A groundbreaking regional plan was signed yesterday by Central African countries to strengthen law enforcement and better combat poaching of elephants and other species. The plan was adopted by the ten member states of Central African Forest Commission, known as COMIFAC, as escalating rates of wildlife crime plague the region.
The countries pledged to undertake unprecedented levels of cooperation with law enforcement agencies, such as the police, customs and the judiciary, to tackle the issue.
Deforestation of the Amazon has fallen to its lowest levels since records began, according to data recently released by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.
Using satellite imagery during the twelve months ending last July, the institute said 2,478 sq miles of Amazon forest had been cut (6,418 sq km) – the smallest area since annual measurements started in 1988
The data continues an encouraging trend. Since the peak deforestation year of 2004, the rates of clearance have fallen by almost 75%.
(READ the full story in the Guardian)
An important political revolution is quietly unfolding in California. Citizens passed a voting reform measure on gerrymandering that promises to profoundly alter the election landscape — for the better.
Proposition 20 changes the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn, removing the function from the grasp of politicians whose gerrymandering creates safe districts for the one party in power.
The new law, backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, relies instead on an independent citizens commission).
(READ an updated story in the LA Times)
A trucker was heartbroken when he realized that his 9-month old Yorkie must have jumped out of the vehicle at a rest stop in Missouri.
When he called local animal officials and they drove to the location, they found the pup waiting patiently for his traveling buddy to return.
Just in time, too. A family was getting ready to adopt the terrier when the officers arrived.
When Sam Klein was still in kindergarten, he became fascinated with the things we throw away.
Now, at the ripe old age of 12, the missouri boy is a dedicated CEO of his own recycling business. He collects empty printer ink cartridges from local businesses, keeping them from the landfills, while earning hundreds of dollars by sending them back to manufacturers.
Even more impressive, Sam has given more than $1,000 to charity, helping those less fortunate than himself.
She Lost a Race Knowing it Would Help AnotherA junior at West Liberty Salem High School in Ohio brought home a state championship medal in the 1600-meter race, but is being praised for her performance in the event she lost.
Meghan Vogel was running around the final turn of the 3200-meter event when she saw a competitor fall in front of her.
What happened next offered the crowd gathered for the Ohio Division III girls championship an inspiring glimpse into the heart of true sportsmanship.
Meghan says she competes against these same girls all year, and when she saw the runner go down, she didn’t hesitate for a second.
When it was all over, she told her mother, “I think God put me in last place for a reason.”
(WATCH the NBC video below, or READ the story in the Columbus Dispatch)
A junior at West Liberty Salem High School in Ohio brought home a state championship medal in the 1600-meter race, but is being praised for her performance in the event she lost.
Meghan Vogel was running around the final turn of the 3200-meter event when she saw a competitor fall in front of her.
What happened next offered the crowd gathered for the Ohio Division III girls championship an inspiring glimpse into the heart of true sportsmanship.
When Sam Klein was still in kindergarten, he became fascinated with the things we throw away.
Now, at the ripe old age of 12, the missouri boy is a dedicated CEO of his own recycling business. He collects empty printer ink cartridges from local businesses, keeping them from the landfills, while earning hundreds of dollars by sending them back to manufacturers.
Even more impressive, Sam has given more than $1,000 to charity, helping those less fortunate than himself.
The four-day Diamond Jubilee celebrating 60 years of service from Queen Elizabeth ending yesterday with a concert and fireworks display that gave the British people something to be proud of in the midst of their tough economic recovery.
The pomp and pagaentry of the many events offered something for the conservative and modern-minded alike.
For the young and old, a concert last night with spectacular light show projected along the entire face of Buckingham Palace provided an artistic exclamation point to the weekend. 10,000 royal subjects were given tickets to the event inside the Palace grounds, with their names being drawn in a public lottery. (See the story of their picnic earlier in the day, Queen Invites 10,000 Random British Subjects to Palace Picnic)
A North Carolina teen returned from camp last summer and discovered her parents had abandoned her. After years of hardship, Dawn Loggins did the same thing she had done before. She adjusted.
She went to live with a friend’s mother, took a part-time job as a custodian at her school, kept her grades high and beat the odds to graduate this week, earning a partial scholarship to Harvard.
All this despite having to study by candlelight, wear an overcoat on nights when the power had been turned off at her family’s home and dealing with the bullying she faced wearing the same dress to school.
The community is helping, generously donating to a fund to help pay her way.
“There are no excuses,” she told a reporter from WBTV. “It depends on you and no one else.”
(WATCH the WBTV video below, or READ the story in the Seattletimes) -Thanks to Steve G. for sending the link!
A North Carolina teen returned from camp last summer and discovered her parents had abandoned her. After years of hardship, Dawn Loggins did the same thing she had done before. She adjusted.
She went to live with a friend’s mother, took a part-time job as a custodian at her school, kept her grades high and beat the odds to graduate this week, earning a partial scholarship to Harvard.
All this despite having to study by candlelight, wear an overcoat on nights when the power had been turned off at her family’s home and dealing with the bullying she faced wearing the same dress to school.
When Svante Myrick, 25, became the youngest-ever mayor of Ithaca, N.Y., he gave up his car to join the estimated 15 percent of city residents who walk to work.
As mayor, however, Myrick has a prime downtown parking spot on the main street reserved for his exclusive use. So instead of letting it stand empty, he began to “turn the Mayor’s parking space into a park space.”
He decorated the space with flora and benches, and changed the “Reserved for Mayor” sign to read, “Reserved for Mayor and Friends.” The official ribbon cutting for the tiny park was June 1.
When Svante Myrick, 25, became the youngest-ever mayor of Ithaca, N.Y., he gave up his car to join the estimated 15 percent of city residents who walk to work.
As mayor, however, Myrick has a prime downtown parking spot on the main street reserved for his exclusive use. So instead of letting it stand empty, he began to “turn the Mayor’s parking space into a park space.”
He decorated the space with flora and benches, and changed the “Reserved for Mayor” sign to read, “Reserved for Mayor and Friends.” The official ribbon cutting for the tiny park was June 1.
Michelle Obama joined Disney executives today to announce an unprecedented move in the battle against childhood obesity. The media company will eliminate the advertising of unhealthy food and beverages from all of its Disney channels, the first major media company to introduce standards for food advertising on shows targeting kids and families.
Mrs. Obama called it a “game changer” that would give parents more leverage as they campaign to bring healthier foods into their kids’ diets. She reasoned that if kids aren’t bombarded with ads while watching their favorite cartoons, they would be less likely to lobby parents to shop for sugary groceries.
Whites in the United States have typically lived longer on average than blacks, but a new study released on Tuesday suggests that gap in life expectancy may be shrinking.
The shift appears to be because fewer African Americans are dying of AIDS and heart disease.
Day 3 of the UK celebration marking Queen Elizabeth’s 60-year reign began with a picnic of smoked salmon in the palace gardens for 10,000 UK citizens chosen in a public lottery, some traveling from Ireland and Wales to attend the all-day event.
Guests collected hampers of food prepared by palace chefs, including desserts made with strawberries grown on the Queen’s estate.
Day 3 of the UK celebration marking Queen Elizabeth’s 60-year reign began with a picnic of smoked salmon in the palace gardens for 10,000 UK citizens chosen in a public lottery, some traveling from Ireland and Wales to attend the all-day event.
Guests collected hampers of food prepared by palace chefs, including desserts made with strawberries grown on the Queen’s estate.
A new drug for advanced prostate cancer patients has proved so effective that researchers stopped the clinical trial early to give all patients a chance to receive the life-extending medication, according to a UCSF-led study released Saturday.
The hormone treatment, Johnson & Johnson’s Zytiga, when added to a standard steroid therapy doubled the time it takes for the disease to progress in patients treated with the standard therapy alone.
This week, 21-year-old Sho Yano will complete the journey he began as a 9-year-old college freshman, becoming one of the youngest students in history to receive an M.D.
Yano was homeschooled when he began reading at age 2, writing by 3 and composing music by his 5th birthday.
He entered Chicago’s prestigious Pritzker School of Medicine at 12, earned his PhD at 19, and finally this week, his medical degree.
He will launch a medical career as a pediatric neurologist so he can work with children.
(READ the story from the Chicago Tribune)
WATCH the 2010 biographical story below
This week, 21-year-old Sho Yano will complete the journey he began as a 9-year-old college freshman, becoming one of the youngest students in history to receive an M.D.
Yano was homeschooled when he began reading at age 2, writing by 3 and composing music by his 5th birthday.
He entered Chicago’s prestigious Pritzker School of Medicine at 12, earned his PhD at 19, and finally this week, his medical degree.
