By AJ Willingham

I'm not much of a hugger. Sure, I'll bust out the warm fuzzies for relatives around the holidays but I'm not like, say, my best friend, who prefers her hugs to produce the bone-liquifying pressure of an industrial vise. My husband loves to tell the story of our first date, when he approached me with open arms and I maneuvered him into a firm, businesslike handshake. Touch is just not my love language! And if you're also not a hugger, the holidays are a gauntlet of outstretched arms and sweatered bosoms and unfamiliar colognes. We'll make it through together! I recently watched some interviews with the lead actresses of the new "Wicked" film (which is sooo so good), and each tends to clutch the other's single beautifully taloned finger when things get deep. I do that too! It is emotionally supportive without being suffocating (literally or figuratively). Fingertip-to-fingertip touching is the new hugging, pass it on. 

Here’s all the good things that happened this week.

American Kennedy Johnson (left) was conferred the title of “Zosimli Naa,” or “Friendship Queen,” in the city of Tamale, northern Ghana, in October 2021. (Nana Kyei, Captured Studios)

The Friendship Queen Diaries

It's like something out of a movie: Kennedy Johnson was 15 years old when she gave birth to a baby girl in a Detroit foster home for teen moms, in 1996. Now, she's a queen in Ghana. Despite her challenging youth, Johnson made sure she and her daughter were well-traveled, and after discovering she had Nigerian and Ghanaian heritage, she founded a travel company to organize trips to West Africa for members of the diaspora. Her work attracted the attention of the Dakpema, a governing body in northern Ghana. She was blown away when they asked her to accept the title of "Zosimli Naa," or "Friendship Queen." The role of Friendship Queen comes with an elevated status and practical responsibilities to the community. Johnson works together with elders of the centuries-old Dagbon Kingdom, which comprises around five million people, to run positive initiatives in the city of Tamale, where she now lives. “We felt she was the right choice based on her qualities and her connection to both the Dagbon Kingdom and the diaspora,” said the Dakpema. “By having a Queen who embodies both our rich cultural heritage and strong ties to the world, we open the door to cultural exchange, investment and global awareness.

(CNN)

Fabric of rebirth

The iconic Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is finally open to the public again after a devastating fire damaged it five years ago. As part of this rebirth, fashion designer and artist Jean-Charles de Castelbajac was asked to create new vestments, or special service garments, for the cathedral's clergy. Vestments are an important part of a church's identity and de Castelbajac said the theme for the new look was "noble simplicity." The designer drew inspiration from Notre Dame's stained glass and blonde stone, creating a look that he said speaks to tradition and innovation; old and new. The vision was "radiant with color, radiant of hope, radiant of faith," de Castelbajac told CNN. You can see details of the vestments in the photo above, and learn more about de Castelbajac's process in this video. 

(CNN)

Music on the brain

If you've ever shared your life with someone with dementia or another progressive neurological disease, you know music can be magic. Toronto-based company LUCID is combining facial mapping software, artificial intelligence, and music to create a therapy for older patients dealing with health challenges like Alzheimer's, dementia and even depression and anxiety. The treatment involves measuring how a person's brain reacts to music and combining that with facial mapping and artificial intelligence. Using this data, the technology can create specific playlists that hopefully can alleviate stress, restlessness, confusion and emotional discomfort in dementia patients. 

 (Natalia Botero-Acosta)

I would swim 500 miles

This whale puts The Proclaimers to shame! A male humpback whale has completed an extraordinary record-breaking migration, swimming more than 8,000 miles from South America to Africa. The humpback was first spotted off the coast of Colombia in 2013 and seen again a few years later not far from its original location. But in 2022, the whale was unexpectedly detected in the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar, off the coast of East Africa. The typical migration route for humpback whales can approach 5,000 miles in a single direction, making this one’s journey close to two times that of most whales. The discovery also marks the first documentation of an adult male humpback traveling between the Pacific and Indian oceans.

(CNN)

The power of good food

Hadeel Al Motawa knows that food can be so much more than simple sustenance. She co-founded the award-winning restaurant Takya, located in the 600-year-old historic center of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. Though the food has all the artfully prepared aura of a high-class restaurant, the menu is inspired by the traditional home cooking Al Motawa grew up with, and by her travels around Saudi Arabia and abroad. After seeing the deep connection between food and culture, Al Motawa wanted to “bring that same connection back home, to create a space where people could rediscover the beauty of Saudi cuisine.” Saudi Arabia itself is a country of great geographical, and thus culinary, diversity. For example, the Eastern Province is known for its seafood, such as Muhammar, a fried fish dish made with rice and sugar that was traditionally popular among sailors. In the country’s northern region, where temperatures are cooler and may drop below freezing during winter, traditional recipes focus on grains and meat, like the popular jareesh, a lamb stew made with wheat and yogurt. Is your mouth watering yet? 

Congratulations to our 2024 CNN Hero of the Year, Stephen Knight! Knight's nonprofit saves lives by providing foster care for dogs while their owners focus on addiction recovery. Online voters selected him from this year’s Top 5 CNN Heroes. “This means everything. I represent so much here. I represent the recovery community. The dog rescue community … This is going to be able to take us to the next level," Knight said after his big win. 

Remember the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?" Well, this is kind of like that, except if you gave some rats a car. Spoiler: They love it. (Click here to view)

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