The GOOD NEWS Thread

[*Anya*]

California has a Democrat governor, every other statewide post and supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature. As of 1/1/14, the following are new laws:

1) New procedures make it easier for transgendered people to amend the gender and name on their birth certificates.

2) Heath insurance companies are required to cover infertility treatments for same sex couples.

3) Students are entitled to compete on gender-specific sports teams and use locker rooms and restrooms based on gender identity, rather than bio sex. (This law could be put on hold if a proposed referendum on it qualifies for statewide ballot).

4) It is a crime for employers to threaten to report immigration status if workers complain about working conditions.

5) Abortions in the first trimester can be performed by nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and PA's, in addition to MD's.

6) People in this country that are undocumented, that pass the bar, may be licensed as attorneys.

These are just some of many new laws that were listed in the LA Times today.

[Jet]

This was featured on CBS News and deserves a spot in this thread. The owner of The Lift Garage should be lifted to heaven, frankly. Great story! CBS uploads its newscasts, not individual video codes. This will link you directly to the story which aired yesterday...

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyI2XkHX0_4&feature=share&list=UUAeWdyKJXG WmVAXFpgLNNTg"]Low-income Minn. drivers get lift from social worker with flair for repairs - YouTube[/nomedia]

[Jet]

The Recording Academy and Grammy Foundation recognize a real life Mr. Holland with a first-ever Educator Award.
Meet Kent Knappenberger, a passionate teacher who teaches and inspires. An uplifting story worth sharing.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs_this_mo...ith-new-award/

[Jet]

Good news stories worth noting:

• Joanne Milne of the UK hears for the first time in her life after cochlear implants. Very uplifting segment.

• Soup Ladies in Washington helping after the mudslide.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/...broadcast-n686

NBC does not post individual clips; these stories are featured in the link above.
________________________________

Pope Francis confesses openly and breaks protocol. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/po...-public-n66531

[Genesis]

The story of Sir Nicholas Winton is one of the most profound tales of humanitarianism that you've probably never heard.

After saving 669 children, most of them Jewish, from likely death at Nazi concentration camps at the onset of World War II, it was announced Monday -- on Winton's 105th birthday -- that the heroic Englishman will be awarded the Order of the White Lion, the highest order in the Czech Republic, the Associated Press reported. In the official announcement, Czech President Milos Zeman noted Winton's example of humanity, selflessness, personal bravery and modesty as reasons for the prestigious honor. The award will be given to Winton this October.

In December 1938, Winton gave up a vacation as a London-based stockbroker to travel to politically turbulent Prague, according to the Guardian. He was curious to see firsthand what was happening to refugees in what was then Czechoslovakia. Nazis had recently invaded the country, and Winton sensed the grave danger refugees there were facing.

He wasn't an elected official, a high-ranking member of the British military or even someone with a significant background in charitable work. But starting during his three weeks in Prague, Winton made one of the most impactful, single-handed efforts to save children from mass genocide.

He created advertisements for foster homes. He manipulated paperwork to sidestep government red tape that would have gotten in his way, CBS News reported. He even persuaded Germans to go along with his plan. Continuing his efforts from his home in London for the next nine months, Winton coordinated eight train evacuations of 669 children from Czechoslovakia to Britain, saving them from almost certain death.

For decades, Winton's heroic efforts largely went unnoticed -- until 1988, when a BBC program surprised him by planning an emotional reunion with several of the survivors he saved, the Telegraph reported.

So with all things considered, turning 105 years old on May 19 might have been the least of Winton's achievements.

The hero celebrated his landmark birthday with about 100 guests in attendance, many of whom are offspring of the children who Winton rescued in 1939.

According to the Guardian, there are roughly 6,000 people around the world today that owe Winton their lives.

If you ask him, though, the formula to do good is a pretty simple one.

"I work on the motto that if something's not impossible, there must be a way of doing it," Winton told CBS News last month.

Original article HERE

[LeftWriteFemme]

Scientists discover ‘genderfluid’ lioness who looks, acts and roars like a male



http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/12/23...m_source=MOBFB

[*Anya*]

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A 9-year-old started his own business in order to make a very special purchase. Tristin Jacobson opened up a lemonade stand to raise money to pay for his very own adoption, according to the Springfield News Leader.

Four years ago, Jacobson's biological mother dumped him on the doorstep of a Missouri shelter on a cold January day.

Donnie Davis got a call about Tristin, and she's been taking care of him ever since.

Jacobson has always wanted Davis to adopt him, but she couldn't afford the legal fees. So this past week he opened up a lemonade stand to raise money.

Tristin’s story went viral, and Springfield News Leader reports that as of this weekend, Jacobson has enough money to pay for his adoption.

Their goal was $5,000 and they raised a total of $14,000.

Tristan’s lemonade stand and a yard sale raised about $7,100, and a fundraiser they started on YouCaring.com called Tristan’s Adoption Fund raised more than $6,900.

Davis says the extra money will go toward Jacobson's college education.

http://wgntv.com/2016/04/25/9-year-o...-own-adoption/

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by LeftWriteFemme

Scientists discover ‘genderfluid’ lioness who looks, acts and roars like a male



http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/12/23...m_source=MOBFB

COOL A BUTCH LION ~ lol

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A 9-year-old started his own business in order to make a very special purchase. Tristin Jacobson opened up a lemonade stand to raise money to pay for his very own adoption, according to the Springfield News Leader.

Four years ago, Jacobson's biological mother dumped him on the doorstep of a Missouri shelter on a cold January day.

Donnie Davis got a call about Tristin, and she's been taking care of him ever since.

Jacobson has always wanted Davis to adopt him, but she couldn't afford the legal fees. So this past week he opened up a lemonade stand to raise money.

Tristin’s story went viral, and Springfield News Leader reports that as of this weekend, Jacobson has enough money to pay for his adoption.

Their goal was $5,000 and they raised a total of $14,000.

Tristan’s lemonade stand and a yard sale raised about $7,100, and a fundraiser they started on YouCaring.com called Tristan’s Adoption Fund raised more than $6,900.

Davis says the extra money will go toward Jacobson's college education.

http://wgntv.com/2016/04/25/9-year-o...-own-adoption/

Such a great story! As a side note, it's clear they didn't do a thorough proof reading as his name changes halfway through the story.

That kid is going to do big things with the right motivation. Good on him.

[*Anya*]

Dog makes 911 cell phone call to save owner's life!

ORLANDO, Fla. — A 17-pound beagle named Belle is more than man’s best friend. She’s a lifesaver.

Belle was in Washington, D.C., on Monday to receive an award for biting onto owner Kevin Weaver’s cell phone to call 911 after the diabetic man had a seizure and collapsed.

“There is no doubt in my mind that I’d be dead if I didn’t have Belle,” said Weaver, 34, whose blood sugar had dropped dangerously low. Belle had been trained to summon help in just those circumstances. She had been taught to bite down on the number 9 on his cell phone contacting 911.

Belle was the first canine recipient to win the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, given to someone who used a cell phone to save a life, prevent a crime or help in an emergency.

Using their keen sense of smell, animals like Belle can detect abnormalities in a person’s blood-sugar levels. The dog periodically licks Weaver’s nose to take her own reading of his blood-sugar level. If something seems off to her, she will paw and whine at him.

“Every time she paws at me like that I grab my meter and test myself,” Weaver said. “She’s never been wrong.”



http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13439261/#.WbBuK9FlCf1

[*Anya*]

Donated organs of 13-year-old girl help record eight people to live

Parents of Jemima Layzell, who died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm, want other families to consider organ donation

Jemima Layzell had spoken about organ donation with her family a few weeks before she died.

Sarah Boseley Health editor
Friday 8 September 2017 01.00 EDT

A 13-year-old girl who died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm has had her organs transplanted to eight people - the largest number in the history of the organ donation service.

Jemima Layzell was “lovely – clever, funny, compassionate and creative”, said her mother, Sophy Layzell, 43, a drama teacher from Horton in Somerset. Just a couple of weeks before her sudden collapse in March 2012, the family had a conversation about organ donation because a family friend had died in a car crash.

“They were on the register but their organs couldn’t be donated because of the circumstances of their death,” said Sophy. “Jemima had never heard of organ donation before and found it a little bit unsettling, but totally understood the importance of it.”

Her parents found the decision hard, but are glad they made it. Jemima’s heart, small bowel, and pancreas were transplanted into three people. Two people received her kidneys. Her liver was split and transplanted into another two people, while her lungs were transplanted into one patient.

The eight recipients included five children, who came from all over England.

Jemima collapsed during the preparations for her mother’s 38th birthday party and died in hospital four days later. A brain aneurysm, rare in a child, is a swelling in an artery wall and there are no symptoms unless it ruptures. When it bursts, it causes a haemorrhage in the brain which can kill or cause lasting damage.

Her parents set up the Jemima Layzell Trust in her memory to help survivors. “If Jemima had survived, the ruptured aneurysm would have severely affected her communication and the right side of her body,” they say on the trust website.

Her parents went through clothes and possessions, looking for clues as to why she had died so young. They didn’t find them, but they did discover about 20 diaries and notebooks she had been keeping since she was four years old. These they have turned into a book, called The Draft, sales of which will raise funds for the charity.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...people-to-live

[Kätzchen]

I came across a news article about Molly Carmel (author of the book Breaking Up With Sugar; she is also a Eating Disorder Therapist) and thought I would give her book and watch her videos a chance to help me break up with sugar. I've tried and tried to eliminate sugar from my diet by using plant based stevia products, but I am going to break up with sugar this year, permanently. It's my goal this year to not only learn how to live without sugar but to retrain my body and thinking processes, in an endeavor to be as healthy as I can be. I am in my early sixties, so I know it's not too late to correct my situation.

Here is a recent video by Molly Carmel, for those who would like to listen in on how she advocates for a sugar-free dietary lifestyle.

[Kätzchen]

Three cheers for President Biden axing the toxic roles of TP-crony's who infiltrated and domineered free-radio and other media networks across the globe.

____________________________

More heads roll at US-funded international broadcasters

by Matthew Lee

WASHINGTON (AP) — The heads of three federally funded international broadcasters were abruptly fired late Friday as the Biden administration completed a house-cleaning of Donald Trump-appointees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

Two officials familiar with the changes said the acting chief of the USAGM summarily dismissed the directors of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks just a month after they had been named to the posts.

The changes came a day after the director of the Voice of America and his deputy were removed and the chief of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting stepped down. The firings follow the forced resignation of former President Donald Trump’s handpicked choice to lead USAGM only two hours after Joe Biden took office on Wednesday.

Trump’s USAGM chief Michael Pack had been accused by Democrats and others of trying to turn VOA and its sister networks into pro-Trump propaganda machines. Pack had appointed all of those who were fired on Thursday and Friday to their posts only in December.

The two officials said the acting CEO of USAGM, Kelu Chao, had fired Middle East Broadcasting Network director Victoria Coates, Radio Free Asia chief Stephen Yates and Radio Free Europe head Ted Lipien in a swift series of moves late Friday. It was not immediately clear if any of those removed would try to contest their dismissals.

The White House appointed Chao, a three-decade VOA veteran journalist, to be the agency’s interim chief executive on Wednesday shortly after demanding Pack’s resignation. Chao did not respond to phone calls seeking comment about her actions. The two officials familiar with the dismissals were not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Coates, Yates and Lipien, along with former VOA director Robert Reilly and former Cuba broadcasting chief Jeffrey Shapiro were all prominent conservatives chosen by Pack to shake up what Trump and other Republicans believed was biased leadership in taxpayer-funded media outlets.

Reilly and his deputy Elizabeth Robbins were removed just a week after coming under harsh criticism for demoting a VOA White House correspondent who had tried to ask former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a question after a town hall event.

Pack had created a furor when he took over USAGM last year and fired the boards of all the outlets under his control along with the leadership of the individual broadcast networks. The actions were criticized as threatening the broadcasters’ prized editorial independence and raised fears that Pack, a conservative filmmaker and former associate of Trump’s onetime political strategist Steve Bannon, intended to turn venerable U.S. media outlets into pro-Trump propaganda machines.

Biden had been expected to make major changes to the agency’s structure and management, and Pack’s immediate dismissal on inauguration day signaled that those would be coming sooner rather than later. Pack had not been required to submit his resignation as his three-year position was created by Congress and not limited by the length of a particular administration.

VOA was founded during World War II and its congressional charter requires it to present independent news and information to international audiences.

(AP article link)

[easygoingfemme]

I got my first COVID vaccine shot yesterday!

Had to drive about an hour and a half to get to a place that had supply but Daddy drove and it was pretty. It was at a university and they were very organized with many volunteers and Army there to help guide, inform, and clean. Small 5 minute wait to get to the first screening, two minute wait for the second screening, 1 minute wait to do paperwork, one more screening, then they scheduled my 2nd shot before giving me my vax. I was observed a little extra long just because of the cancer treatments I've gone through and the meds I take now for the cancer but I felt fine. First 24 hours I can say my arm is a little sore and I was wicked tired. I'm low energy today but feel okay. No fever or anything. One down, one to go!

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by easygoingfemme

I got my first COVID vaccine shot yesterday!

Had to drive about an hour and a half to get to a place that had supply but Daddy drove and it was pretty. It was at a university and they were very organized with many volunteers and Army there to help guide, inform, and clean. Small 5 minute wait to get to the first screening, two minute wait for the second screening, 1 minute wait to do paperwork, one more screening, then they scheduled my 2nd shot before giving me my vax. I was observed a little extra long just because of the cancer treatments I've gone through and the meds I take now for the cancer but I felt fine. First 24 hours I can say my arm is a little sore and I was wicked tired. I'm low energy today but feel okay. No fever or anything. One down, one to go!

whewww good for you !! and good luck w/ the second shot ~

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

by Matthew Lee
. . .
VOA was founded during World War II and its congressional charter requires it to present independent news and information to international audiences.

Thanks for this article. I looked for a podcast for VOA, but wasn't able to find an English-language one. However, I discovered that VOA does have streaming apps available in the Google Play store. I assume iPhone has something similar.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Champ and Major, the Biden's German Shepherds, moved into the White House over the weekend. Champ was a gift from Jill Biden to Joe Biden after Mr. Biden won the Vice-Presidency in 2008. Major was adopted in 2018, and is the first shelter dog to live in the White House.

The dogs are already popular. They have had a best-selling book written about them: _Champ and Major: First Dogs_ by Joy McCullough and Sheyda Abvabi Best is the #1 Best Seller in Children's Dog Books on Amazon. They also reportedly have a Twitter account, but a search of Twitter revealed so many possible accounts, it's difficult to tell which is the "official" one.

[homoe]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

Champ and Major, the Biden's German Shepherds, moved into the White House over the weekend. Champ was a gift from Jill Biden to Joe Biden after Mr. Biden won the Vice-Presidency in 2008. Major was adopted in 2018, and is the first shelter dog to live in the White House.

The dogs are already popular. They have had a best-selling book written about them: _Champ and Major: First Dogs_ by Joy McCullough and Sheyda Abvabi Best is the #1 Best Seller in Children's Dog Books on Amazon. They also reportedly have a Twitter account, but a search of Twitter revealed so many possible accounts, it's difficult to tell which is the "official" one.

I can picture Major on the motivational tour circuit...

"Sure you think your life has no meaning, you may have even given up on life and are drinking out of toilet bowls, but you can be anything or go anywhere you want!

Look at me, I started out at a shelter and now I'm a main character in a book, I'm on Twitter, plus I'm prancing about the most famous house in America!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

Champ and Major, the Biden's German Shepherds, moved into the White House over the weekend. Champ was a gift from Jill Biden to Joe Biden after Mr. Biden won the Vice-Presidency in 2008. Major was adopted in 2018, and is the first shelter dog to live in the White House.

The dogs are already popular. They have had a best-selling book written about them: _Champ and Major: First Dogs_ by Joy McCullough and Sheyda Abvabi Best is the #1 Best Seller in Children's Dog Books on Amazon. They also reportedly have a Twitter account, but a search of Twitter revealed so many possible accounts, it's difficult to tell which is the "official" one.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
- Mahatma Gandhi

[Gemme]

Joe is on a roll. President Biden lifted the ban on transgender troops in the military today! Now our brothers and sisters in arms can serve a POTUS that has their backs.