Ellen’s Oscar Selfie Earns $3 Million for Charities

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Mar 5, 2014

The Academy Award selfie shared around the world, which broke several Twitter records with its 3 million retweets, including President Barack Obama’s previous record, now has earned three million dollars for charity.

Host Ellen DeGeneres prominently used a Samsung phone to create the photo live on the air, at the same time as Samsung was an Academy Awards sponsor.

Although the company denied in a statement that it had any knowledge ahead of time regarding Ellen’s successful stunt using its phone, Samsung earned millions of dollars worth of priceless product placement as a result.

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5 Tycoons Who Want to Close the Wealth Gap in the U.S.

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Mar 5, 2014

businessman-reading-a-bill-CC-Flickr SalFalko

As the middle class struggles to make gains and President Barack Obama strives to shine a spotlight on the issue of income inequality, an unlikely constituency is looking for ways to close the nation’s growing wealth gap: a handful of top U.S. business tycoons.

These advocates point to notions of fairness and admit to twinges of guilt, but the core concern driving all of them—left, right and libertarian—is a belief that the economy doesn’t function efficiently when the wealth gap is wide.

Five such advocates are investor Warren Buffett, Silicon Valley millionaire Ron Unz, Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, software pioneer Steve Silberstein and New York City media mogul Leo Hindery Jr.

(READ the AP Story from CNBC)

Photo via Flickr from Sal Falko – CC license

Chick-fil-A to Serve Antibiotic-free Chicken

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Mar 5, 2014

Chick-fil-A announced in February the company’s plan to serve chicken raised without antibiotics in all the chain’s restaurants nationwide within five years.

Chick-fil-A consumer research indicated an interest in how food was made and where it is sourced, with particular interest in the use of antibiotics. As a result, the company has committed to partnering only with suppliers that raise chickens without antibiotics and requested that they work with the USDA to verify that none of the drugs were administered at any point.

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The Oscars Pizza Guy Got $1000 Tip from Stars

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Mar 4, 2014

pizza delivery to Harrison Ford and Ellen at Oscars

The unsuspecting pizza delivery man who was called to the Academy Awards ceremony and dragged onstage by host Ellen DeGeneres, was given a $1000 tip for his services.

Edgar Martirosyan, an employee of Big Mama’s & Papa’s pizzeria brought three pies to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and took home $1000 from Ellen, who passed around singer Pharrell Williams’ famous oversized hat during the live broadcast and collected $600 from stars like Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford (above).

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Giant Snowman Brings Joy to Minnesota’s Nasty Winter

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Mar 4, 2014

snowman giant-Flickr-CC-Marks Postcards From Beloit

A Minnesota farmer thought as long as he was moving 4 feet of snow using heavy machinery, he might as well have some fun with it.

Greg Novak used all that snow to build a 50-foot snowman that was so large it needed a full-sized oil drum for a nose.

He named the giant figure ‘Granddaddy’, and positioned it to face the highway running alongside his farm in Gilman.

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Spontaneous Praise Breaks Out for WWII Vet During 8K Race

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Mar 4, 2014

A 95-year-old veteran in full dress uniform came outside on the street to encourage and cheer runners in an 8K race but the admiration was turned on himself when the athletes began spontaneously shaking his hand in a tribute for his military service.

San Jose reporter Julia Prodis Sulek happened to capture the scene on video as Joe Bell became inundated with runners wanting to shake his hand.

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Landmark Civil Rights Case Upholds Right to Record Police

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Mar 4, 2014

civil rights rally sign - Flickr-CC Nevele Otseog

A federal judge in Indianapolis ruled that police officers who stopped Willie King while he was recording video of an arrest had violated his rights.

As part of a settlement in the federal civil rights case, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was ordered to institute a new policy prohibiting police officers from interfering with civilians who are recording their actions.

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Ellen’s Star-Packed Oscar Selfie Breaks Twitter Record

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Mar 3, 2014

In the midst of the Oscar ceremony last night, host Ellen DeGeneres grabbed a bunch of the greatest Hollywood actors out of their chairs for a cell phone photo, which became a selfie for the ages.

Posted from her phone, Ellen tweeted the photo and told the television audience to make it the most retweeted photo of all time.Traffic on Twitter skyrocketed, even crashing the company’s servers, and by the next morning the group selfie was shared nearly 2.6 million times.

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8-Year-old Helps Pay Off Students’ School Lunch Debt

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Mar 3, 2014

A super-sensitive Michigan elementary school student felt really sad when a child in the lunch line in front of him who had to put his tray down because he didn’t have enough money in his account.

After that experience, Cayden Taipalus decided to help raise money for the kids who could use a few extra bucks for their lunch account. He is returning cans to earn the recycling cash, and asking friends to donate.

After just two weeks, he has paid for 295 lunches!

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The ‘Incredible’ Selfless Thing an 8-Year-Old Boy Did for a Soldier

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Mar 3, 2014

After 8-year-old Myles Eckert found a twenty dollar bill in a restaurant parking lot last month, all he could think about was buying a new video game.

He changed his mind when he saw a man in uniform.

He wrote a note and gave it to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey.

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Man Rescues Dying Dog From the Middle of a Busy Highway

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Mar 3, 2014

When Rickey Young heard on the radio that there was a dog in the HOV lane on a Houston highway, he rushed over to help. Though the dog was frightened, Rickey was able to lure her to safety with a sandwich. She had broken bones and was bleeding, but this hero got her medical attention in time to save her life.

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Australian Divers Save Choking Shark in Bold Rescue (WATCH)

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Mar 2, 2014

Divers in Australia rescued a critically endangered grey nurse shark off the coast of Sydney that was being choked to death by a plastic cord wrapped around its gills.

With its head and gills tightly entangled in industrial strength elastic cord, the five-foot long (1.5m) juvenile shark was facing a slow and painful death, with the cord continually tightening as the young animal grew in size.

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US Gives More Healthy Food Choices to Women, Infants and Children on WIC

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Mar 2, 2014

Some 9 million poor women and young children who receive federal food assistance under the U.S. government’s so-called WIC program will have greater access to fruits, vegetables and whole grains under an overhaul of the program unveiled on Friday.

The expansion of allowable foods is the first change to the program in 34 years.

(READ the report from Reuters)

Thanks to Harley Hahn for submitting the link!

How Wolves Have Changed Yellowstone’s Rivers

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Mar 2, 2014

When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States in the mid-1990s, after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable “trophic cascade” occurred, effecting hundreds of other species.

Gary Wockner, a wolf expert in Colorado explained, “Willows grew higher and spread more widely, beavers returned and made ponds, riparian-dwelling plants and animals returned including songbirds and trout, elk carrion fed scavengers such as grizzlies and ravens, and coyote populations dropped resulting in more ground squirrels and gophers which in turn fed hawks and eagles.”

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Students Discover Math Teacher’s Secret Identity… As Baby Cuddler

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Mar 1, 2014

cuddling babies at hospital-Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

With his short gray hair, watchful eyes, authoritative voice and stern manner, high school math teacher and Vietnam veteran Jim O’Connor is used to commanding respect in the classroom. So his students were surprised to learn about his nickname at the hospital where he volunteers: the baby whisperer.

O’Connor, who teaches algebra and calculus at St. Francis High School in La Cañada, Calif., a Catholic prep school for boys in suburban Los Angeles, takes a no-nonsense approach to schooling.

“They just stare at him adoringly and he can really just get the crabbiest baby to calm down. It’s amazing… He’s just a natural-born cuddler.”

(READ the full story at TODAY)

Thanks to everyone who submitted links to this story – Photo courtesy of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

How Invasive Plants at LAX Feed Giraffes and Elephants at L.A. Zoo

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Mar 1, 2014

Giraffe Niger rare species-Roland H-Flickr-CC

The bad news: Exotic acacia trees pose a pesky problem for native coastal dunes at Los Angeles International Airport. The good news: Giraffes like them — a lot.

Now a long-term partnership that began last fall between the airport and the L.A. Zoo keeps invasive species out of L.A.’s landfills and gives zoo animals a leafy treat.

(READ the story from the LA Times)

Photo credit: Roland H via Flickr, CC license

Man Hits $10 million Jackpot After Store Clerk’s Mistake

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Mar 1, 2014

An upstate New York family toasted with champagne the $10 million Lottery ticket that almost slipped away.

Jerry Kajfasz, 53, of suburban Buffalo, said he initially gave back a very lucky “Win for Life Spectacular” scratchoff ticket when a store clerk handed him the more expensive $20 ticket by accident.

He had asked for seven scratchoffs, but the clerk gave him an eighth.

“I now call it the one that almost got away,” Kajfasz said Tuesday when he claimed his prize.

(READ the story from the NY Daily News)

Thanks to Judy Ritchie for submitting the story!

Simple Pine Branches Can Filter Out 99% of Bacteria Producing Clean Water

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Feb 28, 2014

If you’ve run out of drinking water during a lakeside camping trip, there’s a simple solution: Break off a branch from the nearest pine tree, peel away the bark, and slowly pour lake water through the stick. The improvised filter should trap any bacteria, producing fresh, uncontaminated water.

In fact, an MIT team has discovered that this low-tech filtration system can produce up to four liters of drinking water a day — enough to quench the thirst of a typical person.

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Sea Otters Finally Recover After Exxon Valdez Spill

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Feb 28, 2014

Nearly 25 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill injured wildlife off the coast of Alaska, a new report issued today by the U.S. Geological Survey indicates that sea otters have returned to pre-spill numbers within the most heavily oiled areas of Prince William Sound.

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Boy With Cancer Gets Secret Gifts for Over a Year

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Feb 28, 2014

In the last 14 months, more than a dozen mystery packages have arrived for a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with cancer and, often, for his three siblings and parents. They frequently appeared after Dylan’s “really bad days” and tough chemotherapy treatments, said Laurie Full, his mom, who blogs about their experiences.

Packages would show up outside their Illinois home, sometimes arriving when the family was inside the house, but never with any trace of the source’s identity, other than the signature “Dylan’s Secret Pal.”

(READ the story in the Chicago Tribune)

Good News Network

Salt Water Restores Native Queensland Ecosystems After Dozens of Tidal Gates Removed

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Passionate ‘Tortoise Guardians’ Help Critically-Endangered Giant Tortoise Slowly Return to India

Ancient Egyptian Crypt of 22 Singing Priests Unsealed for the First Time in Luxor

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A Daily Dose of Positive Affirmations–Right on Your Toes

Native Americans Were Making Dice and Gaming Thousands of Years Before Anyone Else

Why You Feel Rejected When Someone Doesn’t Text You Back: Your Brain is Trying to Protect You

The Science of How Your Brain Forms Habits (and How to Take Control)

How To Love Yourself: 5 Ways to Let Go of the River Bank and Go With the Flow

Ellen’s Oscar Selfie Earns $3 Million for Charities

5 Tycoons Who Want to Close the Wealth Gap in the U.S.

Photo via Flickr from Sal Falko – CC license

Chick-fil-A to Serve Antibiotic-free Chicken

The Oscars Pizza Guy Got $1000 Tip from Stars

Giant Snowman Brings Joy to Minnesota’s Nasty Winter

Spontaneous Praise Breaks Out for WWII Vet During 8K Race

Landmark Civil Rights Case Upholds Right to Record Police

Ellen’s Star-Packed Oscar Selfie Breaks Twitter Record

8-Year-old Helps Pay Off Students’ School Lunch Debt

The ‘Incredible’ Selfless Thing an 8-Year-Old Boy Did for a Soldier

Man Rescues Dying Dog From the Middle of a Busy Highway

Australian Divers Save Choking Shark in Bold Rescue (WATCH)

US Gives More Healthy Food Choices to Women, Infants and Children on WIC

Thanks to Harley Hahn for submitting the link!

How Wolves Have Changed Yellowstone’s Rivers

Students Discover Math Teacher’s Secret Identity… As Baby Cuddler

Thanks to everyone who submitted links to this story – Photo courtesy of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

How Invasive Plants at LAX Feed Giraffes and Elephants at L.A. Zoo

Photo credit: Roland H via Flickr, CC license

Man Hits $10 million Jackpot After Store Clerk’s Mistake

Thanks to Judy Ritchie for submitting the story!

Simple Pine Branches Can Filter Out 99% of Bacteria Producing Clean Water

Sea Otters Finally Recover After Exxon Valdez Spill

Boy With Cancer Gets Secret Gifts for Over a Year

Thanks to Sarah Jean for submitting the link on our Facebook Page! – File photo by Sun Star