【推荐1】As the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s hit song “Bad Blood” go: “Cause, baby, now we got bad blood. You know it used to be mad love.” It’s a song about falling out of friendship, but to 14-year-old Hallie Barnard, who was born with a rare blood disorder, the song holds a much deeper meaning.

At just 15 months old, Barnard was diagnosed (诊断) with Diamon Blackfin Anemia, or DBA, and she spent most of her life in and out of the hospital. The Swiftie said she relied on the singer to bring her joy.

The only way to survive DBA is with a bone marrow transplant (骨髓移植) and Barnard was desperate for one. But she knew thousands of other patients are, too. So, a few years ago, she decided to do something about it, creating her own foundation: Hallie’s Heroes. “It started selfishly as just trying to save my life, but then we realized there were so many other children out there that needed a bone marrow transplant,” she said. “So, so far we’ve tested 8,000 people and found over 300 matches.”

After a 9-year wait, Barnard got her own match — through her own foundation. But more obstacles stood between her and normal life as a kid. The blood disorder led to a cancer diagnosis: osteosarcoma. She received surgery to cut the cancer out of her leg at MD Anderson in Houston.

The recovery was difficult, but Hallie said she stayed hopeful. “My survival instinct (本能) just kicked in. I was trying to do anything that I could to survive. So, of course, it was scary but in my mind, I was just thinking that I wanted to be at my sister’s future weddings. I wanted to play games and run again,” she said.

Her survival instinct —combined with Taylor Swift―helped her through her operation, where doctors cut her cancer out, and reattached her foot and ankle to her upper leg to work as a knee.

【推荐3】Jake was a nine-year-old boy of an orphan’s home (孤儿院), one of ten children supported by what contributions the home could secure on a continuous struggle. There was very little to eat, but at Christmas there always seemed to be a little more than usual, and the home seemed a little warmer. It was a time for more than usual enjoyment, but more than this, there was an orange.

At Christmas time, each child received an orange; the only time of year that such a rare item was provided, and it was coveted (垂涎) by each child like no other thing they ever possessed. They would save it for several days, admiring it, feeling it, loving it, and contemplating the moment when they would eat it. Truly, many of them would wait until New Year’s Day or later to eat it.

This Christmas Day, Jake had disobeyed the regulations of the orphan’s home in some manner and his punishment was loss of the orange privilege. After a year of waiting for this rare occasion, and this most desired of all rewards, it was to be denied. Jake spent the Christmas Day empty and alone. It even seemed that the other children didn’t want to associate with a person who didn’t have an orange. Night time arrived and this was the worst time of all for Jake; he could not sleep. Silently, he cried, mostly because he didn’t have an orange like the other kids.

A soft hand placed on Jake’s shoulder shocked him momentarily and an object was quickly pressed into his hands. The donor disappeared into the dark of the room, leaving Jake with what he did not immediately identify as an orange. Not a regular run-of-the-orange, but one from parts of nine other oranges. Nine other highly prized oranges that would, of necessity, be eaten this day instead of several days hence.

【推荐3】Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution for two of our county’s longstanding problems: garbage and poverty. It’s called the Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than throw your empty Chip bags in the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.

Chip eaters drop off their empty bags from Doritos, Lay’s, and other favorites at two locations in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store, where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they clean the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice then open, lay them fat, and iron them together.

It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, depending on whether they’re single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is “waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry around,” Oleita told the Detroil News.

Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 80,000 chip bags and, as of last December, created 110 sleeping bags.

Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new seeping bags. But that’s only half the goal for Oleita — whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life — and her fellow volunteers. “We are committed to making an impact not only socially, but environmentally,” she says.

And, of course, there’s the symbolism of salvaging bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental injustice and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told hourdetroit com: “I think it’s time to show connections between all of these issues.”

【推荐1】Rescuers in Jersey said on Sunday after an all-night search that there was no hope of survivors from an explosion that flattened a three-story apartment block. At least three people were confirmed killed in the accident early Saturday in the Channel island’s port capital St Helier, following a suspected gas leak. “We have three confirmed deaths and it’s fair to say we expect to find more,” police chief Robin Smith told a news conference, saying that around 12 residents remained unaccounted for. “It is with sadness that I am confirming that the search-and-rescue operation has been moved to a recovery operation,” he said.

The phase involved a “painstaking search of the debris” which could take weeks, Smith said, adding that a gas leak was the ‘likely” cause. Aided by sniffer dogs and experts from southern England, Jersey emergency workers had searched the rubble (瓦砾)overnight.

Fire chief Paul Brown confirmed that firefighters were called out to investigate the smell of gas on Friday evening, more than seven hours before the explosion. But in vain. He admitted that something had gone “horribly wrong”, considering the subsequent disaster, but insisted that Jersey islanders could still have confidence in his service. Jersey’s gas supplier, Island Energy, said it was working with the fire service to understand what happened.

Like many others in St Helier, Jersey’s Chief Minister Kristina Moore said she was awoken by the explosion. “Across the island you could hear this extraordinary sound,” she told the BBC. “It’s unthinkable news, so we’re all absolutely shocked and really worried about the people who are involved and about those whose lives have been lost.”

The incident caps a tragic week for Jersey, a British Crown dependency not part of the United Kingdom, whose economy relies on banking, tourism and fishing. “We must call on the collective strength of the island community,” Moore said.

CHICAGO, Illinois -- Students shouted, hugged and cried tears of joy recently as they played with certified therapy dogs (获得认证的治疗犬) at Lane Tech College Prep, an activity designed as a break from the demands of preparing for final exams.

This is the second year the dogs and volunteers have been brought into the school from Chicago-based Canine Therapy Corps to provide much-needed relief for stressed or anxious kids.

“It's stressful around finals time,” Assistant Principal Sarah Hanly said, adding that this week students are turning in final projects, reviewing and studying for next week's exams.

It seemed to do the trick. Shouts and cheers went up from a group of students as they met Waffles, an 85-pound dog, and rushed to put their hands on his fur.

Junior Sophie Cohen sat next to Waffles, petting him and chatting with her friends and Waffles' owner. She said she had just been talking to her friend about how stressed out she was over finals. “Just the idea of having a dog in school is good because the school environment is just about stress,” she said. “And then here is this dog. You get a break.”

Monica Synecky, Waffles' owner and a volunteer with Canine Therapy Corps, said she often takes her dog to visit high school students around finals time. “This age group benefits really well from just the presence of Waffles or other certified therapy dogs,” she said.

Therapy dogs must be properly trained and pass a test before they become certified, said Ann Davidson, operations manager at Canine Therapy Corps.

“Taking breaks is one of several tools students can use to manage stress or anxiety,” said Jacqueline Rhew, a registered clinical professional consultant. Rhew also said, “Trained dogs help students put academic stress into perspective.” When students don't properly manage stress, it can turn into troubling anxiety.

Juniors Jennifer Giraldo and Anastasia Ramirez hugged and laughed as they took turns with their classmates, giving Luna, a Portuguese water dog, commands to sit, lie down and roll over. “I was stressing all third and fourth periods, and then people were talking about the dogs,” said Ramirez, who decided to wait in line with Giraldo to see the dogs herself. “Now I feel better.”