Ensuring the weekend gets off to a bright start with a global collection of good news nuggets.
Legal History
Dame Sue Carr has made legal history by being sworn in as the first Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales (a title she chose, in preference to "Lord Chief Justice" or the gender-neutral "Chief Justice"). She is the 98th judge to take the role - which dates back to the 13th century.
Student Debt Relief
The Biden-Harris administration just approved student loan debt relief for an additional 125,000 people, reports CNN. The forgiveness adds up to $9 billion in student loans, bringing the total approved debt cancellation to $127 billion for nearly 3.6 million borrowers.
Air Taxi Milestone
In a huge moment for the company - and the electric VTOL industry at large - Joby Aviation has officially started manned flight testing of its S4 eVTOL air taxi. Having flown thousands upon thousands of miles under remote control since full-scale testing began in 2017 - including record-setting test flights for eVTOL speed and distance - Joby is now letting humans on board. Joby leads team USA in the race to certification and announced the milestone with a 90 second video. Watch it here.
Want to Live Longer?
The people of Okinawa, Japan, have one of the highest rates of life expectancies in the world, counting 35 centenarians for every 100,000 inhabitants. That’s five times more than the rest of Japan. Their extended lifespans can be explained by many influences, but one of the strongest influences is in their diet and one particular fruit is rife in Okinawan villages: the bitter melon. Also known as the Goya, the bitter melon is a distant cousin to the cantaloupe of honeydew. It’s technically part of the gourd family and isn’t actually a melon at all; some say it looks more like a warty cucumber. But while it’s aesthetically rather un-appetizing, the bitter melon is packed with phytonutrients and vitamins while providing a punch of vitamins C, A, and E. On top of that, Goya has potassium, iron, magnesium, and zinc, as well as high levels of antioxidants.
5 Top Longevity Foods: Japan is home to the world’s longest-living people. Here's what a Japanese nutritionist says they eat every day. More...
Stevie Nicks
In the middle of her performance at Madison Square Garden last weekend, Stevie Nicks unveiled a surprise: a Barbie doll designed in her image. Mattel created the doll in honor of Nicks’ 75th birthday and within minutes of her unveiling, pre-orders for the $55 doll sold out, says Variety. Nicks is a singer and songwriter who made history as the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice - first in 1998 as a part of the band Fleetwood Mac, then in 2019 as a solo artist.
“The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.” Tom Clancy
On this Day
7 October 1929: Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first British Prime Minister to address US Congress.
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Clever solution to stop kids using their phones at school - and help them concentrate on their education. Yondr...
Mood Booster
Funny VW Golf Commercial: Tourist takes coin from the Trevi Fountain in Rome, and...