In a significant milestone for global health, the number of people getting sick with tuberculosis has dropped for the first time, while the death toll from the disease reached its lowest level in a decade, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Globally, the TB death rate dropped 40 percent in 2010 compared to 1990, and all regions except Africa were on track to reach a 50 percent mortality decline by 2015.
An economist turned builder, is constructing a house made entirely from American-made products — from the bathtub right down to the nails, screws and bolts.
In total, the cost of the house is nearly identical to one using foreign made materials. It might end up being 1 to 2 percent more expensive, but built with better materials, using nails that won’t rust, for instance.
The Montana man is convinced that if every builder bought just 5 percent more American materials it would create 220,000 jobs.
And, now, thanks to an ABC News broadcast, builders are responding, rallying to buy more products, such as Moen faucets, and the word is spreading.
An economist turned builder, is constructing a house made entirely from American-made products — from the bathtub right down to the nails, screws and bolts.
In total, the cost of the house is nearly identical to one using foreign made materials. It might end up being 1 to 2 percent more expensive, but built with better materials, using nails that won’t rust, for instance.
The Montana man is convinced that if every builder bought just 5 percent more American materials it would create 220,000 jobs.
And, now, thanks to an ABC News broadcast, builders are responding, rallying to buy more products, such as Moen faucets, and the word is spreading.
Proving that no place on Earth is safe from the ever-gazing eye of the Internet, researchers have installed a webcam pointed at the 29,000-foot peak of Mount Everest.
A high-definition Mobotix camera, powered by a single solar panel, smashed the previous record holder for “world’s highest webcam” by a full kilometer, residing at a dizzying 18,618 feet above sea level.
It turns out that people with Asperger’s Syndrome make great software debuggers.
Raised to popular awareness by movies like “Rain Man” starring an autistic savant played by Dustin Hoffman, people with Asperger’s syndrome are often smarter at complex mathematics and tedious computer troubleshooting skills than ordinary programmers.
A Chicago based non-profit company now trains highly-functioning autistic people to be software testers. These focused debuggers are used by large clients like Oracle and Microsoft and have proven to be so good in fact that companies are now recruiting them to meet demand.
An Indonesian woman has developed micro-hydro projects that have already delivered electricity – and all that comes with it – to half a million Indonesians.
The charismatic director of the People Centered Business and Economic Institute (IBEKA), loves to be out in the villages. But lately she spends much of her time in the U.S., drumming up donor support in an effort to get power to the other 90 million Indonesians who are still without it.
From the moment Tawakul Karmen took off her veil in front of television cameras five years ago, she has been a force of change in Yemen. And now the activist has been recognized around the world with a Nobel Peace Prize. Meet the woman who started the entire peaceful protest movement in the Arab world.
Protesters in Change Square, the main grounds of the Yemen revolution, rejoiced as news that their lady hero Tawakul Karman was chosen as one of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners. Cheers filled the air.
In the final stages of cancer, an Arkansas grandmother was unable to hear her grandson in his marching band, playing the trumpet that she had bought him.
Instead, after a discussion with the director, the band came to her — all 120 members with drums and horns and cymbals — playing a concert beneath her window and granting her last wish.
(WATCH the video from NBC Nightly News)
Nick’s Pizza is an Illinois eatery where families bring the kids and you can throw peanut shells on the floor.
When Nick’s announced it was facing foreclosure, people rallied.
They came in by the hundreds to buy pizza and show support for the beloved community pizzeria.
Fall can actually be one of the best times to look for work. By October, most companies have regained speed after the summer lull, and need to do their hiring before the holiday vacation season begins in late November.
Looking for a job? It’s time to kick your search into high gear. To give you a jump start, here’s a list of 15 companies that are hiring new employees this month.
An early stage trial of an HIV treatment found that the gene therapy reduced levels of the virus and even eliminated it in one patient with a naturally occurring gene mutation.
If shown to be safe and effective, the treatment could end the need for the antiretroviral drugs now used to keep the virus that causes AIDS in check by suppressing viral replication in the blood.
In a September 19 statement from the University of Pennsylvania, the lead researcher said the tiny study could be the first step to a “functional cure” for AIDS.
Frito-Lay, best known for its snack chips, achieved their “most ambitious sustainability project to-date” with the reopening of an Arizona plant the company calls the “greenest manufacturing facility in the U.S.”
Its goal was to transform the existing facility in Casa Grande to reach a “near net zero” energy and waste footprint so that it would be as far “off the grid” as possible and run primarily on renewable energy sources and recycled water, while producing nearly zero landfill waste.
Frito-Lay invested in a combination of technologies to enable the Casa Grande plant to significantly reduce the use of key natural resources and reduce the site’s overall environmental impact. The facility is now generating 2/3 of all energy used from renewable sources and is working toward further reductions in water and natural gas usage, as well. It also became the first existing food manufacturing site to achieve LEED Existing Building Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Water Reduction: The Casa Grande facility installed a water recovery and reuse system that uses Low-Pressure Reverse Osmosis technologies to recycle from 50% to 75% of water, resulting in water pure enough for drinking.
Electricity Reduction: Five separate solar photovoltaic systems installed throughout the property, produce nearly 10 million kilowatt-hours of electrical power. Two fields of 18,000 tracking solar panels were installed on 36 acres of the facility’s agriculture property. All available rooftops are covered, including the parking lot.
Natural Gas Reduction: The newly installed 60,000 pounds per hour biomass boiler, which burns wood and agricultural waste as its energy source, will produce all the steam needed for the manufacturing plant and will reduce natural gas usage by over 80%.
Zero Landfill: As of 2010, the Casa Grande facility sends less than 1% of its overall waste to landfill through extensive recycling and using food waste for cattle feed.
“As a company that relies on key natural resources like water and fuel, Frito-Lay has developed strategies to ensure our business remains sustainable, even if there are constraints on those resources,” explains Al Carey, past CEO and president, Frito-Lay North America. “Frito-Lay and its parent, PepsiCo, are committed to finding innovative solutions that are right for the business and right for the environment. The ‘near net zero’ project is an industry-leading example of how the two successfully intersect.”
Moving forward, Frito-Lay wants to transfer what works at the Casa Grande plant to its 32 other facilities “where appropriate”. Every Frito-Lay plant is identifying projects and approaches to get closer to “near net zero” and to significantly reduce its environmental footprint.
For more than a decade, the company has nearly reached or exceeded its aggressive conservation goals, based on 1999 levels, to reduce water use by 50%; natural gas by 30%; and electricity by 25%. In addition, the company created an environmental strategy for its fleet to reduce fuel use by 50% by 2020.
Frito-Lay Casa Grande has been part of the Pinal County community for more than 25 years employing more than 350 people to make Lay’s and Ruffles potato chips, Fritos corn chips, Tostitos, Doritos, and more.
Frito-Lay, best known for its snack chips, achieved their “most ambitious sustainability project to-date” with the reopening of an Arizona plant the company calls the “greenest manufacturing facility in the U.S.”
Its goal was to transform the existing facility in Casa Grande to reach a “near net zero” energy and waste footprint so that it would be as far “off the grid” as possible and run primarily on renewable energy sources and recycled water, while producing nearly zero landfill waste.
On the Lower East Side in New York City, Sylvia Rascon treats people overcoming trauma by helping them to find balance in their lives.
One of the participants, Dorila Morales, struggled with domestic abuse and drug addiction. For her, yoga is not just exercise. It is an integral part of her life. Dorila said she’s watched the people in the class change. They let go of their anger and fear, and smile again.
Sir Paul McCartney married U.S. businesswoman Nancy Shevell in London yesterday in a small civil ceremony at the same courthouse where he wed his first wife, Linda.
Ringo Starr was one of the guests at a reception following the ceremony at McCartney’s London home.
Stella McCartney designed Nancy’s short, simple dress.
Sir Paul McCartney married U.S. businesswoman Nancy Shevell in London yesterday in a small civil ceremony at the same courthouse where he wed his first wife, Linda.
Ringo Starr was one of the guests at a reception following the ceremony at McCartney’s London home.
Stella McCartney designed Nancy’s short, simple dress.
The growing but leaderless Boston spinoff of Occupy Wall Street dropped excess food and clothing at a homeless shelter Friday.
The sheer volume of donated goods delivered to the site where protesters are now living has caused members to share the donations with the homeless.
The US economy added some 103,000 new jobs last month, a gain that eased concerns that the nation may be slipping into another recession.
What’s more, the reports last month of zero net job growth, were wrong.
New revisions showed 99,000 more jobs added in July and August than initially reported.
90,000 of them were created in the service-providing sectors, like education, healthcare, business and leisure services.
Last Friday, Brianna Amat, the first girl to make the varsity football team at her high school in Michigan, was called onto the field during halftime — while she was still in her uniform — and crowned Homecoming Queen. Less than an hour later, she made a 31-yard field goal, helping her team win the game 9-7.
“They’ve been so accepting of me, it’s as if I’ve always been their teammate,” she explained.
(WATCH the Fox video below, and READ the story in the NY Times)
Last Friday, Brianna Amat, the first girl to make the varsity football team at her high school in Michigan, was called onto the field during halftime — while she was still in her uniform — and crowned Homecoming Queen. Less than an hour later, she made a 31-yard field goal, helping her team win the game 9-7.
