“Well, this is a wonderful day,” said President Obama, before signing his first major piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which will make it easier for people to get equal pay regardless of their gender, race, or age.

“It is fitting that the very first bill that I sign is upholding one of this nation’s founding principles: that we are all created equal.”

Surrounded by leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and with the new law’s namesake, Lilly Ledbetter, receiving the cermonial pen, President Obama signed into law a powerful tool to fight discrimination.

“Ultimately, equal pay isn’t just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it’s a question of who we are — and whether we’re truly living up to our fundamental ideals,” President Obama said. “Whether we’ll do our part, as generations before us, to ensure those words put on paper some 200 years ago really mean something — to breathe new life into them with a more enlightened understanding that is appropriate for our time.”

Mrs. Ledbetter spoke in the following White House video about what the new law means to her. Watch the video, which includes the president’s remarks, below, or read the full text of remarks by the president, and those of Michelle Obama from the reception that followed the ceremony, at the bottom.

Happiness comes to both the incarcerated and the canines that are being trained to sniff bombs at several prisons in Fla. and Georgia. Officials say the dogs get excellent training from the female inmates, and the women experience more responsibility and less depression.

Who would imagine that prison could look so positive and joyful! (Video may take a minute to load)

With the return of hundreds of thousands of children to school in Gaza, UNICEF is providing essential educational equipment and materials to re-establish learning and recreational activities, create safe environments, and help restore a sense of normalcy for children in Gaza.

This week a UNICEF Representative, Patricia McPhillips, visited Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, where two UNICEF tents are serving as temporary learning spaces for girls, whose school was completely destroyed. The girls are attending classes during the afternoon shift. Four additional tents will be set up in the coming days to accommodate additional students.

China’s central government will subsidize purchases of clean-energy vehicles for public fleets in 13 cities to help the automobile industry develop green technology. The trial program will promote the use of electric, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles by public transport operators, taxi firms and postal and sanitary services in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, Xinhua quoted a finance ministry statement as saying late on Monday. (Full report at Reuters)

Perhaps no leader in American life feels the historical significance of Barack Obama’s inauguration and his political imperatives more than Terrance Carroll, who two weeks ago became the first African-American elected Speaker of the House in Colorado.

The historic vote of confidence by his colleagues for 39-year-old Carroll makes Colorado the first state in the union where both legislative leaders are African-American, following the election last year of Sen. Peter Groff as the first African-American to lead the senate. The Colorado legislature has only two black members. And now they are the two most powerful members of the 100-person body.

“I was awestruck,” Rep. Carroll told the Good News Network from his office last Tuesday, several hours after President Obama took the oath of office. “Not only by the speech, but to see people shoulder to shoulder so energized and enthused by Barack Obama and by his message of hope and renewal.”

Terrance Carroll grew up in a housing project in D.C.. He knows what a mother’s sacrifice can do to propel a minority kid all the way to the statehouse in Colorado, governing a population that is made up of only 4% African-Americans. 

For some of Australia’s best-known cities, companies and organizations, this year’s Australia Day will be celebrated, not only with barbecues or beach parties, but also by going ‘green.’

The Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane last week stepped up their efforts in lowering carbon emissions by joining the United Nations’ Climate Neutral Network (CN Net) , led by the UN Environment Program, which seeks to spur global action to achieve climate neutrality.

With its world-famous Opera House, the “Coathanger” Bridge and the Harbour as its backdrop, Sydney is one of the world’s most spectacular cities. In 2007, Sydney, the largest in the country, became Australia’s first carbon neutral local government, implementing such initiatives as energy-efficient street lighting and creating a network of bicycle paths.