Royal Party and Read-a-thon for Charles Dickens' 200th Birthday

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:25:32 GMT

Charles Dickens may have died in 1870, but legions of fans around the world will unite on Tuesday and beyond to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of this titan of English fiction.

Queen Elizabeth is throwing a star-studded party for him at Buckingham Palace and leading cultural figures will gather in an old orphanage to read from his

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Ellen DeGeneres Helps Heroic Teacher Who Pledged to Work for Free

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:13:30 GMT

Last month, teachers in Chester, Pennsylvania were hailed as heroes when they pledged to work for free after their school district ran out of the funds to make payroll.

The leader of the teacher movement, Sara Ferguson, sat in Michelle Obama's box at the State of the Union address, and appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
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Whale Film "Big Miracle" is a Charmer - And, True

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:49:56 GMT

In this delightful family movie based on a true story, a family of gray whales, stranded beneath the ice near the northern-most Alaskan town of Barrow, brings together old foes in an inspiring rescue operation that catches the attention of the whole world.

John Krasinski plays a small-time TV reporter, Adam, whose "Adam Around Alaska" stories aren’t
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74-year-old Jane Fonda on Life's Third Act (Top Videos)

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:49:15 GMT

Jane Fonda thinks perhaps the most important revolution today is the "longevity revolution". But society is still living with the old paradigm of aging seeing it as a "decline into decrepitude".

Dubbed by Fonda as our "Third Act", the 34 years we live beyond the lifespan of our great grandparents can be seen as a developmental
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Experts Said it Wouldn't Work, But Rescue Dog and Dying 4-yr-old Proved Them Wrong

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:32:11 GMT

As nearly anyone who has adopted a pet from a shelter can attest, there’s something special about a rescued animal; it’s as if they can sense they’ve been given a second chance at life. That’s certainly the case with Juno, a Belgian Malinois who was adopted just days before she was to be euthanized. But
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AmeriCorps Honored for 579,000 Hours of Joplin Tornado Relief Work

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:53:27 GMT

The Missouri House of Representatives today passed a resolution honoring AmeriCorps members from across the country who have played an indispensable role in helping the city of Joplin recover from the devastating tornado that flattened more than 7,000 buildings in the city on May 22, 2011.

AmeriCorps members from 20 organizations in seven states served in
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Donors Step Up for 101-year-old Evicted Woman in Detroit

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:19:52 GMT

A fund has been created and a guardian angel stepped forward for a 101-year-old Detroit woman displaced from her home by eviction.

A longtime member of her church took in the wheelchair-bound woman, whose son couldn't keep up with the taxes. 68 year-old Polly Cheeks was a student in her Sunday school class long ago.

What's
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Mom Who was Criticized for Letting Her Kid Walk Alone, Transforms Town

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:28:40 GMT

A few years ago, a mom in a small Mississippi town was chastised by neighbors and the press for teaching her 10-year-old son to walk to soccer practice by himself. The first time he set out on the route, which was less than a mile, a cop picked him up, scolded him that it wasn’t safe, and warned
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Reddit Community Helps Machete Victim Defend Kenyan Orphans, Raising $65K in One Day

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:39:28 GMT

The online news-sharing community, Reddit, has come to the rescue more than once when a member has posted a painful or inspiring story.

Yesterday, a member posted the photo of a heroic Kenyan man who was attacked in the face with a machete after trying to defend an orphanage from a gang of thugs. He asked if the people
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Shelter Dog Wasn't Hyper; He was a Natural Tracker and Now a Police Star

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:24:10 GMT

After being abandoned by his owner just over a year ago, a young mutt was finding it hard to fit in.

The energetic hound-boxer mix would not stop jumping up on people, mouthing on their arms and legs. It took a trainer from a police K-9 group to spot the dog's real potential.

On a hunch, Adam Witherspoon tested
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Leatherback Sea Turtles Granted Protection Along U.S. West Coast

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:42:42 GMT

A major decision to protect feeding hotspots for endangered leatherback sea turtles off the shores of Washington, Oregon and California was finalized last week by the U.S. Marine Fisheries Service.

The final rule establishes protection for 40,000 square miles of critical ocean habitat in areas where leatherbacks feed on jellyfish after swimming 6,000 miles across
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A Runner for Cancer Decides to Become Oncologist After Losing Father

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:51:21 GMT

Jenna Norton is not your typical medical school applicant. In fact, until two years ago, she had never considered a career in medicine. It took Jenna seven years to graduate with a degree in Theatre, while working as a waitress and acting on the side. The death of her father, Henry, who passed away after a brief battle with
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Justin Bieber's Organ Donor Encouragement Causes Spike in Registrations

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:57:55 GMT

After a fan Tweeted Justin Bieber asking for his help, as a fellow Canadian, to save lives (like hers) by promoting organ donation, he responded and his fans have done the same.

After re-tweeting her original plea, he responded directly to the girl who is in need of a lung transplant saying she has "amazing strength" and he wants to help.
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Gamers Redesign a Protein That Stumped Scientists for Years

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:33:50 GMT

Following on the success last September of video gamers to solve the elusive riddle of an HIV enzyme within three weeks, they have again astonished scientists.

Players of the online puzzle game Foldit have redesigned an enzyme model by fiddling with folding proteins on their home computers in search of the best-scoring (lowest-energy) patterns.

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Destress Your Life in 10 Easy Steps

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:49:30 GMT

The gloomy days of January can be the most miserable and stressful of the year, but it doesn't have to be this way. If you follow this ten step guide to destressing your life, then the next few weeks just might become the most serene and fulfilling ones of the year.

These really are easy steps like doing something pleasurable,
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Family Rescued from Seaplane Crash by Group of Good Samaritans

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:21:35 GMT

Some quick-thinking Good Samaritans were lifesavers for a Richardson, Tex. family whose small seaplane crashed into the ocean off the coast of a small Caribbean island near Honduras.

Andy Atkins, who was belted into his seat after the plane flipped upside down in the water, realized, "I'm not dead, but I've got to get out of here before
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Obama Singing Al Green is Now a Free Ringtone (Top Videos)

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:03:55 GMT

President Obama's falsetto rendition of Al Green at an Apollo Theater fundraiser last week is now available as a ringtone.

His official website is offering a free download of the President singing his favorite line of the soulful hit, "Let's Stay Together".

The ringtone, available for iPhones and other smartphones, features the 8 second line, I-I'm, so-oo
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Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman Unveil 'We Can Be Heroes' Campaign for Horn of Africa

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:26:57 GMT

DC Entertainment, home of some of the greatest super heroes, today unleashed a giving campaign to help fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. A multi-million-dollar commitment over the next two years by partners Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner will feature DC Entertainment's Justice League characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Flash,
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Chinese New Year Offers Hope and Prosperity in Year of the Dragon

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:11:12 GMT

Chinese around the world will be wearing lots of red today, to celebrate the Lunar New Year marking the end of the disaster-filled "Year of the Rabbit" and to usher in a new year with more prosperity.

January 23 begins the Year of the Dragon, which should bring relief following 2011, which was foreseen by the Chinese calendar
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12 Things Happy People Do Differently

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:43:10 GMT

Studies conducted by positivity psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky point to 12 things happy people do differently to increase their levels of happiness. These are things that we can start doing today to feel the effects of more happiness in our lives. (Check out her book The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting
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Most Popular

Royal Party and Read-a-thon for Charles Dickens' 200th Birthday

Ellen DeGeneres Helps Heroic Teacher Who Pledged to Work for Free

Whale Film "Big Miracle" is a Charmer - And, True

74-year-old Jane Fonda on Life's Third Act (Top Videos)

Experts Said it Wouldn't Work, But Rescue Dog and Dying 4-yr-old Proved Them Wrong

AmeriCorps Honored for 579,000 Hours of Joplin Tornado Relief Work

Donors Step Up for 101-year-old Evicted Woman in Detroit

Mom Who was Criticized for Letting Her Kid Walk Alone, Transforms Town

Reddit Community Helps Machete Victim Defend Kenyan Orphans, Raising $65K in One Day

Shelter Dog Wasn't Hyper; He was a Natural Tracker and Now a Police Star

Leatherback Sea Turtles Granted Protection Along U.S. West Coast

A Runner for Cancer Decides to Become Oncologist After Losing Father

Justin Bieber's Organ Donor Encouragement Causes Spike in Registrations

Gamers Redesign a Protein That Stumped Scientists for Years

Destress Your Life in 10 Easy Steps

Family Rescued from Seaplane Crash by Group of Good Samaritans

Obama Singing Al Green is Now a Free Ringtone (Top Videos)

Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman Unveil 'We Can Be Heroes' Campaign for Horn of Africa

Chinese New Year Offers Hope and Prosperity in Year of the Dragon

12 Things Happy People Do Differently