An Armstrong BC woman named Karel Nordstrom has launched an international search for the mystery man who paid for her and her late-husband’s wedding 54 years ago in England. Karel and Tom Nordstrom were young and broke students when they threw a reception at a restaurant on a shoestring budget. When they went to pay they were told that a fellow diner in the restaurant had already paid.
Looking for the Stranger Who Picked up Her Wedding Tab 54 Years Ago
Hidden Borneo Orangutans Provide Population Bump of 5-7 Percent
A team of conservationists have uncovered a hidden population of around 200 of the world’s rarest Bornean orangutans in Malaysian Borneo.
The sub-species Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus is listed as the most severely threatened orangutan worldwide with a total of between 3,000-4,500 animals, of which 2,000 live in the Batang Ai National Park and Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in Sarawak.
The orangutans were found in an area of about 14,000 hectares (140 sq km) and the Sarawak government has pledged protection.
Mexican drug homicides fall 14 percent in four months
Mexico said on April 11 that killings linked to organized crime fell 14 percent in the first four months of the presidency of Enrique Pena Nieto, who has vowed to reduce murder, kidnapping, and extortion. (Reuters)
Cabbies Worthy of Praise and Riders Who Take Time to File Compliments
From the back seat of a New York City taxicab, complaints about drivers flow effortlessly.
But about twice a day, taxi passengers in New York take time to tell the city about some exemplary deeds.
The drivers’ deeds include leaving the cab to confront the assailant of a pedestrian, returning a diamond ring, and caring for a college student after a mugging.
(READ the full story in the NY Times)
Thanks to Nancy Peske for sending the link!
‘He Saved Hundreds’: Army Chaplain To Get Medal Of Honor
It took more than 60 years, but an Army chaplain who died as a prisoner during the Korean War will be awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama on Thursday.
Capt. Emil Kapaun, who was a Catholic priest serving with the 3rd Battalion, will be honored for “extraordinary heroism”, for bravery and service to others — both on the battlefield and in prison following his capture by enemy troops in November 1950.
A Mother’s Fight Against ‘3-Strikes Law’ Helps Hundreds
Since the November election, 240 California prisoners facing potential life sentences have been set free. That’s because voters changed California’s tough three strikes sentencing law, which sent thousands of people to prison for terms of 25 years to life for minor, nonviolent crimes.
The ballot initiative’s success is due in no small part to Sue Reams. Her son was one of those released, after 17 years in prison.
But she isn’t done fighting having gained her son’s freedom. She believes that the initiative didn’t go far enough.
“For me this has become a way of life,” she says. “People are [still] in [prison] for stealing baby food, for stupid things. And they don’t deserve a life sentence for that.”
(READ the full story from NPR News – WATCH an interview with Sue below)
Woman Emerges From Coma Asking for Bob Seger Concert – Tonight She’s Going
Seven years ago, Evie Branan suffered a stroke that left her in a semi-coma. In May of 2011, she tumbled out of bed, bumped her head and woke up. Her first words: “I want to go to a Bob Seger concert.”
Tonight in Flint, Michigan, a limousine is going to pull up to her nursing home and take the 79 year-old patient to see Bob Seger. Not only that, she will get to meet him.
Former Microsoft Executive Finds Joy Boosting Literacy Instead of Profits
Since leaving his job as Microsoft’s China business development director in 1999 and dedicating his life to improving global literacy, New York-based John Wood has put books in the hands of more than 7.8 million children in 10 countries in Asia and Africa.
His charity, Room to Read, has built more than 14,600 libraries and 1,500 schools in 12 years.
So is he happy? “Extremely. Extremely,” he told me recently when he was in Vancouver to promote his new book, Creating Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy
(READ the story in the Vancouver Sun)
Photo from Room to Read – Thanks to Craig Withers for submitting the link!
US Senators Reach Bipartisan Deal on Expanding Gun Background Checks
A bipartisan group of senators has struck a deal to expand gun background checks to all commercial sales — whether at gun shows, via the Internet or in any circumstance involving paid advertising, according to Senate aides familiar with the talks.
The amendment to the guns legislation already proposed in the Senate would not cover private transactions between individuals, unless there was advertising or an online service involved. It is more stringent than the current law, which requires checks only when purchases are made through a licensed dealer.
An overwhelmingly majority of American voters — 91 percent — support universal gun background checks, according to a poll from Quinnipiac University released last week, and other similar surveys conducted this year.
(READ the full story in the Washington Post)
Teen Girls Find Impossible Strength to Lift 3000 lbs off Dad
An Oregon man pinned by his overturned tractor said his teenage daughters saved his life by miraculously lifting the 3,000-pound machine.
Jeff Smith was pulling a stump from his garden in the rural outskirts of Lebanon last week when his tractor flipped upside down pinning him beneath its steering wheel.
Family Dinners Nourish Teens’ Happiness: Study
Regular family suppers contribute to good mental health in adolescents, according to a study co-authored by McGill University professor Frank Elgar. Despite the fact that teens may squirm under the barrage of parental questioning, there are benefits to these family meals — regardless of whether or not they can easily talk to their parents.
“More frequent family dinners related to fewer emotional and behavioral problems, greater emotional well-being, more trusting and helpful behaviors towards others and higher life satisfaction,” says Elgar, an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, whose research centers on social inequalities in health and family influences on child mental health.
This Champion Racehorse Paints, Raises Thousands for Retired Thoroughbreds
A speedy horse named Metro Meteor won $300,000 over his career on the track. Now he’s picked up a new vocation.
Forced to retire after knee injuries, he was given a new life when adopted by artist Ron Krajewski and his wife, Wendy.
The equine was constantly moving his head around, so Ron put a paintbrush in his mouth. The 9-year-old thoroughbred is now painting to benefit other horses in need.
Twitter Helped Belfast Woman ‘Find Missing Mum’
Twitter and the kindness of strangers brought home an Irish mom with dementia, after her daughter decided to post her photo when she’d gone missing.
Hundreds of people retweeted her message: This is my mum & she’s gone #missing. Help try & bring her home safe #missing #belfast #plsRT #alzheimers.
California Kayaker Saves Family After SUV Plunges into River
A kayaker in California is being called a hero for helping to rescue a family after their SUV veered off the road and slammed into a concrete mile marker and tree before coming to rest in the middle of a river near Sacramento.
Mark Divittori happened to be kayaking in that part of the river when the mangled vehicle plunged into the river just yards behind him.
Color-bombs Fill India’s Beautiful Holi Festival of Spring
The major Holi festival of India was celebrated last week — a riot of color and and gaiety marking the coming of Spring, the season of hope and joy. Family and strangers rush with excitement down every street corner pouring colored powders on passers by.
At 48 Panera Cafes, You Can Pay Whatever You Want (Or Nothing) For Turkey Chili
Can’t afford a hot meal? Panera will now give you one. It’s the latest in the company’s experiments in letting customers set their own price.
Go to any of the 48 Panera Bread cafés in the St. Louis area and you’ll notice something strange: You can pay whatever you want for your turkey chili. In fact, you could pay nothing at all, and that would be just fine.
Panera’s charitable foundation already operates a cafe in the St. Louis area with its entire menu offered on a “Pay what you want” basis.
Panera isn’t the only restaurant in the U.S. serving food from a menu with no prices. The SAME cafe in Denver serves food “So All Might Eat”. The cafe’s menu has no price structure other than “Pay what you can.”
MORE: Jon Bon Jovi Opens Charity Restaurant in New Jersey (Soul Cafe)
82% of Airline Flights Arrived on Time in 2012
Nearly 82% of airline flights in the U.S. arrived on time in 2012, an improvement of almost 2% over 2011. Air Tran, Delta, US Airways, Alaska, and Hawaiian Air had the best on-time numbers and Virgin Air was judged the best airline overall.
Coral Reef Surprises Scientists by Healing Itself
Coral reefs may be more independent and resilient than previously thought.
New research shows that an isolated reef off the northwest coast of Australia that was severely damaged by a period of warming in 1998 has regenerated in a very short time to become nearly as healthy as it was before. What surprises scientists, though, is that the reef regenerated by itself, found a study published Thursday in the journal Science.
Court Victory for Opponents of Fracking in California
A federal judge has ruled that the Obama Administration violated the law when it issued oil leases in Monterey County, Calif., without considering the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. The ruling came in response to a suit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club, challenging a September 2011 decision by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to auction off about 2,500 acres of land in southern Monterey County to oil companies.
“This is a watershed moment — the first court opinion to find a federal lease sale invalid for failing to address the dangers of fracking,” said Brendan Cummings, senior counsel at the Center, who argued the case for the plaintiffs.
Fracking employs huge volumes of water mixed with sand and chemicals to blast open rock formations and extract oil and gas. The controversial technique is already being used in hundreds — perhaps thousands — of California oil and gas wells. Oil companies are aggressively trying to frack the Monterey Shale, which stretches from the northern San Joaquin Valley into Los Angeles County, and west to the coast.
“We hope this court ruling acts as a wake-up call that steers the federal government away from sacrificing California’s public lands for dangerous oil development,” added Cummings.
The court has asked for a joint recommendation on next steps in the case. The Center and the Sierra Club believe the lease sale should be set aside. At a minimum, no drilling or fracking on the leases will be allowed before the completion of thorough analysis of the environmental risks.
(Source: Center for Biologic Diversity)
Who’s On Your Fridge?
I was lifting weights at my New York City community gym when he caught my attention.
His name, I later found out, was Marvin Moster. He stood a few inches over five feet, mostly bald with some white hair on the sides of his head, sporting a mustache, and wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue shorts. In the obvious ways, he was unremarkable. And yet, I couldn’t help noticing him.
He was older — I guessed in his seventies — and he was boxing with a trainer, punching in a rhythm they had obviously practiced before, ducking his head whenever the trainer threw a hook. Two things struck me: he was in excellent shape — evidenced by his balance, his rhythm, and how vigorously he was punching — and he was having fun.
“How old are you?” I asked him when he took a break.
“77,” he told me with a smile.
“I want to be like you when I’m 77,” I said.
His smile broadened. “And I want to be like you now.”
His laugh was infectious. It made me feel good just being around his energy, soaking in his enthusiasm. At least in that moment, he seemed delighted to be himself. That’s when the thought occurred to me.