Quote of the Day: “Man only plays when (in the full meaning of the word) he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays.” – Johann Friedrich von Schiller
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After a 24-year-old woman was discharged from the hospital at 4:00 in the morning, the Lyft driver who picked her up restored something she thought might be gone forever—her hope. Hear our Good News Guru tell the inspiring story on the radio in Los Angeles—during the January 25, 2019 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5.
READ the full story on GNN.
Subscribe to our Good News podcast on iTunes, or for Android devices on Podbean. (Photo by Sean Carter)
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Though Chef Roberto Mendoza has spent his illustrious career serving meals to US presidents and A-list celebrities, he is now using his recent lottery win to feed the homeless.
As a former White House chef, Mendoza has cooked for Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Donald Trump, and an assortment of royal international guests. Additionally, he has served as a chef for the Academy Awards.
Since leaving the White House, he has been managing a restaurant and cooking for the homeless in Charlotte, North Carolina—but, thanks to his mother’s sagely instincts, he will now be feeding many more homeless communities.
Mendoza’s mother recently traveled to the U.S. from Guatemala, in order to visit her son. During her stay, she got a “lucky feeling” that Mendoza was going to win the lottery.
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Despite his aversion to gambling, he decided to listen to his mother’s intuition. He bought a $5 scratch-off ticket from a local convenience store and was stunned to find that he had won the top prize of a quarter million dollars.
“My hands started shaking when I saw the numbers,” Mendoza said. “I’ve been shaking ever since.”
After taxes, Mendoza took home $176,876 – and he plans on using all of the money to finish building a kitchen that will feed the homeless in the Dominican Republic.
WATCH: Woman Wins $1,000 Weekly Lotto Payout – and Proves Money Can Buy Happiness By Giving It All Away
Mendoza first bought thevillage property for the kitchen three years ago as part of his foundation’s work to feed the hungry.
“We feed more than 300 children through my foundation,” Mendoza said. “I know what it’s like to be hungry. I told myself when I was a teen that, if I’m ever in a position to give back, I’d do everything I can to make sure no one else has to go hungry.”
(WATCH the quick interview below)
Cook Up Some Kindness On Social Media—Share the Whim to Play Lottery
An obese man has lost an astonishing 140 pounds in just 15 weeks – and it is partially thanks to his favorite fast food restaurants rallying together to stop serving him.
Darren “Dibsy” McClintock weighed 560 pounds when his doctors gave him an ultimatum: he could either “diet or die”. Luckily, a personal trainer got behind him.
Now, the 28-year-old man from Middlesbrough, England has drawn up a new lease on life – he can now tie his own laces, wear a seat belt, fit in the bath, and ride a bike.
Furthermore, he recently went to the cinema for the first time in years and booked his first holiday abroad in half a decade.
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McClintock says his new regime, which has included swapping soda for protein shakes and sweets for pineapples, has “saved his life”.
“My life has turned around in the last 15 weeks,” says McClintock. “I can actually go out and about and do things that normal people can do but take for granted. My body aches, but I feel so much better because I’m eating properly and working out every day.
“Every aspect of my life has improved for the better. Obviously I’m physically fitter, but I’m much happier as well; I used to be depressed and sad.
“It was my birthday in December and I treated myself to fish and chips but I ate half and threw it away, because I don’t even like it anymore,” he added.
The incredible progress is also thanks to McClintock’s personal trainer, Mike Hind, who campaigned to have him banned from his client’s favorite takeaway restaurants back in October.
MORE: How a Yoga Teacher is Saving First Responders Across America From Depression – With Downward Dog
Additionally, the 35-year-old has had McClintock on a strict regime involving two workouts every day, including Christmas and birthdays. McClintock’s fitness routine involves two hours of cardio on a treadmill or bike in the morning and one to two hours of working with weights in the evening.
Hind has also taken control of McClintock’s diet, feeding him high-protein meals that tally up to 3,000 calories a day. Over the past 15 weeks, Hind has cut a whopping 1,000,000 calories from the diet of his most challenging client.
“The way I see it, this was a case of life or death,” says Hind. “If Dibsy hadn’t made a change in his life, then it could have been the end for him.
“This is just the beginning,” added Hind. “Dibsy is going to go on and live a healthy life.”
Within the next three weeks Dibsy will undergo a procedure, called a cardioversion, to bring his abnormally fast heart rate down to a normal rhythm. Had his weight remained what it was, he wouldn’t have been eligible for the procedure.
CHECK OUT: Give Yourself a ‘Dry January’ – You’ll Sleep Better, Save Money, and Lose Weight
Hind’s current aim is to get Dibsy’s weight down to 280 pounds by the end of the year.
“Dibsy has been absolutely incredible, I’m so proud of the work he’s done and the progress he has made,” says Hind. “He knew it was going to be hard work but he got his head down and got on with it.”
Be Sure And Share This Inspiring Story Of Transformation With Your Friends On Social Media
For years, hardworking American teachers have fallen pray to a convoluted federal program that resulted in thousands of dollars worth of grants being converted into debt.
Now, thanks to a lengthy investigation from journalists at National Public Radio, and the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, their debt will finally be wiped away.
The TEACH program was originally created by the Department of Education to help aspiring teachers receive money for college or post-collegiate education by agreeing to teach in low-income, high-need schools for four years within an eight-year period.
The complex process required teachers to submit proof of their current school posting every year in a form described as “too complicated and confusing,” according to an internal Department of Education email revealed by NPR. One missed signature or even one missed date would invalidate the form and a teacher’s grants would automatically be converted to loans – with interest.
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Kaitlyn McCollum is a public-school teacher who suffered from the egregious bureaucratic process after her $24,000 grant was converted into a loan which led to her family having to downsize into a smaller and older house because – on her fourth and final year of submitting paperwork for the program – the paperwork arrived one week late. McCollum told NPR that the debt would periodically fill her with dread, saying: “It will just hit me like a ton of bricks. Oh my God, I owe all of that money.”
She filed a formal appeal, which was denied. But even the loan company that administered the program warned the Department to fix the “inflexibility” of paperwork requirements, which was hurting teachers.
After reporters shined a spotlight on the shoddy procedure, however, the Department of Education accepted criticism of wrongdoing and are now trying to make amends by giving all TEACH grant recipients a second chance. Any teacher who can prove they have met their obligation will have their loans erased and interest payments refunded. Additionally, teachers who are still meeting their obligation will have their loans converted back into grants.
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Federal surveys estimate that more than 12,000 teachers will be able to benefit from the program’s reassessment. NPR is pointing them here, to understand the review.
When McCollum was told that the Department of Education was going to fix their mistake, she went from quiet astonishment to crying with joy.
She tearfully told reporters, “Oh, that is such good news.”
Be Sure And Share The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media – File photo by USDA, CC
In a community center not so far away, Star Wars fans are battling it out like Jedi knights at a lightsaber combat academy.
Intergalactic Saber Masters is believed to be the first martial arts school of its kind to teach members how to fight with lightsabers though the art of mindfulness.
45-year-old martial arts expert Dave Holden spends his Wednesday nights in Sileby, Leics, Britain, teaching his Padawans the art of lightsaber-battling, saying that the discipline is “akin to dance”.
Holden, a dad-of-two who works as a cyber security analyst, said: “I have come from a martial arts background in HEMA [Historical European Martial Arts], but this is unlike other traditional martial arts like boxing and Karate. These skills are about 500 years old, like medieval sword play where there are moves and counter-moves.
RELATED: How a Yoga Teacher is Saving First Responders Across America From Depression – With Downward Dog
Every lesson starts with a mindfulness session to help students relax the mind and body in order to cope with the stresses of modern life. Dozens of people have started attended the intergalactic sparring sessions since they were set up as a small community project in 2016.
Holden believes battling it out with a the sabers aids mental wellbeing and stops people from “succumbing to the Dark Side.”
“Mindfulness is about bringing yourself into the here-and-now rather than constantly thinking about what’s been going on during the day,” says Holden. “You’re spending the time thinking about yourself and relaxing mind and body. It’s all about control of your mind – just like a Jedi would.
The hour-long sessions only cost about $8 (£6) per class with sabers provided.
The school makes their own LED polycorbate sabers, which individually cost between $340 (£260) and $360 (£280) and come complete with sound effects. They also can leave bruises.
However, the focus at this school is on the spiritual aspect—promoting mindfulness, rather than violence and conflict.
Mel Wilson, a psychology student who also works for Intergalactic Saber Masters, said: “There are a handful of lightsaber combat schools around, but I believe we are unique in our teaching.
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“We’re teaching [our students] about responsibility and about keeping control and carrying that forward in their own lives,” added Mel. “Other groups purely focus on combat, but we want students to use their skills for good, much like a Jedi not succumbing to the Dark Side.”
May The Force Be With You: Share it With Your Friends On Social Media…
Quote of the Day: “Loving yourself requires a courage unlike any other…to believe in and stay loyal to something no one else can see—our own self worth.” – Mark Nepo
Photo: by Riccardo Maria Mantero, CC license, Flickr
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In a scientific first, neuroengineers have created a system that translates thought into intelligible, recognizable speech.
By monitoring someone’s brain activity, the technology can reconstruct the words a person hears with unprecedented clarity. This breakthrough, which harnesses the power of speech synthesizers and artificial intelligence, could lead to new ways for computers to communicate directly with the brain.
It also lays the groundwork for helping people who cannot speak, such as those living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or recovering from stroke, regain their ability to communicate with the outside world.
These findings were published today in Scientific Reports.
“Our voices help connect us to our friends, family and the world around us, which is why losing the power of one’s voice due to injury or disease is so devastating,” said Nima Mesgarani, the paper’s senior author and a principal investigator at Columbia University. “With today’s study, we have a potential way to restore that power. We’ve shown that, with the right technology, these people’s thoughts could be decoded and understood by any listener.
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“This would be a game changer. It would give anyone who has lost their ability to speak, whether through injury or disease, the renewed chance to connect to the world around them.”
Decades of research has shown that when people speak — or even imagine speaking — telltale patterns of activity appear in their brain. Distinct (but recognizable) pattern of signals also emerge when we listen to someone speak, or imagine listening. Experts, trying to record and decode these patterns, see a future in which thoughts need not remain hidden inside the brain — but instead could be translated into verbal speech at will.
But accomplishing this feat has proven challenging. Early efforts to decode brain signals by Dr. Mesgarani and others focused on simple computer models that analyzed spectrograms, which are visual representations of sound frequencies.
But because this approach has failed to produce anything resembling intelligible speech, Dr. Mesgarani and his team, including the paper’s first author Hassan Akbari, turned instead to a vocoder, a computer algorithm that can synthesize speech after being trained on recordings of people talking.
“This is the same technology used by Amazon Echo and Apple Siri to give verbal responses to our questions,” said Dr. Mesgarani, who is also an associate professor of electrical engineering at Columbia Engineering.
To teach the vocoder to interpret to brain activity, Dr. Mesgarani teamed up with Ashesh Dinesh Mehta, a neurosurgeon at Northwell Health Physician Partners Neuroscience Institute and co-author of today’s paper. Dr. Mehta treats epilepsy patients, some of whom must undergo regular surgeries.
“Working with Dr. Mehta, we asked epilepsy patients already undergoing brain surgery to listen to sentences spoken by different people, while we measured patterns of brain activity,” said Dr. Mesgarani. “These neural patterns trained the vocoder.”
Next, the researchers asked those same patients to listen to speakers reciting digits between 0 to 9, while recording brain signals that could then be run through the vocoder. The sound produced by the vocoder in response to those signals was analyzed and cleaned up by neural networks, a type of artificial intelligence that mimics the structure of neurons in the biological brain.
The end result was a robotic-sounding voice reciting a sequence of numbers. To test the accuracy of the recording, Dr. Mesgarani and his team tasked individuals to listen to the recording and report what they heard.
“We found that people could understand and repeat the sounds about 75% of the time, which is well above and beyond any previous attempts,” said Dr. Mesgarani. The improvement in intelligibility was especially evident when comparing the new recordings to the earlier, spectrogram-based attempts. “The sensitive vocoder and powerful neural networks represented the sounds the patients had originally listened to with surprising accuracy.”
Dr. Mesgarani and his team plan to test more complicated words and sentences next, and they want to run the same tests on brain signals emitted when a person speaks or imagines speaking. Ultimately, they hope their system could be part of an implant, similar to those worn by some epilepsy patients, that translates the wearer’s thoughts directly into words.
“In this scenario, if the wearer thinks ‘I need a glass of water,’ our system could take the brain signals generated by that thought, and turn them into synthesized, verbal speech,” said Dr. Mesgarani. “This would be a game changer. It would give anyone who has lost their ability to speak, whether through injury or disease, the renewed chance to connect to the world around them.”
(Source: Columbia University)
Don’t Forget To Tell Your Friends About This ‘Groundbreaking’ News By Sharing It To Social Media – Photo by Ansonlobo, CC
In Florida, this program is pairing abused dogs with incarcerated men – and it is offering hope and promising futures for both.
The TAILS, or Teaching Animals and Inmate Life Skills program, focuses their rehabilitation efforts on dogs plagued by abusive backgrounds. Since their behavioral issues keep the pups from being adopted, they are at risk of euthanization if they aren’t properly trained.
Each dog is cared for by two inmates, one trainer, and one handler. The inmates are responsible for engaging the dogs with training exercises, play, and plenty of affection. The program lasts two to three months, and is recognized by the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, which offers inmates considerable work-related experience.
What is perhaps even more significant than the qualifications that the inmates receive from the program is the sensation of receiving unconditional love – one that is foreign to many of the convicts.
Similarly to the dogs they train, these prisoners have seldom known the luxury of a supportive environment, and for many, the relationships they form with the dogs are the first to offer them empathy, affection, and love.
Adam Goldberg, a photographer who was recently granted permission to observe and photograph the training process inside the prison, told Good News Network: “Seeing the inmates in their living quarters, with the rescue dogs, was an amazing experience. The dogs were so well cared for and so attentive to their inmate handler and trainer.”
Over the course of the last three years, TAILS has saved over 500 dogs with their unique training method, and they are continuing to seek out new rescues who can have pawsitive impacts on their human counterparts.
“It was very evident that the dogs rely on the inmates just as much as the inmates rely on the dogs,” Goldberg added.
Be Sure And Share This Pawesome Story With Your Friends On Social Media – Photos by Adam Goldberg Photography
A pharmacist has been going above and beyond the call of duty in order to ensure that her customers have access to their medication.
Andrea Cusack works at the Lake Odessa Pharmacy in Michigan. Though the pharmacy regularly runs a free delivery service for their customers, they were recently forced to rethink their delivery tactics after a snowstorm left several of their clients stranded in their homes.
Instead of allowing these people to forego their life-saving medications, however, Cusack and her 15-year-old son fired up their snowmobile and delivered the medications themselves.
RELATED: Unnamed Good Samaritan Pays for Hotel Rooms to House 70 Homeless People During Polar Vortex
Cusack’s husband posted a photo of the dynamic dup on the snowmobile to social media where it received an outpouring of praise from appreciative readers – and Cusack was overwhelmed with gratitude for the encouragement.
“I can’t believe it. I truly care about people,” Cusack tearfully told WXMI. “I want to help them and to see the response around the community is overwhelming.
“We’re here to serve our community, and if somebody needs our help getting something we’re going to help ‘em,” she added.
(WATCH the heartwarming news coverage below)
Don’t Give This Sweet Story The Cold Shoulder – Share It With Your Friends On Social Media
A Turkish scientist has found a way to convert discarded olive pits into a biodegradable plastic thanks to her dad’s peculiar eating habits.
Duygu Yilmaz first started her groundbreaking scientific work after she noticed her father’s quirky habit of eating olive pits in order to soothe his stomach. Yilmaz grew concerned that the pits were harmful to his stomach health, so she decided to do some research.
Rather than finding anything dangerous, however, she discovered some surprising similarities between the chemical makeup of olive pits and plastic.
This chance discovery has since sprouted into the Biolive startup, a group that converts the discarded pits from olive oil manufacturers into bioplastic.
While it takes 450 years for typical plastics to decompose, the olive-based plastic created by Biolive decomposes within one year, “blending into the earth like fertilizer”.
Another benefit of using biodegradable plastic is its small carbon footprint; replacing 2 pounds of traditional plastic with the same amount of Biolive’s plastic reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 13 pounds (6 kilograms).
RELATED: America’s Largest Grocery Store Chain is Saying Goodbye to Single-Use Plastic Bags
In addition to the exciting environmental benefits of Yilmaz’s work, it also has a significant social impact on the young women of Turkey. Globally, women make up about 63% of the work force – but in Turkey, that number is a mere 34%. Yilmaz’s success demonstrates the importance of female entrepreneurs, and the undeniable benefit of diversification in fields driven by unique and innovative ideas.
Yilmaz, who has received several awards and grants for her groundbreaking work, hopes that Biolive will continue partnering with more and more shipping companies so that their olive-based material can one day replace wasteful plastic packaging entirely.
(WATCH the video below)
Be Sure And Pass This Exciting Story Along To Your Friends On Social Media
This patient police dispatcher is being praised for having the sweetest reaction to a little boy who dialed 911 with a not-so-urgent problem.
Antonia Bundy works as a dispatcher for the Lafayette Police Department in Indiana. Though she is trained to respond to emergencies, she was surprised when she heard a little boy’s voice on the other end of the line saying that he needed help because “he had a really bad day at school.”
Without missing a beat, she asked the youngster why he had a bad day at school. He gloomily responded by saying that he simply had “a ton of homework.”
Bundy then asked him whether he needed help with his homework. Upon explaining that he wasn’t very good at mathematics, he asked her for help with a fractional problem.
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Bundy patiently walked the boy through the problem until he managed to calculate the correct answer, and Bundy cheerfully praised him for his work.
“I’m sorry for calling you, but I really needed help,” said the boy – but Bundy was quick to wave off his apologies and say “we are always here for you.”
The police department later posted audio from the phone call to their Twitter feed where it has been shared hundreds of times. Though they discourage people from calling 911 with non-emergency situations, they praised Bundy for her compassionate response.
(LISTEN to the heartwarming audio below) – Photo by Lafayette Police Department
Our dispatchers never know what the next call might be.They train for many emergency situations, homework help is not one they plan for. We don't recommend 911 for homework help but this dispatcher helped a young boy out and brightened his day.@PoliceOne @apbweb @wlfi @WTHRcom pic.twitter.com/w3qCYfJP7O
— LafayetteINPolice (@LafayetteINPD) January 25, 2019
Be Sure And Share This Heartwarming Story With Your Friends On Social Media
Quote of the Day: “I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. I learn by going where I have to go.” – Theodore Roethke
Photo: copyright GWC
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A utility in company in Florida recently announced a groundbreaking “30-by-30” plan to install more than 30 million solar panels by 2030 and make the state of Florida a “world leader in the production of solar energy.”
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and its sister company, NextEra Energy Resources, are already some of the world’s largest producers of renewable energy from the wind and sun and, when this plan is completed, FPL expects to be the largest utility owner and operator of solar in America.
In addition to embarking upon one of the largest solar expansions in the country over the past two years, the company will also reportedly be making unprecedented investments in advanced and innovative battery storage technology that will extend the use of clean, affordable solar energy even after the sun has gone down.
FPL has secured solar sites throughout the state, which will enable the company to continue to cost effectively build solar energy centers across Florida. The scheme’s end result will be “the largest installation of solar panels by a regulated utility in the world” and a 67% fleet-wide reduction in carbon dioxide emissions rate as compared to the national average.
“I am supportive of programs that will provide Floridians with greater access to affordable, clean energy which will help propel the State to a healthier future,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We live in the Sunshine State and solar energy is a natural resource that should be seriously considered.
“[This] initiative is important,” he continued. “As Florida’s energy needs continue to grow at a rapid pace, it is important that we diversify our energy resources. This is vital to the economic well-being of our State and quality of life for residents.”
The company has already begun pairing battery storage technology at its solar power plants. Future technology is planned to increase the capacity and cost-effectiveness of batteries, and the company expects to deploy a significant amount of battery storage throughout Florida by 2030.
FPL’s planned renewable energy generation and storage, combined with its nuclear power plants in St. Lucie and Miami-Dade counties, is projected to generate more than 40% of its electricity emissions-free by 2030, even as the state’s population – the third highest in the nation – continues to grow.
“FPL is not your traditional electric company,” said Eric Silagy, the corporation’s president and CEO. “Bottom line, this bold, innovative plan is the right thing to do for our customers and for our fast-growing state, and we look forward to working with local and state officials and our regulators to make this vision a reality.”
“It’s why our customers enjoy electricity that is among the cleanest and most reliable in the country for a price more than 30 percent below the national average,” he added. “That said, we’re not satisfied with the status quo and understand that our customers expect even more from us as energy experts and industry leaders. It’s why we’re reimagining the way we serve our customers and challenging ourselves to find even more innovative ways to do what’s best for Florida and the nation.”
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Today, the company operates 18 large solar power plants and hundreds of other universal solar installations across Florida. In 2009, FPL became the first company to build large universal scale solar projects in Florida and since 2001, their program to phase out older, oil-fired power plants and replace them with highly efficient clean energy centers has reduced the company’s reliance on foreign oil by more than 99%, which reportedly saved consumers more than $9.5 billion in fuel costs and prevented 120 million tons of carbon emissions from being produced.
FPL is also poised to eliminate its only remaining coal plant in Florida by the end of this year. The company shut down two coal plants in Jacksonville in 2016 and 2018, respectively, collectively preventing nearly seven million tons of carbon emissions annually.
Power Up With Positivity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – File photo by B137, CC
Amidst record-breaking polar temperatures in the Midwest, a compassionate stranger paid for 70 homeless people to stay in a hotel.
Though Chicago city officials have urged their homeless residents to stay in proper shelters and warming centers, a group of rough sleepers in the South Side chose to stay in their tented encampment.
Firefighters were called to the campsite on Wednesday – the second coldest day in Chicago’s history – when a propane tank exploded. No one was injured, but law enforcement officials discovered over 100 propane tanks in the encampment— a Level 1 Hazmat risk.
“There was a significant amount of propane there,” Fire Chief Walter Schroeder told The Chicago Tribune. “And with that many cylinders, that’s like a bomb going off.”
The responders were forced to confiscate the propane, which left the homeless citizens without heating in –20ºF (–22ºC) temperatures. City officials contacted staffers at the local Salvation Army warming center in order to accommodate the at-risk residents, but then a woman named Candice Payne stepped up, and took out her credit card.
Shortly after reaching out to the Salvation Army, city workers notified the staffers that she had paid for a large block of hotel rooms to house 70 homeless people until the end of the week.
Not only that, after she tweeted about it, and several other Good Samaritans stepped forward to donate more money for more rooms. Together, they were able to buy shelter for 80 people for 3 nights. Candice and her new crew also bought food to distribute to the rooms.
UPDATE: Watch the latest video from CBS-2 – File photo by Akasped, CC
If This Story Warmed Your Heart, Be Sure And Share It With Your Friends On Social Media
This 43-year-old athlete is not just being praised for successfully completing a marathon – she is also being praised for what she had in her hands when she crossed the finish line.
Khemjira Klongsanun was only seven miles into a marathon in Ratchaburi, western Thailand when she noticed that the other participants were running around an anxious little puppy on the side of the road.
Because the puppy seemed to be just a few months old, Klongsanun could not bear to leave him on the pavement.
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“It seemed to me that this little guy was lost. There were no houses, no other dogs, or no people around. So, I picked up the puppy, if only to take him out of the unsafe environment,” said Klongsanun, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Sure enough, Klongsanun scooped up the little pup and carried him for the remaining 19 miles of the marathon.
“Running almost 20 miles carrying a dog was truly a challenge. It was two times more tiring than a normal marathon, but I did it anyway just because he is adorable.”
WATCH: 170 Foxes Are Rescued From Fur Farm and Given New Home at a Buddhist Monastery
In the aftermath of the marathon, she did her best to try and find the dog’s owner. She even took it home with her and searched for its family, but to no avail.
Klongsanun finally decided to keep the pup for herself and name him Chombueng after the marathon. Now that he has been vaccinated and neutered, he is reportedly living a cheerful life alongside Klongsanun’s two other dogs.
(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Viral Press
Be Sure And Share The Pawesome Rescue Story With Your Friends On Social Media
Quote of the Day: “The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity.” – Jackie Robinson (born 100 years ago today)
READ More about Jackie’s 100th on GNN History page
Photo: by Keith Allison, cropped from CC license image on Flickr
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If you want to help homeless Midwestern city dwellers get to shelter during this week’s winter storm, Lyft is offering free rides to warming centers.
In lieu of Winter Storm Jayden, the ride-sharing app is encouraging their passengers to use coupon codes in order to coordinate up to two rides in select cities from now until Friday night.
“In response to the polar vortex caused by Winter Storm Jayden impacting parts of the Midwest, Lyft is committed to doing our part to help those in need,” the company said in a blog post. “We’re activating our Relief Rides program to help those in need move around to warming centers in impacted areas, including Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Madison, Milwaukee and Detroit.”
The company has published coupon codes for each city. In order to coordinate a ride to one of Chicago’s warming centers, the code is “CHIJAYDEN19”; for Minneapolis-St. Paul warming centers, the code is “MSPJAYDEN19”; for warming centers in Madison and Milwaukee, the code is “WIJAYDEN19”; and for warming centers in Detroit, the code is “DTWJAYDEN19”.
While the company is aware that many people in need of a warming center may not have access to a phone, let alone the Lyft app, they are hoping that consumers will be able to use and share the coupons as needed.
Save A Life By Sharing The News With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Lyft
Animal lovers are rejoicing over a new piece of legislation that is expected to make animal cruelty a felony.
The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which was reintroduced by two Florida congressman last week, would make extreme acts of animal cruelty a federal crime punishable by up to 7 years in prison.
The bill has received unanimous bipartisan approval in the Senate twice before – and it even received over 200 endorsements from law enforcement officials and almost 300 House co-sponsors. Both times, it was blocked from reaching the floor by former Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia.
Because Goodlatte is no longer serving in Congress, however, legislators are optimistic about the bill’s approval.
WATCH: 170 Foxes Are Rescued From Fur Farm and Given New Home at a Buddhist Monastery
The PACT Act, which was co-sponsored by Ted Deutch (D) and Vern Buchanan (R), will close a 2010 legislative loophole that only made animal cruelty punishable under federal law if it was caught on film.
“The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Buchanan said. “Protecting animals from cruelty is a top priority for me and I look forward to working with Congressman Deutch on this important issue.”
The bill contains exceptions for normal veterinary care, hunting, and conduct necessary to protect life or property from a serious threat caused by an animal.
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According to a statement from Buchanan’s office, the legislation has already been endorsed 155 House co-sponsors, the Humane Society of the United States, and law enforcement agencies. The press release also emphasizes that the bill is expected to protect human livelihood as well, since animal abuse has been shown to be a common precursor for other violent crimes, with one study stating that nearly 40% of animal abusers had committed violent crimes against humans.
“This is commonsense, bipartisan legislation to bring some compassion to our animal laws,” Deutch said. “For many Americans, animal welfare is an important policy issue, and the idea of animal abuse is abhorrent. By building on state and local laws, Congress should act to guarantee a level of protection for animals across the country by criminalizing these inhumane acts.”
Protect Your Friends From Negativity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – File photo by Its Greg, CC
Most people who receive texts or emails from unknown contacts will usually just delete the message and move on with their lives – but not Will Novak.
Novak, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, received an email with the subject “Angelo’s Bachelor Party” earlier this month – and since he doesn’t know anyone named Angelo, he assumed it was spam.
Upon opening the message, however, he found that someone had mistyped an email address that was intended for another Will Novak. Furthermore, the email was an invitation for a ski trip weekend getaway to celebrate Angelo Onello’s bachelor party.
Instead of deleting the message, Novak replied to the email group and said that even though he was a total stranger, he would be delighted to attend the party extravaganza.
To his surprise, Onello enthusiastically agreed.
“I responded with a lot of crazy energy and they met me at that same level. It was just like a game of chicken,” Novak told PEOPLE. “Our emails were back and forth. I was like, if these guys think I’m gonna chicken out, they’re wrong! I think they were thinking the same thing.”
Novak then started a GoFundMe to raise a few hundred bucks for the airfare and trip expenses – and as his story was shared across social media, he met his goal in a matter of hours.
Novak was able to attend the bachelor party, and based on their stories from the event, it was a blast.
“Angelo’s bachelor party was a big success!!!” Novak wrote on the GoFundMe page. “No one died, or even got arrested! Though the other Will Novak did dislocate his shoulder whilst trying to ‘shred the gnar.’”
Since the crowdfunding campaign ended up raising a few thousand dollars more than Novak needed, he donated all of the excess funds to his new friend Angelo and his bride.
To find out more about the amusing bachelor party bonanza, you can watch this Seth Myers segment on why “this is the kind of story we need right now.”
(WATCH the hilarious news clip below – video contains mild language)
Be Sure And Share This Amusing Tale With Your Own Friends On Social Media
