most recently in the 1990s. Photo: 663highland Recently featured: Benjamin Harrison – Charles Bolden – Australian shelduck

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