With her father away on military service in the Middle East, Chelsea Jusino was resigned to attending her high school graduation without him.
But when she donned her graduation gown and went to the ceremony at a baseball stadium in Clearwater, Fla., she got a surprise.(WATCH the video below, or read the story from Fox News via AOL)
With her father away on military service in the Middle East, Chelsea Jusino was resigned to attending her high school graduation without him.
But when she donned her graduation gown and went to the ceremony at a baseball stadium in Clearwater, Fla., she got a surprise.
(WATCH the video below, or read the story from Fox News via AOL)
More than 10,000 volunteers hosted lemonade stands over the weekend to commemorate the 10th anniversary of a 4-year-old who first raised $2,000 for pediatric cancer while she was being treated for neuroblastoma.
In 2000, Alex Scott told her parents that she wanted to open a lemonade stand to help doctors at her local hospital. By the time the little girl died in 2004, her efforts had raised $1 million. Her parents continue the work today leading a foundation in her name.
Even supermodel Cindy Crawford helped pour lemonade along with other celebrities in Hollywood to help support the ten years of work by Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
(READ the full story at AOL News)
A joyful reunion of three sisters after 61 years shows that even thousands of miles and decades apart cannot break the bond that is sisterhood.
An adopted child, Judy never knew she had sisters until she was reunited thanks to a stranger on a geneology Website.
(WATCH the story below, or READ the story at FOX-TV 2)
The prevalence of medical malpractice suits has long been the bane of physicians and providers of health care. Fear of lawsuits discourages the sharing of information about mistakes which could help prevent them in the future, and prompts doctors to practice “defensive” medicine in which they subject patients to every possible test—regardless of expense or need—to shield themselves from lawsuits.
Now, the Obama administration has awarded $23.2 million in grants for projects intended to improve patient safety and curb medical malpractice suits, officials announced Friday.
The demonstration projects will test innovations in obstetrics, compensation plans that avoid costly and lengthy lawsuits and limits in liabilities for physicians who can prove they followed state-endorsed, evidence-based guidelines for care.
(READ the full story in the Washington Post)
U.S. geologists have discovered or identified nearly one trillion dollars’ worth of untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan.
The New York Times says U.S. officials believe the vast veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold, lithium, and niobium could “fundamentally alter” the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war. U.S. officials told the newspaper Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the “most important mining centers in the world.”
Lithium is a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for cell phones and laptops. Niobium is a soft metal used in producing superconducting steel.
The Mayo Clinic has conducted the first clinical studies of green tea extract in cancer patients and the results are good news for leukemia sufferers.
An extract of green tea, which offers very low toxicity, appears to merit clinical application after chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients used it in a phase II clinical trial.
The findings, presented last Monday during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, are the latest in a series of Mayo studies to show promise for use of the chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) — the major component of green tea — in reducing the number of leukemia cells in patients with CLL. Mayo first tested EGCG in a variety of laboratory assays about eight years ago, and it was found to reduce the survival of CLL leukemic cells. This laboratory finding was followed by a successful phase I clinical trial — the first time green tea extract had been studied in CLL patients.
The Mayo Clinic has conducted the first clinical studies of green tea extract in cancer patients and the results are good news for leukemia sufferers.
An extract of green tea, which offers very low toxicity, appears to merit clinical application after chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients used it in a phase II trial.
The findings, presented last Monday during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, are the latest in a series of Mayo studies to show promise for use of the chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) — the major component of green tea — in reducing the number of leukemia cells in patients with CLL. Mayo first tested EGCG in a variety of laboratory assays about eight years ago, and it was found to reduce the survival of CLL leukemic cells. This laboratory finding was followed by a successful phase I clinical trial — the first time green tea extract had been studied in CLL patients.
People with autism often have a hard time finding and keeping jobs, so more schools are creating programs to help students with autism get prepared for the workplace. One of those programs helped change the life of Kevin Sargeant.
Things weren’t looking good for Kevin just a few years ago. He was antisocial, desperately unhappy and doing poorly in school.
“He was pretty much a broken child,” says his mother, Jennifer Sargeant. “We really didn’t see that he would be able to go to college, or even have a job.”
Six years later, Kevin is a lot more social. He’s a good student. And he’s working — as an intern in the IT department at the Parks & People Foundation. Kevin says computers are a good fit for him.
(READ the story, or listen, at National Public Radio)
While the world’s attention affixes to the FIFA World Cup, Brazil and the City of Rio are preparing for the 8th annual World Cup for homeless men and women. 64 national teams of homeless players – including 16 women’s teams – will be united in September on Copacabana Beach for the week-long, annual football tournament aimed at beating homelessness globally.
Over 30,000 homeless players around the world are aiming for the chance to stand proud and represent their country on the global stage in Rio. A street soccer stadium with 3 pitches holding a crowd of 5,000 will be built on Copacabana Beach with the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Mountain as the remarkable, iconic backdrop.
Mel Young, president of the Homeless World Cup said, “The Homeless World cup is an opportunity for homeless people to move from the invisible margins of society to standing proudly on a global stage and change their lives.”
Here’s a bright idea for the planet. A Hong Kong-based company has introduced what it bills as the world’s only solar-powered light bulb with the hope of reaching millions of people with little or no access to electricity.
The Nokero solar bulb in its rainproof plastic housing is hung outside during the day and then turned on at night. Batteries inside provide up to four hours of light when the device is fully charged.
With no need for electric power lines, this bulb can assist people in remote areas who normally burn dangerous substances like kerosene just to light their homes.
(READ more at the CNET blog)
The folks at West MacDonnell National Park in Australia had a brilliant idea for a new bike path connecting Alice Springs and Simpsons Gap. They made it out of junked ink cartridges. The material can last far longer than timber, and is a great way to reuse plastics. Plus, it looks great, and all for a fraction of the cost.
(READ more from TreeHugger)
Margaret Zerwekh, 90, of Delafield, Wis., has won her fight to have a Medal of Honor awarded to Lt. Alonzo Cushing, a hero of the Battle of Gettysburg.
She spent 23 years fighting to get Lieutenant Cushing honored for his brave service. In the beginning, politicians responded mostly with form letters. But in the early 2000s, Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, took up her cause, moved by the elderly woman’s passion for a long-ago hero. He consulted historians, who affirmed Lieutenant Cushing’s valor, and began a long push to ask the Army to award him the Medal of Honor.
Mr. Feingold said her work showed how ordinary people can shape the telling of history.
(READ the story w/ photo at the NY Times)
Feisty and frugal, 98-year-old Verna Oller never bought new clothes or went to the hairdresser. But, she was a savvy investor, reading the Wall Street Journal and Barrons at the library.
By the time of her death, the Long Beach, Washington resident had amassed a fortune of $4.5 million and she directed her close friend to spend every cent of it on her home town.
(WATCH the video below, or READ the story at ABC News)
Feisty and frugal, 98-year-old Verna Oller never bought new clothes or went to the hairdresser. But, she was a savvy investor, reading the Wall Street Journal and Barrons at the library.
By the time of her death, the Long Beach, Washington resident had amassed a fortune of $4.5 million and she directed her close friend to spend every cent of it on her home town.
(WATCH the video below, or READ the story at ABC News)
Preventive measures to help people lower their risk of heart disease have been so effective that a new study documented a drop of 24% in the number of serious heart attacks over ten years.
Among the 46,000 patients studied between 1999 and 2008, the most damaging heart attacks fell even more, 62 percent, according to the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine,
Preventive measures include lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels, decreasing or eliminating smoking and the use of beta-blockers and/or aspirin.
(READ more in the San Francisco Chronicle)
A rare revolutionary operation at a Birmingham hospital is allowing patients to “regrow a knee” from scratch in a lab.
Although shock absorbent cartilage tissue is unable to regenerate in the body, medics at Good Hope Hospital, in Sutton Coldfield, are using advanced treatments to give sports enthusiasts, arthritics and young patients a second chance with their damaged knees.
(READ more at the Birmingham Mail)
A Washington, DC man’s year-long campaign of generosity inspires others to give, too. Even though Reed Sanders is unemployed, he has become a philanthropist who gives ten dollars to a stranger each and every day. He calls it his “year of giving,” and tries to choose those who need an extra hand in hard economic times. The effort was inspired by his mother.
The inspiration goes beyond his personal giving to a website that documents specific needs, like a pair of shoes, or pants for a particular individual that he met along the way. His readers are helping fulfill those requests.
(WATCH the WJLA video below, or at CNN)
BP has ordered 32 centrifuge machines from Kevin Costner’s Ocean Therapy Solutions to be deployed in the Gulf clean-up effort.
Upon delivery, the machines, tested by BP and found to be highly efficient, will clean 6 million gallons of water per day, separating the oil for commercial reuse.
Costner, who was on Capitol Hill testifying before congress on Wednesday, spent more than $24 million of his own money to develop the machines and said manufacturing is being ramped up for the new demand.
BP has ordered 32 centrifuge machines from Kevin Costner’s Ocean Therapy Solutions to be deployed in the Gulf clean-up effort.
Upon delivery, the machines, tested by BP and found to be highly efficient, will clean 6 million gallons of water per day, separating the oil for commercial reuse.
Costner, who was on Capitol Hill testifying before congress on Wednesday, spent more than $24 million of his own money to develop the machines and said manufacturing is being ramped up for the new demand.
