Kate And Leo help last Titanic survivor

“Titanic” stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have pledged to help the last survivor of the sinking of the ocean liner.

The stars say they have thrown their support behind a fund that would subsidize Millvina Dean’s nursing home fees.

Dean was 2 months old when the Titanic sank beneath the waves on the night of April 14, 1912. She has been living at a nursing home in the English city of Southampton since she broke her hip about three years ago but has struggled to pay the fees.

In October she sold several Titanic mementoes to raise cash.

DiCaprio and Winslet said in a statement that they hoped Dean could rest easier knowing that her future was secure. The Millvina Fund was launched Monday in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Read more: Kate And Leo help last Titanic survivor

Honest taxi driver reaps rewards

The donations started after a website was set up in his honour calling for gestures of gratitude for what is seen as an extraordinary act of honesty.

So far the equivalent of $14,580 has been donated, according to the site.

Santiago Gori, a taxi driver in the coastal city of La Plata, found the money after driving an elderly couple.

They only went a short distance but when he dropped them off, they left a bag in the back of his taxi.

A few days later he managed to locate his passengers again and he returned the bag.

For Argentines used to corruption at all levels of society, this was an extraordinary story.

Two young advertising agency employees decided to set up a website to thank Mr Gori further for his exemplary behaviour.

Now thousands of people have accessed the site and have left hundreds of rewards and messages for Mr Gori.

One visitor offered to produce in his studio a song chosen by Mr Gori to kick-start a potential artistic career.

Another offered a snow-boarding lesson in Argentina’s ski resort of Bariloche, while an Argentine abroad promised to bring back a second-hand GPS satellite receiver for his taxi on his return.

“Thank you”, say many of the messages and one said it all: “I wish more people were like you.”

For his part, Mr Gori seems a bit bemused.

He said he only did what had to be done – and that he does not quite know what to do with all the things he has been offered.

Read more: Honest taxi driver reaps rewards

Girl’s dream to end childhood hunger gets national attention [Video]

Here’s one from one of my friends, Joey Sovine.

Ten-year-old Katie Stagliano dreams to end childhood hunger across the world.

The 4th grader from Pinewood Preparatory School in Summerville was recently featured in NBC Nightly News “Making a difference” segment.

Her dream began in her backyard where a 3rd grade project turned into a 40 pound cabbage.

“We decided that my cabbage was too special to be eaten so I contacted the organization fields to family. They are an organization that brings extra crops from farmer’s fields and other places to people in need and they told us that Family Crisis Ministries’ soup kitchen would greatly appreciate it,” explained Katie.

The 40 pound cabbage went on to feed over 275 people and triggered a dream that is spreading throughout her school.

With help from environmental science teacher Michael Newman, a garden has been constructed on the school’s property where Katie’s classmates help to grow food for the homeless.

Katie has now helped to feed over 800 people and hopes to inspire more people to grow food for those less fortunate.

Watch this story: Summerville kid dreams to end childhood hunger

Homeless man saves teen from drowning

 

A homeless Winnipeg man risked his life to save a teenager from the Red River on Sunday afternoon.

Faron Hall, 44, who lives on the banks of the Red in St. Boniface, said he saw the male teen fall from the Provencher Bridge above where he was sitting with friend Wayne Spence. Hall said the teen appeared to jump.

“He was saying, ‘It’s cold! Help me!’ and I just threw off my backpack and ran down and dived in,” said Hall, who is originally from Dakota Tipi First Nation but mostly grew up in foster care in Winnipeg.

Hall said he managed to get a grip of the teen about 30 metres from the bank but was afraid both would be swept away by the rapid, cold waters.

“He was fighting me and I told him, ‘Don’t fight me! I’m trying to save you. Otherwise we’re both going to drown’,” Hall said. “He was pushing me under and I had to slap him in the head. I hated to do it, but I said, ‘I’ll bring us to shore. Just trust me.’ He went limp and I got him to the grass.”

Hall said his friend Spence helped pull the exhausted and freezing Hall and the teen out.

“The firefighters said to me, ‘You’re a hero, you saved a life’.” Hall said. “I said, ‘Well, possibly, but can I get a blanket? I’m kind of cold.’ “

Hall downplayed the hero tag.

“I don’t think I’m a hero. I’m just a human being,” he said yesterday.

Hall was transported to St. Boniface General Hospital — along with the teen, whose condition is unknown — where he warmed up for several hours before being released. Before leaving the hospital, he visited the teen he pulled from the river.

“I just asked him, ‘Why?’ That’s all I said to him,” Hall said. “He just said he was sorry.”

Hall said he’d like to see the teen and his family in the future.

“I’m not ever going to forget what I saw,” Hall said of the incident. “That boy’s got his whole life ahead of him.”

Hall is no stranger to tragedy. His sister Kristi Hall, 36, was stabbed to death in a random attack in July 2007 in the North End.

“Maybe that’s why I didn’t want to let anyone else die,” he said of the river rescue.

Hall, who has been homeless for about seven years, said he spent Sunday night at the Main Street Project shelter on Martha Street but sleeps year-round along the banks of the Red near the rescue spot, where he said he plans to continue living.

“I just do my own thing,” Hall said. “I don’t bother anybody.”

After graduating high school, Hall said he worked as a teacher’s aide while studying education at the University of Manitoba for two years before his life took a turn for the worse.

“That’s when I hit alcoholism,” Hall said. “I’ve had so many pitfalls in my life.”

Hall said he last worked on construction jobs in Saskatchewan before returning to Winnipeg about 10 years ago.

Read more: Homeless man saves teen from drowning

Superhero patrols streets fighting crime [Video]

Here is great one sent to us from a reader!

Cincinnati police have a new ally in their fight against crime, whether they want it or not.

 

He calls himself Shadow Hare, and he wears a mask and a cape to conceal his true identity. He’s Cincinnati’s own version of a superhero fighting crime and injustice where he finds it.

 

“We help enforce the law by doing what we can in legal standards, so we carry handcuffs, pepper spray … all the legal weapons,” said Shadow Hare. “We will do citizen’s arrests. We will intervene on crimes if there is one happening in front of us.”

 

The man behind Shadow Hare’s mask is 21 years old and from Milford. Those are the only clues to his true identity that he will reveal. Shadow Hare said he was abused as a child and grew up in foster homes, perhaps leading him to a life helping others.

 

“My message to Cincinnati is that there is still hope and all we have to do is stand together,” he said.

 

Shadow Hare is not alone in his quest to fight crime. He heads up a group of men — and one woman — called the “Allegiance of Heroes.” The members communicate with each other in online forums. Among the members are Aclyptico in Pennsylvania, Wall Creeper in Colorado and Master Legend in Florida.

 

“I’ve even teamed up with Mr. Extreme in California — San Diego — and we were trying to track down a rapist,” said Shadow Hare.

 

The crime fighters will often pair up to patrol the streets. Even so, fighting crime comes with its share of hardship.

 

Shadow Hare said he suffered a dislocated shoulder two years ago while trying to help a woman who was being attacked.

 

And the authorities don’t always take him seriously. In one encounter with a Hamilton County corrections officer, Shadow Hare was greeted with a chuckle and a look of disbelief.

 

But Shadow Hare said he and his team are not deterred by the criticism. He remains focused on trying to make Cincinnati a better place, whether it’s fighting crime or feeding the homeless.

 

For now, the law is on Shadow Hare’s side.

 

It is legal in Ohio and Kentucky to make a citizens arrest, however, the arrester does face possible civil litigation if the person arrested turns out to be innocent.

Read more: Cincinnati Superhero Patrols Streets Fighting Crime

Mystery woman hands out $100 bills at coffee shop

A mystery woman drove around Edmonton handing out $100 bills Tuesday in coffee shops.

“She left us with our mouths hanging open,” said Karen Wentland, who watched her friend get one of the bills at Tim Hortons at South Edmonton Common.

Other callers to Global News and a radio station reporting seeing people get the bills in a Tim Hortons in Terwilligar, on Whyte Avenue and in South Edmonton Common.

For Wentland, a stay-at-home mom, and her friend Lorraine Weslosky, a substitute teacher’s aide, the surprise happened at about 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

The two were sitting with their backs to the window and didn’t notice the woman until she was standing beside them, but a man nearby saw a black limousine stop outside the door and watched the woman beeline to Weslosky.

She reached down to shake Weslosky’s hand, then said, “I just want to wish you a happy spring,” and handed her the crisp $100 bill.

“I just sat there with my hands open. I didn’t know what to think,” Weslosky said.

The woman had long, black hair, wore dark sunglasses and a bright pink shirt or blazer. She looked about 50, said Wentland. A man standing beside the mystery woman motioned for them to leave, and they walked through the restaurant, out a second door and got into the waiting limousine.

Weslosky watched them drive away.

She has no idea why she was chosen, or why the woman was handing out money. “Just a lady with a kind heart who wants to make people happy,” she said.

She doesn’t know what she’ll buy with the money either, she said. “Something to remember her by.”

Read more: ‘Happy spring,’ as mystery woman hands out $100 bills

Passenger lands plane after pilot dies

 

A passenger landed a twin-engine plane at Southwest Florida International Airport after the pilot died in flight, saving four lives.

Federal Aviation Administration officials say the pilot died after takeoff from Marco Island Executive Airport on Sunday. The plane was on autopilot and climbing past 10,000 feet when the pilot died.

The passenger who took the controls has been licensed for single-engine planes for 20 years, but isn’t certified to fly the King Air plane, a large luxury model.

To instruct him, an air traffic controller called a friend in Connecticut who is rated to fly the aircraft. The plane landed safely.

The plane was headed to Jackson, Miss. The names of the pilot and passengers have not been released.

Source: Passenger lands plane in Fla. after pilot dies

Photo: Flickr user F18E777

Family finds the Easter Bunny’s nephew? [Video]

Doctor Carrie Sutor lives across the street from where the baby bunny debuted.

It was certainly the hours-old bunny’s misfortune to become separated from his mother who must have built her nest in the mulch pile, but the fact that Doctor Sutor is a veterinarian may have proven lucky for the little guy.

“He got into the right mulch delivery,” Dr. Sutor said.

Unfortunately, a second baby rabbit who rolled out of the mulch didn’t make it.

The Sutor children were thrilled with the unexpected arrival and have named the bunny Sweetie Pie, although Floppsie might be more appropriate.

“I thought it was the Easter Bunny’s nephew because it’s little,” Olivia Sutor said.

In 11 years of practice Dr. Sutor has never had a patient or pet this tiny. Giving Sweetie Pie some oxygen was a challenge. Instead of wearing a mask, the bunny sat inside the mask. He also got some fluids.

“He’s looking better than he did yesterday afternoon, so I think he’s going to do okay,” Dr. Sutor said.

In a couple of weeks, the Sutors will know if the bunny can be domesticated or must be set free. Of course, the children are hoping they can keep him.

Dr. Sutor will take Sweetie Pie home over the weekend so she can keep an eye on him, so the lucky bunny will spend Easter with his new, if not accidental, family.

Watch this story: Baby bunny surprise for doctor’s family

Woman finds $357,959 cashiers check and returns it

As she walked from a post office, Talon Curtis thought she’d found one of those gimmicky sweepstakes offers on the ground that scream something like “$357,959.55″ in big bold letters and “This is not a real check” in much smaller type. But just as she was about to do her part for a cleaner planet and deliver the paper from the parking lot to a trash can, she noticed it was a real cashier’s check with a real signature.

“I couldn’t believe it. I almost passed out,” Curtis said. “I have never seen a check that big. Not in my possession, anyway.”

She immediately set out to find its rightful recipient, but it was Saturday afternoon and the banks were closing. On Monday, with help from KCAL-TV reporter Dave Malkoff, she located the check’s owner, who had arrived at her bank in a panic.

“I think she had walked in at the same time the bank manager called me back,” Curtis said. “I could hear her walking up to him. and I could hear all this commotion in the background.”

Curtis said she spoke briefly with the woman on the phone about a possible meeting, but Pacific Mercantile Bank instructed her to mail the check to them instead.

Not willing to take a chance on the mail, Curtis delivered it personally. A bank employee confirmed it had arrived.

Curtis said she never thought of keeping the check for herself, and she declined the woman’s offer of a reward. Still, she’s just a little disappointed.

“I just wanted to see her face,” Curtis said, laughing. “I just wanted to let her know that there are honest people left in this world.”

Read more: Woman finds $357,959 cashiers check and returns it

Church holding Easter service at bar [Video]

Very interesting story and idea.

Many people spend their Sundays going to the church of their choice, but have you ever thought about attending a church service at a bar? One Little Rock Church is promoting its upcoming Easter service at a popular River Market hang out.

Just call it the Bar Church. That’s how a new church called “The River” is advertising itself. Not only will its Easter service be held at The Rev Room, the church is holding Good Friday service this week in the River Market as well.

Many churches are advertising Good Friday and Easter services, but most of them will take place in traditional settings.

“Well, we’re meeting at a bar,” says Shane Montgomery, Pastor of The River Church.  He says he’s trying something different. “If you’re going to church somewhere, you probably don’t need to come down on Easter Sunday because you might feel a little uncomfortable,” Montgomery said.

By breaking away from the norm, he hopes to attract a new audience.

“It made sense to me,” the pastor said. “How do you get people that don’t go to church to go to church? You do that by going to a place and removing obstacles that are intimidating and church is intimidating sometimes.”

A few non church-goers had mixed reactions about the whole idea.

Joe Carter liked the idea, “because it kind of joins two worlds together.”

“I don’t know about having Easter Sunday at a bar,” said Aaron Adams. “That’s just the way I grew up and you don’t associate drinking with going to church.”

Pastor Montgomery says he anticipated negative reactions, but it’s not overshadowed by the positive impact he hopes his church will leave behind. “We choose to listen to the people that Jesus called us to reach,” he said.
 
If you’re thinking about coming, leave the dressy outfits and suits at home. Montgomery says they’re not allowed.

Read more and watch this story: Little Rock church holding Easter service at bar

Photo: From Flickr user Magic Bullet Theory