Forbes Welcomes Basketball Legend Michael Jordan on Billionaires' List

In the new Billionaires List Forbes magazine released today, 290 newcomers joined the list, including basketball great, Michael Jordan, 52. He's now the 513th-richest person in the US with a net worth of an even $1.0 billion. Forbes report below;

The most famous rookie on the billionaires list? Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time and indisputably the best-paid athlete of all time. Most of his cash comes from Nike payouts on his iconic brand. The Jordan brand grossed an estimated $2.25 billion in 2013, earning his Airness some $90m. But his most valuable asset is his stake in the Charlotte Hornets, worth more than $500m. When ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for a stunning $2 billion, values of all NBA teams skyrocketed, creating three new billionaires. Jordan’s old boss Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls, joined the list with a fortune of $1.3 billion, and Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander boosted his net worth to $1.6 billion.

Thumbsup! Sears offering job, discounts to workers affected by Target exit from Canada

The Canadian Press 
Sears Canada is reaching out to workers affected by the exit of American retailer Target from the Canadian market.

Target announced on Thursday that it will close 133 stores across the country by early June, with 17,600 employees losing their jobs.

Sears says it's extending a special offer to Target Canada employees and is encouraging those interested in job opportunities at Sears to visit its website.

Beginning early next week, Sears says the site will publish information on special events regarding career opportunities such as local job fairs across Canada.

In a statement on Friday, Sears says there will also be an open invitation to Target Canada head office employees for a meet-and-greet with Sears executives and human resources experts on Jan. 21 in Toronto.

The retailer also says it will offer affected Target Canada employees the Sears Canada employee discount for a period of 16 weeks, beginning on Jan. 21.

Prince Harry Tries His Hand at Cooking, Baking & More during a Charity Visit to South Africa

Prince Harry visited Lesotho, South Africa, recently for his Sentebale charity projects and his trip was documented.

Travelling with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, with whom he co-founded the charity in 2006, the prince visited a number of Sentebale’s community partners, among them the Thuso Centre for children with disabilities, where he took part in a cooking lesson.

There were several lovely moments documented during his visit like Prince Harry playing with a three-year-old orphan girl Karabo, learning sign language, his attempts at baking and cooking as well as moments when he had kids in smiles.

Amazing Thierry Henry Soccer Record

Kobe Bryant eclipses Jordan for 3rd on career scoring list

In this April 2, 2013 file photo, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant gestures during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Los Angeles. AP/Mark J. Terrill 

on Krawczynski | The Associated PressKobe Bryant has reached rarefied air.

The Los Angeles Lakers star passed Michael Jordan for third on the NBA’s career scoring list Sunday night in a 100-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Bryant entered the game needing nine points to pass the icon with whom he is often compared. He got the mark with two free throws with 5:24 to play in the second quarter.

“I’m just honoured to be here, man, to still be playing,” Bryant said. “I appreciate being able to play this long. Careers normally don’t last this long. I really appreciate the opportunity to still be out there playing and performing and doing what I do.”

Now only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone have scored more points than Bryant.

Good Samaritan Police Officer Buys Eggs For Woman Caught Shoplifting To Feed Her Kids

                         

Jon Reed | AOL
A woman caught shoplifting eggs in Tarrant Saturday didn't leave with handcuffs and a court date. Thanks to a Tarrant police officer, she left with food for her family.

Officer William Stacy was called to the Dollar General on Pinson Valley Parkway when employees caught the woman trying to steal a dozen eggs, Tarrant Police Chief Dennis Reno said.

The woman had her young children in the car. She told Officer Stacy that she was only stealing because she was trying to feed her children.

Time Magazine ‘Person of the Year’ Goes to the Ebola Fighters

Time Magazine has revealed the cover of their annual ‘Person of the Year’ issue and this year the editor of the magazine decided to give it to the Ebola fighters.

Time revealed multiple versions of the cover — each highlighting a different Ebola fighter to represent the group. Among those featured on the covers: Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly, Dr. Jerry Brown, nurse aide and survivor Salome Karwah, MSF volunteer health promoter Ella Watson-Stryker, and ambulance team supervisor and survivor Foday Galla.

Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine editor explains:

2014 is the year an outbreak turned into an epidemic…It reached crowded slums in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; it traveled to Nigeria and Mali, to Spain, Germany and the U.S. It struck doctors and nurses in unprecedented numbers, wiping out a public-health infrastructure that was weak in the first place….

Embattled Chris Brown apologizes for thrashing Karrueche Tran on instagram

Chris Brown must really be in love. Below is what he just posted on his instagram page alongside the sober pic above... showing remorse for his recent backlash at girlfriend Karrueche Tran

Being young and dumb is one of my strong suits and emotional at best. I love hard and react impulsively when I'm hurt at times. I don't think social media is a place to air out or hash out personal problems and a nigga feel hella wack for doing it. So I am apologizing I live in a glass house and the same shit that makes me great also is my curse. Everybody know I love that girl. I don't care how my image my look to the public because I'm still gonna be the best at what I do. I just want baby girl to know I apologize!��

Pope Francis Prays In Istanbul Mosque In New Outreach

Pope Francis has taken part in a Muslim prayer alongside the Grand Mufti of Istanbul on the second leg of his three-day visit to Turkey. Francis stood on Saturday morning with his head bowed and hands clasped in front of him in a two minutes of silent prayer inside the 17th-century Sultan Ahmet mosque, aiming to show respect for Islam and encourage stronger ties between the two faiths.

"May God accept it," Rahmi Yaran, the Grand Mufti of Istanbul told the pope at the end of the prayer.

A group of school children waving Turkish and Vatican flags chanted "Long live Pope Francis" as the pope cheerfully left the mosque. More photos below.

ThumbsUp! Rich Chinese man builds free luxury flats for poor people in the town where he grew up

A 54 year old Chinese businessman Xiong Shuihua did something amazing for the community where he grew up in Xinyu, Southern China. He paid to bulldoze all the wooden huts in the area then spent millions replacing them with an estate of luxury flats for the residents.

In total, he housed 72 families to repay them for their kindness towards him while he was growing up. He's also giving villas costing about £4m pounds to another 18 families who were particularly kind to him. In addition, elderly and low paid residents will also be given three meals a day for free.

Thanksgiving Yall! T.I And Ludacris Gives out Turkey And Holiday Food Boxes

Rapper T.I organized a Turkey Giveaway at Wade Walker Family YMCA, in Stone Mountain, Georgia on Tuesday, November 25. This is not the first time T.I is organizing a Turkey Giveaway – in 2011 he gave out about 300 turkeys in time for thanksgiving.

Kylie Jenner & Tyga help out at homeless shelter

17 year old Kylie Jenner and her rumoured beau, Tyga, 25, pictured helping out at the Los Angeles Mission and Anne Douglas Center's Thanksgiving Meal For The Homeless

Heroic Newfoundland hockey goalie saves fan in cardiac arrest

 In this Sept. 25, 2012 file photo, a nearly empty hockey stick rack in the locker room of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team is shown during the NHL labor lockout in Buffalo, N.Y. AP/David Duprey

Torstar News Service
Newfoundland hockey goalie Patrick O’Brien wasn’t scheduled to start Sunday afternoon, but he wound up making the save of a lifetime.

The paramedic, who plays for the Senior Hockey League’s Gander Flyers, was in the locker room getting ready for a game against the Corner Brook Royals when he was called on to help resuscitate a fan who had gone into cardiac arrest.

“I had my skates and one goalie pad on when my coach ran into the room and told me someone had collapsed on the ground,” O’Brien, 26, told Torstar News Service.

He found Gander Mayor Claude Elliot and Flyers’ board member Tom Whalen, both former paramedics, aiding the patient, who was lying at the foot of a set of stairs in the stands.

“I just jumped in and assisted with the CPR and started doing chest compressions,” O’Brien said

Sam Simon simpsons co-creator rescues gay bull from slaughterhouse

Lauren O'Neil | CBC
An Irish breeding bull believed to be homosexual by its owner is no longer set to become hamburgers, thanks to Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon.

"Benjy the gay bull" first made headlines last week after an Irish newspaper reported that he was being sent to a slaughterhouse for failing to impregnate any heifers on a local farm.

According to the Independent, a County Mayo farmer had purchased the pedigree Charolais bull sometime last year in the hopes of breeding more calves.

Unfortunately, Benjy appeared to prefer mating with other bulls, as opposed to the farmer's cows.

After having him tested for medical problems, the farmer became "resigned to the animal’s sexuality."

Ebola News: China Donates Materials to Fight Crisis in Mali

China has donated a batch of materials to Mali in a bid to fight Ebola disease, official sources said in Bamako on Tuesday. The materials, worth 420 million CFA, comprise 17,000 protection kits, 17,000 dish-clothes, 17,000 pairs of latex gloves for single use and 17,000 pairs of shoe-covers.

 

Other materials are 17,000 units of protective glasses, 200 units of sprayers, 200 units of infrared thermometers, five body temperature detectors and 3,000 mortuary bags.

 

Malian Health Minister Ousmane Koné said the materials would help health agents who work in the front-line to protect themselves against the disease for a better response. “Mali will make good use of the materials made available by China’’, he added

Arsenal FC To Sign David Beckham’s Eldest Son

Arsenal Beat Man Utd, Chelsea To Sign David Beckham’s Son. David Beckham's eldest son, Brooklyn Beckham has just been signed by Arsenal. Brooklyn was wanted by Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, but after showing his skills at the Gunners' training ground; he was quickly snapped up until the end of the season. Though the contract is a short-term one, reports say there are tendencies it will be renewed before it’s over. 

Singapore Opens First World's Luxury Dog Hotel

A staff member dries a dog after a swim in a bone-shaped pool at the Wagington luxury pet hotel in Singapore on November 4, 2014. AFP/Getty Images 

AFP
A luxury pet hotel featuring air-conditioned suites, spa services and gourmet meals was unveiled Tuesday in Singapore, further raising the level of pet pampering in the wealthy city-state.

The 4,317 square-foot (401 square-metre) Wagington hotel is located in a converted British colonial-era bungalow in the diplomatic quarter.

Lodgings cost up to Sg490 ($271) a night for three dogs sharing the “royal suite”, which boasts a chandelier, a television and faux leather orthopaedic beds.

Designed largely for dogs, the hotel can also accept cats.

“If we deserve the best in life, shouldn’t your most loyal companion deserve it equally?” founder Estelle Taylor said in a press statement.

“Being animal lovers, we feel strongly that there should be a place where pets can be left that makes them feel at home.”

It is not all lazing around at the hotel. The furry guests can exercise at its bone-shaped swimming pool and artificial turf garden, and indoor treadmills can be used on rainy days.

The World's 'Poorest' President - Uruguay’s Jose Mujica

He lives on a farm, and his official car is a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. He donates 90% of his monthly salary to charity. President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, is not your average president.

It is commonplace to see some presidents of countries living lavish lifestyles, and in some extreme cases, looting their countries’ finances for personal gain. But not Mujica.

He is commonly known as the world’s “poorest” president because of his austere lifestyle.

An Arab sheikh recently offered him $1 million for his Beetle. Mujica is currently considering the offer, and says that if he does sell it, he will donate the money to charity.

Mujica rejected the luxurious presidential residence the government provided for him and instead opted to live on his wife’s farm located on a dirt road outside the country’s capital. They have no domestic workers – they do all the farm work by themselves. The only staff they have are two police officers.

In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration – mandatory for officials in Uruguay – was $1,800, the value of his Beetle.

In an interview with BBC, he said:

More than 4,000 Rats Killed in 2 Days at Popular Indian Hospital

A pest control firm exterminated 4,400 rats over two days at a state-run hospital in India with thousands still on the premises, its chief executive said on Thursday. According to Sanjay Karmakar, Head of Laxmi Fumigation and Pest Control Service Ltd., said that Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital in Indore, south of Delhi, was still home to over 10,000 rodents.

 

However, the complex consists of seven buildings across about 10 acres.“We have only tackled a part of the grounds so far they are riddled with rodent burrows, at least 1,000 of them.

 

“Each would have four to eight rodents, we have not started on the buildings yet, the pest control firm is baiting the rodents with different food each day. “One day, it is peanuts and clarified butter, another day its roasted chickpeas, potato cakes and so on.

Canada Goes Ballistic, Launches First Air Strike At ISIS

Canada launches its first air strike against ISIS. | AP

The Canadian Press
Canada's involvement in the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant began in earnest Sunday when two CF-18 warplanes conducted their first strike missions.

After days of poor, cloudy weather obscuring their targets, two CF-18 jetfighters dropped laser-guided bombs in the vicinity of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, a place infamous for U.S. soldiers as the scene of the heaviest fighting during the decade-long American war in Iraq.

The Iraqi government lost control city in January when Islamic State fighters clashed with police following the withdrawal of the Iraqi Army from all of Anbar province.

Fallujah has since been a major stronghold of ISIL.

Word of the strikes did not come from the Canadian task force headquarters in Kuwait, but in a brief statement from Defence Minister Rob Nicholson's office in Ottawa.

The minister noted that the fighters were refuelled on the way to their target by a Polaris C-150 jet. All three aircraft returned to base without incident, Nicholson said.