Treasures stolen from a Russian museum during WWII have found their way back home. Two crates with hundreds of rare exhibits stolen in 1941 were voluntarily returned to Russia by a Wehrmacht doctor’s son.
The 480 objects including a collection of crosses, archeological findings and icons stunned employees – many of the objects are extremely rare and valuable.
A province in southern Italy has dedicated a 1,400-year-old olive tree known as “The Queen” to US First Lady Michelle Obama because of her commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles.
Local farmers that manage the land where the tree is located said that the roughly 100 litres (26 gallons) of extra-virgin olive oil made from the fruits of the giant tree would be sent to the White House every year starting this fall.
Mrs. Obama planted an organic garden on the White House lawn and advocates a diet rich in vegetables.
(READ the AFP story via, Decan Herald)
Actor Gary Sinise, known for his role as Lieutenant Dan in the film Forrest Gump, played a concert last night with his “Lt. Dan Band” to raise money for a North Carolina soldier who lost both legs and one arm while serving in Afghanistan.
Corporal J.B. Kerns will get a custom home from Sinise’s foundation which has helped build several technological “smart homes” to meet the needs of wounded veterans.
Gary Sinise’s passion in this area was born from his family’s deep roots in military service and from a desire to contribute following the attacks on September 11, 2001.
“Lieutenant Dan,” the character Gary portrayed in the film Forrest Gump, earned him not only an Oscar nomination, but also an instantaneous, enduring connection with servicemen in all branches of the military community. Since 2003, he has contributed his time doing hundreds of personal appearances and concerts in military bases in Iraq and around the world.
He will once again co-host the annual National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, DC this weekend.
The Gary Sinise Foundation works in partnership with Building Homes For Heroes and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which supports children who have lost a parent, and firefighters and military that have been seriously injured. He has helped to raise millions of dollars, as well as donating his own money to help give back to military personnel and their families.
(READ the story in the Martinsville Bulletin)
A mother whose son was stabbed to death by four members of a hooded gang plans to sell her family heirlooms to help his killers.
Fatemah Golmakani, 56, also said she wants to “hug and kiss” them and “tell them that someone loves them”.
Ms Golmakani added: “I want to bring their humanity back even if my son is gone.
(READ the story in the Daily Mirror)
Organizers of an online Mideast peace movement say they are launching the Internet’s first university for Israelis and Arabs across the Middle East.
The Online Academy will offer students courses in government, social networks, communications and skill development, which the founders say “can revolutionize relations between young people of the Middle East.”
When an Australian identical twin with persistent headaches got an MRI scan, nothing unusual was found. But he had a notion that his brother should go and get the test done, too.
Incredibly, his twin’s brain scan discovered a massive and rare tumor.
Since undergoing surgery, the twin has since recovered well.
One year ago after a deadly tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo., among 161 humans killed, countless pets also lost their lives or became homeless because of the twister.
Since then, the ASPCA found forever homes for 745 pets and about 500 families were able to reunite with their lost pets.
This week, KKOW-AM radio reported that the last unclaimed pet from the Missouri storm was claimed.
Bob Delaney, an undercover cop who infiltrated the Genovese and Bruno crime families in the 1970’s, knows what it’s like to feel the stress of being alone and helpless, as if no one else understands. That’s one of the curses of post-traumatic stress disorder, an anxiety that develops in response to a traumatic period.
This hero cop has harnessed that experience for another career, helping the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars coping with PTSD.
The 60-year-old was honored today by Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno with the Outstanding Civilian Service Award for his work mentoring soldiers.
A West Vancouver bus driver and passengers on an express bus to Horseshoe Bay are being hailed as Good Samaritans after they stepped up to get a woman to Nanaimo to see her dying mother on Mother’s Day.
Because of a highway accident, passengers would not be able to transfer to an inexpensive ferry and the woman would likely miss saying goodbye to her mother who only had hours to live.
(READ the story in the Vancouver Sun)
People getting checked for signs of colon cancer may not need to take a laxative if they choose a less invasive scan for their cancer screening over a tradition colonoscopy, according to a new study.
605 people over the age of 50 received the so-called CT colonography test and got results that were nearly as successful at identifying certain polyps as the traditional colonoscopy, but without the need to drink nasty laxatives, which may encourage more people to get screened.
Egyptians relished their first free leadership vote on Wednesday, with Islamists pitted against secular figures in a contest unthinkable before a popular revolt swept President Hosni Mubarak from power 15 months ago.
“I will vote today, no matter what,” said one citizen. “It is a historic thing to do.”
Can Ace, the reddish-brown, strong-bodied animal with the outsized personality really be the same horse that arrived several months ago, malnourished and afflicted with a variety of maladies?
Indeed, in eight short months, Ace has gone from pitiful horse to prizewinning thoroughbred, thanks to volunteers with a new nonprofit organization that wants to train and find new homes for neglected and abused horses.
I always felt like it was a lie whenever I heard people say, “Money can’t buy you happiness”. Recent research proves my instinct was correct.
It’s not saying that more money in anyone’s pocket will instantly lift them into a blissful nirvana, but rather, it shows that people might not be spending their money in the right way.
Two Republican senators have joined two Democratic Senators to try and bust the myth that nothing can get done in an election year. They launched Startup Act 2.0, a bipartisan bill aimed at jumpstarting small businesses to power the US economy.
Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) hope to create an environment in which entrepreneurs from around the world can succeed in creating American jobs.
Startup Act 2.0 picks up where the JOBS Act left off, paving the way for America-educated, entrepreneurial immigrants to remain in the U.S. where their talent and ideas can fuel growth. The bill also alleviates regulatory burdens and makes changes to the tax code to encourage investment in startup companies.
Two Republican senators have joined two Democratic Senators to try and bust the myth that nothing can get done in an election year. They launched Startup Act 2.0, a bipartisan bill aimed at jumpstarting small businesses to power the US economy.
Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) hope to create an environment in which entrepreneurs from around the world can succeed in creating American jobs.
Startup Act 2.0 picks up where the JOBS Act left off, paving the way for America-educated, entrepreneurial immigrants to remain in the U.S. where their talent and ideas can fuel growth. The bill also alleviates regulatory burdens and makes changes to the tax code to encourage investment in startup companies.
It may sound scary for a teenager to be handling radiation, but Taylor Wilson’s radioactive rocks are safe. There’s never been any reason for concern, until he decided to build his own reactor — in his garage.
He was trying to produce nuclear fission — because he thought he could. “There’s nothing that’s impossible to me. You can ask my parents,” he said.
At the age of 14, the Nevada teen became the youngest person on earth to create fusion. Before he could even drive a car, he unlocked the secrets that drive the sun.
It may sound scary for a teenager to be handling radiation, but Taylor Wilson’s radioactive rocks are safe. There’s never been any reason for concern, until he decided to build his own reactor — in his garage.
He was trying to produce nuclear fission — because he thought he could. “There’s nothing that’s impossible to me. You can ask my parents,” he said.
At the age of 14, the Nevada teen became the youngest person on earth to create fusion. Before he could even drive a car, he unlocked the secrets that drive the sun.
The daily trip to high school was expensive, long and eventually, too much for Indian teenager Nahid Farzana, who decided she was going to drop out. Then, the state government gave her a bicycle.
Two years later, she is about to graduate from high school and wants to be a teacher.
The government program, designed to help girls in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, has been so successful at keeping teenage girls in school, the bike giveaways have spread to neighboring states.
Stephen Bogart, the oldest child of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is planning a visit to the historical Ohio landmark where his parents were married, a farm in need of major repairs.
The current administrators of Malabar Farm, owned in 1945 by novelist Louis Bromfield, will host several public meet-and-greet sessions, lunches and dinners with Mr. Bogart, along with Tyrone Power Jr., son of film star Tyrone Power, to raise funds for a building renovation.
From its musical sounds, it’s just like any other professional orchestra. But the assembly of white-veiled Egyptian women in matching black gowns has a startling difference. Every woman in the orchestra is blind.
The women in Cairo’s Egyptian Blind Girls Chamber Orchestra first study the songs in braille, memorizing every note on their sheet music. The group has already performed on five continents and in 24 countries.
Since 1954, El Nour Wal Amal (the Light and Hope Association) has offered free education and vocational training in Egypt to over 300 blind women and girls, while managing the female orchestra.
(WATCH the video below, from Al Arabiya – READ the AP story in the Seattle P-I)
