#054 - The Best News of Last Week - September 12, 2022
🌱 - This just in: Touching grass is actually a good thing!
1. MacKenzie Scott donates her two Beverly Hills mansions worth $55m to charity
MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has donated two Beverly Hills homes for a total of $55m. The California Community Foundation, which was given the mansions earlier this year, plans to sell homes and spend funds on “affordable housing grant making” and immigrant integration program.
2. The first fully hydrogen-powered passenger train service is now running in Germany.
The only emissions are steam and condensed water, and also the train operates with a low level of noise. Five of the trains started running this week. Another nine will be added in the coming months to replace 15 diesel trains on the regional route.
The company notes that despite electrification efforts in some countries, much of Europe's rail network will rely on trains that are not electrified in the long term. It notes that there are more than 4,000 diesel-powered cars in Germany alone.
On Thursday, the New Jersey Ivy League school announced it would be expanding its financial aid program to offer free tuition, including room and board, for most families whose annual income is under $100,000 a year. Previously, the same benefit was offered to families making under $65,000 a year. This new income limit will take effect for all undergraduates starting in the fall of 2023.
According to Princeton, about 1,500 students — or 25% of the undergraduate student body — will benefit from this additional aid. Also beginning next year, the University will increase the allowance for personal and book expenses to $4,050 from $3,500 in financial aid packages to allow for more flexibility to cover those miscellaneous charges.
4. Scotland to freeze rent and rail fares to help with cost of living crisis
Scotland is set to bring in emergency laws to freeze rents and help tenants weather the worsening cost of living crisis. Sky News understands that energy bills are set to be fixed at £2,500, which would be paid for by borrowing rather than through a levy on tax.
5. Country singer Maren Morris uses Tucker Carlson insult to raise $100K for trans youth
Just days after being insulted on television by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, country music star Maren Morris has managed to turn the insult into some big bucks for transgender organizations. The Fox News host labeled Morris as a “lunatic country music person.”
Morris made light of the situation on her social media, and shortly after announced that she would be selling T-shirts with Carlson’s quote on the front, alongside the Peer Support and Crisis Hotline for trans youth, to give back to the transgender community.
“All proceeds will be split between TransLifeline and the GLADD Transgender Media Program,” said Morris in a tweet.
Taylor Hawkins' son Oliver Shane Hawkins joined Dave Grohl and the rest of the Foo Fighters as they headlined a star-studded charity concert dedicated to the late drummer.
7. A 60-minute walk in nature decreases activity in brain regions involved in stress processing
Study shows that a one-hour walk in nature reduces stress-related brain activity.
A central brain region involved in stress processing, the amygdala, has been shown to be less activated during stress in people who live in rural areas, compared to those who live in cities, hinting at the potential benefits of nature.
After a 60-minute walk in nature, activity in brain regions involved in stress processing decreases.
As seen on Twitter:
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