Sometimes Congress takes a while to keep its promises.
After 231 years, Congress finally fulfilled a promise to hang a portrait in the U.S. Capitol honoring Bernardo de Galvez, a daring Spanish military leader who became a hero in the colonies during the American Revolution.
This is a story of how one of Washington’s least powerful people — a charming secretary — cajoled a powerful beauracracy to step up.
(READ the story from the Washington Post)
After a few days of enjoying their favorite candy after Halloween, children often have piles of treats remaining.
That’s why a Wisconsin dentist, Chris Kammer, began a Halloween Candy Buyback program, offering $1 a pound for leftover sweets collected by young trick-or-treaters whose teeth he cares for.
The program became wildly successful, partly because of where the candy ends up. It’s shipped to U.S. troops overseas, a few pieces in each care package, by Operation Gratitude.
In the above photo, Dr. Curtis Chan, a dentist in Del Mar, Calif., loads up a truck with 5,456 pounds of candy to deliver to Operation Gratitude during the buyback program last year.
If you live in the US and want to participate, there is a zip code locator to find a dentist near you on the website, HalloweenCandyBuyback.com.
(READ the story or LISTEN at NPR)
“The U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees says Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has donated $50,000 to rebuild a U.N. school in Gaza damaged during this summer’s Israel-Hamas war.”
(READ more from the Associated Press)
Photo credit: DFID – UK Department for International Development.
“Moderate mental retardation” is a particularly cruel diagnosis for a boy obsessed with cars.
It meant that Jake Nelson would not be reading or writing — but more importantly to him, he would not get to drive the cars, which were so dear to his nature.
“Then, everything changed for Jake when his dad pulled into the Ford dealership in Apple Valley and, for the first time, a salesmen did more than pay Jake a passing glance.”
– WATCH the inspiring video below
– READ the article from KARE-11 (*NOTE* adjust your audio)
Federal hearings began this week on the constitutionality of cannabis’ continuing Schedule I classification in Sacramento, California.
There are many reasons why these historic hearings are a very big deal. This is the first time hearings are taking place that question whether federal law should classify cannabis as one of the nation’s most dangerous drugs with no medicinal value.
Members of Congress initially categorized cannabis as a Schedule I substance, the most restrictive classification available, in 1970. Under this categorization, the plant is defined as possessing “a high potential for abuse, … no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, … [and lacking] accepted safety for … use … under medical supervision.”
One of the expert witnesses is Dr. Carl Hart, Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Columbia University in New York City, who declared, “[I]t is my considered opinion that including marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is counter to all the scientific evidence in a society that uses and values empirical evidence.”
“After two decades of intense scientific inquiry in this area, it has become apparent the current scheduling of cannabis has no footing in the realities of science and neurobiology.”
Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications. These include pain relief — particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) — nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia. Emerging research suggests that marijuana’s medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors and are neuroprotective.
Currently, more than 60 U.S. and international health organizations support granting patients immediate legal access to medicinal marijuana under a physician’s supervision.
(READ more from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)
Photo from Phil Roede (CC license)
Taylor Swift wrote “Welcome to New York,” the opening song on her new LP, to describe the thrill of moving to New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood earlier this year.
Yesterday, during her appearance on ABC’s The View, she shared some good news about a significant contribution she is making to her new city.
“I don’t think I’ve told anybody this before (about) the song Welcome to New York,” she said. “The fans were wonderful enough to make it #1 on iTunes and it’s selling really, really well, which is good because I’m donating all of my proceeds to New York City Public Schools.”
Swift was recently named a “Global Welcome Ambassador” for New York City tourism.
She said she tells everybody that New York is “amazing,” and the city must have picked up on that and offered her “a title”.
Already her new ’80s-inspired album, “1989”, is number one on iTunes charts in 89 countries, so the donation to New York could be substantial.
Photo Credit: LP5/Getty Images for TAS/Dimitrios Kambouris
A young assistant teacher in South Carolina is living proof that with motivation and a positive attitude there is nothing that can’t be accomplished.
This video, produced in 2011 by WLTX, features Bryann Burgess who was born with Down Sydrome. While studying theater and music, she earned a position as assistant teacher at Kindermusik and proves all the negative stereotypes wrong.
(WATCH the video from WLTX)
A daily dose of walnuts might reduce, slow or delay, or prevent the risk of contracting Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities.
The study, published in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, shows the super-nut has drastically improved the learning skills, memory, reducing anxiety, and motor development in Alzheimer-prone mice that were fed a walnut-enriched diet.
“These findings are very promising and help lay the groundwork for future human studies on walnuts and Alzheimer’s disease — a disease for which there is no known cure,” Chauhan said in the study.
“Our study adds to the growing body of research that demonstrates the protective effects of walnuts on cognitive functioning.”
The study also found the mice had improved motor skills and reduced anxiety. The mice in the experiment consumed an amount of walnuts that would be about 1 to 1.5 ounces of walnuts a day for a human. To act as controls, other Alzheimer’s mouse models were fed a diet without walnuts.
At the end of the study, the mice in both subject groups were tested to assess their learning abilities, spatial memory, motor coordination and anxiety-related behavior. The researchers found that the Alzheimer’s mouse models fed the walnut-enriched diets showed significant improvements in all areas, compared with Alzheimer’s mouse models fed the control diet.
An article detailing these findings, “Dietary Supplementation of Walnuts Improves Memory Deficits and Learning Skills in Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease,” has been published in the October issue of Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (2014).
This study was supported in part by funds from the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the California Walnut Commission.
Photo by Martin Fisch (CC license)
“Where once there were 15, now more than 1,000 giant tortoises lumber around Espanola, one of the Galapagos Islands,” reports the BBC.
After 40 years’ work reintroducing captive animals, a detailed study of the island’s ecosystem has confirmed it has a stable, breeding population.
(READ the story from the BBC)
Story tip from Heidi Allen
Queensland researchers say they have made a breakthrough in the fight to protect the shrinking koala population against chlamydia.
ABC News reports that scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast said they had successfully vaccinated koalas against the disease, which was responsible for about 50 percent of the marsupial’s deaths.
(READ more from Australia’s ABC News)
Photo by Benjamint444 (CC license) – Story tip from Ian Starling
Researchers are finding that meaning comes from the pursuit of more complex things than happiness.
In 1991, the Library of Congress named Man’s Search for Meaning, by holocaust survivor Viktor E. Frankl, as one of the 10 most influential books in the United States. It has sold millions of copies worldwide. Now, over twenty years later, the book’s ethos — its emphasis on meaning, the value of suffering, and responsibility to something greater than the self — seems to be at odds with our culture, which is more interested in the pursuit of individual happiness than in the search for meaning.
Frankl wrote, “Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to ‘be happy.'”
“Research has shown that having purpose and meaning in life increases overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves mental and physical health, enhances resiliency, enhances self-esteem, and decreases the chances of depression,” reports Emily Esfahani Smith in The Atlantic.
(READ more from The Atlantic)
“In 2007 he was named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, but these days, Matt Damon is getting noticed for something far less sexy,” reports Katie Couric
“Probably the least sexy thing is water,” says Damon. “But, you know, it’s a huge issue for women and girls, and they’re the ones affected the most. And, as a father of four girls, I feel it personally.”
Damon made it his mission to help people in developing countries have access to safe water and sanitation after learning about the severity of the problem during a trip to Africa in 2006.
He partnered up with Gary White, an engineer and water specialist, to form the nonprofit organization Water.org in 2009.
(WATCH a Thank You video below – READ the story from Katie Couric, via Yahoo News)
A 60-year-old New Zealand man has finished the run of his life, crossing America in 51 days and securing a world masters record for his age group.
After leaving the steps of New York City Hall on September 1, Perry Newburn ran 3106 miles (5000 km) to Los Angeles and finished in 51 days, 16 hours and 40 minutes.
With his epic run the Feilding man wanted to inspire older athletes and raise money for charity. He collected around $8,000 for two children’s charities, for which he is still accepting donations, here.
(READ the story from Stuff.co.nz)
Photo by telmo32 (CC license) – Story tip from Adam Corke
“Jim Tully’s hours-long walks to and from his job in the Pocono Mountains, where he has been repeatedly stopped by police in a case of mistaken identity in the manhunt for a Pennsylvania cop killer, may be coming to an end,” reports Reuters.
News of the factory worker’s 20 or more stops by authorities searching for the fugitive sparked a crowdfunding campaign to buy him a car and donations have poured in, raising more than $16,000 for new transportation.
The fundraising idea came from the daughter of a former coworker, Tully told Reuters.
(READ the story from Reuters)
Photo CC Click via Morguefile
A unique charity program dreamed up by three young Canadians has provided almost 114,000 meals to those in need whenever diners eat out at participating local restaurants.
The one-for-one giveaway is like the Tom’s Shoes model. Mealshare gives a free meal every time someone purchases any designated menu item at 84 partner restaurants across Canada. When they do, Mealshare provides a meal to a local hunger charity, at no extra cost to the diner.
The Toronto restaurants are Hawthorne Food & Drink, Khao San Road and Café Belong. You can find a participating dining location by searching on their website, www.mealshare.ca.
“Mealshare’s a no-brainer,” said Shayne Perrin, Owner of Blue Star Diner and Dairy Lane Cafe, the first two businesses to join the program. “It’s a unique way to give back to the community in a way that makes both social and business sense.”
Restaurants only contribute a small amount — about $1 — to the organization for every Mealshare item ordered on their menu.
(READ the story from the Winnipeg Free Press)
For 30 years, countless man-hours and millions of dollars have been spent trying to tame a pernicious, invasive reed in the eastern U.S. and Canada.
Originally from Europe, Phragmites australis (pronounced “frag-MY-tees”) grows in dense, tall stands that choke off native vegetation and litter wetlands with thick mats of decaying biomass.
Toxic herbicides, controlled burns, and even bulldozers have been the go-to solutions to the problem. But recent research out of Duke University suggests another, less aggressive fix: goats.
A herd of goats was used on a two-acre project at Freshkills Park in Staten Island in 2012 and two years later the test area is healthy with its plantings of native marsh grasses.
(READ the story via Yale University’s 360 blog)
Nathan King has biked to work at Culver’s restaurant for ten years, rain or shine, but last Thursday he had to walk home after finding his bike lock snipped outside the diner.
The theft left him upset and sad, but he maintained a positive attitude despite the fact that the bike was his only transportation option.
“It makes me feel so special,” King told the Mason City Globe Gazette. “I wish I could say thank you to that person who was so kind.” The unexpected gift also left his crew chief with “goosebumps.”
Lorraine Kennedy Winterink was one of dozens posting on Facebook to describe Nate as a hard-working employee who is always very friendly. “Nathan is the nicest guy and best employee- he is always so friendly and kind. I’m glad that he was blessed in turn by this Good Samaritan.”
(READ the story, w/ photo, from the Globe Gazette)
Shawn Grose and his brother Aaron are set to open Windmill Pointe Brewery next year in the heart of Detroit. The microbrewery will be outfitted with stationary bikes to produce the energy needed to brew the beer. All the pedaling by customers will be measured and rewarded with free beer.
They estimate that Joe Sixpack can pedal at a rate to produce two to three beers an hour. Customers can shed calories and save energy before kicking back to drink some of the beer they helped create, reports the Wall Street Journal.
“We want to be different,” said the brewmasters, who call their sustainable product the first “Pedal-Powered Beer.”
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from the Wall Street Journal)
Story tip from Mike McGinley
While waiting for mom to arrive home from work, Andrew Lister decided to share a Popsicle with his baby boy.
Dad decided to continue his ‘coughing’ sounds, which evoked belly laughs from the baby, each one heartier than the last.
(WATCH the video above, via YouTube)
But they’ve also snapped freeze-frames that encapsulate the crazy, haunting, beautiful, and ecstatic life that ever moves around us.
Here are nine memorable moments from streets around the world:
(Google has blurred any faces to protect privacy.)
