Smorgasbord of tasty good news nuggets to get the day off to an upbeat start.
Impersonator Bonanza
Republicans may be split on Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency, but at least one group of people woke up happy the morning after his announcement. “I’m totally energized,” said John Di Domenico, a Las Vegas-based comic who makes a living impersonating Trump at corporate events and parties. “We just got new booking requests today, and I keep getting texts from people who see this as another opportunity for me.” He's looking forward to dusting off his $4,000 wig and loading up with bronzer spray tan again.
Cultural Practice
The Karuk Tribe in northern California has reignited its cultural practice of intermittent burns as part of a four-year project to prevent wildfires. Low-level and controlled burnings are an ancient and successful forest-management practice. “A cleared floor and less fine fuels such as leaves and ferns, makes it more difficult for wildfires to ignite and spread.”
Mermaids Save Diver
Last month, Josh Claramunt was scuba diving with his father off the California coast. On that same day, Elle Jimenez, a professional mermaid performer and diver from Miami, was teaching an advanced mermaid course certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. Around midday, Jimenez and her class heard someone screaming for help a short distance from where they were training in open water. Jimenez and two of her students sprang into action. The three-piece mermaid pod swam to Claramunt and his father, Pablo Avila, who was unconscious in the water. The mermaids were able to remove the heavy gear from his body while giving him rescue breaths, and succeeded in towing both divers to the beach.
Like Finding a Unicorn
Scientists have rediscovered the black-naped pheasant pigeon, a rare bird that was last sighted almost 140 years ago. The discovery was made in Fergusson Island, off the east coast of Papua New Guinea when researchers’ cameras caught sight of the rare bird, a species that hasn’t been documented by scientists since it was first described in 1882, reported Audubon Magazine. John Mittermeier, director of the lost birds programme at the American Bird Conservancy and a co-leader of the eight-member expedition, said: “To find something that’s been gone for that long... it feels like finding a unicorn or a Bigfoot.”
Fun Fact
Nepal's flag is the only flag in the world that is not a rectangle. Its two triangles are a combination of pennants to showcase the country's Himalayan Mountains.
Brazil is Back
Lula says Brazil is back, and that climate change will be at the heart of the new president's agenda as he cracks down on deforestation, tackles inequality and rolls out renewable energy. His highly successful Amazon Fund has just been reactivated, and Brazil also just joined Indonesia and the DRC to create a new funding mechanism to protect forests. Between them, the trio are home to half the world's rainforests.
Steady Progress
Angola is making steady progress in clearing its minefields. HALO, a British non-profit spearheading the effort, has cleared more than 10 million m2 since the end of the civil war in the 1990s. Much of that effort is being led by all-women teams.
“I love deadlines, I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
Douglas Adams
On this Day
22 November 1995: Pixar's Toy Story, the first entirely computer-animated feature-length film, was released and became a critical and commercial hit.
Don’t ever tell Angela Álvarez it’s too late for dreams to come true – the 95-year-old just won a Latin Grammy for best new artist. Read on...
Every day a senior with Alzheimer's comes out of his house to sit in the front yard at a particular time. And, every day, gets a lovely surprise. Read on...
Meteoric Growth: In the past 12 months, the pipeline for carbon capture and storage projects worldwide has grown by 44 percent, according to the Global CCS Institute. Read on...
Mood Booster
Baby elephant tickles a local Kenyan reporter as he tries to tell a serious story about wildlife conservation.