Baseball, baby bats and a crazy plant

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Baseball, baby bats and a crazy plant

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October 30, 2021

While people are getting ready for all kinds of Halloween festivities, there's only one thing on my mind: baseball. The World Series is one of my favorite times of the year. In fact, baseball games have been the background to some of my most precious memories with my family, ones made in Spring Training stadiums, in World Series stands, under the hot midsummer sun or on quiet nights on the couch. I'm heading out to one of the games in Atlanta soon, and while we're all hoping for a win, the experience alone is one to cherish. So whatever you're getting into this weekend, whether it's spooky or sporty, I hope you make wonderful memories.

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Our favorites this week

Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week

Quick thinking
Two middle school students are being praised for their brave actions that helped save their school bus driver. Conner Doss and Kane Daugherty, both students at East Paulding Middle School outside Atlanta, were on a crowded bus when their driver, Miss Julie, pulled over and yelled for help. When Kane ran up to her, she was bright red and shaking. He managed to pick up the dispatch radio and ask for help. The dispatch called 911 and helped the boys set the emergency brake, flashing lights and emergency stop arm. The boys knew Miss Julie had diabetes, and got her to eat and drink something as they waited for help. Together with their classmates, they waved down cars from bus windows and caught the attention of a pastor, who prayed with the worried students. The driver is now recovering, and school leaders recognized the pair's bravery at a recent school board meeting .

Photo credit: Manu Fernandez/AP

Oh, when the sheep come marching in
Last weekend, the streets of Madrid were teeming with sheep as shepherds guided their herds through traditional shepherding paths that run straight through the heart of the capital city. The annual event, which started in 1994, allows shepherds to exercise their right to use traditional routes to herd their livestock from northern Spain to more southerly pastures for winter grazing. Obviously, it attracts quite a crowd, too. In addition to being a spectacle, with jangling bells and shepherds dressed in traditional garments, Spanish spectators say it's also a remarkable way to remember their history. After all, a few centuries ago, this shepherding sojourn would have been a pretty quiet journey through open land. Oh, how times change.

Blooming glory
We're all adults here, so I can say penis plant, right? This rare plant, known as Amorphophallus decus-silvae, is special because it rarely blooms -- and when it does, it emits a horrendous, entirely unique odor. To the delight of horticultural enthusiasts everywhere, a 6-year-old penis plant has just bloomed in the Netherlands, marking only the third such plant to bloom in Europe since 1997. Native to tropical Indonesia, the plant requires a very warm and humid growing environment, which makes it hard to raise in other parts of the world. Its blooms emerge from underground parts of the plant, meaning it takes a lot of energy and time -- sometimes more than a decade -- for a plant to store the energy needed to flower. And when it does, it is, well, quite a sight, as you can see.

You gotta see this

After eight years and $7 billion in development, Expo 2020 Dubai has finally opened its doors to the public. World fairs like this are designed for countries to show off their latest in technology and innovation, but another huge draw is the elaborate array of national pavilions. Each one is seemingly more mind-bending than the next. The Pakistan pavilion is shown here, with rippling multi-sensory installations encapsulated in walls of color. Its designer says the façade is a "reflection of the beautiful changing seasons the country experiences, one of the most diverse on Earth." Other standouts: the Russian pavilion, which boasts massive coils of tubes meant to represent connectedness, and the Japanese pavilion, which seems to float on water.

Heroes among us

CNN has chosen the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2021! For the next few weeks, we'll be highlighting each of these incredible people who are using their unique skills and experiences to make the world a better place. Voting is now open to determine the CNN Hero of the Year, so be sure to read about each one here and cast your vote before the big reveal in December!

Shirley Raines is the founder of Beauty 2 the Streetz, which serves the homeless community on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Raines has had her share of financial insecurity, grief and loss, and every week she and volunteers set up shop to offer whatever they can to make their homeless neighbors feel a little bit better, whether it's a beauty treatment, a new hairdo, a hot meal or just a hug. Read Shirley's story here.

David Fink founded Eye to Eye, a mentoring program for children with learning disabilities, in 1998. Flink was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia as a child, and knows the kind of support kids like him need to succeed. Now, Eye to Eye is a national organization that pairs middle school children who have a learning difference with a college or high school mentor who also has a learning difference. Read David's story here.

Wanna get away?

Photo credit: Pete Seaward/Lonely Planet

Travel guide empire Lonely Planet has revealed the top destinations for 2022. Whether you're looking for adventure, relaxation, natural beauty or cultural enrichment, there's bound to be a place you'll add to your travel bucket list. Taking the top spot for 2022 is the Cook Islands, a nation made up of 15 islands in the middle of the South Pacific. While roaming along the striking blue waters with their sandy islets can help you feel like you're the only person in the world, travelers also treasure the destination for its rugged mountains, rich lagoon, variety of water activities and the the native Maori community in Te Vara Nui Village.

Hear, hear!

Magic is really very simple. All you've got to do is want something and then let yourself have it.

- Aggie Cromwell, in the 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie "Halloweentown."

Who knew?

Maybe the lemurs in the movie "Madagascar" weren't so fictional after all! The Indri indri, a species of lemur native to the island nation, is one of a few animal species with rhythm, according to a new study from Current Biology. These lemurs are also the only ones that sing. Well, it's really more like howling. After 12 years of research, scientists analyzed 636 recordings of "singing" patterns from 39 adult indris and found they share two different rhythmic patterns with humans. The first is isochrony, which is when the intervals between notes are evenly spaced. The second is more of a 1:2 pattern, when the second interval is twice as long as the first one.

Rec of the week

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Confession time: I do not like scary Halloween things! No horror movies or haunted houses for me. I am already frightened by real life as it is. That being said, here are some baby bats being swaddled. Happy (soft, gentle) Halloween! (Click here to view)