uplifting news

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

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Driver Praised After School Bus Blast: 'Courage on Wheels'

Quick-thinking Kia Rousseve, 28, got kids off her bus moments before it exploded in New Orleans

(Newser) - A young bus driver in Louisiana is being credited with saving the children in her charge after she got them all off the bus just moments before the vehicle exploded. Kia Rousseve, 28, tells NOLA.com that she was driving her regular route on Wednesday morning through the Central City...

On 4th Day, a Break for Family Stuck in Flooded Outback

Rescuers reach group of 7, including a celebrated artist and member of nomadic family

(Newser) - "Bush savvy" though they are, fears for a family of seven lost in the Australian outback had mounted Wednesday with what was initially no sign of the group for a fourth day. Three elderly people and four children ages 7 to 17 had set out in two vehicles around...

Wildlife Center Gets Creative in Caring for Newborn Fox

Staffers in Richmond, Virginia, dress up in fox costume to keep baby from habituating to humans

(Newser) - Animals often forge a strong bond with the first creature to care for them (typically their mother), a phenomenon called imprinting. So when an abandoned baby fox showed up at Virginia's Richmond Wildlife Center shortly after it was born, staffers wanted to make sure it made the right imprint—...

Bald Eagle Rescued From SUV Grille
Bald Eagle Rescued
From SUV Grille

Bald Eagle Rescued From SUV Grille

It was stuck after collision on Maryland highway

(Newser) - It would be a bad situation for any creature, let alone America's majestic national bird. An animal control officer in Maryland came to the rescue Saturday after a bald eagle was trapped in the front grille of an SUV, NBC Washington reports. In a Facebook post , officials in Calvert...

WWII Vet, 100, Is Getting Married Near D-Day Beaches

American Harold Terens' fiancee is four years his junior

(Newser) - Harold Terens and fiancee Jeanne Swerlin kissed and held hands like high school sweethearts as they discussed their upcoming wedding in France, a country the World War II veteran first visited as a 20-year-old US Army Air Forces corporal shortly after D-Day. Terens, a gregarious and energetic 100-year-old, will be...

He Hit a Bird-Watching Mark Once Thought Unreachable

American Peter Kaestner is the first to document 10K different species

(Newser) - Peter Kaestner has seen 10,000 different bird species, which, if you're not familiar with birding, sounds pretty impressive. If, however, you are familiar with birding, it's far more than that. As in, it's unprecedented. Last month, the 70-year-old retired American diplomat became the first person to...

'80s Group Had One Single. Now, a Record Deal

Zenana's 1986 single, 'Witches,' is finally getting traction after DJ found it in a UK record shop

(Newser) - A rare record-shop find has launched an obscure British '80s band into the spotlight. Zenana was formed in 1983 and released one single, "Witches," in 1986 (give it a listen here ). The synth-pop dance song never charted, the BBC reports, and the group disbanded the following...

It's Hard to Find a (Cheap) Home on the Range

At Yellowstone, a $40M gift looks to bring affordable housing to the park for staff

(Newser) - When Caroline Gold was accepted for her dream job working at Yellowstone National Park in 2021, she immediately informed her employer in Texas she was leaving. Then she started looking for housing in rural Montana near her new place of work. That's when she wondered, "Am I going...

She's Tiny, Tough, and Just Pulled Off a Huge Solo Feat

New York native Cole Brauer, 29, is first American woman to sail around the world solo

(Newser) - Living on Long Island, surrounded by various bays and harbors, the Long Island Sound, and the Atlantic Ocean, perhaps gave Cole Brauer a subconscious leg up on becoming the sailor she is today. The 29-year-old got to prove just how good of a sailor this week, becoming the first American...

Brothers Donate $5M to Honor Black Couple Who Helped Family

Gus and Emma Thompson rented a house to Chinese Americans in 1938 when nobody else would

(Newser) - In the late 1930s, a man born into slavery in Kentucky rented a house in Coronado, California, to a Chinese American family excluded from other properties under racist laws. That property is now worth some serious coin, and the family is paying it back with a $5 million gift to...

Library Comes Up With Purrfect Way to Forgive Lost Books

Worcester Public Library in Massachusetts is granting amnesty if you bring in cat pics

(Newser) - A Massachusetts library has implemented a temporary—and arguably purrfect—forgiveness program for those who've lost or damaged materials they've borrowed. The New York Times reports on the "March Meowness" initiative currently happening at the Worcester Public Library: For this month only, borrowers whose library cards have...

Dune Sequel Had a Secret Premiere 6 Weeks Ago

Director Denis Villeneuve screened film for sick man in Quebec palliative care facility as his dying wish

(Newser) - Dune: Part Two saw its official wide release on Friday—but a dying man in a Canadian palliative care facility had his own secret screening six weeks before the premiere, thanks to one woman's determination to fulfill his final wish. Josee Gagnon, whose L'Avant charity helps guide people...

Inmate's Generosity Just Made Him $100K Richer

Prisoner donated $17 paycheck—an entire month's worth of work—to Gaza; then people gave to him

(Newser) - A longtime California inmate had to put in a month's worth of work just to earn enough to buy a couple of Starbucks drinks. What he did with those earnings, however, has since made him $100,000 richer as he prepares to reenter the world upon being paroled later...

Missing Autistic Teen Found 200 Miles Away From Home

13-year-old boy went missing from home in Tucson, turns up in New Mexico

(Newser) - A missing teen with autism has been found in New Mexico—about 200 miles away from his home in southern Arizona, according to New Mexico State Police. The 13-year-old, Marcus Tessier, turned up at a Walmart in Deming on Tuesday after going missing the night before from his family's...

Inmates Make Violins Out of Migrants' Boats

Prison in Italy begins an unusual project

(Newser) - The violins, violas, and cellos played by the Orchestra of the Sea in its debut performance this week at Milan's famed Teatro alla Scala carry with them tales of desperation and redemption, per the AP . The wood that was bent, chiseled, and gouged to form the instruments was recovered...

Staff Left in 'Absolute Disbelief' at Patron's Tip
Staff Left in 'Absolute
Disbelief' at Patron's Tip
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Staff Left in 'Absolute Disbelief' at Patron's Tip

Customer left $10K gratuity on a $32 tab at Michigan restaurant in honor of friend who'd died

(Newser) - A 20% tip on a $32 restaurant tab would come out to about $6.40; a more generous tip of 25% would be closer to $8. One server in a Michigan eatery, however, received a tip that went right off the charts: $10,000, or about 30,835% of the...

Chiefs Coach Andy Reid Comforted Teen After Gunfire

Fan recalls Andy Reid offering him a hug amid reports of similar efforts from players

(Newser) - Panicked, injured, and having lost his friend amid the chaos that followed the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl celebration, Gabe Wallace followed a security guard's advice and took shelter inside Kansas City's Union Station. He was then comforted by a familiar face: Chiefs' head coach...

The Tale of the Valentine's Day Bandit

A tradition powered by the late Kevin Fahrman carries on in Portland, Maine

(Newser) - Since 1976, residents of Portland, Maine, have awoken on Valentine's Day to find bright red hearts plastered everywhere—on church steeples, construction cranes, and a military fort accessible only by boat. In many ways, it's like a late Christmas or early Easter. "Children and adults alike go...

Man, 100, Is Competing for Diving Title

Iran's Taghi Askari will be oldest competitor at World Aquatics Masters Championships in Doha

(Newser) - You have to be at least 25 (30 for water polo) to participate in the World Aquatics Masters Championships starting next week—but hitting the age minimum is one thing that competitor Taghi Askari won't have to worry about. The Iranian centenarian (he's exactly 100 years old) is...

Hiker Reaches California 2 Years After She Left Delaware

Briana DeSanctis is first woman to complete solo hike of coast-to-coast trail

(Newser) - After walking around 6,800 miles over more than two years, Briana DeSanctis reached the Pacific Ocean in Point Reyes, California, on Saturday, becoming the first woman to have hiked the American Discovery Trail solo. "What a lot of feelings," she said in an Instagram post . "I'...

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