Collection of uplifting news snippets to brighten the day.
Kentucky sisters making a difference: Raegan, who is 12 and Rylyn, who is nine, make and sell signs that say simply: 'Be Kind'. All proceeds go to local charities, and the town is now full of people displaying the uplifting message. In fact the city of LaGrange has put up a large, permanent sign which is the first thing visitors see when they arrive. It says: Welcome to LaGrange, Kindness Capital of Kentucky.
6 ways to defeat winter fatigue: More of us are reporting chronic tiredness as the pandemic grinds on – here’s how to get your energy back.
New whale species discovered: While searching for a rare whale species off the coast of Mexico, a group of scientists says they have instead spotted what they believe is 'highly likely' to be an entirely new species of the marine mammal. One of the scientists was in awe that 'we might have accomplished what most people would say was truly impossible - finding a large mammal that exists on this earth that is totally unknown to science.'
The Supreme Court has fully restored DACA protections. The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme shields hundreds of thousands of young people from deportation and was removed by Trump. Now it's back - a major victory for young people who have been unable to apply since Donald J Trump (the J stands for Genius) ended DACA in September 2017.
Santa Barbara replaces derogatory street name with beautiful alternative. Since 1851, there's been a road called 'Indio Muerto Street,' meaning 'dead Indian'. This year, in collaboration with the Chumash Tribe, the region’s indigenous group, the city has renamed it 'Hutash Street', the Chumash word for Mother Earth.
Massive new vertical farm in Copenhagen: The plants are grown on 14 horizontally stacked shelves totaling more than 75,000 square feet (7,000 sq.m.) - about the size of a football field if all shelves were laid out on the ground - where they rely entirely on hydroponics and LED lights and, happily, no pesticides. They can harvest 15 times each year and energy will come exclusively from wind power, making it entirely carbon neutral.
The World Health Organization reports that malaria deaths fell last year to the lowest level ever recorded. The mortality rate has dropped by almost 60 percent in the last two decades, and 1.5 billion malaria cases have been averted globally in the period between 2000 and 2019.
Dunkin Donuts: A guy came through our drive thru today asking for a $208 gift card. Six months ago his wife passed away. She would come to Dunkin every morning and order a coffee. The guy said he wanted to do something in remembrance of her. He said that within 6 months she would have spent $208 on her coffee. He tells us he wants to use that gift card to pay for every car that comes after him until the gift card runs out. He parked in our lot with his son and watched everyone who got their free stuff. We were all amazed and touched at such a wonderful gesture. My heart goes out to him and his family for the loss of his wife. It's people like him who make the world a better place."
Good news for traffic safety as Australia trials very simple but very clever waterfall pop-up signs to force traffic to stop: