Popular News in One Year

Kristina Ulmer says people have the wrong idea about teenagers. For seven years now, the Pennsylvania Grade 9 English teacher has been running a "$20 Kindness Challenge" with her class, giving each student $20 US from a pool of donations, and asking them to do something kind with it. And every year, she says, the teens in her class bring her to tears with their creativity, empathy and generosity. "A lot of people stereotype that age, and they say they're self-centred or, you know, they don't see outside of themselves. And I just don't see that," Ulmer, a teacher at Hatboro-Horsham High School in Horsham, Penn., told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "Part of the reason why I love doing...

A pair of brothers in rural India have married the same woman, upholding an ancient custom and sparking criticism from a women’s rights group after photos of the wedding went viral.Polyandry is banned in India but is legal in some of the tribal pockets, including Himalayan territories, allowing preservation of some ancient traditions. The grooms, Pradeep and Kapil Negi, married Sunita Chauhan in a three-day wedding witnessed by hundreds of villagers and relatives earlier this month in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh. During the ceremony, the trio from the Hatti tribe circled a fire considered sacred as villagers sang folksongs. "We followed the tradition publicly as we are...

  The Chicago River is once again glowing kelly green as the city opens its annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Thousands lined the river and packed bridges Saturday and erupted in cheers as members of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union Local 130 sprayed dye into the water from boats, carrying on a tradition they began some 63 years ago. The dyeing immediately precedes the annual downtown St. Patrick’s Day parade. The day — which falls on Monday this year — celebrates Irish culture. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and is credited with having brought Christianity there in the fifth century.   (The Chicago River is dyed green as part...

A deserted Queensland island with a derelict resort abandoned by its Chinese investor owner is officially up for grabs after years of mystery over its future. The 28-hectare South Molle Island is the second derelict resort island in the Whitsundays to hit the market in the past few months, after the Queensland government seized Double Island for re-sale off Hong Kong billionaire Benny Wu in June last year. The Queensland Government has threatened to strip more owners of abandoned island tourism properties of their leases though it is not known if South Molle Island was subject to that. (File pictures of the resort on South Molle Island in the Whitsundays in a dilapidated state. Picture:...

For a taste of Hollywood in California’s Paso Robles Wine Country, check out the 160-acre Villa San Juliette, which was last on the market for $14.75 million — and is heading to auction next month with no minimum bid. The sellers of the San Luis Obispo County estate, in Central California, are the Emmy Award-winning producers of “American Idol,” Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe. Guests they’ve entertained at the winery include Priscilla Presley; “American Idol” contestants Kris Allen and Haley Reinhart; and Emmy-, Grammy- and Tony-winner Ben Platt. The auction will be held on May 17 as the show gears up to crown America’s next idol the evening...

John Rodgers is threatening his tiny hometown of Glover with legal action if the selectboard doesn’t concede a public dirt road to him personally. Rodgers Road, about two miles of gravel track in a bucolic corner of a largely rural state, apparently runs through his property. But it’s also been a public right-of-way for the lifetime of everyone involved. The road in question is not a critical piece of infrastructure; travelers have an easy alternative road to get from one end to the other, just a little to the north. That’s not really the point, though. Most of the road is considered “Class 3,” while a small section in the middle is “Class 4.” An...

A micro flat measuring a mere five square metres has sparked a debate in China over its “extreme” use of space. The one-bedroom loft in Shanghai, which can be rented for 1,600 yuan (S$305) a month, has social media users in China divided over the livability of such a compact space. In comparison, a shoebox condominium in Singapore typically measures about 46 square metres, data on property portal Edgeprop showed. In a 50-second video posted by the account “Star Video” (星视频) on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo, a man believed to be the tenant takes viewers on a tour of the flat while describing its layout and features. He starts off by lauding the...

The small city of Carmel-by-the-Sea is famous for requiring visitors to get an official permit in order to legally walk in heels higher than two inches. Carmel-by-the-Sea’s infamous high-heel permit sounds like an urban myth, but it’s a real, official requirement in the Monterey city. If your heels are over two inches in height and have less than one square inch of bearing surface, it is illegal to wear them in public without first getting a permit from the city hall. The permit is issued free of charge, and many visitors get it simply as a souvenir, even if they don’t plan on walking in heels. The certificate has every nice, official look, it is issued in the name of...

In the wake of the catastrophic January wildfires that scorched Southern California, claiming 29 lives and $385 billion in damages, actor and director Mel Gibson is undertaking a significant reconstruction effort on his Malibu estate. The 69-year-old Oscar winner’s 5.4-acre property, originally acquired for $11.5 million in 2008, was reduced to ashes in the blazes that destroyed more than 12,000 structures across the region. The sprawling hilltop residence — once a showcase of rustic elegance with five bedrooms, five bathrooms — and sweeping Pacific Ocean views is rising anew as Gibson opts to rebuild rather than sell. That’s a choice that sets him apart from many...

A cat-loving elderly man in China wants to leave his inheritance to strangers on the condition that they provide unconditional care for his beloved feline. The wish of the 82-year-old, surnamed Long, from southern China’s Guangdong province has sparked a heated discussion on mainland social media. Long is still searching for someone to look after his pet, Xianba, after he dies. Mainland media outlets report that Long has no children and lived alone after his wife died a decade ago. He adopted four stray cats on a rainy day: Xianba and her three kittens. Only Xianba remains with him, prompting Long to begin looking for carers in case he dies before her. According to Guangdong...