New research shows optimistic, cheerful people are significantly less likely to develop coronary artery disease than their pessimistic peers.
Two new studies by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore underline the fact that, like many other diseases, coronary artery disease is more than just a physical condition. It has mind and soul components, too.
(READ the story in Australia Financial Review)
Fashion prodigy Isabella Rose Taylor isn’t just an artist, painter and designer, the pre-teen girl from Austin is a super student who just started college. But she is being celebrated this week for her style during New York’s Fashion Week.
She began creating her own clothing at age 9.
Now, 12, Isabella showed her first line on a catwalk during Fashion Week Austin 2013.
“My clothes are inspired not only by my art, but by colors, shapes, poetry, travel and the beauty of everything around me.”
– WATCH the videos below from TODAY
– More at IsabellaRoseTaylor.com
In the past six months Israel has helped about 200 wounded men, women and children cross the Syrian border and enter Ziv Medical Center, which has spent $1.5 million so far on their treatment.
No matter their role in the fighting — rebel or innocent civilian — the Syrians have come here at great risk: They could face arrest or worse if Syria ever found out they visited Israel.
Many patients arrive clutching referral letters from Syrian doctors.
“My colleague the surgeon, best regards,” one letter reads. “This patient, 38 years of age, has experienced a gunshot in the chest. … We beseech you to do what is necessary, and we are grateful for your work.”
(READ or LISTEN to the story at NPR)
An intense hail and rain storm Monday in the Denver area swept away a family’s car in a wave of flood water —with a mother and her young daughter inside.
The relentless hail clogged a large drainage gate, resulting in a flash flood that trapped the two. But a Good Samaritan with a truck was able to get close enough to save them.
And he caught the scene on his mobile phone.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from KDVR)
In the third grade, Marlon Gibson was so overweight his mom had to take him to the men’s store to buy his Easter suit.
“Even back then, I absolutely loved clothes,” Gibson said.
“That’s what really keeps me honest with all this weight loss. I want to go to the mall to buy more than socks.”
At its heaviest, his 5-foot-11-inch frame weighed 405 pounds.
Now he weighs 160 pounds. Since January 2011, he’s lost 245 pounds, or the equivalent of a gas stove.
(READ the story from CNN)
Richard Van As, a South African carpenter, lost four fingers from his right hand to a circular saw two years ago.
He couldn’t afford the tens of thousands of dollars to get a prosthetic hand, which detects a muscle’s electric impulses to activate an artificial limb, so he decided to build his own after seeing a video of a mechanical hand made for a theatre production.
A 29 year-old mom of two is saving her rural Kansas community millions of dollars a year by sharing her weekly grocery list in an online spreadsheet.
By day Emily Graves is a typical working mom. But her creation of a shopping list that compares sale ads has turned her into a retail rock star.
A 64 year-old man in Istanbul decided to brighten people’s days by painting rainbow colors on the old, gray, crumbling stairs near his house.
When municipal officials sent workers after nightfall to hurriedly repaint the stairs gray, a quiet revolution started on Twitter.
Not only did volunteers come out to repaint those stairs that Huseyin Cetinel had spent hundreds of dollars on, they started painting other stairs and walkways in other cities around Turkey posting photos on social media.
A very colorful Pandora’s Box had unwittingly been opened.
– READ the full story in the New York Times
– WATCH the video below
The story is short. But the picture is worth – well – everything.
I was in a cab heading home from O’hare airport – a journey I make with regularity. The cab driver was polite. His car was clean. And I was settling in for my 25 minute ride home.
It was then that I noticed it. The sign. There were actually two of them. Identical. Laminated. And posted perfectly on the back side of the driver’s seat and front passenger’s seat:
I think I read it three or four times. The cynic in me was looking for something missing. There had to have been a catch.
But there wasn’t.
I snapped a photograph and posted it on my Facebook profile with a note, “Nominating my cab driver for today’s ‘act of kindness’ award.”
And within seconds my Facebook profile lit up like a switchboard. A reminder that most of us welcome a reminder of goodness, humanity and compassion.
One by one the comments and “likes” poured in.
“Your sign and message are awesome. Amazing,” I said to the cab driver.
And he told me the simple story of where it all began. Travelers were arriving hungry – especially many traveling international.
So this was his way to help.
Nothing more than that.
“Well, you are an inspiration,” I told him.
And he just smiled.
Another fare in the backseat. Nourished with kosher kindness.
Jim Higley is the Bobblehead Dad – author, speaker, radio show host, spokesperson and cancer warrior. A single father raising three kids, Jim’s book Bobblehead Dad: 25 Life Lessons I Forgot I Knew
The Turkana region is one of the driest and poorest parts of Kenya
Now a huge water source has been discovered there in northern Kenya, which could supply the country for 70 years, the government says.
The discovery brings hope amid the drought, tweeted Environment Minister Judi Wakhungu.
(READ the full story in the BBC)
Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, traffic to the Good News Network spiked dramatically— on that day, and the days afterward—as people searched for good news to counteract the horror and tears.
If you never heard the most inspiring story of that day–what happened in the tiny town of Gander, in Canada–read this: Tiny Town in Newfoundland Hosts 10,000 Stranded Airline Passengers on 9-11.
Another story, which we posted about goodwill worldwide after 9/11, read this unforgettable response that came from Africa: A Massai Warrior’s Unexpected Gift to America.
Also check out, or download, the 8-page newsletter released one month after 9/11, which collected all the stories of people pitching in their talents and time to help in unusual and touching ways.
Here’s wishing you peace on this solemn anniversary…
New York YouTube pranksters Adam and Sheikh usually make humorous or taunting videos, such as “Meet a Muslim” or “Pretending to Be a Celebrity”. But the duo decided this time to do something different, to make homeless people smile.
The guys bought some fruit and water, bundled up some gently worn clothing and hit the streets.
They did bring smiles to these very worn faces and it is terrific to watch.
Thanks to TrueStoryASA for their video.
Jordan Somer has been a believer in beauty pageants since she was 7 years old, when they began teaching her how to be confident and work toward any goal. But when she had the opportunity to be around people with special needs at the Special Olympics, when she saw success everywhere, “on the track, the field, and each level of the award platforms,” Somer knew what she was meant to do.
In November of 2007, she held the first annual Miss Amazing pageant. Every contestant became a winner and they each get a crown.
“To help nonprofits more easily harness the power of technology to do more good.”
That’s the goal of Microsoft’s Technology for Good program, and starting today, they are donating Office 365 to nonprofits worldwide regardless of the organization’s size. The offer is available in 41 countries today, and will be rolled out to 49 more by July 2014.
Russia and France are working on separate plans for bringing Syria’s chemical weapons under international control, after the idea emerged as a way to address the threat of chemical attacks in the country’s civil war and potentially avoid U.S military strikes.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday officials are preparing a “concrete” plan along with Syria, and expect to present their proposal to other nations soon.
U.S. President Barack Obama has called the Russian plan to put Syria’s stockpile under international control a potential breakthrough and stressed that he “overwhelmingly” prefers diplomacy in deterring Syria’s use of chemical weapons.
Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem endorsed the Russian plan, saying it would be a way to avoid what he called U.S. aggression. Iran, another Syrian ally, said Tuesday it welcomed the idea.
France agreed. Its foreign minister is set to propose a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Syria to disclose its chemical weapons program and give it up to the international community to be dismantled.
The Security Council has been unable to agree on previous measures sanctioning Syria, with Russia and China using their veto power to block three previous resolutions against President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday the international community should consider the idea as long as it helps reduce tensions in Syria, maintain peace in the region and aid in bringing a political resolution.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose parliament rejected the idea of military intervention, welcomed the initiative, but also said the world needs to make sure it is not a “distraction tactic.”
(Source: Voice of America News)
After joining a clinical trial at Boston Children’s Hospital, seven-year-old Katie Mills started to speak in complete sentences for the first time, her 30-second attention span extended into minutes, and she was finally able to retain information from one day to the next, said her mother, Susan Mills.
“We’d had a child who had basically been 2 years old for four years,” said Mills, of Whiteville, N.C. But after four months, “she was communicating in ways she had never done before. It was amazing. It was like it was a totally different child.”
Comedic genius Jim Carrey is one of the biggest names in entertainment, having starred in Liar, Liar, Bruce Almighty and demontrated serious acting ability in films like Man on the Moon and The Truman Show for which he won Golden Globes. Now, add children’s book author to his list of talents.
His self-published book, “How Roland Rolls
The 68-pages, beautifully illustrated by animator R. C. Nason, are meant for children ages 4-8. Carrey wanted to help them feel safe and to ease any fears of being alone by offering them the notion that all life is interconnected. He uses the familiar metaphor of a wave as part of the ocean, not separate from it — being an individual, but also part of something greater and supportive.
The beginnings of Roland the wave as a character goes back to the year when Carrey first arrived in Los Angeles. He spent a lot of time on the beach in Malibu, watching the waves.
In Roland’s case, when he looks at what’s under the water, down deep, he’s struck by the notion that he’s not just a wave — he’s an extension of the whole big, wide ocean.
Carrey’s always been drawn to stories geared for children if they can stimulate hope and faith. “That’s what attracted me to the Grinch, Horton Hears a Who, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” he said. “Through stories we make our children feel secure, and believe that good conquers evil.”
Because Roland is a reflection of his spiritual beliefs, he didn’t want his message diluted by any New York publishers so he decided to self-publish the story using his own media company, Some Kind of Garden Media. An enhanced e-book will be released the same day as the book and will include four songs about Roland sung by Carrey and his daughter.
Pre-order How Roland Rolls
Owners of an Asian market in Nashville were stunned last week when a man came into their shop insisting they take an envelope. When they finally opened it they found $400 cash and a letter of apology from a thief who had once robbed their store.
Somboon Wu said that indeed someone had taken $300 from them more than a decade ago. The letter, which he posted on Twitter and Instagram, explained that the man was once a drug addict and now that he is sober, he wants to make amends with those he’s hurt.
Wu told WSMV News, “We just want to let him know if he’s watching, wherever life takes you, we forgive you for what you did.”
(READ the story in the Daily Mail)
Some struggling families in Central Maine got a sweet surprise last week.
They all received a phone call from the Auburn Kmart’s layaway department informing that an anonymous stranger had just paid off their bill.
“Everybody wants to go back to school with new clothes,” said Store Manager Joyce Beane. “Now 16 more families (who had fallen behind on their payments) can do that.“
One of the women whose bill was paid actually had bought items for a holiday drive benefitting needy families, so the ripples of kindness were going to spread outward even further.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from WCSH-TV)
Electronic cigarettes appear to be at least as effective as nicotine patches in helping people to give up smoking, research suggests.
The devices, which are rapidly gaining popularity, produce a vapor containing nicotine.
The findings, presented at the European Respiratory Society, showed similar numbers quitting with e-cigarettes as patches, but more had cut down.
(READ the study results from BBC)
