Some bite-sized chunks of positive news stories to perk up the day.
Longevity Tip
Jane Fonda turns 87 this month - and she has a recommendation for anyone who wants to follow in her footsteps when it comes to longevity: Replace those negative stereotypes about aging with a positive outlook. “One way to live longer is just to have a good attitude,” Fonda said on CBS Sunday Morning, citing a 2002 Yale study that found people live an average 7.5 years longer when they have more positive beliefs about aging compared to those who associate getting older with disease and decline. Rather than focusing on what “society” says getting older should look and feel like, Fonda endorses leaning on community and paying attention to the good that comes with it.
Foods a Longevity Expert Eats Every Day: Doctor and longevity expert Dr. Mark Hyman swears by these five foods to age well, live longer, and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Bee Bonanza
A Scottish field once home to mono-crop barley has become a pollinator’s paradise after intervention from a the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Entitled Rewilding Denmarkfield, the project has also seen a sharp increase in the number of species passing through the rolling meadows after they were reclaimed by dozens of wildflower species. Surveys reveal that the 90 acre field north of Perth rarely recorded more than 50 bees. Just two years of letting “nature take the lead” that number has topped 4,000, with the number of different bee species doubling.
Blockbuster Thanksgiving
Disney’s Moana 2 cemented a new Thanksgiving box office record with $225 million over the five-day holiday frame, obliterating the previous high-water marks set by 2019’s Frozen II ($125 million) and 2013’s Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($109 million). It also stands as the biggest five-day debut in history, overtaking Universal’s 2023 behemoth The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($205.6 million), says Variety. And it’s not just the Polynesian animated adventure that’s keeping the nation’s multiplexes booked and busy. Universal’s adaptation of Wicked and Paramount’s action epic Gladiator II, both of which opened last weekend, are continuing to bring out audiences. Together, the trio of big-budget blockbusters are powering the biggest Thanksgiving period on record with approximately $422 million across all films.
Most Streamed Movie
Meanwhile, Disney‘s Moana has been revealed as the most streamed movie in the past five years. The 2016 animated movie was a modest hit when it was first released, finishing 12th at the global box office, but since it was first launched on Disney+ in 2020, it has become the most popular films on all streaming platform, according to figures released by Nielsen (via The Wall Street Journal).
EVangelists
More good news from EV mecca Norway, with November numbers showing a truly impressive 93.6 percent of all new car registrations were fully electric, showing that its EV transition is almost complete. If you add plug-in hybrids with a market share of 1.3 percent, nearly 95 percent of all new cars had a charging connection.
Bernie's Motors
Bernie Ecclestone is putting his entire collection of historic grand prix and Formula One cars - 69 cars worth an estimated £500,000,000 ($631m) - up for sale. The collection includes Ferraris raced by world champions such as Mike Hawthorn, Niki Lauda, and Michael Schumacher, Brabhams raced by Nelson Piquet, Carlos Pace, and Lauda, as well as the one-off Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46B ‘fan car’, which raced only once, winning the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp in 1978. It comes after Ecclestone, 94, pleaded guilty last year to fraud after being accused of failing to declare more than £400 million of overseas assets to the UK Government.
“You don’t get older, you get better.” Shirley Bassey
On This Day
5 December 1848: In his annual message to Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in California, helping to spark the Gold Rush, which brought an estimated 300,000 people to the territory.
Today's Articles
‘Debt-for-Climate’: Barbados secures world’s first “debt-for-climate” swap to finance vital projects to help it cope with the impacts of climate change.
Mood Boosting Video
Puskas Awards: The best 11 goals of the year.