NFL Team Signs Youngest Player Ever, Makes 9-yo’s Wish Come True

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Jun 10, 2015

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Eagle-Eyed Trucker Saves Bald Eagle’s Life

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Jun 10, 2015

A truck driver just happened to notice something on the side of the road and ended up saving a bald eagle’s life.

Mario Giorbano was driving through upstate New York when he spotted the eagle struggling on the ground, almost hidden in tall grass.

He stopped and ran to help the bird, thinking it was stuck in mud. But when he got closer, he realized it was injured, possibly after a car hit the raptor.

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Giorbano called State Police who stayed with the bird until a pair of wildlife wildlife rehabilitators arrived to recover the eagle and take care of it.

The bald eagle, which is America’s national bird, is no longer an endangered species, and this one is a lot less threatened thanks to a truck driver with eyes like an eagle’s.

(MORE images in slideshow below or READ more at WNYW News) – Photos from New York State Police

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Snapshot Serengeti Lets You Tag “Animal Selfies”

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Jun 10, 2015

Given the chance, some animals are eager to take a selfie, like this playful lemur and a camera-stealing macaque (pictured right).

Another kind of animal self-portrait is created by a camera trap – hidden cameras that take pictures whenever animals get near them. “Snapshot Serengeti” has collected 5.7 million of those animal selfies.

A carnivore researcher named Alexandra Swanson led a team that placed 200 camera traps across 1,100 square miles of the Serengeti in Africa. Now they’ve set up up a website where you can help identify the animals in the pictures. Think of it as tagging your friends.

Like many Facebook photos, there were pictures of wild times…

Swanson sometimes had trouble keeping the cameras working. Elephants would rip them off trees and toss them into the brush.

Hyenas would chew on them…

…until there was nothing left.

Big cats, apparently sniffing a human scent on the cameras, would spray them to mark their territory.

“I’ve seen very intimate photos of cheetahs and servals,” Swanson told the New Yorker.

Her team has published the results of their photo-gathering research in the journal Scientific Data this week.

The millions of pictures her team captured using camera traps between 2010 and 2013 are now online, with some of the best posted to their Facebook page. The photos are stored at the University of Minnesota and you can help “tag” the animal selfies at Serengeti Snapshot’s Zooniverse page.

(READ more at the New Yorker) – Photos by Snapshot Serengeti

23 Famous Failures to Inspire You to Persevere

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Brad Aronson

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Jun 10, 2015

Don’t be afraid to fail. In fact, failures often lead to success.

Take the case of Jack Andraka, the young teen who set out to create a diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer that was better than any doctor’s diagnostic tool.

After Jack wrote a proposal to develop his idea, 199 research labs rejected him. Good thing he didn’t give up after 199 rejections. The 200th time he submitted his idea— to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — he was accepted.

At the lab Jack developed a test that was 100 times better and 26,000 times cheaper than the current method for detecting pancreatic cancer, and his innovation will save tens of thousands of lives.

Take inspiration from both the famous and the lesser known failures listed in the inspiring article below.

(READ more in Brad Aronson’s blog) – CC Photo from James Duncan Davidson

First Latino U.S. Poet Laureate Named, Weaves English, Spanish into Poems

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Jun 10, 2015

The son of migrant farmworkers, who fled the 1910 Mexican Revolution, has been named the first Latino Poet Laureate of the U.S.

As he announced the selection of Juan Felipe Herrera, the Librarian of Congress, James Billington, compared Herrera’s poems to Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.”

“The honor is bigger than me,” Herrera said in a statement. “It is a miracle of many of us coming together.”

Herrera has published 14 poetry collections and seven other books including short stories, novels, and children’s works – most recently, Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes (2014), recommended for grades 4-8. His poems frequently weave English and Spanish words throughout.

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“I see how (the poems) champion voices, traditions and histories, as well as a cultural perspective, which is a vital part of our larger American identity,” Billington said.

The Library of Congress selects the Poet Laureate, based solely on poetic merit, to serve a one year term. Laureates have few responsibilities with the title, but have held readings and started programs to grow audiences for poetry in the U.S.

Herrera says he wants to use the resources of the Library of Congress to develop “everything I have in me…with the heart-shaped dreams of the people.”

Previously appointed California’s poet laureate in 2012, the author retired in March from the University of California Riverside where he taught creative writing for ten years.

In an excerpt from Let Me Tell You What a Poem Brings, Herrera describes his art in a few lines:

Before you go further,
let me tell you what a poem brings,
first, you must know the secret, there is no poem
to speak of, it is a way to attain a life without boundaries,
yes, it is that easy, a poem, imagine me telling you this. . .

(READ more, w/ photos, at the Los Angeles Times) Photo by slowking, GNU license

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Marathon 18-Patient Kidney Swap Saves Nine People

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Jun 10, 2015

Nine patients received new kidneys from nine living donors in a marathon, 36-hour transplant session.

The carefully coordinated procedure included specially equipped medical vans ferrying donors’ kidneys between two hospitals in San Francisco, California.

The “transplant chain” allows people who are not a compatible match, but who want to donate a kidney to a family member or friend, to effectively trade with someone in the same situation.

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Doctors at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center and California Pacific Medical Center used kidney matching software to connect willing donors with strangers awaiting a new organ.

The donors and patients were matched until there were enough kidneys for all the people joining the chain.

(WATCH the video below or READ more at the Orange County Register) Photo by Scott Maier, USCF Medical Center

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Tesco Grocers to Offer Unsold Fresh Food to British Charities

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Jun 9, 2015

The giant British supermarket Tesco is launching a pilot program to give away the fresh food it can’t sell to those in need.

Tesco officials said nearly 30,000 tons of perishable food like produce, bread and sandwiches were trashed from stores and distribution centers in the last year. That wasted food is now slated to go to women’s and homeless shelters, and school breakfast programs.

“This is potentially the biggest single step we’ve taken to cut food waste, and we hope it marks the start of eliminating the need to throw away edible food in our stores,” Tesco Chief Executive Dave Lewis told Reuters.

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In a statement, Tesco says they’ve partnered with UK food redistribution charity FareShare and Irish non-profit FoodCloud to help with collection and delivery. Store managers will use the FoodCloud app to alert charities to the amount of surplus food available each day.

Rival British stores Sainsbury’s and Morrisons already have similar programs.

Going even further last month, France passed legislation banning big supermarkets from destroying unsold edible food.

(READ more from Reuters) – Photo by Fruitnet.com

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New Green Overpass Will Let Wildlife Cross 6 Lanes of Highway

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Jun 9, 2015

A rendition of the Price Creek crossing site.

Why did the wildlife cross the interstate? Because it had a lush landscaped bridge to do so.

On Tuesday, Washington State Department of Transportation crews broke ground on the state’s first animal overpass, a 150-foot wide-bridge surrounded by native trees and planted with vegetation designed to let bears, elk, otters and even mice pass over the ever-busy I-90 expressway.

The $6 million critter crossing will be the first of more than 20 planned overpasses and underpasses spanning the landscape along Washington’s central Cascade Mountains, designed to let wandering animals get across a 15-mile stretch while 28,000 cars whiz by every day.

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Four underpasses are already open and game cameras have caught video of animals from river otters to deer crossing under the highway.

Florida, Montana and other states have built similar animal crossings and America’s northern neighbor built 44 of them along the Trans-Canada Highway. The number of collisions with animals dropped by 80% by the time the Canadian project was finished.

The National Forest Service manages the land and has been pushing for something like this for years–as have state conservationists. Forest Rangers say the project will reunite wildlife populations divided by the highway, allowing animals to more easily find food, homes and even mates, which would broaden the gene pool for rare species.

(WATCH the video below or READ more at the Seattle Times) Image – WSDOT rendering

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Why Is Severus Snape Checking Tickets for American Airlines?

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Jun 9, 2015

We will now Severus you at Gate Nine and Three-Quarters. #SnAApe #AATeam #HarryPotter #LGA pic.twitter.com/dnUJpMplW5
— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) June 5, 2015

David Dolci looks remarkably like Severus Snape from the Harry Potter movies.

Or rather, he looks like Alan Rickman portraying Severus Snape.

Either way, American Airlines finally revealed that Snape is not, in fact, dead, but currently taking boarding passes at this New York airport, and shared some photos on Twitter and Facebook.

Muggles everywhere are delighted:

@AmericanAir YOU FOUND HIM!!!!
— Henry Heming ✈™ (@FOHeming) June 5, 2015

@AmericanAir AA is reducing costs w/ an innovative new "Hire a Wizard" program. Who needs fuel when you've got #SnAApe & Wingardium Leviosa?
— Polkabecky (@polkabecky) June 5, 2015

@AmericanAir There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations on this flight.
— Henry Heming ✈™ (@FOHeming) June 5, 2015

Photo courtesy of American Airlines on Facebook

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Asthma Could Be Cured Within 5 Years With This New Breakthrough

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Jun 9, 2015

asthma-CC- Kathryn Doran-thumbs-up — Asthma sufferer by Kathryn Doran, CC license

Asthma could be cured in five years now that scientists have found the ‘switch’ that can turn off triggers that cause the condition in tens of millions of people worldwide.

Researchers at UK’s Cardiff University and King’s College London identified which cells cause the airways to narrow when exposed to irritants like pollution. Experiments showed that calcium-sensing receptor cells – which detect changes in the environment – become overstimulated in asthmatics, causing airway twitching and inflammation.

Drugs already exist that can deactivate those cells. They are known as calcilytics and are used to treat people with osteoporosis. Researchers found that, when the drug is inhaled, it deactivates the cells and stops all symptoms.

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“This hugely exciting discovery enables us, for the first time, to tackle the underlying causes of asthma symptoms,” said Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK. “If this research proves successful we may be just a few years away from a new treatment.”

Scientists are hopeful that patients can take the drug to prevent asthma attacks before they start – ending the need to constantly carry an inhaler to end symptoms once an attack has started.

Furthermore, Walker added, “Five percent of people with asthma don’t respond to current treatments, so research breakthroughs could be life-changing for hundreds of thousands of people.”

The discovery could also lead to new treatments for chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that kills tens of millions of people every year – and for which there currently is no cure.

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Researchers say if clinical trials start soon, and it can be proven that calcilytics are safe when administered directly to the human lung, the treatment that could effectively cure asthma would be available in the next 5 years.

The research, funded by Asthma UK, the Cardiff Partnership Fund, and a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council award, was published in the Science Translational Medicine journal in April.

(WATCH the Cardiff University video below) – Photo by Kathryn Doran, CC

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Kittens on Loan Leads to Happier Workplace For This Office

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Jun 9, 2015

There’s a unique ‘library’ in Las Cruces, New Mexico. But it’s kittens – not books – that people are checking out.

A few years ago, county officials installed a little kitty condo in the lobby of their office building. The cats, from a local shelter–available for adoption– are available to any employee looking for a temporary ‘fur fix’ during the workday.

The kittens help relieve stress, community planner Angela Roberson told CBS’s Steve Hartman. “I mean how can it not when you have a little fuzzy thing that you can take back to your office?”

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It’s not just a morale boost for the workers – it’s helping the homeless animals too. Officials say, so far, 100 kittens have been adopted from the library.

(WATCH the video below, from CBS News *NOTE* auto-playing page, so adjust speakers) Photo CBS video

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Deputy Dies Hours Before Son’s Graduation, Officers Stand in His Place

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Jun 9, 2015

When Dakota Smith solemnly walked across the stage to pick up his high school diploma, more than a dozen police officers snapped to attention and saluted, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Dakota’s father, a deputy sheriff, died in the line of duty just hours before the graduation ceremony at Clarksville High School in Arkansas. Dakota decided to attend the commencement in a show of inner strength over grief.

Word spread quickly of Dakota’s decision, and police officers who knew Reserve Deputy Sonny Smith assembled alongside the stage to stand in for the father who couldn’t be there.

Photos by Julie Moore (top), and Samantha D Sowells-Irving, via 53 Hours Facebook Page

“There was a lot of outpouring emotion… he received a lot of applause and rightfully so,” School Superintendent David Hopkins told KARK News.

“It took a lot of courage for him and his family to be here tonight and I know that’s where their dad would want them to be.”

Check Out More ‘Good Cop’ Stories on the Good News Network Police Page

Girl Builds Mobile Shelters Because ‘Nobody Should Sleep Outside’

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Fifth Grader Runs Successful Nonprofit After Homework is Done

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Jun 9, 2015

Two months ago, we broke the story about a man named Elvis who built a tiny mobile shelter for a woman sleeping in the dirt on his block.

Meanwhile, one nine-year-old girl has been doing the very same thing–and she came up with the idea all on her own.

Hailey Fort of Bremerton, Washington, first befriended a homeless man named Edward when he lost his job at their local supermarket. Hailey, who happens to be handy with an electric drill, decided to get to work building him a “mobile sleeping shelter,” and she knows what she’s doing.

“If there was no insulation, he would get cold. If there was no tar paper, he would get a draft,” she told King 5 news. With a little help from her grandfather, who is a contractor by trade, she successfully built Edward a 8×4 wooden shelter.

Hailey, in fact, has a history of helping the homeless, having planted a garden to supply 128 pounds of produce for a local food bank. She has since received grants to help build more homeless shelters to donate to Edward’s friends in Bremerton’s “Tent City.”

Hailey’s fundraising campaign has already raised $29,000. You can also follow Haily’s Harvest on Facebook.

(WATCH the King-5 video below to see Hailey in action) –Story Tip from Denise Keeran

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Girl With Cancer Gets VIP Bono Experience From Caring Community and Ed Norton

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Jun 8, 2015

For one young girl who wanted to see Bono in concert, last night was a dream come true.

14-year-old Lizzy Lawson, who has a stage 4 brain tumor, wanted more than anything to attend the U2 concert in Denver. When a student in Lizzy’s mother’s spin class, heard about the girl’s wish, she decided to start a CrowdRise campaign to help make it come true, in high style.

Tricia Canonic managed to raise nearly $4,700 to get Lizzy, her sisters and her mom tickets to the show, a limo ride from Fort Collins to Denver, dinner, a makeover and outfits for all of them.

Shortly before the night of the show, CrowdRise co-founder Edward Norton decided to contact LiveNation himself in order to get the girls an upgrade. He also called his friend, Bono, to make it all happen.

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The family was bumped up to the front of the house, provided with backstage passes, and got to meet the band.

“There were presents for all the girls, and extra love for Lizzy. The Edge talked to us at length, as he shared about his family’s battles with cancer,” said Lizzy’s mom, Meredith. “There are so many people in need in the world, even in our own community, that for us to be so lavished with love and support indeed makes me feel unnaturally blessed.”

U2 had been so personable and kind to Lizzy, she said it was “like she got to watch her friends on stage” during the show.

Friends of Lizzy and her family continue to raise funds for her care on CrowdRise, and though local events.

“The number of people who took it upon themselves to become involved in so many different ways after that….all of these people with so much talent, each using and giving what they had, that’s a masterpiece,” said Meredith. “That’s humanity at it’s best.”

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Former Fish Farmer Feeds a Million Children Every Day

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Jun 8, 2015

In a modern-day tale of feeding the multitudes, a former fish farmer is serving free, nutritious meals to a million school kids around the world every weekday — five million meals every week.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow started Mary’s Meals in 2002, and the group celebrated reaching the one-million mark last month at a village in Malawi, the country where he first started feeding hungry children. He coordinates the organization’s efforts from a small shed on his father’s farm in Scotland.

Named after mother Mary in The Bible, the charitable effort distributes lunches to students in 12 countries. MarysMeals.org says a $19.50 donation will feed a child for a full year.

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“It makes me feel strong and I am able to understand what my teachers are telling me,” 14-year-old Marita Wyson said at the celebration in Malawi. “My grandmother doesn’t have to worry so much about how she will provide food for me and my sister.”

Last month MacFarlane-Barrow published a book about his mission, The Shed That Fed a Million Children, to help spread the word about Mary’s Meals. He decided to create his charity after seeing school kids without enough to eat during a 2002 trip to Malawi. He now feeds 25% of primary school aged children in that country today.

He says even though they’ve reached an impressive milestone, serving a million meals a day, he wants to feed even more.

(WATCH the CNN Heroes video below)

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First Photos of Princess Charlotte With Brother, Prince George

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Jun 8, 2015

Who’s in the mood for a royal cuddle?

The baby Princess Charlotte, now one-month old, couldn’t look prettier – and Prince George’s kisses be any sweeter – in these newly released photos of the royal siblings.

Duchess Kate took the photographs herself last month at Anmer Hall, the royals’ country home in Norfolk.

In a modern move, Kensington Palace released one of the photos through its official Twitter and Instagram accounts, recognizing the hundreds of thousands of followers it gained since the Princess’ birth on May 2.

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Lives Changed as Charities Give Away More than 400,000 Hearing Aids

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Jun 8, 2015

A woman cries, children smile, and old men hug everyone around them as they experience the joy of hearing once again – some, for the first time.

The gift of hearing is “one of the most transformational experiences you can give,” says Jean Oelwang, CEO of Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation set up by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.

Her organization began partnering with the Starkey Hearing Foundation four years ago. Together the charities recently worked with volunteers from around the world to outfit dozens of people in Soweto, South Africa with hearing aids.

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It’s part of the Starkey foundation’s pledge to donate a million hearing aids to low-income people in more than 100 countries within ten years. The group has been giving away free hearing aids for decades – and more than 100,000 annually since 2010 – tuning their mission into an amplified success.

(WATCH the video below)

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Doorman Surprises Sick Child Staying at the Hotel with a Puppy (WATCH)

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