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Michael Jordan Opens Another Health Clinic in Home State of North Carolina–Four Clinics Now Serve the Uninsured

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Michael Jordan at opening of New Health Clinic in North Carolina – Credit: Novant Health / Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic
Michael Jordan Celebrates Opening of New Health Clinic in North Carolina – Credit: Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic

After donating tens of millions of dollars, Michael Jordan is celebrating the opening of another vital community health hub—the fourth ‘Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic’ to open in North Carolina.

The latest is the second clinic opened in Jordan’s hometown of Wilmington, and all are founded in collaboration with Novant Health.

It will officially welcome patients on February 19, focusing on strengthening primary care for all patients—including individuals who are uninsured or underinsured.

The 7,300-square-foot clinic at 416 N. 30th St. has twelve patient rooms and will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“It’s truly gratifying to know that in less than a year, our first Novant clinic in Wilmington has already made a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of individuals and families in my hometown,” said Mr. Jordan.

“Visiting Wilmington last year for the opening of our first clinic was incredibly moving, and it reinforced just how important access to quality health care is for the community.”

“We are profoundly grateful to Michael Jordan for his generosity and vision in making these two clinics a reality in our community,” said Ernie Bovio, president of the Novant Health Coastal Region.

Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic in Charlotte at 2701 Statesville – Credit: Novant Health

“Thanks to his philanthropic partnership, our Greenfield Street clinic that opened last year served nearly 1,800 patients in its first nine months.”

Novant Health and Jordan first launched this clinic concept in Charlotte in 2019 with a pair of clinics that were strategically placed to address barriers to care, including transportation.

Many of the Charlotte patients never had a primary care visit before they were welcomed into the Michael Jordan clinics, where patients found “a sense of hope’.

Building on the success of this model, a $10 million gift from Jordan to the Novant Health foundations made it possible to add two more clinics in Wilmington.

INSPIRING JUMP SHOT: Michael Jordan Donates $10 Million to Make-A-Wish for his 60th Birthday, Setting a Record

Starting next week, patients can schedule appointments at the East Wilmington clinic by calling 910-833-9140.

Opening one of his earliest clinics – Novant Health

In  addition to the clinic’s primary care team, a community health worker will assist patients with community resources—and both Wilmington offices also support the work of Novant Health’s Community Care Cruiser to further serve individuals across the region.

MAKE A HEALTH CARE JUMP SHOT–Share This On Social Media…

Lost Stuffed Bunny Goes on Airport Adventure Ending in Heartwarming Reunion (WATCH)

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Credit: Pittsburgh International Airport

Any parent knows the heartbreak of a child losing their favorite stuffed animal. But thanks to a little airport magic, this drama has a “hoppy” ending!

Well-worn, with long gray ears, Bunny—its real name—was turned into Patti Getty, who has worked for 11 years at the Information Desk in the Pittsburgh International Airport.

“I wanted to take the bunny around and show what Pittsburgh airport is like,” Getty told GNN.

So, she snapped photos that were shared on February 4th to social media, with the caption:

“Lost bunny needs to find its way home 🐰”

“Yesterday, we found a bunny in our baggage claim area. We showed them LOTS of love.

But, the airport said they wanted Bunny to be warm and cuddled in their own home so shared a phone number to call.

While waiting to be found, the bunny went on a tour of the terminal, with the airport documenting its “adventures” along the way, culminating in an adorable video (below).

 

After a widespread search that captured thousands of hearts online, the airport successfully reunited the plush toy with its owner (six year old Waylynn).

In the heartwarming conclusion, the beloved stuffy was finally back home, having been picked up by the owner’s great-grandmother.

“We’re so happy to reunite lost items with their owners and it is ESPECIALLY joyful to reunite sentimental lost items like Bunny!

“Thanks to the awesome Pittsburgh community for sharing these posts and spreading the word so we could bring bunny home.”

ADORABLE REUNION: Little Boy Reunited With LEGO Man After Creating a ‘Missing Person’ Poster – LOOK

“Everyone wants to help everybody,” concluded Ms. Getty.

FDA Approves Opioid-free Pain Medication That Finally Delivers Relief Without Addiction

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Introducing the first new class of pain medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in more than two decades.

The FDA has approved the first drug in its class that targets moderate to severe acute pain in adults, without being addictive like opioids, which have been the standard of care in pain-killers for 20 years.

Boston-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals is set to sell the twice daily pills for $15 per dose under the name Journavx.

The analgesic works by “targeting a pain-signaling pathway involving sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system—before pain signals reach the brain.”

“Today’s approval is an important public health milestone in acute pain management,” said FDA spokesperson Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, J.D., M.D. “It provides patients with another treatment option.”

The efficacy of Journavx (aka suzetrigine) was evaluated in two randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled trials of acute surgical pain, both of which demonstrated a statistically-significant superior reduction in pain, compared to placebo.

RELATED: New Nanoparticle Treatment Could Ease Arthritis Pain Following Breakthrough Research

The safety was primarily based on data from the pooled, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled trials in 874 participants going through surgery, with additional data from one single-arm, open-label study of 256 participants.

The most common adverse reactions in patients were itching, muscle spasms, increased blood level of creatine phosphokinase, and rash. Additionally, patients should avoid food or drink containing grapefruit when taking Journavx. But, always check with your own doctor before taking the medication.

CHECK OUT: Targeted Sound Waves Treat Pain and Depression in as Little as One 40-minute Session

“Today’s approval is a historic milestone for the 80 million people in America who are prescribed a medicine for moderate-to-severe acute pain each year,” Reshma Kewalramani, M.D., the CEO and President of Vertex said on January 30.

“With the approval of JOURNAVX, a non-opioid, pain signal inhibitor, we have the opportunity to change the paradigm of acute pain management and establish a new standard of care.”

DON’T FORGET TO SHARE For People With Upcoming Surgeries…

“The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that brings peace to our minds.” – Nicholas Sparks

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Oziel Gómez

Quote of the Day: “The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that brings peace to our minds.” – Nicholas Sparks

Photo by: Oziel Gómez

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, February 16

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20 years ago today, the Kyoto Protocol went into effect after ratification by Russia. It commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring and that human-made CO2 emissions are driving it. READ about the progress made… (2005)

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World’s Oldest Bird Gives Birth to Yet Another Chick–at Nearly 74 Years Old

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Photo Credit: Jon Brack/Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Wisdom – USFWS / SWNS

The world’s oldest known bird has returned to her home island to hatch yet another chick, at nearly 74 years old.

Named Wisdom, the Laysan albatross has been spotted this month caring for her youngster on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean.

Like others of her species, Wisdom returns to the same nesting site each year to reunite with her mate and if able, lay one egg.

For decades, park officials in the Hawaiian Archipelago observed Wisdom doing this with the same partner (named Akeakamai), but that bird has not been seen for several years, which caused Wisdom to begin courtship dances with other males last year.

The spry septuagenarian is estimated to have produced 50-60 eggs in her lifetime, successfully fledging as many as 30 chicks, according to the expert staff at the refuge 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu.

Albatross parents share the responsibility of feeding their young by taking turns hunting while the other stays at the nest to watch over the chick.

“So when Wisdom returns to the nest (it’s) her partner’s turn to go hunt for squid, fish and crustaceans,” said a statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service–Pacific Region.

EXCELLENT NEWS: Not a Single Collision for Seabird Populations in Offshore Wind Farm Says $3M Radar Study

Biologists first identified and banded Wisdom in 1956 after she laid an egg. They determined her estimated age from that event 69 years ago, because the large seabirds aren’t known to breed before age five.

Wisdom with her chick – Photo Credit: Jon Brack/Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge

Hundreds of thousands of the gull-like seabirds begin returning to Midway Atoll each November to nest and raise their young—and Wisdom has been doing this for seven decades, since General Eisenhower was the US president.

SHARE THE AGING WONDER With Bird Lovers On Social Media…

Social Media is Swooning Over Images of Hearts on Mars

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Heart shapes on Mars planet taken by Mars Global Surveyor team - NASA
Heart shapes on Mars captured by Mars Global Surveyor team – NASA / SWNS

NASA sent a valentine to space lovers on social media this week posting images of heart shapes found on Mars.

The pictures were all captured from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) in the past decades—but with Valentine’s Day on Friday, it was the perfect moment to share the compilation online.

The post on Twitter/X made hearts swoon, eliciting comments like:

• “Looks like Mars has been secretly playing Cupid all along!”
• “Even the Red Planet has a soft spot for love.”
• “I think when we shift to Mars, these could be the spots where all the lovers could meet up.”

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory originally wrote, “Happy St. Valentine’s Day from the Mars Global Surveyor (and) Mars Orbiter Camera team!

RELATED: Spiders From Mars? Phenomenon Evokes David Bowie Song in These Photos Taken Near South Pole of Red Planet

“This collection of images acquired over the past 3 Mars years shows some of the heart-shaped features found on Mars.”

SEND SOME RED PLANET HEARTS to Space Lovers On Social Media…

Eco-Funerals Now Feature World’s First ‘Living Coffin’ Made Out of Mushrooms

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Loop Living Cocoon ©Loop Biotech
Loop Cocoon displayed in London – SWNS

In the UK, a funeral company says they can now bury you in the ‘world’s first living coffin’, which is made out of mushrooms.

Containing no wood, the coffins are formed out of a mat of fibers including pliable mycelium—the root structure of mushrooms—and up-cycled hemp plants.

The thread-like mycelium, aids decomposition by breaking down biological matter—and it biodegrades within 45 days.

Made by Dutch company Loop Biotech, the coffins can be grown in just a week and the eco-friendly burials “feed the earth” as they mix with nutrients from the human decomposition.

Poetic Endings in southeast London, was the first funeral director in the UK to offer one of these unique coffins, having first stocked them last week.

“It is such a beautiful product,” said director Louise Winter. “It feels like nothing I have ever touched—it’s like the rind of brie.

“This is so original, I have never seen anything like it,” she told news agency SWNS.com.

The Loop Living Cocoon coffin made of mushrooms lined in moss – SWNS

The 38-year-old said they were introduced to the mushroom coffin by the family of Max Leighton, who became the first British person to be buried in one in December 2024.

After having such a successful service, and being so blown away by the product quality, Poetic Endings decided to stock them permanently.

“Max believed in the ‘Wood Wide Web’—the underground fungal network that connects trees and sustains forests,” said Nick Leighton, Max’s dad.

“It was a natural choice to lay him to rest in the Loop ‘Living Cocoon’. It wasn’t just beautiful; it felt right.”

The funeral firm GreenAcres, which operates eco-friendly Living Memorial Parks across the UK, are also now offering the mushroom coffin option in Norfolk, Essex, Merseyside, Kent, Buckinghamshire, and Hampshire.

Lined with moss, they generally cost $1,500 (£1,250). Loop also produces mushroom urns for burying the ashes of loved ones.

RELATED: First State in the U.S. Approves Human Composting; Local ’Green Reaper‘ Has Your Guide to Eco-Friendly Burials

Loop Living Cocoon ©Loop Biotech

“The Loop Living Cocoon coffin not only avoids a heavy carbon footprint but enhances the quality of the soil, providing the most natural way to complete the circle of life,” GreenAcres Managing Director Jane Kirkup said. “People are choosing to plant a Living Memorial Tree in place of a granite headstone, too.”

Loop Biotech launched five years ago, and Bob Hendrikx, the CEO and founder, says there is “a growing demand for sustainable, biodegradable funeral products that enrich nature”.

CHECK OUT: Amid the Green Funeral Movement, Scattering Ashes Ensures These Forests Remain Pristine Forever

If the response in London is any indication, growth is inevitable. At the Poetic Endings launch event this month, people were “blown away” by how beautiful they are.

PROMOTE THE GOOD By Sharing This Movement on Social Media…

Your Valentine’s Week Horoscope from ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny

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Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of February 14, 2025
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Borrowing the words of Aquarian author Virginia Woolf, I’ve prepared a love note for you to use as your own. Feel free to give these words to the person whose destiny needs to be woven more closely together with yours. “You are the tide that sweeps through the corridors of my mind, a wild rhythm that fills my empty spaces with the echo of eternity. You are the unspoken sentence in my every thought, the shadow and the light interwoven in the fabric of my being. You are the pulse of the universe pressing against my skin, the quiet chaos of love that refuses to be named. You are my uncharted shore.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Love and intimacy and togetherness are fun, yes. But they’re also hard work—especially if you want to make the fun last. This will be your specialty in the coming months. I’ve assembled four quotes to inspire you. 1. “The essence of marriage is not that it provides a happy ending, but that it provides a promising beginning—and then you keep beginning again, day after day.” —Gabriel García Márquez. 2. “The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret. But those who follow the art of creating it day after day come closest to discovering it.” —Pearl Buck. 3. “Love is a continuous act of forgiveness.” —Maya Angelou. 4. “In the best of relationships, daily rebuilding is a mutual process. Each partner helps the other grow.” —Virginia Satir.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Love requires stability and steadiness to thrive. But it also needs unpredictability and imaginativeness. The same with friendship. Without creative touches and departures from routine, even strong alliances can atrophy into mere sentiment and boring dutifulness. With this in mind, and in accordance with astrological omens, I offer quotes to inspire your quest to keep togetherness fertile and flourishing. 1. “Love has no rules except those we invent, moment by moment.” —Anaïs Nin. 2. “The essence of love is invention. Lovers should always dream and create their own world.” —Jorge Luis Borges. 3. “A successful relationship requires falling in love many times, always with the same person, but never in quite the same way.” —Mignon McLaughlin. 4. “Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. But it must also be an act of endless reinvention, lest that tender look grow dull.” —Peter Ustinov

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
In celebration of the Valentine season, I suggest you get blithely unshackled in your approach to love. Be loose, limber, and playful. To stimulate the romantic and intimate qualities I think you should emphasize, I offer you these quotes: 1. “Love is the endless apprenticeship of two souls daring to be both sanctuary and storm for one another.” —Rainer Maria Rilke 2. “Love is the revolution in which we dismantle the prisons of our fear, building a world where our truths can stand naked and unashamed.” —Audre Lorde. 3. “Love is the rebellion that tears down walls within and between us, making room for the unruly beauty of our shared becoming.” —Adrienne Rich.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
To honor the rowdy Valentine spirit, I invite you to either use the following passage or compose one like it, then offer it to a willing recipient who would love to go deeper with you: “Be my thunderclap, my cascade of shooting stars. Be my echo across the valley, my rebel hymn, my riddle with no answer. Be my just-before-you-wake-up-dream. Be my tectonic shift. Be my black pearl, my vacation from gloom and doom, my forbidden dance. Be my river-song in F major, my wild-eyed prophet, my moonlit debate, my infinite possibility. Be my trembling, blooming, spiraling, and soaring.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Cancerian author Elizabeth Gilbert wrote, “The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all.” One of those strange jewels in you is emerging from its hiding place. Any day now, it will reveal at least some of its spectacular beauty—to be followed by more in the subsequent weeks. Are you ready to be surprised by your secret self? Are your beloved allies ready? A bloom this magnificent could require adjustments. You and yours may have to expand your horizons together.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In 2025, the role that togetherness plays in your life will inspire you to achieve unexpected personal accomplishments. Companionship and alliances may even stir up destiny-changing developments. To get you primed, I offer these quotes: 1. “Love is a trick that nature plays on us to achieve the impossible.” —William Somerset Maugham. 2. “Love is the ultimate outlaw. It won’t adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is sign on as its accomplice.” —Tom Robbins. 3. “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. Yet each day reveals new constellations in our shared sky.” —Emily Brontë.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Psychotherapist Robin Norwood wrote that some people, mostly women, give too much love and kindness. They neglect their own self-care as they attend generously to the needs of others. They may even provide nurturing and support to those who don’t appreciate it or return the favor. Author Anne Morrow Lindbergh expressed a different perspective. She wrote, “No one has ever loved anyone too much. We just haven’t learned yet how to love enough.” What’s your position on this issue, Virgo? It’s time for you to come to a new understanding of exactly how much giving is correct for you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Are you ready to express your affection with lush and lavish exuberance? I hope so. Now would be an excellent time, astrologically speaking. I dare you to give the following words, composed by poet Pablo Neruda, to a person who will be receptive to them. “You are the keeper of my wildest storms, the green shoot splitting the stone of my silence. Your love wraps me in galaxies, crowns me with the salt of the sea, and fills my lungs with the language of the earth. You are the voice of the rivers, the crest of the waves, the pulse of the stars. With every word you speak, you unweave my solitude and knit me into eternity.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Among its potential gifts, astrology can raise our awareness of the cyclical nature of life. When used well, it helps us know when there are favorable times to enhance and upgrade specific areas of our lives. For example, in the coming weeks, you Scorpios could make progress on building a strong foundation for the future of love. You will rouse sweet fortune for yourself and those you care for if you infuse your best relationships with extra steadiness and stability.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
I want you to be moved by intimacy and friendships that buoy your soul, inspire your expansive mind, and pique your sense of adventure. To boost the likelihood they will flow your way in abundance during the coming weeks, I offer you these quotes. 1. “Love is a madness so discreet that we carry its delicious wounds for a lifetime as if they were precious gems.” —Federico García Lorca. 2. “Love is not a vacation from life. It’s a parallel universe where everything ordinary becomes extraordinary.” —Anne Morrow Lindbergh. 3. “Where there is love there is life. And where there is life, there is mischief in the making.” —my Sagittarius friend Artemisia. 4. “The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds.” —Nicholas Sparks

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Every intimate alliance is unique, has its own rules, and shouldn’t be compared to any standard. This is a key theme for you to embrace right now. Below are helpful quotes. 1. “Each couple’s love story is a language only they can speak, with words only they can define.” —Federico Fellini. 2. “In every true marriage, each serves as guide and companion to the other toward a shared enlightenment that no one else could possibly share.” —Joseph Campbell. 3. “The beauty of marriage is not in its uniformity but in how each couple writes their own story, following no map but the one they draw together.” —Isabel Allende. 4. “Marriages are like fingerprints; each one is different, and each one is beautiful.” —Maggie Reyes.

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“Our work is the presentation of our capabilities.” – Edward Gibbon

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Quote of the Day: “Our work is the presentation of our capabilities.” – Edward Gibbon

Photo by: JSB Co. for Unsplash+ (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Good News in History, February 15

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GNU licensed image

79 years ago today, the US government’s first all-purpose computer—ENIAC—was unveiled. The Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer was digital and programmable, and therefore one thousand times faster than electro-mechanical machines of the day. In a fine example of how markets can drive down the price of goods through incremental improvement and specialization, ENIAC cost the US Army $487,000—the equivalent to $6,900,000 in 2023 dollars, tens of thousands of times as much as a computer today. READ more… (1945)

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Scientists Discover Oldest Bird Fossils, Rewrite History of Avian Evolution

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Andy Corbley
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A photograph and interpretive line drawing show the Baminornis zhenghensis fossil - credit: Min Wang
A photograph and interpretive line drawing show the Baminornis zhenghensis fossil – credit: Min Wang

According to a truly field-altering fossilized bird found in China, birds already existed in the Late Jurassic period, approximately 160 million years ago.

The new discovery suggests that rather than a linear evolutionary path from dinosaur to bird, these two orders evolved somewhat simultaneously.

An artistic representation of the newly discovered species, Baminornis zhenghensis, with the preserved bones highlighted – credit: Zhao Chuang.

Baminornis zhenghensis is the world’s oldest species of avid. A holotype fossil was recently found in East China’s Fujian Province and described in the journal Nature. The pelvis, trunk, forelimbs, and part of the hindlimb are all intact.

“Baminornis is a landmark discovery and ranks among the most important bird fossils unearthed since the discovery of Archaeopteryx in the early 1860s,” Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist from the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study but wrote a commentary accompanying it, tells Xinhua.

“This is a groundbreaking discovery. It overturns the previous situation that Archaeopteryx was the only bird found in the Jurassic Period,” Zhonghe Zhou, a paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and co-author of the study, tells the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

China’s wealth of cultural and historical treasures is almost matched in importance by its role as one of the world’s great crucibles of paleontological discoveries. Dinosaurs and prehistoric animals from every age, of every size, and of every description have been found there.

Archaeopteryx, the missing link that connected dinosaurs to birds, was first discovered in Germany, but several other iterations of paleo-avids, including a “Cretaceous cormorant,” a prehistoric wader, and the gliding Microraptor have been found in China.

Baminornis displays a number of characteristic bird features, the most important among them being a short tail—a critical innovation in bird flight.

CHECK THIS OUT: Complete Stegosaurus Fossil Found With Skin Still On in Northern China

“Previously, the oldest record of short-tailed birds is from the Early Cretaceous,” Wang Min, a paleontologist author of the study from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explains in a statement. Baminornis is now the “oldest short-tailed bird yet discovered, pushing back the appearance of this derived bird feature by nearly 20 million years.”

The short tail shifted the center of gravity forward, allowing for greater aerodynamism. This stands in direct contrast to Archaeopteryx which had a long feathered tail.

MORE BIG FOSSIL DISCOVERIES: Paleontologists Hunted for This Giant Bird Skull for Over a Century–Finally, a Complete ‘Thunderbird’

Pelvic and pectoral girdles strengthen Baminornis’s bird-like biology, but a pair of clearly dinosaur-shaped hands betray its origin.

Wang believes that to have two different animals that were developing avian features, living in a relatively close period, but with such different physical shapes, suggests that millions of years of avid evolution had already taken place before Baminornis walked the Earth.

SHARE This Groundbreaking Discovery With Your Friends Who Love Dinos… 

Girl With Cleft Lip Adopts Dog Born With the Same Feature

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Andy Corbley
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Kynlee Rogers, 10, with her dog - credit: Kimberly Rogers
Kynlee Rogers, 10, with her dog – credit: Kimberly Rogers

This is Kynlee Rogers, born with a cleft lip; and her dog, Tennee, born with a cleft lip.

Rogers used to ask her mom Kimberly why she was different from other kids, a challenging thing for any parent to have to answer. She doesn’t ask anymore though, because she’s not different; just look at her dog!

From the Washington Post comes the story of a nonprofit that works to connect dogs born with craniofacial defects with the ‘craniofacial’ community, to strengthen both through common cause and love.

“Our mission is to combine the two different cleft communities: the human community and the canine community,” Lindsay Weisman, who started Cleft Rescue Unit in May 2023, told the Post. “We get puppies from across the country.”

She added that many humans with clefts adopt dogs with clefts, delighting in their shared difference.

“They love that the puppies look like them. It’s really special.”

In humans, cleft palates and lips develop in utero from a variety of environmental and genetic factors. Difficulties lay ahead for these children, without a doubt, but puppies born with the same conditions might have it even harder as they tend very strongly towards dying in infancy.

DOGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT: Bulldog Puppy Spontaneously Regrows Part of its Jaw After it Was Removed During Cancer Surgery

Cleft lip or palate, says Weisman, prevents a puppy from nursing properly, leading to malnutrition and death if they are not recognized and taken into veterinary care for tube feeding.

Mandy, another dog with cleft lip (right) Kynlee hugs Tennee in the airport – credit Cleft Rescue Unit

Cleft Rescue Unit works to raise awareness of the dangers to these pups and take them off the hands of breeders or owners who aren’t capable of taking care of them. Once they can eat solid food, the unit seeks to pair dogs with a human owner with the same craniofacial feature.

As it happened for Kynlee, she asked her mother one night if dogs also have cleft lips—to which her mom, feeling the lightbulb moment above her head, replied “of course they do.”

ON THIS THEME: Half of Dad’s Face Rebuilt After Dog Sniffs Out Cancer to Save His Life: ‘Do Not Ignore the Symptoms’

The Rogers adopted Tennee in September, and the dog has had a profound impact on Kynlee’s life.

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California’s Fascinating ‘Glory Hole Spillway’ Is Flowing for First Time in Years

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Andy Corbley
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Glory Hole spillway in Lake Berryessa – by timelessmoon (Public Domain via GetArchive )
Glory Hole spillway in Lake Berryessa – by timelessmoon (Public Domain via GetArchive )

After a series of significant rains in Napa, a man-made lake’s unique drainage system was activated to the delight of onlookers.

Known as the Morning Glory spillway in Napa County’s Lake Berryessa behind the Monticello Dam, a 72-foot-long hole empties the water of the lake down into a creek 200 feet below.

Forming a perfect flow of water in a ring, the spillway looks like a whirlpool at sea, and has visitors flocking to see it in action before the lake falls below 440 feet—the threshold at which the spillway activates.

Installed nearly 70 years ago, the unique “passive spillway” located near the middle of the lake has only been needed 25 times during its existence. A series of atmospheric rivers have passed over Napa recently, and with more forecasted, there’s still the chance to go see it up close from a section of the small road that passes around the lake.

Activated in 2017, and again in 2019, its long dormancy captures well the effects of the droughts California has suffered from over the last few years.

Local residents draw water from the reservoir, meaning that it takes an awful lot of rain for the spillway to become active, as its levels are constantly being depleted.

A SIMILAR, BUT NATURAL PHENOMENON: Hiker Captures Video of Rare Ice Disk Vortex Spinning in Scottish Winter Weather Phenomenon–WATCH

LA Times reports that other man-made lakes in California utilize these passive spillways, including Trinity Lake in Trinity County and Whiskeytown Lake in Shasta County.

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Entrepreneur Is Tackling 120 Million Tons of Plastic Waste–One Deodorant Stick at a Time

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Andy Corbley
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File photo by Ana Essentiels
File photo by Ana Essentiels

The restaurant and fashion industries are often and rightly critiqued for the mountains of landfill waste they produce, but the same can—and really should—be said about cosmetics and hygiene products.

In response, an Ivorian immigrant to Arizona has created a fully compostable, plant-based refillable skincare dispenser made of sugarcane and bamboo pulp.

Inventor Mory Diané from the Ivory Coast hopes it can become the new industry standard.

“When I discovered that the beauty industry alone produces over 120 billion plastic containers annually, with less than 10% being recycled, I knew we needed a radical change,” Diané told Good News Network.

“As an engineer, I couldn’t simply accept this massive waste as the status quo. That’s why I developed Rover™.”

“My background in civil engineering taught me that the most effective solutions are often the simplest ones. We’re not just creating another refillable container—we’re revolutionizing the entire approach to skincare packaging.”

Basically, the Rover dispenser is compatible with any kind of liquid deodorant, gel, powder, balm, oils, or sticks, thereby offering brands and consumers a practical way to eliminate single-use plastics; one can literally turn a cabinet of cosmetics into four or five little pods.

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“What we’re trying to achieve goes beyond just creating an eco-friendly product. We’re aiming to transform how the entire beauty industry thinks about packaging. By making our sustainable solution accessible and cost-effective, we’re showing that it’s possible to maintain premium quality while eliminating plastic waste. This isn’t just about selling a product—it’s about creating a new standard that benefits both consumers and our planet,” Diané says.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Entrepreneur Transforms Old Cement Bags into Solar-Charging Backpacks to Help Children Read at Night

Researchers cited by Vouge suggested that not only are 120 billion containers of cosmetics produced annually, but 20-40% of these end up as waste when they expire, are discontinued, or because the purchaser simply isn’t satisfied or interested in them.

Alternatives are needed, and Rover is a great place to start.

SHARE This Sustainable Solution For Skincare With Your Friends… 

“Love is when they give you a piece of your soul, that you never knew was missing.” – Torquato Tasso (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Love is when they give you a piece of your soul, that you never knew was missing.” – Torquato Tasso (Happy Valentine’s Day!)

Photo by: Ilya Shishikhin (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Two Minutes Earlier, She Got a Friendship Bouquet…

Good News in History, February 14

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Good News Network
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Scene from Act 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest, 1923 West End revival - pub domain

130 years ago today, The Importance of Being Earnest, a play by Irish writer Oscar Wilde, debuted in the St. James Theater of London. It is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists use the age-old theater mechanism of disguises and alter egos to maintain fictitious personae as a means to escape burdensome, Victorian social obligations. Some contemporary reviews praised the play’s humor as the culmination of Wilde’s artistic career, but it also brought about his downfall as a playwright. READ what the local royalty thought… (1895)

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Archaeologists Unearth ‘Exceptionally Rare’ Roman Helmet at the Site of ‘Weapon Sacrifice’

By
Andy Corbley
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(left) The helmet discovered in Denmark (right) a Weisenau-type Roman helmet found in Germany - credit: Velje Museums / Carnuntum Museum CC 2.5.
(left) The helmet discovered in Denmark (right) a Weisenau-type Roman helmet found in Germany – credit: Velje Museums / Carnuntum Museum CC 2.5.

When it comes to archaeological discoveries, few things excite as much as a soldier’s helmet. The epitome of looking into the face of the past, they’ve helped historians infer so much about ancient and medieval warfare.

Recently in Denmark, archaeologists became elated when looking through an Iron Age excavation they identified the first Roman Imperial helmet ever found in the country, and just the second in all of Scandinavia.

It was found at Løsning Søndermark, a Danish Iron Age settlement that yielded dozens of artifact weapons which GNN reported on in December 2024. Archaeologists described the find as a “weapons sacrifice,” a strange yet well-documented custom that’s believed to have taken place after battles or the death of an important individual.

The haul included 119 lance and spearheads, 8 swords, 5 knives, 3 arrowheads, an axe head, and a chainmail cuirass—an object of immense value at the time, which would have taken months to craft. Non-military equipment included two oath rings, a bugle of sorts, a horse bridle, and hundreds of flint and pottery fragments.

Also found at the time were “numerous not yet identified iron and bronze objects” some of which must have been the component parts of this ‘Imperial Italic’ class Roman helmet, dating to the twilight of the empire when helmet construction reached an artistic and functional highpoint.

Euro News, reporting on the additional finds, noted that X-ray images on plates of iron revealed them to be parts of the helmet that would have folded down over the cheeks and neck—one of the only points where an enemy could strike to significantly wound a legionary stationed within his battle formation.

Denmark was beyond the borders of the Roman Empire even at its highest point of influence. Rather than belonging to a legionary, the helmet may have been taken as plunder or through trading by Germanic peoples.

released by Velje Museums

The Romans maintained a sort of ‘trade and invade’ policy with the Germans, but never ventured beyond into regions like Scandinavia, the Baltics, or Poland. The Germans however would have been in contact with the inhabitants of these lands, which perhaps is how the helmet ended up so far from the workshops of the Empire.

MORE ROMAN-AGE FINDS: Dozens of Strange 12-Sided Objects from Roman Times Have Been Found—No One Knows What They’re For

The weapons were found in the remains of two separate buildings in Løsning Søndermark, in the municipality of Hedensted, and were often bent in dramatic angles.

In one, the deposits were made during the dismantling of the house. The large, roof-bearing posts were removed, and the weapons were buried in the empty hole. In the second, the offerings were made during the construction of the house, with the weapons and other equipment being tightly packed around the roof-bearing posts prior to backfilling.

WARTIME ARCHAEOLOGY: Finding Any Sword is a Treasure But Four is ‘A Dream’ – We Rubbed Our Eyes

This gave the archaeologists the assurance that the building wasn’t a barracks or smithy, where one may expect to find piles of weapons, and that they were all set together for ceremonial purposes.

Efforts are underway to display parts of the massive find at the Vejle Cultural Museum in early 2025.

SHARE This Continually Unfolding Discovery Of Iron War Gear In Denmark… 

New Technology Lights Up Coral Beds to Speed Reef Restoration By Attracting Food

By
Andy Corbley
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UZELA lights installed in a nursery - credit Phanor Montoya-Maya, via Coral Restoration
UZELA lights installed in a nursery – Credit: Phanor Montoya-Maya, via Coral Restoration Foundation

What would a bird feeder look like if you adapted it to feed coral reefs? The answer is something like a searchlight.

Scientists at Ohio State have designed one that uses a special kind of light that attracts the microscopic organisms that coral feed on.

The device, dubbed the Underwater Zooplankton Enhancement Light Array (UZELA), is an autonomous, programmable underwater light that underwent early trials with the help of the Coral Restoration Foundation in Tavernier, Florida.

After testing the submersible on two species of coral native to Hawaii over six months, researchers found that UZELA could greatly enhance local zooplankton density and increase the feeding rates of both healthy and bleached coral.

When coral feed on larger quantities of zooplankton, it makes them stronger and more likely to be resilient against certain environmental threats, like heat stress or ocean acidification.

“Coral reefs house one-third of all marine species, yet occupy less than 1% of the ocean,” said Andrea Grottoli, lead author of the published study and a professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University.

The foundation writes that if UZELA proves effective, it could revolutionize coral nursery operations.

“By improving coral health and survival rates, UZELA could help reduce the time it takes for corals to grow to a size suitable for outplanting onto reefs. This would not only enhance the success of coral restoration projects but also reduce the operating costs associated with growing and maintaining nursery corals.”

OCEAN ADVANCEMENT: ‘Huge Environmental Win’: Australia to Protect 52% of its Oceans, More Than Any Other Country

Understandably, artificial lights can disrupt the behavior of other marine animals, so researchers could choose not to use the device year-round. That said, the study emphasizes that corralling zooplankton with this human-made tool doesn’t seem to harm the environment or interrupt the flow of other zooplankton in the surrounding area.

“If you imagine zooplankton in a column floating above coral, instead of being naturally dispersed, UZELA is just pulling them down, but it’s not taking away from the coral beside it,” said Grottoli. “We show that if you put the coral close to the light, they benefit from that concentrated zooplankton, and feeding rates go up 10 to 50-fold.”

MORE CORAL NEWS: Full Recovery for Coral Reef Within 4 Years – The Speed of Restoration They Saw was ‘Incredible’

“The real intent of this project is to inject new technology and energy into coral restoration success. It’s something that can be deployed strategically for high-value reefs, or projects that have already had a lot of investment in them.”

SHARE This Positive News Of An Invention To Fortify Our Reefs… 

Bison Ranchers Return Thousands of Animals to Native Lands and Witness Total Rejuvenation of Ecosystem

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit: Tanka Fund, via Facebook
– credit: Tanka Fund, via Facebook

A tribal-led nonprofit is creating a network of native bison ranchers that are restoring ecosystems on the Great Plains, restoring native ranchers’ connections with their ancestral land, and restoring the native diet that their ancestors relied on.

Called the Tanka Fund, they coordinate donors and partners to help ranchers secure grazing land access, funds needed to install and repair fencing, increase their herd sizes, and access markets for bison meat across the country.

That’s the human part of the story. But as Dawn Sherman, executive director of the Tanka Fund, told Native Sun News, they’re “buffalo people” and these four-legged, 2,000 lbs. “cousins” are equal-part-protagonists.

The return of the bison means the return of the prairie, one of the three great grassland ecosystems on the planet, of which just 1% remains as it was when the Mayflower arrived.

“Bringing buffalo back to their ancestral homelands is essential to restoring the ecosystem. We know that the buffalo is a keystone species,” said Dawn Sherman, a member of the Lakota, Delaware, Shawnee, and Cree.

“Bringing the buffalo back to the land and to our people, helps restore the ecosystem and everything it supports from the animals to the plants to the people. It’s come full circle. That’s how we see it.”

As Sherman and the Tanka Fund help native ranchers grow their operations, everyone is well aware of the power of the bison to transform the environment: just as nations across Europe are, who are reintroducing wood bison to various ecosystems, for all the same reasons.

YOU’LL SURELY LIKE: Absolutely Epic: Watch the Release of a Wild Bison Herd onto Blackfeet Tribal Land

Sherman points out the variety of ways in which buffalo anchor the prairie ecosystem. The almost-extinct black-footed ferret, she points out, lived symbiotically with the bison, and with the latter gone, the former followed—nearly.

The long-billed curlew uses bison dung as a disguise to hide nests from predators. Deer, pronghorn antelope, and elk all rely on bison to plow through deep snows and uncover the grasses that these smaller animals can’t reach.

TRIBES REGAINING THEIR RIGHTS: After 9 Years of Work, Chumash Tribe Finally Seals Protection of CA Marine Reserve Bigger Than Yosemite

Everywhere the bison hurls its massive body, life springs in the beast’s wake. When bison roll about on the plains, it creates depressions known as wallows. These fill with rainwater and create enormous puddles where amphibians and insects thrive and reproduce. Certain plants evolved to grow in the wet conditions of the wallows which Native Americans harvested for food and medicine.

Native plants evolved under the trampling hooves of millions of bison, and that constant tamping down of the Earth is a key necessity in the spreading of native wildflower seed.

GOOD NATIVE STORIES: Bison Herd New to Park Uncover Ancient Petroglyphs With Their Hooves Fulfilling Indigenous Prophecy

Indeed, Sherman says some of these native ranchers are bringing bison onto lands still visibly affected by the Dust Bowl, and already the animals are acting like a giant wooly cure-all for the land’s ills.

Since 2020, the Tanka Fund, in partnership with the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council and the Nature Conservancy, has overseen the transfer of 2,300 bison from Nature Conservancy reserves to lands managed by ranchers within the Tanka Fund network.

“[T]he more animals that we can get the more of that prairie we can restore,” said Sherman. “We can help restore the land that has been plowed and has been leased out to cattle ranchers.”

WATCH a video explaining what the Tanka Fund does… 

SHARE This Native Project Of Renewal And Enrichment With Your Friends…

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