Manufacturing grew in December at the fastest pace in six months, the latest sign that the US economy gained momentum at the end of last year. Manufacturing has expanded for more than two years. Factories were one of the first areas of the economy to start growing after the recession officially ended in June 2009.
Stocks rose sharply this week as investors returning from the holiday were encouraged by this and other positive economic reports from the United States and around the world.
Scientists say in a new study that the return of gray wolves has dramatically altered the landscape in portions of Yellowstone National Park by curbing foraging elk herds that prevented new aspen, willow, and cottonwood trees from taking root.
Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and 1996 after being killed off early last century.
Wasabi lovers may want to add more than a small pinch to their soy sauce the next time they go to their local sushi bar. The green paste, made from a fiery root called Wasabia Japonica, it is not only the perfect accompaniment to raw fish – it has also been found to possess numerous health benefits.
In ancient times the now popular condiment was used more as a medical herb than a complement to food.
Jason Witten, the Cowboy tight end superstar, is seeking to break the cycle of family violence by encouraging male mentors to volunteer in domestic violence shelters, be positive role models for women and children, and coach boys on how to treat girls.
Witten’s mother thankfully fled from a violent household, taking Jason and his two brothers with her.
As an adult, Witten established the SCORE foundation four years ago to fund education programs and building projects. His 2011 domestic violence prevention program called “Coaching Boys Into Men” launched in high schools across Arlington, Texas this year to train coaches to educate their players on the dangers of dating violence.
Over the holidays, he brought his team’s quarterback to help deliver Christmas cheer and gifts to all the transitional families in the local shelter.
Telling everyone about your New Year’s diet — or exercise plan or whatever your big 2012 goal may be — may hurt your chances of actually doing whatever it is you intend to achieve, say a slew of psychology studies, some dating as far back as the 1920s.
The pats on the back that you receive when announcing your resolutions to others, psychologists call “social reality”. Those social rewards essentially trick the brain into thinking what you intended to do has pretty much already been done.
READ the report from Today, click here, BUT ALSO WATCH some of these motivational New Year videos below, with tips to help kick-start your new habits…
A paralyzed man who suffered brain damage in a car crash almost 20 years ago spoke for the first time – and said ‘I Love You’ to his devoted mother.
Doctors said Simon Ellis, now 37, would never be able to talk again after suffering two skull fractures in a smash in 1992 when he was just 18-years-old.
But he stunned his mother Diane Franklin, 61, by also wishing her a Merry Christmas from his care home bed.
(READ the story in Daily Mail)
“In the future we might not prescribe drugs all the time, we might prescribe apps,” said executive director of FutureMed Dr. Daniel Kraft.
In the near future, Artificial Intelligence, big data, 3D printing, social health networks and other new technologies will help you get better medical care.
For example, an X-ray gun in remote Africa could send shots to the cloud where an artificial intelligence augmented physician could analyze them. Pap smears and some mammograms are already read with some AI or elements of pattern recognition.
Good Samaritans are undoubtedly the reason three children who were trapped in a car submerged in the Logan River are alive to experience the New Year.
On a snowy, slick Utah road, a car slid down a 10-foot embankment and overturned in the river. The driver was able to free himself, but his 9-year-old daughter, 4-year-old son and a 9-year-old friend were trapped.
“We came around a turn and then…we looked under the bridge and we saw a car upside down in the water,” said Chris Willden, who was driving down the canyon with his family. Willden said he and his father were the first of about eight men who jumped into the icy water to try to free the children.
One even used a handgun to shoot open a window.
(READ the story in DeseretNews – or the AP story in Houston Chronicle)
Neglected orphanages in Afghanistan are being revamped by a dedicated public official, just 29 years-old.
In a country desperately in need of a hero, Sayyid Abdullah Hashemi applied for the job seven months ago and has wasted little time shaking things up at the government agency in charge of orphanages.
Even government-run orphanages were known for having caregivers that steal food from children’s plates. Now, they are clean, efficient places of education and learning.
Let’s take a moment to thank the people who do nice things, who take the high road, and who strive to do good every day. They’re all around us, and they need to be recognized even if they don’t dominate the headlines. Here are some of the little known acts of heroism and honesty that happened in the great state of Canada…
For instance, in April 2011 a Toronto man discovered a pattern in the scratch-and-win lottery tickets. Instead of using his knowledge to win lots of money, he reported the pattern to the Commission so that they could make changes to make it fairer.
For years, the story told about the Amazon has been one of destruction. But in Brazil the environmental battle is actually being won.
In 2004 the nation declared it would cut deforestation by 80% by 2020.
Seven years later, it has almost reached its goal. The latest figures, released just weeks ago, show that 2011 had the lowest rates of deforestation since records began three decades ago.
Learn how they did it…
(READ the feature story in the BBC)
The book, Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom, is a beautiful collection of heartwarming animal tales that features cross-species bonding. A cat and a bird. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster.
Watch five of the best videos involving animals and humans protecting each other, befriending and even shopping in unexpected ways.
An orangutan leaped at the chance to throw its long arms around a vagabond dog that had wandered from the woods. Within hours, the two were inseparable.
(National Geographic, April, 2011)
Steve Hartman updates us on the elephant-dog friendship that blossomed in an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. A story of compassion between the most unlikely of friends.
For nearly a decade, Tara the elephant had been best friends with a dog named Bella — a mutt who wandered onto the sanctuary grounds and into the heart of the gentle giant.
Although the last chapter of this story is sad, the same compassion that warmed your heart the first time will surely make you smile again. (November, 2011)
In a Buffalo, NY cemetery, a mother goose has lost her lifelong mate and was left alone to tend her nest. She spends the day sheltering her eggs from the cold spring air.
The loss of her male partner now makes her vulnerable to any would-be predators who choose to approach the nest. But, in an unlikely twist of fate, an adult deer has taken over the role of protector.
There’s no known way that a deer and goose can communicate, yet somehow the deer has come to understand the need of the nesting mother. (April 2011) READ the story at WGRZ-TV
Last summer, Michael Fishbach and his colleagues were on a small boat when they encountered a humpback whale entangled in a fishing net and on the verge of death.
Fishbach and Gershon Cohen founded The Great Whale Conservancy to help and protect whales, but never before had they been able to directly save one themselves.
With just a small knife and little time, the three men took over an hour to untangle the complex web of nylon netting. When finally the whale was freed, its display of joy is obvious, captured on video taken by another passenger. (July 2011)
Lala, the 10 year old King Penguin is so smart – he walks to the fish store every day with his little backpack to the shop. (February, 2011)
SHARE the Inspiring Stories With Friends…
A Swedish woman who lost her wedding ring 16 years ago was flabbergasted when she found it again, around a carrot growing in her garden, media reported Saturday.
Lena Paahlsson had taken off the white gold ring before a Christmas baking session with her daughters in 1995, but it had disappeared from the kitchen counter where she placed it.
Rapper, Kid Cudi is mourning the death of a fan of his, Ben Breedlove, an 18-year-old who died of a heart attack. Breedlove recorded a video before he died, talking about his near death experiences, one of which included Mr. Cudi.
In a blog, Cudi wrote:
“I am so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down… This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe…Thank you for loving me. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definately mine. You have my love.”
The book, Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom, is a beautiful collection of heartwarming animal tales released in 2011 that features cross-species bonding. A cat and a bird. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster.
Watch five of the best videos from 2011 involving animals protecting each other, befriending and even shopping in unexpected ways.
Is one of your New Year’s resolutions about spending money more wisely?
Financial analyst Vera Gibbons offers a number of tips that might help you to survive a holiday debt hangover, some of which will give you cash in your pocket right now — redeeming reward points on your credit card, changing your withholding allowance in your paycheck, selling unused gift cards, and refinancing your mortgage.
A Boston area mom who relented to get a puppy after her children begged to bring him home a year ago, is thankful she did after the 15-month-old dog saved her family from a house fire.
The pup, a dark-haired goldendoodle, began barking to shake the heavens and woke her at 4:00 a.m. just in time for the family to escape the raging blaze.
Another decision, to allow the kids to sleep next to the Christmas tree, may also have saved lives. The flames were engulfing the walls just below the girls’ bedroom.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 30 blue-chip U.S. stocks, finished 2011 with a gain of 5.5 percent, the third consecutive year that the bellwether index has finished in positive territory.
Taken together — from the beginning of 2009’s trading through yesterday’s final 2011 session — The Dow is up 39.21%.
Millions now know his name. After cheating death three times, Ben Breedlove, 18, finally lost his life on Christmas day, but not before leaving a touching last message recorded for YouTube telling of his near-death experiences and how at peace he finally felt with his fatal heart condition.
The Austin teenager lived an active life and in his video message, recorded just a week before his final heart attack, he said he had lived a life he was proud of. His parents feel blessed by the secret video left behind and say it has helped them be strong knowing how fulfilled he was.
WATCH the video report from MSNBC (top)
See the final video from Ben.)
Millions now know his name. After cheating death three times, Ben Breedlove, 18, finally lost his life on Christmas day, but not before leaving a touching last message recorded for YouTube telling of his near-death experiences and how at peace he finally felt with his fatal heart condition.
The Austin teenager lived an active life and in his video message, recorded just a week before his final heart attack, he said he had lived a life he was proud of. His parents feel blessed by the secret video left behind and say it has helped them be strong knowing how fulfilled he was.
