From Monday, same-sex couples will be able to register to marry, meaning the first ceremonies will take place in February
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Same-sex marriage now legal in Northern Ireland
Choppers are used to drop thousands of kilograms of sweet potatoes and carrots for animals that are starving to death because of the bushfire crisis
Aircraft are being used to feed the thousands of hungry wildlife stranded amid the Australian bushfire crisis.
Iowa woman who fostered more than 600 children says she loved them ‘like they were my own’
(CNN)Linda Herring always wanted a big family. But she never imagined that she would foster more than 600 children and turn her home into a safe haven where every child was given shelter, food, clothing, and most importantly, endless amounts of love.
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https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/11/us/iowa-woman-fostered-600-children-trnd/index.html
Lewis Hamilton donates $500k to Australian bushfire charities
Lewis Hamilton has joined fellow Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo in helping with the effort to tackle bushfires in Australia.
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Peru to plant one million trees around Machu Picchu
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra launched a campaign on Thursday to reforest the Machu Picchu archeological site in order to protect it from mud slides and forest fires.
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https://www.france24.com/en/20200109-peru-to-plant-one-million-trees-around-machu-picchu
17-year-old discovers planet 6.9 times larger than Earth on third day of internship with NASA
During his junior year at Scarsdale High School in New York, Wolf Cukier landed a two-month internship with NASA. So during the summer of 2019, he traveled down to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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Leonardo DiCaprio ‘saves man who fell overboard in the Caribbean’ in billion to one rescue
Leonardo DiCaprio saved a man who fell overboard in the Caribbean in a “billion to one rescue” after using his luxury boat to search for the missing person.
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Chris Hemsworth and his family donate $1MILLION to help Australian firefighters battling the bushfires
Chris Hemsworth has pledged $1million towards helping firefighters and residents affected by the Australian bushfires.
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Fire-ravaged Mallacoota to receive beer delivery from Navy ship
Model raises more than $750,000 for Aussie bushfire relief by sending nudes to donors
An American model has raised more than NZ$750,000 for the Australian bushfire victims by promising to send nude selfies to those who donate.
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https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12298325
California firefighters are heading to Australia to battle deadly brushfires on the ground
Los Angeles (CNN)Twenty veteran California firefighters are heading to Australia as the first US ground crew to battle out-of-control wildfires.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/04/us/california-firefighters-australia-brushfires/index.html
Japanese woman turns 117 years old, extends record as world’s oldest person
TOKYO (Reuters) – Kane Tanaka has extended her record as the world’s oldest person by celebrating her 117th birthday at a nursing home in Fukuoka in southern Japan.
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Bushfires Australia: Nicole and Keith donate $500,000 to firies
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have donated half a million dollars to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
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An Uber driver got a college degree after one of her passengers wiped out her debt
(CNN)An Uber driver says she is one step closer to achieving her dream of becoming a lawyer thanks to a random passenger who paid off her college debt when he heard her life’s story.
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https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/02/us/uber-driver-debt-paid-trnd/index.html
China bans fishing in depleted Yangtze River for 10 years to protect aquatic life
China has imposed a 10-year commercial fishing ban on the Yangtze – the first ever for Asia’s longest river – in a bid to protect its aquatic life.
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A Texas man is making canes for veterans using hundreds of donated Christmas trees
A man in Texas is designing canes for veterans, and he’s asking you to donate your Christmas tree to help him do it.
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In tense north India, Muslim family says Hindu neighbors stood guard at a wedding
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) – Members of a Muslim family in northern India said they were able to conduct the wedding of a young woman last week after neighbors from the majority Hindu community stood guard in an area that was tense after deadly violence the previous day.
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This Has Been the Best Year Ever
“If you’re depressed by the state of the world, let me toss out an idea: In the long arc of human history, 2019 has been the best year ever.”
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/opinion/sunday/2019-best-year-poverty.html
Critically endangered black rhino born in Michigan zoo
“This is a monumental moment for Potter Park Zoo,” the director said.
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https://abcnews.go.com/US/critically-endangered-black-rhino-born-michigan-zoo/story?id=67924017
Garbage truck ‘Secret Santa’ drops off gift for child who waves to him every trash day
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Heart-warming moment elderly care home resident fulfils ‘boyhood dream’ to finally go skiing at age of 92
Merck says Ebola vaccine to be available at lowest access price for poor nations
(Reuters) – Merck & Co (MRK.N) said on Friday it expects to make licensed doses of its recently approved Ebola vaccine available in the third quarter of 2020 and price the single-dose injection at the lowest possible access price for poor and middle-income countries.
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‘I’m not going to let go’: 10-year-old saves friend from drowning in icy Hamilton Harbour
A 10-year-old boy believes a guardian angel gave him the strength to keep his best friend’s head above the surface after he fell into the frigid water of Hamilton Harbour.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/10-year-old-lake-ontario-drowning-1.5404378
Texas man to be exonerated after DNA leads to new arrest
HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities said they will begin the process to exonerate a Houston man who was convicted in a 2010 fatal stabbing that investigators now believe was committed by someone else.
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MrBeast’s Team Trees smash $20 million goal with days to spare
The Team Trees initiative started up by Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson has hit its goal of $20 million before January 1, with the YouTuber expressing his thanks to everyone that supported the endeavor.
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https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/mrbeast-team-trees-hits-goal-20-million-1302561
YouTubers, Silicon Valley, and fans help MrBeast raise $20 million for tree charity
Nearly two months after the Team Trees initiative kicked off .
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This 5-year-old paid off the lunch balances for 123 students by selling cocoa and cookies
(CNN) — A 5-year-old student at an elementary school in Vista, California, collected enough money to pay off the negative lunch balances of 123 students at her school.
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A Florida man who once spent Christmas without gas just paid off the past dues for 36 families at risk of losing their electricity
(CNN)When Michael Esmond got his utility bills — due December 26 — his mind went straight to the 1980s, when he had trouble making ends meet.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/18/us/florida-christmas-electricity-bill-trnd/index.html