A construction crew plucked a woman from an Iowa river using a giant crane to reach the woman in surging waters, after her boat capsized over a dam.
See the dramatic (copyright) photos from the Des Moines Regsiter here.
WATCH the video report below…
(Note, source material has been removed by the source)
University graduate Caleb Barclay is on a mission to break cultural stereotypes throughout the world and cast a positive light on misinterpreted cultures.
He founded the Peace Frame Initiative after going overseas and experiencing firsthand being the subject of stereotyping. People saw him as a “gung-ho, war-hungry American.”
The experience inspired him to change these stereotypes in the best way he knew how — through videography and photography.
(READ the story at StatePress)
From Confucius to Oprah, people have preached compassion for centuries. But how often is it put into practice? Karen Armstrong believes religion should advocate for compassionate living, but often doesn’t.
Armstrong admits compassion isn’t a very popular virtue. “People often prefer to be right,” she says. And though she offers these 12 steps, it’s not a get-compassionate-quick scheme. “This is a struggle for a lifetime.”
(READ the book excerpt, and LISTEN to the interview at NPR News)
Three million people competed at fantasy football on ESPN.com this year. One man managed to rise above all of them, and he did it despite not having a computer. Or a place to live.
“My fantasy football was the one thing that kind of seemed to be going right at the time,” Harrington said. “There was a lot to be upset about, but the one thing that was steady and heading in a positive direction was the fantasy football. So I thought I might as well stick with it and ride it out. Thank God I did.”
He won the prize, worth $2,500 in cash to him.
(READ the story at Yahoo Sports)
Hours before the ousted president of Tunisia fled, a pilot about to fly to Lyons from Tunisia refused to obey an order to hold the aircraft and take members of the president’s family on board.
Captain Mohamed Ben Kilani was sitting in his cockpit at Carthage airport, Tunisia, when the order came through on the radio to take six more passengers.
The tiny Maguire daisy, which grows in the desert southwest of the United States, has been plucked from the edge of extinction after a 25-year conservation effort, US officials have announced.
The minuscule member of the sunflower family had dropped to just seven known plants when it was listed as endangered in 1985, but with numbers of the daisy now back up to 163,000 plants in 10 populations in Utah, it will be removed from the endangered species list, the Interior Department said Tuesday.
(READ the AFP story on Google News)
The government is calling for dramatic changes in school meals, upgrading the nutritional standards for the first time in 15 years.
The proposed rule, released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, would limit french fries, tater tots, sodium and calories and offer students more fruits and vegetables.
This is the “first major improvement” in the standards that “we’ve seen in a generation, and it reflects the seriousness of the issue of obesity,” says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
(READ the story in USA Today)
The British branch of PepsiCo, the umbrella corporation that makes Tropicana, Quaker Oats, chips and soda, has made an ambitious promise to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2023.
They’re also shooting for zero landfill waste; packaging that is entirely renewable, recyclable, or compostable; and zero water intake at their “main manufacturing sites.”
(READ the story in Inhabitat)
Angelina Jolie is to blame, really. Because of something she said to me in India four years ago, I have quit my 13-year career as an entertainment journalist, have given away almost everything I own, and at 43, have joined the Peace Corps.
Sean Smith worked as L.A. bureau chief of Entertainment Weekly. 18 months ago he applied to join the Peace Corps. He left this week for South Africa, excited to begin his 27-month commitment as an HIV/AIDS Outreach volunteer.
(READ the story in Newsweek)
A lower ticket price at the movies isn’t the only financial perk of getting older.
Many national retailers quietly offer little-known discounts of about 10 percent to 15 percent to older customers. For example, Kohl’s reduces prices for customers 62 and older on certain days of the week…
(READ more from AP in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Tony Melendez plays the guitar with no arms. He taught himself to play the guitar with his feet when he was 16.
He is now a touring musician, even playing for the Pope in 1987. Watch him in this video playing and singing Let It Be, written by The Beatles.
In a lagoon in the Florida Keys, the marine mammal research center has documented the ability of dolphins to mimic the actions of other dolphins without the use of their vision.
Whether their ability is through sonar, or echo-location, the scientists aren’t sure, but the “blindfolded” dolphin study may also be helpful in better grasping the complexities of human intelligence.
(READ the story in Salon)
A new species of giant crayfish [has] literally crawled out from under a rock in Tennessee, proving that large new species of animals can be found in highly populated and well-explored places.
The species, Barbicambarus simmonsi, is about 5 inches long — double the length of most crayfish in the region.
“We were elated, jumping for joy,” said researcher Christopher Taylor.
(READ the story in Reuters)
When the microphone failed during her stellar rendition of the national anthem last week, the crowd came to her aid, jumping in without missing a beat.
WATCH the video below…
When the microphone failed during her stellar rendition of the national anthem last week, the crowd came to her aid, jumping in without missing a beat.
WATCH the video below…
This week, a new rule went into effect for hospitals across the nation to ease the longtime burden on unmarried or gay partners who, until now, could be prohibited from visiting loved ones who may lie sick and dying without a hand to hold.
The rule, first proposed in a memorandum by President Obama in April, 2010, ensures that hospitals choosing to participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs must respect the rights of patients to designate visitors. Participating hospitals may no longer deny visitation privileges based on factors including sexual orientation or gender identity.
New visitation regulations also will benefit childless widows or widowers who may desire the companionship of an unmarried partner or friend. They will also apply to members of religious orders (who are single and have strong relationships within their order).
“There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital,” said Mr. Obama who directed HHS Secretary Sebelius to initiate a public comment period before the regulation was finalized.
“In these hours of need and moments of pain and anxiety, all of us would hope to have a loved one to be there for us, as we would be there for them.”
Patients can now designate who will receive visitation rights and also who can make medical decisions on their behalf — regardless of whether or not they are a legal spouse or blood relative.
The new Hospital Visitation Regulations went into effect January 18, 2011.
Many States had already taken steps to try to put an end to this situation. North Carolina recently amended its Patients’ Bill of Rights to give each patient “the right to designate visitors who shall receive the same visitation privileges as the patient’s immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patient” — a right that applies in every hospital in the State. Delaware, Nebraska, and Minnesota have adopted similar laws.
Janice Langbehn feels justice finally was served, after having been denied any chance to visit her gay partner of 17 years who lay dying.
(READ more about Janice at ABC News)
This week, a new rule went into effect for hospitals across the nation to ease the longtime burden on unmarried or gay partners who, until now, could be prohibited from visiting loved ones who may lie sick and dying without a hand to hold.
The rule, first proposed in a memorandum by President Obama in April, 2010, ensures that hospitals choosing to participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs must respect the rights of patients to designate visitors. Participating hospitals may no longer deny visitation privileges based on factors including sexual orientation or gender identity.
New visitation regulations also will benefit childless widows or widowers who may desire the companionship of an unmarried partner or friend. They will also apply to members of religious orders (who are single and have strong relationships within their order).
50 years ago today, as the youngest president in history took the stage and the oath of office, John F. Kennedy declared that he was “passing the torch to a new generation.”
It was a cold inauguration day in Washington, D.C. — a day that would change the lives of many young Americans.
It would become one of the most famous speeches in American history, a speech that would help shape his life — and his generation.
His famous plea echos today, and in the lives of those who decided on the spot to dedicate their lives to service: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
Within the two months, thousands of young people had signed up for his “Peace Corps“, to help struggling populations around the globe. Since 1961, over 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, serving in 139 countries. Many former volunteers have risen to national prominence.
(READ or LISTEN to the inspiring story at NPR News)
It took only a walk with Sargent Shriver to learn how deeply loved and loving he was. Peace Corps volunteers from the the program that Shriver helped to start in 1961 would stop and thank him, embrace him and tell him stories about their life-changing service.
Countless others approached him: people whose lives were changed because of the anti-poverty programs that Shriver started in the Johnson administration – Legal Services, Head Start, Job Corps, Community Action,VISTA, Upward Bound. Or the parents of children in Special Olympics, the program began by Shriver and his wife, Eunice, that revolutionized the way we treat those with mental disabilities.
(READ the tribute by Shriver’s former speechwriter in the Washington Post)
The Godfather is one of the best loved films of all time. Now, the home where Francis Ford Coppola filmed Marlon Brando’s death and Al Pacino’s familial return is up for sale in Staten Island, NY.
The owner of the home at 110 Longfellow Avenue is asking $2.9 million and the purchase price includes Brando’s original cue cards.
(WATCH the video below from Today)
