Massoud Hassani grew up in Afghanistan and played every day in nearby fields, surrounded by high mountains. His favorite toy was homemade, a small rolling object that was powered by the wind. 20 years later, his 2011 graduation project was an over-sized replica of that toy -- 20 times bigger and heaver -- created to roll on those same landmines and destroy them.
In what might be the sweetest resignation story ever told, Chris Holmes, 31, quit his secure airport job in England by handing in a cake printed with a message saying, he was quitting.
Suu Kyi received two standing ovations inside Oslo's city hall as she gave her long-delayed acceptance speech 21 years after she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her unflagging support for democracy in the face of arrest and imprisonment in her military-controlled homeland of Myanmar. The 66-year-old champion of political freedom praised the power of her 1991 Nobel honor both for saving her from the depths of personal despair and shining an enduring spotlight on injustices in distant Myanmar.
Hollywood celebrities, political bigwigs and journalists shared dinner and laughs last night at the 2013 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Conan O'Brien hosted the evening but the highlight of the night was the 20 minutes President Obama joked about himself, the second term, Republican leaders, and even Jay-Z.
60 friends and relatives performed a choreographed marriage proposal in what the future-groom, Isaac Lamb, called the "first live lip-dub proposal". The elaborate routine, to the tune of "Marry You" by Bruno Mars, was designed to surprise his bride-to-be Amy Frankel, 33, of Portland, Ore.
Boston's new bike-sharing program officially launched last week, with bicycles available at 61 stations for jaunts around the city.
A California mosque broke religious barriers today when, for the first time, it allowed a Christian congregation inside to hold Easter services, after it had lost its lease.
A 21-year-old design student in Detroit redesigned the winter coat to help homeless people suffering from relentlessly cold winters. The ankle-length Element S is hooded, self-heated and waterproof, but it also transforms into a sleeping bag at night. Not only that, her Detroit Empowerment Plan envisioned that the coat be made by a group of homeless women who are paid minimum wage, and fed and housed while creating the coats. The plan now creates jobs for those who desire them and coats for those who need them at no cost.
After six years, the Washington Post's annual Peeps Diorama contest has become a survey of all that touches and taunts our collective consciousness, displayed through malleable marshmallow rabbits and chicks. The Occupy D.C. theme took first price with OccuPeep DC, a diorama from artist/painter Cori Wright, 38, of Falls Church, VA.
Tim Carpenter is changing the way elderly Californians experience aging by turning low-cost senior housing communities into vibrant centers for learning and creativity. The 13-year-old Los Angeles-area program, EngAGE, provides arts, theater and wellness classes for some 5,000 people — the vast majority of them low-income — living in senior apartment communities.
In the last 15 months Isabelle and Katherine Adams have made life immeasurably better for villagers they've never met, in lands far away from their own home in Dallas. The young sisters, ages 6 and 9, have raised $120,000 for clean-water projects in Ethiopia and India, all through selling origami ornaments they create themselves.
Instead of staying at home and sitting in front of the television, adults with developmental and physical disabilities can express themselves at the Creative Growth Art Center, a huge professional studio provide in a social setting among peers. An added benefit for some of the artists is the amount of money being made through sales of their distinctive artwork.
Instead of staying at home and sitting in front of the television, adults with developmental and physical disabilities can express themselves at the Creative Growth Art Center, a huge professional studio provide in a social setting among peers. An added benefit for some of the artists is the amount of money being made through sales of their distinctive artwork.
Many museums post their collections online, but the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has taken the unusual step of offering downloads of high-resolution images at no cost, encouraging the public to copy and transform its artworks into stationery, T-shirts, tattoos, plates or even toilet paper.
For photographer Bob Carey and his wife Linda, a big hairy man in a pink tutu has taken on special meaning in their fight against breast cancer. When Linda was recovering from surgery, he discovered something he could do to ease the stress. He took photos of himself in odd locations wearing a pink tutu. Mr. Carey has now shot more than 110 images of himself in tutus, all for a book to raise money to help others dealing with the disease
While the Club Monaco brand was born in Canada in 1985, it changed nationalities when the Ralph Lauren group acquired it in 1999 and is now offering a Made in the U.S.A. line. The collection is sewn by artisan hands up and down the Eastern seaboard and includes a line of casual shirts, jackets, ties and trousers, all manufactured in different workshops in the United States.
A Dallas police officer dressed like Superman and drove all the way to Illinois to make a seven-year-old cancer patient feel better.
In a win for consumers long overdue, cellphone companies are pledging to warn subscribers before they go over their monthly limits for calling minutes, text messages and data use. The Wireless Association said they're also promising to warn subscribers if they're paying roaming fees when they travel abroad.
Great news for your wallet: Gas prices dropped this past month and are expected to continue their slide. The drop in crude oil prices today to below $85 a barrel further lubricated the trend downward, echoing last week's plunge below $76 a barrel. Prices at the gas pump, meanwhile, slipped to a national average of $3.58 per gallon
Belmont Abbey College will cut its tuition by $9,000 joining a new national trend, said officials at the private school in North Carolina today.
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