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Sneaky Cat Swings on Handle to Open Door For All His Friends (WATCH)

By
Judy Cole
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TikTok/@jimganoza
TikTok/@jimganoza

A brazen cat burglar and his crew of accomplices recently pulled off a bold caper in broad daylight but they didn’t steal anything… except a few million hearts.

That’s because the culprits weren’t hardened criminals—they were actual cats—and the whole thing was caught on tape.

When Silvestro, the leader of the notorious “Kitty Gang” found himself shut out of the home he and two dozen other felines share with humans Antonio Bosco and his mom on the Italian island of Sicily, he leaped into action—literally.

Launching himself at the door, the prodigious puss managed to snag the handle and spring it open, allowing himself and his cohorts to breach the perimeter and stampede inside.

Bosco, who is well-attuned to Silvestro’s antics, captured the straight-out-of-Looney-Tunes stunt on video and posted it to social media. Soon, the exploits of TikTok’s “most wanted feline” had racked up more than 3.5 million likes.

Like many a legendary bandit before him, Silvestro has earned a nickname worthy of his derring-do. To those in the neighborhood, he’s known as “Kungu l’eroe,” which Bosco explains is a combination of “King Kong and Hero.”

MORE: Stray Cats Saved a Restaurant During the Pandemic By Lounging On Miniature Models in the Window (LOOK)

With the recent addition of a stray Siamese, Silvestro and company currently number 25 cats in all, but according to Bosco, the black and white tomcat is definitely in charge. “Silvestro the smart cat is also the undisputed leader and protector of our cats,” Bosco told The Daily Mail.

@jimganoza #cat #opening #door #gatto #gatos #smart #catsoftiktok #kucing ♬ original sound - jimganoza

It seems that Silvestro’s inherent bravado is aided and abetted by a keen sense of intuition. After performing an especially fine feat, Bosco reports Silvestro knows he’s going be rewarded with extra loving and treats. “He understands when he’s done something special,” Bosco said.

RELATED: Lucky Cat Gets His Own ‘Mini SeaWorld’ After Owner Spends $2,400 Turning Fish Tank Into Underwater Peep Show – LOOK

And if that’s not the cat’s meow, we don’t know what is.

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The Values of Giving, Compassion and Family, Flourishing Across the World: Survey Shows

By
Andy Corbley
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- Tyler Nix

A recent worldwide investigation into human goodness and thoughtfulness found that, delightfully, it’s broadly distributed across cultures even in difficult times. Far from being monopolized by benevolent-seeming social democracies, the degree to which humans will reach out a helping hand is strong no matter where one lives.

Using data from the World Giving Index, the World Bank, The Charities Aid Foundation, proprietary surveys, the Global Philanthropic Index, the WHO, and more, the postcard courier service MyPostcard has created the Most Thoughtful Societies Index.

In the ranking for overall private charitable contributions, the most thoughtful society is Indonesia, while coming in at number 2 is Australia.

In terms of international charitable contributions, i.e. the amount that people from one country donate to another as a percentage of gross national income, the United States’ philanthropists gave the most.

The U.S. is also the most compassionate society, as determined by measures of how much people feel they support one another. Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria follow before any other nations.

RELATED: Americans Are Almost Twice as Likely to Be Satisfied With Their Lives If They Give Back

The amount of hours spent volunteering, perhaps a clearer picture of compassion, is also highest in the United States. Once again, Indonesia in close third, is never far from the top.

While many east Asian countries are close to the top, elderly support from family members is highest in the Gulf monarchies, with Saudi Arabia in first place, and the UAE in second. This was determined by medical info from the WHO, and census data of elderly people living alone vs with their children.

MORE: The Small Victories That Make a Huge Difference in Our Daily Lives

The cross-culturalism of these findings warms the heart, and shows a strong global desire to volunteer, give back, and help one another.

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German City Diverts Goods From Landfills, Repairs Them, Then Sells in ‘Department Store for Reuse’

By
Andy Corbley
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Stilbruch.hamburg / Instagram

It’s not every day that a municipal waste department spends more time thinking about saving things than dumping them. In Hamburg in Germany, however, there’s money to be made in the second-hand market, and who better to capitalize on that than the people who haul the city’s trash?

Stilbruch is the “IKEA of used goods,” and every day, collections from private individuals—or from trash collectors on their routes—brings goods which will all get cleaned up, repaired, and re-sold to support a more circular economy in the country’s second-largest city.

Some 400,000 objects are processed through two giant cavernous warehouses every year; everything from well-worn teddy bears to refurbished laptops and kitchen counters.

Launched in 2001 as an initiative from the sanitation department, Stilbruch has gone from having one full-time employee to 70, and from being a largely non-profit orientation to bringing in €300,000 to €500,000 ($330,000 to $550,000) per year in profit.

“These things are useful. They really aren’t rubbish,” Roman Hottgenroth, operations manager at Stilbruch, told The Progress Network. “Used is the new sexy… We are trying to stop throwaway culture and wastefulness. There’s so much value in what we treat like trash.”

Stilbruch contracts technicians and craftsmen who ensure that all used furniture is given a thorough beautification, and all electronics can be sold with a 1-year warranty.

MORE: 75% of People Worldwide Want Single-Use Plastics Banned, According to New Global Survey

The warehouse is part of a wider EU movement to try and cut back on all waste streams, but especially home furnishings and electronics. Chief among these efforts is restoring the “right to repair,” to consumers, 70% of whom it’s thought would prefer to repair items than replace them.

Instagram/@stilbruch.hamburg

Stilbruch has been heralded by EU and German legislatures and think-tanks as a pioneering model that could be replicated by most municipalities.

Even small towns which don’t have the populations required to fill up a warehouse like Stilbruch can manage weekly flea-markets.

RELATED: Old Wind Turbine Blades Used For Bridge Construction After They’re Retired

As for the future? Hottgenroth is planning to open yet another warehouse, and even to furnish public buses with mini-libraries.

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“Ask questions from your heart, and you will be answered from the heart.” – G. K. Chesterton

By
Good News Network
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By Darius Bashar

Quote of the Day: “Ask questions from your heart, and you will be answered from the heart.” – G. K. Chesterton

Photo: Darius Bashar

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Europe Realizes its Shepherds and Ranchers Are Key in Preventing Wildfires

By
Andy Corbley
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Flames from the Bobcat Fire - credit: Eddiem360, CC license, via Wikimedia.

European shepherds and ranchers are taking the lead in forest fire prevention, by leading their animals to clear away pervasive underbrush that allows fires to grow too big.

Laws once prohibiting such practices are being bent, or rescinded, as rural communities begin taking a key role in forest management.

Square among the proponents for this practice is GrazeLIFE, a publicly-funded science effort seeking to clarify the best way grazers, both domestic and semi-wild, can help increase biodiversity and prevent forest fires.

In flatter or thinner forested areas, large herbivores were found in a 2021 Grazelife study to be significantly effective in reducing forest fire risk.

“In general terms, it is clear that wild and semi-wild herbivores such as horses and bison can reduce wildfire risk through their grazing,” says Julia Rouet-Leduc, lead author of the study. “Such herbivores can be particularly effective in remote and inaccessible areas, where careful management can prevent wildfire and benefit wild nature in other ways.”

MORE: Cardboard Habitat Pods Give a Fighting Chance to Animals Displaced by Wildfires

Smaller animals like goats and sheep are ideal for areas that lack natural predators. There are virtually no large carnivores in all of Italy, and without the risk of losing an expensive herd animal, the eating habits of these smaller livestock make them perfect for clearing woody shrubs and things which larger herbivores can’t stomach.

A different animal

Even though a forest in Europe today might look like a place of pristine and natural beauty, in realty it’s no longer a natural ecosystem. European forests have experienced human alternations through forestry and livestock grazing since time immemorial, and natural equilibrium simply doesn’t exist in most forests any more.

When climate change regulations limited the shepherd’s ability to work in woodlands, it was part of a continent-wide effort to scale back deforestation—and it worked well, with total forest cover in Italy increasing by 75% since the 1960s.

However it was likely the first time many forests, such as those on the mountains of Montiferru on the Italian island of Sardinia, had experienced any prolonged period without grazing animals among their trunks.

RELATED: Old Irish Goats Return to Hills of Dublin After a Century to Join Firefighting Brigade –And They’re Loving It

Since natural numbers of roe and red deer, and other native herbivores, have long since disappeared from European forests, the loss of sheep and goats meant that nothing prevented woody shrubs from dominating the understory, turning brushfires into destructive infernos.

Eddiem360, CC license

This was the scenario that caused shepherds on Sardinia to write a letter to the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, not only asking to allow forest-dwelling shepherds to allow their animals to graze within the woods again, but to create a restoration project of rural areas in Montiferru, where Italy’s worst wildfire in 40 years recently burned its way from the mountain tops to the sea.

Their plan is to bring in more shepherds to better control the fires, and encourage eco-tourism in the area, to incentivize the shepherds to stay.

LOOK: Teen Invents Clever Fire Extinguisher to Save Your Home When You’re Away – and He’s Donating All the Profits

This is already seeing success through both private and public incentives in Catalunya, Spain.

In 2016 the Fire Flocks Project started by figuring out where the fires most often started and became the fiercest, before creating a line of premium brand meat and dairy products produced by 22 shepherds, half of them new to the job, who graze sheep, goats, and bovines in 600 fire-prone areas.

It makes sense that those most invested in the forests’ survival would be the biggest allies in helping to save them, which goes for both the shepherds and the animals.

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Mexican ‘Tequila Fish’ is Successfully Reintroduced Where it was Once Extinct – After 5 Pairs Are Sent From UK

By
Andy Corbley
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Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo

A project to save a tiny fish which began all the way back in 1998 has seen it finally reintroduced back into the rivers of Mexico.

Once extinct in the wild, the Tequila fish is the first Mexican fish to ever come back from so close to the brink.

Conservationists admit that it’s been a long ride and a lot of work to save a drab green, seven-centimeter-long fish that most people have never heard of, but they believe it can be a rallying cry to help protect the country’s waterways.

“It’s a project which has now set an important precedent for the future conservation of the many fish species in the country that are threatened or even extinct in the wild, but which rarely take our attention,” Professor Omar Dominguez, from the Michoacana University of Mexico, told the BBC.

Back in 1998, Chester Zoo in England gave five female and five male tequila fish to Michoacana University, who carefully nurtured them into larger and larger numbers.

Chester Zoo

To prepare the fish for life in the wild—after it had for some generations known only captivity—Dominguez and his team created large artificial pond habitats in the university.

There were 40 males and 40 females who had to learn to cope with predatory species, parasites, food fluctuations, and more.

RELATED: Scotland Aims to Save Wild Salmon By Planting Millions of Trees Along the Rivers

Though they are small, the Tequila fish is tougher than it looks, and passed this fish-version of the SEAL-teams training program in spades—multiplying to 10,000 individuals in the process.

Dominguez, who relied heavily on local communities to support the reintroduction, released 1,500 fish into the rivers of Jalisco in southwest Mexico.

Jalisco; Chester Zoo

The population is now growing steadily, and the IUCN has revaluated the species from Extinct in the Wild to Endangered status.

MORE: Iceland To Hang Up Her Harpoons For Good, Issuing No More Whaling Permits

“This just goes to show that animals can re-adapt to the wild when reintroduced at the right time and in the right environments,” conservationist Gerardo Garcia told the BBC.

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We Can Now Use CRISPR Gene Editing on Ticks – to Fight Lyme Disease in Humans

By
Good News Network
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Reducing tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, may now be possible thanks to two new gene editing methods developed by researchers.

The methods could allow scientists to alter parts of the tick genome that are involved in harboring and transmitting pathogens.

“In the United States, alone, ticks infect approximately 300,000 people with Lyme disease each year, and if left untreated, the infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system,” said Jason Rasgon, professor of entomology and disease epidemiology, Penn State. “Currently, there is no vaccine, and existing treatments are not always fully effective.”

Rasgon noted that the problem is getting worse, as climate change is allowing ticks to rapidly invade new areas, putting even more people and animals at risk of infections.

“Ticks are a formidable foe to public health,” said Rasgon. “We are in desperate need of new tools to fight ticks and the pathogens they spread.”

The team is made up of researchers at Penn State; the University of Nevada, Reno; and the University of Maryland. Thei new gene editing tools use the CRISPR/Cas9 system, which comprises a Cas9 enzyme that cuts DNA at a specific location on the genome so that bits of DNA can be added or removed and a guide RNA that directs the Cas9 to the right part of the genome. Gene editing by CRISPR/Cas9 is normally performed by injecting this gene editing complex into embryos but injecting this complex into tick eggs had been impossible until now.

RELATED: Naturally Occurring Antibiotic Kills Lyme Disease and Nothing Else: A Potential Breakthrough Treatment

“For many years, people thought it would be impossible to make a transgenic tick because tick eggs are coated in a hard wax that shattered the delicate glass needles used for injections,” said Rasgon.

The University of Nevada, Reno, team—led by Monika Gulia-Nuss, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology—circumvented this problem by removing the maternal organs that make the wax prior to the ticks laying their eggs. This resulted in eggs that could be injected. The team was then able to inject the CRISPR/Cas9 complex and successfully make deletions in two different genes.

The team then took the process a step further by injecting the CRISPR/Cas9 complex directly into the mothers and used Rasgon’s patent-pending CRISPR technology — developed at Penn State—to target it to the mothers’ ovaries. Rasgon had already demonstrated the process, called ReMOT Control, to be successful in several insects, including beetles, flies, whiteflies and mosquitoes. In his previous research with ReMOT Control, Rasgon identified a small peptide—a molecule that is similar to a protein but smaller—that binds to receptors on the ovaries of most insect species.

MORE: Yale Researchers Develop mRNA-Based Lyme Disease Vaccine

In the new research, the team showed that this peptide is functional in ticks. They fused the peptide to Cas9 and injected it into pregnant adult female ticks. The peptide successfully delivered the Cas9 into the developing ovaries, where the complex could then edit the genome of the offspring.

The team observed a similar gene editing efficiency in both embryo injections (14%) and ReMOT Control (11.7%) when applied to a gene, called ProbB, suggesting that either method is suitable for tick gene editing.

“The ReMOT Control protocol was just as efficient as embryo injection and significantly easier,” said Rasgon.

Gene editing efficiency, explained Rasgon, refers to the frequency of indels — or insertion/deletion mutations — that occur as a result of editing. It is a measure of the extent to which the gene editing procedure alters the gene.

The team’s findings published in iScience.

According to Gulia-Nuss, the study is the first to demonstrate genetic modification in ticks.

Rasgon added, “The methods can be used to develop new control methods for diseases, such as Lyme disease, and also to further understand the biology of ticks.”

Source: Penn State

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British Museum Unveils Ancient Artifacts Illuminating the World of Stonehenge in New Exhibit

By
Andy Corbley
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Nebra sky disk – Dbachmann, CC license

With the goal of creating the most detailed image of the world in which Stonehenge was built, the British Museum has acquired hundreds of artifacts on loan to present the full panoply of Bronze Age Europe; the people’s beliefs, capabilities, and knowledge.

Seven countries have sent some of the most precious and extraordinary Bronze Age finds of the period (2,500 BCE) for the exhibit. Placed together they reveal a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, metalworking, and foreign trade routes.

“It’s almost like we’ve become over familiar with the monument but the context and the people are missing from the picture,” said Neil Wilkin, lead curator of the exhibition. “We only really understand the monument if you understand what is happening in that world at the time it is built.”

Stonehenge was built around 4,500 years ago, during a period where few distinctive features interrupted the natural scenery save these stone circles. However, we now know that timber circles would have been much more common.

Among the exhibited items will be part of “Seahenge” or “Stonehenge of the Sea.” Seahenge is the overturned stump of a massive oak tree, its roots reaching up like the tentacles of a sea creature, which emerged from the sands of a remote Norfolk beach in 1998. Surrounded by a circle of partially-skinned timber poles 6.6 meters in diameter, it’s a fascinating example of a timber circle.

Seahenge discovery on Holme Beach/Wendy George; British Museum

It’s believed the platform amid the roots of the oak stump is where dead members of the community would be laid during funeral ceremonies, while during Midsummer, the rising sun shines directly through the entranceway of the circle. Whether its placement by the sea held any significance, experts can’t say for certain.

LOOK: One of the Largest ‘Sea Dragon’ Fossils Ever Found in Britain Unearthed As a Complete Ichthyosaur

“We know about some aspects of the monument, including that it was constructed in the spring and summer of 2049 BC, from mighty oaks,” says Dr. Jennifer Wexler, project curator of The World of Stonehenge. “But there’s much that still eludes us, including exactly what it was used for.”

Study of the sky

Nebra sky disk/Dbachmann, CC license

Many of the exhibit objects are made of gold or bronze, and are thought to depict movements of the moon, the sun, and the stars.

Undoubtedly the most striking is the Nebra Sky Disk, one of the two oldest depictions of the cosmos ever found.

It was buried 3,600 years ago, but archeologists have no way of knowing when it was made. Forged of bronze and gold and found in Germany, it took some time to decipher what the symbols on it meant.

The large circle is determined to be the sun, while the crescent is the moon. The stars in between them is the Cassiopeia constellation, the stars below, Orion’s belt.

The dense cluster of stars above is the Pleiades constellation, which scientists know from Ancient Greece to be an agricultural marker.

Another thought-to-be astronomical calendar is a pair of conical gold hats also found in Germany, and also made around 1,600 years ago, that featured bands of stamped circles and flat spaces. Archeologists believe that at minimum, the hat was worn by someone with tremendous social status—likely within a Sun cult, which were so common as to be almost universal in Europe at that time.

Schifferstadt gold hat c. 1600 BC, Germany/Historisches Museum der Pfalz Speye; British Museum

Similar in concept is a disc of bronze made 3,400 years ago in Denmark. Inlaid with images of what is also probably the sun, the disc was meant to be attached to a woman’s belt.

Sun Disc belt buckle; British Museum/Roberto Fortuna & Kira Ursem National Museum of Denmark, CC license

“The mystery of Stonehenge is a source of enduring fascination for every generation
who visit or catch a glimpse of its distinctive silhouette,” said Wilkin.

MORE: Stunning 2,000-Year-old Glass Bowl is Still Flawless After Archaeologists Dig it Up in Netherlands

“This landmark exhibition will begin to reveal its secrets by setting this great monument in the context of a period of radical change on these islands, and by bringing together exceptional objects that shed new light on its meaning and significance.”

RELATED: ‘Most Important Prehistoric Discovery in a Century’ Revealed by British Museum

The world of Stonehenge runs from 17 February – 17 July 2022 in the Sainsbury
Exhibitions Gallery at the British Museum.

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“Love’s in need of love today. Don’t delay. Send yours in right away.” – Stevie Wonder

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Love’s in need of love today. Don’t delay. Send yours in right away.” – Stevie Wonder 😉

Photo: freestocks

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

75% of People Worldwide Want Single-Use Plastics Banned, According to New Global Survey

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Good News Network
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Masha Kotliarenko
Masha Kotliarenko

An average of three-quarters of people across 28 countries agree that single-use plastic should be banned as soon as possible, the ‘Attitudes towards single-use plastic’ survey by Ipsos has revealed.

People in Latin American countries, as well as Brazil, Russia, India, and China show the highest levels of agreement with banning single-use plastic, with 80-88% agreement—while 61% of North American recipients agreed.

The people who most wanted to ban single-use plastics were in Colombia (89% of Colombians surveyed), in Chile and Mexico (tied at 88%), and Argentina and China (84%).

The least interest in banning plastic was measured in Japan—with just 37% agreement. Sixty-six percent of Canadians and fifty-five percent of Americans want such changes.

The study was conducted among 20,513 adults under the age of 75 across 28 countries.

NEW: 100 Nations Take Action To Save Oceans from Illegal Fishing and Plastic Pollution

On average, 88% of people surveyed across 28 countries believe it is essential, very important, or fairly important to have an international treaty to combat plastic pollution—including 90% of those in Middle East and Africa.

Clear majorities of consumers in every country and a global average of 82% also agree they prefer products that use as little plastic packaging as possible.

Vast majorities of people in all 28 countries agree that manufacturers and retailers should take responsibility for reducing, reusing, and recycling plastic packaging, with a global average of 85%. Even 72% of Japanese surveyed agreed with that statement.

UN Environment Assembly to discuss bans

The survey was commissioned by the Plastic Free Foundation ahead of the upcoming UN Environment Assembly 5.2, where members will decide whether to start negotiations on a new global agreement to reduce plastic waste and unsustainable production of single use plastics, and address marine plastic pollution.

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“These results make it very clear that there is a strong consensus globally that single-use plastics should be taken out of circulation as quickly as possible,” said Ipsos Australia Director, Stuart Clark.

“The fact that there is such strong support for an international treaty to address the single-use plastics shows that people see this as a challenge that all countries have to solve together.”

“People want to do the right thing.”

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5-Year-old Donates Everything He Has–30 Cents–to a Homeless Man, Teaching His Father a Lesson

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Good News Network
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Justice Smith - Facebook
Justice Smith – Facebook

Justice Smith almost messed up “big time”.

He and his 5-year-old were coming back from the dentist, when they saw a homeless man in the median strip in the road.

Smith said on Facebook that he wanted to give the man some money, but didn’t have any cash.

His son Justus Mateo noticed the man as well. And then it happened…

“Uncoached, he insisted that I give the man the 30 cents he had in his pocket,” wrote Smith. “It’s almost as if he heard my thoughts and responded out loud.”

“I was more than happy he wanted to do this with joy (it means he’s been watching), BUT honestly I was hesitant. I didn’t want to give this man who clearly needed all the help he could get, just 30 cents. My own pride and thoughts of the homeless individual’s unknown reaction to receiving just two coins was standing in the way.”

“I quickly realized that I was the only problem in this situation and that the traffic light would turn green at any second.

“I then thought to myself, ‘Dude get over it. This is what we’ve been teaching him and now that he wants to give everything he has to offer in this moment, you’re going to let your personal self-centeredness ruin a possibly life-long, great memory and solid teaching moment?

“Leading by example is what we’ve been teaching him, so now let him lead. Let him give what he can to this man…”

He continued on Facebook, “I almost told my son, ‘Let’s wait to give until we at least have one dollar.’ I almost told our son by my inaction that what he had wasn’t enough. I almost showed him that what he sees as a good thing, and is in fact a good thing, isn’t good enough to make a difference in someone’s life. I almost taught him that pride was more important than helping another human.”

“Thank God I quickly snapped out of that foolishness.”

He then rolled down the window and said, “I’m sorry man, I don’t have any cash on me, but my son back here wants to give you everything he has right now. He just turned 5.”

“And my God… The smile on that man’s face lit UP the intersection and he said to Justus, ‘God bless you little man! Thank you so much!’”

“The only thing that matched the brightness of that stranger’s smile after that moment was…the bigger smile on our ‘baby’ boy’s face!!”

LOOK: High School Athletes Shovel Snow For Their Neighbors as Special Weightlifting Assignment From Football Coach

Mr. Smith also believes that a chain reaction of kindness started behind them that day in Nashville, Tennessee, as other people rolled down their windows to donate, too.

“Our little boy, without even realizing it, reminded me once again by his actions that it’s always about the heart. It doesn’t matter how much you have or how little; giving in love and sincerity will often bless others more than we think.”

SHARE the Lesson With All Ages on Social Media…

Wheelchair Tumbles into Lake, But 81-Year-old is Saved From Drowning By His Dog’s Barking

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Good News Network
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Port St. Lucie Police Department on Facebook
Port St. Lucie Police Department on Facebook

An 81-year-old man and his dog were on their morning walk around the lake when he lost control of his electric wheelchair. Soon, he was nearly drowning—but, ‘man’s best friend’ jumped into action.

Harry Smith’s electric wheelchair lost traction in the mulch which caused him to slide down the bank and flip off his wheelchair into water in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Mr. Smith needed help as he could not swim and struggled to stay afloat.

Knowing his owner was in trouble, Sarah Jane began barking like crazy—which alerted 2 bystanders across the street.

Edward Suhling and his friend Jacob rushed over to the lake and flagged down a local police officer.

When Officer Doty arrived, he saw Smith submerged up to his neck in the water.

The 2 bystanders and Officer Doty worked together to pull him out of the water and up the bank. Fortunately, he was healthy enough to return home.

His electric wheelchair was damaged from tumbling into the water, so the first responders pushed him back to his house, with Sarah Jane wagging her tail all the way back.

RELATED: Determined ‘Lassie’ Dog Leads Police Back to Scene of Owner’s Car Crash Down a Hill

Port St. Lucie Police Department on Facebook

“The saying remains true…A man’s best friend is his dog,” the Port St. Lucie Police Department wrote on their Facebook page.

“I gave her a treat,” grinned Smith. “I love her so much.”

Watch the local news coverage from WPTV-TV below…

LOOK: Firefighters Rescue a Dog Trapped Down a 15-Foot Underground Burrow Overnight

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Students in Five Chicago High Schools Surprised With Free College Ride–All Expenses Paid–And For Some Parents, Too

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Good News Network
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Students celebrate at Noble Johnson College Prep in Englewood - Hope Chicago

Students at five Chicago Public Schools this week got the news that all their college tuition will be paid for—along with room and board, books, fees and taxes.

Students celebrate at Noble Johnson College Prep in Englewood – Hope Chicago

Not only are these freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors getting the free ride, but also one of their parents or guardians.

The multi-generation scholarship program is being launched by Hope Chicago, the nonprofit led by former Chicago Public Schools CEO Dr. Janice Jackson.

HOPE Chicago has committed to raising $1 billion in support and funding over the next decade—and has raised $40 million already with funding partners that include several corporations, financial institutions, and private family foundations.

Students at the five inaugural schools gathered in gymnasiums across the city to hear the stunning news. 90 percent of kids attending citywide public schools are students of color and 80 percent are low-income.

4,000 students at these five high schools will get their postsecondary educations fully funded: Benito Juarez, Al Raby, Morgan Park, Noble-Johnson College Prep, and Farragut Career Academy.

HOPE Chicago scholarships will cover the full cost of attendance at any of 20 participating 2-and 4-year higher education institutions and industry certification programs.

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One of those is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Its chancellor, Robert J. Jones, said his school is excited to be a partner. “This is some of the best news I have heard in this space for years and this is a transformational moment for so many Chicago families.”

With its $1 billion goal, HOPE Chicago vows to provide scholarships for 24,000 students and more than 6,000 parents/guardians through its two-generation model, which is expected to increase the likelihood of students actually completing and graduating. A survey showed that only 27 percent of Chicago Public School students earn their degree, after 63% enroll.

Launched in fall 2021, Hope Chicago says they used census data, as well as their college enrollment and completion statistics to help identify neighborhoods and schools that need a boost. Each year, they hope to add more schools.

Watch the moment students learned of the surprise – and read more details below…
(NOTE: Outside the USA, view the Steve Hartman video here, on CBS)

 

Providing All the Support Needed

Through investments of more than $20 million by The Kadens Family Foundation and HOPE Chicago Co-Founder, Ted Koenig, the nonprofit’s operational and administrative costs are fully funded for the next three years so that every dollar raised will go directly to the scholarship fund and back to students.

RELATED: Walmart Announces Plan to Pay 100% of College Tuition Plus Books For Its Workers

“A scholarship program of this magnitude has never been done before, but we are betting big on Chicago’s families most in need. With that in mind, it’s our goal that HOPE Chicago will positively disrupt the post-secondary education system and serve as a potential model for the nation,” said Pete Kadens, Co-Founder and Chairman of HOPE Chicago

A Chicago Tribune reporter, who talked to excited students and parents, wrote that enrolled students will also get a laptop and a small annual stipend to cover other necessities—as well as “wraparound support such as academic advising, mentoring, tutoring and various workshops” from their first day at school until the end.

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“Anything you do from the heart enriches you—but sometimes not till years later.” – Mignon McLaughlin

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Good News Network
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Almos Bechtold

Quote of the Day: “Anything you do from the heart enriches you—but sometimes not till years later.” – Mignon McLaughlin

Photo: Almos Bechtold

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600 More Hospitals Get Free LEGO MRI Scanners – to Reduce Anxiety in Young Patients 

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Good News Network
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LEGO
LEGO

The LEGO Foundation has announced it is donating another 600 LEGO kits to hospitals worldwide for miniature MRI Scanners—to help children cope with the intimidating process of having a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan.

What started in 2015 as a passion project for LEGO employee Erik Ullerlund Staehr and a Denmark hospital, is now being scaled and piloted with new training material for hospital staffs.

The 500-piece sets allow clinicians to help patients understand what the large and complex MRI machine is all about.

“I’m extremely proud of this project and the positive impact it’s already had,” said Erik. “I’ve seen first-hand how children have responded to these models; feeling more relaxed and turning an often highly stressful experience into a positive, playful one.”

Since the first prototype was made, the radiology department team at Odense University Hospital has used the LEGO MRI Scanners as part of their playful learning approach to help over 200 children aged 4-9 annually.

The model facilitates both role-play and dialogue so that the child feels safe and can build confidence and resilience before the actual journey, by reducing stress and anxiety.

The LEGO kits also reduce the use of anesthesia, as it reduces stress and anxiety, says the Danish company.

RELATED: LEGO Unveils First Brick Prototype Made from Recycled Plastic –Watch Their ‘Clutch Strength’ and Smash Testing

“MRI Scanners make a lot of noise which can be very daunting for children. Our team has found that using the LEGO model has led to more positive, calm experiences for many children,” said Ulla Jensen from the Department of Radiology. “This also benefits the quality of the MRI scan, which relies on the person being very still for up to an hour to work.”

LEGO

Reaching More Children

Close to 100 hospitals across the world have already benefitted from IKEA’s pilot program. Then, last month, in order to create an even bigger impact, the LEGO Foundation scaled the project by encouraging hospitals across the world to apply for one of 600 models they made available—to be shipped completely free of charge to the hospitals.

They opened the application process again recently, to give away another 600—and received 1500 applications in one day.

LOOK: Hospital Janitor Forges Lasting Friendship Between 2 Boys in Isolation After Noticing a Love of LEGOS

The Foundation has also developed four training videos to accompany the model, to help medical staff guide children through the process of an MRI scan. The model facilitates both role-play and dialogue so that the child feels safe and can build confidence and resilience before the actual journey.

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Mom Whose Facial Tumor Left Her Barely Able to Eat Now Lives Normal Life Thanks to Mercy Ship

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Good News Network
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Mercy Ships/ SWNS

A mother whose massive facial tumor left her barely able to eat or breathe is now living a normal life, thanks to the charity work of surgeons aboard a ship.

Mercy Ships/ SWNS

Mabouba first noticed the facial tumor in her teenage years and, as she grew older, her condition rapidly worsened.

By 2014, the tumor was so big that it began blocking her oesophagus and windpipe—leaving her unable to swallow anything more than bits of rice, egg and bread, and struggling for air during the night.

Sadly, emergency surgery in Ghana didn’t help, after the 29-year-old nearly lost her life on the operating table.

But, thanks to the arrival of Mercy Ships, a charity which provides medical care, she is now living a happy life.

Mercy Ships operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, transporting hundreds of volunteer health professionals to more than 57 developing nations. Since 1978, the Christian-based charity has performed over 100,000 life-saving surgeries—and trained 42,000 local nurses and doctors in modern procedures. while the ship at port.

“I remember when I woke up I was completely transformed,” said Mabouba. “I was a new person.”

Her family had previously collected money from uncles, grandparents, and cousins, to send Mabouba to Ghana for emergency surgery, but upon arrival, she was informed they needed to remove some teeth before completing the surgery—an operation that went horribly wrong.

RELATED: From No Cure to No Trace—Texas Girl’s Inoperable Brain Tumor Disappears

Then the family learned that the hospital ship, Africa Mercy, was scheduled to dock in Togo and Mabouba would be seen.

“Those days my mind was always preoccupied with the tumor,” she said. “Day and night I could think of little else.”

Once on board, the surgeons were determined to do everything they could for her, and after nine hours of surgery they successfully removed the tumor.

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MercyShips.org

Today, Mabouba is a seamstress in her own tailor shop and mother to a five-year-old daughter. She also recently celebrated getting married to a man she met one day outside a bank—and says it was love at first sight.

mom after surgery with daughter
Mercy Ships/ SWNS

“I used to think I wasn’t beautiful, and that I would never get married. If I hadn’t had this operation, I don’t know what would have happened to me.

LOOK: See Another Mercy Ships Miracle That Transformed Teen’s Extreme Bow-Legs So Now She Can Go to School

“That’s why I give thanks to those great people who gave me this life.”

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Your Inspired Weekly Horoscope From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

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Good News Network
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Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of February 26, 2022
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Author Deb Caletti made the following observation: “You have ordinary moments and ordinary moments and more ordinary moments, and then, suddenly, there is something monumental right there. You have past and future colliding in the present, your own personal Big Bang, and nothing will ever be the same.” In my vision of your destiny in 2022, Pisces, there could be several of these personal Big Bangs, and one of them seems to be imminent. To prepare—that is, to ensure that the changes are primarily uplifting and enjoyable—I suggest you chant the following mantra at least five times every day: “I love and expect good changes.”

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it,” wrote author G. K. Chesterton. Amen to that! Please regard his observation as the first part of your horoscope. Here’s the second part: It’s sometimes the right approach to move in harmony with the flow, to allow the momentum of elemental forces to carry you along. But now is not one of those times. I suggest you experiment with journeys against the flow. Go in quest of what the followers of easy options will never experience. Do it humbly, of course, and with your curiosity fully deployed.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
“You’re never allowed to step on people to get ahead,” said TV personality and author Star Jones, “but you can step over them if they’re in your way.” I suspect the coming months will be a time when you really should step over people who are in your way. There’s no need to be mad at them, criticize them, or gossip about them. That would sap your energy to follow your increasingly clear dreams. Your main task is to free yourself from influences that obstruct your ability to be the Royal Sovereign of Your Own Destiny.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Gemini-born Gena Rowlands is retired now, but she had an award-winning six-decade career as an actor. At age 20, she decided what she wanted to do with her life, and her parents offered her their blessings. She testified: “I went home and I told my mom that I wanted to quit college and be an actress, and she said, ‘Huh, that sounds fascinating. It’s wonderful!’ And I told my father, and he literally said, ‘I don’t care if you want to be an elephant trainer if it makes you happy.'” Dear Gemini, in the coming months, I would love for you to receive similar encouragement for your budding ideas and plans. What can you do to ensure you’re surrounded by influences like Rowlands’ parents? I hope you embark on a long-term project to get all the support you need.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
As you enter an astrological phase when vast, expansive ruminations will be fun and healthy for you, I will offer you some vast, expansive thoughts. Hopefully, they will inspire your own spacious musings. First, here’s artist M. C. Escher: “Wonder is the salt of the earth.” Next, author Salman Rushdie: “What’s real and what’s true aren’t necessarily the same.” Here’s poet Allen Ginsberg: “When you notice something clearly and see it vividly, it then becomes sacred.” A proverb from the Omaha people: “Ask questions from your heart, and you will be answered from the heart.” G. K. Chesterton: “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.” Finally, playwright Tony Kushner: “I’m not religious, but I like God, and he likes me.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
“Out of love, you can speak with straight fury,” wrote author Eudora Welty. Here’s how I interpret that in light of the current chapter of your life story: You have an opportunity to recalibrate some misaligned energy. You have the necessary insight to fix an imbalance or dissolve an illusion or correct a flow that has gone off-course. And by far the best way to do that is by wielding the power of love. It will need to be expressed with vehemence and intense clarity, however. It will require you to be both compassionate and firm. Your homework: Figure out how to express transformative truths with kindness.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Virgo political science professor Tatah Mentan was born and raised in the African country of Cameroon, which has never fully recovered from its grueling colonization. When Mentan first taught at a university in the Cameroonian capital, authorities found his ideas too controversial. For the next 16 years, he attempted to be true to himself while avoiding governmental censorship, but the strain proved too stressful. Fearing for his safety, he fled to the US. I’m turning to him for advice that will serve you well in the coming weeks. He tells us, “Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
“Anything you do from the heart enriches you, but sometimes not till years later,” wrote author Mignon McLaughlin. I’m pleased to inform you, Libra, that you will soon receive your rewards for generous actions you accomplished in the past. On behalf of the cosmic rhythms, I apologize for how long it has taken. But at least it’s finally here. Don’t underestimate how big this is. And don’t allow sadness about your earlier deprivation to inhibit your enthusiastic embrace of compensation.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
No matter how reasonable and analytical you are, Scorpio, you possess a robust attraction to magic. You yearn for the refreshing invigoration of non-rational mysteries. You nurture urges to be delighted by outbreaks of the raw, primal lust for life. According to my astrological assessment, you are especially inclined to want and need these feelings in the next few weeks. And that’s good and healthy and holy! At the same time, don’t abandon your powers of discernment. Keep them running in the background as you enjoy your rejuvenating communions with the enigmatic pleasures of the Great Unknown.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Author Diane Ackerman tells us, “In the absence of touching and being touched, people of all ages can sicken and grow touch starved. Touch seems to be as essential as sunlight.” This is always important to remember, but it will be extra crucial for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks. I advise you to be ingenious and humble and frank as you collect as much physical contact as you can. Be polite and respectful, of course. Never force yourself on anyone. Always seek permission. With those as your guidelines, be greedy for hugs and cuddling and caresses.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
“Education, fundamentally, is the increase of the percentage of the conscious in relation to the unconscious.” Author and educator Sylvia Ashton-Warner said that, and now I’m telling you—just in time for one of the most lesson-rich times of a year that will be full of rich lessons. In the next nine months, dear Capricorn, the proportion of your consciousness in relation to your unconsciousness should markedly increase. And the coming weeks will be a favorable phase to upgrade your educational ambitions.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
You’re entering a phase of your cycle when your ability to boost your finances will be stronger than usual. You’ll be more likely to attract good luck with money and more apt to discover useful tips on how to generate greater abundance. To inspire your efforts, I offer you this observation by author Katharine Butler Hathaway: “To me, money is alive. It is almost human. If you treat it with real sympathy and kindness and consideration, it will be a good servant and work hard for you, and stay with you and take care of you.”

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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Changing Your Diet Could Add Up to 13 Years to Your Life, Study Says

By
Andy Corbley
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Maddi Bazzocco

Small changes in our diets could reduce mortality from heart disease and cancer such that it adds 10-13 years to our lives.

Large dietary studies are often somewhat useless, as the larger they become, the more impossible for them to replicate real-world scenarios and depict the genetics of who they’re surveying.

However, a large meta-analysis has found that, if a 20 year-old woman replaces refined grains with legumes and whole grains, and increases her intake of fish and nuts, she is likely to add 10 years of life expectancy vis-à-vis heart disease and cancer, while a 20 year-old man could add 13 years to their life expectancy.

These results are based on studies that don’t take into account nutritional requirements, but merely caloric intake, which excludes the well-established principle that energy restriction often equals longevity if nutrient specific needs are met.

However, with perhaps a decade extra of protection from the most common causes of death, they are findings worth investigating.

Looking at food consumption data, the researchers found that most Americans eat closer to the optimal amounts of fruits and vegetables than they did for the optimal amounts of whole grains, legumes, and nuts, and suggest that increasing the intake of these foods and decreasing the intake of processed grains and grain-based processed foods, is the strongest driver of this increase in life-expectancy.

RELATED: Higher Olive Oil Intake Associated With Much Lower Risk of Death From Various Diseases

Maddi Bazzocco

What the findings do tell us though about nuts, legumes, and whole grains, is striking. These sources of complex carbs are rich in fiber, another nutrient of concern in America, that can have huge impacts on health and cancer risks down the years.

Along with switching rice and pasta out with more beans or lentils as the carbohydrate at dinner, there’s actually an easy rule of thumb to apply when selecting a grain to eat for breakfast and lunch. Under a food’s “Total Carbs” will be the amount equal to both of the fiber and simple carbohydrates. The percentage of carbs from fiber should be as high as you can make it.

Refined grains means they’ve been stripped of the bran, germ, casing, and other aspects of the grain that are less-immediately digestible. The food doesn’t stay intact long enough to arrive in the colon and large intestines, where bacterial species ferment it and produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate. This process is absolutely vital to the health of the GI-tract, the immune system, and considering the influence of gut microbes on our mental capacity through the activity of the vagus nerve, our neural health as well.

The elephant in the room of course is the call, unsurprisingly, to reduce consumption of red and processed meats. However like this 2019 meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials warns, observational studies are routinely open to bias, and difficult to control for all the confounding factors which can come in an almost infinitely-variable number. In it, the researchers at the Cochrane Centers in Spain and Poland found that of all the randomized, placebo-controlled trials done on red and processed meat consumption, there’s no health benefit to be gained for limiting its consumption.

Furthermore, one could look at the prevalence of nutritional deficiencies of vitamin B12, choline, and iron in America, nutrients found in large amounts in red meat, and reason that since this new longevity finding didn’t control for nutrient deficiencies, red meat consumption should be maintained along with proper exercise (or less sitting).

While the studies used control for exercise, it’s not clear the degree of exercise that is counted, nor is it clear the hours spent sitting in a day, which is sometimes more important than time spent exercising. Therefore, like other huge dietary studies, they should be taken with a pinch of salt.

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“I like to think of home as a verb—something we keep recreating.” – Madeleine Thien

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “I like to think of home as a verb—something we keep recreating.” – Madeleine Thien

Photo: Francesca Tosolini

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Magpies Outwit Scientists, by Helping Each Other Remove Tracking Devices

By
Andy Corbley
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australian magpie wikimedia commons video cc license Jason Antony (Alexanderino)
Jason Antony (Alexanderino), CC license

Australian ornithologists have stumbled upon an extremely rare cognitive ability in magpies after fitting five of the birds with little backpack tracking devices.

Demonstrating a mix of rescue behavior/altruism and clever problem solving, the magpies saw their friends had a strange metal parasite on them, and within hours the group had cut them free from almost all of the trackers.

Australian magpies live in social groups of up to 12 individuals. They display group behavior through things like defending their territory with swooping, and through sharing child-rearing responsibilities with their siblings.

When Dominique Potvin, Senior Lecturer in Animal Ecology at the University of the Sunshine Coast, came up with the unique harness design for her team’s GPS trackers, she was excited to gather data and learn how far magpies travel, whether they have patterns or schedules throughout the day in terms of movement and socializing, and if age, sex, or dominance rank affected their activities.

“Within ten minutes of fitting the final tracker, we witnessed an adult female without a tracker working with her bill to try and remove the harness off of a younger bird,” said Potvin in The Conservation, noting in a different sort of study than she planned to write that they figured out to target the only weak point in the harnesses’ design.

RELATED: Album of Endangered Bird Songs Soars Above Taylor Swift to Number 3 on Music Chart

“Within hours, most of the other trackers had been removed. By day three, even the dominant male of the group had its tracker successfully dismantled.”

As well as intelligence, this demonstrates a behavior that’s extremely rare in birds, which is the attempt to help another individual out of a period of distress, known as “rescuing.” This has been seen only once before in the Seychelles warbler, which has been documented rescuing its neighbors if they get sticky and prickly seed clusters stuck on their wings, which can actually lead to mortality in some cases.

MORE: Biologists Identify First Animal That Uses the Complexity of Human Language: the Song Sparrow – LISTEN

Magpies are corvids, one of the most successful and intelligent families in the animal kingdom. Including recognizing oneself in a mirror test, they regularly display tool-use, tool-crafting, joking around, social cooperation, the concept of zero, and much, much more. New Caledonian Crows, a relative of the magpie, are widely-regarded as the smartest of all birds.

Now scientists can add rescuing to the repertoire.

This research has been published in Australian Field Ornithology. 

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