Hello! I am back after three weeks of my dear colleague Scottie Andrew at the helm. Isn't she the best, folks? And in case you were wondering, yes, the people who write your news are often friends in real life! (Or they hate each other, which is just as exciting.) Anyway, I hope everyone is staying cool, wherever you are. It was just as hot in Greece and Turkey as it is stateside, which required a bit of strategy. While my husband and I roamed the streets of Rhodes and Athens, we devised a walk/rush system: Walk slowly in the shade and shuffle a little faster in the heat to get out of it. Did it look a little strange? Yes. Did it work? Also yes! Cool towels around the neck were also a huge help, and there is no better feeling than wrapping your hands around a cold bottle or glass. (Press your wrists to it for a quick cool-down, or bring it to your chest or neck for a nice vagus nerve reset.) If all else fails, you could always just spend the day in an air-conditioned movie theater watching "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" like everyone else.
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Our favorites this week
Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week
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Helping now, helping later
A biotech startup called Colossal, which has dubbed itself the “de-extinction company," has its sights on reviving the 4,000-years-extinct wooly mammoth. The goal is both cool and scary at the same time since it would take a lot of genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and likely several lifetimes. But they're starting the journey with something much closer to home by monitoring orphan elephants in Botswana. The startup has entered a collaboration with Elephant Havens, a wildlife foundation based in the Okavango Delta that cares for orphaned elephants. The two organizations will embark on an extensive data-gathering operation, using artificial intelligence to analyze the animals’ behavior and pair it with genomic data on each elephant. Together, they hope the research will provide a blueprint for releasing the elephants into the wild now, and mammoth hybrids to the tundra in the far future.
Read the whole story here.
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The man, the dog and the sea
An Australian sailor who spent months adrift in the Pacific Ocean alongside his beloved dog has recounted his remarkable tale of surviving on raw fish and rainwater after finally making it safely back to dry land. Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock began his odyssey in May with his loyal companion Bella in tow, with the goal of sailing from the Sea of Cortes, also known as the Gulf of California, to French Polynesia more than 3,000 miles away. His small catamaran was damaged just weeks later in a storm, leaving Shaddock and Bella adrift in a harsh and unpredictable ocean with little hope of rescue. The sailor says he survived by fishing and eating "a lot of tuna sushi." Shaddock's health took a turn for the worse, but luckily the pair were picked up by a Mexican tuna trawler that happened to spot their stricken vessel in the vast waters. “Thank God for putting us in the path of a man who could have died,” Antonio Suarez, the owner of Grupomar, the company that owns the tuna boat, told reporters. “It is a day of happiness because we ended up on an adventure to save an adventurer who had many more problems than we did.”
Read the whole story here.
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Speaking the past
The Ho-Chunk nation — an indigenous tribe in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri — is taking steps to preserve its language for the next generation. This week, elders gathered in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, to record the tribe’s language with the help of the Language Conservancy, an organization that seeks to preserve languages so they don’t become extinct. These days, the language is often only spoken during tribal ceremonies, one tribal elder said. The recordings will be uploaded to the Ho-Chunk online dictionary and later added to an app students can download to use as a resource when learning the tribal language and history. In preserving such a critical part of their culture, the Ho-Chunk people are also preserving the stories that have grown through the language — stories the tribe says date back to the Ice Ages.
Read the whole story here.
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A round of applause for ... |
The Philippines National Women's Team, who became the first team of any gender from the Southeast Asian nation to play at a World Cup. While they fell to the more experienced Swiss team in the first round, history had already been made. The team is building itself with the help of South Asians born or raised in other parts of the world. “I know soccer isn’t the main sport in the Philippines," said team member Sarina Bolden, a Filipina-America born in California "But I think by seeing us on the big screen on the big stage, I think more people are going to be really interested and want to get into soccer."
Read the full story here.
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I'm fairly certain my family and friends will be begging me to stop talking about the Minoan Bee Pendant. How could I? Look at it! This masterpiece of human creation is housed in the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Selçuk, Turkey. When I laid eyes on it, I was nearly moved to tears. Also called the Malia Pendant, this delicately-wrought gold pendant dates back to the Minoan civilization, around 1800-1650 BC. Think about that. Almost 4,000 years ago, someone made this intimate portrayal of two symmetrical bees, dropping a single jewel of honey into a comb. This isn't literal art. This is something that captures an essence, a value, a whole belief system. Bees were extremely important to Minoan culture, and here they are, depicted in an essential moment of creation. That alone is stunning to think about, never mind the craftsmanship that is exquisite even by today's standards. I can't help thinking whoever made this was divinely inspired; that they had a special vision of the world. This is the kind of creation that connects us.
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In 2008, a stroke and subsequent traumatic brain injury nearly killed Stacey Buckner. Today, she says her miraculous road to recovery led her to the outreach work that has become her life’s mission. It took a long time for Buckner to regain her speech and motor skills, and her first job after her recovery at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center included calling and reminding veterans about their upcoming appointments. She learned more about issues facing veterans, including those experiencing homelessness, and began reaching out to those in need in her spare time. Through her program, Off-Road Outreach, Buckner has now helped more than 1,000 veterans in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Using her own off-road vehicle — a Jeep that has accommodations for water, heating, and cooking — Buckner provides mobile showers, laundry services, and meals to homeless veterans in her hometown, known for its proximately to Fort Liberty, a military installation of the US Army.
Read the full story here.
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For me, the greatest pleasure is not the work itself, but the music it makes.
- Christopher Theofanidis, American composer, from his symphonic work "Creation/Creator." The composer attributes this line to thoughts from American novelist Truman Capote. |
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Rec of the week
Brought to you by CNN Underscored
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These 'Barbiecore' outfits are actually cute
While we all obsess over the new "Barbie" movie, it is possible to dress like the iconic doll without looking like you're in costume. With the help of fashion experts, we're here to help you embrace your inner Barbie girl no matter your age. Shop our favorite bright pink and oh-so-girly style picks right here.
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Shameless animal video
There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.
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What do you do when your massive bunny gets lonely? You take him speed dating to find a wife, of course! (Click here to view) |
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