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8-Year-Old Entrepreneur Builds Online Fortune Selling Marbles

Marble King is 8 years old

Marble King is 8 years oldHarli Jordean found his true passion before most other entrepreneurs — at eight years old.

While his friends are playing computer games, he is busy liaising with suppliers, buying stock and handling orders for his internet marble empire.

“Harli has been obsessed with marbles ever since he was six,” said his mother.

The tiny tycoon from London has been running the thriving marbleking.co.uk website for two years, selling anything from tubs of marbles to £599 limited edition Duke of York solitaire tables.

(READ the full story in the Daily Mail)

U.S. Medical ‘Trash’ Saving Lives Abroad

insulin-in-treating-diabetes-ga-2-main fullDoctors will often prepare for surgical procedures by opening instrument and supply kits that contain up to 100 items.

Many of these items, such as scalpels, needles or sponges, go unused; they’re just not needed for that particular procedure. But because of government or hospital regulations in the United States, they are frequently thrown away, even when they are still wrapped.

Fortunately, a nonprofit organization founded by a New York cardiologist, Doc2Dock, is finding ways to salvage these items and get them to people who need them desperately around the world.

Hard Plastic Bottles, Reborn as a Bridge

Axion recycled plastic used for bridge

Axion recycled plastic used for bridgeThe town of York, Me., is putting up what could be a bridge to a better future, not because of it where it goes but because of what it is made of: plastic.

Some manufacturers have already melted plastic bottles into boards for beach house decks, carpets and clothing materials.

Now comes Axion International, a New Jersey-based company founded in 2007 that has developed a process to make a building material that is strong enough to supplant steel and concrete but is made out of discarded laundry detergent containers and milk cartons.

Cuddly Puppies Help Law Students De-stress Before Exams

Puppies at GWU destress law students-WashPostvid

Puppies at GWU destress law students-WashPostvidThe stress of looming exams at George Mason University School of Law lifted for a couple of hours Thursday, thanks to the arrival of 15 homeless and adoptable puppies with velvety ears, soul-searching eyes and names like Doughboy, Sugar and Sue.

“Especially this time of the year, law school seems to ruin your life,” said Allison Tisdale, 24, a third-year from Texas who didn’t go home for Thanksgiving because she had to study.

Santa’s Mailroom Helpers Moved by Letters to Help

Letters to Santa Post office note

Letters to Santa Post office noteSanta gets a helping hand from Operation Santa Claus hidden away in New York City’s main Post Office.

The organization lets donors help fulfill wishes expressed by needy children in their letters to Santa.

Across the US, 75 Post Offices are helping, six times many as last year. You can volunteer at www.beanelf.org.

(WATCH the video from NBC Nightly News)

Santa’s Mailroom Helpers Moved by Letters to Help

Letters to Santa Post office note

Letters to Santa Post office noteSanta gets a helping hand from Operation Santa Claus hidden away in New York City’s main Post Office.

The organization lets donors help fulfill wishes expressed by needy children in their letters to Santa.

Across the US, 75 Post Offices are helping, six times many as last year. You can volunteer at www.beanelf.org.

Hero Puppy Saves Family From Gas Leak

boxer saves family from gas leak NBCvid

boxer saves family from gas leak NBCvidA 6-month old boxer puppy would not stop pestering a Georgia family until they realized that something was wrong.

The homeowner had lit the gas fireplace for the first time this season and didn’t known the flames had been extinguished while the gas continued to pour into the house.

Hero Puppy Saves Family From Gas Leak

boxer saves family from gas leak NBCvid

boxer saves family from gas leak NBCvidA 6-month old boxer puppy would not stop pestering a Georgia family until they realized that something was wrong.

The homeowner had lit the gas fireplace for the first time this season and didn’t known the flames had been extinguished while the gas continued to pour into the house.

12 Things You Didn’t Know Facebook Could Do

facebook logo

facebook logoFacebook has been adding features to make the reigning social network more useful and convenient.

As the number of features grows, though, so does a corresponding problem: Most of Facebook’s 750 million users don’t know these features exist.

A few minutes of exploration can uncover functions that make Facebook not just an addiction but a pleasure to use.

Unemployment Drops to 8.6% as US Adds 120,000 Jobs

Workers in crane westats Morguefile

Workers in crane westats MorguefileEmployment growth picked up speed in November and the jobless rate dropped to a 2-1/2 year low of 8.6 percent, further evidence the economic recovery was gaining momentum.

The gains reflected in the report  — 120,000 net new jobs — was also bolstered by revisions to the employment counts for September and October to show 72,000 more jobs created than previously reported.

David Lynch Donates $1M To Teach Veterans with PTSD To Meditate

meditative-sit

meditative-sitFilmmaker David Lynch wants soldiers and veterans to experience the stress-reducing benefits of Transcendental Meditation.

Lynch’s namesake foundation is giving $1 million in grants to teach the meditation technique to active-duty military personnel and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress.

Latin American Poverty Levels Fall to Lowest in Two Decades

food program in Bolivia

food program in BoliviaPoverty rates in Latin America have dropped to their lowest levels in 20 years, according to a new United Nations report which points to higher wages as a key factor in the continent’s development despite the global economic crisis.

Between 1990 and 2010, the poverty rate decreased 17 percent, while the rate of indigence – or extreme poverty – fell from 22.6 percent to 12.3 percent.

Deputies Refuse Bank’s Order To Evict 103-Year-Old Atlanta Woman

103 yo saved from foreclosure WSBTV-video

103 yo saved from foreclosure WSBTV-videoA Deutsche Bank branch in Atlanta had requested the eviction of Vita Lee, a 103-year-old Atlanta woman, and her 83-year-old daughter. After 53 years living in the house neither had any idea where they’d go next.

But when the movers hired by the bank and police arrived at the house, they had a change of heart. They “took one look at” Lee and decided not to go through with it.

 

(READ the story or watch the video from NPR)

Phillies Player Makes $1.2 Million Donation in Apparel To Local Schools

Phillies Ryan Howard donates to city schools

Phillies Ryan Howard donates to city schoolsPhiladelphia baseball star Ryan Howard is helping students in 57 city high schools to dress for success — in athletics.

The first baseman — who is recovering from Achilles surgery — announced Thursday that his Ryan Howard Family Foundation will donate Adidas sportswear valued at nearly $1.2 million to the cash-strapped Philadelphia school district.

Secret Santa Hands Out $20,000 at Random in Poorest US City (Video)

Secret Santa gets hug in Reading, PA

Secret Santa gets hug in Reading, PAA Secret Santa went to Reading, Pennsylvania, reportedly because it was the poorest city in America, with the goal of handing out $20,000 in cash to random people in thrift stores, laundromats and bus stops who look like they could use a helping hand.

He chose to remain anonymous but allowed TV cameras to trail him, providing a rare glimpse into the joy that can be spread by one generous man in red tee shirt and beret.

“I get more out of it than they do,” he enthusiastically told the press.

He asked only that the recipients pass on a little kindness to someone else.

It was clear that the Secret Santa had done this before and encouraged more people who are fortunate to take up his vocation.

(WATCH both inspiring videos from KOMO and the Reading Eagle – Read it here)

 

Secret Santa Hands Out $20,000 at Random in Poorest US City (Video)

Secret Santa gets hug in Reading, PA

Secret Santa gets hug in Reading, PAA Secret Santa went to Reading, Pennsylvania, reportedly because it was the poorest city in America, with the goal of handing out $20,000 in cash to random people in thrift stores, laundromats and bus stops who look like they could use a helping hand.

He chose to remain anonymous but allowed TV cameras to trail him, providing a rare glimpse into the joy that can be spread by one generous man in red tee shirt and beret.

“I get more out of it than they do,” he enthusiastically told the press.

Gift Exchange Among Senators Could Bring Bipartisan Cheer

Photo by Cohdra, via morguefile

Photo by Cohdra, via morguefileScores of U.S. senators have signed on to an idea for a gift exchange, Secret Santa style, across party lines.

Senator Al Franken (D-MN) came up with the idea:

“We did Secret Santa when I was in grade school and I remember one year I picked this kid who used to intimidate me on the playground. Turns out after we got to know each other and we became friends. So, I thought Secret Santa would be a good way to cut through the partisan divide here in the Senate.”

And who knows, maybe it will create some unlikely friendships.

(READ the story in the New York Times)

Photo by Cohdra, via morguefile

Rats Help Colombia Sniff Out Deadly Landmines

rat brown Natl Park Service photo

brown rat - Natl Park Service photo11 white-furred rats are in the final stages of a training program to find landmines that kill or injure hundreds of people each year in conflict-wracked Colombia.

The government project, which began in 2006, trains specially bred rats to detect the metals used in landmines, thousands of which have been laid during the country’s decades-long conflict with left-wing guerrillas.

Retired US Teacher Tackles Geometry at Kenyan School She Built

TEDx talk - Margo teaches in Kenya

TEDx talk - Margo teaches in KenyaA retired Menlo Park teacher completed her seventh summer volunteering to teach math at a high school for girls in Africa — a school that she raised more than $1 million to build.

Margo McAuliffe marvels still at how much the experience in Kenya has changed her since 2003 when she retired from her job as a high school math teacher and was looking for a way to put her time and talents to good work.

Though she had never raised a cent before, the quiet gray-haired teacher did it one step at a time by enlisting friends and holding small fundraisers. Eventually she set up a non-profit foundation called Kenya Help.

(WATCH her tell the story in her TED Talk, or read the full story in Patch.com)

 

Amid Optimism, Stem Cell Research Center Opens

The Collaboratory- Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine

The Collaboratory- Sanford Consortium for Regenerative MedicineA $127 million building dedicated exclusively to stem cell science opened Tuesday, hailed by speakers as a watershed event that could hasten development of  treatments for incurable diseases and injuries, and provide an economic boost to San Diego with potentially hundreds of jobs.