Coffee Shop’s Incredible Response To Neighborhood Robberies

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Dec 16, 2013

Where a string of robberies in local shops might have made Lexington, Kentucky a more sad place, one coffee shop has conjured up a few pay-it-forward Christmas miracles.

After thieves broke into A Cup of Common Wealth, the coffee shop’s owners were blown away by the huge outpouring from their community.

“They came out in full force and showed us so much love and support that we weren’t focused at all on what happened, just on what we were a part of,” said owners, Salvador Sanchez and Chris Ortiz, in an email to the Good News Network.

Reports of more robberies in local shops inspired them to rally the community.

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Swimming Champ, 9, Gives Trophy to Hospitalized Rival

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Dec 16, 2013

Before his swim meet on Dec. 7 had even started, Florida swimmer Josh Zuchowski, 9, decided he was not only going to compete in honor of his biggest rival, but also win the top trophy in the event and give it to him.

Zuchowski had not seen his friendly rival, Reese Branzell, 10, from Lake Lytle, Fla., since he had been hospitalized November 8 with a bacterial infection in his hip.

(READ the story from TODAY)

Photo by Jonathan Zuchowski

What to Do When You’re Down and Out: Brake Mechanic Makes the Best of a Situation

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Dec 16, 2013

delivery truck driver shakes w urban mom-NBCvid

There was no point in waiting inside the house for customers on that December morning because there’s no heat in there, either. No electricity. Not even glass in all the windows. He paid $500 at a county auction for the battered former drug house and he got what he paid for.

Many others in the city are living just as close to bottom. Some drink away their problems, sell drugs or steal their way through life. But Hakeem Muhammad the brake mechanic did something else — he decided to embrace poverty until things got better.

It would be a way to start over, he thought. To build character.

(READ the story, w/ photos, in the Detroit Free Press)

File photo

World’s Most Big-hearted Nation: The United States

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Dec 16, 2013

The United States is the world’s most generous nation, according to a global index of giving, as a higher proportion of Americans helped a stranger than any other country in the world.

The 2013 World Giving Index – published annually by international nonprofit organization Charities Aid Foundation – looks at three measures: monetary giving, volunteering and helping of strangers in a typical month. The survey, published on December 2, was carried out in 2012 across 135 countries.

(READ the story from CNBC)

Photo by Act In Kindness project Tillamook, Ore.

Entrepreneur Gives His Air Miles So 76 Others Can Be Home for the Holidays

Coffee Shop Holds Food Drive for Man Who Stole from Tip Jar

Santa Visits Remote Eskimo Village Thanks to National Guard

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Dec 15, 2013

Christmas in Alaska came early this week to nearly 300 students attending school in an Eskimo village, thanks to the volunteer program coordinated by the Alaska National Guard.

Santa and Mrs. Claus greeted children in the western Alaska community and took pictures with them before helper elves handed out gifts.

“It’s all to make the kids’ Christmas and bring a little joy to them,” Banez said.

(READ the AP story via CTV)

Photo credit: Foter-CC-Ennor

US Vehicles Hit Record Gas Mileage in 2012

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Dec 14, 2013

New cars and trucks sold in the US in 2012 hit a record for average of miles per gallon – 23.6 – in combined city and highway driving through improvements to engines and transmissions. Carbon dioxide emissions also hit a record low.

6-Year-Old’s Christmas Wish for Prosthetic Arm Comes True, Thanks to Online Donors

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Dec 14, 2013

boy gets Christmas wish for new arm-familyphoto

When Christopher Kiezek sat on Santa’s knee recently, like a lot of kids, he asked for an Xbox One. But he also asked for a new arm so can play it.

He was born without fingers and his mother says the insurance company won’t pay for a prosthetic device because it wasn’t necessary for the boy’s life.

A family friend known as Uncle Bobby was moved by the story of the boy’s Christmas wish so he set up an online page on Go Fund Me to raise the $25,000 needed.

Thanks to a New York television station sharing the story, the Long Island boy will get the new device — and the Xbox.

(WATCH the video HERE or READ the story from the Dailymail)

Man in Generous Frenzy Pays Off $20,000 in Christmas Gifts for Strangers

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Dec 14, 2013

Layaway Good Samaritan Greg Parady-familyphoto

A financial planning professional went to Walmart to pick up bikes for a Toys for Tots drive held by his company when he overheard someone at the layaway counter worrying about whether she’d be able to pay off her gifts before Christmas.

Greg Parady got out his credit card and spontaneously started paying for people as they’d walk up to the counter. Eventually, the 40 year-old swiped his card for 76 people, spending $21,000.

He had to use three credit cards and talk on the phone with the banks because they thought so many payments in a row were fraudulent.

(READ the story from TODAY)

Hauntingly Beautiful Flashmob Tribute to Nelson Mandela

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Dec 13, 2013

Black singer in flashmob-SowetoGospelChoir

Flashmobs always involve the element of surprise. The best ones also inspire. This one in South Africa Saturday melted the hearts of a nation that is mourning the loss of their beloved freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela.

Woolworth’s retail store had planned a performance for December 7 at its Parkview location in Pretoria to support the store’s “Operation Smile” Christmas campaign. The Soweto Gospel Choir planned a rendition of James Brown’s “I Feel Good.” But, after Mandela’s passing, the choir decided on a tribute instead.

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2013 Had Lowest Hurricane Count Since 1982

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Dec 13, 2013

Hurricane Isaac - By Captain Kimo, Flickr - CC

The 2013 Atlantic storm season has proved one of the quietest in decades with the lowest number of hurricanes since 1982 and none of them considered ‘major’, according to insurance broker Willis Re.

An unusually quiet hurricane season is significant for the insurance industry not only because there are fewer pay-outs for damage but also because it drives down reinsurance prices.

(READ the story from Reuters)

Photo credit: Hurricane Isaac – by Captain Kimo, Flickr – CC

In Rare Deal, Israel, Jordan, Palestinians Shake Hands Over Something: Water

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Dec 13, 2013

The Dead Sea, which faces a rapidly shrinking water level, has been a source of constant quarreling in a water-scarce region plagued by seemingly endless political turmoil.

But, on Monday, in a moment of rarity, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority signed a historic agreement at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., aimed at fostering water cooperation and initiating a project to help “save” the body of water.

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Operation Gratitude Gives Ford F-150 Keys to Female Sailor (UPDATE)

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Dec 13, 2013

A monumental milestone passed this week as Operation Gratitude handed over the millionth package to a lucky military service member aboard ship at sea. Hundreds of sailors assembled on deck to receive their boxes filled with goodies, but only one got the special package, loaded with extra gifts donated by businesses back home, as we reported on Tuesday.

WATCH the video from NBC below…

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Photos You Didn’t See From Mandela Memorial – Dems and R’s Coming Together

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Dec 12, 2013

If the contrived controversies of a handshake with the Cuban leader and a presidential selfie blanketed your news coverage of the heartfelt memorial service for Nelson Mandela, maybe these photos will add some needed context (but only if you are open to positive thinking).

Conservative and Liberal leaders spent friendly time together, enjoying each other’s company. George W. Bush even delighted Hillary Clinton and other Liberal leaders with photos of his recent paintings.

These photos by White House photographer Pete Souza allow us to remember that we have more in common than the media would have us believe.

Hat tip to Policy Mic for the idea!

Above: Presidents Obama and Bush settle in for flight to South Africa.

Pictured below: The Bushes and Obamas dine together aboard Airforce One with Ambassador Susan Rice and aids.

George W. Bush Sends Alabama Kicker Encouraging Letter After Loss to Auburn

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Dec 12, 2013

College football kicker Cade Foster has received a lot of hate messages since missing three field goal attempts in his team’s stunning loss to Auburn, but the Alabama student has a keepsake note from President George W. Bush, who sought to encourage the athlete.

The President, number 43rd to hold the office, told Foster, whose jersey number is also 43, that he will be “a stronger human with time.”

“Life has its setbacks. I know!”

(READ the AP story via Fox News)

Bringing Richard Home… Via Crowd-funded Adoption

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Dec 12, 2013

Kristen and Duane Watkins say kindness is too small a word to describe what their family experienced the day Brandon Stanton, who was practically a stranger, agreed to help raise the $26,000 they needed to complete their adoption of a boy in Ethiopia.

And if it hadn’t been for the bad traffic that day in New York City, the whole chain of events might never have happened.

(READ the article from CNN.com)

Thanks to Joel Arellano for submitting the link on our Facebook Page!

FDA to Crack Down on Antibiotics in Meat

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Dec 12, 2013

The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps toward phasing out the use of some antibiotics in animals processed for meat in the US, citing a potential threat to public health.

With the FDA action, using those antibiotics to make animals grow faster is likely to become illegal. Prescriptions would be required to use the drugs for animal illnesses.

The FDA has been debating how to address the issue of antibiotics in meat for several years as consumers clamor for antibiotic-free meat. McDonald’s, among other companies, has moved to limit the drugs in their meat, pushing many animal producers to go along.

(READ the article from the Guardian)

Baseball is Banning Home Plate Collisions Next Year

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Dec 12, 2013

Home plate collisions, the type of plays that wrecked the career of former All-Star Ray Fosse and injured Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila in last October’s playoffs, will be banned starting with the 2014 season.

The runners will be required to slide into home plate rather than charging it while in a full run.

(READ the story in USA Today)

To Be of Service, He Serves Free Tea From His Bus

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Dec 11, 2013

A sign that read “Free Tea” convinced a pair of college students to climb inside the small school bus painted white.

Thirty-year-old Colorado College graduate Guisepi Spadafora has been serving free tea out of his bus (named Edna Lu) for five and a half years.

He says the project was an accident, but his desire for “genuine interaction” among people caused him to start serving tea.

Throughout the day, guests not only included students, but also alumni, and the college’s facility and staff.

Spadafora says, “People shared stories, jokes, wisdom, and in a moment when there wasn’t more than one guest on board I became a listening ear to a heartbreak story.”

His website, FreeTeaParty.org, boasts 21,621 cups of free tea served as he wanders the West and North West United States.

Thanks to Julia Frerichs, LMT for submitting the link! – Photo from FreeTeaParty, old friend stops by

College Student Tries to Rent Family for Holidays But Finds New One

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Dec 11, 2013

A California university student has reformed her old ways of crime and drugs after being abused and neglected as a child. She has a perfect average in school, volunteers to teach karate, and is active in a Christian church. But all the improvement in her life didn’t seem to fill the void of not having loving parents.

So Jackie Turner, 26, went on Craigslist asking to rent a family for the holidays, offering $8 an hour in compensation.

The favorable response she received from many families was heart-warming enough, but even more meaningful were the many responses from individuals who, like Turner, endured abuse or got lost in a foster care system without caring parents.

She realized she was not alone, after all, and instead of renting a family, Jackie wants to create a new one.

She hopes to organize her own holiday gathering for all those who answered the ad, says News 10.

(WATCH the video below or READ the story at Huffpost)

Entrepreneur Gives His Air Miles So Others Can Be Home for the Holidays

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Dec 11, 2013

The entrepreneur and founder of Help A Reporter Out publicity service racks up extra airline miles each year. But two weeks ago, he decided to shed those miles — for people who can’t afford to fly home for the holidays.

He started with a goal to find six worthy individuals, who could apply through his blog to be picked. That number soon became 10, when four people contacted him to donate their own miles. On Wednesday, JetBlue chipped in 10 more flights. Now, Shankman has 25 round-trip tickets to give away.

(READ the story from the Huff Post)