After accidentally flushing them down the toilet, a sewer crew went out of their way to help a Colorado woman recover a pair of valuable diamond rings that were an 18th birthday gift from her late father.
Worth $10,000 and seemingly lost, the rings were miraculously located downstream in the sewer system.
What were the chances of finding the ring? “Slim to none,” said one of the city workers from the North Table Mountain Water Department in Golden.
The US Federal Reserve chairman said Monday that gauging happiness can be as important for measuring economic progress as determining whether inflation is low or unemployment high.
Economics is also about understanding and promoting “the enhancement of well-being,” which is “the ultimate objective of our policy decisions,” Ben Bernanke told a conference of economists and statisticians in Cambridge, Mass.
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan dropped 15 percent in the first six months of the year, with deaths blamed on NATO-led troops and Afghan forces declining sharply, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
The latest readout also marked the first time in five years civilian casualties have declined.
Fliers rejoice: Travelers are late to fewer business meetings and missing fewer chances to tuck their kids into bed now that U.S. airlines are more punctual and less likely to lose their bags than at any time in more than two decades.
84 percent of domestic flights now arrive on time or nearly so and more bags arrive with them.
GNN is throwing a private party in DC to honor the 15th anniversary of the Good News Network with style.
“Good News Goes To Washington”
To promote good news in a time of ceaseless negative campaigning, I’ve chartered an 85-foot yacht that will set sail up the Potomac at 5:00 pm. on Sunday, Sept. 9 loaded with people who are all about inspiring positive storytelling.
Please RSVP as soon as possible to commit to joining us. Admission is free but seating is limited.
Email me if you are eager, willing and able-bodied enought to join our two and a half hour boat cruise leaving from Maine Ave. SW in DC.
This is 19-year-old Schoep being cradled in his father’s arms in the warm waters of Lake Superior. The arthritic dog falls asleep every night after he is carried into the lake where the buoyancy of the water soothes his aching body.
The man’s friend is professional photographer Hannah Stonehouse Hudson who took this photo during one of their therapeutic evening swims. She posted it on Facebook and it went wildly viral, with thousands of people sharing it and 28,294 comments (and counting).
“I was so happy I got to capture this moment for John,” says the Bayfield, Wis., photographer. “I have known them, for six years, and seen Schoep age.”
This is 19-year-old Schoep being cradled in his father’s arms in the warm waters of Lake Superior. The arthritic dog falls asleep every night after he is carried into the lake where the buoyancy of the water soothes his aching body.
The man’s friend is professional photographer Hannah Stonehouse Hudson who took this photo during one of their therapeutic evening swims. She posted it on Facebook and it went wildly viral, with thousands of people sharing it and 28,294 comments (and counting).
“I was so happy I got to capture this moment for John,” says the Bayfield, Wis., photographer. “I have known them, for six years, and seen Schoep age.”
A lunchtime diner at Denny’s decided she wanted to pay everyone’s bill in the restaurant — but under one condition, that she remain anonymous.
“People thought we were joking,” a waitress told KCRA. “She didn’t want anybody to know she paid, and then she left.”
The generous young mother with two kids, who was dining in New Castle, California, near Sacramento, paid about $300 plus a big $40 tip.
A 16-year-old baseball player felt the presence of his late grandfather last weekend when he did something he never thought he could do. He hit the home run, which his grandfather had requested days before. Maybe he benefited from some other-worldly help.
“The last time I talked to him, he wanted me to hit a home run. I told him I’m not sure I could do that, I’m not that big type of player that hits home runs.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the day before his grandfather’s funeral, Jonathan Sabo played ball. On a 0-2 pitch, the Charleston boy did what he’s never done in his life.
Joplin churches are holding a special ceremony for members of a mosque destroyed in a suspicious fire.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Joplin churches planned to gather Wednesday evening at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church as a show of support for the Islamic Society of Joplin.
A South African couple married this week after a bout of unusually cold weather allowed them to fulfill a light-hearted promise to tie the knot the next time Johannesburg was covered in snow.
A radio station jumped into action to help pull off the spur-of-the-moment prompting.
Rui Moca and Monique Joubert had planned to wed next year, but when South Africa’s biggest city was shrouded in a rare blanket of snow on Tuesday, Joubert’s sister called the top local radio station, which leapt into action, organizing a minister, lawyer, photographer, flowers, and cake.
(In an unrelated side story, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who happened to be visiting Pretoria on Tuesday, was dubbed “Nimkita” – “the one who brought the snow”.)
Forget about going all the way to the London Olympics for heroes. This weekend, we saw real heroes right here in America.
First, look at the images from Pasadena, Calif., of cheering NASA scientists. (You can watch the elated moments after the Mars landing in the video below.) How fantastic that the American ingenuity of NASA scientists got us to Mars. It makes me proud to be an American. I can’t get enough of these images from when the probe touched down. These scientists are American heroes.
And there was another American hero this weekend: Brian Murphy. He is the police officer who protected the Sikh community in Wisconsin during that awful tragedy this week. Despite being ambushed and taking nine bullets, he waved off medical attention so the victims inside could get help instead. He is in critical condition in a local hospital, and he is an American hero.
A colorful, fruit-eating bird with a black mask, pale belly, and scarlet breast- never before described by science- has been discovered and named a Sira Barbet by Cornell Univ. graduates following an expedition to the remote Peruvian Andes.
The team discovered the barbet on a ridge of montane cloud forest in the Cerros del Sira range in the eastern Andes. Steep ridges and deep river gorges in the Andes produce many isolated habitats and microclimates that give rise to uniquely evolved species.
Against the drumbeat of bad news on obesity among American children, researchers have uncovered a cause for optimism: a steady and significant improvement in their cholesterol levels over the last 20 years — down 28% since 1988.
Manufacturers cutting the trans fats from cookies, crackers and french fries may have contributed to the dramatic decline, but exercise rates may also have improved.
No one will be able to buy tickets to this year’s hottest concert featuring the Black Keys, Foo Fighters, and Neil Young with Crazy Horse in NYC’s Central Park. But you can earn points that will enter you in a lottery for the show’s 54,000 tickets by doing small actions that serve in the fight against global poverty.
By sharing the website with friends, signing a petition, or donating money, music fans can support a good cause and possibly win tickets to the September 29 show.
After a family dinner at a local Outback Steakhouse, Yoni Kalin noticed the waiters tossing into the trash small packs of crayons given out to young diners. He wondered how many thousands were being thrown out around the country at a time when news reports showed teachers digging into their own pockets to buy school supplies for students.
Inspired to take action, Yoni contacted several Outback Steakhouses to ask if they would collect the used crayons for him to recycle and donate to schools and shelters in need.
In the last several years, the boy, now 18, has coordinated 25 teenage volunteers to collect 100,000 crayons from 46 restaurants in ten states, while simultaneously reducing thousands of pounds of landfill waste.
After a family dinner at a local Outback Steakhouse, Yoni Kalin noticed the waiters tossing into the trash small packs of crayons given out to young diners. He wondered how many thousands were being thrown out around the country at a time when news reports showed teachers digging into their own pockets to buy school supplies for students.
Inspired to take action, Yoni contacted several Outback Steakhouses to ask if they would collect the used crayons for him to recycle and donate to schools and shelters in need.
In the last several years, the boy, now 18, has coordinated 25 teenage volunteers to collect 100,000 crayons from 46 restaurants in ten states, while simultaneously reducing thousands of pounds of landfill waste.
A 9-year-old Detroit boy has earned national attention for setting up a lemonade stand to raise money for his cash-strapped city. He heard on the radio that the city was having trouble paying for the mowing of grass in city parks and decided to help.
His lemonade and popcorn business, which opened July 30, raised more than triple what the young man originally hoped and today Joshua Smith presented a check to Detroit officials for $2,832.
His work also earned him a Spirit of Detroit award last week and a $2,000 Rosa Parks Scholarship for college.
An old painting, which shows a woman embracing a young child, was nearly thrown out on several occasions, but Fiona McLaren, 59, from Scotland decided to seek an appraisal recently after financial difficulties forced her to look for new resources.
The director of Sotheby’s in Scotland, Harry Robertson, gasped when he saw the artwork which had been given to her father by one of his patients.
(READ the story in the Daily Mail)
Four weeks to the day after Roger Federer downed him on the same patch of grass at the Wimbledon finals, Britain’s Murray dispatched the Swiss superstar in the Olympic men’s singles final, 6-2 6-1 6-4 to win Olympic gold.
The victory broke a losing streak for British tennis players at the hallowed Wimbledon grounds. Not since Fred Perry in 1936 has a British male won a major contest on the center court here.
While the ecstatic crowd, outfitted in Union Jack bowler hats yelled “An-DEE” (clap, clap, clap), Murray dismembered Federer in straight-sets that were brutal, beautiful, meticulous, and concluded by a pair of whipping aces.
