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Family Finds Money Clip of NBA Player (Video)

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money-clip-nba.jpg A Colorado family returns a silver money clip containing $360, a driver’s license, and a credit card to Memphis Grizzlies millionaire player Marko Jaric, four months after Jaric apparently dropped it.

Honesty is the best policy for this family, even when that amount of money would be significant for them, and not so much for Jaric.

Video may take a moment to load, or read the story at NBC-2. ..

Eleven Ways To Boost Your Energy

Photo by Sun Star

bicycle-for-two.jpgHere are 11 simple strategies that you can put into effect immediately. They will make a huge difference to your well-being and sense of energy and vitality.

If you have persistent low energy, you should consult your doctor because a thyroid problem could be responsible for your lack of pep.

Some of Jonny Bowden’s suggestions include simple things you may not have heard before, like boosting your Vitamin D intake by soaking in a few minutes of unscreened sunshine every other day and de-cluttering your space, which can unplug hidden energy channels.

(Forbes magazine has the list)

Photo courtesy of Sun Star 

Beyonce Concerts Double as Food Drives

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For the second year in a row Beyonce is asking her fans to bring cans of food to her concerts to help feed the hungry people of America.

The singer is inviting fans to donate non-perishable food items to ‘Feeding America’ so it can deliver more than 3.5 million meals to local food banks.

READ the news fromthe Bean Soup Times

Production of Heroin, Cocaine Decline Sharply

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poppy.jpgThe UN has reported a sharp decline in the production of opium in Afghanistan (used for heroin) and cocoa fields in Columbia (used to make cocaine). In these two countries, which produce over 90% of the world’s supply, crop size has dropped 19 and 18 percent respectively since last year, reflecting government security efforts.

In the report, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime urges the world to shift law enforcement crackdowns from drug users to drug traffickers. Drug use, he said, should be treated as a health issue.

(USA Today)

Race Horses Get New Duty on Police Patrols

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horse-police-nyc.jpg Instead of being put out to pasture, former race horses are embarking on second careers as members of mounted police units in places like Newark, N.J.

The police officers show a lot of love and care and respect for the quick-footed partners.

(Video below may take a moment to load, or view at the NewsRoom

Homeless Girl Finally Has a Home: Harvard

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graduation-cap.jpgShe is known as the “smart girl”. . . the girl who landed at Jefferson High School only 18 months ago. What her friends did not know is that she has been homeless for years.

But not anymore. Her plane left for Harvard the day after graduation.

As long as she can remember, Khadijah Williams has floated from shelters to motels to armories in Los Angeles with her mother. She has lived out of garbage bags among pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers. Every morning, she upheld her dignity, making sure she didn’t smell or look disheveled.
And she held fast to the fact that her teachers marked her as gifted, when she was 9-years-old after scoring in the 99th percentile on a state exam.

(Read the inspiring story and see photos at the LA Times)

 

Clerics Join Iranian Anti-Government Protests

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iran.clerics.protest-gooya.jpgIn a blatant act of defiance, a group of Mullahs took to the streets of Tehran, to protest election results that returned incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

This photo from GOOYA, showing Iranian clerics prominently participating in an anti-government protest, speaks volumes about the new face of Iran’s opposition movement — not just students like in 1999.

Whether these clerics voted for Ahmadinejad or one of the opposition candidates is unknown. What is important here, is the decision to march against the will of Iran’s supreme leader who called the results final and declared demonstrations illegal.

Some Mullahs and former presidents of Iran have also released statements denouncing the crackdown and election irregularities. Watch the CNN video below…

Blue Whale Sightings Encouraging for BC Scientists

blue whales - photo by NOAA

blue-whales-noaa.jpgAfter avoiding B.C.’s coast for decades, blue whales are returning to the region to feed in the same areas where they were once hunted to near extinction.

Scientists hope recent sightings mean an increase in the population of the highly endangered whales, but the whales may have simply migrated north from California following the tiny shrimp on which they feed.

(Read more in Canada.com)

Jolie-Pitt Mark Refugee Day with $1M Donation and Emotional Speech

Angelina Jolie visiting refugees, UNHCR photo

jolie-unhcr.jpg Actress Angelina Jolie commemorated World Refugee Day in Washington last week. She is the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for refugees and has visited refugees in countries around the world rallying support for their cause.

She and her partner, actor Brad Pitt, donated $1 million Thursday to help more than two million Pakistanis displaced by fighting between the government and Taliban militants.

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation also donated $2 million in September to help children in Ethiopia stricken by disease.

Jolie tearfully thanked invited guests at the ceremony where an award was presented to a former refugee now helping others to survive upheaval. (Watch two videos below)

Heart and Stroke Deaths Plummet 30 percent in 10 Years

elderly-couple-w-apples.jpgDeaths from cardiovascular ailments plunged a remarkable 30 percent in Canada over a 10-year period, a new study shows.

Experts credit the decline in deaths due to heart attack, heart failure and stroke to prevention campaigns, like blood pressure control as well as anti-smoking and cholesterol-lowering campaigns.

“We’re talking about success with the No. 1 killer in the country,” says Dr. Peter Liu, head of circulatory health at the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. “It shows that all our efforts are paying off.”

(Story from Healthzone Canada)

Natural and Alternative Remedies for Depression and Anxiety

Photo by Sun Star

running-uphill-2-sm.jpgTherapy and psychiatric medications are the most common treatments for depression and anxiety. Many people, however, prefer alternative, more natural remedies. These can include lifestyle changes, herbal treatments, and alternative approaches not typically used in Western medicine, but practiced in other cultures for centuries. Clients reach for alternatives when Western medicine is unhelpful or they simply want a more natural approach. Especially for milder depression and anxiety, alternative remedies offer much hope.

iPod Saves Girl From Lightning Strike

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lightening-fir0002-flagstaffotos-gnu.jpgSeveral days after receiving an iPod for her birthday, 14-year-old Sophie Frost, survived a terrifying lightning strike when the 300,000-volt surge travelled through the gadget’s wire, diverting it away from her vital organs.

She stopped under a tree with her boyfriend to get out of the rain. Their t-shirts and skin were singed from the strike.

(Read the Daily Mail story)

Photo credit: fir0002/flagstaffotos
GNU free license 

Ohio Teen Stuns Class With Front Handspring Basketball Shot (Video)

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Aaron Shutway, an 8th grader at Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School launched into a front handspring, holding a basketball which he flung over the entire distance of the court hitting nothing but the net and sending the P.E. class into a frenzy.

The luckiest shot ever was caught on video. 

Ground Zero in Timber Wars Shows Signs of Peace

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redwood.jpgA corner has been turned after decades of Northwest timber wars, thanks to a new focus on preventing wildfires and global warming, along with enhancing fish and wildlife habitat.

Environmentalists are welcoming the sound of chain saws helping to reduce fire danger and restore ecosystem balance, and they’re not alone.

The last sawmill standing in the area has adopted green certification because it makes sense for its struggling bottom line, and the local forest ranger has 10 years of work planned out covering 10,000 acres — including timber sales that will provide logs for the mill — without a single protest, appeal or lawsuit to stop them.

(Continue reading AP’s report at WTOPNews.com) 

Photo credit: sealion in Sacramento 

The River That Caught Fire 40 Years Ago is a River Reborn

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The Cuyahoga River was one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. The span from Cleveland to Akron was devoid of fish.

40 years ago today, the river caught fire and captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that “oozes rather than flows.”

The infamous fire spurred a clean-up campaign and grassroots activism that resulted in a wave of federal legislation devoted to clean air, clean water, and natural resource protection.

Today, the Cuyahoga is home to more than 60 species of fish. Beavers, blue herons and bald eagles nest along the river’s banks.cuyahoga_river_towpath.jpg

Historical photo credit: Cleveland Press Collection at Cleveland State University Library

(Read more in a feature story by the New York Times)

“The first time Gene Roberts fell into the Cuyahoga River, he worried he might die. The year was 1963, and the river was still an open sewer for industrial waste. . . Recently, Mr. Roberts returned to the river and said, ‘It’s a miracle. The river has come back to life.'” 

Lost for 12 years, a Prodigal Father is Found

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af-am-woman-smiles.jpgAfter a Los Angeles Times columnist wrote about Eddie Dotson — a 67-year-old man living in an elaborate shelter under a freeway overpass — two people wrote emails saying they had been looking for their father for years.

“I just received word of your story published in the LA Times about my father. My brother and I have been looking for him for over 12 years. This is the happiest day of my life!”

“Eddie Dotson is my father. . . . Thank you very much for speaking so kindly about him; he’s a great man!”

(Continue reading at the LA Times)

Louisiana Breaks Levees to Recreate Wetlands and Naturally Control Flooding

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levee-busting-conservationists.jpgExperts are calling it the biggest levee-busting operation ever in North America, the muddy Ouachita River is being returned to its ancient floodplain.

The work will help prevent flooding naturally while re-creating wetlands rich in wildlife.

The work could serve as an example for other leveed areas in the Southeast and across the US.

(Read more from the New York Times)

NOTE: The photo in the Times article says it all with its caption…

Sahara Desert Solar Project Moving Forward to Power Europe

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solar-roof-orange-cty-conv-ctr.jpgImagine a gigantic solar thermal power plant stretching across the Sahara Desert, sending huge quantities of energy across the Mediterranean to Europe — and emitting no CO2 in the process.

The Desertec is a $555 million (€400 billion) project which has been in the works for years. On Tuesday, a group of 20 companies, groups and governments revealed they would meet in mid-July to discuss the way forward. Should the venture ultimately become reality, it could cover up to 15 percent of Europe’s energy needs as well as provide power to North African countries.

(Read more in Der Spiegel)

Nissan to Make Electric Cars in U.S.

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nissan-lelectric-car.jpgNissan Motor Co plans to launch production of electric vehicles and their batteries in Tennessee to tap U.S. low-interest loans for green vehicles.

The facility, in Smyrna, is capable of making 50,000 to 100,000 eco-friendly vehicles a year by 2012.

With an overall investment of at least a half billion dollars, Nissan will also construct a production facility for high-capacity lithium ion batteries at the Smyrna site with NEC Corp.

(Read more in Reuters)

Peru Indians Hail Historic Political Victory After Protests

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cheering-peruvians-silouette.jpgIndigenous groups in Peru have called off protests after two land laws which led to deadly fighting were revoked. Hailing victory, Amazonian Indian groups said it was an “historic day”.

“This is a historic day for indigenous people because it shows that our demands and our battles were just,” said Daysi Zapata, vice president of the Amazon Indian confederation that led the protests.

(View video and story at BBC)