Our partner Rob Brezsny, whose latest book is Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: […] The post Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny appeared first on Good News Network.

Mining is heavy business, and this giant Komatsu excavator is too. It weighs 2 million pounds, but comes standard with fully-electric drive mode, allowing even the world’s largest mining operations to suddenly zero-out emissions from excavation vehicles. The PC9000-12 is the largest excavator Komatsu has ever built. It can move 80 tons with a single […] The post Company’s 2 Million lbs. Excavator Has a Green Trick: Fully-Electric Drive Mode appeared first on Good News Network.

A simple compliment can have the most powerful impact. Allie Hartung, a young woman battling breast cancer, shared the story about a life-changing interaction with a thoughtful grocery store worker that is showing the world the true significance of small acts of kindness. Allie told Upworthy, “My journey started with a small lump near my rib cage that I was told twice was ‘probably just a lymph node,’ but I trusted my instincts and sought a second opinion. During an ultrasound at my third doctor’s request for answers, a full breast exam revealed a different small mass, and two days before my 32nd birthday, a biopsy confirmed it was cancer.” Allie recently went through chemotherapy that resulted in total hair loss. Back in March, she visited her local grocery store to get some essentials. Only this time, she made the brave choice to not cover her baldness. Her courage did not go unnoticed, and she shared the story in a moving video. “Anyway, compliment a stranger,” she captioned it. @alliekeepsitreel anyway, compliment a stranger #hair #chemo #compliment ♬ Run Away with Me – Instrumental Version – Louis Island Her interaction at the grocery store In the video, Allie shares what happened after she went to the grocery store. “I was getting stuff I need, and the lady who worked there stops me while she as mopping, and she was like, ‘Girl! You rock your hair like that!'” she says. “And I said, ‘Thanks. It’s not by choice.’ And we both kind of went our separate ways.” But they find each other again in the store. “She comes back around and she says, ‘Did you just say it’s not by choice?’ And I said, ‘Yes. I’m going through chemo.’ And she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re going to rock it! And you’re gonna kill it!'” Allie noted she doesn’t remember exactly what the kind woman said to her, but that she thanked her. But before she left the store, Allie found her once again. “I stopped her and I just said, ‘Actually this is the first time I’ve left the house without wearing a scarf or a hat. And I know it was something [a] very small part of your day, but I’ll never forget this moment and it really means a lot to me.'” She adds that the two hugged, and the interaction had a deep impact on her. “I think through cancer, I’m realizing compliments can go a really long ways,” she shared, explaining that she used to work at the store for years, but that two of her managers didn’t recognize her without her hair. “I’m just not really feeling like myself, and I just really needed that,” she concluded. Allie met up with the kind stranger The woman who complimented Allie was named Tracy. She found and commented on Allie’s video, sharing more details about their chance meeting: “…I was mopping the store and saw her come around the corner I told myself ok yeah she looks really good and she’s rocking that hair style. I was fighting with myself on telling her and a voice just told me to go for it, worse thing thing she could do is chew me out. She told me her story before she left. I never expected this to blow up like it did! I’m so glad to have gained and friend and make someone feel good about themselves. I also try to give a compliment even if I don’t receive anything in return I don’t do it for that. Keep pushing Allie!!! I’m here always girl.” The two met once again after the video had gone viral. Allie brought Tracy a little gift basket of flowers to show her appreciation, and shared it with her followers. @alliekeepsitreel kindness takes so little but can mean so much. you never know how much someone needs to hear it. compliment a stranger and if you’re lucky, you may make a new friend. the biggest shout out to my newest pal @tracy for being a shining light in my cancer journey. also please forgive the recording angle and audio. i find it creepy to record others when they’re not expecting it ♬ nhạc nền – cblvvch – cblvvch “Kindness goes a long way, and this has impacted me in the most unbelievable ways that I could think of,” Allie says in her car before meeting Tracy. She finds Tracy, and gets to tell her about the impact her kindness made. “It really meant more to me than you know,” she tells her. Allie’s message on early detection Early detection and self-advocacy were essential for Allie’s early breast cancer diagnosis, and she encourages other young women to take steps for early breast cancer detection. “A self exam doesn’t have to be complicated, you’re just looking for changes. A new lump, (sometimes it can feel as small as a lemon seed), swelling, skin dimpling, or anything that feels different from your normal,” she tells Upworthy. “And if something feels off, even if you’re told it’s probably nothing, it’s okay to push for answers or seek a second opinion. Trusting yourself can make all the difference. Early detection truly saves lives.” @alliekeepsitreel and just like that i’m loving life again i have a month long of radiation ahead but so thrilled to be done with this chapter. i have been so blessed with the best doctors and nurses throughout this process. i don’t know how yall in health care do it but i couldn’t be more thankful. #chemo #cancer #breastcancer #nursing ♬ Loving Life Again – Ella Langley Allie recently finished her chemotherapy treatment, and will soon start radiation. “If there’s one thing I hope people take away from all of this, it’s that kindness truly matters,” Allie says. “It takes almost no effort, but it can completely shift someone’s day, or even how they’re feeling about themselves. You never know what someone is carrying, and something as simple as a compliment can have a lasting impact.” The post She grocery shopped hat-free during chemo for the first time. A tiny compliment led her to tears. appeared first on Upworthy.

If you haven’t heard of Mark Rober, your kid almost certainly has. Rober, a former NASA engineer, has more than 76 million followers on YouTube, where he’s famous for wildly creative science experiments. In one popular series, he tries to create a squirrel-proof bird feeder and eventually builds an obstacle course to challenge the agile creatures. In another, he invents a robot that can outkick the NFL’s best field-goal kicker. Probably Rober’s most famous experiment involved creating “glitter bombs” to catch porch-pirate package thieves. Rober left NASA in 2013 to go out on his own, creating things he thought were cool and making some of the most entertaining and educational science content on the Internet. Today, he never loses perspective on the privilege of his massive platform, which he calls a “responsibility.” Rober does cool science with Wish kids at Disneyland Rober grew up in Brea, California, about 10 minutes from Disneyland. As a kid, he could hear the nighttime fireworks from his neighborhood. Getting to go to the park at all felt like a big deal. Getting escorted to the front of a ride? Unthinkable. “That would have been my peak,” he told Upworthy, laughing. This week, Rober got the experience of a lifetime meeting with several kids from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, including Piper, a young girl with Marfan syndrome, and Brendan, a boy with aggressive leukemia who says Rober’s videos kept his spirits up during treatments. Alongside fellow creators like MrBeast and Dude Perfect, Rober led kids through an egg-drop challenge off the top of Avengers Tower and got to spend much of the day just hanging out and riding rides with his new friends. It’s all part of an event put together by YouTube, The Walt Disney Company, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation called “Wishes Assemble.” When asked if he ever could have imagined, when he was working at NASA or creating his first YouTube videos, that one day it would be a child’s greatest wish in the world to meet him, he said, “No way. Like, five years ago, I’d have been like, ‘no,’ two years ago, I’d have been like, ‘no way.’” It’s still hard for him to wrap his mind around the impact he has on the kids who watch his videos. Rober recalls he was told that among YouTube creators, he ranked just behind MrBeast last year in fulfilled wishes. “It’s crazy,” he said. “I want to remind everyone—I make science videos. Since when is science cool? Like, I shouldn’t be getting that many requests.” Rober has worked with Make-A-Wish many times before. He says it can be tough not to get overwhelmed with emotion when hearing the Wish kids’ stories, but overall, he just tries to bring his signature fun energy and enjoy his time with them as much as he can. “[The goal is] escapism,” he said. “These families and kids have been through some pretty tough stuff.” Mark Rober does cool science with Wish kids at Disneyland. Photo credit: Disneyland Resort/Sean Teegarden Not Rober’s first foray into philanthropy Rober’s philanthropy extends well beyond Make-A-Wish. He’s led Team Trees, Team Seas, and Team Water alongside fellow creators and helped raise tens of millions of dollars for environmental causes. Like Rober’s experiments and stunts, the projects have been rooted in real impact, not just dollar amounts: Team Trees has planted 24 million trees worldwide, and counting. Rober has also partnered with STEM education nonprofits and has raised millions of dollars for autism awareness and grants for autistic people, a cause close to his heart: Rober’s son has autism. He says there was no one crystallizing moment when he realized he had the platform to actually make a difference. It was more of a slow realization about what having a platform actually means. “You come to realize that you have a big megaphone and a spotlight, and it almost becomes a responsibility,” he said. “It’s almost immoral not to do something with that. To move the needle in the right direction.” Rethinking how America teaches science Next up for Rober and his team is something so massive it sounds impossible—which is exactly the kind of challenge he specializes in: completely reimagining the way kids learn science in school. He’s taking everything he’s learned about what kids love about science and engineering from his videos and applying it to a real curriculum. It’s taken a team of 50 people and $60 million, but the new curriculum, called Class CrunchLabs, will meet all the rigorous educational standards while still being fun—and it’ll be free for all educators. Rober will be publishing a TED Talk on the project on May 5. Mark Rober is rethinking how we teach science. Photo credit: newhcrossaint/Wikimedia Commons “Most of the curriculum out there—teachers have to pay for it, and those curriculum writers never had to earn a single view,” he said. Rober, for his part, has earned about 16 billion. “So they just make really boring content. Science should not be boring.” Rober pays his respects to the work of Bill Nye, but notes that a lot of (very) old Nye videos are still being used in education. He thinks we can do better by today’s kids and likens his engaging approach to “hiding the vegetables.” “You could have the best curriculum in the world. If the students don’t care, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “We know how to solve that motivation gap. And that’s like 90% of the issue.” It’s hard to believe this is the guy who got famous for inventing a Halloween costume that made it look like the wearer had a bloody hole in their torso. But seeing how seriously he now takes his responsibility—an audience of tens of millions of people, many of whom are children—it’s not hard to see why it would be a kid’s biggest wish to meet him, especially alongside other heroes like The Avengers. When Rober isn’t making kids’ dreams come true or reimagining the education system, he’s planning his next video. It may or may not involve him playing tug-of-war against a real lion. It sounds crazy, but we wouldn’t bet against him. The post Mark Rober says having 76 million followers is a ‘responsibility.’ He’s making the most of it. appeared first on Upworthy.

It’s fairly common to see someone propose on the Jumbotron at a sporting event. A couple from Virginia, however, found a new way to add some drama. They turned their Jumbotron proposal into a Wheel of Fortune-style game. It all went down at the Coca-Cola Center in Toronto, Canada, during a Professional Women’s Hockey League matchup between the Toronto Sceptres and the New York Sirens. The couple, Nina Borgeson and her partner, Meg Beizer, appeared to be playing a game similar to Wheel of Fortune during a break in the hockey match, but Meg knew otherwise. The announcer asked her, “What three letters are you going to guess next?” After the traditional RSTLNE were put up on the board, she replied, “W, O, U,” making it obvious what the puzzle said. Nina solved the puzzle:  ‘WILL YOU MARRY ME?” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Toronto Sceptres (@pwhl_sceptres) Meg then got down on one knee and, in front of the cheering crowd, she popped the question. Meg slipped the ring on Nina’s finger, they kissed, and Nina raised her hand in celebration.  The couple traveled to the game from Virginia, and when Meg learned that it was Pride night, she knew it was the perfect time to ask for Nina’s hand in marriage. “This league quickly became a big part of our life and something so special to us,” Meg told Queerty. “The community is unlike any other fan base I’ve ever seen. I knew sharing it with other fans would make our proposal that much more special and memorable, and it exceeded expectations. The amount of love and support we received was something we will truly never forget.” A popular place for proposals PWHL games have become a popular place for LGBTQ women to propose. Back in December, at an Ottawa Charge game, two women were being interviewed when the conversation veered into unexpected territory. “I love this community, I love everything that’s been given to us,” a woman named Theresa said into the microphone, “and I can’t think of a better moment to ask Dani…” she said before dropping to one knee and proposing. View this post on Instagram A post shared by PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) The PWHL just completed its third regular season, during which it saw attendance and viewership expand dramatically. This season, the league expanded from six to eight teams and saw attendance eclipse the million mark for the first time. Attendance was up 28% this season, with the average game attendance rising from 7,230 in 2024-25 to 9,304. Viewership is also up on the league’s YouTube channel. This season, viewership across the U.S. and Europe increased by 77%.  A growing community The league saw an opportunity for growth after women’s hockey made headlines in Milan earlier this year, with the U.S. women’s team beating Canada for the gold medal. “We knew this moment was going to be big for us,” PWHL executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer told The Athletic, “and felt that this could be a game changer for us.” The post Woman proposes to girlfriend on hockey jumbotron in sweet ‘Wheel of Fortune’ reveal appeared first on Upworthy.