Canada’s murder rate in 2010 fell to a 44-year low of just 1.62 per 100,000 people, official data showed on Wednesday. The decline followed a decade of relative stability in Canada, which has a population of around 34.5 million. A spokesman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said he was pleased to see the lower number of murders.
Canada’s Murder Rate Drops to 44-year Low
US Economic Growth Best in a Year, GDP Up 2.5%
A new GDP report shows the economy grew in the third quarter at its fastest pace in a year, as consumers and businesses stepped up spending, creating momentum that could carry into the final three months of the year.
Growth of 2.5 percent offers evidence that the recovery is back on track, and builds on optimism delivered by the European Union overnight when it agreed on a recovery plan for economies there.
Most Powerful US Nuclear Bomb Dismantled – Forever
The last of the nation’s most powerful nuclear bombs has been taken apart in Texas.
Technicians removed the uranium Tuesday from the last of the nation’s largest nuclear bombs, a Cold War relic known as the B53.
The bomb put into service in 1962 was 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
Big Pharma Giving Away Drug Patents To Help Cure Disease
By offering up their drugs for free to developing countries, drug companies hope to make inroads into new markets, and prevent a few diseases along the way.
Intellectual property is crucial for pharmaceutical companies to survive; without it, their pricey blockbuster drugs can be replaced with cheap generics. And yet, big companies like AstraZeneca, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Merck are willingly putting some of their intellectual property information in a public database — an initiative that aims to treat neglected tropical diseases.
FRI UPDATE: Site Problems – We are Working Restore Articles from Last Few Days
This notice is to let you know there have been some problems on the site which are still not fully resolved.
This effects newsletter stories from Tuesday’s Top 10 Good News of the Week. We also lost all the stories posted since Tuesday.
These will likely all be restored within a few hours, so please check back. Links in the emailed newsletter should also work, once these mistakes are fixed.
Happy Ending: Switched at Birth Girls Want to Stay With Wrong Moms
A pair of 12-year-old girls who discovered they were accidentally switched at birth want to stay with the mothers who have been raising them rather than go to their real parents.
The girls have grown up just a few miles away from each other in a small town.
Their mothers gave birth in the same maternity ward just 15 minutes apart.
iPod Creators Unveil the Smartest (and Prettiest) Thermostat Yet
An intelligent thermostat seems like an odd project for the minds behind Apple’s iconic iPod, but in a strange way, the iPod folks may just be the perfect team to revolutionize home heating.
The project is the Nest Learning Thermostat, a Wi-Fi connected thermostat that learns your heating preferences and optimizes your home’s temperature to save energy.
The brains behind Nest Labs are co-founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, both engineers working on the iPod — and it shows in the thermostat’s stylish design and easy operation.
Dreamliner’s Maiden Voyage for Boeing; Saves Money, Adds Comfort
The Boeing Co Dreamliner, the world’s first carbon-composite airliner, flew to Hong Kong from Tokyo carrying its first paying passengers on Wednesday in a flight that could set a new benchmark in air travel.
The Dreamliner that flew Wednesday with 240 passengers is described as a ‘game changer’ — designed to make the hours aloft more pleasant for passengers and cheaper to fly for owners battling for profit amid the rise of low cost carriers.
New App Aims to Reduce Stress With Slow Breathing
Want to reduce stress and improve mental focus? A new app that promotes slow breathing may help.
“People don’t realize the profound impact that slow breathing can have until they actually sit down and do it for 10 minutes and then they feel completely different,” said Savannah DeVarney, vice president of product marketing for MyBrainSolutions, the creators of the app.
Footwear Company Protects Million Square Feet of Rainforest With Square-foot Sandals
An eco-conscious footwear company announced a milestone in efforts to save the rainforest after just one week of online sales. For every purchase of “square foot” sandals, Chipkos is protecting one hundred square feet of land, and already the company has adopted more than one million square feet of Costa Rican tropical forest in Guanacaste.
The goal of the Chipkos “Stand for Square Feet” program is one hundred million sq. feet of rainforest protected, using their non-profit preservation partner, SaveNature.Org.
Footwear Company Protects Million Square Feet of Rainforest With Square-foot Sandals
An eco-conscious footwear company announced a milestone in efforts to save the rainforest after just one week of online sales. For every purchase of “square foot” sandals, Chipkos is protecting one hundred square feet of land, and already the company has adopted more than one million square feet of Costa Rican tropical forest in Guanacaste.
The goal of the Chipkos “Stand for Square Feet” program is one hundred million sq. feet of rainforest protected, using their non-profit preservation partner, SaveNature.Org.
UPDATED: Waitress Gets $1,000 Tip on $30 Bill (w/ Video)
A big tipper is spreading wealth and joy in the city of Madison. A customer at Vasillio’s Greek restaurant left a $1,000.00 tip Thursday on just a $31.94 bill. [UPDATE: This took place in Madison, Mississippi; not Madison, Wisconsin as previously reported.]
Sarah Simmons, the lucky waitress who earned the big tip, was surprised and elated over the generous gesture and the note scrawled at the bottom of the credit card receipt: “God bless you.”
The customer previously had visited the eatery but wishes to remain anonymous.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from WLBT-TV)
UPDATED: Waitress Gets $1,000 Tip on $30 Bill (w/ Video)
A big tipper is spreading wealth and joy in the city of Madison. A customer at Vasillio’s Greek restaurant left a $1,000.00 tip Thursday on just a $31.94 bill. [UPDATE: This took place in Madison, Mississippi; not Madison, Wisconsin as previously reported.]
Sarah Simmons, the lucky waitress who earned the big tip, was surprised and elated over the generous gesture and the note scrawled at the bottom of the credit card receipt: “God bless you.”
The customer previously had visited the eatery but wishes to remain anonymous.
2-week-old Infant With Mom Rescued in Turkey Quake Rubble
A 2-week-old baby girl, her mother and grandmother were pulled alive from the rubble of an apartment building on Tuesday in a dramatic rescue, nearly 48 hours after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake toppled some 2,000 buildings in eastern Turkey.
Rescuers in orange jumpsuits clapped and cheered as the baby, Azra Karaduman, was removed from the wreckage. A rescuer cradled the naked infant, who was wrapped in a blanket and handed over to a medic.
The baby’s mother, Semiha, had been clutching the infant to her chest when rescuers reached them.
(READ the story in CNN)
Puppy Rescued From Top Of Train
A black Lab puppy is lucky to be alive after being rescued from the top of a train car, thanks to alert motorists who called authorities after spotting the dog while at a railroad crossing.
How the animal got there is a mystery, as is, how many states he traveled through while perched atop the 50 mph moving train.
The Good Samaritan called 911, then followed the train.
After officials rescued the pup using ladders, the family volunteered to care for him.
Artists Raise $104,000 With Sketchbook That Traveled Round the World
A blank sketchbook was sent to 71 exceptional artists around the world who each illustrated a page. After four and a half years of travel, the sketchbook was completed in January and auctioned last week to raise money for children’s libraries in third-world countries.
Illustrators Gerald Guerlais of France and Dice Tsutsumi of Japan started the project in Paris envisioning their artist pals hand-delivering the book from San Francisco to Tokyo to Barcelona, each added their personal vision to its pages.
The goal of Sketchtravel was to raise $45,000 to build a library in Laos and sponsor the publishing of a children’s book.
Artists Raise $104,000 With Sketchbook That Traveled Round the World
A blank sketchbook was sent to 71 exceptional artists around the world who each illustrated a page. After four and a half years of travel, the sketchbook was completed in January and auctioned last week to raise money for children’s libraries in third-world countries.
Illustrators Gerald Guerlais of France and Dice Tsutsumi of Japan started the project in Paris envisioning their artist pals hand-delivering the book from San Francisco to Tokyo to Barcelona, each added their personal vision to its pages.
The goal of Sketchtravel was to raise $45,000 to build a library in Laos and sponsor the publishing of a children’s book.
A Hero’s Welcome for Libyan Fighters Returning Home to Benghazi
The fighters who finished off the last of fallen leader Moammar Gaddafi’s forces returned to a hero’s welcome in the birthplace of the Libyan revolution on Saturday as thousands of flag-waving residents poured into the streets to cheer the convoy.
“God is great! God is great!” the crowd chanted, eight months after anti-Gaddafi demonstrations erupted here in Benghazi, triggering the first war of the Arab Spring.
No Jobs? These Mexican Immigrants Made Their Own
Five Mexican women living in New York City got tired of waiting in the day-labor line for inconsistent freelance jobs.
They set up their own cleaning cooperative that specializes in using eco-friendly non-toxic products.
They went further by mixing their own cleaning products at home from natural ingredients like vinegar and lemon. Their growing roster of clients appreciate a new less toxic home environment and the women themselves are safer. Some of them used to suffer from headaches after working hours amid traditional chemical cleansers.
Check out the blog for their Apple Eco-friendly Cleaning Cooperative.
(WATCH the video from the New York Times or READ the story here)
285 Indian Girls No Longer ‘Unwanted’
Hundreds of Indian girls whose names mean “unwanted” in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life.
Central Indian district officials held a renaming ceremony giving the girls official certificates touting their new names, hoping it will help fight widespread discrimination.
They shed names like “Nakusa” or “Nakushi,” which mean “unwanted”, in favor of Bollywood celebrities names like “Aishwarya” or Hindu goddess names like “Savitri.”
