A wave of anonymous donations in the name of a 1960s comic superhero, a character who began as an orphan, is spreading across Japan, benefiting homes for underprivileged children and other charities.
The donations are giving average Japanese citizens something to find hope in, becoming part of “a heartwarming story in a time of social anxiety,” said national broadcaster NHK, who has made this a top news story this week.
(READ the stories at CNN.com and Reuters)
Since Barack Obama moved to the White House, he has tried to confront the enormous challenges facing America with a super-serious — some say, professorial — tone. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t finding fun, playing practical jokes, and celebrating the seasons with family and special guests.
Here are 18 moments from the lighter side of the Obama presidency. Tell us which ones are your favorites:
Haiti could use some good news, and so on the anniversary of the nation’s ruinous earthquake, read about business and government leaders signing a deal for a big factory, and the reopening of a historic market.
In a cavernous hall filled with idle sewing machines, the chairman of the South Korean apparel giant Sae-A Trading Company inked a deal to bring 20,000 jobs to Haiti.
A year after the devastating Haiti earthquake, there has been “encouraging” progress in public health in the island nation.
One high spot has been the almost complete recovery of HIV/AIDS programs in the country, according to an article online in the New England Journal of Medicine. The network of clinics already in place has helped address other health concerns, like cholera as well.
Although obstacles remain, the authors said the country’s public health infrastructure has made some steps forward.
(READ the article in MedPage Today)
Since Barack Obama moved to the White House, he has tried to confront the enormous challenges facing America with a super-serious — some say, professorial — tone. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t finding fun, playing practical jokes, and celebrating the seasons with family and special guests.
Here are 18 moments from the lighter side of the Obama presidency:
On New Year’s Day, a devastating terrorist bombing at a Coptic Christian church in Egypt killed 21 people and injured 79 others. It was assumed the culprits were Muslim extremists, intent on targeting those they saw as heretics.
The following week, as Egyptian Copts attended mass at churches across the country to celebrate their Christmas, “thousands” of Muslims, including “the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak,” joined them, acting as “human shields” to protect them from possible terrorist attack.
The Muslims organized under the slogan “We either live together, or we die together.”
(READ the story at Think Progress)
On New Year’s Day, a devastating terrorist bombing at a Coptic Christian church in Egypt killed 21 people and injured 79 others. It was assumed the culprits were Muslim extremists, intent on targeting those they saw as heretics.
The following week, as Egyptian Copts attended mass at churches across the country to celebrate their Christmas, “thousands” of Muslims, including “the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak,” joined them, acting as “human shields” to protect them from possible terrorist attack.
The Muslims organized under the slogan “We either live together, or we die together.”
(READ the story at Think Progress)
In the US economy, the good news is finally starting to outweigh the bad. The private sector — especially small and medium sized businesses — has been adding jobs for several months in a row now.
Everybody wants to know where the jobs are. Here are 20 fields where jobs are starting to return…
(READ the story in US News)
After years of wishing and hoping, and recent rumors of a new agreement, Verizon is expected to announce this morning that it will break the AT&T monopoly on iPhone service — and the Apple device could be available in a few weeks, according to published reports.
iPhone owners for years have complained about the network quality of AT&T service.
(READ more at NPR’s All Tech Considered)
Southern California Edison has signed contracts with two companies for the construction and operation of seven solar power plants in the state, including one that the utility said would be among the largest single solar photovoltaic installations in the U.S.
(READ the story in the LA Times)
Tens of thousands of people across Southern Sudan went to the polls Sunday to vote in a historic referendum on a whether to allow Southern Sudan to become a new independent nation.
President Obama wrote in an Op-Ed Sunday, “Today — after 50 years of civil wars that have killed two million people and turned millions more into refugees — this is the opportunity before the people of southern Sudan.”
To my viewers who regularly search the front page: You may have noticed no new stories over the weekend due to a slight but weird problem that happened Friday.
I was actually adding stories, but they were not showing up on the homepage. You would have found them only on the inside News Sections, like Civics and Great Kids or Inspired.
Not to worry, I have a Joomla technician (my open-source software) working on it now, and it should be fixed by day’s end, if we have any luck at all.
Cheers, and happy Monday! (I have to go this morning to get an MRI on my knee, so I won’t have much time for adding current stories anyway until med-afternoon.
In the past seven years, the income of poor Brazilians has surged as the number of those in poverty has fallen from 22 percent of the population to 7 percent.
Several factors contribute to Brazil’s astounding feat. But a major part of Brazil’s achievement is due to a single social program that is now transforming how countries all over the world help their poor.
(READ the Fixes column in the New York Times)
At age ten, Jai Mehra took a tour of the local homeless shelter with his parents and was told that because of budget cuts, their homework program was being cut.
This preyed on his mind. And the way he figured it, a quiet place to study with help from a tutor was even more important to kids living in a homeless shelter. They’ve got all kinds of stress that kids who have their own homes don’t have to worry about.
“I asked my mom if it was OK if I tried to help,” said Jai, who finally decided to become a fundraiser.
(READ the Mike Cassidy column in the Mercury News)
In order to bring smiles to the faces of people in downtown Chicago, local philanthropist Richard Driehaus hired some performance artists to create displays of joy for unknowing pedestrians.
The ‘Get Happy’ experiment easily confirmed that joy begets joy. The video, produced by the group, 500 Clown, can do the same for you.
“We hope this gets you happy and we invite you to spread joy to strangers and loved ones anyway you know how. We would love to work with you on creating a 500 Clown Get Happy in your city, neighborhood, town, college or board meeting. Contact [email protected].
Regularly drinking green tea could protect the brain against Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, according to scientists at Newcastle University.
The study showed chemicals created when the tea is digested help prevent the degeneration of brain cells.
Similar research has hinted the beverage could also help protect against some forms of cancer.
(READ the story in the BBC)
What can be done with the Christmas trees laying naked along roadsides or left unsold in vacant lots? With a little ingenuity and science, Christmas trees can be recycled in other uses, such as biofuels or even fish habitat.
Surplus Christmas trees in Australia could become jet fuel after completion of a new plant built by the airline Qantas.
And, according to a team of scientists at Virginia Tech, leftover trees may someday be used to produce hydrogen fuel.
(READ more Tainted Green)
When a classmate started choking on a Cheeto during lunch Wednesday, Tyler Hudson took action.
Tyler, a fourth-grader from Frank Elementary School in Houston, Texas, quickly performed the Heimlich maneuver to save the girl’s life.
He didn’t know what the move was called but said it was his instincts that took over.
WATCH the video below or read the story at KHOU…
After Ted Williams, the homeless man who shot to fame this week on the wings of his golden voice, taped the Today show yesterday, he completed one of his first voiceover sessions for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. His first commercial was released on YouTube today.
Taking advantage of the feel-good story, Kraft showed it knows how to get free advertising.
This is a behind-the-scenes YouTube video they posted.
After Ted Williams, the homeless man who shot to fame this week on the wings of his golden voice, taped the Today show yesterday, he completed one of his first voiceover sessions for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. His first commercial was released on YouTube today.
Taking advantage of the feel-good story, Kraft showed it knows how to get free advertising.
This is a behind-the-scenes YouTube video they posted.
