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Missouri Woman Gets $6.1 Million From State’s Unclaimed Property Office

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Dec 20, 2011

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A Kansas City woman got an early Christmas present when she received a state record $6.1 million from the Missouri unclaimed property fund, which works to return stocks, bonds, bank balances and safe deposit box contents to unknown owners.

The Missouri state treasurer says the average payout is about $300 but there are still thirty-eight accounts of more than $100,000 each remaining unclaimed in the state, Reuters reported.

The lucky recipient had purchased the obscure financial equity some time ago, and its value had substantially increased in value.

(READ the story in reuters)

Photo by alvimann via morguefile

Secret Santa Inspires Addict’s Clean Up

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Dec 20, 2011

Secret Santa with heroin addict - CBS News video snippet

Remember the businessman dressed in red who traveled to Reading, Pa. to give out hundred dollar bills to strangers? One of the people that Secret Santa gave money to is 30-year-old Thomas Coates.

Coates is a deadbeat by most accounts, including his own. Addicted to heroin, he recently hocked his own son’s toys for drug money – that’s how bad it is.

But when the Secret Santa called him a good man, pushing hundreds of dollars into his hand even when he said he didn’t deserve it, a prayer was answered…

(WATCH the video from Steve Hartman and read it at CBS News)

Secret Santa Inspires Addict’s Clean Up

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Dec 20, 2011

Secret Santa with heroin addict - CBS News video snippet

Remember the businessman dressed in red who traveled to Reading, Pa. to give out hundred dollar bills to strangers? One of the people that Secret Santa gave money to is 30-year-old Thomas Coates.

Coates is a deadbeat by most accounts, including his own. Addicted to heroin, he recently hocked his own son’s toys for drug money – that’s how bad it is.

But when the Secret Santa called him a good man, pushing hundreds of dollars into his hand even when he said he didn’t deserve it, a prayer was answered…

Police Issue Gift Cards Instead of Tickets

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Dec 20, 2011

Driver gets gift card from police-KTSM video clip

A North Texas police department is handing out gift cards instead of tickets, rewarding good traffic habits.

“I have never been pulled over before, so I was like, ‘Oh no,'” Prosper resident Caitlin Woody said.

She was handed a gift card as a reward for proper driving in a school zone.

“I was like, ‘That is really awesome’. It makes my day,” Woody said.

(WATCH the video and read the story from KTSM)

MIT to Offer Free, Graded Web Courses

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Dec 20, 2011

MIT-building-wikimedia-commons

Earning an A from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will never be easy, but next spring, students in at least one class will be able to do it for free, without traveling to Boston.

The university announced a plan to launch “MITx,” a set of specially designed Web-only classes that will be graded and offer certificates to those who pass.

Grandson Buys Back the Family Farm

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Dec 19, 2011

farm in mist questmtinn

If only his grandparents could see him now.

Chandler Nunnikhoven has bought back their beloved Iowa farmstead after it slipped out of the family hands in the 1990’s when the elderly couple reached their 80’s and could no longer handle the upkeep.

After a century under the same lineage of farmers, the three barns fell into even more disrepair under the new owners.

Now, 147 years after the farm’s original horse barn was hand-hewn by the Loynachans using nearby American elms, the 24-year-old seized a second chance on behalf of his family.

Holiday Heroes: Foster Kids Feel Her Love Each Year

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Dec 19, 2011

Red bow -Image by ppdigital Morguefile

Knowing that even if a foster child is placed with a family, it doesn’t guarantee a Christmas gift under the tree, Frances Smith for 15 years has used her annual vacation to amass new dolls, clothes, bikes, and games for every child in the foster care system of Coweta County, Georgia.

For 500 to 600 foster children and vulnerable elderly adults, Smith, 64, has been a volunteer elf, in charge of the impressive Christmas Joy program.

To donate to the Joy Project, contact Frances Smith at 770-683-9217 or donate to the address below. She doesn’t accept cash or checks, but you can send toys or gift cards to:
Frances Smith – PO box 465 Newnan, GA 30264 (Newnan, not Newman)

(READ the story w/ photos in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution)

Image by ppdigital via Morguefile

Hawaii Parade Honors Japanese-American WWII Vets

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Dec 19, 2011

Japanese-American Vets with Obama - White House

Hundreds of Japanese-American veterans of World War II were honored Saturday with a parade in Honolulu—nearly 70 years after they volunteered to fight for their country even as the government branded them ‘enemy aliens.’

About 200 veterans rode in convertibles past a cheering crowd, celebrating the Congressional Gold Medals awarded to the veterans by President Obama last month.

(READ the AP story w/ photo via the Army Times)

Tribute: Cold War Hero of ‘Velvet Revolution’ Vaclav Havel (1936-2011)

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Dec 19, 2011

Vaclav Havel by Martin Kozk

Playwright, poet and politician Vaclav Havel led the charge to peacefully bring down communism in Czechoslovakia proving the power of the people to overcome totalitarian rule.

The dissident playwright was an unlikely hero of his nation’s 1989 “Velvet Revolution” after four decades of suffocating repression.

He was his country’s first democratically elected president, leading it through the early challenges of democracy.

He wrote over 20 plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally and received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom among other awards worldwide. A lover of jazz, he once asked Frank Zappa to be his Minister of Culture, which the US did not allow).

Family Ready to Bury Dog Gets Happy Surprise

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Dec 18, 2011

dog

Reta McKinlay said her heart broke Dec. 3 when her grandchildren’s 7-month-old pup escaped through a fence and was hit by a car.

“Scamp was bleeding; his eyes were fixed,” said McKinlay, 49, of Yelm. “We didn’t feel breath on his chest or on his nose.”

Her husband wrapped him in a blanket and left him outside to bury him the next morning. When he returned, the dog was sitting up.

Eight Reasons for Financial Optimism in 2012

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Dec 18, 2011

sold sign

Throughout all the turmoil for the US economy in 2011, U.S. stocks have been surprisingly resilient.

“We believe this is a testament to a combination of U.S. economic resilience, U.S. corporate financial strength and pricing power, and severe relative undervaluation of equities,” said Thomas Lee, chief U.S. equity strategist with JPMorgan.

Lee has compiled eight reasons why he will remain optimistic in 2012, and why you should be too…

Justin Bieber Visits Impoverished Las Vegas School, Donates $100,000

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Dec 18, 2011

Justin Bieber photo by Daniel Ogren Photography-CC license

On Friday, teenage pop sensation Justin Bieber played a special Christmas concert and donated $100,000 for the east Las Vegas elementary school nationally-renowned for providing its needy students and families with food, clothing, health services and the occasional rent check.

The Canadian star signed a $100,000 personal check after performing hit singles from his new Christmas album for 650 screaming students at Whitney Elementary School. To top off the private concert, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” also donated an additional $100,000 in toys — one for every child – for the holidays.

Last U.S. Soldiers Leave Iraq, Cheering Across the Border into Kuwait

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Dec 18, 2011

soldiers leave Iraq - DOD photo

The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief.

Their convoy’s exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered and struggling to recover.

President Obama and the First Lady traveled to Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Wednesday to welcome home the first of the returning troops and thank them — and their families — for their service.

Last U.S. Soldiers Leave Iraq, Cheering Across the Border into Kuwait

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Good News Network

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Dec 18, 2011

soldiers leave Iraq - DOD photo

The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief.

Their convoy’s exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered and struggling to recover.

President Obama and the First Lady traveled to Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Wednesday to welcome home the first of the returning troops and thank them — and their families — for their service.

Chelsea Clinton Files First Good News Report: Miracle Worker for Kids in Rural Arkansas

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Dec 17, 2011

Woman helps kids in Arkansas NBCvideo

Now working for NBC, Chelsea Clinton files her first “good news” report from her home state of Arkansas about a woman in rural Pine Bluff who is making a difference for her community in such a profound way that she’s known as a real life miracle worker.

She offers meals, a safe place, tutoring and lessons of responsibility for hundreds of children whose parents are unable to fully care for them.

(WATCH the Making A Difference video below from MSNBC)

Help Save a Rainforest the Size of Wales

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Dec 17, 2011

Size of Wales Dan Mitchell

An area the size of Wales’ is frequently used to measure the rate of forest destruction.

Welsh-born comedian Dan Mitchell is bringing people together to help protect an area of rainforest at least this size and is assembling Welsh tribes from all over the country to do it.

“We aim to turn that negative use of the country’s size on its head, by encouraging the people of Wales to take positive action and help protect an area of rainforest equivalent to the size of our nation.”

Cash-Filled Purse Returned by Out-of-Work Atlanta Man

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Dec 17, 2011

Samaritan returns purse - MSNBC video

Hundreds of dollars in cash and credit cards stuffed in a woman’s purse that was left in a subway station did not tempt an Atlanta man, even though it’s been three years since his last job.

The Good Samaritan, named Rod Garrett, tracked down the woman who left the purse, hoping for future blessings to come as a result.

(WATCH the video below from WXIA-TV)

Old Growth Redwood Forest Protected in the San Francisco Bay Area

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Dec 17, 2011

redwood

More than 8,500 acres of redwood forest and wildlife habitat in the Santa Cruz mountains will be protected after a coalition of San Francisco Bay Area conservation groups bought the land — the largest private landholding in in Santa Cruz County — for $30 million from building materials giant CEMEX.

The broad expanse of redwood and oak forests, which is 8 miles long, is home to mountain lions, peregrine falcons and endangered coho salmon.

UC Berkeley’s Gift to Middle-Class Families: a Cap on College Costs

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Dec 17, 2011

UC Berkeley campus by brainchildvn flickr

The University of California at Berkeley is sending an early holiday gift to middle-class families struggling to send their offspring to America’s top-ranked public institution of higher education.

Unveiled during a news conference, UC Berkeley’s plan will cap tuition at 15 percent of household income for families earning between $80,000 and $140,000.

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