• A new environmental foundation backed by Leonardo DiCaprio is pledging $5 million in aid to the Amazon, which has been swept by wildfires. Earth Alliance was created last month by DiCaprio and philanthropists Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth. On Sunday, it launched the Amazon Forest Fund in an announcement on their website. The alliance is also seeking donations to help repair the Brazilian rain forest, called the "lungs of the planet." Brazilian federal experts reported a record number of wildfires across the country this year, up 84% over the same period in 2018. The funds will be distributed to five local groups working to combat the problem: Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida, Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, Instituto Kabu, Instituto Raoni and Instituto Socioambiental.
• Musician Kanye West hosted a Sunday Service in Ohio in support of those affected by the recent mass shooting. A large crowd gathered at the service in a park in Dayton. The event featured choir singers and was also attended by comedian Dave Chappelle. Chappelle, who resides in nearby Yellow Springs, was scheduled to host a special block party and benefit concert later Sunday in Dayton for those affected by the shooting. That event was expected to feature national and local entertainers. Organizers of Sunday night's "Gem City Shine" event say it would be an effort to "reclaim" the entertainment district where 24-year-old Connor Betts' 32-second rampage killed nine people and left dozens injured on Aug. 4.
• There is now a "Rolling Stones Rock" on Mars, and it's giving Mick Jagger and the boys some serious satisfaction. NASA named the little stone for the legendary rockers after its InSight robotic lander captured it rolling across the surface of Mars. Robert Downey Jr. took the stage just before the Stones at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Thursday night to make the new moniker public. The stadium is just a stone's throw from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages InSight. Downey told the crowd that scientists had come up with the name "in a fit of fandom and clever association." Jagger took a moment between songs to tell the crowd that "NASA has given us something we have always dreamed of, our very own rock on Mars. I can't believe it." Jagger added, "I want to bring it back on put it on our mantelpiece." The rock, just a little bigger than a golf ball, was moved by InSight's thrusters as the robotic lander touched down on Mars on Nov. 26. It only moved about 3 feet, but that's the farthest NASA has seen a rock roll while landing a craft on another planet.
A Section on 08/26/2019