Good News: Girl Lifts a Car to Save Her Father; Plus, Top 10 Good News of the Week

1. Lottery Winners Buy Prosthetic Leg for 13-year-old Olympic Torchbearer

   Crowds cheered as he donned a cane and carried the Olympic torch through northeast England in June, even when the young amputee tripped and fell. His parents had been fundraising to buy him a lighter replacement limb. This week Britain’s biggest lottery winners stepped in to supply the money.

2. Virginia Girl Lifts a Car, and Breathes Life Back into her Father A 22 year-old woman performed ‘the impossible’ when she found her father unconscious having been crushed by his car that slipped off its jack. She managed to pick up the BMW weighing a ton and a half and shove it away from her father’s body. When she discovered he was not breathing, her skills as a former lifeguard kicked in and she brought his limp body back to life.
3. Brother’s Last Wish To Tip $500 Turns Into $47,000 Fund for Waiters
   Remember Aaron’s Last Wish, the video showing his family giving a waitress five hundred dollars as a last remembrance of their brother? Well, the cash was raised online from friends and family to fulfill the request. Three weeks later, the family announced it had collected nearly $50,000 and three more lucky servers have been surprised with $500 gratuities. The family is posting videos weekly as they spread the good cheer.
4. Science Says Smiling is Helpful When You’re Stressed – Even Faking it

   Feeling good usually makes us smile, but does it work the other way around? Scientists investigated the potential benefits of smiling by looking at how different types of smiling, even faking it, affects individuals’ ability to recover from episodes of stress.

5. Endangered Whales Sing Like Birds in Recordings, Numbers Rebound
   A University of Washington researcher listened to the audio picked up by a recording device that spent a year in the icy waters off the east coast of Greenland. She was stunned at what she heard: whales singing nearly constantly for five months using the most remarkable variety of songs. The findings also hint at the possibility of a rebound in bowhead whales.
6. Covert Teddy Bear Airdrop Into Belarus Promotes Human Rights
   Belarus’ authoritarian President Lukashenko has sacked two of the nation’s top generals after two Swedish ad agency employees piloted a light plane into the country’s heavily guarded airspace, dropping 879 teddy bears decked out in parachutes and slogans supporting human rights. Following the incident, Belarus officials denied the flight took place, but then jailed a journalist for posting a photo of these bears on the internet. Fellow journalists are now rallying with their own photos.
7. Boy Rallies Restaurants to Recycle Used Crayons for Schools in Need
   After a family dinner at a local Outback Steakhouse, Yoni Kalin noticed the waiters tossing into the trash small packs of crayons given out to young diners. He wondered how many thousands were being thrown out around the country at a time when news reports showed teachers digging into their own pockets to buy school supplies for students.
8. ‘Pay it Forward’ Business School in Africa Gives Free Tuition for Service
   A unique, not-for-profit business school in South Africa held its fifth graduation ceremony for students who are not required to pay for their education monetarily, but rather to ‘Pay it Forward’ by transferring the knowledge, skills, and resources into their communities. Since its first classes in 2004, 760 students have been awarded full scholarships to the private college who would otherwise be unable to access higher education.
9. British Player Finally Wins at Wimbledon – 1st Man in 75 Years… w/ Gold

   Four weeks to the day after Roger Federer downed him on the same patch of grass at the Wimbledon finals, Britain’s Murray routed the Swiss superstar in the Olympic men’s singles final to win Olympic gold. The victory broke a losing streak for British tennis players at the hallowed Wimbledon grounds. Not since Fred Perry in 1936 has a British male won on the center court.

10. Comeback: Why the US Economy Is Much Stronger Than You Think

    In America these days, if you are watching too much news, you’re not getting the truth about the economy as much as political messaging and strategy. The truth is that the U.S. still has the strongest economy on the planet. America’s performance should be measured against the current competition, not against the records it set in the 1990s or 2000s. (Atlantic)

Video of the Week: Town Solves Crime of Stolen Flags at Veterans’ Graves

Just before the 4th of July, local New York media started reporting about dozens of flags stolen, ripped right off the flag poles pushed in the ground at the graves of veterans. Town residents were angry and disgusted by the "dirtbag who did this," until cameras caught the real culprit. (Watch Steve Hartman Play the Clever Sleuth)

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