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After the Wichita State University men’s basketball team defeated Tarleton State, star player Dexter Dennis was caught on video staying after the game to help staff at Koch Arena clean. Dennis helped lead the Shockers to the victory that secured their spot in an upcoming tournament in Las Vegas. Instead of revelling in the victory, the soft-spoken junior from Louisiana helped pick up trash in the stands – no one asked him to do it.  Taylor Eldridge, a reporter for The Wichita Eagle newspaper, shared the video on Twitter. “Dexter is a different kind of dude,” he said in the now-viral tweet.

Thirty minutes after the Wichita State game, star player Dexter Dennis (@ldl_dex) is up here in the stands picking up trash at Koch Arena.

Dexter is a different kind of dude. pic.twitter.com/GMzGhz0L9t — Taylor Eldridge (@tayloreldridge) November 17, 2021

"Wasn't in trouble or anything. Didn't have to. He just wanted to help out the cleaning crew," Eldridge wrote in another tweet.  Cleanup sometimes takes up to three hours after the games, according to Wichita State University Facilities Director David Gomes. "We have several folks who have been here for decades and I know for some of them, that's probably the first time they've seen something like that happen," said Gomez. "And I just, from our custodial staff, out to him, we just want to say thank you for leading and showing us that there are still folks out there who recognize the hard work that's done around here." Image source: Daily Mail

Portugal closed its final remaining coal plant over the weekend, becoming the fourth country in the European Union to do so. Portuguese environmental group Zero said in a statement that the Pego plant in central Portugal had been the country’s second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, noting that “freeing ourselves from the biggest source of greenhouse gases was a momentous day for Portugal.” Portugal’s targeted end of the use of fossil fuels was 2030, so the country is nine years ahead of schedule. Belgium, Austria and Sweden were the first three European countries to have already stopped using the polluting material for power generation.  "The challenge now is to ensure utilities do not make the mistake of replacing coal with fossil gas, or unsustainable biomass," said Kathrin Gutmann, campaign director at Europe Beyond Coal. "Ditching coal only to switch to the next worst fuel is clearly not an answer," said Zero's president Francisco Ferreira. "Instead, the focus should be on rapidly upscaling our renewable energy capacity in wind and solar." Portugal’s exit from coal comes after the European Commission announced it would be suing the country for failing to take action on poor air quality. Image source: Industry Europe

Marty Rogers has lived in the same South Bronx neighborhood for his entire 66-year life, and his community is now referring to him as “Mayor Marty” and “Saint Marty.” As Thanksgiving approaches, Rogers is gearing up for his 44th-consecutive holiday dinner at his local church, Immaculate Conception Church. At first, the dinner only served senior citizens, but expanded to include people experiencing homelessness. "This is our 44th year in a row, never missed, of a Thanksgiving dinner," Rogers told TODAY. "They come in the door, they get welcomed, they get a name tag," Rogers said. "And I get to play maitre d'. 'How's the food?' 'Is everything OK with you guys?' And at the end, they come around with seconds of pies. I love to see people (say) 'I can't eat no more.'" The tradition even continued during the pandemic last year, offering a “takeout” version of the special dinner. This year, they will offer both takeout and delivery. Rogers’ children, Joe and Maria, have helped out with the dinner and other community engagements since they were children.  "I was probably like, 5 years old, so I couldn't spell very well, and I was a waiter so I would walk around to people's tables and just draw what they ordered," Joe Rogers recalled. "I'd draw a little turkey ... or create a symbol for cranberry sauce. "To me, Thanksgiving has always been this big celebration with 250-plus people," he continued. "It was never anything but that." Maria said her father has always instilled the spirit of community service in them. ​​"I would describe my father as someone who truly embodies the spirit of giving, in every aspect, and just knows the importance of community, of treating people with dignity and respect," she said.  

28-year-old Dianna Donnarumma of Buffalo, New York needed a life-saving intestinal transplant as she was in intestinal failure due to the progression of Dysautonomia, also known as autonomic dysfunction. Her donor, Heather, died in a car accident in 2017, just days before her own wedding to her fiancé, Beau.  One year post-transplant, Diana was able to reach out to her donor’s family, who were able to accept or deny the request. The letter went through Diana’s transplant center and finally made it to Heather’s father, Daniel — he accepted the letter.  Diana and Daniel later spoke by phone, which brought Diana to tears when she learned what happened and how amazing of a person her donor was.  In the years since speaking to Daniel, Diana has made an effort to raise awareness about Heather’s life and organ donation through her social media pages. Daniel and Diana eventually met in person in Illinois, where Daniel lives and where Diana learned more about Heather. Knowing that Daniel, a single parent, was never able to walk his daughter down the aisle, Diana asked Daniel if he would walk her down the aisle on her big day. Daniel accepted. On Aug. 13, 2021, Daniel cried when he first saw Diana in her wedding dress. He then walked her down the aisle before passing her over to Diana’s biological father, Glen, who walked her the rest of the way down the aisle to her husband, Conlan Kreher. “Once I saw him crying, I started crying,” said Diana. “He misses Heather so much and struggles with the pain of her absence. He said he was honored to walk me down the aisle and is so happy to have another daughter now. “I hope people can realize the power of organ donation. Without Heather’s decision, I would not be here today.” Image source: Daily Mail

Target will no longer open its doors on Thanksgiving Day, making permanent a shift to the unofficial start of the holiday season which was suspended during the pandemic.  In order to limit in-person crowds in stores last year, retailers had to transform Black Friday into a much longer event, with many holiday discounts beginning as early as October. With the change, U.S. holiday sales rose 8.2% in November and December of last year, according to The National Retail Federation. The Federation predicts 2021 could shatter that record, growing between 8.5% and 10.5%. “What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard — one that recognizes our ability to deliver on our guests’ holiday wishes both within and well beyond store hours,” Target CEO Brian Cornell wrote in a note to employees. “You don’t have to wonder whether this is the last Thanksgiving you’ll spend with family and friends for a while, because Thanksgiving store hours are one thing we won’t ‘get back to’ when the pandemic finally subsides.” Kohl’s and Walmart will also be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but Walmart is unsure on the future of the holiday’s hours — Kohl’s declined to comment. Image source: New York Post

Every morning, 5-year-old Ryder Kilam from Westerly, Rhode Island heads outside to wait for the bus to pick him up and take him to Dunn’s Corners Elementary School. However, Ryder cannot walk. Each morning, Ryder’s parents push him in a wheelchair to the end of their driveway. “With Ryder being in a wheelchair, unfortunately, it’s about 75 feet from our house to the bus,” said Ryder’s dad, Tim Kilam. “He’s not the typical child that runs out when the bus comes.” The Kilam family initially put together a homemade shelter for Ryder to sit under while he waited for the bus. “We ended up having an old patio umbrella standing out here to keep him dry but with the wind blowing and stuff it just didn’t work,” said Kilam. “So we decided to reach out to the community, we actually put a post on Facebook looking for friends that may be new somebody that had one that they were no longer using.” The request made it to the Construction Technology class at Westerly High School, where Dan McKena has been teaching for 27 years. “I think my first email was, absolutely we’re in,” said McKena. “We’ve done other projects before. I think it’s very important for my students to learn not only the aspects of construction but of being involved in the community dealing with people outside of the school environment.” Three classes worked together on the project for weeks, and senior Mason Heald even decided to make it his senior project. “It was a learning stretch for me. I've never really done anything like that,” said Heald. “I watched videos on how studs make things hollow. I didn't really know too much about what I was doing.” Home Depot donated about $300 worth of wood, and the Kilam family purchased the rest. The class included one of Ryder’s older brothers, who made sure the shelter was ADA accessible so that someone would be able to accompany Ryder comfortably. “They all worked together for a common goal and they really enjoyed knowing the end result and knowing where it’s going,” McKena said. “On days when it might've been like, ‘I don’t feel like working’ or whatever it may be, they just come in eager, ready to get going and get to work. “The family sent me a photo of Ryder in the bus stop and his grin, his smile, I think my response to that email was just, ‘priceless.’ Said McKena. “That one photo that the family sent me made it all worth it and I shared it with the students that were involved in the construction.” “It definitely made it extra special. I was really happy to help my community of sorts and it was pretty cool to do something like that because it’s not just a shed I’m helping out somebody in need and it’s just nice,” said Heald. “We all worked pretty closely together, and all communicated pretty well.” Image source: KLEW TV

Susana Orrego Villegas, a Harvard Medical School student, and her husband arrived in Boston in August from her home country of Colombia. She is studying medical sciences in Global Health Delivery, a program that will take two years to complete to earn her master's degree from Harvard. Orrego Villegas decided she wanted to use this Thanksgiving holiday as a way to embrace the culture of the new country she lives in. She said that there are no traditions in Colombia quite like an American Thanksgiving.  “I think it’s part of understanding the culture,” Orrego Villegas told Boston.com. “For me, it’s important to understand what happened with the population, what they celebrate … My husband and I want to understand or learn from American culture.” Orrego Villegas posted on Nextdoor, an app for neighborhoods where users can get local tips or buy and sell items. She uploaded a photo of herself and her husband, asking if anyone would share Thanksgiving dinner with them — she offered to provide Colombian dishes for the meal. Within days, there were over 100 comments on her post. Many users invited them to join for Thanksgiving dinner, and others offered to meet and share a meal at a different time.  “We would be happy to invite you to share Thanksgiving with us,” wrote one user. “You sound like you have enough dinner invitations for Thanksgiving,” another person wrote. “I love to cook and would love to have you over any time for cooking and dinner if you run out of options.” The couple accepted the invitation to share Thanksgiving dinner with a family in Jamaica Plain, and they have already met up with two other families they connected with through Nextdoor. “In Boston, sometimes you say hello to people, and people don’t reply, so I thought people are probably not too friendly,” Orrego Villegas said. “But after [posting this], my mind changed completely.” Image source: Boston.com

A Wisconsin family surprised their matriarch, Ruth Marsh, with a “101 Dalmatians”-themed parade to celebrate her 101st birthday — the entire family dressed up as Dalmatians with spots and floppy ears. There was even a real Dalmatian at the celebration. Marsh took on the role of Cruella de Vil, sporting a black and white wig and a long cigarette. However, family members noted that Cruella is pretty far from Marsh’s personality.  Marsh was raised on a dairy farm in Black Earth before moving to Stoughton in the 1950’s, where she raised children of her own on the shores of Lake Kegonsa. She is a beloved member of the family with 16 grandchildren and over 20 great-grandchildren. ​​​​“Happy 101, grandma! We love you!” the family said together before barking and howling. The parade was a perfect idea for Marsh, because she loves Dalmatians and has a history of hosting a Fourth of July parade. Image source: WKOW

Two years ago, a man named Amarildo noticed used tires stacked in the parking lots of the supermarket where he worked. He had always been very handy, so he decided to put the old tires to good use. He collects the old tires, takes them home and carefully cuts, washes, paints and decorates them until they are cozy enough for the animals. He even writes the name of the animal to whom the bed will belong on the tire. Lastly, he adds carrying straps and a comfy mattress that he sews himself. So far, Amarildo has made 6,000 beds for strays, shelter animals and pets. His beds have become so famous that he now receives orders from eco-friendly pet owners from all over the world.  “I am very moved because what used to be trash in the environment now becomes something very useful for animals,” said Amarildo. Image source: Paws Planet

Facebook and Instagram are planning to stop allowing advertisers to target users based on their history of posting, reading or liking content related to sexual orientation, religion, political or religious beliefs. The networks’ parent company, Meta Platforms, said that, beginning in January, it would remove detailed targeting options that let advertisers seek out users according to interactions with causes, organizations or public figures related to health, race or ethnicity, political affiliation, religion or sexual orientation. In a blogpost, Graham Mudd, a Meta Platforms vice president of product marketing, said, “We want to better match people’s evolving expectations of how advertisers may reach them on our platform and address feedback from civil rights experts, policymakers and other stakeholders on the importance of preventing advertisers from abusing the targeting options we make available.” Meta generates 98% of its income from advertisers, who target specific demographics and consumers due to profiles that Meta has built based on their online activity.  “Some of our advertising partners have expressed concerns about these targeting options going away because of their ability to help generate positive societal change, while others understand the decision to remove them,” said Mudd, who noted that advocacy groups still had options on the platform for reaching people. Image source: Built in Seattle