A Canadian oil worker is being hailed for using his leftover coffee to rescue three kittens he found trapped to a sheet of ice last week.
Kendall Diwisch had been performing some routine checks on the oil wells in Dayton Valley, Edmonton when he saw what looked like a piece of trash left on a sheet of snow.
Upon closer inspection, however, he was shocked to discover that it was a trio of terrified kittens whose tails were frozen to the ground.
Diwisch quickly fetched his cup of coffee from his pickup truck and used the hot liquid to sufficiently melt the ice around the kittens’ tails. After the coffee had done its job, Diwisch was able to pull the felines free and take them home.
Diwisch then posted photos and video of his ingenious rescue mission to Facebook in hopes of finding a forever family for the kittens.
“Took them home, fed and watered them; they look to be healthy and friendly,” he wrote. “If any friends are looking to have a new addition in their family, let us know as they will need homes. All three look to be males, and we also gave them dewormer.”
Since publishing his post to social media, Diwisch’s rescue video has been viewed more than half a million times. Not only that, he found a family to adopt all three of the cats.
“All three little rascals went to their new home today where they get to be together instead of separating them,” wrote Diwisch. “All three are eating and drinking and very energetic. Thanks for everyone’s consideration and offering to take them; very appreciated.”
(WATCH the news coverage below)
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Quote of the Day: “Don’t be content in your life just to do no wrong, be prepared every day to try and do some good.” – Sir Nicholas Winton (rescued 669 children from Nazis)
Photo: by Agência Brasília / Rogério Capela, CC license
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According to a new survey, four in five Americans are genuinely excited about Valentine’s Day—perhaps even more so than Christmas.
A poll of 2,000 Americans found that this Hallmark holiday tops the charts for Americans, with 81% saying they get excited about February 14, while just 68% say they get excited about the December holiday season—which might be because it has just concluded.
More than half of participants say they look at Valentine’s Day as a way to show appreciation towards everyone they love. These days, that includes love of all kinds—with partners, friends, kids, and pets.
The study, conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Zulily, examined Valentine’s Day habits and behaviors and showed that contrary to popular belief, this date night isn’t all about romance.
59% plan on commemorating the love-filled holiday with their nearest and dearest friends. 51% plan on celebrating with their kids, and 28% will hang with their fur baby.
What about buying gifts? 64% of respondents plan on picking out gifts for the people (and pets) they love, while 57 percent plan on cooking a special dinner, instead.
Surprisingly, a third of surveyed Americans (33%) say they have even taken the day off from work to celebrate.
SWNS
“For Valentine’s Day, it’s all about showing your loved ones you listen to them,” said Claire Magruder, Zulily’s Trend and Fashion Expert. “For example, if your partner hates to vacuum, delight them with a robot vacuum. If your bestie loves to entertain, then a new table accessory may be the perfect gift.
“I also love a handwritten note on a homemade card—it’s straight from the heart.”
TOP 5 WAYS TO CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY
1. Buy gifts for people I love 64%
2. Go out to dinner 57%
3. Cook a special dinner 57%
4. Treat myself to some “me-time” 45%
5. Send a card 40%
No matter how Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day, 69% will say “I love you” more on February 14, than any other day of the year.
Quote of the Day: “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” – Loren Eiseley
Photo: by Angelo Brathot, Public Domain image
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Without an internal combustion engine—and all the other components such as radiators needed for one to safely function—all-electric vehicle manufacturers are beginning to realize there isn’t anything stopping them from making a truly unique automobile.
That’s why Canoo, an LA-based company making electric SUVs has just opened up its waiting list for a lounge-like electric SUV that looks like it’s straight out of Blade Runner.
Talking to Electrek, Canoo CEO Ulli Kranz explains the logic behind a car which truly seeks to transform the way people think about what a car is.
“Most electric cars today look like combustion-engine vehicles,” explains Kranz.
“They are SUVs or large sedans with huge batteries and very expensive. What’s missing is affordability. Therefore we put all our focus on an affordable electric vehicle while keeping in mind the ride-hailing and car-sharing that young generations have embraced.”
Photos by Canoo
The Canoo speaks loudly to the modern green urban-dweller. Many of them consider automobiles to be a primary driver of climate change, too expensive, or just plain inconvenient when ride sharing options like Uber and Lyft are so widespread. So this pod-like vehicle created a unique proposition that young people can embrace.
Canoo’s innovative subscription strategy is designed to reduce the EV’s cost by bundling the flat monthly payment to include maintenance, registration, and insurance, while charging on a month-to-month basis with no contract.
Since no one knows how much it will cost per month, the value remains unclear. But the waiting list to get yourself a Canoo in 2021 opened last week and is obligation-free.
The interior of the Canoo, which has 300 horse-power and a range of 250 miles, can be described as having furniture more than seats. The lounge-like luxury of the Canoo is meant to resemble a Zen garden, instead of a limousine. Access to the vehicle’s functions is reached through the Canoo app, and can be used with the driver’s own smartphone or tablet.
Photo by Canoo
Canoo, which was launched in 2017, has also gamified the waitlist: by taking part in their pre-launch contest, perspective Canoo owners can get their name higher on the list and earn cool Canoo swag by completing surveys and referring others to join the wait list.
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Not many kids have made it through childhood without ever snapping two LEGO bricks together, but now they get a second chance: the most popular and profitable toy company is building a bridge to reach frazzled, stressed-out adults.
LEGO has endured wave upon wave of high tech gadgetry vying for kids’ attention, from video games to mobile phones and the internet, but now the Danish company is structuring a whole line of sets with instruction manuals for adults who need to give their minds a rest from the daily grind.
LEGO sets like the Ghostbusters Headquarters, the Volkswagen T1 Camper Van, and a vintage Batmobile, are all being produced to target Generation X nostalgia.
Architecture sets like the Eiffel Tower, the Disney Castle, Buckingham Palace, or Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater or Guggenheim, allow more mature LEGO enthusiasts, affectionately called adult fans of LEGO or ‘AFOL’, to enter an almost Zen-like state snapping the bricks together in their offices or basements.
“It’s fun to zone out and follow someone else’s instructions,” Elisabeth Briggs, a math teacher at Olympic College near Seattle told the Washington Post. “It wasn’t until I got older — and had a job and more money — that I saw value in that”.
LEGO sees many benefits to their new marketing strategy, especially when business culture in America is embracing the idea of mindfulness moments—taking a time-out during the day to recharge. Based loosely on Zen and Buddhism, the practice of mindfulness has been clinically proven to help reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety with its laser focus on the present moment, while shutting out concerns about the past and the future.
Of course, with the company’s release of an $800 Star Wars Millennium Falcon kit, it’s not hard to see the added benefit of speaking directly to the only group of people who can actually afford an $800 LEGO set.
Bricks of Joy
According to the Washington Post, LEGO hired Abbie Headon, a 44-year-old English author who hadn’t picked up one of the iconic bricks in 20 years, to write a book on how adults who are concerned about their mental wellbeing can use LEGO strategically to reduce stress in their lives.
While she missed a golden opportunity to call the book Zen and the Art of LEGO she does help adults approach what they know to be a children’s toy, in different ways. There are mindfulness exercises such as buildings something with your eyes closed, or maybe a scene from your childhood that fills you with joy, and others to help you decompress like selecting a small, random amount of bricks and pieces and trying to see how high you can build a tower.
Photo by alliecat1881, CC license
“The fun isn’t just, I’m going to build this and it’s going to be perfect,” Headon told the Post. “That’s one of the great things about LEGO.”
The author says she likes to have something in her hand while thinking, too. And a few LEGO pieces always make the perfect fit—whether she’s stressed out that day, or not.
(Photo of VW camper van by Michael Coghlan, CC license)
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One of our favorite good news celebrities, whose kind deeds have been featured nine times by GNN in the last decade and a half, has opened his heart—and wallet—yet again.
A New Jersey rock star renown for his arena anthems “Living on a Prayer”, and “Wanted Dead or Alive”, Bon Jovi’s most joyful noise is heard in the restaurants he has opened to serve the hungry and the homeless. Anyone visiting his JBJ Soul Kitchen is always welcome to dine on fresh, lovingly-prepared food, even when they have no money—by pledging volunteer hours in return.
This week, the 57-year-old rock star—along with his wife Dorothea Hurley—opened his third Soul Kitchen restaurant in New Jersey. On the campus of Rutgers University, it serves a new demographic of hungry low-income customer, the college student. At the Grand Opening, Jon dismissed the idea that it should be a rite of passage for students studying hard to eat nothing but instant noodles.
Bon Jovi said the goal behind the Rutgers location is “to play a role in alleviating food insecurity among college students and giving them the support they need to achieve their dreams.”
The menu features locally-sourced ingredients and offers several methods of payment—pay what you can, pay what you want, volunteer, or pay it forward, a structure intended to create a sense of community, respect and dignity, as well as charity among local communities.
Additional locations include JBJ Soul Kitchens in Toms River, New Jersey and Red Bank, NJ. According to the website, more than 105,000 meals have been served so far, with 46% of diners paying through volunteering their time, and the remaining 54% with donations.
At his latest grand opening, Bon Jovi said he doesn’t plan on stopping his food service expansion any time soon.
Visit his website, JBJsoulkitchen.org where you can buy his line of seasonings, find directions and store hours, or donate and volunteer. Or, follow his JBJ Soul Kitchen Instagram.
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Quote of the Day: “Give a man health and a course to steer, and he’ll never stop to trouble about whether he’s happy or not.” – George Bernard Shaw
Photo: by r reeve, CC license (cropped)
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As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, an ambitious new piece of agricultural legislation presented in Parliament last week is set to unleash an “agricultural revolution” that aims to restore forests and peatlands, wildlife and pollinator habit.
The lawmakers view the focus on ‘environmental and public goods’ as the best way to reform farm subsidies in the UK and Europe—giving 21st century goals a new seat at the table to replace the outdated EU ones that focus almost entirely on incentivizing production.
Much of this £3 billion ($3.9 billion) in annual UK agriculture spending will be refocused to help farmers take a little time away from food production to pause and focus on improving their ecosystems and the environment at large.
After the destruction Europe endured during World War II, farm subsidies were simple and direct. “It was just about production, it didn’t matter what you did to the environment,” Ian Bateman, an environmental economist at the University of Exeter tells Science Magazine.
Erik Stokstad writing for Science details how land was being torn up by the plow all over the continent which led to massive soil erosion, and excessive use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides polluted rivers and coastlines.
While that post-WWII model still forms the basis for European farm legislation, the UK’s ambitious new plan aims to financially incentivize farms to provide “public goods” such as the tried and tested “payment for environmental service” (PES) model that has been so successful in countries like Costa Rica.
The new subsidies will be tested in England first, as the UK allows Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales to determine their own farm policy.
Getting Paid for Being Stewards of the Environment
The Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in England plans to prioritize public goods with the new legislation while phasing out existing EU payment programs over 7 years.
The public goods that DEFRA has in mind would include payments for sequestering carbon, replanting forests, and aiding the recovery of pollinator species, likely by utilizing marginal land for planting pollinator-preferred species of flowers. Marginal land, the acreage around the perimeter of a field or paddock, is a prime place for this activity as it doesn’t impact yields, and adds beneficial microbial diversity to the soil while reducing erosion.
According to Stokstad, 33% of the current UK farm subsidies are diverted to activities that benefit local environments and the nation’s climate change goals. As things stand now these include activities like maintaining hedgerows and other habitat which Stokstad writes will be expanded upon.
Taking the example from certain UK water companies, DEFRA plans to use public auctions where farmers and land managers can bid for government contracts for PES opportunities. The water companies have been auctioning off PES contracts to farmers living and working around their major water sources to develop and manage land in ways that protect them, such as using less-harmful fertilizers and reducing runoff and soil erosion. “The impact has been amazing,” said Bateman.
In parts of England where farming is more difficult, certain producers like cattle and sheep herders rely more on the current form of direct payment subsidies than other farmers, and without them they may choose to move to other forms of production. Keeping this in mind, DEFRA has been looking at all manner of different PES opportunities for areas where ranching and herding are common, such as on moors and peatlands.
On peatlands, the potential for carbon sequestering in the soil is far greater than in forests, and so restoring and growing them, along with enhancing other landscapes and even restoring heritage buildings to help increase tourism, have all been hypothesized for utilization in some of the northern parts of the country.
The National Farmers Union, the United Kingdom’s biggest agricultural trade group, was concerned about the lack of emphasis placed on farmers to produce. Agreeing with the union, DEFRA will “take regard to the need to encourage the production of food by producers in England,” reads a clause in the final bill.
Satisfied, the trade union described the clause as a “robust starting point” to ensure the well-being of farmers who don’t have as many opportunities for PES on their land.
The rest of the UK, and—according to Alan Mathews, an agricultural economist at Trinity College Dublin—the rest of Europe will be watching closely.
“If it’s successful, that will be a very powerful argument for the Europeans to follow,” said Mathews.
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A new video app has the potential to revolutionize the way deaf people interact in their every day lives, no matter which country they are in.
Writing notes back and forth can be painfully slow and inconvenient, especially in a retail environment, but the Jeenie language-translation app has launched a new option which instantly connects users with an ASL interpreter to help them quickly solve tricky conversations.
“It can be challenging to communicate in everyday life with people who are not fluent in ASL,” Laura Yellin, a deaf woman who has been testing the app’s new ASL feature, told Fast Company. “For example, dealing with an issue at the dry cleaners and needing to talk to a supervisor or manager can be tricky via paper and pen or typing on the phone back and forth. It makes it a lot easier to have an interpreter available for situations like that.”
Within one minute of placing a request for help, users can be connected with an interpreter at any hour of the day, according to Jeenie, which says it has 100 operators on-call.
One of the best features about their video calling app is its low cost. Although traditional Video Relay Services (VRS) may be available for free in the US, they are no good in Canada, for instance, and they may need special requirements.
As the company researched products that provide in-person interpreters, they found very expensive fees because services were geared toward the business world—charging $90 to $125 an hour.
Jeenie charges $1 per minute, but their packages take that fee down even further—and the interpreters earn half of all the revenue generated.
Jeenie is not just paving the way for the next generation of ASL interpreter services, they are hoping to expand to other sign languages, such as British and Chinese Sign Language, leading to millions more convenient and detailed interactions between people across the world.
(WATCH the demonstration video below)
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This story reminds us that no matter how old you are, just about every human alive would love to have a fluffy new puppy in the house.
This sweet senior has been asking for a new pup since her last dog unexpectedly passed away last year.
According to her granddaughter Ali, her wish finally came true earlier this month, after Ali and her mom presented her with an unmarked cardboard box. Upon opening the box and seeing the adorable pup sitting inside, the grandma burst into tears.
Ali’s grandma isn’t the only one who appreciated the surprise. The video of her grandma’s reaction has been drawing thousands of hearts and likes on social media.
(WATCH the emotional video below)
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'Lovely in the rain' by @nguyenvuphuoc - children take shelter from the rain while their parents are working in the rice fields. Hoang Su Phi, Vietnam.
This heartwarming series of pictures captures exactly what “friendship” means to photographers around the world.
‘Just hold my hand’ by @drummer_vn – Two kids holding hands in Vinnytsia, Ukraine.
The stunning images were taken as part of a global photographic competition—and the entries have been whittled down to 50 finalists.
“Never-ending friendship” by Georock888 — 3 puppeteers practice their trade in Rumpin, Java, Indonesia.
The photos were entered into Agora’s competition called for the World’s Best Photos of #Friends2020 in a bid to bag the $1,000 prize money.
‘Play’ by Kyaw Myint Than — “When I visited Kawa Town, I found this lotus pool acting as a playground for local children. Firstly, I checked how deep the pool was, then I stepped in to take this picture!” Location: Kawa Town, Myanmar.
More than 16,000 photographers entered the competition by conveying exactly what friendship meant to them through their camera lens—and the results are breathtaking.
‘Puppy, the little judge’ by Debasish Chakraborty — “These kids were playing a traditional indian game with the puppy sitting and observing the game just like a referee would do. They always stick together, even if they are very poor they share all daily food with their pet. Wherever they go, they bring their puppy along.” Location: Puruliya, India.
“Friends come in all shapes and sizes,” mused one of the photographers about the competition. “We often think about humans only having friendships as it’s something we can relate to–but to see wildlife stick at it together is even more inspiring.”
“Feline friends” by George Ako — “These two stray cats are true friends. They do everything together: eat, play, sleep, walk. It was funny how these cats woke up when I started to shoot then and stretched simultaneously.”
Agora CEO Octavi Royo added: “Friendship is a universal concept that can be perceived in a lot of different ways according to our culture, beliefs and life experience. At Agora, we see friendship in an infinite number of different ways but we also see what is common to all forms of friendship: love, trust and support that is generated between living beings. The result of friendship is a shared, happier life.”
‘Being friend’ by F. Dilek Uyar — The little calf and the little girl have a one-of-a-kind friendship. In Anatolia, children always find a best friend in their animals. Location: Kayseri, Turkey.
The photographer with the most winning votes will be awarded $1,000 on Tuesday, 11th February 2020.
‘My best friend’ by Priyowiddi – The beautiful bond between a man and his horse. This Tenggerese man, a nomadic herder, travels across Mount Bromo everyday with his best friend. Location: Bromo Mountain, Indonesia.
If you want to check out some of the other competition finalists or vote on who you think should be the winner, be sure and check out the Agora #Friends2020 website page.
‘Mountain camp’ by David Smith — friends in a campsite in Indonesia.
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This school is being hailed as one of the first in the world to start improving attendance rates by transforming old train cars into classrooms.
SWNS
The government-run Ashokapuram Primary School noticed student numbers were dropping, and they suspected it was due to a lack of properly permanent school buildings.
SWNS
The school then teamed up with the South Western Railways company to begin using two old train carriages deemed unfit for railway usage.
SWNS
The vibrant carriages now have stairways, brightly painted exteriors, desks, fans, lights, and colorful drawings on the walls.
SWNS
“The coaches, which were officially declared unfit for railway use, were renovated. At present, the school has 60 students from standard 1st [grade] to 7th,” said a spokesman for South Western Railways. “Many come from families below the poverty line.
SWNS
The new classrooms have managed to attract a new batch of students to attend regular classes—and teachers in Mysore in Karnataka, India, said student attendance numbers are now up again thanks to the quirky new classrooms, which cost just £700 ($915) for the pair.
SWNS
(WATCH the classrooms in action in the video below)
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A Wisconsin animal shelter employee is being hailed for using her crocheting skills to help a cat find its forever home.
Back in December, a stray cat named Lady in a Fur Coat was brought into the Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) with chronic ear infections and hematomas. The veterinary team immediately conducted surgery on her ears, but since her condition was too severe, they eventually opted to remove the outer layers of her ears.
Lady made a full recovery from the surgery, but staffers worried that her changed appearance would deter potential adopters.
That’s when DCHS employee Ash Collins decided to craft a set of fuzzy purple crocheted ears for Lady.
After Collins bribed Lady with a number of head rubs and kitty treats, she managed to secure the sweet little bonnet onto Lady’s head—and the results were adorable.
Upon posting photos of Lady and her stylish new ears to social media earlier this month, she was successfully adopted from the shelter.
“Staff and volunteers at Dane County Humane Society consistently go above and beyond for the animals in our care,” Collins told CNN.
“I was more than happy to use my crochet skills to help Lady stand out and get the second chance she deserved, and I’m so honored to be a small part of her happy ending.”
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Researchers at the University of Sydney have used human stem cells to make pain-killing neurons that provide lasting relief in mice, without side effects, in a single treatment.
The next step is to perform extensive safety tests in rodents and pigs, and then move to human patients suffering chronic pain within the next five years.
If the tests are successful in humans, it could be a major breakthrough in the development of new non-opioid, non-addictive pain management strategies for patients, the researchers said.
“We are already moving towards testing in humans,” said Associate Professor Greg Neely, a leader in pain research at the Charles Perkins Centre and the School of Life and Environmental Sciences.
“Nerve injury can lead to devastating neuropathic pain and for the majority of patients there are no effective therapies. This breakthrough means for some of these patients, we could make pain-killing transplants from their own cells, and the cells can then reverse the underlying cause of pain.”
Published today in the peer-reviewed journal Pain, the team used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from bone marrow to make pain-killing cells in the lab, then put them into the spinal cord of mice with serious neuropathic pain. The development of iPSC won a Nobel Prize in 2012.
“Remarkably, the stem-cell neurons promoted lasting pain relief without side effects,” co-senior author Dr Leslie Caron said. “It means transplant therapy could be an effective and long-lasting treatment for neuropathic pain. It is very exciting.”
John Manion, a PhD student and lead author of the paper said: “Because we can pick where we put our pain-killing neurons, we can target only the parts of the body that are in pain. This means our approach can have fewer side effects.”
The stem cells used were derived from adult blood samples.
The total cost of chronic pain in Australia in 2018 was estimated to be $139.3 billion.
A kindhearted English man is being praised for his kindness after he bought an expensive stolen bike for £80 ($104) solely so he could return it to its original owner.
26-year-old Ste Burke had just gotten back to his Liverpool home from the gym earlier this week when he was approached by three men asking if he wanted to buy a bike.
Burke was immediately suspicious of its origins since they were trying to sell the £1350 ($1,750) bike for £100. Not only that, he noticed there was a bike lock still attached to the rear wheel.
After Burke bought the bike, he posted a photo of it to social media in hopes of tracking down the original owner. He suspected that if it was stolen, it must have been taken from a nearby home.
“Has anyone had their bike stolen? Just bought this for £80 and it’s got a bike lock on it. Apparently it’s from the Crosby area. Bought it so I can get it to back to the right owner,” wrote Burke.
“I know it’s a £1350 bike and I’d be heartbroken if it was me. Give us a shout.”
Has anyone had their bike stolen? Just bought this for £80 and it’s got a bike lock on it. Apparently it’s from the Crosby area. Bought it so I can get it to back to the right owner. I know it’s a £1350 bike and id be heartbroken if it was me. Give us a shout 👍🏽 pic.twitter.com/uwb3iFwpx7
Within hours, Burke was contacted by a woman who knew the bike’s owner; it had belonged to a man whose house had been burgled earlier that very same week. Since the man had saved up more than £1350 of his own money to buy the bike the previous year, he was overwhelmed with gratitude for its return.
The man tried to reimburse Burke for the £80, but he refused, telling reporters that he “didn’t feel right taking money off a man who has just had his house burgled.”
Burke has since been showered with social media praise for his honesty, although he emphasizes that he did not return the bike for media attention.
However, Burke was delighted to receive a Twitter shoutout from his rapper “hero” Stormzy, and British bicycle retailer has also offered to give Burke a free bike as a reward for his honesty.
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Basillica in San Paolo By Mark Chinnick (CC license)
Quote of the Day: “Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” – Frank Gehry
Photo: by Mark Chinnick, CC license (digitally altered to reduce highlights)
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
For years, Detective Constable John Forster and his police colleagues wondered why large wads of cash kept mysteriously being left in and around their small English village.
The constables need not worry any longer, as two anonymous do-gooders finally identified themselves to the police as the ones responsible for leaving the money around Blackhall Colliery in Durham County.
Since 2014, residents of the sleepy coastal town have occasionally been turning in to police carefully wrapped packages of £20 notes that always totaled £2,000—and every time, the honest citizen would be delighted to keep the money after several weeks would pass without anyone laying claim to it.
John Forster often wondered if the mysterious good Samaritan was a lottery winner or—owing to Forster’s years of police work in the trenches—he thought maybe something less positive like a guilty drug dealer looking to dispose of his unlawful returns or an elderly person with a vulnerable mind.
But two individuals—their identities are being kept as closely guarded secrets—finally revealed themselves to police earlier this month by answering a series of questions about the placement and details of the generous cash depositis which only the leaver would know.
The compassionate citizens chose places where they would most likely be found by people in need, such as pensioners and others who might have fallen on hard times. They even waited around to ensure the cash would be picked up—all without ever disclosing their identities.
The dynamic duo only came forward after they noticed their goods deeds had begun to draw international attention. According to one of them, she was inspired to start her anonymous acts of love because she felt an emotional connection to the village after being helped by one of the residents. Since that day, she has wanted to pay back the kindness she had received.
Police confirmed for reporters that the two individuals were, oddly, not related, not married, not from the area, and may have both began leaving the cash separately before joining forces.
“I’m really pleased we have an answer to this mystery and am glad we can now definitively rule out the money being linked to any crime or a vulnerable person,” Forster told The Guardian.
Hurricane Harvey dog flying from Texas to Humane Society of Central Oregon in Bend, Oregon.
Photo by Lynne Ouchida/Humane Society of Central Oregon
Animal rights activists are rejoicing over the US Department of Transportation’s most recent move to ban airline breed discrimination.
According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the department will soon be issuing new regulations that will prevent airlines from refusing to accommodate service animals based on their breed.
The initiative comes as a welcomed followup to Delta Airlines’ decision over the summer to continue prohibiting pit bull-type dogs on their flights despite how the company only recently abandoned their ban against emotional support animals on flights longer than eight hours.
“With its decision, Delta placed an extreme and unnecessary hardship on its own customers, asking them to choose between air travel and essential service animals,” wrote Humane Society CEO Kitty Block in a blog post. “It also ignored guidance from the DOT in August 2019 that instructed airlines not to prohibit service dogs on flights based on their breed or physical appearance alone.
“The DOT confirmed that guidance in its announcement today and stated that it is not aware of nor has been presented with evidence supporting the assertion that an animal poses a direct threat simply because of its breed.”
While the regulation has not yet been officially formed, it is the latest in a long slew of US initiatives to end breed discrimination on a municipal and state level—particularly against pit bull-type breeds.
Hurricane Harvey dog flying from Texas to Humane Society of Central Oregon in Bend, Oregon. Photo by Lynne Ouchida/Humane Society of Central Oregon
“There is, in fact, absolutely no evidence that pit-bull-type dogs have more aggressive tendencies than other breeds,” wrote Block. “On the other hand, such dogs are increasingly serving as seeing eye and hearing dogs, as physical support dogs for balance and mobility, as medical alert dogs responding to various health issues such as low blood sugar, oncoming seizures or low oxygen levels, and as support animals for individuals with psychological conditions such as PTSD.
“We applaud this proposed amendment that would bring airlines in line with the latest science while ensuring that individuals with disabilities and their service animals are adequately protected from frivolous discriminatory policies.”
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A devoted dad is going viral after he shared his daughter’s reaction to his newly-designed adaptive Nintendo Switch controller which had been tailored specifically to her disability.
Since 9-year-old Ava Steel has hereditary spastic paraplegia, she has trouble with controlled motor function and speech. These symptoms make it particularly difficult for her to play video games the way her friends do—but that has all changed thanks to her father Rory Steel.
Steel, who has always been a self-admitted “tinkerer”, designed a custom arcade-style Nintendo controller that can hook up to an adaptive Microsoft Xbox controller.
With dual joysticks and multiple, easily-accessible buttons, Steel bought all the parts for the contraption off of eBay for about $144 (£110).
Steel later posted an adorable Twitter video of his delighted daughter playing “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” with ease—and it has since been viewed more than one million times. It even garnered some feedback from Bryce Johnson, the founder of Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab and an inventor of the adaptive Xbox controller used in Steel’s device.
Although Steel says the controller’s final design is an ongoing effort, he soon plans to post DIY instructions for its assembly on the internet so other parents of disabled children can build one themselves.
