Seeking to reclaim her world record for oldest paraglider from a newcomer to the sport — a 101-year-old Utah woman who sailed to the Guinness World Book last month — 104-year-old Peggy McAlpine successfully jumped off a 2,400ft cliff two weeks ago.
The British centenarian refused to allow her legacy to be unceremoniously usurped, and so arranged for a repeat of her previous tandem paragliding adventure.
The skyscraper constructed to replace the twin towers destroyed in the September 11 attacks has become New York’s tallest building now that a final steel column has been lifted into place.
One World Trade Center is again the tallest building in New York, and third tallest in the world, extending more than 1,250 feet into the air (with the goal of standing 1776 feet tall when finished, commemorating the year the Declaration of Independence was signed).
The hunger and pain weren’t the worst of Victoria Grover’s ordeal as she shivered alone for four days with a broken leg and no food in Utah’s rugged wilderness.
The toughest challenge the 59-year-old faced was the severe cold which left her suffering with hypothermia as nighttime temperatures dropped to the low 30s in the high desert.
(WATCH the video below)
Russia’s richest woman, Elena Baturina, is investing $100 million in a new “creative think-tank” devoted to improving the world.
Dubbed Be Open, its noble aim is to stimulate innovation and creativity among young designers and improve sustainability while building bridges between Russia and the rest of the world.
She says she hopes her project, which launched April 16, will enable “the next generation to live in a beautiful, kind world by identifying solutions to major social issues and then developing them from concept stage to realization.”
The initiative that aims to harness the great minds in the arts, education, design, business and the media – and asks them to imagine and then build solutions for the future. The project will integrate international conferences, competitions, exhibitions, master classes, cultural and art events from its website, BeOpenFuture.com.
Their upcoming conferences, offering free admission, will take place in New York (May 2012) and London (September 2012), coinciding with those city’s established design weeks.
The conferences will be streamed live on the website. To attend the conferences, please register online at www.beopenfuture.com.
In April, three winners were announced in the first BE OPEN Awards, to promote young creative talent:
In first place is ALEXANDRA GINEVA from Russia, who receives a grant of 10,000 euros for the implementation of her project, which combines a futuristic winery, vineyard and spa.
Second place goes to ALBERTO VASQUEZ from Hungary, for an innovative public lighting project powered by a vertical wind turbine, to serve off grid locations.
In third place is MICHAL WROBLEWSKI from Poland, for an ingenious graphic design scheme for Polish television giant NTL.
Russia’s richest woman, Elena Baturina, is investing $100 million in a new “creative think-tank” devoted to improving the world.
Dubbed Be Open, its noble aim is to stimulate innovation and creativity among young designers and improve sustainability while building bridges between Russia and the rest of the world.
She says she hopes her project, which launched April 16, will enable “the next generation to live in a beautiful, kind world by identifying solutions to major social issues and then developing them from concept stage to realization.”
The aspirations of modern India rarely make it to the country’s poverty-stricken eastern forests, but now technology is opening the flow of food distribution, once stymied by corruption.
In just the initial stages of the pilot program in Rayagada which uses Smart cards and fingerprint scanners, officials have already saved millions of dollars and appear to be getting food to starving villagers.
As government engineers work to keep the nation’s fourth-busiest seaport from losing its competitive edge, they are also planning what amounts to a massive science project to ensure fish in the harbor can still breathe.
When the Savannah harbor is deepened to allow for supersized cargo ships, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to install a dozen machines that function like bubblers in a home aquarium to compensate for an expected drop in dissolved oxygen.
On Saturday night, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the annual social event that has been held since 1920. In keeping with tradition, the President poked fun at himself and the news coverage he’s received from the reporters in attendance.
As one of Washington, DC’s most anticipated nights of the year, the dinner honors the work of White House journalists and raises money for grant scholarships to journalism students.
WATCH President Obama’s full speech below:
On Saturday night, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the annual social event that has been held since 1920. In keeping with tradition, the President poked fun at himself and the news coverage he’s received from the reporters in attendance.
As one of Washington, DC’s most anticipated nights of the year, the dinner honors the work of White House journalists and raises money for grant scholarships to journalism students.
WATCH President Obama’s full speech below:
European researchers say they have discovered a new subatomic particle that helps confirm our knowledge about how quarks bind — one of the basic forces in the shaping of matter.
The CERN physics research center said Friday that the particle was predicted long ago, but finding it was “really kind of a classic tour de force of experimental work.”
Known as an excited neutral Xi-b baryon, the particle could not be detected directly because it was too unstable.
With all the disheartening news bombarding the Greek people over the past year, a new website has been launched to offer some relief.
Good News Greece purports to be the first news agency to highlight the positive side of what is happening in Greece.
“Our goal is to showcase every person, team, idea, technology or innovation that deserves to be an example for the Greece of the future,” says lead editor Dimitris Polymenopoulos.
With all the disheartening news bombarding the Greek people over the past year, a new website has been launched to offer some relief.
Good News Greece purports to be the first news agency to highlight the positive side of what is happening in Greece.
“Our goal is to showcase every person, team, idea, technology or innovation that deserves to be an example for the Greece of the future,” says lead editor Dimitris Polymenopoulos.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day to take place at thousands of sites around the U.S. today. This is a great opportunity for those who have accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications. Check out collection sites near you on their website using your zip code.
During the third Drug Take-Back Day in 2011, Americans turned in more than 188.5 tons of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal. The 5,327 drop off locations were available in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
A report by the American Lung Association finds that air pollution has fallen to its lowest levels since the group began collecting data in 2000.
The nonprofit organization credits the Clean Air Act for the trend toward tougher environmental standards for airborne smog and soot and the cleanup of major air pollution sources, such as coal-fired power plants and the fleet of older, dirtier SUVs, pick-up trucks, vans, and diesel engines.
In a country blessed with an abundance of extraordinary educators, what does it take to stand out as the Teacher of the Year? According to President Obama, who honored Rebecca Mieliwocki, a 7th grade English teacher from Los Angeles County, it is passion that makes great teachers go “above and beyond.”
Rebecca first aspired to be a lawyer, then worked in publishing, floral designing and event planning. As the daughter of two public school teachers, she eventually found her true passion back in the classroom.
“When kids finish a year in Rebecca’s class, they’re better readers and writers than when they started,” said the President.
“But even more than that, they know how important they are. And they understand how bright their futures can be. And they know that if they work at it, there’s no limit to what they can achieve.”
The President and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan welcomed Mieliwocki and all the recipients of the nation’s highest honor for educators, the 2012 National and State Teachers of the Year, to the White House for a ceremony in the East Room Tuesday.
Mieliwocki is known for unconventional and fun techniques developed during her 13-year teaching career, reported the L.A. Daily Breeze.
(WATCH the video below from MSNBC – Read more via NPR)
Mike Stevens is one of the funniest guys I know. In spite of getting wrung through the soul-flattenin’, hand-crankin’ washing machine of cancer treatment — a dozen rounds of chemo, a lobectomy, gamma knife surgery, and two clinical trials — he’s always quick to laugh, crack a joke, or break into an enormous smile.
He regularly speaks, live, before large groups of people. As a cancer superstar, a stage-4 lung cancer patient who’s outlived his prognosis by five years or so, he makes himself available to news media and at fundraisers, most recently the San Diego Breath of Hope, where he raised more money for the Lung Cancer Alliance than anyone else.
“Who thinks that cancer is the best thing that ever happened to you?” Mike often begins his speeches.
Mike Stevens is one of the funniest guys I know. In spite of getting wrung through the soul-flattenin’, hand-crankin’ washing machine of cancer treatment — a dozen rounds of chemo, a lobectomy, gamma knife surgery, and two clinical trials — he’s always quick to laugh, crack a joke, or break into an enormous smile.
He regularly speaks, live, before large groups of people. As a cancer superstar, a stage-4 lung cancer patient who’s outlived his prognosis by five years or so, he makes himself available to news media and at fundraisers, most recently the San Diego Breath of Hope, where he raised more money for the Lung Cancer Alliance than anyone else.
“Who thinks that cancer is the best thing that ever happened to you?” Mike often begins his speeches.
This week the Ford Motor Company announced impressive results in efforts to cut waste produced in its factories worldwide. Since 2007, the car company has slashed in half its waste that would otherwise ship to landfills in North America and reduced by 44 percent its global waste output — a total of 100 million pounds.
Expanding on the success, Ford plans to further reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfills by 10% per vehicle by the end of the year. If successful, that means the company would generate about 20 pounds of waste per vehicle on a global basis – roughly the weight of one tire.
This week the Ford Motor Company announced impressive results in efforts to cut waste produced in its factories worldwide. Since 2007, the car company has slashed in half its waste that would otherwise ship to landfills in North America and reduced by 44 percent its global waste output — a total of 100 million pounds.
Expanding on the success, Ford plans to further reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfills by 10% per vehicle by the end of the year. If successful, that means the company would generate about 20 pounds of waste per vehicle on a global basis – roughly the weight of one tire.
A California photographer found a baby fawn curled up on a cozy welcome mat at the front door of his mother’s house.
He posted this video on YouTube after calling animal control officers, who told him the fawn was probably regaining its strength after leaving the womb, and to leave the creature alone until its mother came to take it away.
