Getting your car towed typically doesn’t amount to a positive experience for the driver whose car is towed, or for the poor workers who have to collect money from angry citizens at the impound lot–but this young poet decided to change that.
After being in labor for three hour and 12 minutes—with the baby’s fluke already extended outside her mother’s body, a Pacific white-sided dolphin gave birth on Monday at Shedd Aquarium, a sight never seen in the wild.
This was the first pregnancy for the mammal named Katrl, and more than 40 members of the animal care and veterinary teams were standing by, giving rubs and snacks of herring, and witnessing the smoothly proceeding birth.
At 9:14 a.m., Katrl swam close to the surface and gave a final push. “It’s out!” someone cheered. “Its first breath!” With that essential milestone passed, everyone applauded the arrival of the approximately 3-foot, 25-pound new member of the Shedd family in Chicago.
Photos courtesy of Shedd Aquarium, Chicago
“As soon as those little tail flukes appear, your heart begins to race, and you know it’s only a matter of time before you are about to witness something incredibly amazing,” wrote Lisa Takaki, senior director of marine mammals, in a blog post for Shedd. “To watch a dolphin be born is beautiful, but to also see its natural instincts fully take over in a matter of seconds as it kicks its tail to propel its little body to the surface to take its first breath is overwhelmingly emotional.”
In comparison to Mom the dolphin calf was nearly half her length.
“We are overjoyed that both mom and calf are doing well in these critical first hours.”
This 1994 album had a lot more in store for this collector than just music.
When Justin Peterson received his newly-order mint copy of Soundgarden’s “Superunknown” from the internet, he found a printed note tucked inside the sleeve.
The note was from a woman named Sabine who described the record that Justin was holding in his hands as belonging to her son Mark who died of a heart attack at age 39 while running in the Oregon coastal mountains.
The letter has been shared thousands of times since Justin shared the image to Reddit on Imgur. He says that even though he has only owned the LP for a short span of time, the history has made it one of the most valuable records in his collection.
A happy birth announcement came from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park when, after attempting to breed for 10 years, Holly the resident Southern White rhino finally produced a wee baby calf.
The birth follows a breakthrough in breeding protocol that may save the endangered species in the future.
Jennifer Hudson and the cast of the Broadway musical The Color Purple, gathered for their usual curtain call at the end of Thursday’s evening performance–but with a heavy heart this time.
The legendary musician Prince had died at the age of 57, and the actors stepped to the edge of the stage to sing a glorious tribute.
Hudson, a friend of Prince’s, took center stage alongside Cynthia Erivo, and they belted out the words to—what else?— Purple Rain.
His rescuers, Hong Kong-based animal rights organization Animals Asia, said that Tuffy may have a long way to go until total recovery, but getting out of from behind bars is an excellent start.
Klinker may look like any other black Labrador retriever, but she’s the only dog in America that can do this job — sniffing out disease and saving whole colonies of bees with one visit.
Since 2008, Klinker has been sniffing out American foulbrood — a bacteria that if not caught right away, can sweep through a colony, jumping from hive to hive and destroying any larvae. It’s the most common and destructive disease facing honey bees, but it’s no match for this dog’s nose.
Klinker can sniff out foulbrood in its earliest stages, allowing beekeepers to treat their hives with antibiotics to wipe out the disease before it can gain a foothold.
She works for Maryland’s Agriculture Department, running through rows of hives at a time, suddenly stopping and sitting when she catches a whiff of the bacteria.
Humans can inspect only about 50 colonies a day for the menace; Klinker can check up to 1,000 of them in the same amount of time.
Maryland began training “bee dogs” to sniff out diseases in the late 1970s. Klinker is the fourth in a long line of canines that have served as guard dogs for the state’s bee population.
Oh, and don’t worry about her getting stung. Klinker’s work schedule is limited to fall and winter, when bees are docile — and not so worried about a dog sticking its nose into their business.
(WATCH the video below from National Geographic) — Photo: news video
She sent him a video asking the TV chef to prepare a special meal for her to enjoy.
“I watch your shows all the time,” Abigail says in the video below. “Sometimes I have to watch them in hospital. I can’t eat the food you make on Master Chef Junior, but I love to watch.
Maybe it was the tone of her message that got to Ramsay. He’s best known for chastising cooks on his various reality cooking shows when they don’t live up to his expectations. Or maybe it was the challenge of creating a meal that uses only ingredients her body can handle.
“’My mom tries but she’s just an OK cook.” she said in her video. “I know you could make me something really good.”
Within 48 hours of posting the video to YouTube, Ramsay fired off a Tweet to his little fan, asking her mother to send him a direct message.
Hey gorgeous Abigail thx for you're kind letter,ask mummy to DM please take care Chef Ramsay xxx https://t.co/8lE1VdgPl0
In a campaign to name “Dogs Who Changed The World”, Milk-Bone is scouring the globe for the most incredible pups.
Some of the pooches are hailed for their valor, like 16-year-old Bretagne, the last living 9/11 rescue dog and veteran of Hurricane Katrina (pictured above). The golden retriever is currently enjoying a well-deserved retirement after a long career.
Another loyal champion is Tillie the Irish setter who stood guard over her trapped best friend, a basset hound, for an entire week–leaving only for short bursts to try to find help.
Some pups featured in the ongoing campaign are valued as top watch dogs for kids and teens who suffer from epilepsy seizures or disabilities. Some rescue their human families from gas leaks and fires. Others are appreciated solely for their abilities as good reading partners.
Milk-Bone is encouraging viewers to submit stories of their own beloved canines for a chance to be featured in the series. Do you have any heroic dogs stories to share with the world? Post your stories and read more about all the featured animals on their Dogs Who Changed The World webpage.Share These Cool Canines With Your Friends
When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. When grocery stores give you tons of cauliflower destined for the trash, you make soup to feed the hungry.
An Ohio chef was driven crazy by all the food waste she saw around her, while “Cincinnati has such a ridiculous amount of hunger.” So, she began simmering La Soupe.
One in four Ohio children are hungry on any given day, so DeYoung enlisted a small army of fellow chefs at Cincinnati’s leading restaurants to help battle that hunger.
Suzy DeYoung’s La Soupe project brings together grocery managers at Kroger stores –donating produce they can’t sell– with volunteer chefs who chop it up and serve it into nutritious carry-out soup for homeless and low income citizens.
DeYoung calls on volunteers to help chop in her “Bucket Brigade.” Together, they created and deliver 1,600 pints of soup to the hungry every week.
The chefs quickly realized that the nature of seasonal vegetables could mean large donations of a single kind of produce at a time — one week lots of cauliflower, the next week it might be radishes. The best way to deal with that was to make soup or stews.
Volunteer chef Todd Kelly says the trick is turning sometimes odd or unusual vegetables into something kids will eat. That can be hard if the bulk of the ingredients turn out to be artichokes and cardoons — a high-fiber thistle — which were the majority of La Soupe’s ingredients one week.
The talent of 19 professional chefs goes a long way in letting La Soupe turn what would be trash into delicious and nutritious meals.
“It’s not going to solve world hunger,” Kelly told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “but it’s definitely going to help do a dent.”
(WATCH the video below from the Cincinnati Enquirer) — Photo via News Video
The British Queen turns ninety today. To mark the birthday, the royal family has released a series of official photographs taken by the renowned portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz at Windsor Castle just after Easter.
The photo in pink above, was separately posted on Facebook with a message saying the Queen sends her best wishes and warm congratulations to all those celebrating their 90th birthday today, saying:
“I send my best wishes to those who are celebrating their ninetieth birthday on 21 April 2016. On this shared occasion, I send my warm congratulations to you all. Elizabeth R.”
The three Leibovitz photographs below were also posted on Facebook by the Monarchy. Another charming family portrait with little children, like the 4-generation picture released yesterday that is set to become a stamp, shows The Queen with her five great-grandchildren and her two youngest grandchildren. The portrait, which features a wee one holding her grandmother’s handbag, was taken in the Green Drawing Room, in the Castle’s semi-State apartments.
The two oldest children standing to the left of The Queen are her grandchildren, James, Viscount Severn (aged 8) and Lady Louise (12)–the children of her son, Prince Edward. In the front is Princess Anne’s granddaughter, Mia Tindall, (via her daughter Zara Tindall) who is holding the handbag. Prince George (2), in the dark sweater, and in The Queen’s arms –in the tradition of Royal portraiture–the youngest great-grandchild, Princess Charlotte (11 months), are children of Prince William and Kate, now the Duchess of Cambridge. The other two little girls in the picture (one behind the Queen and the other to the far right) are Peter Phillips’s daughters (and Princess Anne’s grandchildren) Savannah & Isla.
The Queen on steps at Windsor Castle with four of her dogs: clockwise from top left Willow (corgi), Vulcan (dorgie), Candy (dorgie) and Holly (corgi).
Here, Leibovitz posed The Queen with her daughter The Princess Royal, Anne, in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.
Follow all the royal activities surrounding the 90th birthday, which are happening all year, at the BBC.
When a 100-year-old woman was evicted from her apartment and faced life on the streets, motivational speaker Tony Robbins was motivated to help.
Robbins read about the plight of Evelyn Heller in a local newspaper while visiting Palm Desert, California, and decided to pay her rent for the next two years — $24,000.
Heller had been evicted because she couldn’t keep her apartment clean. A court ordered her to pay more than $600 dollars in damages to the landlord and another $900 in legal costs.
The story also inspired Heller’s congressman to contact Adult Protective Services which found her a new apartment.
Robbins’ charitable gifts are usually on a larger scale; his Anthony Robbins Foundation has fed millions, delivering food to low-income families and partnering with Feeding America to match donations people make to the nonprofit.
He says his decision to help Heller is to inspire others to “pay it forward” — and for people to respond to this gift by being kind to others. His February rescue of nuns who were about to be evicted from their soup kitchen, was another example of Robbins swooping in with aid, after hearing a news story that inspired him to get involved.
“Since she has no one, I wanted to step in and take care of her — that was the main reason,” Robbins told ABC News. “Sometimes it’s just about helping somebody.”
(WATCH the video below from the Desert Sun and READ more at ABC News) — Photos: Desert Sun video; drcliffordchoi,cc
Move over Andrew Jackson – one of history’s most hailed abolitionists is taking over the face of the $20 dollar bill.
The United States Treasury Department announced Wednesday major changes arriving on American currency including Harriet Tubman replacing the former present on the front of the twenty.
Other changes include the back of the ten dollar bill, which will soon display historic figures of women’s suffrage like Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul.
Martin Luther King Jr. is replacing the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill, along with opera singer Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert at that famous D.C. monument.
The reverse of the new $20 will continue to feature the White House as well as an image of President Andrew Jackson.
The redesigned currency will not be released for another four years, but the design decisions have been eagerly anticipated by activists and citizens alike.
“When I announced last June that a newly redesigned $10 note would feature a woman, I hoped to encourage a national conversation about women in our democracy. The response has been powerful,” Secretary Jacob Lew said in a press release. “You and your fellow citizens from across the country have made your voices heard through town hall discussions and roundtable conversations, and with more than a million responses via mail and email, and through handwritten notes, tweets, and social media posts. Thank you for sharing this thoughtful and impassioned feedback.”
He may be the god of thunder, but he can be just as fallible as anyone else.
17-year-old Tristin Budzyn-Baker found a wallet in a Los Angeles restaurant. When he realized that the wallet belonged to none other than the superhero Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, he flipped.
“I looked up at my mom and was like, ‘ma, do you know who this is?’” he recounted Monday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “We found Thor’s wallet.”
It was full of cash and he tracked down the movie star to return it.
As a reward for receiving his wallet with nothing missing, Thor gave the honest teen some free tickets, merchandise, and a reward of $10,000 from the publishing service Shutterfly.
Hemsworth also wrote a recommendation for Tristin to be awarded the Eagle Scout honor.
Brooklyn and her mom spend every Thursday waiting at the end of their driveway so they can wave to their ‘favorite awesome smiley garbage man’ driving by to pick up their trash.
The Bloomington, Illinois garbage man always makes Brooklyn’s day by giving them a big smile and wave in return.
Last Thursday, for little Brooklyn’s birthday, the mother-daughter duo wanted to do something special.
With a wrapped-up birthday cupcake in hand, the mother and daughter waited for their cheery civil servant to make his usual stop by their house.
Brooklyn’s mom motioned for the gentleman to join them at the driveway where she explained that the highlight of their week is seeing him as the big truck passes by.
The man, named Delvar, returned their compliment by saying it was the highlight of his week, as well –and even though he has special meetings to attend every Thursday, he makes sure to leave early so he can make it to their waving exchange.
“After he left, we continued on to daycare and Brooklyn was unusually quiet in the backseat,” mom wrote in a Facebook post. “I asked her if she was okay, and she said ‘Mommy I’m so happy.’”
“So… to ‘our favorite awesome smiley garbage man’… THANK YOU!!! Thank you for the joy that you bring Brooklyn every Thursday morning, for making her birthday special, and for making my heart happy.”
His company may sound like it was named after a dime, but the founder of Tencent is a Chinese billionaire who has just donated billions to charity.
Ma Huateng, better known as Pony Ma, announced Monday he would donate 100 million company shares to a new charity fund he’s creating to support educational, medical, and environmental causes. The shares amount to two billion dollars — one of the largest charitable gifts in China’s history.
Tencent started as an Internet portal and has grown into China’s largest social network. The entertainment company is one of the country’s “Big Three” tech companies along with Alibaba and Baidu. Ma’s fortune is estimated at more than 18 billion dollars.
His gift mirrors a three billion dollar contribution Alibaba founders Jack Ma — who is not related — and Joe Tsai made in 2014 when they created their own charitable foundation. Jack is the wealthy conservationist who last year bought 28,000 acres of American wilderness in the Adirondack mountains for preservation.
China recently overtook the U.S. as the country with the greatest number of billionaires, but Chinese philanthropy still lags way behind America.
U.S. billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet, created “The Giving Pledge” to encourage the world’s wealthy to bequeath the majority of their fortunes to charity, but Chinese billionaires have been slow to warm up to the idea.
Ma’s announcement Monday — even though he has not signed the pledge — demonstrates that the country’s newly wealthy business leaders are beginning to take philanthropy more seriously.
“After 10 years of exploration and participation in philanthropic activities,” Ma said in a statement announcing the gift, “I increasingly feel that there is a need for a more longer-term, efficient and organized way to give back to society.”
Tencent Holdings’ name, in case you’re wondering, has nothing to do with a dime. It’s a play on the Chinese characters Teng and Xun which loosely translates into “galloping fast information.”
In a new family portrait, two-year-old Prince George definitely stole the show as Queen Elizabeth and her direct line of heirs posed for a four-generation picture.
The photograph is set to become a new postage stamp featured on a sheet being released by the Royal Mail in honor of the queen’s 90th birthday Thursday.
Photographer Ranald Mackechnie stood the little prince on gym blocks to balance the photo with his father, Prince William; grandfather, Prince Charles; and great-grandmother, the queen. George was fascinated by the bright lights but settled down long enough to flash a cheeky grin that will likely make the sheet an instant favorite of stamp collectors.
Meanwhile, in a galaxy far, far away….
Prince William and brother Prince Harry toured the set of Star Wars, Episode VIII, filming at Pinewood Studios outside London Tuesday. Ostensibly, the royals were there to salute the role of British talent and technical skill behind the film franchise — but it appeared to be more about an excuse to have a lot fun — and getting a hug from any galaxy’s favorite wookie.
The brothers even delayed their tour guide, Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey in the latest movies, while they conducted a battle royale with light sabers they found in the props department. Their duel and all the brothers’ antics backstage were caught on video by ITN cameras.
Alexey Romanov is inspiring the world one melody at a time by showing that the only thing he needs to play the piano is – not even fingers – but heart.
Born with a debilitating illness that robbed him of his fingers, the 16-year-old prodigy fell in love with Mozart and Vivaldi after being adopted two years ago and started learning to play the piano. Alexey’s two friends are credited with teaching him to read sheet music and identify keys.
Thanks to his performance in February with the respected La Primavera chamber orchestra from Kazan, Alexey was invited to join a music school in the Tatarstan capital.
Because the school specializes in teaching children with disabilities, the young Russian pianist has been thriving. His performance on national television has earned him praise and recognition from fans worldwide, saying he is an inspiration to them all.
(WATCH the video above, showing Alexey performing “River Flows In You” on the Guests Of Tomorrow TV show)
Don’t Let Your Friends Miss This Beautiful Tune… Click To Share
Brice Royer was diagnosed with a rare type of stomach cancer and began looking for the cause. He decided that if his life were filled with more loving and sharing, then he might be healed in return.
He started a Gift Economy Facebook group in Vancouver, BC, with the motto, “The more you give, the richer you are”… and apparently the healthier you are, too.
On April 14, Royer’s caregiver wheeled him in to see the doctor to get the results of an MRI. It’s been eleven months since he began giving away donations to people needing rent money, and unconditional love to others.
“I’m now cancer free!!” Royer wrote to Good News Network. “Thanks to all the love and kindness– it finally paid off! No surgery, chemo or medication!”
His doctor said the tumor actually shrunk–and may not even be malignant. He called the MRI results “unexplainable by western science.”
Royer spent this Christmas season raising $25,000 to build a solar tiny home for a homeless single mom, with hopes of starting a tiny village that would transition people toward jobs and permanent housing. Many Good News Network fans contributed to the campaign’s success.
Read his open letter that details all the scientific studies that have been done about healing with love. He describes the exact treatment he prescribed for himself at a moment when depression and loneliness might have been the real killer, along with cancer: do random acts of kindness for one year without expecting anything in return.
You can watch a video of the doctor giving Royer the good news. Since it was published in the Vancouver Sun, Royer was contacted by many cancer patients and people with chronic illness who also want to use giving as part of their healing.
“People who are mentally or physically ill have been inspired to do acts of kindness and to change the world,” Royer says. “So just like them, I plan to continue doing random acts of kindness to heal myself and others.”
The recent test results might turn even more people into believing what Royer says, “Giving is good medicine.”
What happens when the crooked cop that put you in jail for a crime you didn’t commit becomes your coffee shop colleague?
Friendship may not be the obvious choice, but that’s the choice that makes this story of Jameel McGee and former police officer Andrew Collins extraordinary.
Yet when the two men were out of prison and found themselves working at the same faith-based café, Jameel realized he had to put aside the past in order to heal, and move forward.
(WATCH Steve Hartman story above) NOTE* Check out this alternative link if you live outside the US!
