OGN Friday
- Nov 28, 2025
- 4 min read
Ensuring the week ends on an upbeat note with today's global collection of positive news stories.
Elvis Has Left The Bench
A Missouri judge who wore an Elvis Presley wig in his courtroom and played the singer's music from his phone during court proceedings has agreed to a deal to step down. The judge said he intended "to add levity at times when I thought it would help relax litigants" but has since realised that this "could affect the integrity and solemnity of the proceedings." The Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline also faulted Judge Matthew Thornhill in suburban St. Louis for talking about politics from the bench, and highlighted his affinity for the "King of Rock 'n' Roll". The court file is sprinkled with photos of Thornhill on the bench or posing with staff in a plastic Elvis wig and sunglasses. The images elicited bemused reaction from local attorneys, including Brendan Roediger, who quipped to St. Louis Magazine: "Suspicious minds are wondering about the punishment. It's now or never - either he should be a judge or he shouldn't."
Houses of Parliament
Archaeologists are digging under the Palace of Westminster in order to determine the full history buried beneath the London landmark. Moving through the centuries beneath the ground, archaeologists unearthed, amongst many other more recent artifacts, a re-purposed Roman altar - a relic more than 2,000 years old - which had been incorporated into a later building structure. But nothing particularly surprised the archaeologists until they dug deeper and uncovered 60 struck flint tools, including one fully “worked tool” reported The Standard, which they have dated to the late Mesolithic or early Neolithic period. If verified, that could mean the seat of Parliament might be even older than Stonehenge - about 6,000 years old. Deputy Speaker said: “As we prepare for the restoration and renewal of the iconic Palace of Westminster, a huge amount of work is going on to understand more about the building and the thousands of years of history underneath the home of Parliament as we know it today.”
$35,000 Bar Tab
An Australian punk rock band picked up the bar tabs for hundreds of people after a gig in Melbourne was shut down at the last minute due to security concerns. “You simply cannot imagine the tantrum I am having,” said the band’s lead singer Amy Taylor, who nevertheless understood why it had to be called off. “So, so, so sorry, we’re really sad,” she said in on Instagram. But that wasn’t going to be the end of the night if Taylor and her bandmates could help it, as she returned to social media shortly afterwards to announce that they had loaded $5,000 onto bar tabs in seven different downtown pubs where any of their fans could go and have a drink while in the city.
Buy Nothing Day
Black Friday is upon us which means bargains galore, right? Er, no. Analysis by the consumer group Which? reveals that most deals offered on Black Friday are bogus. Nevertheless, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are among the busiest retail days of the year. The flip side of Black Friday is Buy Nothing Day, an international rebuff against consumerism. It all began in Vancouver, Canada, in 1992 when the artist Ted Dave decided we needed a day for society to examine the issue of overconsumption. It’s since caught on in the UK, Sweden and beyond.
World's Tallest Mast
A Dutch shipbuilder has unveiled the plans for Sky, a 264-foot sailing superyacht poised to claim the title of the world’s tallest upon launch - thanks to its record-setting Rondal rig, a towering structure that will reach 305 feet. Comparable in height to the Statue of Liberty from the ground to the torch.
New England Heat Pumps
New England winters can get wicked cold. But five of the region’s states has launched a $450 million effort to warm more of the homes with energy-efficient, low-emission heat pumps. “It’s a big deal,” said Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “It’s unprecedented to see five states aligning together on a transformational approach to deploying more-affordable clean-heat options.” The Heat Pump Accelerator is a collaboration between Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and aims to speed up adoption by supporting the installation of some 580,000 residential heat pumps, which would reduce carbon emissions by 2.5 million metric tons by 2030 - the equivalent of taking more than 540,000 gas-powered passenger vehicles off the road.
UK Renters Good News
The UK government has announced that it will ban no-fault evictions in England from May 2026, as part of sweeping reforms to the renting system. Landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants for complaining about poor conditions, and will only be able to do so in certain circumstances, such as if tenants damage the property or commit antisocial behaviour. The reforms are aimed at protecting renters and preventing them from being evicted on a “whim of the landlord.”
"Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers." Kahlil Gibran
On This Day
28 November 1893: For the first time anywhere in the world, women in New Zealand voted in national elections. 84 percent of women registered and two-thirds voted for the first time.
Canada followed in granting women the vote in 1917, the UK in 1918 and the US in 1920. By contrast Switzerland didn’t grant women full voting rights until 1971, Portugal in 1976 and Liechtenstein in 1984.
Today's Articles
What's Going On? This may well be the first recorded use of a tool by a wild wolf. Take a look. You decide.
What's That Down There? Smart glass windows set to provide holographic in-flight info about the view.
Mood Boosting Video
Flashmob: Carol of the Bells for the inauguration of the Christmas Lights in Paris.
