uplifting news

Read recent happy news and other uplifting news stories from around the world on Newser.com

Stories 781 - 800 | << Prev   Next >>

He Thought He'd Lost His Board Forever. Then, an Instagram Tag

Doug Falter's surfboard, lost in wipeout in Hawaii in 2018, turns up 5K miles away

(Newser) - Filipino Giovanne Branzuela was pretty stoked over the summer to buy a weathered-looking surfboard for $40 from a neighbor, who'd purchased it from local fishermen who'd found it floating off the island of Sarangani. They'd figured it had fallen from a yacht cruising in the area. Branzuela...

Noble Gesture From Triathlete Whose Rival Went Off Course
Runner Deliberately
Stops Before Finish Line
video
Sep 21, 2020 6:38 AM CDT

Runner Deliberately Stops Before Finish Line

Triathlete allows rival to finish ahead of him after a wrong turn

(Newser) - A heartwarming gesture from a triathlete whose opponent almost lost out on the bronze medal is going viral. Diego Méntrida was behind James Teagle in Spain's Santander Triathlon on Sept. 13 when Teagle, who was in third place, took a wrong turn mere yards away from the finish...

NFL Player's New Son Makes Surprise Arrival

Kevin Byard helped his wife Clarke as she gave birth in a bathtub

(Newser) - An NFL player says he made the catch of a lifetime before the 2020 season even started, ESPN reports. Kevin Byard, star safety for the Tennessee Titans, says his wife suddenly gave birth on Aug. 23 in their Tennessee home—and he was the only one there to help. Byard...

'James Bond of Philanthropy' Has Gone 'Broke'

Billionaire Chuck Feeney inspired Warren Buffett's giving

(Newser) - Chuck Feeney made billions after co-founding airport retailer Duty Free Shoppers in 1960. He's been "living a life of monklike frugality" ever since, according to Forbes , which reports the world is better for it. The "James Bond of philanthropy" has anonymously donated more than $8 billion to...

He Was Sick of a Sucky 2020. His Remedy: 2M Sunflowers

Wis. farmer Scott Thompson has planted upward of 2M 'blooms of sunshine' to make people happy

(Newser) - Strawberries, raspberries, and pumpkins are what you'd find growing on Scott Thompson's Wisconsin farm in a normal summer and fall. But 2020 is definitely anything but normal, and this year, neither are the Bristol farmer's fields. When the pandemic forced everything to start shutting down in March,...

With One Team Bumped From Big Tourney, Ireland Does 'Right Thing'

Ireland's lacrosse team gives up spot in World Games to Native American team

(Newser) - Native Americans are said to be the inventors of lacrosse —it's the modern-day version of the indigenous game of baggataway—so a recent gesture by Ireland's lacrosse team is not only a generous one, but a nod to the sport's history. Only eight international lacrosse teams...

Celeb Comes Through for Preschool Teacher

Brian Austin Green pays off Amazon Wish List when it comes to his attention

(Newser) - Brian Austin Green is back in the news for a reason much better than a celebrity breakup . TMZ reports that the 90210 star paid off a preschool teacher's Amazon Wish List for school supplies. Amy Hoffman of Collingswood, New Jersey, says she watched Green's Instagram Live show last...

Out of Mama Orca's Tragedy, New Joy

J35, who carried her dead calf for 17 days in 2018, has a new calf

(Newser) - Tahlequah—or J35, as she is also known—the orca who heartbreakingly carried her dead calf for 17 days in 2018 , is a mom once again. She was discovered to be pregnant in July, and gave birth Friday. Researchers say the new calf appears to be "healthy and precocious"...

Pinned by a Tree for Days, He Broke Time Into Blocs

Minnesota's Jonathan Ceplecha was cutting down an oak tree when it fell on him

(Newser) - A Minnesota man who was taking down an oak tree on his property ended up being pinned by said oak tree for four long days. Now Jonathan Ceplecha, 59, has two broken legs and an amazing story of survival. The ordeal began on August 27, when Ceplecha tried to cut...

16-Year-Old American Swims the English Channel

Crossing took New Hamphire teen Vera Rivard more than 14 hours

(Newser) - A 16-year-old from New Hampshire successfully swam across the English Channel, a 33-mile swim she called an "adventure." Vera Rivard of Springfield left Dover in the UK in the morning and arrived on a beach near Calais, France, just before midnight on Tuesday. She's the second American...

21-Year-Old Author Nabs 7-Figure Deal

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé to release 2 young adult books, one with Black protagonists

(Newser) - A 21-year-old author has agreed to a seven-figure deal for a pair of young adult novels, per the AP . Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, announced Thursday that it would publish Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé's highly anticipated debut, the...

Teen Runner Slows to Help an Injured Competitor

Indiana teen Axel Aleman celebrated for helping opponent finish ahead of him

(Newser) - When high school senior Axel Aleman got home from his cross country race on Saturday, he told his stepmom only that he hadn't produced one of his better times—which shows he has as much modesty as sportsmanship. Aleman, competing in the 5K Southwestern Small School Invitational in Shelbyville,...

Locals Use Car Lights to Help Medevac Land on Dark Runway

The medical transport plane was trying to land to airlift a girl, but the runway's lights weren't working

(Newser) - Residents of a tiny Alaskan village jumped out of bed en masse Friday night, using their vehicles to light up a runway so that a medevac plane could land to help save a child. Per Alaska Public Media and the AP , the state-owned airport in Igiugig, a small town in...

NICU Staffers Stay Behind as Hurricane Laura Strikes

'I'm proud of them,' says doctor at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital

(Newser) - Nineteen babies already have a story to tell—and people to thank. Several NICU staffers stayed behind at a Louisiana hospital this week as Hurricane Laura ripped into the state, CNN reports. Amid howling winds and leaky windows, Dr. Juan Bossano and a group of 14 nurses, 3 respiratory therapists,...

Congress May Make Exception to Honor an Iraqi War Hero

Alwyn Cashe died after pulling others from burning vehicle in Iraq

(Newser) - Fifteen years after his act of heroism in Iraq, time has officially run out to posthumously award Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe the Medal of Honor. But the Defense Department hopes to make that happen anyway, assuming Congress grants a waiver of the five-year time limit, the Washington Post reports....

For Just the 2nd Time, a Virus Is Eradicated in Africa

The continent is now free of wild poliovirus

(Newser) - "This is an incredible and emotional day," WHO Africa director Matshidiso Moeti said Tuesday as health authorities declared the African continent free of the wild poliovirus after decades of effort. The declaration leaves Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan as the only countries thought to still have the wild poliovirus,...

Guy Shows What to Do If You Get a $150K Surprise PPP Loan

Minnesota's Thomas Fahling doesn't own a small business but still got a chunk of pandemic cash

(Newser) - Imagine waking up and finding $150,000 magically deposited into your bank account. Thomas Fahling doesn't have to imagine it, because it happened to him one day this spring. The 73-year-old from Crystal, Minn., doesn't have his own business (he's a front-desk clerk), yet he somehow became...

Taco Bell Worker Was 'Extremely Scared' of COVID. She Began CPR

Sonja Frazier helps save man's life after he passed out in Tennessee drive-thru

(Newser) - Strange things often happen at fast-food drive-thrus, but luckily for one man at a Taco Bell in Clarksville, Tenn., Sonja Frazier was working the day he drove up to place an order. People reports that on Aug. 12, Frazier and her co-workers noticed that the drive-thru line had suddenly stopped...

'Best' DNC Speech Belongs to a Surprise Speaker

13-year-old Brayden Harrington, who has a stutter, is winning universal praise for his remarks

(Newser) - One speech from Thursday night's Democratic National Convention is being called an example of "pure, unvarnished courage," a "must-watch," and even "the best speech" of the whole convention. No, those descriptors aren't for Joe Biden's speech (though he did receive applause across...

Tiny 'Lost Species' Is Alive and Well

Elephant shrew spotted for first time since 1968

(Newser) - A tiny "lost species" has been rediscovered, thriving far from human activity in the Horn of Africa. Researchers say they set out to find the Somali sengi, one of 20 species of elephant shrew, in Djibouti and lucked out with the first of 1,000 traps they set in...

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