The Week in Uppers

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Sure, there's been an unfortunate surfeit of bad news this week. But that doesn't mean there wasn't anything good going on. We've collected some of the week's more charming, adorable or otherwise heartwarming news items, and present them below for your perusal:

• First up:?A corgi rodeo. Too great for words. [BuzzFeed]?

• Texan Milton Verret has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity, simply by touring around the country. His secret? Michael Jackson's "Thriller" jacket. [Huffington Post]
• A group of students in the Dominican Republican are Guinness World Record holders after reading out loud for 300 hours, continuous, to raise awareness about literacy. [AP]
• State Farm Insurance just made a big difference at the National Zoo, donating $1.4 million to keep the much-loved Kids Farm attraction open for business [AP]
• Sure it's hot. But watching these penguins, you can at least imagine you're not covered in sweat. [CBS News]?

• A Winnie the Pooh gag brought to life: Rescue workers finally found a black bear three weeks after reports that it had caught its head in a plastic jar. They were able to remove the container, and the bear is now back out in the wild. [AP]?
• Allan Guei had plenty of money after winning a $40,000 free throw competition, as well as a full ride to college. So, rather than sit idly on his laurels, he donated his contest winnings to the other contestants, who he said could use the proceeds more. [NBC News]
• You would expect that losing a limb would slow a tortoise down. But not this "all-terrain tortoise," to whom veterinarians attached a neat bit of hardware. Now it's as mobile as ever. [NBC News]?

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Source: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2011/07/24/week_in_uppers/index.html

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