“We knew this person did a bad thing and there has to be consequences for their actions. But we didn’t have any ill feelings towards anybody,” President of Al Salam Louay Nassri told KARK.
“We heard that he was having financial problems. Now if you don’t pay your fine, that’s an automatic six years in jail. Well, we didn’t want him to go to jail for six years.”
In an inspiring show of forgiveness, the mosque then wrote Davis a check to cover the fine.
(WATCH the video below)
Pass On The Positivity: Click To Share The Story With your Friends – Photo by KARK
“Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right.” – Isaac Asimov
A new inspiring quote every day, juxtaposed over the perfect photo, and collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—so, why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
If you thought 2017 was too depressing for words, then feast your eyes on this compilation of the ten greatest things that happened throughout the year.
Some of these stories you might never heard about (unless you’re a Good News Network regular), while others are iconic events that you will want to relive again.
A development that can turn the ocean into drinking water; a country that ran on 100% renewable energy for ten months; in India, 67 million trees planted in a single day; and a solution for ebola and cholera.
How about the celebrity chef who fed 3 million people in Puerto Rico when they needed it most? The world came together in a variety of ways, and we wanted to remind you of these inspiring moments.
Happy New Year from GNN, and editor, Matt Walton…
Feel Better Now? … PLEASE SHARE with your friends if you do – Or,
Learn a language while you wait for WiFi CSAIL tool integrates with email and web browsers to harness micro-moments. Written by Rachel Gordon MIT News
Hyper-connectivity has changed the way we communicate, wait, and productively use our time. Even in a world of 5G wireless and “instant” messaging, there are countless moments throughout the day when we’re waiting for messages, texts, and Snapchats to refresh. But our frustrations with waiting a few extra seconds for our emails to push through doesn’t mean we have to simply stand by.
To help us make the most of these “micro-moments,” researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a series of apps called “WaitSuite” that test you on vocabulary words during idle moments, like when you’re waiting for an instant message or for your phone to connect to WiFi.
Building on micro-learning apps like Duolingo, WaitSuite aims to leverage moments when a person wouldn’t otherwise be doing anything — a practice that its developers call “wait-learning.”
“With stand-alone apps, it can be inconvenient to have to separately open them up to do a learning task,” says MIT PhD student Carrie Cai, who leads the project. “WaitSuite is embedded directly into your existing tasks, so that you can easily learn without leaving what you were already doing.”
WaitSuite covers five common daily tasks: waiting for WiFi to connect, emails to push through, instant messages to be received, an elevator to come, or content on your phone to load. When using the system’s instant messaging app “WaitChatter,” users learned about four new words per day, or 57 words over just two weeks.
Ironically, Cai found that the system actually enabled users to better focus on their primary tasks, since they were less likely to check social media or otherwise leave their app.
WaitSuite was developed in collaboration with MIT Professor Rob Miller and former MIT student Anji Ren. A paper on the system will be presented at ACM’s CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems next month in Colorado.
Among WaitSuite’s apps include “WiFiLearner,” which gives users a learning prompt when it detects that their computer is seeking a WiFi connection. Meanwhile, “ElevatorLearner” automatically detects when a person is near an elevator by sensing Bluetooth iBeacons, and then sends users a vocabulary word to translate.
Though the team used WaitSuite to teach vocabulary, Cai says that it could also be used for learning things like math, medical terms, or legal jargon.
“The vast majority of people made use of multiple kinds of waiting within WaitSuite,” says Cai. “By enabling wait-learning during diverse waiting scenarios, WaitSuite gave people more opportunities to learn and practice vocabulary words.”
Still, some types of waiting were more effective than others, making the “switch time” a key factor. For example, users liked that with “ElevatorLearner,” wait time was typically 50 seconds and opening the flashcard app took 10 seconds, leaving free leftover time. For others, doing a flashcard while waiting for WiFi didn’t seem worth it if the WiFi connected quickly, but those with slow WiFi felt that doing a flashcard made waiting less frustrating.
In the future, the team hopes to test other formats for micro-learning, like audio for on-the-go users. They even picture having the app remind users to practice mindfulness to avoid reaching for our phones in moments of impatience, boredom, or frustration.
“This work is really interesting because it looks to help people make use of all the small bits of wasted time they have every day,” says Jaime Teevan, a principal researcher at Microsoft who was not involved in the paper. “I also like how it takes into account a person’s state of mind by, for example, giving terms to learn that relate to the conversations they are having.”
The hotel I’m staying at puts a stuffed puppy on the bed. They allow their guests to dial the operator and they will bring the REAL pup to your room pic.twitter.com/KVREqVfG8j
This hotel’s room service doesn’t just include delivering warm meals to your door – they can also bring you a puppy companion for snuggling.
The “Chief Canine Officer” at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, California is named Buster Posey. If visitors want to hang out with the friendly pup, all they have to do is just pick up the phone and ask the front desk.
News of Buster’s important job is going viral after a Twitter user posted photos of a stuffed dog that hotel workers left on the bed in his room.
Attached to the dog was a note saying that if hotel guests wanted to meet the real deal, they simply have to dial ‘0’ for the Operator to check Buster’s schedule.
You can also follow the pup’s pawesome antics on Instagram and Twitter.
Given the choice between chocolate on the pillow, and a puppy on the bed, we’d romp with rover any day.
“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”
– Edith Lovejoy Pierce
Check out more inspiring thoughts every day on our homepage, where we will be adding a new quote each day juxtaposed over a beautiful photo. We are collecting and archiving them on our Quote of the Day page. So why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
This simple self-defense program in Kenya fights gender-based violence by teaching both girls and boys how to respect and protect one another – and the initiative has already resulted in sexual assault rates being cut in half.
The IMpower training program is conducted through 2-hour sessions once per week across six weeks, and only costs $1.75 to attend. The program’s focus on training girls aged 10 to 19 has a remarkable attendance record with over 12,000 girls being trained in the first two years. Lessons range from physical self-defense, to the concepts of body integrity and consent, to the simple – yet effective – method of repeatedly shouting “NO” to shock would-be attackers and alert bystanders of assault.
The training also includes encouraging the participants to chant: “I am strong! I’ve got my spirit! I am beautiful! I can defend myself! I’m worth defending! You cannot hurt me!”
Young girls are not the only participants. In addition to mentoring young women, the program also runs role-playing classes that teach grandmothers how to defend themselves, too.
Additionally, boys are taught how to discard their gender-based stereotypes and how to recognize and intervene in attempted sexual assaults. The boys have taken defending their peers to heart, with a large majority of their interventions successfully stopping attacks in their tracks.
The IMpower program, which is the brainchild of the nonprofit, No Means No Worldwide, was founded in 2009 by Lee Paiva, who has distraught over the gender-based crimes in Nairobi.
The program’s successes are a testament to it’s effectiveness:
Over 180,000 girls and boys completing their training to date
Rates of sexual assault have fallen by half
Intercessions have tripled
Half of the female participants were also hailed for stopping an assault in the year following their training
Such feats are impressive for a program which has cost less than half a million dollars over the course of their eight years of activism.
“We were pretty stunned that the self-defense training was so effective,” said Paiva.
Spurred by the positive feedback, No Means No Worldwide has exported their training to Malawi, replicating the successes from Kenya. They also have plans to start trainings in neighboring Uganda and create a center for further programs in the region.
Fight Against Negativity: Click To Share The News With Your Friends (Photo by Nichole Sobecki)
Taylor Theriault experienced a terrifying ordeal when she fell out of a 15th story apartment window during a party last December.
The 26-year-old Denver woman fell approximately 150 feet – but thankfully, her fall was cut short. Theriault landed on an air conditioning unit that was covered in snow three stories off the ground.
When a team of firefighters arrived on the scene, they were able to carefully get her down from her precarious position and rush her to the hospital.
The fall left Theriault comatose for a week and with 26 broken bones; but miraculously, she overcame the odds and has recovered tremendously from the devastating accident.
Now, nearly a year later, Theriault has finally had the chance to reunite with the men and women who saved her life.
“They’re the reason why I’m standing here,” said Theriault. “I mean, they help strangers out every day. I was just a stranger; the didn’t even know my name, and they saved my life.”
“I can walk. They told me I wasn’t going to be able to walk. They were not sure if I even would live,” she said. “It’s a miracle.”
CLICK to Watch the heartwarming reunion video – and remember to SHARE this story with your family and friends…
Title: Tim Ferriss’s Advice on Starting a Business or Podcast
The Lesson: Have you been thinking about creating your own podcast so you can share your best qualities with the world? Well, here is a quick and comprehensive set of rules on how to get yourself started. From maneuvering the demands of an audience, to keeping your own creative needs at the forefront; these are the most basic rules on working in a career you love.
Notable Excerpt: “Firstly, it is easiest – and in my mind, much more fun – to create a category and own it, as opposed to trying to dominate an existing category with something that is incrementally better.”
The Host: Over the course of his career, Ferriss has become a one-time national Chinese kickboxing champion, a lecturer at Princeton University, a professional breakdancer on MTV, a horseback archer, and a multimillionaire author, motivational speaker, and investor. If that isn’t impressive enough, his critically-acclaimed podcast, the Tim Ferriss Show, was also voted #1 in its category on iTunes.
While 2016 was one of paying tribute to a dozen A-list celebrities who had passed on to the next life, this year has been one in which a dozen A-list celebrities fell from grace.
It may seem uncomfortable to admire our favorite celebrities now, but role models in Tinseltown will continue to generously donate millions to causes, and also surprise us with their compassion and good nature.
Let’s look back and gaze up at all the stars who did us proud in 2017…
The 45-year-old retired player appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s show to discuss the unveiling of his new statue outside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California when he mentioned his habit of leaving hefty gratuities for his servers and valets.
On average, the player tips his valet $300 “to show his appreciation” – if he isn’t carrying cash when he is passing his valet, he “just keeps driving”. But Shaq says that the largest gratuity that he has ever left for a worker was a $4,000 tip that he gave to a waitress. (See More)
“It’s a huge problem, a growing problem, and the scale of the tragedy—even for the people who stay alive—is very high,” said Gates. “I hope that in the next 10 years that we have some powerful drugs, but it’s possible that won’t be achieved.” (See More)
8) Guy Fieri and Rob Lowe Cooked For the Firefighters Who Saved Their Homes
The celebrity chef and the Parks and Recreation actor live in homes that were dangerously close to the wildfires that raged through California.
So as a means of thanking the tireless team of firefighters for working hard to save their communities, Guy Fieri and Rob Lowe both opened their homes – and kitchens – to the heroes who fought the blaze.
Most people probably would not willingly share embarrassing photos of their teen years – but during a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the talk show host and television actor Nick Kroll called on their fellow stars to post pre-pubescent pictures of themselves to social media under the hashtag #PuberMe. (More Pics)
Dozens of stars participated in the campaign and raised over $1 million for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. Additionally, celebrity chef José Andrés made headlines after he spent nine straight days cooking up over 45,000 meals for hungry survivors of Hurricane Maria.
Hip hop artist Snoop Dogg may talk big game, but his most recent gesture of kindness shows off his heart of gold instead.
While being interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for his latest album Neva Left, Snoop surprised the talk show host with a massive donation to Children’s Hospital LA where Jimmy’s son receives treatment. (MORE)
Though the Soundgarden frontman may be gone, his mission is still being carried out by his fellow celebrities.
In honor of Chris Cornell’s song that was released posthumously to bring awareness to World Refugee Day, A-list stars were spreading the message of the rock star’s noble mission. Christian Bale, Josh Brolin, Cher, George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Tom Hanks, Oscar Isaac, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez, Serj Tankian, and Pharrell Williams collectively created a video advocating for Cornell’s humanitarian work under the hashtag #KeepThePromise. (See the Video)
When Gervais was supposed to be doing an interview with Good Morning America about his latest film, the actor used his platform to make a heartfelt plea for someone to adopt Bear – a sweet pup who had spent most of his life chained up to a doghouse. (Watch the video)
Cashier Sagine Lazarre was working a shift at the Six Corners Mattress Firm in Chicago, Illinois, when a female jogger entered the store asking if she could use the bathroom.
Lazarre granted her permission and didn’t think very much of the action until the woman emerged from the restroom and asked which mattress was Lazarre’s favorite. (More)
When Gabi Dunn’s boyfriend dumped her a few days after prom, the high schooler decided to put them to good use and “edit” the photos a bit.
To her delight, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds was pretty impressed with her Photoshop skills. In fact, he decided to help get in on the action a bit. (See More)
Travel guru Rick Steves has had more than enough experience with the struggles of finding a safe place to sleep at night – and that’s why he transformed his “retirement fund” into an apartment complex for families who need it most. Check out this story, one of our most popular of the year, here.
“A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts.” –Henry David Thoreau
Check out more inspiring thoughts every day on our homepage, where we will be adding a new quote each day juxtaposed over a beautiful photo. We are collecting and archiving them on our Quote of the Day page. So why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Some of the beautiful breakfasts feature pop culture references or company logos – others are just exceedingly intricate designs.
If that isn’t genius enough, Baldini also does his best to include a pun-ny caption with every post, so definitely read those—and SHARE the post to crack-up your pals.
Some may only recall this year as a year of personal or political frustration, so we’re going to remind you that2017 brought to life some fascinating revelations and scientific breakthroughs.
We’ve reviewed our archives and collected the most eye-opening and click-worthy articles. These gems really intrigued our audience—like the use of stem cells to regrow hair, and a 26-year-old mother giving birth to a 24-year-old ‘baby’. And, we hope you find a few that are worthy of re-sharing on your social feeds.
So here are the year’s most impressive science articles, counting down in the order of their popularity:
These researchers have created a revolutionary device that can regenerate any kind of body tissue and repair injuries with just a touch to the afflicted area.
“It takes just a fraction of a second. You simply touch the chip to the wounded area, then remove it,” said Chandan Sen, director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell-Based Therapies. “At that point, the cell reprogramming begins.” (Share here)
This shimmering park tower isn’t just a glamorous piece of architecture: it is the largest air purifier in the world, and it is turning China’s smog into diamonds.
The tower is a 23-foot tall metal structure that is capable of filtering 75% of harmful PM2.5 and PM10 particles from the surrounding air, thus producing 30,000 cubic meters of clean air per hour. This creates a bubble of air around the tower, offering smog-free solace to urban dwellers. (More here)
Scamming is big business, an industry worth over $1 billion per year. Many people fall for scams, and even the people who don’t, can’t really do much other than ignore it.
Well, computer scientists at NetSafe, an online safety non-profit in New Zealand, built Re:scam – an artificial intelligence that messes with the scammers and wastes their time. (Link here)
While this may look like a slightly more playful version of a regular font, those lines and letters have actually been designed specifically for dyslexia.
After spending years struggling with his own dyslexia, Dutch graphic designer Christian Boer created a special font called Dyslexie as his graduation project from the Utrecht School of the Arts in 2008. (Read it right, here)
Recreational drugs don’t sound like something you do in a doctor’s office – but the Food and Drug Administration wants that to change, for people who need real help.
The FDA just approved the substance, more clinically known as MDMA, as a ‘breakthrough’ medical drug—and will work to move it through clinical trials as efficiently as possible. (Details here)
A lot of you considered this post the antithesis of science and chastised us for sharing it, but maybe the impact of positive and negative emotions might be more impactful than you think—and many people have duplicated this simple experiment.
“When you say something nice, like ‘you can do it’, you feel that in your heart,” says 10-year-old student Anita Santini Trevisan. The youngster says that because of her teacher’s science experiment about negativity, she has tried to be more positive every day. (More to ponder here)
Eden Carlson’s parents were told that their beloved 2-year-old daughter would most likely be a vegetable for the rest of her life – but, then, an experimental therapy reversed her brain damage. (Great breakthrough here)
This groundbreaking new drug for cancer treatment was immediately approved by the FDA in light of its revolutionary effects on tumors across the body.
The drug, known as pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda), is the first cancer treatment that can be used against 11 different kinds of cancers no matter their location; whether in the bone, colon, pancreas, brain, or lung, as long as the tumor has certain bio-markers. (Details here)
This 26-year-old woman has just given birth to a 24-year-old baby, all thanks to science.
Emma Gibson, who was born one month ago, was frozen as an embryo at the National Embryo Donation Center in Clinton, Tennessee 24 years ago. (Fully-formed story here)
If you have never been able to grow a full head of luscious locks, and you can’t stand the itchiness of toupées, fear not – science may have a solution for your hairy problem.
Scientists at the University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences (UCLA) have successfully managed to activate the body’s stem cells in order to stimulate hair growth. (Full story here)
Click To Share These Revolutionary Breakthroughs With Your Friends
This kind janitor does not just keep her school clean – she also helps to keep the students safe.
Carolyn Collins is the custodian at Tucker High School in Tucker, Georgia. On any given day, you can find Carolyn picking up after the students, mopping the floors, and restocking the bathrooms.
But three years ago, something happened at school that added an unexpected element to Carolyn’s job.
While Carolyn was performing her early-morning tasks before the first bell, she was approached by two students who said they were starving and had nowhere else to go.
Carolyn, whose own son was killed during a home invasion, felt an instant calling to help the youngsters.
Carolyn then decided to transform one of the school closets into a supply room that specifically stocked food, clothing, and resources for struggling students.
During any given year, the compassionate custodian says that she opens her special closet for up to 30 kids who have nowhere else to turn.
NOTE: Some Fraudulent GoFundMe accounts were created to raise money based on Carolyn’s work. If you want to donate, please do so directly with the school: Attn: Mrs Collins, CARE CLOSET, 5036 LaVista Road, Tucker GA 30084
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman
Check out more inspiring thoughts every day on our homepage, where we will be adding a new quote each day juxtaposed over a beautiful photo. We are collecting and archiving them on our Quote of the Day page. So why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Corey Jones couldn’t bear to see 89-year-old Art Quick living out the rest of his days all by himself – so instead of allowing the Navy veteran to face the world alone, Jones invited him into his family.
Quick first met Jones and his 6-year-old daughter Malia at the Family Golf Center in Antioch, Tennessee.
As the senior coached the father-daughter duo on their swing, he mentioned that he had been living in motels since the last of his relatives passed away.
He also mentioned that even though he knew he couldn’t live in motels anymore, he didn’t know where to go next.
That’s when Jones asked the veteran if he would like to move in with him and Maila.
“I don’t think family is all tied with blood lines,” Jones told WSMV. “It’s the people who take care of one another, that’s family. He’s Navy, and I’m a Marine. That’s a close brotherhood there.”
(WATCH the video below)
Click To Share This Inspiring Story With Your Friends – Photo by WSMV
The Lesson: If you have ever undergone a painfully messy breakup or suffered through the varied chaos of an intimate relationship, this talk might have some answers for you. From explaining how to end a relationship that isn’t working, to going over how to gracefully endure being dumped, to the power of labeling your emotions – there are dozens of ways to get better at maneuvering the confusing world of romance.
Notable Excerpt: “I have seen the most high-level advanced spiritual people make a total mess of the end of a relationship. We just don’t know how to navigate it, and I have a theory about it. I think that inside of our happily-ever-after myth – which kind of assumes that if a relationship ends before one or both people die, that it was a complete failure of love – we never really figured out how to bring conscious completion to our intimate relationships.”
The Host: After spending years of his young life and athletic career struggling with his own emotional wellbeing, a crippling injury left Lewis Howes without an identity and without any work. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, however, Howes recreated himself as a multi-million dollar media producer, motivational speaker, bestselling author, and podcast host. The ex-football player now spends his days chatting with the most inspirational icons of this generation on his School of Greatness podcast.
Podcast: The School of Greatness podcast is available for download on Soundcloud and iTunes. You can also watch footage of the interviews on Howes’s YouTube channel.
Books: Howes is the author of the New York Times bestselling book “The School of Greatness”: an in-depth collection of lessons and wisdom that he has gathered from interviewing hundreds of the world’s greatest role models and thinkers. Howes’s latest book, “The Mask of Masculinity”, is based on his experience with the dangerous stereotypes and expectations that are placed on men in modern society.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below)
Good Advice? SHARE It – Or Check OutMoreOn Our Good Talks Page…
A lot of youngsters have woken up on Christmas morning with the hopes of finding a puppy waiting under the tree – but Cash isn’t that young at all.
In fact, the 12-year-old Golden Retriever lost a lot of his vitality after his sister Rosie suddenly passed away in 2014.
Cash’s owner, Marie Ahonen, says that she was heartbroken to see Cash feeling so lonely – which is why she decided to give him a special surprise for being on Santa’s nice list this year.
Earlier this month, the Ahonen family presented Cash with a big neatly-wrapped Christmas gift.
The senior dog is visibly excited by the package – and he only becomes more exuberant when Jennings the Golden Retriever puppy pops his head out of the box.
According to multiple UK newspapers, Ahonen said: “I knew he would be good [with another dog], but I never expected the reaction of pure joy – I had tears watching him. There’s now so much joy and sparkle in Cash’s eyes, he’s got a new lease of life.”
“They’ve been best buds ever since,” she added.
(WATCH the video below)
Click To Share This Pawesome Story With Your Friends – Photo by Caters News
“The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” – Marcel Pagnol
Check out more inspiring thoughts every day on our homepage, where we will be adding a new quote each day juxtaposed over a beautiful photo. We are collecting and archiving them on our Quote of the Day page. So why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Title: Mindfulness as a Way of Life (Why and How to Do it)
The Lesson: How mindful are we? Often we are distracted by diatribes that simply pop up in our mind—whether it’s an argument from yesterday, or the humiliation from 30 years ago. We aren’t thinking these thoughts; they simply arise without any direction. The key is what we do with our conscious mind when these thoughts come up. This could be “the most important piece of knowledge that you could possibly learn.” Let go and learn how to stop carrying around the self-destructive stuff inside you
Notable Excerpt: “If somebody is teaching you how to drive, they might use that word: ‘be mindful at all times of what is going on around you’. That is mindfulness too. It is exactly what we mean by being present in the moment and bringing consciousness to bear.”
The Speaker: Michael Singer is a #1 New York Times bestselling author who had a deep inner awakening in 1971 while working on his doctorate in economics. He became CEO of a billion dollar public software company, but also founded Temple of the Universe, a long-established yoga and meditation center; and he has made major contributions in the areas of business, education, healthcare, and environmental protection.
Books: Singer is the author of “The Untethered Soul”: a collection of simple, profoundly intuitive practices that instantly became Oprah Winfrey’s favorite book to gift to her friends. He is also the author of “The Surrender Experiment”, a guide to liberation from the ever-ending chatter in the mind.
Taylor Theriault experienced a terrifying ordeal when she fell out of a 15th story apartment window during a party last December.
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1) And, the Top Celebrity Story of the Year… 
1) And, the #1 Most Popular Science Story is… 
