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Morning Buzz: Meet the ‘World’s Ugliest Dog’, Martha

Posted at 10:34 AM, Jun 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-26 10:33:47-04

1. A Neapolitan Mastiff named Martha won the dubious honor of being crowned the World's Ugliest Dog over the weekend.

The droopy faced, 125 pound rescue dog beat out 13 other homely pets for the title.

According to her handler, she is a "drooling, snoring, gassy, loud and silly girl."

Besides the honor of the title, Martha gets $1,500, a trophy, and a trip to New York.

This was the 29th year for the annual World's Ugliest Dog contest.

2. Many Michiganders love to be out on the water during the summer, and police across the state are planning to increase boating safety laws as 4th of July draws closer.

The Michigan DNR says this year's 'Operation Dry Water' campaign runs from June 30 to July 2.

Officials want boaters to operate sober, wear life jackets, and take boating safety courses. Boating under the influence is punishable in Michigan by fines of up to $500, community service and up to three months in jail.

3. There's currently a group of people working on smart cars, but there are other people in southeast Michigan becoming leaders in smart roads.

General Motors is testing out traffic signals that can "talk" to cars and warn them if a light is about to turn red. The smart roads include a portion of I75 in Metro Detroit, using high tech bar code signs that can warn cars of lanes that are closed ahead.

All three Detroit auto makers are using these steps as building blocks to eventually guide self-driving cars.

4. Hundreds of baths were given to dogs over the weekend to raise money for a good cause.

The 15th annual 'World's Largest Dog Wash' had pet owners and their furry friends packing into Fifth Third Ballpark over the weekend.

The event was part of the Whitecaps Dog Days game, which benefits the youth program at Gilda's Club Grand Rapids. Gilda's Club provides support for grieving children impacted by cancer, or other sources of grief.

5. SpaceX goes two for two for rocket launches over the weekend, after successfully sending two separate satellites into space.

The most recent happened on Sunday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The rocket blasted off to deploy a group of airplane tracking satellites.

The flight re-used a rocket booster from an earlier mission, a key factor in the company's mission to slash the cost of space flights.

So far, SpaceX launched eight rockets this year, which already tied its record from 2016.