[krazny9]

5-year-old uses piggy bank money to give cake, New Year's cards to nursing home residents



Hundreds of nursing home residents in New York received handmade best wishes for 2021 thanks to the kindness of a 5-year-old girl.

Aryana Chopra, 5, of Vestal, New York, spent her winter vacation making 200 New Year's cards for the residents of a local nursing home.

"I just wanted to cheer them up because they cannot meet their friends and family because of the coronavirus," Aryana told "Good Morning America." "I decorated my cards with writing and colorful drawings."

Aryana's mom, Shachi Chopra, told "GMA" she saw her daughter making cards one day and asked her what she was doing. When Aryana told her she wanted to give the cards to people in a nursing home, Chopra contacted a local nursing home and asked how many people resided there.

Aryana was not daunted by the number, 200, according to Chopra.

"I asked Aryana, ‘Can you make 200 cards,’ and she said, ‘Oh yes I can,'" Chopra recalled.



Once Aryana starting making the handmade cards she decided she wanted to do more, and used money from her piggy bank to buy the residents a New Year's cake as well as a decorative Santa Claus and a vase, according to Chopra.

"My heart actually melted," Chopra said of her reaction to Aryana's good deed. "She has such a kind heart and really wants to be generous. I was amazed by her thinking."

Chopra delivered the gifts from Aryana to the nursing home this week, and the family has already received photos from the nursing home of the residents reading the cards, with huge smiles on their faces, according to Chopra.

Aryana said she hopes to keep in touch with the nursing home residents and visit them in person once it is safe to do so.

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/year-piggy-bank-money-give-cake-years-cards-75005801

[HogwartsExpress]

So many pets have been adopted during the pandemic that shelters are running out

Animal shelters in the Washington region are experiencing a unique problem: As the coronavirus pandemic has kept more residents at home, it has created such a high demand for adopting dogs that the supply is increasingly limited.

Some shelters and humane rescue groups are seeing double the typical number of requests from people to adopt dogs since the pandemic hit the United States in early spring. As organizations have switched their in-person adoptions to virtual meet-and-greets, they also are competing with rescue groups in other parts of the country to bring in animals.

“We thought people would stop adopting because they would need to conserve their money,” said Cindy Sharpley, founder and director of Last Chance Animal Rescue, a nonprofit animal shelter in Waldorf. “But that hasn’t happened. It’s been just the opposite. They’re going like hot cakes. We can hardly keep them in stock.”

Last Chance saw its pet adoptions — mostly dogs — increase 30 to 40 percent last year over 2019. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue in Arlington said it expected to finish 2020 helping about 3,385 pets find homes, up from about 1,800 the year before.

Mirah Horowitz, executive director of Lucky Dog, said rising demand prompted her to boost the organization’s online adoption services. Many shelters have conducted socially distanced meet-and-greets for would-be pet owners but still encounter about a two-week wait for applications to be processed.

“Anyone who felt like, ‘I can’t adopt an animal because I’m at work all day’ is now finding they’re at home,” Horowitz said. “People want a pet for companionship and to give kids a sense of responsibility and a playmate.”

Kimberly Ross, 50, who lives in Northeast Washington, said she put in at least eight applications while trying to adopt a dog and finally got one from the Humane Rescue Alliance two weeks later. She met Steedle, a 19-pound mini pinscher mix, on a Zoom call.

“She was cute, and I could see she was nice,” Ross said, noting how much she and her 10-year-old daughter enjoy taking the dog on walks and getting licks.

“Normally we’d be running to tutoring or basketball,” Ross said. “We don’t have our normal activities, so we have more time at home to care for her.”

The pandemic has left rescue groups in the Washington area and elsewhere searching for pets to match the growing number of inquiries. Many local animal shelters and rescues get animals from crowded facilities in North Carolina, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas, Georgia and Mississippi. They are in the position of competing with one another to bring in more pets from outside the area.

source
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... -pandemic/

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
SUNDAY JANUARY 10
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only once a day
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
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3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
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No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
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Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[hija]

The UK will soon have a dedicated register of tradeswomen



The national database will ensure that vulnerable householders who feel safer with tradeswomen are able to find them

A digger operator in Yorkshire, a tree surgeon in the Midlands and a stonemason in Scotland are among the experts to feature on a national register of tradeswomen, which is set to launch on 15 March.

The not-for-profit project National Register of Tradeswomen is the brainchild of Stopcocks Women Plumbers founder Hattie Hasan, who says the aim is to ensure that vulnerable householders who feel safer with tradeswomen are able to find them. Hasan grew up in a violent home, so knows first-hand the challenges faced by women in similar circumstances.

“Women are scared to allow tradesmen into their home, not only out of fear of the men themselves, but because of the reaction of their abusive partner if they talk to the tradesman or offer him a cup of tea,” she said. “Being able to access a register of certified, fully qualified tradeswomen is one way they can take back some control.”

According to plumbing accreditation body WaterSafe, nearly a third of women would prefer a female plumber to work on their home. Reasons cited included feeling safer, being less likely to be patronised, and trusting another woman not to rip them off.

Hasan and her team already have 300 verified tradeswomen on their books with many hundreds still to authenticate – and they are keen to add more. So far, most are plumbers and electricians, with painters and decorators close behind in number, then carpenters and joiners, with a few plasterers, car mechanics, general builders and roofers.

For safeguarding reasons, the National Register of Tradeswomen will not be a searchable database – instead staff at the organisation will personally assign verified tradeswomen to each job.

The plan is for the register to extend the work already being done by Stopcocks in training women in new skills to further their careers or set up on their own.

There are also plans to launch a tradeswomen’s college and to train women to work specifically within the homes of vulnerable people who are experiencing domestic abuse

[HogwartsExpress]

British demote goat after it marches out of line




A British army regiment’s ceremonial pet goat was demoted in disgrace after it marched out of line before a host of dignitaries during a parade to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, a military spokesman said Saturday.

The military mascot, a 6-year-old male goat called Billy, was downgraded from the rank of lance corporal to fusilier — the same status as a private — after army chiefs ruled his poor display had ruined the ceremony earlier this month at a British army base in Episkopi, western Cyprus.

Lance Cpl. Dai Davies, 22, the goat’s handler, was unable to keep control during the June 16 march. The mascot darted from side to side, throwing soldiers off their stride, Capt. Crispian Coates, a spokesman, said by telephone from the base in Cyprus.

“The goat, which has been the regiment’s mascot since 2001, was supposed to be leading the march, but would not stay in line,” Coates said. “After consideration, the commanding officer decided he had no option but to demote Billy.”

Ambassadors from Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands were among those who attended the march along with U.N. dignitaries.

Since the goat’s demotion, soldiers of a lower rank are no longer expected to salute Billy as a sign of respect, Coates said.

Capt. William Rose, a soldier present at the parade, said the goat “was trying to head-butt the waist and nether regions of the drummers.”

The 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, has had a long tradition of traveling with a pet goat used in ceremonies. The Welsh regiment was presented with a goat from the royal herd in 1746, and Billy is a descendant from the same bloodline, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said.

source
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13528687

Rowan Atkinson Reckons Cancel Culture Is Like 'Medieval Mob Looking For Someone To Burn'



Rowan Atkinson has joined fellow British entertainers like John Cleese, Ricky Gervais and Dawn French in barracking against cancel culture.

The concept has been popular in the past few years where everyone from regular folk to celebrities are made into social pariahs and 'cancelled' due to things they've said or done.

Those things could have been done or said years ago and resurfaced in front of a more socially conscious public.

But Rowan Atkinson reckons it's all a bit much.



The Mr Bean actor told the Radio Times: "The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society.

"It becomes a case of either you're with us or against us. And if you're against us, you deserve to be 'cancelled'.

"It's important that we're exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn.

"So it is scary for anyone who's a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future."

During the same interview he provided simultaneously exciting and devastating news.

He revealed that he won't be playing his incredible Mr Bean character anymore because he finds it 'stressful and exhausting'.

The 65-year-old actor, writer and comedian, first played Mr Bean - a clown-like character - in 1990, when he had his own show, but he has appeared less and less in recent years.

He told the Radio Times: "It's easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually. I don't much enjoy playing him. The weight of responsibility is not pleasant."

But Atkinson said the only one of his characters that he would like to bring back would be Blackadder, but he didn't seem confident it would happen, saying it wouldn't be 'impossible'.

He told the news outlet: "That's about as optimistic as I can be and I'd rather not speculate on when it could be set. But Blackadder represented the creative energy we all had in the 80s. To try to replicate that 30 years on wouldn't be easy."

https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/ ... b-20210106

[BigGlen]

With schools facing lockdown, educators are thinking outside of the box

What’s one way to help students break a sweat while getting their sillies out? Play wacky fitness games! These activities put a unique and fun twist on traditional games, and they will have students giggling as they get in much-needed physical activity. Put these games into rotation at your afterschool program to make sure students stay active and fit while also having loads of fun. Of course, with covid restrictions around, these will have to be modifed....



1. Blob Tag

No one can resist a fun game of tag! And Blob, a tag game in which the blob continues to grow in size, puts a unique twist on the classic activity. The object is to be on the run and not to be eaten by the blob.

To begin, define the boundaries of the play area. Anyone who goes outside the boundaries must join the blob. One person is chosen to be “it” and begins chasing players and trying to tag them. When a person is tagged, she is absorbed by the blob, meaning she joins hands with “it” and continues to chase and tag others. When the blob grows in size to 4 players, it can split into two blobs of two people each. Play then continues until all players have been absorbed. The last person standing is the winner and starts the next game.



2. Kick Volleyball

Another fun spin on an old game, kick volleyball challenges players to use their feet and knees instead of hands to play. To start, set up a low net by hammering two stakes into the ground about 7 feet apart. Tie a rope between the stakes. Then divide players into two teams. The teams line up on either side of the net and try to kick the ball back and forth over the net. Players count aloud each time the ball goes over. If they touch the ball with their hands or if it rolls away from the playing area, the counting must begin all over again. Try to set a record for the number of times the ball goes over the net!



3. Wacky Olympics

Are you ready for the summer? Get ready with a fun and silly Olympics competition! Some ideas for games include:

Potato Sack Race
Water Balloon Toss
Egg and Spoon Race
Pie Eating Contest: use small bowls filled with whipped cream for pies...no hands!
Dizzy Dash: spin each contestant around five times and race for the finish line.
Flipper Waddle: each contestant wears swimming flippers and then races for the finish line.
Don’t stop there! Come up with your own ideas to add to this list. You can even present medals or ribbons for both winner and wackiest finish (ie. number of times falling).



4. Human Pinball

Similar to classic pinball, the objective of this game is to use a ball to strike different targets on the playing field. However, in this case, the targets are human. To begin, form a circle with everyone facing outward. Two or three students should stay in the middle of the circle, acting as moving targets. The players forming the circle must throw a ball from between their legs, trying to hit someone in the middle. Once hit, they must trade places with the striker.

British men earn Guinness record for trip on scooter and sidecar

A pair of British adventurers were awarded the Guinness World Record for longest journey on a scooter with a sidecar when they took a 34,000-mile trip around the world.



Oxfordshire residents Matt Bishop and Reece Gilkes took their Honda SH300i scooter and a homemade sidecar on a journey across the globe that the men said took 15 months to complete.

"We knew we would struggle and that was the point. The idea was to see how far we could get with only very little money and the help of complete strangers," Bishop told the Banbury Guardian.

The pair said people around the world opened up their homes to them during their journey and some strangers even came to their rescue when they ended up in dangerous situations.

The trip, which spanned 35 countries and five continents, raised $9,800 for various anti-slavery and anti-human trafficking charities.

Bishop and Gilkes said they are releasing a book about their journey called Our Ridiculous World (Trip).

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/01/08 ... 610128528/

[Fatima99]

Doctor clears $650,000 in medical debt for patients

Dr. Omar Atiq opened the Arkansas Cancer Clinic 29 years ago to provide cancer care to an underserved community in Pine Bluff. He then split his time between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center and the clinic, becoming very busy.



When he decided to close the clinic last March, he hired another company to collect outstanding payments from patients. That's when he realized how much people were paying.

"Just browsing through it, I realized that there were patients that were paying $10 for months on end or $5 or $50," Atiq told CBS News. "Patients wanted to pay, but they just didn't have the ability to pay. And at the same time, the country was in the grip, and still is in the grip, of the COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated lives in more ways than one."

Atiq spoke to his wife and kids about it, and they decided they didn't need the money — his patients did. "Luckily, we were blessed to have the opportunity to just forego the debt. Just cancel it. So we did," he said. "We didn't, luckily, need the money, somebody else did. So it was done."

Atiq actually did two rounds of debt cancellation in 2020, once in June and another around Christmas. The second time, he sent a holiday card to about 200 patients letting them know they no longer had to pay their outstanding medical bills.

He said he canceled about $650,000 in debt for his cancer patients. He didn't want attention for the good deed, but he did say many patients reached out to thank him.

"When you have the patient-physician relationship, you know each other. The patients know you, and you know the patient. It's rather sacred and very unique," he said.

The doctor said the response has been gratifying. "You know, we're just grateful for the opportunity," he said. "I am certain that many others in our shoes have done the same, physicians all around the country, all around the world."

Atiq said that to him this is not just a story about debt forgiveness, "but the fact that we have medical debt ... and we have people who, for no fault of theirs, are going bankrupt trying to get healthy."

[PennySerenade]

Guest attendant takes pet portraits for residents in Mississauga retirement home



TORONTO -- A guest attendant at a retirement residence in Mississauga has been lifting the spirits of seniors by taking “pet portraits” of the residents and their four-legged companions.

“I got the idea because one of the residents confided in me that she didn’t have a picture with her cat,” Ivonne Spinel told CTV News Toronto. “And I said, ‘this is it, I will do it.’”

Spinel said she works at Chartwell Heritage Glen Retirement Residence, and that first photo with Beth and her cat inspired her to want to photograph every resident with their pet.



She said she has also been printing, framing and gifting the photos to the seniors.

“She came by, asked if she could take a picture of Mac and I and I said sure,” resident Shirley said.

“Ivonne did a phenomenal job in taking a picture because I didn’t have a picture with Buddy,” adds resident Jud.

Spinel says it has been nice to work on her pet portraits’project during this difficult year.

“It is a very hard time right now with COVID. They are not able to see their families as before,” Spinel said.

“Their pets means the world to them. They give them a purpose every day to wake up, to take them out, to feed them and I thought, why not up their happiness.”

The residents say they are grateful for Spinel and her kind gesture.

“I become very emotional when I think about what she’s done for me,” resident Beth says about her pet portrait.


To find somebody like Ivonne who would come along and do this kindly gesture at her own expense, you don’t meet very many people like her,” said Shirley. “I’m very happy with the picture. I watch it every day.”

Spinel says she will continue taking pictures of the residents and their beloved animals whenever she can

“It is a beautiful, beautiful thing to do for them. And they really appreciate it,” she said. “A small thing can make somebody so happy."

[Fivetide]

Plenty of overhead in this market: Betting on drone races


Pilots fly their small racing drones through an obstacle course for the National Drone Racing Championship on Governors Island,
a former military installation in New York Harbor, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. A major sports book is taking bets on aerial drone races.
DraftKings said Friday it is taking bets for the championship this weekend of the Drone Racing League, in which pilots fly aerial
drones in races against each other. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

In the “gamblers will bet on absolutely anything” category, here’s a new one: A major sports book is taking bets on aerial drone races.

DraftKings said Friday it is taking bets for this weekend’s championship of the Drone Racing League, in which pilots fly aerial drones in races.

Betting on the league’s drone races is legal in Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee and West Virginia, with regulatory approvals pending in additional states.

“The sky is now the limit for DRL fans to get skin in the game, and we’re thrilled to partner with DraftKings to transform our high-speed race competition into the ultimate sport to bet on,” Drone Racing League President Rachel Jacobson said. “The opportunity for us to elevate our engagement through all forms of gaming and gambling will only increase as mobile betting becomes more adopted across the country.”

The sports book and the league are hosting “pre-flight shows” Friday night on Twitter ahead of the live events, in which expert sports bettors and top drone pilots will educate fans on how to participate.

Championship events begin on Saturday.


Competitor Tyler Brennan, a 22-year-old Air Force lieutenant from Colorado Springs, Colo., works on a quad copter before flying
his racing drone through the obstacle course in the the National Drone Racing Championship on Governors Island, a former military
installation in New York Harbor, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in New York. A major sports book is taking bets on aerial drone races. DraftKings
said Friday it is taking bets for the championship this weekend of the Drone Racing League, in which pilots fly aerial drones in races
against each other. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Jacobson said its races are all virtual this year, taking place in a simulation in which real-life drone physics are incorporated. But is also hosts live drone racing in venues that have included Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida; Alexandra Palace in London, and an auto-museum in Munich.

DraftKings says there’s a market for this. It offered free-to-play contests on drone races last year to gauge interest in the activity, and the response was 30% higher than usual for a new sport introduced to the betting platform. There have been more than 150,000 entries into these free contests so far.

As is the case with major sports including football, baseball and basketball, gamblers will be able to make bets before the races as well as during them.

DraftKings said consumer research has shown that drone racing fans are three times more likely to place a bet than fans of major sports leagues, and are 90% more likely to be interested in sports betting in general than the average sports fan.

The drone league is a privately owned New York company founded in 2015. It has held events in six countries.

[BigGlen]

This just in....

[HogwartsExpress]

Hero dog saves toddler from drowning in family pool



A heroic dog saved a toddler from drowning after the boy fell into a pool this weekend.

A Michigan family got the shock of a lifetime when 14-month-old Stanley nearly drowned after in the pool in the backyard. The reason their son is alive today, they say, is thanks to their family black Labrador Retriever, Bear.

The boy's mother, Patricia Drauch, left the toddler's side to get a gardening tool from the garage. When she came out, he was gone. After a frantic search she found him in the swimming pool, she told local T V station WOOD.

"His lips were blue. His eyes were rolled back," she told the station.

At first glance she thought the boy was floating, but then saw that Bear was underneath him, holding his head above the water.

The dog didn't move a muscle or make a sound until Stanley was safe. "He proved that he's got enough love for the kids, that he's more than just our hunting dog," Drauch told the station.

The Cass County Sheriff's Department has confirmed the amazing story is true, WOOD reported.

Stanley was taken to the hospital and made a full recovery. The next day he was well enough to play with Bear in the yard, WOOD reported.

Child Protective Services is conducting a routine investigation, and the family plans to put a fence around the pool.

"I'd always told [Bear] since he was four weeks old that these are your babies, watch out," said Drauch. "If Bear wasn't out, I don't think Stanley would have made it."

source
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/nation ... -1.1102698

[johngriffen]

IN OTHER NEWS...
CURRENTLY OFFLINE

Hold off posting your news stories
The editors and accountant department are reviewing last weeks reports to insure that all our reporters get their proper paycheck

[johngriffen]

FOR STORIES POSTED THE W/O JANUARY 4
Our news editors at IN OTHER NEWS have carefully reviewed all the stories submitted by our reporters
Following is last weeks Reporter Log

LEGEND:
X = Acceptable Story
X = PULITZER PRIZE
NA = Not Acceptable Story
DS = Duplicate Story
NOTE: If you feel the editors made a mistake, please feel free to PM me so that we can review your claim

A SPECIAL THANKS TO 7 ACE REPORTERS WHO FILED A NEW STORY EVERY DAY
BigGlen
Fatima99
Fivetide
hija
PennySerenade
rg_789
Zbignieww



Every week the editors will review all the stories and pick the one story that we feels deserves a
MOBI PULITZER PRIZE
There are many different categories for submissions. Last week, the category was "IT'S ALL ABOUT NEW YEARS"
But this week, the category was "HUMOROUS"
For those interested in how the category is decided, it's simple. When the week begins, before ANY story is posted, I randomly select a category and record it on my spread sheet. And the reason why I don't post up front the category, is also simple. I'm sure we would all like to see many different diverse types of stories each week, and I don't want people to focus on past categories. Yeah, as time passes, some of the old categories will appear again, but it will remain pretty much random to keep our reporters on their toes

W/O JANUARY 4 CATEGORY = HUMOROUS
REPORTER = RG_789
DAY = WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6
STORY = "Man hilariously bewilders his cat with incredibly realistic socks that look like paws"
There were so MANY great stories this week, but I was looking for something to make me laugh, and this one did the trick

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS WEEKS MOBI PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS = 100 WRZ

THE NEXT NEWS CYCLE WILL BEGIN SHORTLY