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 April 1, 2023

I recently found out I have aphantasia, which is the inability to visualize things. It was, frankly, a shock. I had no idea people could actually "see" things when they close their eyes! I thought all of that "picture a whatever," "see it in your mind's eye" jargon was figurative! People are really going around seeing entire scenes in their heads? A revelation. (And apologies to the few unknowing aphantasia-havers among us, for whom this paragraph will spark a world-altering crisis.) I'm now a little obsessed with thinking about how people's unique perceptions affect their view of the world. The colors you see are your colors; the things your imagination conjures are put together in such a way that no other person could begin to replicate them. It's exhausting to ponder! Well, at least then I can shut my eyes and enjoy a whole bunch of nothing. 

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Our favorites this week

Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week

A strong heart
Just months after a terrifying mid-game cardiac arrest left Damar Hamlin fighting for his life in January, the Buffalo Bills player is championing life-saving medical equipment for young people. Hamlin visited Capitol Hill this week to highlight a bipartisan bill that would improve access to AEDs, or automated external defibrillators. The Access to AEDs Act would establish a grant program to provide schools with the funds to purchase and maintain AEDs, strengthen CPR training and develop cardiac emergency response plans. At an event for the bill, Hamlin shared the startling stats he learned after his ordeal: "Sudden cardiac arrest happens to more than 7,000 kids under the age of 18 every year in our country ... The majority of the kids impacted are student-athletes, and research shows that 1 in every 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk. For schools that have AEDs, the survival rate for the children from sudden cardiac arrest is seven times higher.”

A perfect start
Ah, it's early baseball season, when championship dreams are still flickering in every eye and you're not yet in danger of being scalded by summer sun-heated seats. Plus, you get to indulge in lovely stories like this one from the Oakland Athletics. Young A's fan and cancer fighter Gabriel De La Cruz had the honor of throwing out the first pitch on his team's Opening Day -- an honor in and of itself. But after the big moment, he was surprised with a video package on the big screen in left field that featured his favorite A’s player Tony Kemp, as well as other major MLB stars. They delivered the biggest news of the night: Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, De La Cruz is officially going to the 2023 MLB All-Star Game in Seattle. (Oh, and he threw a pretty good pitch, too!) 

Hoppin' cute
When is a bunny not a bunny? When it's a one-eyed cat, of course! Crash is the first-ever cat to win the Cadbury Bunny contest, making him the brand’s official “spokesbunny” for the year. The 8-year-old feline lost an eye in a car accident, but retained his "quirky, outgoing personality" and became a darling of the shelter in Boise, Idaho, where he recovered. It is the fifth year of the Cadbury Bunny tryouts, but the first year the brand has specifically sought out rescue pets. Crash will now show off his unique character in his very own Cadbury commercial. He's preceded by 2022's bunny, a therapy dog named Annie Rose. Betty, a tree frog, took home the prize in 2021.

Raise a glass to...

Apo Whang-Od, a 106-year-old tattoo artist from the Philippines who is now the oldest Vogue cover model. Oh, that we could all be as cool as Whang-Od, who is considered her country's oldest mambabatok — or traditional Kalinga tattooist. Her tattoos use an age-old hand-tapping technique, which she perfected as a teenager using just a bamboo stick, a thorn from a pomelo tree, water and coal. Her work is now internationally known, and she told Vogue Philippines she's training her granddaughters to carry on the stunning and meaningful art form. 

Heroes among us

Let's check in with our freshly-crowned 2022 CNN Hero of the Year, Nelly Cheboi! Cheboi's nonprofit TechLit Africa brings computer science to students in rural areas, particularly in her home country of Kenya. After Cheboi's big win, she received congratulations from the president of Kenya, and her alma mater, Augustana College, where her passion for computers started, created a Nelly Cheboi Endowment Fund and invited Cheboi to be this year’s commencement speaker. However, to her, that wasn't even the best part of her Heroes journey. “The coolest thing about being the CNN Hero of the Year was being the beacon of hope," she said. "There is hope. Poverty has an expiration date. This is all temporary." Now in 15 schools, Cheboi’s goal for the year is to set up computer labs and TechLit Africa programs in 100 schools in rural Africa.

Wanna get away?

All aboard the wine train! True vino lovers may soon have a new favorite way to travel when a “wine train” linking London with the vineyards of Bordeaux finally gets underway. The rail route could be whisking Brits on five-hour trips to the south of France by 2026. It’s hoped it could be the first of several new routes linking London with European cities including Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, Marseille and Toulouse.

Impact your world

The tiny Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu has won an outsized victory in the fight against climate change. Vanuatu has long faced disproportionate impacts of rising seas and intensifying storms. In 2021, it launched its call for the UN International Court of Justice to provide an “advisory opinion” on the legal responsibility of governments to fight the climate crisis, which affects global neighbors in ways less vulnerable nations can barely imagine. This week, the resolution passed, backed by 130 countries. Though the opinion isn't a binding decision, this is the first time the highest international court has been called on to address the climate crisis. Supporters of the measure consider it a significant victory. “The very fact that a small Pacific island nation like Vanuatu was able to successfully spearhead such a transformative outcome speaks to the incredible support from all corners of the globe," said Ishmael Kalsakau, prime minister of Vanuatu. 

Rec of the week

Brought to you by CNN Underscored

Shameless animal video

There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.

Hmm, there has to be a better word for this slow-motion hummingbird video than "cute." Perhaps "breathtaking" does the trick. (Click here to view)

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