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.
It is a popular adage that good news doesn’t sell for the mainstream media where the motto seems to be, “if it bleeds, it leads.” Why then, are we seeing some of their most popular stories trumpeting triumphs of the heart?
Remember the Chilean miners? The media couldn’t get enough of three dozen men trapped underground and rescued in Chile. This week, we saw the pattern repeated, after the story broke of a homeless radio man, Ted Williams, rescued from his life on the streets. The Today Show mentioned his “Golden Voice” in more than 16 Tweets over two days, when normally a guest would receive nary a mention on Twitter.
It is a popular adage that good news doesn’t sell for the mainstream media where the motto seems to be, “if it bleeds, it leads.” Why then, are we seeing some of their most popular stories trumpeting triumphs of the heart?
Remember the Chilean miners? The media couldn’t get enough of three dozen men trapped underground and rescued in Chile. This week, we saw the pattern repeated, after the story broke of a homeless radio man, Ted Williams, rescued from his life on the streets. The Today Show mentioned his “Golden Voice” in more than 16 Tweets over two days, when normally a guest would receive nary a mention on Twitter.
The homicide rate in Los Angeles is the lowest it’s been since 1967.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced there were 297 homicides in Los Angeles last year, a huge drop from the more than 1,000 slayings in 1992, the height of a massive drug epidemic.
“This achievement is particularly noteworthy given the state of the economy,” he said at a news conference. “You walk down downtown, you go to Hollywood, we all know — this isn’t hyperbole. It’s a changed place.”
(READ the story from NPR News)
A couple who lost a 12-carat diamond ring at the Eagle County airport is stunned by one man’s honesty.
Mark Epple of Minneapolis was catching a flight at the airport the same day and saw something shiny in the gutter.
When he got home and looked at the ring, he realized it was too heavy and shiny to be fake, so he e-mailed the airport.
The couple was overwhelmed, saying they travel all over the world and “this is extraordinary.”
Epple and his family were given use of the couple’s mountain vacation home as a thank you.
(READ the story at Denver Channel 7)
New York City hosted a record number of visitors in 2010, a sign that the Big Apple’s tourism industry is bouncing back after the decline amid the recession.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said 48.7 million people visited New York last year, surpassing the city’s 2008 record by 1.7 million.
(READ the AP story at WTOP)
Most of us have now seen and heard the homeless man with the golden voice, whose story launched on YouTube struck a national chord and whose pipes landed him numerous job offers and a new home in just a few days.
This morning Ted Williams spoke to the Today Show hosts about the whirlwind of blessings landing in his lap since he was first recorded by a Columbus reporter while he was begging on an Ohio street earlier this week.
UPDATE: After Williams left the Today show, he went to his first freelance job, recording a TV spot for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (Watch it here.)
Most of us have now seen and heard the homeless man with the golden voice, whose story launched on YouTube struck a national chord and whose pipes landed him numerous job offers and a new home in just a few days.
This morning Ted Williams spoke to the Today Show hosts about the whirlwind of blessings landing in his lap since he was first recorded by a Columbus reporter while he was begging on an Ohio street earlier this week.
UPDATE: After Williams left the Today show, he went to his first freelance job, recording a TV spot for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (Watch it here.)
Claims in the media about a great garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean being “twice the size of Texas” exaggerated the actual size by two hundred thousand percent, according to an analysis by an Oregon State University scientist. If you look at the actual area of the plastic itself, the amount is actually less than 1 percent of the size of Texas.
Claims in the media about a great garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean being “twice the size of Texas” exaggerated the actual size by two hundred thousand percent, according to an analysis by an Oregon State University scientist. If you look at the actual area of the plastic itself, the amount is actually less than 1 percent of the size of Texas.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have made a special gift to the land of one of their children’s birthplace.
The Jolie-Pitt Foundation has committed $2 million towards the N/a’an ku sê Mission in Namibia. The Mission aims to conserve the land, cultures and wildlife of the African county and to improve the education, employment, healthcare and living conditions of villagers there.
(READ the story at CNN.com)
