After living through Hurricane Katrina six years ago, New Orleans firefighters recalled the help provided by New York City Firefighters, who arrived on the seen within days of the Louisiana levees breaking.
Now they are repaying the favor, clearing out tons of debris in homes of firefighters whose Breezy Point homes were flooded.
What writers have known for centuries, scientists are now endeavoring to prove – that contact with nature can boost creativity and problem solving skills.
Backpackers who spent four days in the wilderness without access to electronic devices scored 50 percent better on a creativity test at the end of the trip, according to researchers.
The Philippines declared on Saturday an 18-day unilateral Christmas truce with Maoist guerrillas, in part to let forces focus on relief efforts on a southern island devastated by a typhoon, an army spokesman said.
Both the army and rebels are involved in relief operations in the area and they declared informal truces on 10 December. The truce would also allow soldiers and their families to celebrate Christmas peacefully.
The European Union has scored a series of mini-victories in recent months and is ending 2012 in perhaps the best shape of the past four years, Finland’s Europe minister said on Thursday.
The European Central Bank’s promise to backstop euro-zone bonds, an agreement on forming a banking union, a deal to keep Greece afloat, and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize have all helped buoy spirits.
Family, friends and even strangers are giving an Iowa City boy dozens of reasons to smile, even during this tough period of cancer treatments.
During his trips to hospitals across the country, Dashiell has found happiness in watching the catchy Muppet’s song called “Mahna-mahna”. In response, his mother created a Facebook page where people could post their own version of the song for Dashiell to watch.
A new group of aviation pioneers wants to attempt a flight across the United States with a decidedly more difficult twist thrown in – they can’t use any fuel except for the power of the sun.
The Solar Impulse team announced this week that it will be taking its solar-powered plane to the skies this summer on a transcontinental flight from San Francisco to New York. If successful, the trip would be the first solar-powered, cross-America flight in history.
Tom Shadyac, the director of blockbuster comedies like Liar, Liar and Bruce Almighty, became famous for giving up his riches in favor of a more simple lifestyle and filming a documentary about how to be happy.
Now, he is teaching University students to give back. As a reminder to keep playing even as they grow older, the college students he teaches all received new bikes from Shadyac. But the generosity didn’t stop there. The students were so grateful, they wanted to pay it forward in a big way.
Tom Shadyac, the director of blockbuster comedies like Liar, Liar and Bruce Almighty, became famous for giving up his riches in favor of a more simple lifestyle and filming a documentary about how to be happy.
Now, he is teaching University students to give back. As a reminder to keep playing even as they grow older, the college students he teaches all received new bikes from Shadyac. But the generosity didn’t stop there. The students were so grateful, they wanted to pay it forward in a big way.
Researchers have found an eco-friendly alternative to the metal ores currently favored in the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries.
The new non-toxic and sustainable battery uses purpurin, a red/yellow dye extracted from the root of the madder plant that has been used for dying cloth for at least 3,500 years – meaning the substance can simply be grown rather than mined.
The CALM Act, which limits the volume of TV commercials, went into effect on Thursday for broadcasters as well as cable and satellite operators. CALM stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation.
The act is designed to prevent television commercials from blaring at louder volumes than the program content they accompany.
It is hard to believe, but last spring Emma, then 6, was near death from leukemia. She had relapsed twice after chemotherapy, and doctors had run out of options.
Desperate to save her, her parents sought an experimental treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, one that had never before been tried in a child, or in anyone with the type of leukemia Emma had.
On December 6, a group of 10th-graders from Hashmonaim and Beit Shemesh arrived in New York to help in the ongoing clean-up and fix-up efforts after Hurricane Sandy. They dubbed their impromptu trip Masa Hashemesh, or Sunshine Journey.
Besides pulling down rotting dry wall and pullying up moldy carpeting, they will also be speaking to hundreds of their 10th grade counterparts throughout the city about their life in Israel and livening up Hanukkah celebrations in Long Beach and Brighton.
The controversial government bailout of the huge global insurer, AIG, during the worst days of the financial crisis in 2008, will yield billions of profit for the US treasury and taxpayer.
The treasury department announced Tuesday that it will sell 234 million shares in American International Group (AIG), bringing the estimated profit on the original AIG TARP assistance to $22.7 billion.
The department said more than 90%, or about $380 billion, of the $418 billion spent under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) during the financial crisis has been recovered through repayments and other income.
Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, has installed a puppy room for stressed-out students.
While puppy leasing has begun to catch on in some Universities in the US, Canada is providing its young people with a whole room of puppies to play with, to help ease the anxieties of college exams.
The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels squadron transformed its C-130 aircraft into a modern-day Santa’s sleigh in support of the U.S Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Program, hauling several pallets of toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy.
The Blue Angel stunt crew, along with Santa and his elf, arrived from Florida in Wrightstown, N.J., where many residents have needed to forestall celebrating the holidays because the hurricane forced upon them more pressing concerns.
One of the families invited to the airfield was that of volunteer firefighter Peter Sabey.
Peter and his wife, whose home in Tom’s River, N.J. was flooded during the storm, said their daily activities are now tied up trying to restore some sense of normalcy to their lives.
“Going Christmas shopping for our kids has taken a seat to us making calls to insurance companies and trying to get our lives back,” said Heather Sabey, who feels like a burden has been lifted.
“Receiving Christmas presents thanks to Toys for Tots today is going to be huge for our kids to feel the love and the joy of the season from all over the country.”
The Toys for Tots deliveries are an annual tradition for the Blue Angels. Last year they airlifted gifts to families who’d survived the devastating tornadoes in Alabama.
“It’s simply a matter of taking the opportunity to do what we can for those in need,” said Frosch. “It wasn’t a question of whether we could support this outstanding cause, but rather, how soon we could provide support and get toys to the children.”
Among the crew of Blue Angels who made the trip for this mission were some active- duty servicemembers originally from the Northeast, giving this trip a special meaning to them.
Logistics Specialist 2nd Class William Kelly, a supervisor in the Blue Angel’s Supply Department, was visiting family in New Jersey and rode out the early days of the storm in his family’s home. ” I can’t imagine how the children in this area feel,” said Kelly.
“Coming on this trip to help out and bring a little Christmas joy to them was something I jumped at soon as I heard about it.”
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She grew up in Kampala, one of the poorest places on earth. She couldn’t read or write. As a child, she scrounged for food each day, and without money for school fees, she lived on the streets.
But a chance encounter with a Ugandan chess coach turned her into a rising international chess star, the subject of a book — and the protagonist in a future Disney movie.
The Christian missionary had started a chess program in the Katwe slum that offered a bowl of porridge to any child who would sit through chess lessons.
From the time Mutesi first showed up in 2005, her extraordinary aptitude was clear.
Now 16 years old, she goes to school, has the drive to become a doctor, and has already represented Africa in the Chess Olympiad in Siberia.
(WATCH the new CNN report or a documentary video below – or READ the story at CNN)
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Hundreds of South Mississippians stood in line at the Biloxi Town Green where more than 1,500 lunches were served and more than 500 pounds of donations dropped off to benefit New York City firemen.
“We just want to say thank you,” Jessica Mcneel, who chaired the Nov. 30 event, told WLOX.
As survivors of Hurricane Katrina the town echoes Matthew Lambert, who said, “So many people over the years, all the many, many years, have helped us and our friends and families. It’s our turn.”
“We want them to know we appreciate and continue to appreciate all they’ve done for us,” explained Ms. Mcneel, who volunteers for the fire department’s Junior Auxillary.
You can still drop off donations and gifts at any Biloxi fire station.
(READ the story from WLOX)
Massoud Hassani grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan and played every day in nearby fields, surrounded by high mountains. His favorite toy was homemade, a small rolling object that was powered by the wind.
“We used to race against the toy and other kids,” he wrote on his website. “A strong wind would sometimes blow the toys into restricted areas where we couldn’t go because of landmines.”
Africa produces 70% of the world’s chocolate and 60% of the world’s vanilla crop, yet the continent makes just 1% of finished chocolate bars, which leaves very little profit for the essential farming communities.
Now, an innovative company started by former Peace Corps volunteers is disrupting that market spiral to make the world’s best chocolate bars — and make a difference — in Madagascar.
Africa produces 70% of the world’s chocolate and 60% of the world’s vanilla crop, yet the continent makes just 1% of finished chocolate bars, which leaves very little profit for the essential farming communities.
Now, an innovative company started by former Peace Corps volunteers is disrupting that market spiral to make the world’s best chocolate bars — and make a difference — in Madagascar.
