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Former Child Brides Win Case in Court: Zimbabwe Bans Child Marriage

By
Terry Turner
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Young Mothers Africa CC UK Dept for Intl Development

Former child brides have struck a blow for future generations of women and children — taking their case to Zimbabwe’s highest court and winning a ban on marriage for anyone under the age of 18.

The women, Loveness Mudzuru and Ruvimbo Tsopodzi, claimed they faced a life of poverty without access to education after being forced into child marriages.

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A lawyer for the two said the court decision “deals a decisive blow to the exploitation of children” and called on Zimbabwe’s legislature to set penalties for for the practice.

Nearly one-third of girls in Zimbabwe marry before their 18th birthday — some even before they turn 15  — when parents arrange their marriages.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling on January 20 banned marriage and other customary forms of unions for anyone under the age of 18. It also struck down a law that let girls marry at 16, but required boys to be at least 18.

RELATED:  President of Gambia Bans Female Genital Mutilation

Mudzuru, one of the women who brought the lawsuit, married when she was just 16 and had two children before turning 18.

“I really am happy that we have played an instrumental part in making Zimbabwe a safe place for girls,” Mudzuru told Reuters.

(READ more from Reuters) — Photo: UK Department for International Development

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Stephen Colbert and Kermit the Frog Tackle Life’s Big Questions (WATCH)

By
Terry Turner
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Kermit and Steven Colbert screenshot The Late Show

“Do we have free will, or is there someone controlling our every movement?”

That’s a big question philosophers have debated for centuries — but a pretty silly one coming from Late Show host Stephen Colbert to Kermit the Frog.

The two stars tackle a series of “Big Questions from Even Bigger Stars” while lying on a blanket looking at the night sky.

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They tackle the timeless ones:

What would you tell your younger self?

What’s your biggest regret?

What’s the sound of one hand clapping?

And perhaps the biggest one of all: Why are we here?

Of course the “big star” answer to that last one is easy – “Because your people reached out to my agent.”

WATCH:  Autistic Teen Saves Choking Friend With Help From SpongeBob

Pick up the wisdom of the universe — or at least some insights from a Muppet and a comedian — in the video below.

(WATCH the video from The Late Show below) — Photo: The Late Show video

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Step Into Salvador Dali’s Imagination With This Virtual Reality Tour (WATCH)

By
Terry Turner
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What do you get when you mix Salvador Dali’s surreal art with Disney’s entertainment creativity? The ability to go inside one of Dali’s paintings and explore the surreal surroundings from every angle.

The video below details“Dreams of Dali“ a virtual reality art exhibit at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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You’re able to steer your view using the four arrows in the upper left corner. You can look up, down, to the sides, even behind the camera, to get a feel of the virtual reality experience of the exhibit.

It’s part of a larger “Disney & Dalí: Architects of the Imagination“ exhibit at the museum, which ends June 12, 2016.

(WATCH the video from the Dali Museum above and EXPLORE the 360-Degree version below)

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Dog Breaks Out of Kennel to Comfort Frightened Puppies (WATCH)

By
Terry Turner
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Dog Comforts Pups FB Barkers Pet Motel and Grooming

When a pair of foster puppies started barking on their first night in a new kennel, one of the dogs that was boarding nearby decided to adopt them.

The pups were restless in their new surroundings when Maggie, an Australian Shepherd mix whose family had been boarding her at the kennel for about a week–and her maternal instincts took over.

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The owners of Barker’s Pet Motel and Grooming in Alberta, Canada watched on security cameras as Maggie, a mama whose litter of pups were recently adopted, sneaked out of her own pen to comfort them.

When someone went in to check on the dogs, Maggie got in the pen with the pups and was able to calm them right away.

REALATED:  Dog Stands Guard By Trapped Best Friend for a Week Until Rescued

“When we came back in the morning they were all still cuddled up together,” Alex Aldred, a Barkers employee, told ABC News. “We’ve never really seen it before, where a dog sneaks out to some puppies and is so excited to see them.”

(WATCH the video below from the CBC, or READ more at ABC News) — Photos: Barkers Pet Motel and Grooming, Facebook

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Artist Honors Mom With 2,300 Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches for Poor

By
Terry Turner
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Some artists work in oils and acrylics, but this one works in peanut butter and jelly.

Jessica Olah is spending the week making 2,340 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at a New York art gallery as patrons watch. Her edible performance art is a tribute to the sacrifices her mother made for Jessica and her siblings.

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“She stayed at home with us while we were growing up and then went back as a teacher later in life,” Jessica told WPIX News.

Jessica arrived at the 2,340 number because it’s how many school days there are from kindergarten through 12th grade. She says her mother packed a PB&J sandwich for her lunch every day when her daughter was in school.

CHECK OUT:  S is for Sculpture: Father Teaches Alphabet And Inspires Street Art

Jessica is making about 50 sandwiches every hour and her art won’t go unappreciated – twice a day through Sunday her meal masterpieces are being delivered to the Bowery Mission to feed the hungry.

(WATCH the video below from WPIX News) — Photo courtesy of Garrett Shore

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Baby-Whispering Cat Strokes Baby To Sleep With Its Paw (WATCH) #TBT

By
McKinley Corbley
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Parents everywhere are stifling their jealousy over the baby-whispering techniques of this soothing feline.

A fussing baby is seen crying and whimpering until a midnight-black cat standing guard gently places its paw on the tot’s head.

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35 seconds of soothing pats later, the kid is fast asleep.

The home movie was posted in February, 2014 — to once again remind dog people of just how capable their competition is.

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Greek Football Teams Stop Play to Sit Down and Honor Lost Refugees

By
Terry Turner
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Soccer Players Sit Down Protest 1 screenshot Guardian and OTE Sports

When the whistle blew to start a football match between two Greek teams, instead of hustling to take control, players on both sides did something that brought thunderous applause from the stands — they all sat down.

Athletes for AEL Larissa and Acharnaikos, along with their coaches and substitutes, observed two minutes of silence in a show of respect for the hundreds of refugees who have died trying to reach Europe – many drowning in Greek waters.

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Most who are fleeing toward Europe come first to Greece by boat.

The two minutes of silence on the field in Larissa came less than a day after the International Olympic Committee announced this year’s Olympic torch would pass through a refugee camp in Greece on it’s way to the games in Brazil.

(WATCH the video below via The Guardian) — Photo: OTE Sports video

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Women Can Become Heads of Households in India Says Court Ruling

By
Terry Turner
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indian women 2 cc etrenard

Indian women have won the right to be considered the head of a household.

Previously, the role of “Karta” in any family residing in one home was only available to men. The Delhi High Court changed that, announcing that they have overturned the long standing law in favor of equality for women.

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As the designated leader of a family, the Karta is in charge of property, inheritance, and other family decisions.

The case before the court was brought by an eldest daughter who wanted to take over the family business after her father, brothers, and uncle had all passed away. Under a 1956 law, the role of Karta passed to one of her nephews.

Her lawyers argued that a 2005 amendment granting women the right to inheritance should also extend the “fundamental right of equality guaranteed by the Constitution” to women who want to serve as head of a household.

CHECK OUT:  20 Women Elected in Saudi Arabia as Females Vote for the First Time

“If a male member…by virtue of his being the first born eldest, can be a Karta, so can a female member,” Justice Najmi Waziri of the Delhi High Court said in the December judgment which was only made public in February.

The rule allows the eldest woman member of a family to become Karta, and applies to India’s Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) — which is the country’s legally recognized family group created by Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh Indians through marriage.

(READ more at The Hindu) — Photo: Michael Coghlan, CC

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The World Is Its Bathtub: Six Story High Rubber Duck Heads for Great Lakes

By
Terry Turner
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World's Largest Rubber Duck FB World's Largest Rubber Duck

This 11-ton rubber duckie wouldn’t leave room in anyone’s bathtub for water, so it’ll be floating in Lake Superior this summer instead.

The “World’s Largest Rubber Duck” is joining the giant fleet of Tall Ships expected at a Duluth, Minnesota festival this August.

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The 61-foot tall bath toy will be floating at the annual spectacle alongside replica ships that include a Spanish Galleon and a Viking longboat.

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman hatched the idea of giant rubber ducks in 2007. His 50-foot tall duck has migrated to five continents around the world.

Craig Samborski’s “Mama” duck, which is the one headed for Duluth this summer, is even bigger. He created it when he needed something splashy for Tall Ships Los Angeles in 2013.

Samborski also has a baby duck called “Timmy,” that floats alongside Mama at many events.

CHECK OUT:  Dutch Duck Posing in Photo Shoots is Instagram Hit

Both can be deflated and packed in a standard FedEx cargo container that loads onto a plane.

So, as big as they are, both of these wingless ducks can actually fly.

(WATCH the video below from KBMX-FM) — Photo: World’s Largest Rubber Duck, Facebook

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How to Watch The Super Bowl Online For Free

By
Terry Turner
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Super Bowl Free online CC Mike Morbeck CC Mobilus In Mobili CC Jeffery Beall

Football fans who’ve cut the cord will still be able to watch the Super Bowl, even if they’ve given up their cable connection and have no broadcast signal.

CBS plans to stream the big game live at CBSSports.com. You’ll be able to watch it on televisions with devices including Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, and XBOX One.

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Verizon Wireless customers can also use the NFL Mobile App to watch on their tablets or smart phones.

You can still the see the Carolina Panthers play the Denver Broncos for the NFL championship over free broadcast television on your local CBS affiliate in the U.S., but if you can’t bring in a signal with your antenna, the online version is a game changer.

Super Bowl 50 airs Sunday, February 7 at 6:30pm Eastern Time on CBS.

Photo:  Mike Morbeck, CC; Mobilus In Mobili, CC; Jeffery Beall, CC

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Big-hearted Little Boy Gives Up Birthday Gifts to Help Shelter Animals

By
Terry Turner
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Lil man wanted to help dogs and cats. - Imgur MarcusShaw

A five-year-old boy passed up birthday presents in favor of toys and treats for animals in local shelters.

With his birthday early in the year and his Christmas toys still new, Dalton Shaw’s parents asked him if he’d like to do something different for a birthday present.

The little boy with a big heart decided to ask people to donate money for shelter animals. The family already has rescued two dogs and two cats, and Dalton wanted to help the ones he couldn’t bring home.

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People showed up at his bowling alley birthday party carrying bags of pet food, treats, and dog and cat toys. Others donated to a pile of cash that totaled  $225–this really delighted Dalton.

The boy’s proud father, Marcus, posted the picture above to Imgur showing off his pile of donations.

“This kid is awesome,” commented the Imgur user ProLicks. “Tell him I’m making a donation to my local humane society because of him, too.”

RELATED:  9-Year-old Boy Skips Birthday Gifts to Help Protect Police Dogs

“That will make his day!” his dad replied.

Dalton will get to see some of the animals he helped as he accompanies his parents to drop off the items at three animal shelters around Savanna, Illinois.

MULTIPLY the Good… Share It.  Photo: MarcusShaw, Imgur

Israeli Women Tear Down Centuries Old Gender Barrier at the Western Wall

By
Terry Turner
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Western Wall CC Edmund N Gall

Women in Israel have had their prayers answered.

After a three decade-long battle, the Israeli government has agreed to let women pray alongside men at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest sites.

The Wall is one of the few remaining remnants of the Second Jewish Temple, and rules allowed both men and women to pray at the wall — but never together.

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A group called Women of the Wall has held monthly protests for the past 27 years demanding the Israeli government bring down the virtual wall between genders and allow women and men to pray alongside one another.

Under a compromise approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, a former archeological site will be turned into a plaza allowing mixed-gender prayers.

Costing nine million dollars, the plaza will be able to accommodate 1,200 people at a time, reports the CS Monitor.

RELATED:  Thousands of Women Protest for Peace in Jerusalem

“This landmark decision gives expression to a fundamental truth: there is more than one way to be Jewish,” Rabbis Noa Sattah and Gilad Kariv, of the Israel Religious Action Centre and the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism said in a joint statement. “There is more than one way to pray. There is more than one way to connect to Jewish traditions and identity.”

(WATCH the video below from the Associated Press) — Photo: Edmund N Gall, CC

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Crime Rate Continues its Decline in New York City During 2015

By
Terry Turner
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NYPD Car CC Peter

While news reports throughout the past year raised anxiety that New York City was slipping back into the crime rates of its bad old days, 2015 turned out to be one of the best years ever — and crime rates continued historic declines.

The city’s police department reports an overall drop of two-percent in serious crime and a 13% decrease in criminal arrests.

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The improvements were obvious even before the year ended. During a December 17 promotion ceremony, Police Commissioner William Bratton said New York City would mark 2015 as the “safest year in its…modern history, as it relates to crime.”

Over the past two years, the NYPD has been changing their approach to law enforcement and community relations, relying more on problem solving instead of making arrests.

CHECK OUT:  Inspiring Stories of Police Officers Being Great Human Beings

Police also launched “Operation Ceasefire” in 2015 as a new approach to gang-related violence. The experiment across 12 precincts combined strict enforcement for violence, police officers talking directly with gang members, and social programs to move people out of gangs.

In those precincts where the program was tried, shootings dropped by 11% compared to 2014.

(READ more at the New York Times) — Photo: Peter, CC

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School Sends Inspiring Letter With Test Scores, So Kids Know What’s Important

By
Terry Turner
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School Letter FB Carrickfergus Grammar School Music Society

Students awaiting test scores in the mail might have been worrying about how well they did. But when they tore open the results, they received words of reassurance from their school, a life lesson for the future.

Teachers and administrators went the extra mile to remind kids that testing isn’t what matters most in life.

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“Inside the envelope is a score,” the letter from the Carrickfergus Grammar School Music Society begins. “It’s a score you’ve been waiting for but it might not be the score you’ve been hoping for.”

The scores are for the “Transfer Test,” an exam Northern Ireland grammar school students take to determine which high school they will attend.

The letter told students that even if they are disappointed in their results, “we won’t feel disappointed ‘in you.’”

The school officials insisted that growing up to be “kind, caring, generous, loving adults who make a positive difference” is more important than test scores.

“Remember, the score in the envelope is just a mark for some tests,” the letter concludes. “It cannot measure how amazing you are! So, no matter what happens in the next few minutes, today you must celebrate YOU!”

CHECK OUT:  The “World’s Best Teacher” Gives Kids Choices–Instead of Tests

The letter drew instant Facebook praise.

“If I had gone to Harmony Hill School when I was a lad. I would be a doctor now or a Scientist,” Billy Sinclair wrote.

“I should give this letter out when I give…scores to my employees,” Kaz Burnside posted.

A great note from Harmony Hill Primary School that we hope all P7s waiting on the postman this morning will read.

Posted by Carrickfergus Grammar School Music Society on Saturday, January 30, 2016
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World’s Largest Crocheted Blanket to Warm Thousands of Sick and Poor (Video)

By
Terry Turner
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World's Largest Crochet Blanket FB Aasiya Khaliq and Mother India's Crochet Queens

More than 2,000 women used crochet hooks to join together blankets and shatter a world record, while at the same time creating a patchwork that will keep thousands of people warm in their beds.

Mother India’s Crochet Queens (MICQ), a Facebook group based in Chennai, put out the call for women to contribute to the effort, with the promise that the finished blanket would be broken up and given to the needy after the record was broken.

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In just six months, 2,472 women and girls — the youngest four and the oldest 93 — from around India, UAE, and other countries, crocheted sections and shipped them off for the world record attempt.

When all the pieces were finally assembled, representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records declared it the biggest in the world.

At 120,000 square feet, the blanket is more than three times the size of the previous world record holder from South Africa, and would cover two American football fields with plenty left over.

RELATED:  Knit Two Mittens and Call Us in the Morning: Knitting Has Health Benefits

By comparison, quilting contributors to the 1987-88 AIDS Memorial Quilt, which was first assembled on the National Mall in Washington, DC, but kept growing as it traveled the country, grew to be 108,000 square feet.

The MICQ blanket has now been broken down into its individual parts and will be sent to disadvantaged children, nursing homes, and handed out to other poor people in what should be some kind of record setting act of kindness.

(WATCH the video from News Vikatan below) — Photo: Mother India’s Crochet Queens, Facebook

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‘That’s Your Baby’, Mother Hears Dead Infant Son’s Heartbeat Again (WATCH)

By
Terry Turner
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Heart transplant reunion Screenshot Donate Life Arizona

Two years after a woman’s baby son died, she got to hear his heartbeat again — in the chest of another child, whose life he saved.

Heather Clark’s son, Lukas, died when he was just seven-months-old. After ordering that his organs be donated for transplanting his heart went to Jordan Gonzalez, an 18-month-old girl who’d struggled her entire, short life with a faulty heart valve.

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Lukas save two other children’s lives with the donation of his liver and kidneys.

“He did more in 7 months in life than I’ve done in 25 years of life,” Heather told KPNX News.

Two years after the life-saving surgery, Jordan was the epitome of health, running through hospital halls as her mother, Esther, met Heather for the first time, to thank her for a selfless choice at a difficult time.

CHECK OUT:  Patient Gets Engaged to Marine Who Gave Her Best Gift of All, Life

Esther and Jordan also had a gift for Heather — a plush, teddy bear with an audio recorder inside.

On it is a recording of Lucas’ heart beating in Jordan’s chest so Heather can listen to it anytime she wants.

You will need a tissue for this beautiful video…

(WATCH the report below from KPNX News) — Photo: Donate Life Arizona 

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Wearable Sweat Sensor Gives Instant Health Profile Without Lab Work

By
Terry Turner
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Sweat Sensor screenshot Berkeley News

There is one less thing to sweat about…

A smart sweatband gives medical technicians instant information that once required hours of lab work.

A small sensor array, that can fit inside a sweatband or the back of a watch, measures changes in a person’s sweat and sends the information to a handheld device. Technicians can immediately diagnose dehydration, muscle fatigue, and other body changes brought on by intense physical activity.

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“Sweat provides us with a wealth of information about our body’s condition,” engineering professor Ali Javey, who headed the sweat sensor’s design, said in the video below.

Javey’s team at the University of California, Berkeley designed the device to measure four different chemicals in a person’s sweat: sodium, potassium, glucose, and lactate. By measuring their levels — individually or in combinations — they were able to determine the changes going on inside the bodies of people wearing the device while they exercised.

CHECK OUT:  Breakthrough Smart Watch Converts Text and Email into Braille

Previously, to get the same information, technicians had to gather a blood sample and measure the same chemical levels in a lab — a process that usually took hours.

Individuals can use the sweat sensor to monitor their hydration levels at the gym, or athletic team medics can use it to monitor the conditions of players on a court, track, or field.

But its developers say the sweat sensor could have far more uses including monitoring the stress levels of astronauts or critical care patients.

RELATED:  Hi-Tech Mouthguard Flags Concussion to Protect Athlete’s Brain

Javey and his team published the results of their early tests of the sensor in the the January 28 issue of the journal Nature.

(WATCH the video below or READ more at Spectrum) — Photo: Berkeley News video

Little Dog Has Cunning Move to Beat Black Lab at Tug-of-War (WATCH)

By
Terry Turner
-

Georgia Louise and Angus FB Stephany Young Johnson

Her new dog in the house may have a significant weight advantage in tug-of-war, but this little dachshund uses her size to win the game.

The tiny Georgia Louise and Angus, a four-month-old bloodhound and black lab mix, were wrestling endlessly over a squeaky toy on the chair.

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When Angus got the upper hand — or paw — Georgia Louise changed the game. The little dog hid under the chair and waited patiently.

Angus couldn’t fit under chair, and in the video below, he barks to complain — leaving the toy unguarded on the ground in the process. Watch how the Dachshund steals the toy for good and keeps it out of Angus’ reach.

(WATCH the video below from Stephanie Young Johnson, Facebook)

Wait for it....Georgia Louise (1 year old mini dachshund)Angus (4 month old bloodhound / black lab)Jukin Media Verified (Original)* For licensing / permission to use: Contact - licensing(at)jukinmediadotcom

Posted by Stephanie Young Johnson on Monday, January 25, 2016

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Nurse Turns Blizzard to Smiles, Brings Snow Inside for Hospitalized Kids

By
Terry Turner
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Lucy Weise Hospital Snow FB NIH Clinical Center

The children under her care were too fragile and ill to play in the snow, so a nurse ran into a blizzard several times, bringing snow inside for the kids.

It started with seven-year-old Lucy Wiese, a little girl who’s a big fan of the movie “Frozen.” When snow started falling outside her hospital window in Maryland, she wanted to go play in it.

Lucy had been hospitalized for eight weeks recovering from a bone marrow transplant for her immune disorder and couldn’t leave the room.GNN-app-banner-ad-opt

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Clinical research nurse Alex Classen decided that if Lucy couldn’t go outside, she’d bring the snow inside for the little girl.

As a winter storm began dropping two feet of snow across America’s East Coast, Classen ran out in just her lightweight hospital scrubs, scooping up bowls full of snow.

She brought a batch in for Lucy — then made more trips into the ever worsening storm to gather more snow for other children at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.

CHECK OUT:  Construction Workers Left a Message in The Sky For Little Girl in Hospital

“Anything I can do to make these kids smile is awesome,” Classen told the Washington Post. “So whenever they’re happy, it just makes my day.”

As the snow piled up outside, Lucy, all safe and warm in her hospital room, stood beneath a movie poster of “Frozen” and fashioned her own little Olaf the Snowman, smiling throughout the special snow day nurse Classen had delivered.

Photos: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, and Facebook

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370 Union Plumbers Volunteered to Install Water Filters in Flint For Free

By
Terry Turner
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Flint Micigan Union Plumbers

An army of 300 union plumbers from across the state and country joined local workers to fan out across Flint, Michigan to update faucets for residents in the wake of the city’s lead contamination problem.

They installed water filters and new faucets in 1,100 homes in a single day. An international union and a trade group representing plumbing manufacturers donated the money, faucets and supplies to make it happen.

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The state has been providing free water filters to the citizens of Genesee County, but when the homes have old or odd shaped faucets, the filters can’t be connected.

Dozens of union plumbers with United Association Local 370 inside the county have been going door-to-door since October volunteering to install filter and give free faucets and services.

Plumbing Manufacturers International, representing the companies that manufacture plumbing fixtures, donated thousands of faucets for Saturday’s citywide project. The local’s parent union called in members from across the U.S. to help in a one day show of solidarity, giving away free cases of water, too.

RELATED:  R E S P E C T–Aretha Franklin to Pay For Hotel Rooms For Flint Families

The filters are necessary since lead levels in Flint’s water supply skyrocketed after the city switched water sources about two years ago. Corrosive water from the Flint River damaged pipes, letting lead leech into drinking water.

(WATCH the video below or READ more at Michigan Radio)

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