GOOD NEWS

Of course, this is my opinion, but the news items below deserve kudos. These are not in order of importance. Anything I've missed that you would like to share?

• Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday he was suspending the use of the death penalty in Washington state, announcing a move that he hopes will enable officials to "join a growing national conversation about capital punishment." (Feb. 11 - USA Today)

• "On Tuesday the Obama Administration announced a national strategy on wildlife trafficking, including new restrictions on the ivory trade designed to create "a near complete ban" on the commercial sale of African elephant ivory in the U.S." ( Feb. 11 - Nat'l. Geographic) 
  

(According to experts, an elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its tusks.)

•  "..no active player has ever been open about his sexual orientation when Michael Sam, a star college player at the University of Missouri and NFL draft prospect, came out publicly to the New York Times and ESPN that he is gay." (Feb. 9 -Daily Beast)

• "House Republicans will allow a vote Tuesday on a measure to increase the government’s borrowing limit with no strings attached, a clear concession to Democrats that comes after weeks of GOP wrangling." (Feb. 11 - Time)

• "Tea party loses as House approves debt ceiling increase without condition" ( Feb. 12 - Star-Telegram)

• "North and South Korea on Wednesday started their highest-level government dialogue since the North’s nuclear test last year prompted fears of armed conflict on the divided Korean Peninsula." (Feb. 11 - New York Times)

• "Canada, Netherlands, and Norway lead the medal tally at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. The three countries all sit comfortably atop the current medal standings with a total of 7 medals each. The host country, Russia, is currently at fifth place behind the U.S. (fourth place!) and Germany." (Feb. 11 - Int'l. Bus. Times)

RANK	COUNTRY	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE	TOTAL
1	NORWAY	4	3	5	12
2	CANADA	4	3	2	9
3	NETHERLANDS	3	2	3	8
4	UNITED STATES	2	1	4	7
5	RUSSIA	1	3	3	7

(Feb. 12 - Fan Sided ) We are still ahead of the Russians. For some reason, that matters to me. Could be I was indoctrinated during the "fear of Communism" era!

And, last but not least, we all watched as the Russian skier broke his ski while racing in the free sprint yesterday. How heart-warming to see what happened next!

"Justin Wadsworth, Canadian Coach, Helps Russian Skier Anton Gafarov With Broken Ski" (Feb. 11 - Huffington Post) 

“I wanted him to have dignity as he crossed the finish line,” Wadsworth told the Toronto Star's Cathal Kelly, as he gave Gafarov a ski he had saved for a Canadian skier, who had already finished the sprint.

What a magnanimous gesture by Mr. Wadsworth. Now that's the spirit of the Olympics!

Peace,

Marilyn