In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the defeated M23 rebel group, whose bloody insurgency displaced 800,000 people, announced it is ending its attacks, laying down its arms and signing a peace deal with the government on Monday. – Reuters
This OB/GYN Rocks Out Before Undergoing Mastectomy (WATCH)
She may be attuned to the importance of the mind-body connection because moments before surgery to remove her breasts, an Ob/Gyn and mother of two, spread joy in the operation room by playing music and busting a move to Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied” alongside her surgical team.
Along with the video, shot on Nov. 5 at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco, Deborah Cohan asked friends and family to make their own dance videos and send them to her for viewing during her recovery.
(Deb might get a lot of videos because 3.4 million viewers have already seen her “dance party” on YouTube.)
She wrote on her CaringBridge blog: “Nothing brings me greater joy than catalyzing others to dance, move, and be in their bodies.
WATCH the video below…
Victory for Food Blogger: Kraft Agrees to Take Yellow Dye Out of Kids’ Mac and Cheese
After nearly 350,000 people signed a food blogger’s petition calling on Kraft to remove artificial yellow dyes from its Macaroni and Cheese, the company has announced it will remove the dyes from three kinds of Mac and Cheese targeted to children.
Kraft already eliminated these dyes in Europe due to public concern about possible effects on children’s health.
Surprisingly Strong Jobs Report for October
Stocks rose Friday after the release of a surprisingly strong monthly jobs report.
The U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 204,000 jobs in October despite a federal government shutdown that was expected to limit payroll growth. Despite the gains, the unemployment rate edged up to 7.3% from 7.2%.
In addition, numbers for the prior two months — Aug and Sept — were revised up by a total 60,000 jobs.
(READ the story from USA Today)
Okay. This Pope is Getting Too Awesome for Words.
Pope Francis’ embrace of a severely disfigured man has touched world.
The Pontiff stopped to pray and lay his hands on a man whose skin was covered in painful tumors.
The ailing man gently buried his head in the Pope’s chest, on Wednesday at the end of the general audience, which had about 50,000 attendees.
Starbucks Makes Huge Commitment to Vets
Because Starbucks values the skills and talents of men and women in the U.S. military, it has announced a strategic plan to hire at least 10,000 veterans and active-duty spouses over the next five years.
In addition, a store in Lakewood, WA and a store in San Antonio, TX will begin sharing a portion of each transaction with non-profit programs Operation GoodJobs and Vested in Vets as part of a commitment to establish five such stores in joint base communities around the United States.
Couple Stranded in Snow for a Week Wrote Farewell Letters
A Wisconsin couple on vacation huddled together for days eating what food they’d brought in the car after they became trapped in deep snow on a closed pass near Yellowstone Park in Wyoming.
Fearing her life might be over, Kris Wathke used notebook paper stowed in her purse to write letters to all her loved ones telling them how much they meant to her.
The couple ran the car every four hours in frigid temperatures to get warm while preserving the battery and save gas.
Fortunately, on their sixth day, rancher Troy Barnett, whose wife read on Facebook that the couple was missing, decided to board his snowmobile and look for them.
(WATCH the video or READ the full story from ABC News via Yahoo)
Thanks to Joel Arellano for submitting the link on our Facebook Page!
Recycled Christmas Trees = Mulch, Dunes, Habitats
It’s one of America’s great recycling success stories: Every year, hundreds of thousands of discarded Christmas trees are collected and reused.
Many are picked up curbside by local garbage collection services and turned into mulch. Some are placed on beaches to shore up dunes and sunk in lakes as fish habitats. They’ve even been milled into lumber for use in building homes.
If you buy a cut Christmas tree this season, please recycle it for its many benefits…
(READ the full AP story at El Paso Inc.)
Photo credit: Jefferson Parish Department of Environmental Affairs
13 Marines Returning From Afghanistan Upgraded to First Class
A group of Marines on their way home from Afghanistan got something they didn’t expect after spending five days getting on and off planes on their way to San Diego: cheers from a crowd of police officers, a fire truck water salute and first-class plane tickets.
The 13 Marines found themselves treated like heroes Monday night at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Beyond the spirited welcome at the terminal, American Airlines had six empty seats in first class for the next flight to San Diego. That gesture was followed by seven first-class passengers who jumped out of their seats for the other Marines so they could all sit together.
“They were just so thankful,” said Linda Kozma, an American Airlines employee who helped arrange the upgrade of their tickets to first class.
(READ the story from Fox News-Chicago)
The Vatican Reaches Out, A Cricket Match At A Time
The Vatican has launched its own cricket club — a move aimed at forging ties with teams of other faiths.
Rome’s Capannelle Cricket Club is hosting training matches that will lead to the creation of the Vatican team, the St. Peter’s Cricket Club.
Today, the Vatican says, cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports, with a mass following in Asia and Oceania.
(LISTEN to the audio or READ the story at NPR)
Photo credit: Photosightfaces – flickr – CC
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Gives Girl Surprise of a Lifetime
Quarterback superstar Aaron Rodgers surprised a young lady, who is a big Packers fan, bringing her onstage at The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee to produce some music. He also wanted to raise awareness for Independence First, an organization she works with that is run by and for the benefit of people who have disabilities.
Aaron and David Gruber host an online series of videos where they surprise guests and invest time into helping them achieve their goals and ambitions. You can find more of them at www.ItsAaron.com.
(WATCH the fun video below or READ the story from Wisconsin Free)
Anniversary Dinner Sparks Couple to Lose 425 Pounds
In 2009, Matthew and Amy Shack celebrated their 6th anniversary at Outback Steakhouse with Aussie cheese fries, several rounds of bread and butter, an 18-ounce prime rib and dessert. That’s when the couple realized they had to change their ways.
Four years later, the couple has combined to lose over 400 pounds. Here’s how they did it…
(READ the story from MyFox-8)
Boston Red Sox Say “Thank you” to Cardinals Fans with Full-page Ad
A full-page ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch yesterday might have made you choke up with emotion.
The Boston Red Sox purchased the ad in the newspaper to say ‘thank you’ to the St. Louis Cardinals organization and its fans.
With the headline, “From One Great Baseball Town to Another” the color ad features a picture of two boys at a baseball game, one a Cardinals fans and the other a Red Sox fan.
“The warm Midwestern welcome you extended to our team and our fans during this year’s hard-fought World Series is truly appreciated. Your region, its people and the entire Cardinals organization represent everything that’s great about baseball.”
(WATCH the video below or READ the reactions, and SEE the ad at Fox-2 News)
Sending Out Shoeboxes Filled with Happiness for Women
The power of one person to make a difference can never be overstated.
One woman, Eva Whitmore, decided she would use her exceptional organizational talents to spread some happiness to women living in shelters.
Because of Whitmore, her city of Winnipeg now benefits from The Shoebox Project, a Canadian non-profit group that distributes gifts in the form of shoeboxes to women living in shelters across the country.
The concept is simple — fill up a shoebox with items valued at $50 that a woman in hard times would enjoy but never splurge on for herself.
“Some of these women will tell you that they haven’t had a birthday gift or a Christmas gift in years,” Whitmore told the Winnipeg Free Press. “These shoeboxes help brighten the holiday season during difficult times and let these women know that they are special and not forgotten.”
(READ the story in the Winnipeg Free Press)
Salmon in East Vancouver? Miraculous Reappearance After 80 Years
Chum salmon are spawning again at an urban creek in the heart of East Vancouver.
The salmon returned this week to Still Creek, which sits in a ravine surrounded by warehouses and was once thoroughly polluted by urban garbage, sewage and toxic chemicals.
“I thought we had done such terrible things to the creek that the fish just couldn’t survive, but here they were coming back and spawning in our creek,” one resident told the CBC News.
Much of the credit goes to people who have painstakingly restored their habitat.
(READ the story from CBC News)
Thanks to Colleen Eggertson for submitting the link on our Facebook Page!
Street Musician Gets Surprise Backup Vocals From Famous Singer
In Berlin recently, a lone street musician with his guitar was covering the Bronski Beat tune “Smalltown Boy” when the most unlikely thing happened.
Bronski Beat co-founder Jimmy Somerville happened to be out walking his dog and stepped in to sing harmony on the duet!
Random music lovers caught the act on video and shared the amazing moment on YouTube.
After Boy is Bullied for Pink Shoes Entire School Goes Pink
In honor of his mother, a breast cancer survivor, and for Breast Cancer Awareness month, Ryan Marotta bought pink sneakers to wear to school. The NFL does it, so it must be cool.
But, some of his middle school classmates harassed him because he was a boy wearing pink.
When his friends found out why he was wearing the shoes, everyone started wearing pink: Pink socks, pink shoes, pink hats, pink ribbons.
“My mom cried tears of joy last night when she found out,” he said.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from CNN New Day)
Redemption: Former Aryan Brotherhood Member Begins Family With Black Woman
Steve Sparks is a former white supremacist who denounced his former gang of haters to pursue a relationship with a black woman.
To this day, members of the Aryan Brotherhood in Oklahoma have vowed retribution.
Sparks simply realized he was tired of hating. “Hate was eating my soul up and I didn’t even really know why I hated anyone.”
He also had a big secret that wracked him with anxiety – he loved black women.
Eventually he married one.
He met his new wife online at a social media website in 2010 and today they have a beautiful 15-month-old mixed race son together.
(Source: BeyondBlackWhite.com)
Runner With Down Syndrome Breaks Marathon Record in NYC
Though he crossed the finish line hours after everyone else did, Jimmy Jenson still was first at the New York City Marathon Sunday.
The 48-year-old was first in the history books — the first person with Down syndrome ever to complete the race that wanders through five New York boroughs.
He finished the race in just over eight hours, and he helped other runners to finish too, telling them that if he could do it, they could do it.
(WATCH the inspiring video below from NBC)
A $100 Million Urban Resilience Effort To Help Cities Survive The Next Superstorm
Superstorm Sandy showed New York’s vulnerability to big weather, and offered a warning to the world.
Now the Rockefeller Foundation is offering $100 million dollars in grants to help cities face up to Sandy-like events and prepare, so they can come out the other side.
Its 100 Resilient Cities Centennial Challenge looks to catalyze infrastructure investment, improve coordination within governments, open up access to useful software and services, and spread good ideas.
(READ the article from Fast Coexist)