1. Families have to make a tough decision as the school year approaches, as some parents are having second thoughts about sending their kids back to class.
There are free online public schools now accepting students. Uplift Michigan is one of many in the state seeing an increase in enrollment, especially with elementary-age students.
Virtual teaching comes with its challenges, but superintendent Tonya Lowry says their school provides a good education and could be a good alternative to anyone hesitant about face-to-face classes.
To learn more, you can go to uplift-mi.org.
2. What kind of clever names can you come up with for three red panda cubs at the John Ball Zoo? The zoo is holding a contest to determine their names, and you can be part of it.
Minnesota Vikings Quarterback, and West Michigan Native, Kirk Cousins, joined the zoo for a short video chat and shared a few details on the contest.
Each vote will cost $1, and there is no limit to how many times you can vote. The money will help care for the newborns and help conservation efforts around the world to help protect the endangered species.
The Cousins family already knows which one they're voting for, "Sparty."
The Zoo will announce the winning names on September 4.
3. When you're at Red Lobster, finding a blue lobster in your tank is sure to make you do a double-take. That's exactly what happened to an employee in Ohio.
The restaurant employee named him Clawde, after the restaurant's mascot, and he's a rare blue American Lobster.
Only about 1 in every 2 million looks like this all because of a genetic anomaly.
So instead of making the trip from tank to table, Clawde's living it up in a special new tank at the Akron Zoo.
4. NASA is planning to launch its latest Mars Rover, Perseverance, on Thursday.
If conditions are right, the rover will take off on a rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and embark on a more than 62.5 million mile journey to Mars.
Once there, it will study the geology and climate of the planet to help find signs of ancient microbial life.
Scientists are also hoping the Rover will test out new technologies to one day send humans to Mars.
Perseverance is expected to reach Mars in February.
5. Ford is using mobile robots to map one of its plants in Dearborn, and they look like dogs!
Ford Motor Company leased the robots, named fluffy and spot, from Boston Dynamics. Fluffy and Spot use their laser scanners and high-definition cameras to collect data in dangerous and tough-to-reach-areas.
They can sit, stand, and even climb! The robots are part of a pilot program to update Ford's plants.
Ford says the robots save a lot of time and money and could help bring products to market faster.
