Deli owner collects and replies to hundreds of “letters to Santa”

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CBS NEWS) — Gino’s Stop-N-Buy in San Antonio, Texas, looks like your average deli – but it’s almost like a secret portal to the North Pole. That’s because deli owner Aleem Chaudhry is known for reading and replying to hundreds of kids’ Christmas wish lists.

It all started last year, when Chaudhry bought a Christmas mailbox. Kids didn’t treat it like a regular decoration – they started dropping their letters to Santa inside.

“My wife told me, ‘Just bring it to the store.’ And I brought it and it just took off after that,” Chaudhry told KENS 5.

Little did he know, Gino’s Deli would soon turn into “Gino’s Santa Mail Delivery Service.” He collected a whopping 400 letters to Santa – and Chaudhry responded to every single one. He plans on doing the same thing this year.

“Last year we had 60 letters by December 15 or so,” the deli owner said. “We have more than that already.”

Chaudhry put some crayons out so kids could write their Christmas lists and put them in the bright red mailbox. He’s already received some interesting ones.

“This little kid wants toys for his puppy, a puppy named Officer,” Chaudhry said. “This lady is looking for funding for a movie she wants to make.”

Some of the letter-writers don’t want presents. They simply want to ask Santa questions like, “How can reindeer fly?”

“Are you really coming down the chimney? Why don’t you use the front door?” a girl named Allie wrote.

If parents go to Gino’s without their kids, they can fill out forms so the little ones will still receive a letter from Santa. “Just fill out the form with your name, address, what the kids want,” Chaudhry said.

Playing Santa and responding to hundreds of letters is not easy – but for Chaudhry, it’s all worth it. “What’s better is when I look at the parents, and the parents look so happy,” he said.

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California megachurch tries to resurrect 2-year-old girl through prayer

A California megachurch is attempting to bring a family’s 2-year-old girl back to life through prayer.

Andrew and Kalley Heiligenthal suddenly lost their toddler Olive Alayne early Saturday morning when she stopped breathing, the couple and their house of worship, Bethel Church, said.

The child was taken to Redding hospital, where she was declared dead, and then to the Shasta County Coroner’s Office. Her cause of death is unclear.

The couple on Saturday appealed to their friends, family and fellow congregants to “gather to pray for a miracle of resurrection (the basis for which is modeled by Jesus in the New Testament of the Bible),” the church said in a statement Wednesday.

“Bethel Church believes in the stories of healing and physical resurrection found in the Bible (Matthew 10:8), and that the miracles they portray are possible today,” the statement said.

The child’s mother, Kalley, a local singer and songwriter, also reached out for prayers to bring back her toddler in an Instagram post.

“We believe in a Jesus who died and conclusively defeated every grave, holding the keys to resurrection power. We need it for our little Olive Alayne, who stopped breathing yesterday and has been pronounced dead by doctors,” she wrote.

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50 surprising things that didn’t exist 10 years ago

Depending on who you ask (and how his or her decade went), 2009 might seem like just a few minutes ago or eons away. Looking back, the United States in 2009 had just elected the first African American president; Instagram was still just a speck in the imaginations of its two future inventors; and many of today’s hallmarks of modern life––from social networks and online dating to preventive medicine and meal delivery kits––have been introduced in these critical 10 years.

Many of these inventions and adoptions have fundamentally altered the course of American life. On the technological side, the advent of such gadgets as tablets, smartwatches, and even home security systems allow people to do more than ever with the simple stroke of a few keys. Norms have shifted significantly surrounding some issues during this decade, too.

Online dating was becoming more mainstream in 2009 than at the turn of the century but was hardly as ubiquitous a match-making tool as the practice is today. Pot-smokers a decade ago had to buy marijuana from the black market; today, high-end dispensaries and medical offices in a growing number of states can sell weed and its associated products legally.

A quick look at the advances that have occurred in recent years also shed a lot of light on people’s priorities over the past decade. For example, it’s clear with the development of some apps that people have had a big focus on saving time.

Apps like Instacart and Postmates allow people to have their groceries or food delivered directly to their doors, while meal prep kits like Blue Apron allow people who would enjoy cooking to do so without having as much prep or waste: Everything can be delivered pre-assembled and measured out perfectly.

From grocery delivery services to personal technology, Stacker surveyed dozens of surprising things that didn’t exist 10 years ago and whittled that list down to 50. It seems for every breakthrough or trend there are a dozen more in fast order coming at us promising to make our lives healthier, more organized, more convenient, and more fun.

Click through for a surprising look at products and services that didn’t exist 10 years ago—including a few we all could probably have lived without.

High school sweethearts marry 57 years later: ‘God found a way’

High school sweethearts who went to prom together have finally tied the knot 57 YEARS after losing contact when the woman’s mom died and the man went college.

Curtis Brewer and Barbara Cotton, who are both now in their 70s, got married in Wisconsin after going on ‘separate life journeys’.

The couple finally got their happily ever after they ‘never stopped loving each other’ and got wed on Saturday in Milwaukee.

Loved up Curtis and Barbara got back in touch on a website connecting old school friends and got engaged in July last year.

Barbara, 72, told Fox6: ‘He had always loved me and I loved him. We were high school sweethearts and I went to his junior prom and senior prom. We dated through high school and went steady.

The couple dated throughout school and ‘went steady’ but lost touch before reconnecting online. Curtis, right, finally proposed to his soulmate Barbara, left, last year

‘No one really loved me as much as Curtis loved me. It was such an unconditional loving relationship and no one was ever able to match that.’
They said they ‘never stopped loving each other’ but after Babara’s mom died she was left to look after her five brothers and Curtis went off to college.

Babara’s mom died she was left to look after her five brothers and Curtis went off to college but they ‘never broke up’ and simply drifted apart

It meant that they technically ‘never broke up’ but drifted apart before being reunited.

Curtis said: ‘She saw me on classmates.com. I answered her back, I answered her real quick.’

Curtis Brewer and Barbara Cotton, who are both now in their 70s, got married in Wisconsin after going on ‘separate life journeys’

After dating for a few years Curtis finally proposed to his soulmate in August last year and the pair got hitched.

He added: ‘I called her on the phone and said, ‘Would you?’ That’s all I got out, she said yes, would you marry me — I couldn’t get marry out.’

Friends set up a GoFundMe for the pair, writing: ’57 years from their Prom Night, God found a way to bring them together. They never broke up, but were separated by forces beyond their control. They never stopped loving each other as they continued on their separate life journeys.

Friends say it is ‘still hard for them to actually believe they are together’

‘On July 15th 2018, they became engaged! It’s still hard for them to actually believe they are together and will be getting married very soon.’

Curtis, pictured, said he answered Babara back ‘real quick’ when she messaged him online

The couple are now looking forward to their new life together and are raising money for an RV.

Cotton said: ‘We know that God is in charge. No one could have planned this. We know this was meant to be.’

Brewer added: ‘It’s a beautiful day. I’m blessed.’

Source: dailymail.co.UK

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos Pledge $2 Billion for Homeless and Preschoolers

The Amazon founder and chief executive, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, MacKenzie, pledged $2 billion on Thursday for a new fund to start preschools and help homeless families.

The money, put into what he called the Day 1 Fund, is by far the largest philanthropic donation by Mr. Bezos, the world’s richest person. It will support organizations that provide shelter and food for homeless families, and will start a network of nonprofit Montessori-inspired preschools for underserved communities.

“If our own great-grandchildren don’t have lives better than ours, something has gone very wrong,” Mr. Bezos wrote on Twitter announcing the fund.
As Mr. Bezos’s wealth and influence has grown, he has faced increased public pressure to make significant philanthropic investments. His net worth is valued at $164 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He bought The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million, and has said he’s put about $1 billion a year into his private spaceflight company, Blue Origin.

His largest known philanthropic contribution to date was $33 million in scholarships to support the education of undocumented students who graduated from high school in the United States. Earlier this month, he made his first major political contribution, putting $10 million into a bipartisan political action committee to support military veterans running for Congress.

Couple’s love story started with a CPR kiss

(CBS) — Andi Traynor and Max Montgomery’s relationship nearly ended before it even started. They met through Facebook: Montgomery posted an invite asking friends to train with him for a marathon paddleboard event in New York City and Traynor answered.

After their fourth paddle session, Montgomery felt a burning sensation in his chest.

“I kept saying just make it to the car, make it to the car and I said I need to put the board down and I put the board down and then boom that was it,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery went into cardiac arrest — he didn’t have a heartbeat for 17 minutes.

“I checked for a pulse and I didn’t feel a pulse,” Traynor said. “I just — I thought he was dead.”Traynor — a doctor — got down on her knees administering CPR and mouth-to-mouth.

“I ran 10.4 miles the night before — I had no idea I was gonna have a heart attack,” Montgomery said. “Luckily I was with someone who knew CPR. Without it I’m not here.”

“CPR kept his brain alive so that he could be who he has always been,” Traynor said.
It took six defibrillator shocks from the EMTs to get his heart beating again, but Montgomery says if it wasn’t for Traynor he wouldn’t be standing here today.

“That first kiss being CPR was obviously very magical because here I am and I’m very grateful that I’m able to experience further kisses,” Montgomery said.

“I got the opportunity to share life with him and it doesn’t seem awkward or anything that was our first kiss,” Traynor said.
The couple is now sharing their story in hopes of saving lives.”

Anything can happen at any time to anyone,” Montgomery said. We’ve helped start bringing this short 5-10 minute lifesaving instructions to teach people who to give CPR, to call 911, how to get an AED device.”

“We want to empower people to do a lot of things but especially to know they have the power to save a life, too,” Traynor said.
The whole incident was caught on a camera by a photographer who was recording bird migratory behavior.

Source:https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2018/08/27/couples-love-story-started-with-a-cpr-kiss/

Brooklyn street co-named after Jean-Jacques Dessalines

A street sign on Newkirk and Rogers avenues in East Flatbush, Brooklyn now bears the name of Haitian Revolution leader and Haiti’s first ruler, Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

An unveiling ceremony took place last weekend is the newly designated area in East Flatbush called “Little Haiti.” The celebration coincided with the Little Haiti Street Fair.

Several elected officials were on hand for the unveiling, including Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte, Councilmember Jumaane Williams, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, Borough President Eric Adams, Assemblymember Charles Barron, City Council Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo and Councilmember Inez D. Barron.

Dessalines became the first ruler of an independent Haiti in 1804. Born into slavery and working until he was 30, he joined the Haitian Revolution. Dessalines eventually became a top lieutenant of renowned Haitian Revolutionary leader Toussaint L’Ouverture. After L’Ouverture’s capture, Dessalines took control of the Haitian Army, leading it to several victories over the French, securing the country’s independence.

“Jean-Jacques Dessalines is an individual whose historical importance is difficult to understate,” said Bichotte. “He was a man who led the first successful slave revolt in world history and, in so doing, created the first free Black Republic in the Western Hemisphere and the second independent country in the region right after the United States of America gained their independence in 1776.”

Williams, who introduced the proposal for the co-naming to the New York City Council, noted the powerful symbolism of Jean-Jacques Dessalines Boulevard.

“Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a revolutionary who fought for his people and overthrew an oppressive regime who brutally enslaved and persecuted the Haitian people,” he said. “This revolutionary spirit, to fight for independence against oppression, burns bright in Haitian culture today. Haiti and its proud people are an intrinsic part of my district and it is only right to honor that spirit with this co-naming.”

Charles Barron said he was a longtime supporter of the initiative to co-name the street after Dessalines, calling him a true revolutionary hero.

“All Americans owe a debt to Haiti and Jean-Jacques Dessalines because of the successful revolution in Haiti over France,” said Barron. “Because of the Haitian Revolution, America was able to expand by way of the Louisiana Purchase. This street co-naming is most deserving.”

The area where the street was co-named was designated “Little Haiti” and is set within the boundaries of East 16th Street, Parkside Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue, and along Church Avenue between East 16th Street and Albany Avenue.

According to numbers from the Migration Policy Institute, Brooklyn is home to the largest percentage of foreign-born Haitian residents in New York State, with more than 40 percent of the foreign-born population residing in Flatbush.

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A 93-year-old fan of reality show ‘Cops’ gets arrested for her birthday

(Record scratch, freeze frame.) Yep, that’s 93-year-old Simone Dumont sitting in the back of a police car, and you’re probably wondering how she wound up there.

Sitting in the back seat of a cop cruiser probably isn’t your idea of a good birthday, but to Simone Dumont, it “made [her] life.”

Simone, a hardcore fan of the reality show Cops, is a supporter of the boys in blue. According to her daughter, Anne, “She goes on about how the police have the worse job and what they have to deal with … and she wondered what it was like to be arrested and sit in the back seat.”

Anne reached out to the Augusta Maine Police Department to see if they would be willing to arrest her mother — not on any charges, of course, but so that she could have the experience of being a criminal suspect.

So, on July 9, Simone was led into the back of a police car. She also got to sit in front and play with the sirens, which most suspects don’t get to do unless they steal a cop car.

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U.S. Marines Name First-Ever Female Infantry Platoon Commander

The United States Marine Corps has named a woman an infantry platoon commander for the first time in the military branch’s 243-year history.

First Lt. Marina A. Hierl is one of four platoon commanders in Echo Company, a group of 175 Marines and Navy sailors, the New York Times reported.

The company was recently sent to Australia for about six months of training exercises and to act as a response force for the Pacific region. Hierl has been tasked to lead a platoon of about 35 men.

Hierl, 24, is one of two women to have passed a 13-week infantry officer course in Quantico, Virginia. The course was required in order to be considered to lead a platoon.

Hierl worked as a teen on a local horse farm in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

She decided to enlist in the Marines before graduating high school, but a recruiter recommended she attend college first.

“I wanted to do something important with my life,” Hierl told the Times. “I wanted to be part of a group of people that would be willing to die for each other.”

Hierl attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles before enlisting on an officer’s track.

“I wanted to lead a platoon,” she said. “I didn’t think there was anything better in the Marine Corps I could do.”

The U.S. military opened all positions to women, including combat roles, for the first time under President Obama in 2016. About 15 percent of the U.S.’s 1.3 million active-duty troops are women, the Department of Defense notes.

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Woman with disability says nail salon turned her away, Walmart cashier paints her nails on break

After a woman with cerebral palsy said she was denied service at a nail salon, a Walmart employee stepped in to help.

Ebony Harris, a cashier at a Walmart store in Burton, Michigan, offered to paint Angela Peters’ nails on her break. A nail salon reportedly turned Peters away because her hands sometimes shake, and “she moves too much,” bystander Tasia Smith shared on Facebook.

Peters, who uses a wheelchair, is a regular customer at the store, and Harris has helped her shop before, she told ABC News.

“I just wanted to do her nails and I didn’t want her day to be ruined,” Harris told ABC.

Harris helped Peters select a nail polish color at the store and the two set up a DIY manicure station at a cafe table. Tara Aston, a spokesperson for Walmart, said the company couldn’t be more proud of Harris.

“Ebony simply wanted to make sure our customer’s day was special, and that’s the kind of person she is — someone with a wonderful attitude who goes the extra mile each day to make those around her feel important,” Aston said in a statement on behalf of Walmart. “We’re not surprised at her act of kindness.”

Smith, who works at a Subway inside the Walmart, captured the interaction in two photos she shared on her Facebook.

Smith said Harris was “so patient” with Peters, who “barely moved” and “was just so sweet.”

She also vowed not to return to Da-Vi Nails, the salon she said turned Peters away. The nail salon is also located inside the Walmart. The business’ phone line was temporarily disconnected as of Tuesday morning.

Peters said she doesn’t want anyone at the business to be fired, but she does want people to know people with disabilities enjoy getting their nails done like anyone else.

“I forgive the nail people for not doing my nails … I don’t want anyone fired at the nail salon, I just want people educated,” Peters said in a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday.

Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/woman-with-disability-says-nail-salon-turned-her-away-walmart-cashier-paints-her-nails-on-break/ar-BBLBHVg

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