Jul 13

Sunny Saturday News

Ensuring the weekend gets off to a sunny start with today's global round up of positive news.

Balcony View Opens

When the public is invited in to see the view from the Buckingham Palace balcony for the first time next week, they will walk in the footsteps of the Royal family. Perhaps unexpectedly, those footsteps will take them past hundreds of gold dragons from floor to ceiling, a Buddha statue that blows incense through its mouth and all the way up to arguably the most famous net curtains in the world. Inside the Centre Room at the palace, opening up at the request of the King, a first cohort of visitors will be allowed to peer out at where crowds gather for jubilees, royal weddings and birthdays. There is just one thing missing from a true royal outing: the television in the corner, watched by the King and his family on major national occasions so they can take in the full view down the otherwise obscured Mall.

Strange But True

A man has been caught trying to smuggle 104 live snakes into mainland China by cramming them into his trousers, according to the country’s customs authority. The unnamed traveller was stopped by customs officers as he sought to slip out of semi-autonomous Hong Kong and into the border city of Shenzhen, China Customs said in a statement.

Swedish Grandparents

A groundbreaking new law allows parents to transfer a portion of their parental leave to grandparents, enabling the latter to receive payment for taking care of their grandchildren for up to three months during the child's first year. The country was also the first in the world to introduce paid parental leave for both parents in 1974.

All-Terrain Wheelchairs

Tennessee has just launched a program providing all-terrain electric wheelchairs to visitors at 22 of its state parks. They are free and allow disabled users to explore the beauty of the state’s scenery. “We’re trying to extend other parts of accessibility so everybody feels welcome and invited to come to Tennessee State Parks,” deputy commissioner Greer Tidwell said.

Transformative Donation

Starting in the fall semester, paying tuition will be one less thing to worry about for most medical students at Johns Hopkins University. The good news comes thanks to businessman Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropic organization, which donated $1 billion to cover tuition for students who come from households earning less than $300,000. Additionally, students from families who bring in less than $175,000 will also have their fees and living expenses covered. Bloomberg explained the gift’s goal is twofold: remove some of the obstacles that often stop lower-income students from pursuing the medical field and help improve life expectancy in the country.

New Voice

Your voice is a gift - and Marty Kedian, a 59-year-old laryngeal cancer patient from Massachusetts, knows this truth in a way different than most. Kedian recently got his ability to speak back after undergoing a rare voice box transplant. The operation at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona marked the first known successful total larynx transplant performed in a patient with active cancer.

Pixar's On A Roll

It’s an emotional time for Pixar and parent company Disney. Last week, Inside Out 2 hit $1.251 billion in global ticket sales (passing the $1.242 billion made by Incredibles 2) to become the top-grossing Pixar title of all time at the worldwide box office, not adjusted for inflation. That puts it at No. 4 on the overall list of top-grossing animated films, and the climb is far from done, meaning it could ultimately rank No. 1. The movie is within days of overtaking Walt Disney Animation’s Frozen ($1.274 billion), and is also virtually assured of jumping The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.361 billion). Whether it can overtake Frozen II ($1.451 billion) and take the No. 1 crown is the biggest question mark, but many believe it can.

"Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshipped and fondled like a priceless diamond." Hunter S. Thompson

On This Day

13 July 1985: The benefit concert Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the event drew an estimated 1.5 billion television viewers and raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia.