“With its natural habitat mostly gone, one of North America’s rarest songbirds has found a surprising workaround: It’s thriving in the industrial pine plantations of the southeastern United States,” reports National Geographic.
Farmed loblolly pines are becoming the main breeding habitat for the mysterious Swainson’s warbler, according to a recent study published in Bird Conservation International.
(READ the story from Natl Geographic)
Frankie-Rose Lea was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in August. Despite weeks of painful chemotherapy treatment, the tumor had tripled in size, with the cancer spreading to her spine.
Experts said her best chance of surviving the aggressive tumor is immediate proton beam therapy, but that would cost the family £160,000. Her parents Michelle and Sam Lea feared that without swift treatment she would not live until Christmas, so they put their house up for immediate sale, saying they would rather “live in a box” than fail to exhaust every possibility to save Frankie-Rose.
In just four days, following media reports in the UK’s Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and ITV News, more than 7300 contributors donated £167,000 to help the seven-year-old and her family.
“You are all amazing!” exclaimed Nicola Townsend who set up a GoFundMe page. “We now have the money to get Frankie Rose Lea the treatment she needs.”
“There are no words to describe your kindness. We are overwhelmed with the response,” Frankie-Rose’s mum tweeted. “The support gives us encouragement and something good to focus on.”
Jo in Wales summed it all up today on Twitter” “How can you not love the British public when we make this happen.”
(More photos at the Daily Mail)
Story tip summary submitted by Raffaela Goodby
Pope Francis is working on plans to install showers in the public restrooms off Bernini’s Colonnade in St. Peter’s Square to help the homeless around Vatican City.
The idea came to the pope’s chief alms-giver, Monsignor Konrad Krajewski, after he met a homeless man who declined an invitation to Krajewski’s 50th birthday party at a restaurant because of his odor.
(READ the story from Associated Press)
Photo by Catholic Church (England and Wales) CC license
Cat Town Café – the nation’s first permanent cat café – is now open in downtown Oakland to serve coffee and promote feline adoptions.
Cat Town began as a foster-based rescue organization in 2011. As shelter volunteers, they saw that some older or traumatized cats rarely made it into adoption and were even less likely to be taken by a rescue group, so they devised a plan.
The Cat Town Cafe said there were 14 adoptions in their first 12 days.
(READ the story in the San Francisco Chronicle)
Photo from the one-time Purina cat cafe in NYC – Story tip by Mike McGinley
A family of five lost their home in a fire early Sunday morning, but a rescue made by Contra Costa Fire Protection District crews did provide a bit of solace.
After the roof caved in, the Antioch family thought their pet had perished in the blaze, but fire fighters were able to rescue the young boy’s small rat.
Photo courtesy of Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
(Story tip by Donez Miller – More details at CBS)
Bill Gates’s foundation has poured millions of dollars into eradicating malaria, which still claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year.
Now, a South African biotechnologist-turned-enterpreneur has developed a self-testing kit that can diagnose malaria in less than 30 minutes, and put sufferers on the path to recovery faster – and cheaper.
The best think about Uys’ test is the price: they cost roughly 30 cents each, a fact his company, Medical Diagnostic, takes immense pride in.
“I looked at developing a malaria test that can actually show you the strain of malaria you have — the type of malaria — so (doctors) know which treatment to give you, and then also to see if the treatment is working or not,” Ashley Uys told CNN. “So I developed a test that can do all of that.”
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from CNN)
A startup company called Omaze raises money for charities by offering everyone the chance to win a personal rendezvous with a favorite celebrity for just $10, including airfare.
Last year the for-profit company raised three million dollars for a variety of charities. This year, thanks to celebrities like George Clooney and Seth Rogen who donated a few hours of their time, Omaze is on track to give away nearly $18 million.
One past winner even got to ride in a tank with Arnold Schwarzenegger, crushing things before going to a gym to work out. Each event raises money for a different charity. In that case, entry fees went to help After-School All-Stars, a program that funds after-school fitness programs for kids.
To provide a-mazing experiences for their lucky winners, Omaze.com keeps 20 percent of the net proceeds to cover the costs for marketing, PR, and fulfillment costs.
(WATCH the video below from NBC)
“The past few weeks have been hard for 9-year-old Thomas Goodall, who lost his grandmother in October. It was the first major loss of a loved one for the boy with autism from North Baddesley, England, who relies on a consistent routine to avoid meltdowns.”
CNN reports that things finally began to take a turn for better on last week, when Thomas received a comforting video message from actor Peter Capaldi, who plays Thomas’ favorite TV character on “Doctor Who.”
(WATCH the video above, or READ the story from CNN)
Story tip – Brett Weiss
Certain phrases jump out at me and make me nuts!
When it comes to the importance of conscious communication (just ask my boyfriend), I am dedicated. I’m certainly not perfect in my communication, but I practice being my best communicator every day.
The phrase “HAVE TO” drives me cray-zay!
Did you ever think about what the words “have to” imply? Most peeps use these two words almost hourly in their lives and yet “have to” may be more harmful than we realize.
The term “have to” expresses that you are obligated to act, speak or be. It states that you aren’t empowered to choose, but rather you are a victim to an obligation.
We want people to “want to” do all of those things. We want others to choose us; to choose to do their best; and to choose to be at our weddings, baby showers, birthdays, funerals, charity events, and ceremonies.
Guess what? Everyone else wants the same thing.
Guess what else? Our language matters! It’s how we understand each other. What you say means something.
So, think about how often you say, “have to” throughout the day. When we use it, we are giving away our power completely.
You either use “have to” as an excuse to get out of something without repercussions or to be a victim to your circumstances. Either way, those simple words “have to” are creating a false sense of who you are and what you are capable of. Obligation and placing yourself as a victim to your circumstances is disempowering.
Many times we say that we “have to” do something because although it’s not something we want to do in the present moment, we realize that we want the result it will give us in the future. It’s instant gratification v.s. long-term results…and is a choice rather than a “have to”.
Examples of this:
You are committing time in the present moment to do something of value for the future. Reclaim your power and realize this is a choice.
You don’t HAVE TO do anything. You don’t have to get out of bed, go to work, kiss your partner, help your mom, be kind to a stranger, or go to your child’s soccer practice. You choose to because of your values and your vision for the future.
When you say that you “have to” do something, consider how you are devaluing it – perhaps if not to yourself, but to others.
“I have to go to a baby shower.” OR “I am glad I get to share in the celebration of her life-changing experience.”
“I have to let me mom stay with me.” OR “I want my mom to stay with me because I love her and want quality time with her during her healing process.”
“I have to get out of bed.” OR “I’m so blessed to wake up today! I get to experience another day!”
Reclaim your power by taking the “have to” out of your life. Choose to live a life that feeds your soul now and in the future.
Feel like someone else needs to be empowered by this message as well? Send it to them! We light each other up by sharing inspiration.
Thank you for reading and watching!
Much Love and BIG smiles, Michelle Ploog (www.michelleploog.com)
Another example of how a drone can be a lifesaver, rather than a killer, comes from a group of young engineers in Iran whose robotics expertise has been put to work developing an alternative to human lifeguards along the Caspian Sea coast, where more than a thousand people drown every year.
Their company in Tehran, RTS Labs, demonstrated a drone in August that can speedily fly to swimmers in trouble and drop up to three life preservers. A rescue that took a trained lifeguard 91 seconds to complete took the PARS drone 22 seconds.
The developers are looking for funding to further implement their lifeguard drone, called PARS, and are developing another to help clean up oil spills.
(WATCH the video below or READ more in Gizmag.com)
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The civil engineers behind some of London’s most iconic infrastructure projects have put on their dancing shoes to show the public how happy they are to be engineers. They want to entice young people to join the diverse careers available to those who study math and science subjects in school.
The video, commissioned by the Institution of Civil Engineers, showcases the engineering teams behind some of London’s world class infrastructure projects, including Crossrail, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the Thames Barrier, London Underground, Walton Bridge, Kings Cross Station and the Hammersmith Flyover.
(WATCH the video above – SHARE #engineeringhappiness)
At age 105, Pauline Page is still working on her bucket list, but she can now cross off a visit to see wild polar bears, reports the CBC.
The Saskatoon woman, who travelled from her Saskatchewan home to northern Manitoba, was on a tundra buggy for only a few minutes this past weekend before she saw what she wanted.
“I saw a mother bear and two cubs, which was my best wish and we saw others besides,” Page said. “Oh it was wonderful.”
(READ the full story from the CBC)
Photos submitted by Pauline Page to the CBC
Actor Kirk Cameron fulfills a lifelong dream of working the drive thru at Chick-Fil-A.
(From Rob Dempsey in the morning, HISradio.com)
Prince Albert police are issuing tickets at an escalating rate, but the intention is not to punish — it is to praise.
Their Positive Ticketing Program rewards youth for good behavior like shoveling a sidewalk, picking up trash, or observing school crossing rules.
Patrolling officers issue tickets that are actually coupons or gift certificates donated by local businesses that are redeemable for items or experiences like a Prince Albert Raiders game, movie at Galaxy Cinemas, Slurpee, french fries, hamburger or ice cream cone.
“It reinforces positive behavior by offering something of value to those observed doing something to better the community,” says Police Service spokesperson Sgt. Brandon Mudry.
Partner businesses include Dairy Queen, A & W, McDonalds, Mac’s, 7/11, and PA Fast Print.
Variations of the Positive Ticketing Program have been established across Canada in communities such as Richmond, Kelowna, Grand Prairie and Toronto. The initiative has shown that strategic, community-based partnerships can help prevent crime and strengthen communities. Cops in Ohio did the same thing this summer and in Texas, too.
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Richard Overton, 108, is the oldest living veteran in the United States, but he’s as active as ever. On Tuesday, he served as grand marshal in Austin’s Veteran’s Day Parade.
Overton hasn’t slowed down at all. He still drives his old Ford pickup truck, attends church every Sunday, drinks whiskey in his coffee and smokes daily cigars.
His proud service to the nation was recognized by Obama in 2013.
“He lived his life with honor and dignity. He built his wife a house with his own two hands,” Obama said.
After the war, Overton returned to work in the furniture business and served as a courier in the Texas State Capitol working for four governors. He made more friends there than most of us do in a lifetime.
(READ the story from the Washington Post)
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Obama struck a deal today to limit greenhouse gases, with China committing for the first time to cap carbon emissions.
“China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, pledged in the far-reaching agreement to cap its rapidly growing carbon emissions by 2030, or earlier if possible. It also set a daunting goal of increasing the share of non-fossil fuels to 20 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2030,” reports the Washington Post.
The announcement is a unique development in the U.S.-China relationship. The world’s two largest economies, energy consumers, and carbon emitters are reaching across traditional divides and working together to demonstrate leadership on an issue that affects the entire world.
Obama believes that nations have a moral obligation to take action on climate change, instead of leaving to future generations a planet beyond their capacity to repair. Over the last year, a spate of scientific studies have laid out the scope and scale of the challenge in the starkest of terms.
“Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” says the U.S. National Climate Assessment.
“Without additional mitigation efforts…warming by the end of the 21st century will lead to high to very high risk of severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts globally,” concluded the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
(READ the story from the Washington Post)
When a cop found himself in grave danger, this teen sprung into action, putting his life on the line for an officer he had never met.
Joe Chambers, 17, a volunteer firefighter from Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, heard a loud crash outside. The teen ran outside to find that a pickup truck had collided with a patrol car, and Officer Mark Kimsey, 30, was trapped inside. Chambers knew it was time to step up.
“I started running full speed down the street and as I got to the car, the bottom of the car caught fire and then the hood caught fire . . . the door was jammed shut,” he told the Philidephia Inquirer.
(WATCH an interview or READ the story at Huff Post)
The next hour will be nail-biting exciting for the European Space Agency, which is about to land a rover called Rosetta on a comet in deep space.
The first in history to rendezvous with a comet, Rosetta has been journeying since 2004 traveling 310,000,000 miles (500M km) to finally arrived at Comet 67P 98 days ago.
The lander, weighing 220 pounds, has already collected valuable scientific data and will deploy to the comet’s surface in the next hour.
You can follow the ESA’s live press conferences, along with thousands of schools and universities around the world, streaming online at Rosetta.esa.int.
UPDATE: At 10am EST, the European Space Agency received confirmation of the successful touchdown of the lander, Philae, on the comet’s surface.
“With Rosetta we are opening a door to the origin of planet Earth and fostering a better understanding of our future. ESA and its Rosetta mission partners have achieved something extraordinary today,” said ESA’s Director General.
“After more than 10 years travelling through space, we’re now making the best ever scientific analysis of one of the oldest remnants of our Solar System,” said Alvaro Giménez, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration.
“In the next hours we’ll learn exactly where and how we’ve landed, and we’ll start getting as much science as we can from the surface of this fascinating world.”
Over the next 2.5 days, the lander will conduct its primary science mission, assuming that its main battery remains in good health. Depending on conditions, the mission could last until March 2015, after which conditions inside the lander are expected to be too hot for it to continue operating.
Science highlights from the primary phase will include a full panoramic view of the landing site, including a section in 3D, high-resolution images of the surface immediately underneath the lander, on-the-spot analysis of the composition of the comet’s surface materials, and a drill that will take samples from a depth of 23 cm and feed them to an onboard laboratory for analysis.
“Rosetta is trying to answer the very big questions about the history of our Solar System. What were the conditions like at its infancy and how did it evolve? What role did comets play in this evolution? How do comets work?” said Matt Taylor, ESA Rosetta project scientist.
Photo by ESA
Rosie the Riveter is one of the most iconic symbols of women empowerment today, but it dates back to World War II when women dropped everything to serve their country — and the world — by working on assembly lines to make tanks and airplanes.
“We knew the war had to be won, and we had to help because the men were gone,” said 95-year-old Elinor Otto who has worked as a riveter constructing planes since 1942.
She arrived in Washington, DC this weekend and visited a senior living home nearby, to honor the veterans living there, including two who are former POWs.
This lively redhead loved her job working on C-17s in Long Beach, California, and gets choked up every time she sees one fly.
She is in the nation’s capitol to receive a special award from the American Veterans Center, the Lillian K. Keil award for Women’s Contribution to the Military.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from NBC-Los Angeles)
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What other players on the San Ramon Valley High School team have learned from Cade Rocca’s example — he’s never missed practice and doesn’t whine — will be as valuable as the experience of playing has been for Cade. “He’s doing a lot for us. It’s a great lesson,” says coach Kerry Soppet.
Cade also fits into Soppet’s football philosophy nicely, reports the CC Times. “I don’t coach kids to win football games. I coach kids to be winners.”
Cade was also crowned a homecoming prince and got to ride through the town in a convertible with a cheerleader on his arm. “Through it all, he beamed.”
(READ the story, w/ photos, from Contra Costa Times)
Story tip from Mike McGinley
