Mark Zuckerberg says technology could be a solution for America's broken school system

• In a letter posted to Facebook, Zuckerberg outlined his "lessons on philanthropy" in 2017.
• Zuckerberg asserted that technology is part of the solution to improving education in the US. He wants to build tools that empower teachers.
• Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have sold more than $900 million worth of Facebook shares this year to fund programs that bolster schools.

In a letter posted to Facebook on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg reflected on what he and wife Priscilla Chan have learned about philanthropy in 2017. One of his biggest takeaways was that improving education will be among the biggest challenges that the next generation faces.
Zuckerberg thinks he has a fix for a broken school system: more technology.

I'm a therapist, and I always tell clients it's okay to live a 'good enough' life — here are my 5 top tips

It's important to remember that sometimes life is out of your control, but how you handle life's challenges isn't.
Taking care of your mind and body will pay off in the long run.
Focus on the moment rather than the past.
Create a life that means something or leaves something behind.


There's no such thing as a free exit.

A young woman I'd worked with for three years was ready to leave therapy. She was calm, happy and about to step out of the room into the Rest of Her Life. I was excited for her, but I'd miss her. That's the thing about being a psychologist: just because you want people to live happily without you doesn't mean you enjoy it.

"So it's over," she said. "This is where you say something wise and illuminating that will sustain me all the rest of my days."

"What if what I say is not Good Enough?"

She grinned at the reference to her perfectionist standards, something we'd worked hard on. But she wasn't finished with me. "If you say goodbye and good luck, I'll slap you. I've spent a lot of time and money here and I expect the best you've got."

She hugged me then which some psychologists frown on but I let clients create their own ending: if they want to hug, I do too. And I promised when I got home that night I would write her some parting words, tips for life, boiled all the way down.

So here it is, my version of all that really matters.

Anthony Joshua lights up Christmas for children as world champion takes time out of training to make surprise visit

Anthony Joshua has made plenty of people happy with his fighting exploits this year - but the world heavyweight champion showed his softer side in the build-up to Christmas.

Joshua and Jaguar teamed up with the NSPCC to promoter their ‘Light up Christmas for Children’ campaign and to encourage the public to share their #LightsOn selfie and make a donation to the charity.

The 2012 Olympic champion's festively-wrapped prototype Jaguar was packed with gifts as he surprised children at Boole House in Coventry with a unique lights switch-on.

A Russian billionaire's £360 million superyacht 'Sailing Yacht A' has been spotted docked at the Port of Gibraltar

Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's £360 million ($480 million) "Sailing Yacht A," one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world, has been spotted docked at the Port of Gibraltar. The yacht underwent final tests at the port in May before it was handed over to its owner.
The 142.8-metre vessel boasts 300 ft masts that are taller than Big Ben, and counts eight decks (connected by a series of lifts), a free-floating spiral staircase, a huge swimming pool on the top deck, and an underwater observation pod among its stunning features. France's Philippe Starck is behind the design.

Colombia's main gang declares unilateral ceasefire

Colombia's biggest criminal gang has declared a unilateral ceasefire to help "bring about peace".
The gang, known as the Gulf Clan or Los Urabeños, said it would stop "offensive military actions from 13 December".
The truce comes three months after the gang's leader said it would surrender and he would hand himself in. A framework is still being worked on.
Police have warned that criminal gangs such as the Gulf Clan are the biggest risk to security in Colombia.
Battle for control
The Gulf Clan is estimated to have about 1,500 active members. It controls many of the routes used to smuggle drugs from Colombia to the US and as far away as Russia.

World's largest passenger plane in Christmas stunt over Germany

skilled pilot embraced the Christmas spirit with a festive stunt while flying over Germany and Denmark.

Flying the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, the pilot drew the outline of a Christmas tree - complete with decorations - in the sky on 13 December.

An outline of the flight path at 40,000ft was shared by Flightradar24, a site which tracks air traffic in real time, after the plane took off from Hamburg for the five-hour flight.

A spokesperson for Airbus explained it was a normal internal test flight before the delivery of a new aircraft, adding: “There are hundreds of these flights every year.

Eggs’ versatility – Christmas season eggy fries

The egg is synonymous with potential. But let’s not get bogged down in symbolism.

Even for the most practical-minded cook, the egg is a marvel of possibility: Scramble it. Poach it. Boil it. Fry it. Beat a couple into an omelet. Whip several into a soufflé. The choices nearly overwhelm.

But for my time and money, which is to say scant, I prefer the binder approach: Take whatever you’ve got on hand, and throw it in a pan with some eggs – which bring the ingredients together into something greater than the sum of its parts. For something savory, grab leftover vegetables and cheese. For a sweet take, stale bread and fruit. Or skirt the boundary with bread, apples, brie and pancetta. Master the basic concepts involved in making a frittata and baked French toast (aka strata), and you’ll have a potent strategy for dealing with both the time crunch of weeknight meals and making leftovers palatable.


These dishes became a regular part of our family’s weeknight dinner rotation many years ago when I was looking for a way to make use of care packages sent by my grandfather-in-law. He was a masterful and prolific Italian American cook, and so he would periodically ship us boxes lined with ice packs and filled with freezer bags of sausage ground by a neighborhood butcher according to my grandpa-in-law’s specifications; jars of stuffed peppers mummified in bubble wrap; zip-close bags packed full of spicy broccoli rabe; and, just in case it wasn’t sold in the Midwest, Special K cereal.

My first attempts at making a frittata were born of rabe-induced guilt – the sheer quantity of it required something more than a simple reheat – and these first attempts were disasters: burned on the bottom, runny in the middle. Or, worse, scattered all over the kitchen floor after a failed flip. I had not yet learned two essential lessons.

Ky. lawmaker accused of assault dies in apparent suicide

Dan Johnson, a Republican state lawmaker in Kentucky who defiantly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the basement of his home, died in an apparent suicide Wednesday night, the county coroner said. He was 57.
Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings said Johnson died of a single gunshot wound on Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington, Kentucky. Billings said Johnson stopped his car at the end of a bridge in a secluded area, then got out and walked to the front of the car. He said an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.
"I would say it is probably suicide," he said.
Johnson was elected to the state legislature in 2016, part of a wave of Republican victories that gave the GOP control of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the first time in nearly 100 years. He won his election despite Republican leaders urging him to drop out of the race after local media reported on some of his Facebook posts comparing Barack and Michelle Obama to monkeys.

Narco sub filled with 3,800 pounds of cocaine intercepted by U.S. Coast Guard

A vessel harboring 3,800 pounds of cocaine tied to drug cartels was recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard near Panama on Nov. 13, according to a release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The drugs were found in a self-propelled, semi-submersible vessel, which is a low-profile vessel designed to navigate lower in the water to avoid detection.
The vessel was intercepted by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter near Corpus Christi. The unidentified three-person crew was arrested and will face charges in the U.S.

Fuji star, KWAM1's daughter dies at 34

One of the daughters of Fuji music act, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall aka KWAM1, Wasilat Olaronke Marshall, has died. A family member confirmed to AOB that she died in Canada after a brief illness. She was 34 years old

The Truth about Courage

Lots of people think being courageous is about throwing yourself into a larger-than-life mission, transcending the limits of your humanity to perform superhuman feats of strength or intellect.

But the most important kind of courage isn’t found in extraordinary situations. It’s found in ordinary ones – the everyday moments that slip by without us even noticing.

The moment you resist grabbing a candy bar in the checkout aisle…

Tyson Fury wants to reclaim world titles and challenges Anthony Joshua

Britain's Tyson Fury has vowed to regain world titles "which are rightfully mine" after being given the green light to resume his career.

Fury tested positive for a banned steroid in February 2015, but accepted a backdated two-year ban on Tuesday.

Pending the return of his licence, Fury, 29, wants to fight compatriot Anthony Joshua - the IBF and WBA heavyweight world champion.

"Where you at boy? I'm coming for you," he wrote on Twitter.

Fury's win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 was his last bout before a legal battle with UK Anti-Doping (Ukad).

In October 2016, he gave up his WBO and WBA titles to focus on mental health problems and the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) suspended his licence "pending further investigation into anti-doping and medical issues".

What Causes Body Odor and How Can I Treat It?

What is bromhidrosis?
Bromhidrosis is foul-smelling body odor related to your sweat.

Perspiration itself actually has no odor. It’s only when sweat encounters bacteria on the skin that a smell can emerge. Other than body odor (BO), bromhidrosis is also known by other clinical terms, including osmidrosis and bromidrosis.

Bromhidrosis can often be treated or prevented through changes to your hygiene habits, though there are medical treatment options as well.

CAUSES
Causes
You have two types of sweat glands: apocrine and eccrine. Bromhidrosis is usually related to secretions by apocrine glands. But both types of sweat glands can lead to abnormal body odor.

Apocrine glands are located primarily in the underarm, groin, and breast areas. Sweat from the apocrine glands tends to be thicker than that produced by the eccrine glands. Apocrine sweat also contains chemicals called pheromones, which are hormones meant to have an effect on others. People and animals release pheromones to attract a mate, for example.

9 Ways to Stop Sweating

Sweating is the body’s way of regulating its temperature. When we’re hot, we sweat. That moisture then evaporates and cools us down. Sweating is a completely natural part of everyday life.

Still, some people may find sweating undesirable in certain social situations, particularly if their sweat is leaving noticeable damp patches or stains. In these situations, there are some strategies that can help to reduce the amount that you sweat.

ANTIPERSPIRANT

Apply antiperspirant before bed
Antiperspirants work by blocking the sweat ducts so that the sweat can’t reach the surface of our skin. The sweat is still produced by the gland, but can’t reach the surface.

Deodorants don’t prevent sweating but instead aim to mask the smell that’s produced by bacteria when we sweat. Sometimes antiperspirants contain deodorant. The majority of antiperspirants you can purchase at the drugstore are made up of metallic salts called aluminum chloride.

Baby girl born with her heart outside her body: Three-week-old tot is first in Britain to survive rare condition

When Vanellope Hope Wilkins’ parents first saw her as a foetus in her ­nine-week scan, they were confused by the unusual growth ­attached to her tiny developing body.

Dad Dean Wilkins says: “It looked like a little hamster with a hat on. But it wasn’t. It was her heart.”

The baby’s breast bone had failed to develop normally, causing her heart and part of her stomach to grow on the outside. The condition, called ectopia cordis, is so rare even the specialist doctor had to google it.
Children’s heart consultant Dr Frances Bu’Lock says: “There is little information available.

“I’d seen one [case] in foetal life around 20 years ago, but that pregnancy was ended. I did a quick Google search, as everyone does, and then more of a literature search.

Oscar Pistorius is injured in prison brawl after arguing with another inmate while queueing to use a phone

• Oscar Pistorius has been injured during a fight in prison in South Africa
• He reportedly started fight with 'inmate he knows well' queuing for phone
• Last month, Pistorius, 31, had his murder sentence increased to 13 years
• He shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, on Valentines Day 2013

Oscar Pistorius has been injured in a prison brawl after allegedly starting a fight with another inmate while waiting to use a pay phone.
The paralympian, who had his murder sentence more than doubled last month, was queuing to use the phone at Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, near Pretoria, when he reportedly began fighting with an inmate 'he knows well'.
Pistorius reportedly 'sustained a bruise' in the altercation on December 6, but the fight could see him lose privileges such as access to the jail tuck shop and the phone that started the fight,

Theresa May is being advised to fine Facebook, Google, and Twitter over their abusive content (GOOG, FB, TWTR)

Prime minister Theresa May will be advised to sue Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other tech firms who don't delete abusive content, according to a report from The Times.
Abusive could mean racist, sexist, terrorist, and other hateful posts.
The government's ethics watchdog is due to publish a report on Wednesday making the recommendations. Its suggestion for new laws would, in a major shift, begin treating the US web giants more like publishers. Conventionally, Facebook and Google have argued they are just platforms and not responsible for the content hosted on their sites in the way normal publishers are.

Eminem covers latest issue of 'Interview' Magazine, talks about his ninth studio album 'Revival'

Hip Pop Icon, Eminem, 45, who is gearing up to release his ninth studio album' Revival,' is the lastest rapper to land on the cover of 'Interview' Magazine.

In the interview, which was conducted by his longtime friend and outspoken supporter Elton John via telephone, the American rapper spoke about his upcoming album, which is set to be released on the 15th of December.

'I’ve been working on it for over a year. You know how it is—you make songs, and as you make the new ones, the old ones get old and you throw them out. The album is called Revival.
 It’s a reflection of where I’m at right now, but also I feel like what I tried to do was diversify. I’ve tried to make a little something for everyone.'

Port Authority explosion: What we know about suspect Akayed Ullah

New York City police have identified the suspect in an explosion in a crowded subway corridor near the Port Authority bus terminal Monday morning as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah. Police say Ullah was carrying an "improvised low-tech explosive device" when it went off as he was in an underground pedestrian passageway at 42nd street between 7th and 8th Avenues, beneath the major commuter hub.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called it an "attempted terror attack."

Law enforcement sources tell 3m360 News that Ullah said the attack was for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS. He is believed to have made the bomb himself with the intent of harming others.

Several people nearby suffered minor injuries and the suspect was seriously injured. No other threats were apparent, the mayor said.

"Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals," de Blasio said.

Five suspects arrested after ‘heartbreaking arson attack’ kills three children

Four people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after three children died in a house fire. A 14-year-old girl, named locally as Demi Pearson, was pronounced dead at the scene in Worsley, Greater Manchester. An eight-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl later died in hospital.
The children’s 35-year-old mother, named locally as Michelle Pearson, is in a serious condition in hospital, while a fourth sibling, a three-year-old girl, is critically ill. Three men, aged 23, 20 and 18, and a woman, 20, are now being questioned in custody on suspicion of murder.
A 24-year-old man has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

North Korea's newest claim: Kim Jong Un can control the weather

North Korea has made many incredulous claims about the powers of leader Kim Jong Un and his family. Now it’s boasted of the greatest yet: He can control the weather.

After releasing images this weekend of a smiling Kim on top of Mount Paektu, an active volcano on the China and North Korea border, the nation's state media said the "peerlessly illustrious commander" can control "the nature."

The evidence for this weather modification?

When Kim "ascended" to the top of the 9,000-foot mountain through thick snow wearing his signature double-breasted winter coat and black leather shoes, a blizzard gave way to "fine weather unprecedented."

2018 Golden Globe nominations announced: See the full list

The 75th Golden Globe Award nominations were announced Monday morning, and once again the show is set to honor the best films, shows and stars of the big and small screen.

The Globes, which are voted on by the 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are seen as a preview for the Academy Awards, which will be held on March 4
Actors Alfre Woodard, Garret Hedlund, Kristen Bell and Sharon Stone were on hand to announce the nominees in both television and film. Winners will be chosen at the Golden Globes ceremony on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 at 8 p.m. on NBC, with "Late Night's" Seth Meyers hosting.

Here are the nominees (list will be updated as the morning progresses):

Best Actor in a Limited-Series or TV Movie

Robert De Niro, "The Wizard of Lies"
Jude Law, "The Young Pope"
Kyle MacLachlan, "Twin Peaks"
Ewan McGregor, "Fargo"
Geoffrey Rush, "Genius"

The Optimal Diet for Your Brain

Diet plays a critical role for your brain’s health and cognitive functioning. The food you eat has the power to sharpen and preserve your mind, or spiral it into decline.
It is therefore vital that we understand and implement the right food choices for cognitive health.
Fortunately, Dr. Dale Bredesen details the optimal diet for your brain in his groundbreaking new book, The End of Alzheimer’s.
The diet is called ‘Ketoflex 12/3’ and Dr. Bredesen claims it has the ability to help prevent and reverse cognitive decline.
Ketoflex 12/3 gets its name because it is built around the following principles:
It promotes mild ketosis (keto), which Dr. Bredesen says is optimal for cognitive function. Mild ketosis switches your metabolism from carbohydrate-burning and insulin-resistant (bad for the brain), to fat-burning and insulin-sensitive (good for the brain).
It is flexible (flex) enough to be followed by vegetarians or omnivores.
The diet is primarily plant-based with a focus on non-starchy vegetables, but limited consumption of meat is allowed.
It requires fasting for at least 12 hours between your last meal of the night and your first meal of the following morning (12). It is best to break the fast with water (no ice) with some lemon, as a detoxifying drink.
It calls for a minimum of 3 hours between the end of dinner and bedtime (3). For example, if you go to bed at 11pm, you need to finish dinner by 8pm and not snack after that point.

Here are the specific food guidelines:

What to Eat to Live to 100

I aspire to live an incredibly long, happy, and healthy life.
That is why I recently read the The Blue Zones Solution, in which New York Times best-selling author Dan Buettner reveals the eating and living habits of the world’s longest-lived people.
For over a decade, Buettner (along with the National Geographic Society and a team of researchers) studied the 5 locations around the globe that have the highest concentrations of 100-year-olds, as well as exceptionally low rates of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and heart problems.
In the book, Buettner lays out the specifics for each of these “Blue Zones” locations, analyzes the trends, and then prescribes a plan for people looking achieve the same level of health and longevity.
The book is fantastic and I highly recommend it for anyone who is looking to live a longer, happier life. In case you are short on time, I have tried to summarize my main takeaways below.

7 Life Lessons from a Guy Who Can’t Move Anything but His Face

It’s not a joke.

The only parts of my body I can move are my eyes and lips. My hands, feet, arms, and legs, are almost totally paralyzed, managing the occasional twitch and nothing more.

And yet… I have an amazing life.

Using speech recognition technology, I’ve written articles read by more than 5 million people. I’ve also built several online magazines that have, shockingly, made me a millionaire.

“This can’t be real,” you say. “You did all this, and you can’t freaking move?”

Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true. I do it all from home, sitting in my wheelchair, speaking into a microphone.

I’ve traveled a good bit too. I’ve lived in San Diego, Miami, Austin, and even Mazatlan, Mexico. Here’s a photo of me living the good life south of the border:
I look totally miserable, don’t I? Poor baby. 🙂

Not to imply it’s been easy, mind you. During my 34 years, I’ve had pneumonia 16 times, recovered from more than 50 broken bones, and spent literally years of my life in hospitals and doctor’s offices.

But I’m still here. Not only have I survived my condition, but I’ve built a life most people only dream about.

And starting today, I want to talk about how.

Over the coming months and years, I have a great deal to share with you, but I thought we would begin with the biggest lessons I’ve learned, lessons I’ve paid for in blood and tears, lessons that have saved my life, over and over and over again. Let’s begin.

Cannabis reverses aging processes in the brain

Memory performance decreases with increasing age. Cannabis can reverse these ageing processes in the brain. This was shown in mice by scientists at the University of Bonn with their colleagues at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel). Old animals were able to regress to the state of two-month-old mice with a prolonged low-dose treatment with a cannabis active ingredient. This opens up new options, for instance, when it comes to treating dementia. The results are now presented in the journal Nature Medicine.

Like any other organ, our brain ages. As a result, cognitive ability also decreases with increasing age. This can be noticed, for instance, in that it becomes more difficult to learn new things or devote attention to several things at the same time. This process is normal, but can also promote dementia. Researchers have long been looking for ways to slow down or even reverse this process.

Scientists at the University of Bonn and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) have now achieved this in mice. These animals have a relatively short life expectancy in nature and display pronounced cognitive deficits even at twelve months of age. The researchers administered a small quantity of THC, the active ingredient in the hemp plant (cannabis), to mice aged two, twelve and 18 months over a period of four weeks.

Manchester United and Manchester City players and staff clash in tunnel as Jose Mourinho is hit on head by bottle and doused in milk while coach Mikel Arteta is left with a cut to the head and Ederson confronts Portuguese boss

Manchester United and Manchester City players were involved in an ugly tunnel fracas as tempers boiled over after the derby.
United manager Jose Mourinho had water squirted at him, was hit on the head by an empty plastic bottle and was also doused with milk from a flying carton as a melee ensued involving some 20 players and staff.
Mourinho demanded City players show ‘more respect’ as music blared out of their dressing room following their 2-1 victory. He walked into the away dressing room and was confronted by City keeper Ederson. The two were involved in a heated exchange, squaring up and shouting at each other in Portuguese.
United players followed Mourinho into the corridor between dressing rooms, sparking the skirmishes.
Witnesses said some players tried to swing punches while police looked on in disbelief. City coach Mikel Arteta, one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants, received a cut to the head which left him bleeding.
City feel Mourinho overstepped the boundaries by entering their dressing room.

Lobbyist names California lawmaker she says masturbated in front of her in hotel bathroom

A Sacramento lobbyist said Monday that Assemblyman Matt Dababneh cornered her in a hotel bathroom in Las Vegas last year and masturbated in front of her.

The explosive allegation, which comes more than six weeks after lobbyist Pamela Lopez first publicly discussed the incident without naming the perpetrator, prompted an Assembly investigation and a sharp rebuke from Dababneh, a Los Angeles Democrat.

“This is a moment. This is a moment of collective action,” Lopez said in a press conference at her Q Street office. “I find strength in that collective action, and I find strength in their numbers. I want to stand with them and show that there is a path to stepping forward and seeking justice.”

Dababneh denied the allegation in a statement released by The Rose Group, a Santa Monica public relations firm.
“I affirmatively deny that this event ever happened – at any time,” he said. “I am saddened by this lobbyist’s effort to create this falsehood and make these inflammatory statements, apparently for her own self-promotion and without regard to the reputation of others. I look forward to clearing my name.”

Extreme winds are fueling uncontrollable fires in Southern California. Here’s what we know

Massive wildfires that burned across Southern California on Wednesday have destroyed hundreds of homes, closed schools and set off mass evacuations. Five fires are currently ablaze, and the largest — the Thomas fire in Ventura County — has reached the Pacific coast after starting 30 miles inland, according to the Associated Press.

The Thomas fire erupted late Monday. By Wednesday morning, it had ripped through 65,000 acres, the Ventura County Fire Department said on its website. California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency after at least 150 homes were destroyed, and 50,000 people were forced to evacuate.

Cal Fire officials reported that several of these fires ignited earlier this week and have now rapidly spread across 85-square-miles of land. Emergency responders dispatched quickly to evacuate residents and shut down roads, but the fires became unruly and violent. It’s been deemed unsafe, especially at the Thomas fire, for rescuers to enter the area.

Pope Francis calls for Lord's Prayer to be altered

Pope Francis has called on the Roman Catholic Church to alter the Lord’s Prayer because he believes the current translation suggests God is capable of leading us “into temptation”.

He has suggested he wants to make a change to The Lord's Prayer,popularly known among Catholics as the “Our Father.”

According to Reuters, the Pope during a televised interview Wednesday he would prefer to adjust the phrase “lead us not into temptation,” saying that it too strongly suggested that God leads people to sin.

CRISTIANO RONALDO WINS FIFTH BALLON D'OR TO EQUAL LIONEL MESSI

The Real Madrid star took home the prize after guiding his team to a La Liga and Champions League double in 2016-17
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2017 Ballon d'Or.
It is the fifth time the Portugal international has won the prize, drawing him level with his great rival Lionel Messi for the most Ballons d'Or of all time. Ronaldo scored 42 goals across all competitions during the 2016-17 season, leading Real Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double.

Lessons From a Dad Who’s Fostered More Than 50 Kids

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My wife and I lost our first child to a brain condition. Years later, when we had three healthy kids of our own, we saw a lot of children around us who were suffering abuse and neglect as well as children who had been abandoned. We thought: “We lost our first child. How can we help other kids?

 

For fifteen years now, we’ve had over 50 kids come into our home. We averaged nine children in our house at a time for a great long time but have had as many as 11, from as young as 27 hours old to 18 years of age — and everything in between. One year, we had seven kids in diapers on Christmas.

 

When I was a teacher, I saw the need for foster parents in my classroom every day. Fifty-five percent of kids in foster care will quit school before they age out of the system. Sixty-five percent will end up homeless, and 75 percent will end up in jail. The cycle will just repeat itself for the next generation. Two of the three kids I have adopted, their parents, and grandparents were all in foster care. That’s when I knew foster care could be the way we help.
The kids that come to our home have suffered tremendous abuse and are suffering from great anxieties. So it’s hard for them. They don’t want to be in our house. They want to go back to their own home. Our norm is not their norm. I’m not their daddy, my wife’s not their mommy.         

Can You Be Successful If You Have Too Many Ideas?

Are you one of those business owners who has 17 new ideas a day?
I am, and a few years ago, when I was first starting my business, here’s what I had on my plate: a freelance design research consultancy, a research collaborative, a startup, an empowerment bootcamp for women, a speaker series, and a pop-up dinner club.
Whew.
Today I run only two companies, and they are successful: a career growth training company for creative women, and a small design research consultancy. But back then, it was tiring and exhausting, and it definitely wasn’t very financially sustainable.
My accountant once said, “I don’t understand how Mia is doing so much but making so little money.”
During this time, I picked up a book — Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky. There was a little graph in it that stopped me in my tracks, because it described my life perfectly.

8 Things a Parent Should Never Say to Their Children

 

In the absence of any real strategy, many parents opt for a stream-of-consciousness style of parenting — which is to say they react to their kid’s behaviors with a litany of seemingly parental phrases they’ve picked up over the years. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the approach — it’s certainly understandable — but unfortunately, many of the cliches at hand are based on outdated or wrongheaded assumptions about how kids work. Others phrases aren’t actually productive in the ears of children, but are merely emotional reactions to the stress of being responsible for tiny, crazed humans. These are eight of the worst and most common phrases to avoid.
“Get it Out of Your System”
Sometimes kids struggle with mysterious compulsions. They might be unable to fight the urge to run around the house naked, make annoying high pitched noises, or use potty talk. Some parents respond by offering a temporary reprieve of consequences so the kid can “get it out of their system.” Sadly, that concept is based on a tragic misunderstanding of the human brain and the concept of catharsis.

 

The fact is that children are not born with a finite desire to run naked through the house. That’s not how the human mind works. So, telling them to go ahead and run naked won’t somehow exhaust their urge to strip and sprint. In fact, it’s likely to do the opposite. A kid who is allowed to “get it out of their system” is actually delighting in having their behavior reinforced.                                  

REVEALED: The mystery buyer of Leonardo da Vinci painting sold for record $450M at NYC auction

• Saudi royal Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud has been revealed to be the buyer of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' painting
• It sold last month for a record breaking $450.3million during a Christie's auction in New York City
• Prince Bader is the Chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group
• Painting, which was authenticated in 2011, is now heading to the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum - the first museum to bear the Louvre name outside of Paris
• The museum has been billed as 'the first universal museum in the Arab world' in a sign of the oil-rich emirate's global ambitions

A Saudi prince has been revealed to be the mystery buyer of the $450.3million Leonardo da Vinci painting of Christ that is now heading to the Louvre Abu Dhabi in a coup for the bold new museum.
Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud shelled out the staggering amount on da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' during an auction last month at Christie's in New York City to make it the most expensive painting ever sold.
The New York Times confirmed that Prince Bader purchased the rare painting after citing documents it had reviewed while in the midst of an investigation into Saudi Arabia’s elite class, including his family and associates.

“He just didn’t want to upset the world” – Patti LaBelle on why Luther Vandross never Came Out as Gay

Patti LaBelle was a guest, along with Sam Smith, on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” where she discussed Luther Vandross’ sexuality.

Asked if there were any similarities between Sam Smith and Luther Vandross, LaBelle said:

There are voices in this world and once they sing it’s a stamp on everybody. Luther did that and he’s done it.

The talk went on to explore the friendship between LaBelle and Vandross, and while the latter’s sexuality has always been a cause for debate, Cohen asked if he ever struggled with coming out publicly. He said:

Obama blamed for Libyan slave trade

Former President Barack Obama has come under criticism after a series of videos showing men and women being sold in a renewed slave trade have gone viral in recent weeks.

Some critics have begun questioning how much the Obama administration contributed to the problem with its 2011 intervention in Libya. Obama has acknowledged the issue before, calling it the "worst mistake" of his presidency.

But as videos showing humans being sold into slavery shocks people around the world, the scrutiny has been renewed.

"The responsibility is on Barack Obama's administration," University of Texas professor, Alan J. Kuperman, said in an interview with Newsweek.
The United States launched an operation in Libya with NATO in 2011 in an attempt to save civilians who were targeted to be massacred by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Kuperman claims overthrowing Gadhafi led to many of the failed nation's issues, including the slave trade.

An investigation from CNN showed migrants being sold for as little as $400 at auction. Thousands of immigrants have fled Libya for Europe in an attempt to escape violence and instability.

Photos of 8yr old Boy Who Owns a Motorcycle Shop, & Hire People to Work for him is Breaking the Internet

A Young boy Kiberu Joseph is melting the hearts of internet users after photos of him reparing a motorcycle hit the internet, the 8year old had quite a challenging life during his early childhood hence growing up learning a few thing including learning how to repair motorcycles and now he uses his skills to survive.

Kiberu who also owns his own motor cycle garage in Kibaati town, Mubende District is a Primary two(P.2) pupil who takes some days off from school to repair motorcycles in order to help his poor father raise his (Kiberu Joseph) school fees of UGX 200000 per term hence enabling his study.

Life is not as easy as it looks but Kiberu here also hires a few people who help him run the garage while at school and even when he is around, these people he hires help him take care of a few heavy things he can’t handle by himself.

see mOre Photos of him below!

How often you hold your baby actually affects their DNA, study finds

A loving mother’s caress is more than simple comfort to an infant. Scientists have known for decades that touch is critically important for a child’s healthy development, according to an article in the journal Pediatric Child Health.

But now a new study shows that the amount a baby is touched can leave lasting, measurable effects — not just on behavior or growth, but all the way down to the molecular level of the DNA. Those changes, the scientists speculate, could have negative effects on the way the child grows and develops.

"A protector": Trial opens in death of teen who shielded girls from gunfire

A prosecutor said Tuesday at the start of the murder trial of three young men that at least 34 shots were fired in an attack that killed a Tennessee high school student who was posthumously lauded for courageously shielding two girls from the gunfire. Christopher Drone Bassett, Kipling Deshawn Colbert and Richard Gregory Williams III all face first-degree murder charges in connection with the Dec. 17, 2015, death of 15-year-old Zaevion Dobson in Knoxville.

Dobson's decision to protect his two friends was later hailed by then-President Barack Obama as an act of bravery.

Knox County Assistant District Attorney Phil Morton said Dobson was killed in an attack during a series of connected gang-related shootings in Knoxville that day. Morton said Dobson and his friends had gathered on a back porch after attending an evening high school basketball game when the shooters approached, firing shots from at least four weapons.

Former congresswoman Corrine Brown steals charity money from impoverished kids; sentenced to five years in prison

Former Congresswoman, Corrine Brown was yesterday sentenced to serve five years in prison for using charity donations meant for underprivileged students for personal use.

Brown was convicted months ago by a jury but on Dec 4th a federal judge sentenced her. Brown faced several allegations including fraud, lying on tax forms as well Congressional disclosures; which ended with Brown losing her seat. Amid the scandal, she also lost the primary election last year.

According to the Associated Press, officials accused Brown of using $800,000 of impoverished children’s charity money for her own. She stole money from a bogus charity, One Door For Education, which purported to give scholarships to poor children but instead filled the coffers of Brown and her associates.

Russia banned from 2018 Winter Olympics over doping scandal

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Tuesday that it has suspended Russia's Olympic team from competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics over the country's doping scandal. The committee said it will allow athletes from the country to compete as neutrals at Pyeongchang Games.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic committee and IOC member Alexander Zhukov, and also banned Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vilaty Mutko from the Olympics for life. Mutko was the sports minister in 2014 and is the head of the organizing committee of soccer's next World Cup.

The Russian Olympic committee was also fined $15 million to pay for the investigation and future anti-doping work. The sanctions could be challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.