Today's Featured Good News
Parkinson's Patients Use Dance as Therapy
Special Correspondent Dave Iverson looks at a unique program that uses dance as therapy for those suffering from Parkinson's disease.
Boy Injected with AIDS Is Stronger Everyday
Not only does Brryan Jackson survive, he helps others with AIDS find their voice.
Vietnam Veteran Greets Soldiers
As part of our continuing series, "American Spirit," Mark Strassmann reports on Sgt. Walt Peters, a Vietnam veteran who gives back to America by honoring soldiers as they come and go.
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Hackers to Pair Up with NASA, Google, Yahoo
(Sara Yin, PCMag.com) "Developers, geeks and tech-savvy do-gooders" unite! This weekend, the third Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) hack-a-thon will take place in cities around the world, giving hackers a competitive opportunity to use their skills for social good. At the event, hosted by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, NASA and the World Bank, hackers and software engineers will break into teams to create hacks for various crisis-relief challenges. At the end of the two-day hackathon, a panel will select who deserves the title of "RHoKstars."
Baby panda makes debut at Atlanta zoo
(Kate Brumback, AP) About 1-month-old, a new giant panda cub at Zoo Atlanta is still smaller than a house cat, but he is healthy and growing fast, veterinarians said Thursday after a weekly medical exam. The cub, who will be named when he is 100 days old following Chinese tradition, will be placed in public viewing areas when he can walk, usually around 4 months old. He measures just over a foot (30 centimeters) in length long and weighs 2.2 pounds (a kilogram).
A 'Mike' found in Buffalo?
(Melissa Klein, New York Post) This unfinished painting of Jesus and Mary could be a lost Michelangelo, potentially the art find of the century. But to the upstate family on whose living-room wall it hung for years, it was just "The Mike." When the kids knocked the painting off its perch with an errant tennis ball sometime in the mid-1970s, the Kober clan wrapped it up and tucked it away behind the sofa. There it remained for 27 years, until Air Force Lt. Col. Martin Kober retired in 2003 and had some time on his hands. His father gave him a task -- research the family lore that the painting was really a Michelangelo. "Now, with your newfound free time, do something with this!" Kober recalled his father telling him.
Jericho unveils massive ancient mosaic
(AP) Visitors to ancient Jericho got a rare glimpse Sunday of a massive 1,200-year-old carpet mosaic measuring nearly 900 square meters (9,700 square feet), making it one of the largest in the Middle East. The small red, blue and ochre square stones laid out in sweeping geometric and floral patterns cover the floor of the main bath house of an Islamic palace that was destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth century. Since being excavated in the 1930s and 1940s, the mosaic has largely remained hidden under layers of canvas and soil to protect it against sun and rain. Starting Sunday, a small section will be laid bare for a week, as part of Jericho's 10,000th birthday celebrations.
Pop-Tarts Sushi fuels Pop-Tarts mania at flagship store
(Sarah Skidmore, AP) One of Kellogg Co.'s most popular brands is popping up in Times Square on Tuesday at Pop-Tarts World, with more than 3,000 square feet dedicated to toaster pastries. Customers will be able to eat Pop-Tarts "sushi," order a customized pastry or create a custom box filled with a mix of their favorite flavors. They can suggest new types of Pop-Tarts, select a Pop-Tarts T-shirt made by specialty artists or get "frosted" and "wrapped in foil" by a light show. It's the first time Kellogg has focused a store on one product to cash in on its dedicated following and increase its exposure.
Little Miss Generosity Nine-year-old Morgan's fundraising idea catches on
(Sean Sullivan, The Province) Sometimes a little idea can go a long way. As nine-year-old Morgan Lindeman scanned the pages of The Province last month for her class's current-affairs assignment, she was moved by a story about the Empty Stocking Fund. Fast-forward a few days later, and the Grade 4 student at Surrey's Ecole Riverdale Elementary came up with the idea to ask the 500 students in her school to donate a loonie or toonie each to help less fortunate families at Christmastime. "When it comes to Christmas, most nine-year-olds write out lists of all these expensive gadgets they want," mom Kelly Skog said. "Not her. She wants to give what she can."
Guest 'mayor' inspires city to declare Random Acts of Kindness Day
(Kristal Dixon, Cherokee Tribune) For Mary Mendez of Bradshaw Farm, 'tis the season for people to think of others in need. And, according to Mrs. Mendez, the Christmas season couldn't be a better time for people to give from their hearts. Mrs. Mendez is the brainchild behind the city of Woodstock declaring Monday as Random Acts of Kindness Day. The Woodstock City Council made the declaration at the suggestion of Mrs. Mendez, who recently served as "Mayor for a Day" of the city.
Student-made device helped wounded in Haiti
(Nancy Lapid, Reuters) When surgeons from Harvard Medical School went to Haiti soon after last January's earthquake, they took along some experimental three-dollar devices they hoped would help victims' wounds heal faster. The devices had never been tested in patients before, but they didn't need electricity, and they could be operated by the average person -- exactly what was needed in the post-earthquake devastation. Designed by engineering students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, each device involved an accordion-like plastic pump (in reality an industrial-size toilet plunger) and some tubing. The tubing goes under an air-tight seal over the wound, and the pump is squeezed to create suction. The resulting vacuum provides what's known as "negative wound pressure therapy."
Finland Plans to Build the World's First 'Green Highway'
(Clay Dillow, PopSci.com) Green cars require green roadways, and to that end Finland is planning the world's first "green highway," an 81-mile stretch of pavement dotted with electric charge stations and pumps pouring locally made biofuel that will hopefully stimulate the adoption of next-gen auto technologies. The project goes beyond the highway itself to include local economies along the route. The plan calls for increased local ethanol production from waste and other resources found along the way, as well as clean electricity to power both the cars and infrastructure along the way.
Stadium a stage of Hope for kids
(Jay Greenberg, New York Post) Eighteen years the father of an autistic child, Mark Reid still finds the need to take a step back and a deep breath. "Oh, it's very frustrating," he said. "You get to the point where you have to walk away and come back and try to calm Adam. Show them a lot of love and they'll do anything for you. But they challenge you. That's just part of life." Peter Ladka founded You are Beautiful People so that special-needs children could do more than just watch life, but be part of life. "Joshua misses a lot of school because of his therapies," said Ashley Decker about her 10-year-old brother. "But when he goes on the field, it's not Joshua with spina bifida, [it's] just Joshua having a good time."
