Nebraska Town Divided Over Immigration

by Didi Martinez, Julia Ainsley and  Laura Strickler, NBC News FREMONT, Neb. — Big-city mayors may be complaining about the economic impact of an influx of migrants, but the residents of a small city near Omaha can’t decide how they feel.    Fremont, Nebraska, population 27,000, has three massive meat-processing plants. As young locals leave in …

Songwriters Day, A Musical Day Of Reckoning

by Kevin Burton    I grew up mostly at the school for the blind in Ohio. But I had (still have) some partial vision and I played a lot of sandlot baseball in my day.    The school used to hire recreation leaders to work with us restless kids. I think these were students from …

Enid Voters Reject White Supremacist

by Brandy Zadrozny NBC News ENID, Okla. — Voters in Enid decided by a nearly 20-point margin Tuesday to remove a City Council member over his ties to white nationalist groups.     Judd Blevins lost his seat on Enid’s six-member City Council by 268 votes, according to unofficial results from the Oklahoma State Election Board. Nearly …

Driver Saves Children From Schoolbus Fire

by Kevin Burton    Kia Rousseve’s job change came under fire. But not to worry. This is a happy ending.    And she is being called a hero.    Some other heroes in England are saving food from being wasted and feeding hungry people. These are our two happy stories today, from reporter Andy Corbley …

Leap For Joy Leaplings, Today Is Your Big Day

by Kevin Burton    Steve Mingori was an excellent left-handed relief pitcher for Cleveland and Kansas City in the American League.  He finished a 10-year career with an ERA of 3.03.    I always thought of him as a “minus” pitcher. That means in my baseball board games, if a certain number came up and …

Valentine Celebrations Around The World

by Dictionary Scoop    Love stories have enchanted human existence since ancient times. Whether it’s the beauty of flowers, the sweetness of chocolates, or the soft glow of candlelight, love has the power to transform even the coldest hearts.    While the language of love is universal, the ways we celebrate it are as diverse as the cultures that …

MLB To Replace Vandalized Robinson Statue

by Kevin Burton    From something heinous, comes something great in Wichita. And who knows how far it will go?    The Statue of Jackie Robinson which was stolen Jan. 25 from McAdams Park in Wichita was found broken beyond repair and burning in a trash can at nearby Garvey Park Tuesday.    But yesterday …

Closing Credits For TV Icon Norman Lear

by Kevin Burton    The television shows produced by Norman Lear were a cultural backbone for 1970s America.  In this case, the backbone was connected to the funny bone.    When I read that Lear died Tuesday at 101, my mind went immediately to that instrumental piano-driven song that played over the closing credits for …

The Healing Science Of Practicing Kindness

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira CNN    When my father died of bone cancer last year, I received an outpouring of messages from friends and family sharing their condolences.    While I appreciated everyone who reached out, I was especially grateful for two of my former college roommates who surprised my family with a delivery of bagels …

Rosalynn Carter’s Controversial Nanny

by Kathy Ehrich Dowd Time Magazine    Mary Prince, a Black woman who had been convicted of murder, was already a controversial figure at Jimmy Carter’s 1977 Presidential Inauguration.    Although she was incarcerated, Prince was given permission to travel to Washington, D.C. for the event and arrived in a dress made of material given …