An excited dad gets to take a picture of his favorite celebrity standing next to his daughter – but in the process, he hilariously snubbed a major A-lister. Hear The Good News Guru tell the funny story, by clicking the arrow above.
Instead of Arguing Online, Political Foes Are Coming Together Over Food to ‘Make America Dinner Again’
When the presidential race came to an end in November 2016, Justine Lee and Tria Chang were both saddened by the amount of political divisiveness that showed up on their social media news feed.
Instead of joining in on the online arguments, however, the friends wanted to bring people together in person so they could lay their feelings and opinions out on the table – literally.
Chang and Lee are the masterminds behind Make America Dinner Again (MADA): a project that asks strangers from both sides of the political aisle to sit down and have dinner together.
The project’s website reads: “There are many avenues to protest, to donate, to fight, to be heard; Make America Dinner Again is an avenue to listen. These small dinners consist of respectful conversation, guided activities, and delicious food shared among 6-10 guests who have differing political viewpoints, and our country’s best interests at heart.”
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Since Chang and Lee first launched the initiative, they have helped orchestrate 13 dinners across the country – from California to Washington DC. As more and more people have reached out to the duo about hosting MADA meals of their own, the group has taken to GoFundMe to help finance the dinners.
The San Francisco-based buddies originally paid for the first dinner out of pocket, which cost roughly $250. In order to pay for future MADA parties, their campaign has raised over $2,800 since September.
If you like the idea of hosting a MADA dinner and would like a hand in covering the costs, you can apply for financial reimbursement – or, if you’re confident enough to pay for your own party, Chang and Lee have also published a handy guide on how to host a MADA dinner on their website.
(WATCH the concept in action in the video below)
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Cancer ‘Vaccine’ Eliminates 97% of Tumors With Amazing Success – Human Trials Next
Curing cancer may soon be as simple as going to the doctor and getting a shot, according to this new study.
Injecting minute amounts of two immune-stimulating agents directly into solid tumors in mice can eliminate all traces of cancer in the animals, including distant, untreated metastases. The approach works for many different types of cancers, including those that arise spontaneously.
The researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine believe the local application of very small amounts of the agents could serve as a rapid and relatively inexpensive cancer therapy that is unlikely to cause the adverse side effects often seen with body-wide immune stimulation.
“When we use these two agents together, we see the elimination of tumors all over the body,” said Ronald Levy, professor of oncology. “This approach bypasses the need to identify tumor-specific immune targets and doesn’t require wholesale activation of the immune system or customization of a patient’s immune cells.”
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One agent is currently already approved for use in humans; the other has been tested for human use in several unrelated clinical trials. A clinical trial was launched in January to test the effect of the treatment in patients with lymphoma.
Levy, who is the senior author of the study, is also a pioneer in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Many other kinds of immunotherapy that have been used to treat cancer have been successful, but they each have downsides — from difficult-to-handle side effects to high-cost and lengthy preparation or treatment times.
“All of these immunotherapy advances are changing medical practice,” Levy said. “Our approach uses a one-time application of very small amounts of two agents to stimulate the immune cells only within the tumor itself. In the mice, we saw amazing, body-wide effects, including the elimination of tumors all over the animal.”
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Cancers often exist in a strange kind of limbo with regard to the immune system. Immune cells like T cells recognize the abnormal proteins often present on cancer cells and infiltrate to attack the tumor. However, as the tumor grows, it often devises ways to suppress the activity of the T cells.
Levy’s method works to reactivate the cancer-specific T cells by injecting microgram amounts of two agents directly into the tumor site. (A microgram is one-millionth of a gram). One, a short stretch of DNA called a CpG oligonucleotide, works with other nearby immune cells to amplify the expression of an activating receptor called OX40 on the surface of the T cells. The other, an antibody that binds to OX40, activates the T cells to lead the charge against the cancer cells. Because the two agents are injected directly into the tumor, only T cells that have infiltrated it are activated. In effect, these T cells are “prescreened” by the body to recognize only cancer-specific proteins.
Some of these tumor-specific, activated T cells then leave the original tumor to find and destroy other identical tumors throughout the body.
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The approach worked startlingly well in laboratory mice with transplanted mouse lymphoma tumors in two sites on their bodies. Injecting one tumor site with the two agents caused the regression not just of the treated tumor, but also of the second, untreated tumor. In this way, 87 of 90 mice were cured of the cancer. Although the cancer recurred in three of the mice, the tumors again regressed after a second treatment. The researchers saw similar results in mice bearing breast, colon and melanoma tumors.
Mice genetically engineered to spontaneously develop breast cancers in all 10 of their mammary pads also responded to the treatment. Treating the first tumor that arose often prevented the occurrence of future tumors and significantly increased the animals’ life span, the researchers found.
Finally, Sagiv-Barfi explored the specificity of the T cells by transplanting two types of tumors into the mice. She transplanted the same lymphoma cancer cells in two locations, and she transplanted a colon cancer cell line in a third location. Treatment of one of the lymphoma sites caused the regression of both lymphoma tumors but did not affect the growth of the colon cancer cells.
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“This is a very targeted approach,” Levy said. “Only the tumor that shares the protein targets displayed by the treated site is affected. We’re attacking specific targets without having to identify exactly what proteins the T cells are recognizing.”
The current clinical trial is expected to recruit about 15 human patients with low-grade lymphoma. If successful, Levy believes the treatment could be useful for many tumor types. He envisions a future in which clinicians inject the two agents into solid tumors in humans prior to surgical removal of the cancer as a way to prevent recurrence due to unidentified metastases or lingering cancer cells, or even to head off the development of future tumors that arise due to genetic mutations.
“I don’t think there’s a limit to the type of tumor we could potentially treat, as long as it has been infiltrated by the immune system,” Levy said.
(Source: Stanford Medicine News Center)
Cure Your Friends Of Negativity: Click To Share – Photo by PDPics, CC
Couple Can’t Contain Their Laughter When Wife Accidentally Sends Beauty Product Flying
When JW Godwin tied the knot with his wife KC, he vowed to love her in sickness and in health. Although, he may not have guessed that he would also be loving her “in charcoal” as well.
Last week, the happy couple was at their home in Cecil, Alabama when JW heard his wife scream from upstairs and say that she had had an accident.
When he climbed the stairs, however, he heard KC laughing from inside the bathroom.
He then took out his phone and started recording – and it’s a good thing he did, because the results are hilarious.
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JW walks in on his wife covered head to toe in black charcoal powder, and she can’t stop giggling over her clumsiness.
When asked what happened, she simply says that she had been trying to open the jar of charcoal teeth whitener when it sprayed all over the bathroom.
JW’s witty response? He says: “Well, your teeth DO look white.”
(WATCH the hilarious video below)
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All 955 Gold Miners Who Were Trapped Underground Have Been Rescued
All 955 South African gold miners who were trapped underground for 30 hours this week have reportedly been rescued and treated for dehydration.
The workers were trapped in the Beatrix gold mine of Theunissen after a massive storm caused a power outage in the area. Since the only way in and out of the tunnel is by using an electronic lift, the miners were stuck 3,200 feet (1,000 meters) down without any means of escape since Wednesday.
Once engineers were able to restore power to the lift, the miners were brought back to the surface in groups.
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Ambulance workers who were waiting on site to treat the miners found that – apart from mild dehydration and elevated blood pressure – the crew was unharmed.
According to France 24, the workers showed “no indication so far that anyone has been in distress”.
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Adjust FB Settings to Keep Good News on Your Feed, in Light of New Facebook Policy
Facebook announced earlier this year that it was changing how its users see content on their news feeds.
Facebook is now prioritizing posts from friends and family over viral content or posts from news publishers. If you like seeing GNN posts on Facebook, we urge you to change an option in your Settings.
There is a feature called, “See First”, which will boost certain posts to the top of your feed (or, in this case, show stories that wouldn’t be there at all). If you log-in and go to our GNN Facebook page, look just below the GOOD HAPPENS banner, and look for the Follow button. If you hover or tap, you will notice the option to SEE First. It will look something like the drop-down menu in the image below, depending if you have already Liked and Followed our page.
Reports this week show Facebook usage dropped by “roughly 50 million hours every day” — or 5%—since those changes went into effect.
Maybe Aunt Millie’s dog pictures are not as engaging as Zuckerberg thought…
“Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.” –Nicholas Murray Butler
Quote of the Day: “Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.” –Nicholas Murray Butler
Photo: Gusdiaz, CC Flickr
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The Traits That Make You Weird Are the Gifts That Make You Special
The Lesson: Society is always trying to shame its individuals into conforming to the way things ought to be – but it’s those weird, strange little things about us that make up all the greatest innovations, breakthroughs, creations, and ideas in the world. So instead of making yourself bend to the superficiality of fitting in, why not embrace your weirdness instead?
Notable Excerpt: “It’s the calibration of such simple ingredients that – when brought together – creates that symphony of mastery. So I really want you to think about leaving any … form of superficiality in your understanding of humanity and leave that [way] of thinking, and rise up to the rare-air of world class.”
The Speaker: Robin Sharma’s talks on business have attracted over 750,000 people seeking his unique insight on strategy, leadership, and entrepreneurial mastery – and those viewers are already starting to see results in their personal growth. A best-selling author and motivational speaker, Sharma’s has spent the last twenty years of his career delivering talks to thousands of people all over the world, as well as to the massive corporate workforces of Nike, Microsoft, and HP.
Books: The Canadian speaker has published 11 groundbreaking self-help books, the most notable of which include “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” and “The Leader Who Had No Title”.
Podcast: Sharma’s first two Mastery classes are totally free to view and you can also download his free Mastery Sessions podcast on iTunes and Soundcloud, or watch his talks on YouTube.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below) – Photo by McKinley Corbley
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Eating 2 Avocados a Day Reportedly ‘Cured’ 5-Year-Old Girl of Seizures
When Leafy Liu had her first seizure at 6 months old, her parents, Claire and Justin, hoped that the episodes would not last into her childhood – but unfortunately, the seizures persisted.
With Leafy sometimes having as many as 60 fits per day, her parents tried giving her prescription medication to no avail. They moved from their home in England to Perth, Australia in hopes that the warmer weather would help her condition; but that did not work either.
Finally, after doing some online research, Claire and Justin found some studies claiming that high-fat and low-carb diets can prevent the body from triggering epileptic fits. The Lius decided to give it a shot and start incorporating foods with higher fat content – such as avocados – into their daughter’s diet
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Leafy is now 5 years old and she has eaten roughly 3,000 avocados over the course of her life, amounting to about 2 per day – and she now only suffers through about 4 seizures per year.
“It’s a miracle. Almost as soon as she started on the diet, she felt fit, happy, healthier, more relaxed — everything you’d want for your little girl,” Justin told Inside Edition. “When she was at her worst, I could never had envisioned that avocado would be the thing to help her through, but that’s how it’s turned out.”
(WATCH the video below)
Orange You Glad We Didn’t Say Guacamole? Click To Share The Story With Your Friends – Photo by Inside Edition
Man Finds Puppies Abandoned in the Middle of the Desert and Takes Them on Epic Cross Country Road Trip
It has been a little over a year since Jordan Kahana first found two helpless little puppy siblings on the side of the road in Arizona – and it has been an unforgettable adventure ever since.
Because Kahana is a freelance digital director, he travels a lot for work. Back in December 2016, the 30-year-old had been driving from Los Angeles to Colorado when he saw two fluffy black dogs who had been abandoned in the middle of nowhere.
Kahana brought the pups to a vet where they were given their shots and treated for dehydration. But when it came time for the traveler to hit the road once more, he could not bear to leave his new friends behind.
He then adopted the pups and took them along on his cross-country adventures.
Since Kahana first recruited Sedona and Zeus as his road trip buddies, they have driven over 32,000 miles through 35 states from coast to coast.
“I’m used to traveling by myself, but it has been great to have some companionship. We’ve basically traveled cross-country in month-long stints,” Kahana told Inside Edition. “I just put the back seat down in the jeep and I’ve got them a mattress so they’re comfortable.”
If you want to keep an eye out on where the trio is headed next – or if you want to look at some of their breathtaking travel photos – you can follow Kahana’s Instagram page.
Click To Share The Pawesome Story With Your Friends (Photos by Jordan Kahana)
An Italian Village is Selling Homes For $1.25 to Populate the Town For the Future
This idyllic village in Italy is looking for new neighbors to join its community – and they are only charging $1.25 per house.
On the island of Sardinia, more and more residents have been leaving the tiny town of Ollolai. Over the course of the last 50 years, the population has dwindled from 2,250 people to 1,300, according to the Independent.
So as a means of preventing the village from turning into a ghost town, the local government is selling the empty houses for $1.25 – less than the price of a cappuccino.
Unfortunately, there is a catch to the sweet deal (of course there is).
Prospective buyers must agree to renovate their newly-bought house within three years of purchasing the real estate, which is estimated to cost about $25,000.
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Considering the village’s rich history and thriving cultural spirit, $25,000 for a house on a breathtaking Mediterranean island isn’t that bad of a deal.
In fact, the village website that originally published the real estate deal has become so inundated with applications, there is now a deadline in place.
Since the amount of offers has exceeded the 200 properties currently available in the village, the page will stop accepting applications one week from now on February 7th. After that, applications will be reviewed in the order that they are submitted.
So hurry while the gettin’ is good!
Act Fast: Click To Share With Your Own Friends (Photo by trolvag, CC)
“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
Quote of the Day: “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
Photo: Million Man March, Washington DC, 1995 – by
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Ordinary Black American Didn’t Set Out to Change the World–But Did, When She Created First Golf Course Open to Blacks
On the first day of February, we want to take you beyond the stars of Black History Month–Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Frederick Douglas–to tell you about an extraordinary individual from Canton, Ohio who never set out to change history – but ended up doing just that.
Born 100 years ago, Bill Powell faced a lot of prejudice in America and saw a lot of signs reading “Whites Only”. But when his country needed him during World War II, he enlisted to serve.
His passion in life was the game of golf. He even started a golf team at school, for which he was the coach. When he returned to Ohio after serving overseas, where he played the game during leisure hours, he was not permitted to play on America’s segregated golf courses. He wanted to become a professional golfer, but the PGA had a “caucasian clause”.
So with quiet determination, and a dream to break barriers, Powell decided to build his own golf course.
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Buying 78 acres of farmland in East Canton, Ohio in 1946, he began clearing the land, and seeding the first nine holes by hand, walking back and forth over the land, on fairways and greens he’d designed in his head. Two years later, Clearview Golf Course opened as the only golf course in America to be owned and operated by an African-American.
All races were welcome to play there, of course, because he despised segregation. The public course, which expanded to 18 holes 30 years later, eventually became a designated National Historic Site.
Helping to break the racial barrier in golf, Powell was given a PGA Life Membership and the 2009 PGA of America Distinguished Service Award.
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Nine years ago, he passed away at age 93; but his legacy continues today as his son Larry and his daughter Renee, who is a professional golfer and ground-breaker in her own right, still operate the family business.
Powell (1916-2009) was able to change attitudes in Ohio and across the country, because for him, golf was “more than a game.” Golf was a way to touch people’s lives and impact the future. This year marks the 72nd anniversary of what has become known as “America’s Course”, where the only color that mattered – and still matters – is the color of the greens.
You can donate to the family‘s foundation to maintain the facilities and educational programs for future generations.
(WATCH the inspiring video below)
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Should You Follow Tom Brady’s Nutrition Advice?
The Lesson: Tom Brady, the New England Patriot’s quarterback who will be playing against the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday, recently published a book called “The TB12 Method” – and while it does have some valid advice on healthy living, a lot of its content isn’t exactly backed by science.
Notable Excerpt: “Although he [says that he] doesn’t want you drinking water with your meals, Brady is passionate about hydration. The amount of water he suggests drinking (four to six liters a day) is far in excess of the amount of water you would need to stay hydrated—unless, of course, you are currently serving on a chain gang in Death Valley.”
The Speaker: Monica Reinagel, MS, LD/N, CNS also known as The Nutrition Diva, is an expert on making healthy living as simple to understand as possible. The Baltimore-based nutritionist is the host of the fabulous fitness-centered podcast The Nutrition Diva’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Eating Well and Feeling Fabulous. Additionally, she is the bestselling author of several health books, such as “The Inflammation-Free Diet Plan” and “The Nutrition Diva’s Secrets For a Healthy Diet”.
Podcast: The Nutrition Diva’s show is available on Stitcher, iTunes, Soundcloud, and Spotify.
(LISTEN to the interesting talk below) – Photo by Keith Allison, CC
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Watch Bus Driver’s “Ecstatic” Reaction to Students Surprising Him With Super Bowl Tickets
Gary Kelmer has been in love with the Philadelphia Eagles for as long as he can remember – and now, because of all of the love he has shown to his young passengers over the years, he will get to see his favorite football team play at the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.
Kelmer has spent decades working as a bus driver for the Mount Laurel school district in New Jersey. As a means of repaying him for all the kindness the 66-year-old driver has shown them over the years, dozens of parents and students alike pitched in to buy Super Bowl tickets for Kelmer and his wife. They also bought personalized jerseys and airfare.
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The whole package cost about $5,000 – but it was worth it just to see Kelmer’s face when they surprised him at the last stop of his bus route on Monday.
Upon seeing the news cameras, parents, and kids all gathered outside of his bus, the Eagles fan couldn’t help but tear up over the astounding gesture of compassion.
“This a special dream come true,” Kelmer told CBS News. “I’m ecstatic. I am ecstatic!”
(WATCH the heartwarming video below – or, if the video is not available in your geographic region, you can check out the footage at the CBS News website)
Score Big With Your Friends: Click To Share The Sweet Story With Your Friends – Photo by CBS Philly
In World First, Children Given New Ears Grown From Their Own Cells
In a historical world first, Chinese scientists have successfully given new lab-grown ears to 5 different children. Not only that, but they were grown using the children’s very own cells.
The children, who were all between the ages of 6 and 10, were born with microtia; a condition where the shape and cartilage of their ears are underdeveloped and malformed, which causes hearing problems. While physicians can attach a fake synthetic ear to the exterior of the child’s head for cosmetic reasons, the body will often reject the fake – or it will simply look unnatural.
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According to the research findings that were published in EBioMedicine, the scientists created a 3D-printed replica of the child’s ear using a CT scan. Then, by reversing the dimensions, they created a mold of the ear which they filled with cartilage cells that were taken from the malformed ear.
Over the course of 12 weeks, the cells multiplied and grew into the mold. One of the newly-grown ears was attached to the patient’s head 2 and a half years ago – another was attached just 2 months ago. Thus far, however, none of the children’s bodies have not shown any signs of rejecting the implants.
The researchers said: “In conclusion, the results represent a significant breakthrough in clinical translation of tissue engineered human ear-shaped cartilage given the established in vitro engineering technique and suitable surgical procedure.”
Have Your Friends Heard The News? Click To Share (Photo by EBioMedicine)
Watch Streetwise Cats Play an Adorably Earnest Game of Hungry Hippos
Never before has such a serious group of felines ever been seen playing the silliest game.
In a YouTube video that was published by Viral Hog, four cats who had been rescued from the Brazilian streets of Vila Piaui, Sao Paulo were caught playing a round of “Hungry, Hungry Hippos” together.
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While one persistent player can be seen bending the rules and batting the ball by paw, rather than using the hippo, most of the house cats seem to be taking the game to heart. A fifth cat can also be seen enjoying the spectacle from afar.
According to the cats’ owner, this is a pretty regular occurrence.
“My cats that were rescued from the streets [like to] play with my daughter’s toys,” says the owner.
(WATCH the video below)
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“Today we are mentally preparing for tomorrow. The thoughts we think, the words we speak, the beliefs we accept, shape our tomorrows.” – Louise Hay
Quote of the Day: “Today we are mentally preparing for tomorrow. The thoughts we think, the words we speak, the beliefs we accept, shape our tomorrows.” – Louise Hay
Photo by Giampaolo Macorig on Flickr, CC
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See How Pigeons Saved This Man From a Life on the Streets
From the first moment that Dave Malone saw a flock of pigeons take flight, he knew that he was in love – and he has been in love with them ever since.
Malone recalls growing up in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn as a dangerous experience. As a 10-year-old, the New York City resident says that the streets were filled with crime, drug deals, and the sound of gun shots.
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Malone, however, always managed to stay above the crime – literally and figuratively.
Instead of smoking, drinking, or getting into trouble with his friends, he would spend every day – from morning till night – on the neighborhood rooftops so he could hang out with the pigeons.
Forty years later, he still spends every day with his beloved birds.
(WATCH the inspiring video below)
Click To Share With Your Own Flock Of Friends – Photo by National Geographic
Student Wakes From Nap to Find That Stranger Had Overheard Her Financial Difficulties and Left a Gift
Ella Johannessen was overwhelmed by financial difficulties when a stranger learned of her troubles and decided to leave a little gift for the 23-year-old student while she was asleep.
Johannessen was on a train from London King’s Cross Station to Leeds on Saturday morning when she called her mother and started venting about her money problems.
As a Leeds Beckett University graduate, she reportedly fell into debt during her final year in college when she had to drop her part-time job and focus on her studies.
“I was rather stressed and upset over my financial situation and was trying to locate what had happened to £35 that had been sent to me over a bank transfer,” Johannessen wrote on Facebook. “I spoke to her about how little money I had, how worried I was about my finances and I got upset.”
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After hanging up the phone, the 23-year-old fell asleep in her seat. When she awoke a half hour later, however, she found that someone had left her £100 ($141) tucked into a napkin on her lap.
“I started to cry,” said the student. “After a terrible 18 months where I lost my father and both of his parents, it showed me that there is kindness and good people in the world.”
According to the BBC, the money will keep Johannessen’s bank account from being over drafted. She hopes that her thank you note to the compassionate stranger will reach them on Facebook, and she plans on paying the good deed forward by volunteering for a charity in Leeds.
Click To Share The Inspiring Story With Your Friends (Photo by Ella Johannessen)