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Weekly News Recap: December 16, 2022

Vincent Duckworth

Weekly News Recap: December 16, 2022

Dr. Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, during Tuesday’s news conference at the Department of Energy in Washington. Credit. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

I would like nuclear fusion to become a practical power source. It would provide an inexhaustible supply of energy, without pollution or global warming. -- Stephen Hawking

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • 10 fun New Year’s Eve events you can check out in Calgary (Curiocity) Just in case you were looking..."December is in full swing and 2022’s most explosive event is just around the corner! If of course, you’re not sure where you’re going to be when the clock strikes 12 – don’t panic because we’ve got you! Events are back and Calgary has a ton of New Year’s Eve parties happening for all ages, inside as well as outside! Not sure where to start? Here are just a few of our favourites."

  • One of the best cheeses in the world is made in Calgary, and we’re going to show you how (CBC) #Yummy "Tarif Hamad says Chinook Cheese is the only company of its kind in Calgary that is family run and operated. One of its many specialties is making Halloumi Cheese. Halloumi, a traditional Cypriot cheese with a squeaky texture, is made from a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk, and sometimes cow’s milk. It has a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled."

  • WestJet Christmas: Miracle Miles (YouTube) Love the WestJet Christmas. "We know a little giving can go a long way. So this holiday season we decided to turn an ordinary flight into an opportunity for every guest to give back to their community." #WestJetChristmas

  • Calgary Zoo needs to name 2 flaming red pandas (CBC) #SoCute "The Calgary Zoo wants your help naming a set of furry twins. A pair of red pandas were born in June, but the boy and girl only made their public debut this fall. The theme for their names is 'the sun,' due to their fiery, flaming red coats and their mom's name, which is Nepali for Dawn."

  • Young bobcat surprises B.C. woman with house visit (CBC) Here kitty kitty! "A young bobcat that paid a visit to a family in Peachland, B.C., this week has quickly become the cat seen around the world. When the tiny, fuzzy creature appeared on Naomi Miller's back patio on Monday morning, with just a pane of glass separating the two of them, Miller caught the moment on video. On Tuesday, she posted the footage on Instagram and TikTok. As of Friday afternoon, the clip on TikTok had more than two million views."

  • Music icon stuns Broadway crowd with surprise performance (CNN) Still one of my all-time favourite singer songwriters. "Neil Diamond surprised theatergoers with a performance of his hit 'Sweet Caroline' during the opening night of a new Broadway musical based on his life and career. The impromptu performance is a rare appearance for the 81-year-old music icon who announced his retirement from touring in early 2018 because of his Parkinson's disease diagnosis."

  • Youngest mayor is elected in Earle (Arkansasonline) The world is trending younger. And that is a great thing. "Jaylen Smith, who graduated from Earle High School in May, is now the city's mayor -- one of the youngest ever to be elected as a mayor in the country. Smith, who is 18 years old, received 235 votes, according to election results from Crittenden County in eastern Arkansas. His opponent, Nemi Matthews Sr., the street superintendent in Earle, had 183 votes. Smith announced his victory in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening."

  • Christmas miracle: Vancouver family reunited with missing senior Chihuahua (BC SPCA) Beautiful story. "It is a Christmas miracle for a Vancouver family whose beloved 13-year-old Chihuahua, Delilah, went missing from their back yard three years ago [...] SPCA staff rushed her to a veterinarian for treatment, and posted her photo on the SPCA Facebook page, hoping someone might know who she belonged to. 'Someone saw our post and remembered that a woman named Mary Kleiner and her family had been looking for their lost Chihuahua nearly three years ago,' says Michel. 'When we got an email from Mary saying that the dog in our care might be hers, we were in shock. We asked her to provide us with more information, and we were just praying that this really was her dog.' Once Delilah’s ownership was verified, a reunion was arranged."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. As Philanthropy Ends a Challenging Year, Historic Lessons Show a Path Forward for an Increasingly Complex Field (Chronicle of Philanthropy) American numbers but still very relevant in Canada. "The report — 'Philanthropy: 1992-2022: What Difference Can 30 Years Make?' — points out that giving has kept pace with the nation’s economic growth, rising from $124.31 billion in 1993 to $484.85 billion in 2022. Adjusting for inflation, donations more than doubled over this period. The number of nonprofit organizations grew as well. Despite Internal Revenue Service efforts to cull those groups that are no longer operating, the number of registered public charities doubled to almost 1.3 million by 2020, while the number of private foundations grew by 68 percent, reaching nearly 100,000. Many more nonprofits, typically religious and community groups, operate without registering with the IRS."

  2. Major Canadian grocery chain says cyberattack cost $25 million (CBC) Something needs to be done. "Employees have told CBC News the cyberattack did involve ransomware and caused turmoil at Empire-owned stores across the country. Staff at in-store pharmacies were unable to access their computers to fill prescriptions for several days following the attack and some outlets ran short of items."

  3. Scientists Achieve Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough With Blast of 192 Lasers (New York Times) This is HUGE. "Scientists studying fusion energy at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced on Tuesday that they had crossed a long-awaited milestone in reproducing the power of the sun in a laboratory. That sparked public excitement as scientists have for decades talked about how fusion, the nuclear reaction that makes stars shine, could provide a future source of bountiful energy." RELATED: What is nuclear fusion and why is it such a big deal?; A nuclear fusion breakthrough – what does it mean for Alberta?.

  4. University announces science building design (Today Canada) Congrats! Can't wait to see it come to life. "Yukon University has chosen a design and bold energy model for its new $41 million science building, dubbed the Polaris Project. YukonU has started a two-phase procurement process for the construction of this newest academic building. The first phase is a qualification application that prequalifies a list of construction companies. In phase two, these companies will be invited to submit bids for construction, which is expected to begin in spring 2023 and be completed in 2025. At the core of the design is the idea of a river, a nod to the Yukon River, which is deeply intertwined with the territory’s social and economic fabric."

  5. This rural family doctor would like to retire — he's 80 (CBC) "If he keeps working until his health gives out, Dr. Peter Bell says people will say he died doing what he loved. 'I'd sooner have some time to just hike in the woods,' he said. Bell has been treating generations of patients in the small village of Sharbot Lake in Central Frontenac, Ont., about 120 kilometres southwest of Ottawa, for more than half a century: taking their blood pressure, performing biopsies and removing 'hundreds and hundreds' of fish hooks from injured anglers — including 'repeat customers.'"

  6. Son of Barry and Honey Sherman adds $25M to reward to help solve parents' homicides (CBC) "This week marks five years since Toronto billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman were killed in their home, and their son — Jonathon Sherman — has announced he's adding $25 million to the reward set up to help solve the case. The Shermans were found slain in their North York mansion on Dec. 15, 2017. Autopsy reports showed the couple died by strangulation, and police have said there were no signs of forced entry to their home."

  7. 'It is your new normal': Canada's aging workforce root of national labour shortage (CBC) "For years, experts have been warning of a looming wave of retirements as baby boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964 and Canada's largest generation by size — grow older and start to exit the workforce en masse. This country's labour force growth rate has been trending downward since 2000, but the trend has intensified in recent years. This "grey wave" has been on the horizon for a while, but experts say it's now crashing ashore. According to Statistics Canada, between 2016 and 2021 more than 1.4 million Canadians entered the ranks of those aged 55 and older."

  8. New child advocacy centre on target to open in August 2023 (CBC) Congrats! Looking great! "The building’s shell is up and framing is beginning inside, with the new Centre of Excellence and Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre (CACAC) set to open next August. Construction on the 69,000 square foot building only began this past August on campus at Red Deer Polytechnic."

  9. Alberta's 211 crisis helpline receiving $3 million to support those experiencing gender-based violence (Calgary Herald) "The announcement comes as many groups working to address gender-based violence report a continued spike in the severity of incidents since the start of the pandemic, with demand for support high in Alberta and across the country."

  10. AFP Canada Responds to MoneySense’s Best Charities to Donate to in 2022 (AFP Global) Exactly! "What matters most for donors, charities—and the people who depend on their services—is effecting change. Provided change is created, a charity can be big or small, local or national, campaigning or helping, fundraising or non-fundraising. There is no one preferred, ‘ideal’ way to change the world—so long as we help to change the world—whether it’s one person, a group, a community or more broadly."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. ChatGPT Is Having a Thomas Edison Moment (Thomas Smith) This is a game changer. ChatGPT

  2. Ask Ethan: How do we know the Universe is 13.8 billion years old? (Starts With A Bang!) Always good to understand where we came from.

  3. How Creating a ‘Daily Action Plan’ Helps Me Get More Done Each Day (Ascent Publication) We have seen many of these but this is a particularly good one.

  4. 4 Daily Principles I Live By That Have Changed My Life Forever (Personal Growth Lab) All great but #2 and #3 are terrific.

  5. 9 Little-Known Google Calendar Tips That Can Help You Dominate Your Daily Productivity (Better Humans) I have a template calendar for each day.

  6. The 28 best biopics of all time (YardBarker) Are you looking for something great to watch? Start with any of these.

  7. Best Books of 2022 (goodreads) Great list!

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. QEII Foundation announces $1-million donation from TD Bank Group to support Atlantic Canada's first orthopaedic surgical robot and affiliated research (Newswire) Nice gift! Thanks TD "The QEII Foundation announced a $1-million donation from TD Bank Group (TD) to support Atlantic Canada's first orthopaedic surgical robot at the QEII Health Sciences Centre. The Mako SmartRobotics system — a robotic arm controlled by a surgeon during hip and knee surgeries — is revolutionizing orthopaedic surgeries and providing better patient outcomes. The funding from TD marks the Bank's largest single donation to date supporting health care in Atlantic Canada."

  2. "We want to see results in our lifetime": Couple makes biggest-ever Quebec hospital donation (Daily Hive) A beautiful gift. Merci! "[The] CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation announced a historic $40-million gift from Diane Blais and Michel Lanteigne. It is the largest hospitable donation ever given in the province. According to a press release from the Montreal hospital, the gift will primarily be used to fund pediatric oncology research. Benoit Lanteigne, Michel Lanteigne’s son, passed away from leukemia at the age of eight in 1989. A portion of the recent donation, made in his memory, will create the Innovative Oncology and Hematology Treatment Development Fund. In recognition of this contribution, the Specialized Care Building at the CHU Sainte-Justine will also be renamed in honour of Lanteigne’s son."

  3. Hearts benefactor James Anderson donates $100m to Johns Hopkins university in Italy (The Scotsman) #Wow "The transformative gift from philanthropists James and Morag Anderson to Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Europe campus in Bologna is designed to create new opportunities for students and faculty. Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States, with the donation allowing the institution to expand their Europe campus in Bologna."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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