An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth produced stunning displays of color in the skies across the Northern Hemisphere, with no immediate reports of disruptions to power and communications. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated. The effects of the Northern Lights, which were prominently on display in the U.K., were due to last through the weekend and possibly into next week. The agency says the sun is producing strong solar flares and has hurled at least seven outbursts of plasma our way. NOAA has alerted operators of power plants and spacecraft in orbit to take precautions.

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: France did not send troops to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. The French Foreign Ministry called the claim “disinformation.”  Images do not show the Soviet Victory banner projected by hackers onto the east side of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Tuesday night, prior to annual festivities celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. The images were fabricated.

When Bob Ross died of complications from cancer in 1995, he had completed about half of the paintings he planned to teach from in a 32 season of “The Joy of Painting.”  In the new series “The Joy of Painting with Nicholas Hankins: Bob Ross' Unfinished Season,” a certified Bob Ross instructor recreates those works demonstrating wet-on-wet oil painting in 30 minutes. Hankins has the blessing of Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc. Her parents and Ross co-founded the company together. Kowalski believes Ross would be proud of the new show and their efforts to keep his legacy alive.

Hundreds of volunteers have set up a makeshift dog shelter in an abandoned, roofless warehouse in the Brazilian city of Canoas, one of the hardest hit by floods in southern Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state. They treat and feed sick, injured and hungry dogs, hoping to reunite them with their owners. They were working was at full speed Friday morning as renewed heavy rains are forecast in the region over the weekend. Authorities say the floods have killed more than 110 people, almost 150 are missing, and more than 300,000 people have been displaced. There is no official tally for the number of animals that have died or are missing, but local media estimated the number to be in the thousands.

A 10-year-old boy is in grave condition in Tennessee after being swept into a storm drain in a community southeast of Nashville. Now a new wave of dangerous storms is crashing over parts of the region Thursday even as it cleans up from severe weather that injured the boy, spawned tornadoes and killed at least three people. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center cites an “enhanced risk” for severe weather from Texas to South Carolina. The storms continue a streak of torrential rains and tornadoes this week from the Plains to the Midwest and now the Southeast.

A horse that was perilously stranded on a rooftop by Brazil's deadly floods has been rescued. The horse nicknamed Caramelo was one of many animals rescuers have tried help. Caramelo garnered national attention after a television news helicopter filmed him on the rooftop where he may have been stranded for days. His rescue Thursday provided a dose of hope to a beleaguered region. Firefighters and veterinarians climbed onto the mostly submerged roof, sedated and immobilized the horse and then laid him on an inflatable raft. TV stations aired the rescue live, and Brazil's first lady was among social media users sharing the good news. Caramelo was described as dehydrated and debilitated but recovering at a veterinary hospital.

Shunned publicly by politicians and intellectuals for centuries, Vodou is transforming into a more powerful and accepted religion across Haiti, where its believers were once persecuted. Vodou believers are seeking solace and protection from violent gangs that have killed, raped and kidnapped thousands in recent years. Amid the spiraling chaos, a growing number of Haitians are praying more or visiting Vodou priests known as “oungans” for urgent requests ranging from locating loved ones who were kidnapped to finding critical medication needed to keep someone alive.