48-year-old Thomas Graham is building a house in Texas pretty much by himself.
And although that job alone isn’t remarkable, just imagine trying to put up a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch without any blueprints — and doing it in total darkness.
Thomas says he started dreaming of this shortly after the day he went blind at the age of 18, which was the same day his father was shot and died.
(READ the story and WATCH the video at CBS)
Efforts to conserve Kenya’s dwindling population of rhinos is set to get a significant boost when WWF-Kenya hands over 1,000 microchips and 5 scanners to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) today. The equipment valued at over KES 1.3 million will be instrumental in strengthening active rhino monitoring.
Vital to outsmarting the poachers who are getting more sophisticated in their approach, the deployment of specialized rhino horn tracking systems will allow for 100% traceability of every rhino horn and live animal within Kenya.
In addition, forensic DNA technology will serve to strengthen rhino monitoring further, to protect the animals on site and also support anti-trafficking mechanisms nationally and regionally.
For large companies to stay competitive and keep top talent, they need to act like startups.
Branding and technology giant MRY, which counts Coca-Cola, Visa and Microsoft as clients, has a culture of encouraging its employees to build new things and chase their own dreams.
Promoting intrapreneurship, or entrepreneurship within a company, keeps ambitious employees happy, says Matt Britton, the founder and CEO of MRY, which has close to 500 staffers.
(READ the story from Entrepreneur)
Over the last two weeks Americans have seen the worst in partisan politics, but the government shutdown has also triggered the generosity of ordinary citizens. Americans have stepped in to fill some of the needs that the government normally fulfills.
“We just needed to pull together as a nation,” said one Iowa mom who collected food for families that rely on government subsidies.
From Colorado to Atlanta, Arizona to Florida, let’s take a look at America at its best.
(WATCH the video from NBC Nightly News)
The U.S. government is expected to reopen tomorrow after legislation passes tonight based on a bipartisan deal reached today by Senate leaders.
Speaker of the House John Boehner said his chamber will not block the bill when it comes to the floor tonight.
Boehner said that the deal gives Congress time to sit down and work on the bigger fiscal issues. As for the vote, which is expected later today, Boehner said he would meet with his caucus, but he expects them to vote for the motion.
(READ the news from NPR)
UPDATE: A report from the New York Times says, “Under the agreement, the government would be funded through Jan. 15, and the debt ceiling would be raised until Feb. 7. The Senate will take up a separate motion to instruct House and Senate negotiators to reach accord by Dec. 13 on a long-term blueprint for tax and spending policies over the next decade.”
President Obama yesterday presented the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Captain William Swenson for conspicuous gallantry at the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty.
Will’s commanding officers wrote, “In seven hours of continuous fighting, Swenson braved intense enemy fire, and willfully put his life in danger against the enemy’s main effort, multiple times in service of his fallen and wounded comrades… and his endangered Afghan partners.”
Before draping the medal around Swenson’s neck, Obama called him a remarkable example to the nation of the professionalism and patriotism that everyone should strive for.
“Captain Will Swenson was a leader on that September morning,” Obama said. “But like all great leaders, he was also a servant — to the men he commanded.”
The President’s remarks included a retelling of the story of Swenson’s actions in battle that day.
“I want to take you back to that September morning four years ago. It’s around sunrise. A column of Afghan soldiers and their American advisors are winding their way up a narrow trail towards a village to meet with elders. But just as the first soldier reaches the outskirts of the village, all hell breaks loose.
“Almost instantly, three Marines and a Navy corpsman at the front of the column are surrounded. Will and the soldiers in the center of the column are pinned down. Rocket-propelled grenade, mortar, and machine gun fire is pouring in from three sides.
“By this time, the enemy has gotten even closer – just 20 or 30 meters away. Over the radio, they’re demanding the Americans surrender. Will stops treating Kenneth long enough to respond – by lobbing a grenade.
“Finally, after more than an hour and a half of fighting, air support arrives. Will directs them to nearby targets. Then it’s time to move. Exposing himself again to enemy fire, Will helps carry Kenneth the length of more than two football fields, down steep terraces, to a waiting Medavac helicopter — where helmet cameras captured video of Will as he leans in and kisses the wounded soldier on the head – a simple act of compassion and loyalty to a brother in arms. And as the door closes and the helicopter takes off, he turns and goes back the way he came, back into the battle.
“But more Americans – and more Afghans – are still out there. So Will does something incredible. He jumps behind the wheel of an unarmored Ford Ranger pickup truck. A Marine gets in the passenger seat. And they drive that truck – a vehicle designed for the highway – straight into the battle.
“Twice, they pick up injured Afghan soldiers – bullets whizzing past them, slamming into the pickup truck. Twice they bring them back. When the truck gives out, they grab a Humvee. The Marine by Will’s side has no idea how they survived. But, he says, “by that time it didn’t matter. We [were] not leaving any soldiers behind.”
“Finally, a helicopter spots those four missing Americans – hours after they were trapped in the opening ambush. So Will gets in another Humvee, with a crew that includes Dakota Meyer. And together, they drive. Past enemy fighters. Up through the valley. Exposed once more.
“When they reach the village, Will jumps out – drawing even more fire, dodging even more bullets. But they reach those Americans, lying where they fell. Will and the others carry them out, one-by-one. They bring their fallen brothers home.”
Swenson’s education includes a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Seattle University. He served one tour in Iraq, two tours in Afghanistan and just recently reenlisted.
WATCH the CEREMONY below…
An Edmond, Oklahoma boy wrote to a television station about his brother who has cerebral palsy.
The words, the penmanship are clearly those of a young child, but the compassion and caring speaks of a much older soul.
“I don’t want any money but I need help,” his letter said. “My pastor said we have to be Gods hands and feet but I’m going to be his legs to.”
He described his brother, who is also deaf and lost his stomach last year, sitting at the window crying when he sees kids playing outside.
Iran’s President stepped up his challenge to hard-line factions on Monday, calling for the lifting of restrictions on academic freedoms and for granting Iranian scholars more opportunity to take part in international conferences.
Rouhani, who took office in August, has previously called for lifting curbs on social media access and urged police not to crack down on perceived violations of Islamic dress codes for women.
(READ the AP story from NPR)
16 year-old Laoise Nolan performs a beautiful version of The Cup Song with 600 students (and staff) at a school in Ireland.
The percussive song, popularized in the film “Perfect Pitch” with the rhythmic use of plastic cups, is sung here in Gaelic – “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone.”
Download the song on their website.
WATCH the video below…
In Minneapolis, employees at the U.S. Bank can draw up to 16 hours of pay per year for doing things like serving breakfast to the homeless or reading to kids, and this kind of thing is happening at lots of other companies nationwide.
Volunteer programs can help make workers feel more engaged — and keep them from quitting, which is costly.
That’s a big deal at a time when many employees are unhappy with their jobs.
(LISTEN to the audio or READ the story from NPR)
A film like Argo could have been made of the suspenseful rescue by John Riordon in the days before the Fall of Saigon in Vietnam.
A young American bank manager for Citibank in Saigon, he refused to evacuate in the days before the Communist takeover to ensure that his staff and their families (105 people) got out before the invasion.
The story, which unfolded in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam war, has never been told before.
60 Minutes cameras filmed a recent reunion of Riordon and his Vietnamese colleagues and their families, who have been living successful lives in the United States ever since.
(WATCH the video from 60 Minutes, or READ the script at CBS News)
On Saturday, musical idol Jon Bon Jovi shocked a bride on her wedding day by showing up at a chapel in Las Vegas to walk her down the aisle.
She scheduled her wedding to occur at the same time as Bon Jovi’s tour stopped in Vegas and the same place, the Graceland Wedding Chapel, where the singer himself got married in 1989.
A retired 65-year-old businessman set his mind on trying to invent something useful. He did just that after a “Eureka” moment on the highway inspired a solution to the problem of deadly runaway truck tires.
“What he came up with was the Zafety Lug Lock,” reports Macleans in Canada. “A small piece of plastic links two bolts on a truck’s wheels, effectively freezing them in place.”
Four years later, nearly one million of Jaime Hogge’s two-dollar plastic locks are on the road.
This year, the Zafety Lug Lock won Canada’s most prestigious innovation award, the Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award.
(READ the story, w/ Jamie’s photo, at Macleans)
Cancer is an illness that takes a lot of work to overcome. Once you are diagnosed, not only do you have to worry about your health, but also paying for deductibles, co-pays and expensive medical care.
“Thankfully, there are generous people and organizations whose mission it is to make the journey a little easier,” says Bethany Kandel, founder of BreastCancerFreebies.com.
Mama Jade, a terribly abused Pit Bull with breast cancer from Tennessee, got another chance at life after a posting about her plight went viral.
These days, dog owners frequently turn to Craigslist to ask for help locating missing dogs. But when a severely abused Pit Bull showed up on Christianna Willis’ doorstep, she turned to the site to say she’d found the dog — and there was no way she was giving her back.
Willis, who works at an animal hospital, said she immediately noticed Mama Jade’s injuries, including bite marks and scars. She also had no teeth and showed signs of “relentless” breeding. She stayed up with the dog for much of the night, trying to comfort her. Then Willis took the pooch to work with her, where the other employees at PetMed fell in love with her. Sadly, though, they also discovered that Mama Jade was suffering from breast cancer, and Willis didn’t have the funding to have her treated.
She was so upset that last week she decided to write a Craiglist post to Mama Jade’s former owner titled “Your pitbull found me and I’m not giving her back.”
In the post, which is no longer available on the site, Willis detailed Mama Jade’s condition and what she’d done to help her.
“Over the last 3 days, our staff has grown to love this beautiful and broken soul,” Willis wrote. “Skin and bones, we feed her constantly but only foods that are soft enough for her.”
Willis said she was planning to be there to comfort Mama Jade as she was put down the next day — but something happened. The Craigslist ad went viral, and emails from people and charities all over the country poured in, many of them offering to help pay for cancer treatment or hospice care.
“The response has been overwhelming and has restored a lot of my faith in humanity,” Willis wrote in an update to the ad. “One thing is for certain … Mama Jade is getting yet another chance at life.”
In an update on Mama Jade’s Facebook page on Tuesday, Willis said that the dog needs a double mastectomy, which has an increased risk because she tested positive for the beginning stages of heartworm.
Willis, who says she’s “fallen completely in love with this pup,” is working with Music City Mutts, a rescue group, to raise money for Mama Jade’s testing and treatment. They’ve raised $23,700 so far.
Written and originally published by Vetstreet.com, a pet website written by top veterinarians, pet health experts and professional journalists dedicated to giving you the most accurate information possible, so you can keep your dogs and cats healthy. The key is a well-informed owner and an expert veterinary care team.
RELATED LINKS:
— Two Words Your Vet Needs to Hear
— 10 Lessons Dogs Can Teach Us About Relationships
— Hero Dog Alerts Parent Babysitter
There are new bleachers at a baseball park in Glendale, Wisconsin, and a 12-year-old boy is responsible. It’s a project that’s helping the inspiring young man make history.
James Hightower III joined The Boy Scouts when he was eight years old and it only took four years to become the youngest African-American Eagle Scout in the country — an accomplishment that only 7% of Boy Scouts achieve.
At 12, he earned the rank five years sooner than the average Eagle Scout, and he completed more than double the number of merit badges required.
READ the story from WTMJ-TV
Tons of ugly manmade plastic trash wash up on Alaska’s remote beaches every year.
Marine biologists and artists partnered recently on a one-week expedition to catalog the contents, collect some of it and make that trash into beautiful art.
An exhibit of the results, which includes an incredible montage of hundreds of colored flip-flop sandals, will be curated by the Anchorage Museum.
(READ the full story from Fast Coexist.com)
Christi Smith saved a pit bull pup from certain death at the hands of Animal Control. Four days later, the dog repaid her by saving her son’s life.
The rambunctious dog was hours away from being euthanized, but Christi had her doubts about adopting this untrained 9-month-old mixed breed. She ultimately decided to foster the dog, changed his name from “Gator”, and tried to housebreak it while finding someone else to adopt it. Her misgivings completely evaporated on the fourth day.
“I put my son to bed at about 8:30 in the evening,” Smith says. “He woke up between 12 and 1:30 to ask for something to drink. He was acting weird — really out of it. I chalked it up to being deliriously tired. I wasn’t too concerned.”
TatorTot was concerned, though.
When Roberta Morgan read a story from New York state about a full-time worker who still needs food stamps to feed her family, she wanted to help.
The mom decided to send a gift card so the woman could buy extra groceries for herself and her 3-year-old daughter Essence.
Morgan told her 7-year-old daughter that this family usually didn’t have any extra money to buy ice cream.
“She actually gasped, then asked me if we could bring them some food,” Morgan said.
“Here is 10$ from me,” wrote the girl in a note to Essence, after cleaning out her piggybank savings.
(READ the story from Syracuse.com)
Toronto firefighters stepped in to help Italian newlyweds make their flight after an overhead sign on the Gardiner Expressway came crashing down on their rental car.
Two of the firefighters at the accident scene just happen to speak Italian and heard the couple talking about how they were going to miss the next flight on their honeymoon, scheduled to depart soon for Hawaii.
“Il tuo giorno fortunato,” said the hero firefighters, who whisked the couple away in their truck. “It’s your lucky day!”
(WATCH the video below from City News.ca)
