I know it sounds deranged, but I'm already getting some of my Christmas gifts together. Fellow crafters out there, you know the stress! Blankets and embroidery works don't make themselves! No matter the season, handmade gifts are always such a joy to get and give. They don't just say, "I was thinking about you." They say "I was thinking about you, and had to continue to think about you for a little bit every day until this darn thing was done!"
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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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Do the right thing
A group of high school football players in Rome, Georgia jumped out of their cars while on the way to school to help free an injured woman who was trapped after a wreck. Treyvon Adams, 16, Antwion Carey, 16, Tyson Brown, 17, Alto Moore, 16, and Cesar Parker, 16, were heading to school one morning when they came across an awful crash. The teens jumped into action and tried to free a woman trapped inside the car, who was in pain and yelling for help. Treyvon admitted that, though he and his teammates are strong, it took everything they had to pry open one door, and then another, to pull the woman out. Their heroic actions have rightfully earned them a lot of praise and love from Rome High School and the community. "We appreciate it," Treyvon told CNN. "But I feel we just did the right thing." You did our state proud, gentlemen!
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The perfect place for love
Hey Hallmark Channel, you really should turn this one into a movie. It's got everything: friends to lovers, a gorgeous inn, a fun project that brings the two heroines together, and so on and so forth. Ida Skibenes and Hanna Aardal had been coworkers for a few months when their company took an annual remote work retreat to the gorgeous Solstrand Hotel just outside of Bergen, Norway. The two women had clicked from the start, but were in different places in life -- and neither of them was really sure if the other would be interested in a woman. But by the time they met at the Solstrand, the stars were starting to align. They had worked on a project together that they were looking forward to showing off at the retreat, and during that time they had gotten closer. So close, that it seemed inevitable that something had to be said, and soon. Coincidentally, they were assigned to be roommates, and they saw it as a sign. Laying in their twin beds at the end of the first night of the retreat, they finally confessed their feelings. That was back in 2014. A few years later, Skibenes and Aardal got engaged at the very same hotel and were married in Bergen in 2022, surrounded by glorious fjords and romantic memories.
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A call from the stars
Isabella Payne and her father Matthew share a passion for space. Since the 8-year-old was just a toddler on her father's knee, she has watched him operate a licensed amateur radio station from their home in Kent, southeast England. Sometimes, when things align, amateur radio operators can speak to astronauts on the International Space Station when they pass overhead. The astronauts use the radio connection to contact schools, and occasionally make "call-outs" to radio station operators in their path. Matthew Payne has helped organize some radio chats before, but Isabella had never gotten to experience one until one night, American astronaut Kjell Lindgren made contact. Even though it was the middle of the night on Earth, the young girl got to have an out-of-this-world chat. "His voice instantly changed from normal to joyful," Isabella told CNN. "You could hear his smile." It's good practice for when she becomes a NASA communications specialist, her dream job. "I want to talk to the astronauts and say, for example: 'Good morning, Sam. Is everything still floating around up there like it's supposed to?'"
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The NBA, which won't play any games on Election Day, November 8, as part of a league-wide effort to encourage fans to get out and vote. All 30 teams will instead be playing on November 7. "The scheduling decision came out of the NBA family's focus on promoting nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections," the league said in a statement. "Over the next few months, teams will distribute information on their state's voting process and voter registration deadlines and are encouraging everyone to communicate this information with families and friends to ensure they all have a plan."
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While the idea of resurrecting extinct animals has a decidedly "Jurassic Park" vibe, scientists are getting closer to the possibility as an absolute last resort to conserve Earth's biodiversity. Right now, researchers are working on bringing back the Tasmanian tiger, a marsupial that roamed the Australian bush and went extinct in the last century. The ambitious project will harness advances in genetics, ancient DNA retrieval and artificial reproduction to bring back the animal. While a lot of questions remain, and all involved stress that the bulk of conservation efforts should be exercised on living species, it could be an important technology to develop for the future. "This technology offers a chance to correct [species loss] and could be applied in exceptional circumstances where cornerstone species have been lost," says Andrew Pask, a professor at the University of Melbourne who is leading the initiative.
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Would you try ice cream made with dried fish, scotch bonnet chilis and toffee? A creamery in South Africa is offering unique flavors made up solely of ingredients from the African continent, and they're quickly becoming a foodie fascination. Zimbabwean molecular biologist Tapiwa Guzha is the mind behind "Tapi Tapi," and he wants these gourmet flavors to help reframe the narrative around Africa and food. "I'm not trying to appeal to the global universe, I'm trying to help Black identities enjoy their culture on a more regular basis," he says. His creations are certainly worthy of admiration, though. The kapenta fish combo mentioned above may grab headlines (the end product is blended, so you don't have forlorn fish eyes staring at you), but Guzha has created several other delicious odes to Africa, like hibiscus, cloves and anise, and sun-dried blackjack greens and caramel.
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Have you ever passed a store in the mall and gotten lured in, cartoon-style, by the wafts of some tantalizing scent? Or picked out the specific scent of a product, no matter when or where you smelled it? There is actually an entire industry built around the concept, known as scent marketing or olfactory branding, that's dedicated to developing custom fragrances for retailers and products. ScentAir, for example, sells custom diffusers for store brands. The company designs nine "fragrance experiences" ranging from "lux and sophisticated" to "passionate and sensual." Many products have a signature scent, whether you realize it or not. Play-Doh, of all things, successfully trademarked its signature musky, vanilla-like fragrance in 2018. It's no secret that such specific scents can make your memories light up like a Christmas tree. Our sense of smell runs straight to our limbic system, the region in our brain that regulates emotions and memory.
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Rec of the week
Brought to you by CNN Underscored
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Shameless animal video
There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.
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This baby elephant is so adorable, playing with her keeper's sandal. Oh wait -- she's literally trying to put it on! What a mind she has. (Click here to view) |
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A newsletter for the good in life |
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