“India has managed to do what few other nations have accomplished (and no other Asians): putting a satellite into orbit around another planet” — and on the first try.
The country’s Mars orbiter success was achieved on a much cheaper budget than ever before.
Scientists, including women dressed in saris, cheered as the photos of Mars reached mission control.
(WATCH the video below, or READ the story, w/ photo, from NPR News)
Mars Photo credit: NASA
“It took 90 years for Thea Murphy to get on a horse, but about 30 seconds to fall in love,” reports the SF Chronicle.
Murphy’s maiden horseback ride was courtesy of a Napa nonprofit called Celebrating Seniors, which granted wishes for half a dozen elders in the North Bay. Murphy’s wish was to ride a horse — something the 50-year Napa resident had never done.
(READ the story, w/ photos, in the SF Chronicle)
Photo credit: by Chinneeb – GNU; Story tip from Mike McGinley
The most aggressive cat in the neighborhood, a stray animal at the time, was adopted by a woman with a blind and partially deaf dog.
A friendship between the two animals blossomed until the cat began taking Tervel the dog, who previously needed to stay in his basket, for walks in the countryside — “nose to tail.”
A new show, The Secret Life of Cats began airing last Sunday on Nat Geo Wild.
(WATCH the video above from Nat Geo Wild below)
Story tip from Micheline Muller
A Texas couple on the eve of their wedding day was trying to sell furniture on Craigslist so they could buy the groom, who had just lost his job, a pair of shoes for the big day.
ABC News reports that Judy Wehrman, 39, who lives in nearby Missouri City, Texas, said she saw the price drop every day on Raul Martinez’ listing and sensed that they were desperate.
She and her husband gave the strangers $200 as a “wedding gift” and said, “Our goal was just to help out.”
WATCH: Widower Creates Museum of Love for Late Wife
She described feeling “blessed” to be able to “help others.”
(READ the story, w/ photo, at Yahoo News)
J.J. Watt has never forgotten the challenges he faced growing up. Now, the Houston Texans’ NFL football player is dedicated to helping other kids overcome their pain.
In this inspiring video, Watt was introduced to 12-year-old Billy, who daily is harassed for the way he looks, talks and walks. Through the program, NFL Characters Unite that all has changed. To make sure it sticks, Billy was given a lifetime membership to the YMCA where he can play football with new friends who help boost his football aspirations.
Despite being one of the most intimidating defensive lineman the NFL has ever seen, J.J. Watt, too, endured bullying from his classmates. Constantly picked on and told he was too small to play sports, he was determined to hard work and persevere. He learned to believe in himself, developed his athletic skill and went on to become a talented and respected defensive lineman.
In January, Watt surprised Billy, inviting him to the YMCA to play football. For the first time, Billy felt like a valuable member of a team, and through this activity, he was reminded of his passion for football and regained a belief in himself.
Characters Unite, USA Network’s award-winning public service program, was created to address the social injustices and cultural divides still prevalent in America. Other NFL players have joined the effort, supported by leading national nonprofit organizations.
(WATCH the video below – Screen grabs courtesy of USA)
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The Clinton became grandparents on Friday when their only child, Chelsea Clinton, gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Charlotte.
The new mom announced the baby’s birth on Twitter early Saturday.
“Marc and I are full of love, awe and gratitude as we celebrate the birth of our daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky.”
Marc and I are full of love, awe and gratitude as we celebrate the birth of our daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky.
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) September 27, 2014(READ more from NPR News)
Above image is from 2010 White House photo
The St. Louis office of the National Weather Service picked up more than precipitation on their radar recently. On a clear day with no clouds or debris in the air, they tracked a large changing mass that they believed could not be birds. The meteorologists were delighted to determine they must be migrating Monarch Butterflies.
“High differential reflectivity values as well as low correlation coefficient values indicate these are most likely biological targets,” explained the NWS on Facebook.
The orange and black North American butterfly travels thousands of miles every year to Mexico in late summer and autumn.
The NWS wished “good luck and a safe journey” to these “amazing little creatures” on their long journey south.
(READ more about the sighting in the Washington Post)
Story tip from Mike McGinley
Almost half of Scotland’s electricity consumption now comes from renewable source. Green energy output rose by almost a third in one year. (The Herald)
After years of litigation, the Navajo Nation announced today a $554 million settlement from the U.S. government.
CNN reported, “The landmark agreement stems from a 2006 lawsuit in which the largest Native American tribe in the US says the U.S. mismanaged trust fund assets dating back to 1946.”
“It’s monumental. It will never completely redress the wrongs done to prior generations, but it’s going to allow some opportunities for future generations,” said Dana Bobroff, deputy attorney general for the nation.
(READ the story from CNN)
Photo by Wolfgang Staudt, via CC license – Story tip from Michael Stypa
“We still don’t really know why Colony Collapse Disorder was happening, but it looks as if we are turning the corner,” writes Noah Wilson-Rich, the founder and chief scientific officer of the Best Bees Company. “Scientists I’ve spoken to in both academia and government have strong reason to believe that C.C.D. is essentially over.”
“This finding is based on data from the past three years — or perhaps, more accurately, the lack thereof. There have been no conclusively documented cases of C.C.D. in the strict sense. Perhaps C.C.D. will one day seem like yet another blip on the millennium-plus timeline of unexplained bee die-offs. Luckily, the dauntless efforts of beekeepers have brought bee populations back each time.”
(READ the Op/Ed by Noah Wilson-Rich, the author of “The Bee: A Natural History,” on the New York Times)
Photo by Danny Perez Photography – Story tip from Michael Stypa
Once neighbors in Shoreline, Washington, learned about Frank Henderson’s terminal diagnosis and his love for the holiday, they started getting into the holiday spirit, decorating their houses with lights in September to show solidarity.
“It wasn’t necessarily meant as ‘We’re going to celebrate Dad’s last Christmas’ — as funny as that is, that’s what it’s turned into, which is wonderful — but it’s really more about the Christmas lights, because my dad’s kind of a nut-job when it comes to that,” Thea said. “Loves them to pieces. … It’s insane. That [first] night, there was a string of lights, and then, the next day, neighbors just kept putting them up.”
(READ Chris Serico’s story, w/ photos, from TODAY)
Photo credits: (above) Evan Burgher (front page) George Redgrave, via Flickr – CC
Story tip from Judy Ritchie
60,000 Canadians fanned out along the nation’s 125,000 miles of coastline Saturday cleaning up litter in the 21st annual Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
According to the WWF, the shoreline cleanup is the largest direct action environmental program in Canada with six cities participating.
“It feels good to do the right thing,” said one observer.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from Global News)
New federal and state policies designed to divert nonviolent criminals away from prison have resulted in a “historic” drop in the US prison population, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Perhaps more surprising, many Conservative politicians agree with Attorney General Eric Holder’s “lighter touch.”
“The number of federal inmates has fallen by 4,800 since last year to a total of 215,000 – the first time the federal prison population has registered an annual decline since 1980.”
(READ the story from CS Monitor)
Photo credit: Timothy Pearce – CC license
Keck Medical Center of the University of Southern California (USC) is the first medical center in the world to use new robotic technology in an outpatient procedure for a kidney cancer patient.
The 62-year-old patient, Gary Fradkin, went home the same day, three to four days less than patients typically experience with kidney cancer surgery.
Urologic surgeons at the USC Institute of Urology, part of Keck Medicine of USC, used a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared laparoscopic device, the high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgical ablation system for ablating intra-abdominal tumors. The system enables surgeons to penetrate the abdominal cavity with keyhole cuts to eliminate tumors of four centimeters or less.
(READ more of the story from Keck Medicine)
Photo from Keck Medical Center, surgeon Inderbir Gill, M.D
Come join Geri and other positive-minded folks in Chicago this Sunday (9/28) at noon for a Good News Network Meet-and-Greet.
We are meeting at The Dock at Montrose Beach where there will be good food, wine and party gifts. The forecast promises a beautiful day with sunny blue skies and a high of 76 degrees.
Click for a map and phone number (they have parking!)
Hope to see you there!
-Geri
The secret to Costa Rica’s deep-carbon sink is a tiny fish that lives so deep that very few people have ever seen one alive.
The little lantern fish, Symbolophorus, are smaller than your finger. Every night, all around the world, huge numbers of glowing fish rise from the depths of the sea, eat heaps of carbon-rich plankton, and then drop back down again sealing the carbon in their waste.
(READ the story from The Tico Times)
A post-game interview with an Austin Texas wide receiver, Apollos Hester, turned into a motivational speech this weekend that goes way beyond football and sports.
“Hester’s East View Patriots came from behind to win the game 42-41,” according to ABC-13. “In his interview, Hester takes the opportunity to remind viewers that “all it takes to be successful is an attitude.”
(WATCH the video from Sports Night High School Blitz)
Story tip from Debbie Westbeld
“California and the US government on Tuesday released an ambitious draft plan to combat climate change by accelerating the building of large renewable energy projects in the state’s sun-soaked desert.”
“The plan is intended to spur development of up to 20,000 MW of power from solar, wind and other renewable energy sources over the next 25 years,” reports Reuters. “That would more than double California’s current renewable energy production.”
(READ the story from Reuters) – Photo from eSolar
The above headline reflects the news, reported by NBC, that the dog who won hearts in this customer service ad, sadly, is not an actual part of the airline staff. Newspapers from the Daily Mail to the Toronto Star, and television stations, including network shows like Good Morning America had reported that the dog really worked for a Dutch airline. The video is so cute, we all wished it to be true.
The ad from KLM, the Royal Dutch Airline, then shows how this beagle, with its incredible sense of smell, was trained to run through airports, tracking down owners of items left behind.
“When you see the reactions of the passengers, it is really amazing,” spoofed the dog’s trainer.
(WATCH the video below)
In America today, something truly amazing is going viral — a new spirit of unity and giving.
In that rising spirit, hundreds of volunteers are powering a new program for children from lower income neighborhoods who are growing up amid poverty, crime and neglect. Called Francis in the Schools, it aims to uplift children through the transformative power of music, drama, and entertainment. And now, a famous singing friar from Assisi is lending his “voice of joy” to the effort.
Francis in the Schools started in California three years ago when retired clinical psychologist, Dr. Carol Conner, concerned about the wealth disparities in San Francisco, conceived of a daylong field trip, completely free, for school children from the economically hardest hit neighborhoods of the Bay Area. The purpose of the field trip was to inspire children with a deeply rooted civics lesson: the positive role model of their city’s namesake, Saint Francis, and his timeless principles of brotherhood, compassion and selfless service. She envisioned a day of “perfect joy” in which school children of all faiths and backgrounds would experience the genuine respect and caring so lacking in their lives. But it was an idea that couldn’t be realized alone; it would require the time and resources of many volunteers.
At this point, hundreds of people as well as local businesses emerged and collaborated in the finest American tradition of goodwill and generosity, just to create one magical day for children whose lives have known little of magic. Volunteers of all ages, professions, cultures and faiths set to work to produce a musical play on the life of Francis, followed by an Umbrian Renaissance style “Faire” in a nearby park. Writers, actors, singers, and costume-makers created a musical. Cooks prepared delicious lunches and treats, and local restaurants donated food and preparation facilities. Teens and retired teachers organized games. Young adults choreographed easy-to-learn dances. Artists created face-painting designs. Florists and growers donated fresh flowers so each child could arrange his or her own bouquet. Volunteers worked out of homes, abandoned storefronts, a hospital and school kitchens, anywhere they could find the space and equipment they needed. There were teams for bus arrangements, teams to transport tents, food and flowers, and teams of “pied pipers” to escort the children. Everything possible was done to shower the children with love and respect and to make the day as perfect as possible for them.
And it worked. The first event (see the video below) was such a success it led to another…and another…and another. The events got bigger; donations and volunteers increased; more vendors offered discounts. The positive force of Francis as a role model began to take hold in the children and the community.
When Dr. Conner heard Friar Allesandro’s recordings, she thought the tender strength of his voice, the purity and conviction, carried a fragrance of joy the children would respond to. She reached out, and he felt compelled by the program to accept Dr. Conner’s invitation in 2013 to make his first trip to America to sing for 1400 children in Oakland, California. The children were indeed spellbound.
“This was the happiest day of my life,” said one.
“The trip was great because the people…treated me like family,” said the Friar.
One teacher observed, “It was a magical day of beauty and learning and is a potential life-changing event in the lives of our children.”
To date, the Francis in the Schools program has served more than 4000 children from public as well as parochial schools. The program has been so successful that it’s been invited to come east. In October, some 300 volunteers will host more than 2000 children in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore for their own perfect days of joy. Friar Allesandro will also return to sing at each one. The volunteers have been working for months to make the East Coast events as special as California’s, in a vibrant example of the power for change when we all join together to serve those in need.
What inspires these volunteers and donating organizations? True prosperity comes from a loving sharing with others. They through their efforts thousands of children are deeply touched and offered new, positive, life-affirming self-identities.
Upcoming Concerts and Faires are at Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, on October 10, in Washington, DC; and on October 17, at the Baltimore Basilica.
(WATCH the video below)