Harry Potter fan Shona Macleod, 15, decided to contact JK Rowling in her effort to raise £950 for a park bench where she could “talk” to her pal Kieran Goulding since his death in a car crash.
The Daily Mirror reports the teen was “absolutely amazed” to receive a full set of signed Harry Potter books along with a handwritten letter.
80 percent of the workers hired at the Tennessee factory, which makes artificial grass, are disabled — but, owner David Morris doesn’t see them that way. Every worker and manager with cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, or schizophrenia is considered “able”.
Nothing special is done to help them. They simply work alongside others — and they do a good job.
WATCH the Making a Difference video below…
Construction and operation plans have been approved for America’s first offshore wind farm, which could create up to 1000 jobs at the Cape Wind project off the Massachusetts coast beginning in a few months.
Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar today announced the approval by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement for the 130-turbine project in Nantucket Sound.
One example of the US government championing the rights of citizens over corporations debuted today with a new a federal rule allowing airline passengers to collect $1,300 when they are forced to give up their seat on an overbooked flight, a 63 percent increase over the current penalty.
The regulation announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will also require airlines to reimburse passengers for bag fees if their bags are lost, expand the current ban on lengthy tarmac delays, and disclose hidden fees.
One example of the US government championing the rights of citizens over corporations debuted today with a new a federal rule allowing airline passengers to collect $1,300 when they are forced to give up their seat on an overbooked flight, a 63 percent increase over the current penalty.
The regulation announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will also require airlines to reimburse passengers for bag fees if their bags are lost, expand the current ban on lengthy tarmac delays, and disclose hidden fees.
Two long-lost friends are emotionally reunited after 24 years in the wake of an important postcard getting lost in the mail, placing their relationship on hold.
Both women say that despite the postal glitch, their relationship is “timeless.”
WATCH the Today show reunion…
Google’s investments in clean power are now rivaling that of stand alone clean energy investors. Monday morning, the search engine giant said it has invested $100 million in the world’s largest wind farm, the 845 MW Shepherds Flat project under construction in Oregon.
With this investment, Google has put more than $350 million (a jaw-dropping amount for an Internet company) into clean power.
A new project featuring Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster and the gang aims to explain concepts related to the importance of earning and saving money.
“For Me, for You, for Later,” explains financial fundamentals in a way that preschool children can understand.
A new project featuring Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster and the gang aims to explain concepts related to the importance of earning and saving money.
“For Me, for You, for Later,” explains financial fundamentals in a way that preschool children can understand.
Have you ever thought about starting your own company? Do you have a great idea for a product or service? Perhaps it’s time you turned your dreams into reality.
More and more, young women are not only starting their own businesses, but they are also achieving enormous success doing so. Take recent start-ups like Her Campus, Rent the Runway, and LearnVest: all three lucrative businesses were founded by women in their early twenties.
(READ the story at Forbes.com)
Mothers-to-be who consume plenty of omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy may have a reduced risk of developing postpartum depression after their babies are delivered, according to a recent study that was conducted by scientists at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing.
(READ more at DrCutler.com)
It must be spring break in Panama City because here and in other beach towns along Florida’s panhandle, hotel and restaurant owners are smiling once again, a year after the Deepwater Horizon drilling-rig blast and oil spill. The crowds appear to be coming back.
A man credited as a hero of Tunisia’s revolution, Gen. Rachid Ammar, has been promoted to chief of the nation’s armed forces.
Ammar is treated as a hero in this North African nation, credited by the press with refusing to obey orders of then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to shoot on crowds of demonstrators.
Hilton Kelley left a burgeoning career in Hollywood in 2000 and moved back to his Texas hometown, a refinery and chemical manufacturing region, to clean things up.
Mr. Kelley has won a lot of victories in 11 years. Now, the Port Arthur native has received a $150,000 Goldman Environmental Prize for his efforts to fight pollution.
It started in 2000, when he formed the Community In-Power and Development Association to collect data on pollution levels. Armed with air samples and statistics, he stormed corporate shareholder meetings and distributed photographs of Port Arthur children wearing respirators.
(READ the Making A Difference story in CS Monitor)
It’s bug season again. And once again, most people won’t bother spraying or slathering on repellents.
That bugs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because biting insects are more than an itchy annoyance: Tick bites cause 30,000 Lyme disease infections every year.
That’s why the CDC is pushing hard to develop a completely natural insect repellent made from a chemical called nootkatone, which is found in Alaska yellow cedar trees and citrus fruit.
Economists say the U.S. economy is gaining strength despite political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East and last month’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
A survey finds that economists are hopeful that the broader economy is substantially improving, with rising employment reported for the fifth quarter in a row.
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.
WATCH the video, courtesy of National Geographic, below…
Actress and filmmaker Daryl Hannah has been selected to receive the 2011 Environmental Hero award this Earth Day. Hannah’s long past in promoting sustainability as well as her work founding the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance made for an ideal honoree.
She started her own website dedicated to encouraging low impact lifestyles.
Kaylee is a Tennessee teenager who provides CDs and DVDs to U.S. troops overseas. Her Tunes 4 the Troops organization, begun as a high school project at age 14, just hit a major milestone packing its one millionth disc.
When CNN first profiled her in 2008, Kaylee and her team had collected 200,000 discs. Today, her organization continues its work at Tennessee Tech University where Kaylee, now 19, is a student.
WATCH the video below, or read the story at CNN…
An Alexandria, Virginia man, Corey Newman, could not wait to get his hands on a Sunday Washington Post to ask Marlowe Epstein, “Will you marry me?” through a crossword puzzle.
Watch the video below… from the Washington Post:
