The Week in Uppers

Think this week was all about nuclear crisis and Libya? Maybe a million origami cranes will give you a lift

Published March 27, 2011 4:28PM (EDT)

While most news coverage this week fixated on intervention in Libya and the dire circumstances at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power station, there were still plenty of stories more likely to warm your heart than chill your bones.

  • For the millions around the world mourning the death of Knut, there's a little bit of good news this week. Meet Gregor and Aleut, the polar bear cubs making their Germany zoo debut. (Telegraph)

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  • A California woman is spearheading a charity effort to fashion 1 million origami cranes and raise $1 million for disaster relief in Japan. (AOL News)
  • The FDA has approved a new drug expected to prolong the lives of patients with melanoma. (Business Week)
  • Rebecca Lanier, the world's oldest person, turned 119 this week. (AOL News)
  • A Boston woman thought she lost her dachshund when a fire destroyed her apartment a month ago. Then last Monday she found the pup in the wreckage, alive and well. (AP)
  • A dolphin displaced by Japan's earthquake-triggered tsunami on March 11 was found splashing around in a rice paddy, and subsequently returned to the ocean. (Reuters)
  • NBA star Derrick Rose has found a new way to give back to Japan. The Chicago Bulls' leading scorer will donate $1,000 to earthquake relief efforts for every point he scores. (Huffington Post)
  • A New Jersey boy saved the life of his mother last week by applying the Heimlich maneuver -- a technique he had learned that very same day. (AOL News)
  • Prodigious chef Bruno Serato has served fine Italian cuisine to underprivileged children -- on the house -- every day for six years and counting. He now accommodates more than 200 kids a week. (CNN)


By Peter Finocchiaro

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