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After anti-LGBTQ trolls went after a trans student, a community responded.

They expected 15 people that first year. 600 showed up.

The holidays have a way of turning tables on grinches — whether they be in Whoville or in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.

This particular story of family love and community acceptance began back in 2015 when a 6-year-old girl came out as transgender. The girl's mom, Sarah, and her school had her back and worked together to figure out how to make sure both the girl and her classmates were informed and comfortable with this news. The school decided to host a book reading of "I Am Jazz," co-authored by trans youth ambassador Jazz Jennings and author Jessica Herthel, which discusses gender identity.

[rebelmouse-image 19533342 dam="1" original_size="750x338" caption="Sarah and her daughter. All images via Human Rights Campaign/YouTube." expand=1]Sarah and her daughter. All images via Human Rights Campaign/YouTube.


Sounds harmless, right? Well...

The grinches — in this case, the Liberty Council, an anti-LGBTQ law group — came to town demanding the event be cancelled. Little did they know how this would backfire.

Parents were given the opportunity to have their children opt-out of the reading, but that wasn't enough for Liberty Council. Fearing a lawsuit, administrators at Mount Horeb Primary Center cancelled the reading, sending an unfortunate message to the 6-year-old trans girl who was just looking to be accepted.

Just when it looked like all was lost, a stranger came through to save the day.

A concerned mother named Amy was distraught over the fact that a hateful organization was able to roll into town and bully a 6-year-old. Though she didn't know the girl, Amy and her family wanted to help. She signed up for a room at the local library to host a reading of "I Am Jazz" of her own.

She expected 15 people. 600 showed up.

[rebelmouse-image 19533343 dam="1" original_size="750x326" caption="A photo from the "I Am Jazz" reading at the Mount Horeb Public Library." expand=1]A photo from the "I Am Jazz" reading at the Mount Horeb Public Library.

Each year since, people around the country have hosted their own "I Am Jazz" readings. This year's will be bigger than ever.

Thanks to the Human Rights Campaign, more than 200 readings are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, to show support and acceptance for trans kids.

Sarah and Amy read the book to an audience.

Looking back on that day in 2015, it's hard not to wonder if the Liberty Council ever regrets not letting the school just host its reading so one student could feel a little safer and more welcomed. In trying to shut it down, they accidentally helped create a movement.

Watch a short video about the Mount Horeb reading and the history of the "I Am Jazz" day of reading below.

For more information on how you can host a future event or finding one near you, visit hrc.org/IAmJazz.

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

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An unlikely family will celebrate their ninth Christmas together this year.

Canva

Girl sitting in detention

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Back in 2015, Jason Smith, a school principal, met a sixth-grade girl sitting outside his office, waiting to be reprimanded for throwing yogurt at a classmate during lunch.

That girl, Raven Whitaker, would later become his daughter.

Smith recalled with Good Morning America that the 11-year-old looked like a “sweet,” “innocent” child as she admitted to him what she had done.

Trying to reason with her, Smith asked, "Well, if you were out at a restaurant, would you do that there?'"

And that was when Raven told him that she had never really been to a restaurant. As she explained to WTHR, she had spent most of her life in the foster care system, suffering under terrible conditions, and was currently living in a group home.
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This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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Terrified, emaciated dog comes to life as volunteer sits with him for human connection

He tries making himself so small in the kennel until he realizes he's safe.

Terrified dog transforms after human sits with him.

There's something about dogs that makes people just want to cuddle them. They have some of the sweetest faces with big curious eyes that make them almost look cartoonish at times. But not all dogs get humans that want to snuggle up with them on cold nights; some dogs are neglected or abandoned. That's where animal shelters come in, and they work diligently to take care of any medical needs and find these animals loving homes.

Volunteers are essential to animal shelters running effectively to fill in the gaps employees may not have time for. Rocky Kanaka has been volunteering to sit with dogs to provide comfort. Recently he uploaded a video of an extremely emaciated Vizsla mix that was doing his best to make himself as small as possible in the corner of the kennel.

Kanaka immediately wanted to help him adjust so he would feel comfortable enough to eat and eventually get adopted. The dog appeared scared of his new location and had actually rubbed his nose raw from anxiety, but everything changed when Kanaka came along.

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Bill Gates sure is strict on how his children use the very technology he helped bring to the masses.

In a recent interview with the Mirror, the tech mogul said his children were not allowed to own their own cellphone until the age of 14. "We often set a time after which there is no screen time, and in their case that helps them get to sleep at a reasonable hour," he said. Gates added that the children are not allowed to have cellphones at the table, but are allowed to use them for homework or studying.

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John Arthur Greene (left) and his brother Kevin



A childhood game can go very wrong in the blink of an eye.

"You'll never get me!"

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If you've ever played cops and robbers, you know how the game goes.

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