Today's Featured Good News
Spreading Joy to Special Kids
A Texas man creates the first large theme park for people with special needs.
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Today's Top Good News Stories
How boyfriend proposed to his sweetheart... by inviting her to home-made film at cinema
(Daily Mail) A love-struck boyfriend popped the question to his other half at the cinema - using a home-made film he had made starring all her friends and family. Bryan Hughes, 35, lured Kerrie Richardson to the movies on the pretext of watching a Hollywood blockbuster. So Kerrie was stunned when the film rolled to see it was Bryan starring in a pop video with all her nearest and dearest singing lines from Lou Reed's Perfect Day. Then Bryan - who had made an excuse to pop out to the toilet - reappeared at the front of the cinema to get down on one knee and pop the question with an engagement ring.
The Original Fly Girls
The first women to fly military aircraft are known as WASPs, an acronym for Women's Air Force Service Pilots. David Martin reports that they are finally getting the recognition they deserve.
Vets discover healing power of hockey
Through the USA Warriors Program, American vets wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan take to the ice to forget about their injuries for a few hours and remember their potential for teamwork. NBC's Norah O'Donnell reports.
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Aloha reaches Iraq through soccer balls
(Pat Gee, Honolulu Star Bulletin) In just a couple of months, Master Sgt. William Chang and other Hawaii Air National Guard members have collected and distributed more than 450 soccer balls to Iraqi children on the streets. "The response that I've getting from the people of Hawaii (and other parts of the nation) has definitely been overwhelming. ... I just want to make sure that I can thank everyone that helped out," Chang wrote in an e-mail. (He has since arrived home.) "It's just such a wonderful feeling seeing how one simple article can go a very long way in helping out others. I wish I could meet everyone in person and shake their hands and thank them."
Naps May Improve Performance Later In The Day
(NPR) Looking for an excuse to work in a quick snooze in the afternoon? Here you go: Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have found that naps may help your brain work better later. Matthew Walker, who led the study, says we know that sleeping is critical to cementing new memories, but this research looked at whether getting sleep before learning is equally important to prepare your brain to soak up information. "Despite us all knowing the sort of subjective benefits of sleep, what may be surprising to the general public is that scientists and doctors do not still have a satisfying answer as to why we sleep — and that, of course, is one-third of our lives," Walker tells NPR's Guy Raz.
Small biofuel farm bears fruit
(Craig Gima, Honolulu Star Bulletin) If the vision of father and son farmers Christian and James Twigg-Smith becomes reality, acres of now-fallow sugar cane land will be growing crops again. But rather than producing food, the land would be used to grow fuel oil. About two years ago they planted jatropha, an oil-rich nut native to South America, on 250 acres in Keaau on Hawaii island. They have leased another 750 acres that could be put into production if the crop is successful. The plants take two to four years to mature, but last summer they were able to harvest their first, small crop -- enough to make a few gallons of biodiesel and run some tests on the oil they produced.
California City Worker Volunteers for Layoff to Save Colleague's Job
(Sarah Netter, ABC News) There were no tears when Sharon Singleton got called into her boss' office to be told her job had been eliminated. Those came later. While Singleton, one of 11 employees let go by the city of Lathrop, Calif., took a day off to figure out her next step, her colleague was quietly deciding to give up her own job to save someone else's. Patricia "Patti" Overy, a mother of four, said she too was shocked by the layoffs, which claimed two members of the close-knit finance department where she had done accounting work for seven years. Her job was spared.
Virus that 'kills off' prostate cancer cells: Volunteer patients injected with 'tame' bug
(Daniel Martin, Daily Mail) Scientists have discovered a virus they hope could be used as a weapon against prostate cancer. They have injected six volunteer patients with the 'tame' virus - and found it killed off cancer cells while sparing normal tissue. And they believe it could also work against other tumours, such as breast, ovarian, pancreatic, lymph and some brain cancers. Each year around 35,000 men in Britain are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10,000 die from the disease. The virus is called the respiratory, enteric, orphan virus - shortened to reovirus. It is widespread but causes no significant illness in humans.
Father Martin: The Priest Who Prays for Stephen Colbert
(David Van Biema, Time) Father Jim Martin did not seek the title of Stephen Colbert's TV priest. All he was doing was waiting in the wings for his third appearance on the comedian's show, on which the ebullient, bespectacled cleric was scheduled to be quizzed on poverty — why Martin embraces it when its allure escapes so many other Americans. Then the priest suddenly heard his host direct the audience to welcome "The Colbert Report chaplain." "I remember being surprised and delighted," says Martin. He shouldn't have been too shocked.
This fish story is true: Buttkiss the oversized black pacu is now 43 years old
(Edgar Sandoval and Bill Hutchinson, New York Daily News) He's been a big fish in a little tank for more than four decades, and Buttkiss the black pacu is finally swimming in well-deserved fame. The oversize Queens fish is now 43 years old - earning him bragging rights as the oldest pet fish in town. "He brings a lot of people into the shop, but I wish they would buy something, too," said Steve Gruebel, 60, owner of Cameo Pet Shop in Richmond Hill. Gruebel said the fish's head hasn't gotten any bigger since National Public Radio broadcast a feature on him over the weekend.
Second Life's virtual money can become real-life cash
(Michael S. Rosenwald, Washington Post) Dana Moore sells rain. He sells a lot of it, for about a buck per reusable storm. "I don't know why people love buying rainstorms," he said, watching his product drizzle last week, "but they do seem to like them a lot." The attraction isn't rain, per se, but Moore's rain, which can deluge swaths of land on command. The rain falls not in Bowie, where he lives with his wife of 37 years, but in the virtual world of Second Life, the Web portal where he also markets snow, clocks, University of Maryland basketball T-shirts, Duke basketball T-shirts (grudgingly), two-story Tudor-style homes, pinup posters from the 1930s and the sounds of barking dogs.
Scott Fujita a champion for New Orleans, coastal restoration
(Bob Marshall, New Orleans Times-Picayune) This column was going to be about why Scott Fujita, New Orleans Saints linebacker, is a great role model for local football fans. But upon further review, I had to change that call. Now it's: Scott Fujita, New Orleans resident, is a great role model for all New Orleanians. The reason I'm putting him on a pedestal is not because of his work on the football field, but because of what he has chosen to do as a citizen with the rewards of that labor. Fujita has decided to donate half of his $82,000 in NFL playoff earnings to two causes, one of which is coastal restoration.
Johnny Cash Explored Spiritual Themes With 'American VI'
(Linda Laban, TheBoot.com) The sixth and final volume of Johnny Cash's 'American' series, 'American VI: Ain't No Grave,' was officially issued on Feb. 26, the day that would have been the late country legend's 78th birthday. The album marks some of Johnny's last recordings and includes cover songs such as Sheryl Crow's 'Redemption Day,' Kris Kristofferson's 'For the Good Times,' and Hawaiian queen Lili'uokalani's 'Aloha Oe' (whose title means 'Farewell to Thee'). But among the covers is one of the last songs that Johnny Cash wrote, a weighty spiritual with a biblical theme, titled after its source, 'I Corinthians: 15:55.'