April 2009 U.S. News Archives

Jan-Mar 2009 U.S. News Archives

Volunteers adopt foster home to fix

(Emmet Pierce, San Diego Union-Tribune) In tough economic times, charitable groups are forced to spend their money carefully, squeezing the most out of each dollar and choosing the projects that will have the greatest impact on the community. Although there's no shortage of volunteer labor from local businesses and service organizations, Rebuilding Together San Diego – a nonprofit organization that maintains affordable housing – has found that money and materials are harder to come by. At the same time, the need for residential repairs is increasing. That's why fixing up the Serra Mesa home of John and Lucinda Hughes seemed like a good choice to the organizers of Heroes at Home, a residential rehabilitation project sponsored by Sears and overseen by Rebuilding Together.

HGTV-Style Surprise Caps Girls' Year With Alexandria Program

(Theresa Vargas, Washington Post) Even before the first coat of paint covered the pocked, discolored walls of the bedroom Tajá Roberts shares with her two sisters, the 11-year-old envisioned the decorating possibilities. "It's going to be blue and orange and pink," she said, adding that she hoped for stripes on the walls. "I want the lines like on the Home Depot commercial." Tajá, who received a room makeover yesterday as part of a mentoring program, would not be allowed to see the final product until the work was done later that evening.

This miracle (league) lets kids play baseball — finally

(Todd Erzen, Des Moines Register) Gavin Lichty, 12, of Ankeny waited for three or four years. Alayna Wiltgen of Altoona was thrilled as her son was introduced. Bob Mitchell, who helped make the day happen, was overwhelmed by his emotions. And players and fans cheered Saturday on the grand opening of Iowa's first Miracle League ballpark for special-needs children. Being unique was the last thing on the minds of the kids who showed up to play baseball at the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation Field, located across the street from Principal Park in Des Moines, where the Chicago Cubs' top Minor League players compete.

Churchgoers' donations nourish body and soul

(Michael Mello, Orange County Register) Along with the customary collection plate tithes, St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church parishioners are also asked to donate a different kind of green. Many of them cull their backyard gardens and orchards for spare onions, an overflow of avocados, or the dozen or so oranges their trees decided to shed onto the lawn. After each service the potluck farmer's market is offered to the throngs exiting the church, with "buyers" asked to leave a donation. All the proceeds and any leftover produce are donated to a local charity.

From bad seed, a bumper crop of goodwill

(Karen Heller, Philadelphia Inquirer) Since vandals ravaged the children's community garden on Easter weekend, Vanoka Morris-Smith's life has blossomed anew. The garden, too. In the last seven weeks, she's received 136 letters, a nursery of plants, a load of equipment, $6,000 in monetary contributions, and special recognition from Mayor Nutter at the launch of Greenworks Philadelphia. "I was kind of crying," she said, standing in the garden. Letters arrived from as far away as Florida. "Do not let one bad thing that happened keep you from doing good," a donor wrote.

Children raise dough to stock food pantry

(Jill Laster, Columbus Dispatch) Twelve-year-old Lilly Watters isn't fond of baking. For a good cause, though, she made an exception. "I like helping people," said Lilly, of West Jefferson, as she mixed dough this week for a school project. "It's pretty cool." She and about 400 other pupils at West Jefferson Middle and Norwood Elementary schools recently took part in the Life Skills Bread Baking Program, a nationwide effort sponsored by the King Arthur Flour Co. of Norwich, Vt. Their efforts came to fruition yesterday when the children toted to school the fruits of their home-baked labor -- 250 loaves of bread earmarked for donation.

New CEO: Gates Foundation learns from experiments

(Donna Gordon Blankinship, AP) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spent billions of dollars exploring the idea that smaller high schools might result in higher graduation rates and better test scores. Instead, it found that the key to better education is not necessarily smaller schools but more effective teachers. Some people might cringe while recounting how much money the foundation spent figuring this out. But the foundation's new CEO, Jeff Raikes, smiles and uses it as an example to explain that the world's wealthiest charity has the money to try things that might fail.

Buffalo Soldier gets Arlington burial after 100 years

(Bob Kovach, CNN) It was a journey that took more than a hundred years. Missing for decades, the remains of Cpl. Isaiah Mays, a Buffalo Soldier and Medal of Honor recipient, were laid to rest Friday at Arlington National Cemetery. Paying respects were African-American veterans, U.S. Army soldiers and those who rode for days as part of a motorcycle escort -- members of the Missing in America Project, who traveled from as far away as California and Arizona at their own expense to make sure Mays got a proper burial.

Senior prank covers campus in 18 tons of snow

(Jeff Overley, Orange County Register) If ever there was a bad day to ditch class at Sage Hill School, today was it. That's because all the fun was happening on campus, where a senior prank involved dumping 18 tons of snow in the quad at the Newport Beach private school, leading to hours of good-spirited, ice-cold mayhem. For hours this morning, students pummeled one another with handfuls – and sometimes shovelfuls, or even trash-can-fuls – of snow and slush, leaving just about everyone wet, frigid and smiling.

'Laodicean' launches Kansas teen to spelling bee victory

(CNN) Thirteen-year-old Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, spelled "laodicean," Thursday night to take top honors in the 82nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The eighth-grader won $40,000 in cash and prizes for nailing the final word. Pronounced lay-odd-uh-see-an, the word means lukewarm or indifferent, particularly in matters of politics or religion.

Sailors drop anchor to read with children

(Ernst Lamothe Jr., Rochester Democrat & Chronicle) U.S. Navy Capt. Leo Falardeau of Irondequoit leaned in closely as Marcus Brian Mitchell read to him all about the perilous adventures of Spiderman. Even though Marcus tells anyone who will listen that he plans to join the fire department when he grows up, the large smile on his face gave away his enjoyment in talking with his new naval friend. "I like when people help me read some of the words that I have trouble with," said Marcus, 9, a third-grader at School 30.

11 advance to National Spelling Bee finals

(Joseph White, AP) The chairs on the ballroom stage emptied one by one, left vacant by those who had guessed and walked away disappointed. Rarely has a spelling bee round been this brutal. Twenty of 36 spellers, including two of the favorites, were wiped out Thursday in the second semifinal round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Five more were eliminated in the next round, leaving 11 to compete in the finals Thursday night, when the winner would receive more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.

Hollywood school's sensory room a hit with disabled students

(Patricia Mazzei, Miami Herald) In this room, unlike anywhere else in his life, Eric Kercado, who is profoundly deaf and has limited vision, is in control. Sitting in front of a small fan, 6-year-old Eric presses a big round button turning the air on and off, on and off. He smiles as the breeze hits his face. He sinks into a color-changing pool filled with clear plastic balls that vibrate to music, which makes him shake his arms and grunt with excitement. This is the new sensory room at Hollywood Park Elementary, part classroom, part indoor playground.

Mesa man wins car from 'American Idol' contest

(Lisa Nicita, Arizona Republic) Michael Vaughn didn't usually watch a whole lot of "American Idol." But, when he switched from "The Deadliest Catch" on April 1 to catch a few minutes of the singing competition, it ended up being a winning moment in his life. Vaughn, 45 of Mesa, liked the song he heard, a jingle that the competitors were performing as part of a produced spot for Ford. He wanted to hear it again, so he followed Ryan Seacrest's instructions and went to the show's Web site, where he entered a contest to win a 2010 American Idol-inspired Ford Fusion Sport. Which he did.

Va. girl anything but 'efficient' at national bee

(Joseph White, AP) Deborah Horton made the most of her moment at the national spelling bee Wednesday. She greeted the officials with a perky "hello" and asked every question imaginable about a word she could spell in her sleep. "Efficient." She wanted the pronunciations and the part of speech. She wanted it in a sentence. She paused between each letter, then was jubilant when told she got it right.

Meridian woman's dream wedding even better than hoped, thanks to the kindness of strangers

(Katy Moeller, Idaho Statesman) After a freak accident that nearly killed her father, Elaine Trail's cash-strapped family had to cancel her planned summer wedding at Tamarack. But thanks to the kindness and donations of a group of Treasure Valley residents who work in the wedding industry, Trail was married to Justin Mullins in a ceremony at Woodriver Cellars in Eagle on Friday. The wedding site and the reception at Boise's Rose Room were both donated. Mark Trail, who had to learn to walk again after the accident last September, was able to walk his daughter down the garden path at Woodriver to give his daughter away. He also danced with his daughter at the reception.

Back by Popular Demand

(Alex Williams, New York Times) Kind leading men, an aw-shucks American Idol, cute advertising: smiles are spreading across the culture. Have a nice day.

In the hit comedy “I Love You, Man,” Paul Rudd plays Peter, a sunflower of a guy: cheerful, welcoming and reassuring, if a little squeamish. Peter blushes over references to pubic hair, winces at flatulence and refuses to kiss and tell, even when the girls do. Mr. Rudd has made a career of playing soft-spoken nice guys, and in another era that persona might have relegated him to a second tier of celebrity status, along with the likes of Donny Osmond and Pat Sajak. But today he is a leading man, even a matinee hunk.

Hollywood teacher's lesson plans win trip to Peru from National Geographic

(Akilah Johnson, South Florida Sun-Sentinel) By turning her classroom and school into a microcosm of Peru — complete with faux-desert lines made of masking-tape and llama-spitting contests — a sixth-grade charter school teacher won a two-week expedition through the country. Carissa Lloyd, 33, a teacher at Hollywood Academy of Arts & Science, flew to Lima, Peru, on Friday as part of National Geographic Kids Hands-On Explorer Teacher Challenge. She'll join a fifth-grade teacher from Sioux Falls, S.D., and 15 students ages 10 to 14 to visit such places Machu Picchu and the Tambopata Reserve in the Amazon.

Once-suicidal man becomes veterans' lifeline

(CNN) Like for many Americans, Memorial Day for Lynn Hughes is about giving back to veterans. The 61-year-old will be placing flags on the graves of fallen soldiers at Rocky Mount Memorial Park gardens. What sets Hughes apart: He volunteers for veterans almost every other day of the year, too. Hughes, a Vietnam veteran himself, fights to help uninsured veterans receive the benefits they're entitled to. "The veterans just don't know what to do; they don't know where to go," Hughes said. "If we don't give them the information that they need so they can get help, they won't get help." It's an experience Hughes understands firsthand.

Ivy League dreams come true with liquor magnate's gift

(Jason Hanna, CNN) Sidney Frank made millions marketing Jagermeister and other alcohol brands. Three years after his death, he's a big hit with students at the Ivy League college he briefly attended. He's a big hit not because of what he sold but because he's given dozens of them what he couldn't afford as a young man: an education at Rhode Island's Brown University. On Sunday, 49 students from low-income families became the first four-year Sidney E. Frank Scholars to graduate from Brown, owing virtually nothing except gratitude to the late liquor magnate.

Gifted at giving: An 11-year-old buoys Oregon coast food bank

(Lori Tobias, The Oregonian) By the time Taylor Graham started school, he was already gifted at giving -- though it's doubtful anyone would have predicted by age 11, he would be the dynamo behind the biggest fundraiser the local food sharing agency has known. Earlier this month, Taylor, a sixth-grader, raised $13,000 in the fourth "Read for the Need" event. That nearly doubled his previous best effort of $7,800 in 2007.

82 quilts for the 82nd Airborne

(Elaine Trumpey, Cincinnati Enquirer) Hand-made quilts are going airborne in the skies over Fort Bragg this week, thanks in part to the efforts of local quilters. The North Carolina base is home to the 82nd Airborne Division and Special Operations Forces of the U.S. Army. Several local women have contributed quilts for "82 for the 82nd," a project to create quilts for wounded veterans as part of the unit's "All-American Week." The annual event is held the week before Memorial Day to honor the "All Americans," the nickname of the 82nd Airborne since WWII.

2 friends fix sign on Aurora honoring veterans

(Christine Clarridge, Seattle Times) Mike Shelton and Gary Epps of Shoreline were having a beer one night earlier this month when they started talking about the deplorable condition of a historical marker they drove by daily. The Blue Star Memorial Highway marker, on a triangular patch of grass just north of North 65th Street on Aurora Avenue North, was among hundreds installed across the country to honor the men and women of the armed forces after World War II. But over the years, the 57-year-old marker had been run over, bent and haphazardly welded together. A bad paint job had left the sign nearly impossible to read.

World War II veterans get a day to remember

(Bonnie Miller Rubin, Chicago Tribune) The ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., was brief, solemn. Yet for Lorraine Egan, the sight of fellow veterans reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and listening to the mournful strains of taps was just too much. "I'm just thinking about all the boys who didn't make it," said the former Navy nurse, her voice cracking. "They were just so young." For Egan, 85, the trip she took this month to the nation's capital with 79 fellow veterans from the Chicago area brought back a flood of memories for her and her comrades--of lost soldiers and old friends, good times and bad, sacrifice and salvation.

Dallas group taking World War II veterans to see D.C. memorial

(David Flick, Dallas Morning News) As Memorial Day approaches, Raymond Smith is preparing his own act of gratitude and remembrance. On June 1, Smith, 83, of Arlington, will join 34 other veterans on a two-day trip – sponsored by Honor Flight of Dallas – to Washington, D.C., to visit the National World War II Memorial. He is going with a particular mission.

New Jersey seeks laid-off traders to teach math

(Claudia Parsons, Reuters) When Scott Brooks got laid off by American Express in February he decided to turn his back on finance and revive a dream he gave up on many years ago -- to become a math teacher. He happens to live in New Jersey, where state education authorities have long worried about a dearth of math teachers. Last week he heard about a new program called "Traders to Teachers" being set up at Montclair State University to retrain people in the finance industry who have been laid off in the deepest crisis to hit Wall Street since the Great Depression.

Brooklyn construction worker Ronald McGovern falls off building, and makes it home by dinnertime

(Dennis Hamil, New York Daily News) He was knocked off a building, fell three stories, was raced to Bellevue Hospital, given a CAT scan, got five staples in his head - and still made it home by dinnertime. Oh, yeah, the doctors told him to take two Motrin and call in the morning.

Scholarship surprise: $250,000 awarded to 15 Broward high school seniors

(Juan Ortega, South Florida Sun-Sentinel) Fifteen Broward County high school seniors were dreaming big about their college careers this morning as they were surprised with news they had won a collective $250,000 in scholarship money. "I'm very thankful and I'm honored," said Breanna Green, 18, a Fort Lauderdale High School senior, who will be receiving up to $20,000 in aid. Four student winners watched a morning press conference about the scholarships at Fort Lauderdale High School, while the remaining scholarship recipients at schools across Broward watched it broadcast live on television. Broward County schools received the scholarship money because the district was a finalist for the 2008 Broad Prize, one of the nation's most prestigious education awards.

$2,000 a year to help S.F. families improve

(Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle) Juan Michel, a 53-year-old father of nine living in San Francisco's Mission District, was skeptical when a friend told him he could get free money for improving his family's life. Two years later, his wife has started her own floral business, his kids are getting better grades, his family is eating smaller portions of their favorite Mexican foods - and he's a few thousand dollars richer for making it happen. Sound too good to be true in this age of get-rich-quick scams? Not according to Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is convinced the unusual strategy could help struggling families in this famously expensive city where low-income and even middle-income people are increasingly being priced out. Today, Newsom will announce a city partnership with Family Independence Initiative, a nonprofit that pays families up to $2,000 a year simply for setting goals and achieving them.

Texas 13-year-old wins national geography bee

(AP) The nation's top geography whiz breezed through questions about mountain ranges, rivers and world capitals Wednesday, but he was stumped when National Geographic Bee host Alex Trebek asked him to name one of his weaknesses. "Um ..." said Eric Yang, 13, pausing. The Texas teen had just revealed to the "Jeopardy!" host how he crafts his own chess strategies and plays the piano.

Community builds family a new home

(Victoria Freile, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle) The Myslivecek family this morning walked into their newly enlarged Chili home with tears in their eyes. Six weeks ago, Tammie and Dean Myslivecek and their children moved into a small apartment in Chili, about a mile down the road from their 1,150-square-foot home. Today, the family entered their transformed house at 3216 Union St. for the first time in weeks. The house, which was gutted and rebuilt from the ground up, is now twice as large thanks to the efforts of hundreds of community members and volunteers through the newly-created Extreme Hope Project, said Bill Sauers, a general contractor for Sunday Siders in Chili, who led the construction work with Jamie Valerio of Perna Homes.

Daily News columnist gets sneak peek of the soon-to-be-reopened Statue of Liberty crown

(Michael Daly, New York Daily News) The view is cool beyond words. In anticipation of the Independence Day reopening of the Statue of Liberty's crown, the National Park Service Wednesday gave reporters a sneak peek. They were the first people inside the top of the statue since 9/11. After the grueling climb to the top, reporters and camera people stood on the 50 square foot platform and peered out the 25 small windows that are the great reward for getting up there.

No need to Google 'Engelberth' -- she'll be on the home page

(Emily Anderson, CNN) One of the perks of using search engine Google's home page is checking out the frequently changing seasonal, current-event, and holiday-inspired "doodles" used for the logo. Soon the work of 12-year-old Christin Engelberth will occupy the Google spotlight to be viewed by millions of online searchers worldwide. On Wednesday, Google announced that Christin, a sixth-grader at Bernard Harris Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, is this year's winner of "Doodle 4 Google," a yearly competition that asks K-12 students to dream up their own variation of the logo. Her work will be featured on Google's main site for 24 hours on Thursday.

Woman reunited with nurse who saved her life

(Mary McCarty, Dayton Daily News) Wanda Gruenschlaeger has no memory of the first time she met Stacie Oxman in the ladies’ room at Paul Brown Stadium last Nov. 16. "I remember washing my hands, and the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital wondering if the Bengals had won," the Hamilton grandmother recalled.

Restoring the Earth helps veterans heal

(Patrick Oppmann, CNN) For veteran Jeremy Grisham, clearing heavy brush with an ax in the woods near Seattle is a way to "work out demons." Like many other vets returning from deployment overseas, Grisham, a medical corpsman, came back from Iraq seared by memories of war and unsure about how to re-enter civilian life. But a program in Washington state helps military veterans learn marketable job skills and make sense of their experiences in combat. Program managers say the Veterans Conservation Corps initiative helps hundreds of vets study and train to enter the growing "green" jobs field. In return, the veterans work on projects that help restore the environment in state parks. The VCC, though, is much more than job training for Grisham and many of the other vets. It's a form of therapy. "Sometimes it feels really good. When we take invasive weeds off a tree that's being suffocated and we free something. I feel a bit lighter inside," Grisham says.

Girls learn about self-esteem in running program

(Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Yesterday morning, on a 5K running course that snaked through Sandcastle Waterpark, 16 girls from Verner Elementary School of Verona joined hundreds of other girls from the Pittsburgh area to prove their mettle in an event hosted by Girls on the Run, an international organization that promotes healthy lifestyle choices for young girls through running. But they weren't competing for first prize. Instead, they were competing for their own personal goals and against their own self-doubts. Thirty-one teams from the Pittsburgh area came to run in the event, the culmination of a 10-week training program that combines educational lessons on nutrition, body image and team-building with running.

Church gives fresh meaning to 'offering' plate

(CNN) The pastor of a non-denominational church in Argyle, Texas, passed around the collection plate to his congregants earlier this year -- and asked them to take money from it. Donations at the Cross Timbers Community Church had slumped because of the economic downturn. Pastor Toby Slough thought that his congregants had to be hurting, too. His gesture, instead, was met with an unexpected response: The church had its highest offering ever.

90 years in same apartment

(Angela Montefinise, New York Post) When 12-year-old Elsa Barnouw first moved into her Morningside Heights apartment, Woodrow Wilson was president, World War I was barely over and Tammany Hall man John Hylan was mayor of the city's 5.6 million people. Now, 90 years, 16 presidents and 12 mayors later, Barnouw uses a walker to get around the same three-bedroom apartment overlooking Columbia University, still sleeping in the same small bed in the same small room she grew up in as an immigrant from Holland.

Anonymous 'fairy godmother' donates $1.5M to UH-Hilo

(Craig Gima, Honolulu Star-Bulletin) The checks, literally, came in the mail -- a $1.5 million unsolicited donation from a mysterious benefactor for scholarships and priority projects at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. The donation, the largest anonymous gift to UH-Hilo in the school's history, appears to be from the same person The New York Times called "a fairy godmother." She, or he, has given, at last count, $93 million to at least 19 universities across the country, according to news reports.

Downtown is pretty in pink during Race for the Cure

(Alan Johnson, Columbus Dispatch) In the pink sea of inspirational people and stories that flooded Downtown yesterday at the 17th Komen Columbus Race for the Cure, the miracle of "Chemo Carter" stands out. Meet Vanessa Gregorio, 40, of Lewis Center: wife, mother of four, cancer survivor and lightning in a bottle. In the eight months since Gregorio's breast cancer was diagnosed, she has had a double mastectomy, undergone chemotherapy, moved back to Columbus, given birth to a healthy, 6-pound, 2-ounce boy and begun radiation treatment.

Homeless man honored for returning wallet, ID

(Michael Ferraresi, Arizona Republic) When an unemployed furniture mover flagged him down to return a lost wallet, Phoenix police Officer Jerry Paprocki thought little of the gesture. But after finding out the wallet belonged to an Arizona Department of Corrections officer who dropped it in the parking lot outside a hardware store, Paprocki recognized what he described as a rare good deed. The man who found the wallet passed up on pocketing cash and credit cards, in addition to the DOC officer's badge and identification card - items of value on the black market. Every single item in the wallet was returned to the owner. Paprocki said he was impressed that a homeless man with little more than a room at a central Phoenix halfway house would go out of his way to help a stranger.

College breaks simultaneous 'Thriller' dance record

(AP) In what the organizer jokingly calls a case of his "Michael Jackson obsession gone wrong," a group of College of William & Mary students has won the world record for most people to dance to the singer's "Thriller" simultaneously in one place. The 242-person routine was organized by longtime Jackson fan Kevin Dua, who was notified Friday by Guinness World Records of the accomplishment. The previous record was 147 people in an event held last summer at a British secondary school. Dua, 21, spent the better part of the school year orchestrating the event, which was held April 19 at the college in Williamsburg, in eastern Virginia.

Couple at 70 years of marital happiness

(Katherine Ullmer, Dayton Daily News) The aroma of a freshly baked cherry pie filled the air in Jane and Elvin Browne’s Washington Twp. home on a recent Wednesday morning. The pie was later served in a Florida room built by Elvin Browne, 93, on 70-year-old antique etched glass plates the Brownes received on their wedding day, July 28, 1939. The Brownes will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary July 28 and their 75th class reunion (class of 1934) for Stivers High School on June 6. They met in a high school dramatic art class. He sat in the first row, she in the second. Soon they were sitting side by side. Their first date was on Oct. 14, 1933.

Runners together in spirit a world apart

(Mike Baird, Corpus Christi Caller-Times) The Beach to Bay Relay Marathon is the ultimate long-distance event this year, reaching about 7,400 miles to Iraq for 63 local soldiers to run simultaneously. A group from the Corpus Christi-based 211th Regional Support Group — dubbing themselves the Hurricanes — are a few of the about 11,500 baton-passing runners in the 34th running of the six-leg relay. Instead of dashing 26.2 miles Saturday from the Gulf of Mexico to Corpus Christi Bay, they’ll be in Tikrit, running a 10-kilometer race in camp. Their camp is not large enough for a marathon distance. The soldiers are participating in more than one way. Each soldier’s name will be on an official bib worn here by members of Corpus Christi Roadrunners teams.

Google doodlers could win $15,000

(Cindy Kranz, Cincinnati Enquirer) Indian Hill Middle School seventh-grader Blakely Linz and Covington Latin sophomore Emerald Lu are asking for your votes. They are two of 40 finalists chosen among 28,000 entries in the Doodle 4 Google contest. Blakely's design is a finalist in the Grades 7-9 category. Emerald is competing in the Grades 10-12 category. "I was extremely surprised," Blakely said. "I was very, very happy." So was her art teacher, Laura Monahan, when she learned Tuesday that one of her students was a finalist. "I think I was jumping up and down and screaming," Monahan said. "I am so excited. This is why I teach. This is what I love to do, to see my students succeed, to see someone's hard work be recognized. It's an amazing honor." To get to the next level, the public votes for their favorite designs at www.google.com/doodle4google. Monday is the last day to vote.

Habitat for Humanity gets $100M gift, biggest individual donation in its history

(Greg Bluestein, AP) The housing market may be sputtering, but Habitat for Humanity International is getting a $100 million gift from an Atlanta developer who said his work has offered him a look at the struggle of poor people to find decent housing. The nonprofit group announced Thursday it received the largest individual contribution in its history, an offering that will help Habitat build 60,000 homes around the globe.

With son's help, man finally gets World War II honors

(M.B. Taboada, Austin American-Statesman) Livie Gault Jr., a lifelong resident of Taylor, was 19 when he was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1943. During World War II, when the military was segregated, Gault served aboard the USS Lubbock as a steward third class. His job was to take care of his white military counterparts, with whom he was not even allowed to eat. But during battle, he manned the anti-aircraft guns on the ship, shooting down Japanese A6M2 Zeros, the main fighter planes of the Imperial Japanese Navy. "When we went into the war, the colors were all the same," Gault said. Gault was honorably discharged Jan. 11, 1946, but never received the medals and ribbons to which he was entitled. He wasn't even aware of them until his son Kevin Gault, who served in the U.S. Air Force, asked more than two years ago and worked with the Veterans County Service Office in Williamson County to get them issued.

A Brief History of the Statue of Liberty

(Randy James, Time) One of the most biting ironies of Sept. 11 was that the terror attacks led fearful authorities to ban visitors from the United States' most enduring icon of freedom, the Statue of Liberty. Though the pedestal and lower observation deck re-opened in 2004, the statue itself has been off-limits since the Twin Towers fell barely two miles away. Last week Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that, beginning July 4, 2009, intrepid tourists would again be welcomed into the statue and up the 168 narrow, twisting steps to the crown and its breathtaking views of New York Harbor.

Hairstylist offers work pro bono

(Julian Guthrie, San Francisco Chronicle) Twenty-five years ago, Iranian immigrant Manijeh Kazemi was a single working mom trying to hold onto her waitressing job at Denny's in South San Francisco. She was new to the United States, learning the language, caring for her toddler son and pleading with her landlord to give her a few more days to pay the rent. Pampering - whether getting her hair, nails or makeup done - was a thing of the past. Today, Kazemi, who is 51 and lives in San Jose, is trying to help those who are struggling as she once did. She has rented a station in a hair salon in Los Gatos and is offering free hair cuts, color and styling to men and women in need.

Tears and thank-yous at reunion between hero boat captains and six anglers plucked from Jamaica Bay

(Samuel Goldsmith, New York Daily News) Two brave boat captains and the six anglers they saved from frigid Jamaica Bay reunited Monday in a heartfelt exchange of tears, hugs and thank-yous. "It was a team effort," said Captain Cody Catapano, who along with first mate Dana Rizzo pulled two of the victims, Anthony Dattolo, 26, and Lisa Shaver, 24, from the water Sunday morning. "Cody just swooped around out of nowhere and saved us," Dattolo told the Daily News. "Thank God for that." Catapano said the fishermen had just "a couple more minutes" in the bay as cold water and pounding waves threatened to take their young lives.

Donations mean Washington Park concerts may happen, after all

(Lynne Terry, The Oregonian) Money is flowing in, putting the Portland parks bureau a drumbeat away from its goal of staging free concerts in Washington Park this summer. A string of companies and individuals has contributed, putting the city only $5,700 from the $100,000 it needs to keep the popular series alive. "I could not be more pleased," said Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversees Parks & Recreation. "It's another indication of public-spirited business and individuals stepping up at a time of need."

After Breaking Neck, High School Student Walks, Talks Again

(AP) Seven months ago, a nurse told Jan Veintidos he would never move or walk again. The 17-year-old junior at Pickering High School wants to return to show her she was wrong. The nurse wasn't being cold or cruel — just realistic, he said, considering the injuries to his neck and three vertebrae. He recounts his emergency trip to LSU Hospital in Shreveport after he tried to block an East Beauregard High School linebacker on Oct. 10. "I couldn't talk and I had to mouth everything," Vientidos said. "I remember mouthing the question, 'Will I ever be able to move or walk again?' and she answered, 'No, you won't.'" His injury was only one grade below the maximum — the grade that left actor Christopher Reeves paralyzed from the neck down from 1995 until his death in 2004. But Vientidos is walking, talking, and going to classes again at Pickering, where he was a wingback for the football team and a college prospect as a 400-meter runner for the track team.

Thousands of participants in Race for the Cure to don colorful wigs in memory of Heather Pick

(Amy Saunders, Columbus Dispatch) During a recent cancer-awareness rally at her office, survivor Pat Hibbard paid tribute to the TV anchorwoman whose young life was taken by the disease. "In honor of Heather, I do this with pride," Hibbard said, removing a brown wig to reveal her nearly bald head, a result of recent chemotherapy treatments for ovarian cancer. Some of her Safelite AutoGlass co-workers were shocked; others cried. Mostly, though, she hopes they were inspired to sign up for "Heather's Team" -- a Komen Columbus Race for the Cure group formed in memory of WBNS-TV (Channel 10) anchorwoman Heather Pick. Pick, who died in November at age 38, had long shared her breast-cancer battle with the public during fundraising events such as Race for the Cure -- and on the air, too. Most famously, she last appeared on Channel 10 in early October wearing a bright-pink wig -- sending a lighthearted yet serious message about breast-cancer awareness.

New museum stands as tribute to WWII vets

(Rick McCrabb, Dayton Daily News) Nine months ago, when she married David Shortt, a retired Army chief warrant officer and Middletown police officer, Brenda Shortt knew about his "extra baggage." "He collected this stuff long before he knew me," she said. "This is something that he really enjoys. It’s like his second life." On Friday, May 8 — the 64th anniversary of the Victory in Europe Day — Shortt displayed his passion for the military, and it received rave reviews from veterans, those he respects the most.

Was his recovery a miracle?

(Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer) Tom Siemers' doctor pulled him aside 20 years ago and told him he should be dead. The doctor, a neurosurgeon, said every attempt he'd made to fix a massive hemorrhage in Siemers' brain in 1989 had failed. Surgery. Drugs. Cutting-edge technology. Nothing seemed to work. Despite his grim prognosis, Siemers not only survived but fully recovered. "So what happened?" Siemers asked. The doctor just shook his head and pointed heavenward.

Program puts books in children's hands - free

(Kristin E. Holmes, Philadelphia Inquirer) The faculty at Dobson Elementary School in Manayunk looks for almost any reason to give a student a shiny new book. Fall registration? A book. Report-card day? A book. Back to School Night? A book. By the end of the school year, students in kindergarten through third grade might have personal at-home libraries packed with stories about spilt milk, magic treehouses, and whether your mama is a llama. Third grader Tonice Arnold sums up the thrill: Books are great "because you get smarter, and then you get higher grades, and then you can be smarter than all the people in your class, and then it's perfect."

Monumental shift: Interior secretary Ken Salazar announces Statue of Liberty crown to reopen July 4

(Michael Saul, New York Daily News) It's official - Lady Liberty's crown will reopen on July 4th to celebrate the nation's 233rd birthday. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday morning that visitors will be welcomed to the Statue of Liberty's crown, beginning Independence Day, for the first time since terrorists toppled the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. "There is nothing that symbolizes what America is -- and the hope and optimism -- than this statue of Liberty," Salazar said during an interview inside the icon's crown on NBC's "Today" show. "This is part of our whole agenda of a new beginning, restoring confidence in the American people in their government and of our place in the world," Salazar said.

Mom of Marine killed in Iraq to receive special Mother’s Day gift

(Margo Rutledge Kissell, Dayton Daily News) It showed up one day on an elderly man’s front porch in Kentucky. Tucked inside a black bag to protect it from the rain, the black binder was filled with heartfelt sympathies and patriotic drawings from schoolchildren honoring Marine Cpl. Tyler Warndorf, 21, who was killed in Iraq on Aug. 29, 2006. The man knew the family of the fallen Marine would treasure what he held in his hands, but he wasn’t able to find them. He passed the binder on to another neighbor, Dennis Green. "Hey, can you help me out?" Green, who works in Xenia, recalled the man telling him. "The family deserves the book."

Community gardens growing like weeds

(Anthony Gottschlich, Dayton Daily News) In a vacant lot in McPherson Town, Aimee Noel and her neighbors cultivate the earth with visions of deep red tomatoes, green leafy lettuce and fresh brussels sprouts in their heads. They spend hours each afternoon, weather permitting, transforming this rocky soil to fertile ground, planting seeds for food and friendship in a garden they hope will nourish this neighborhood for years to come. "It’s just been really fantastic," Noel said as she planted beans in her 9-by-12 plot, one of 24 in this lot along McPherson Street near downtown. "I’ve met people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. It’s kind of a gathering place now."

Brit Cop Who Stops Thief Hailed A Hero In US

(Sky News) Sergeant Ian Lambert-Gorwyn of Avon and Somerset Police could not let a criminal escape even though he was meant to be enjoying a relaxing break with his wife and daughter. The four-night stay was a surprise holiday for his daughter, who was celebrating her 18th birthday. On arrival, they went to the hotel to check in then headed straight out to the Empire State Building. Later that evening, while walking back to their hotel, Sgt Lambert-Gorwyn heard a woman cry out: "Help, I've been robbed - stop him!"

Missouri Boy, 3, Found Alive 2 Days After Wandering Away

(AP) A 3-year-old boy was found in remarkably good condition Wednesday, 50 hours after he wandered away from his home and became lost in the rugged hills of Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest. Joshua Childers slipped out of his family's mobile home near Arcadia in rural southeast Missouri around 11:30 a.m. Monday. Two full days and nights of searching proved increasingly frustrating until around 4 p.m. Wednesday, when search volunteer Donnie Halpin, walking along an all-terrain vehicle trail about three miles from the boy's home, spied a couple of stray dogs sniffing at something.

Women throw a gold party for charity

(Marques G. Harper, Austin American-Statesman) The gated, cliffside Mediterranean-style mansion with its edgeless pool, miniature donkeys and horses, and separate party facility overlooking Lake Travis is more than mesmerizing. Will one of the "Real Housewives of Orange County" or Donatella Versace answer the door? Instead, I meet the energetic host, Ronda Gray, an Austin native, University of Texas graduate and former school teacher who runs a field trip camp for teens called Camp on the Move. She invites me in to join her and a few of her closest girlfriends for a midday party, which includes Togarashi seared beef tenderloin with wasabi mayonnaise on black pepper biscuits, seaweed salad, eel rolls and chocolate-dipped strawberries from Pink Avocado. Food isn't our main agenda, though. We gather for one of the hottest girlfriend events to take root in this turbulent economy, the gold party.

Girls find music from Buffett and his ukuleles

(Jonathan Stempel, Reuters) When he's not attending to the businesses that helped him amass a $40 billion fortune, Warren Buffett maintains a decades-long love for the ukulele, and he wants to keep the music playing. To help this along, the world's second-richest person has given ukuleles and a lesson on the instrument to girls at the North Omaha branch of Girls Inc. Raelynn McCreary is one of the girls. The 10-year-old calls what Buffett did "just plain kindness. If you're a really busy person and you take time out of your schedule to go teach someone else how to do something, then that is what everyone should do."

Ground Zero For The Green Housing Movement

(Jeff Glor, CBS News) Just about everywhere you look in Greensburg, Kan., somebody is building something or something's just been built. It's been nonstop for two years, ever since a mile-and-a-half wide tornado with 205 mph winds basically wiped this town of 1,500 people off the map, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor. Back in May 2007, Jill Eller was hopelessly sifting through the ruins of her house - and her life. "How do you start?" she asked, crying. Like many in Greensburg, her family lived in a trailer for two years, willing themselves to stay. "We felt like we were abandoning ship if we left Greensburg," Eller said. Last month, Jill and her husband Scott moved into their one-of-a-kind three-bedroom green dream house, which is energy efficient and more tornado resistant.

Recent donations hearten leaders at state agencies

(Chase Davis, Des Moines Register) Until a couple of years ago, the 84 youths who live at the Iowa State Juvenile Home and State Training School for Girls in Toledo often had a pretty subdued Christmas. But that was before an anonymous former resident in 2007 donated $20,000 to be spent exclusively on holiday cheer for the home's 20 boys and 64 girls. Last year, he came back and gave $10,000 more. "We've been very fortunate," said Deborah Hanus, superintendent of the facilities. "You depend on community support to make these things special for the kids." Despite a struggling economy, Iowa donors have given millions of dollars in cash and gifts to state agencies that preserve the environment, care for the mentally ill and provide services to war veterans, state records show.

Vt. town makes home for soldier wounded in Afghanistan

(Wilson Ring, AP) Greg Barnes is reluctant to say publicly what else he might need help with to make his home ready to accommodate his son, a quadriplegic soldier, because he'll probably find it outside his front door. Carpenters are donating time, electricians have offered to do wiring, and contractors have chipped in to build a foundation on what will become a handicapped accessible apartment for 21-year-old Andrew Parker that is attached to his parents' home.

Click here to donate to the Andrew Parker Fund

Old Stone Inn may be oldest building in the city

(Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Twenty years into this nation's history, a man could board his horse at hay, put his wife and child on a ferry and enjoy a "jinn" grog, cherry toddy or bitters by paying one publican in a building that still stands. Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to recommend historic status for the Old Stone Inn, a West End landmark at 434 Greentree Road. If the inn is as old as growing evidence indicates, it may be older than the nation, even older than Pittsburgh. No historic nomination in recent memory has led to such depths of discovery. Researchers have become giddy as they've uncovered the inn's story, which includes at least a peripheral role in the Whiskey Rebellion. The inn's cornerstone date of 1756 has always been puzzling to historians, who thought it apocryphal.

Ellington: A Place Of Great Religious Diversity

(Jesse Leavenworth, Hartford Courant) Soon after Russian Jews settled here a century ago, a congressional panel on immigration set out to study the newcomers' progress and assimilation with the mostly Yankee population. The Jewish farmers of Ellington were among the immigrant communities studied throughout the nation as part of an alarmed reaction to the swelling alien masses. Despite an ingrained prejudice against Jews among some locals, the commission's investigators acknowledged in 1911 that "the most amicable relations seem to exist between the Hebrews and the rest of the community." Religious assimilation has been a constant in Ellington.

‘He exudes happiness’

(Margery Eagan, Boston Herald) The Dalai Lama laughs a lot. Yesterday, when the verses on Gillette Stadium’s JumboTron screen were messed up (verse 3 appeared when he was leading the crowd in verse 2, and vice versa) he laughed and laughed, as if the mix-up were no hassle but rather sheer fun. When the wind whipped about his 50-yard-line stage - where he perched, lotuslike, in robes of saffron and maroon - he interrupted his morning teaching to say it’s "quite windy down here." Then he pulled his robe over his head and hid. Eventually he peeked back out, and laughed some more.

'Tenderlointreon' a hit with young film fans

(Meredith May, San Francisco Chronicle) Tucked behind a tenement apartment in the Tenderloin, a hidden outdoor movie theater is bringing free cinema to San Francisco children whose parents can't afford today's ticket prices. "Tenderlointreon" is projected onto the side of a coin laundry from the courtyard behind the nonprofit Indochinese Housing Community Afterschool Program. On a recent Friday night, children huddled in blankets on plastic lawn chairs with free hot dogs and popcorn, absorbed in the animated movie "Bolt," about a super-dog with the voice of John Travolta.

Mind Games: The Dalai Lama Takes Harvard

(John Cloud, Time) The Dalai Lama is a lot more playful than your average Harvard professor, which is one reason his appearance at a Harvard psychology conference on Friday was so entertaining. The Dalai Lama — who at 73 has an agile, mischievous mind and an abiding interest in psychology — accepted Harvard's invitation because he wanted a lively debate about the latest science on mental health. He wanted to play. What he got was an audience of earnest academic worshippers. He played anyway.

Feeding the Meters Helps Bethesda's Needy

(William Wan, Washington Post) Who knew that in the eternal fight against poverty, suffering and homelessness even the lowly parking meter could become a weapon for the forces of good. In Bethesda, a team of civic-minded leaders has commandeered a handful of old, obsolete meters and scattered them around downtown. The goal is to divert spare change going to panhandlers and send it to a local nonprofit group for the homeless.

Heart of a warship is restored to glory

(Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Bulletin) For sailors, "the ship's bell is the symbolic heart of a ship," says naval historian James Delgado, and so the discovery of a famous warship's bell recently at Pearl Harbor means the artifact will be restored to a place of honor. The bell had been "kicking around West Loch" for decades, he said, but it was not until it was cleaned up that its origin was revealed: the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, one of the most distinguished ships of World War II.