A couple of weeks ago I promised a "News of the Day" feature here at Impatient Optimists. I may have been overly amibitious but the drive to want more regular interaction with our readers is there!

As we build our community here, we're open to hearing ideas and suggestions for what you'd like to see, read, and dialogue about. I'll continue to blog, of course. We'll continue to hear from experts from both within the foundation and outside. And hopefully you all are as excited as we are to continue the conversation.

For now, here are some news highlights and recaps of the week!

• If you haven't read our coverage of the "World at 7 Billion" so far, check it out! The 7 billionth baby was born on Monday, October 31. What will her life look like as she grows up in a world of 7 billion and beyond? There is no shortage of passion and commitment when it come to facing down the world's most significant problems including global health inequities, hunger, and poverty. If you want to do something, take action, tell your story, connect with others - check out UNFPA's 7 Billion Actions.
• All of us have a story to tell! How can we use them to make a difference? Yes, this is our most recent @gatesfoundation tweet. But it's also a part of a fascinating discussion hosted here at the foundation over the last two days by our Family Health team. The convening focused on "openly and creatively" discussing the challenges of spreading life-saving behavior change in poor countries. Like what? Exclusive breastfeeding, for one. It saves newborn lives globally. So does "kangaroo care" ("wearing your baby" or keeping them close to the mother's body), especially in our poorer countries. But how do these ideas spread culture to culture, village to village, mother to mother? Check out the #scaleimpact discussion on Twitter and our blog for more. One of the amazing things about social media though is how the circles expand to allow for so many voices. One of the foundation followers tweeted this to us, in response to using storytelling for change and I had to share:

@gatesfoundation Just today, a 7th grader brought up #storytelling as a way to comprehend reaching #7billion mark: http://t.co/eM4zwjt5 

• How can HIV-positive moms protect their babies? Check out this post from Erin at ONE with an amazing USAID infographic. In the midst of discussions and debates on the importance of foreign aid - even in a time of economic hardship  - it seems appropriate to wish USAID a Happy 50th birthday! Tomorrow, they'll celebrate fifty years of health and development work around the world.
• Global health group (and foundation partner) PSI (Population Services International) has unveiled their fabulous redesigned blog - Healthy Lives - and with it a series of posts from some amazing women writing about the importance of family planning access and funding around the world to eradicating malaria. They're all worth a read!
• Two governors - one a Democrat from North Carolina, the other a Republican from Iowa - share their thoughts over at Politico today, on education in their respective states, and across the United States, and why they believe the Common Core State Standards work (a shared set of educational standards adopted by over 40 states).
• I'm guessing most of you don't celebrate World Toilet Day (November 19) (or maybe you do - and I'm the out-of-touch one?). As Matt Damon and Gary White (the co-founders of Water.org) ask in their Huffington Post article today, "Safe Water and a Toilet -- Is That Too Much to Ask...for 2.5 Billion People?"  how do we, as a global community, justify the fact that nearly 40 percent of the world's population has no access to a clean glass of water? We can't. The foundation is committed to addressing this issue with a variety of strategies. As straight-forward as this seems, there are actually a lot of layers to providing safe, affordable sanitation - and clean water - to those who need them.