By Janjabill Tahsin
Staff Writer
The Good News Lion is the Nation & World section’s biweekly news segment, highlighting positive news in the country and around the world. The theme of this article is raising awareness.
Hundreds of pets adopted and fostered ahead of Milton’s landfall
Animal shelters on the west coast of Florida, such as Tampa, Sarasota and others, anticipated a surge of animals displaced by the Category 3 storm Hurricane Milton, which had already devastated many parts of the state.
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control had to quickly figure out where to relocate their animals before Milton made landfall, so they could make space for the cats and dogs displaced by the hurricane.
However, with more than 200 homeless cats and dogs already in its shelter near West Palm Beach, the shelter issued a plea for help to the Palm Beach County community last Monday, seeking foster homes and forever families for their animals, according to the Palm Beach Post.
The shelter’s phone lines were flooded with questions about how to help and had a line of people that stretched the length of the building waiting to foster or adopt one or more animals. Within two days, the shelter connected 117 cats and 113 dogs with adopters and fosters.
Animal shelters in other parts of the country have also joined in the effort to help those down south. This includes Best Friends, a coalition of public and private shelters, rescue groups and other animal welfare organizations across the country. According to The Guardian, they have transported nearly 200 animals adversely affected by Milton and last month’s Hurricane Helene to shelters with more capacity as far north as New York and Massachusetts.
Sharon Hawa, an emergency services manager at Best Friends, said there is a “national crisis” with shelters being overrun right now and underscored the importance of adopting or fostering.
“I think the main message that the public has to understand is the impacts of when adopting from a shelter, they’re actually saving two lives,” she said. “They’re saving the animal’s life that they adopted, and then also they’re making space for another animal.”
Five shelters in North Texas will also receive 130 animals, consisting of 49 dogs, 77 cats, 3 Guinea pigs and a rabbit, according to CBS News.
Japanese organization wins Nobel Peace Prize
Nihon Hidankyo, a group of survivors of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
Founded in 1956, the organization sends survivors to travel worldwide to share their experiences of living with the effects of radiation exposure from an atomic bomb. They attest to the “atrocious damage” and suffering caused by the use of nuclear weapons, according to the BBC.
“It has been said that because of nuclear weapons, the world maintains peace. But nuclear weapons can be used by terrorists,” Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-head of the group, said when criticizing the idea that nuclear weapons bring peace. He was three years old at the time the nuclear bomb dropped in Hiroshima and could still recall dazed and burned survivors fleeing past his home.
The group has been nominated many times for the Nobel Peace Prize in the past, including 2005, when it received a special mention by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Nobel Committee Chair Joergen Watne Frydnes said the group had “contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo.”
The prize, composed of a diploma, a gold medal and a cash award of around $1 million, will be presented at a ceremony in Oslo in December, marking the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the scientist and prize creator.
Megan Thee Stallion partners in youth suicide prevention campaign
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) launched its Never a Bother campaign in partnership with Grammy Award-winning artist and mental advocate Megan Thee Stallion on World Mental Health Day to heighten awareness of suicide prevention tools and resources before, during and after a crisis.
The Never a Bother campaign video features Megan Thee Stallion talking about her mental journey, the need for transparency in conversations about the subject and the free crisis resources available to youth through the initiative.
“It took me a long time to be comfortable talking about my mental health,” the rapper shared at one point. “Asking for help doesn’t make me weak. Asking for help actually built my strength… going to get the help gave me the tools to be stronger. So I just definitely want to talk to the Hotties and let them know it’s OK to ask for help… Hotties, you are never a bother.”
The video appears on the Never a Bother website and its social media channels in addition to being posted on Megan’s Instagram and TikTok channels, according to the Billboard. The site also presents real stories from young people who have felt overwhelmed by life and their friends who have helped them. Resources to share among young people can be downloaded from the website as well.
