Family Life

Teens Save Life Through Facebook

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:58:40 GMT

A suicidal-sounding status update in Danny Manes’ Facebook newsfeed caught the Colorado teen’s eye. Manes, 17, only knew the 19-year-old teenager through church events, but decided he needed to reach out.

“He was talking to Jesus and telling him thank you for the life he was given, but it was time,” Manes told ABCNews.com.

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10-year-old Stumbles Upon New Molecule, Gets Published

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:59:27 GMT

A 10-year-old girl was experimenting with a molecule-building set in her Montessori school when she created an unusual-looking specimen.

Clara Lazen randomly arranged a unique combination of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon atoms, with the result being a molecule her teacher had never seen before. Intrigued, he photographed it and sent it to a chemistry professor

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Maine Girl Bouncing Back After 6-organ Transplant

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:56:09 GMT

A 9-year-old Maine girl is home from a Boston hospital healthy, active and with high hopes — and a new stomach, liver, spleen, small intestine, pancreas, and part of an esophagus to replace the ones that were being choked by a huge tumor.

It’s believed to be the largest number of organs transplanted at one time in New England.

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Experts Said it Wouldn't Work, But Rescue Dog and Dying 4-yr-old Boy Proved Them Wrong

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:32:11 GMT

As nearly anyone who has adopted a pet from a shelter can attest, there’s something special about a rescued animal; it’s as if they can sense they’ve been given a second chance at life. That’s certainly the case with Juno, a Belgian Malinois who was adopted just days before she was to be euthanized. But

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Disability App Designed by London Terrorism Survivor

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:49:45 GMT

A severely injured survivor of the London train bombings has created a smartphone app to help people with disabilities travel around London more easily.

Daniel Biddle lost both his legs, spleen and left eye after a bomb exploded on a tube train in July 2005.

His Ldn Access app details step-free access, ramps and usable toilet

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Mom Who was Criticized for Letting Her Kid Walk Alone, Transforms Town

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:28:40 GMT

A few years ago, a mom in a small Mississippi town was chastised by neighbors and the press for teaching her 10-year-old son to walk to soccer practice by himself. The first time he set out on the route, which was less than a mile, a cop picked him up, scolded him that it wasn’t safe, and warned
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How to Get a $106,000 College Education for Free

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:39:39 GMT

How would you like to go to a private liberal arts college that will give you a full-ride tuition scholarship for four years?

Antioch College in Yellow Spring, Ohio, is waiving the tuition for all its students, who enroll in the next three years.

The college, originally founded in 1850, shut its door in 2008 after years
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Shelter Dog Wasn't Hyper; He was a Natural Tracker and Now a Police Star

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:24:10 GMT

After being abandoned by his owner just over a year ago, a young mutt was finding it hard to fit in.

The energetic hound-boxer mix would not stop jumping up on people, mouthing on their arms and legs. It took a trainer from a police K-9 group to spot the dog's real potential.

On a hunch, Adam Witherspoon tested
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Labradoodle Hero Rescues Grandfather After He Falls in Ravine

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:11:14 GMT

Maurice Holder, 73, had been taking pet labradoodle Monty for a walk along a tidal river when the ground suddenly gave way and he plunged 40ft towards the water.

The pensioner was knocked unconscious and broke six ribs.

Maurice said: "When I woke up the tide had come in up to my chest and I was bleeding from my head."

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Recess Boosts Kids' Grades

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:02:32 GMT

Children who get more exercise also tend to do better in school, whether the exercise comes as recess, physical education classes or getting exercise on the way to school, according to an international study.

The findings, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, come as many U.S. schools are cutting recess and P.E. classes in favor of more academic
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Teenage Sailor Laura Dekker Becomes Youngest to Circle the Globe

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:54:27 GMT

A year and a day after she set out to sail single-handed around the globe, Dutch teenager Laura Dekker will finish her 27,000 mile voyage on Saturday.

Miss Dekker, who is 16 years and four months old, has cut six months off the unofficial record set in 2010 by Australian teenager Jessica Watson, who was days away from her 17th
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Math Prodigy Proud of His Autism

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:56:31 GMT

Jake Barnett, an Indianapolis 13-year-old, has been acing college math and science courses since he was eight years old. At 13, he is a college sophomore taking honors classes in math and physics, while also doing scientific research and tutoring fellow students.

No one could have predicted that Jake would even make it to college. At age two,
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School Kids Stick 820 Post-it Notes on Lockers to Counter Bullying

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:12:20 GMT

Samantha Bremmer, an eighth-grade student in Dexter, Mich., covered lockers in her school with messages of hope as an antidote to bullying.

"I just thought of it out of the blue after watching videos of so many people saying mean things to others," she explained. "Some people need encouragement to get through the day, and I thought it would be
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A Homeless Teen Named National Science Prize Finalist is Given Housing and Help

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:56:26 GMT

A dedicated marine biology student at a Long Island High School learned she was named one of 61 finalists for the $100,000 Intel Science prize just days after her family was forced to move into a homeless shelter.

Now, thanks to news reports on TV and print, the 17-year-old student and her family have been
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Oprah Celebrates First Graduating Class of South African Girls Academy

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:52:39 GMT

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which opened in January 2007 in South Africa to provide educational and leadership opportunities for gifted girls from impoverished backgrounds, celebrated its first graduating class Saturday.

72 girls of graduating age filed onto the stage in Johannesburg, all wearing white dresses, to cheers and tears from Oprah herself, who'd invested $40 million to give
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Battered Women's Shelter Welcomes Pets After Hero Dog Saves Woman

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:10:41 GMT

A dog that saved one battered woman's life may go on to save many more by changing the role beloved family pets play in the lives of domestic abuse victims.

The heroic Great Dane had thrown himself over the body of a woman who had been nearly beaten to death by her boyfriend who was repeatedly striking her with a
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7-year-old Competitive Swimmer With One Arm and No Legs Inpsires America

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 10:30:10 GMT

Gabe Marsh was raised to believe he is no different than anybody else. Now the athlete is inspiring more people as a finalist in "America Inspired," a national contest sponsored by Examiner.com. His story was featured in the Huntsville Times, here.

Earlier this week, Examiner.com announced the 25 finalists in five categories leadership, overcoming adversity, sacrifice,
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Dear Customer, Who Stuck Up For His Little Brother

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:53:31 GMT

You thought I didn't really notice. But I did. I wanted to high-five you.

Yesterday I had a pair of brothers in my store. One was maybe between 15 and 17. He was a wrestler at the local high school. Kind of tall, stocky and handsome. He had a younger brother, who was maybe about 10 to 12 years old. The
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Woman's Battle to Get Jewish Father, WW I Hero, his Medal May Finally Pay Off

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:39:32 GMT

It was bravery at the highest level: William Shemin defied German machine gun fire to sprint across a World War I battlefield and pull wounded comrades to safety. And he did so no fewer than three times.

Yet Shemin never earned the nation’s highest military citation, the Medal of Honor — a result, many suspected,
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One Big Wish, Boy Blows up Building (w/ Video)

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:10:11 GMT

A 7-year-old boy from California had the opportunity to be the one to push the button and implode a massive ConAgra grain silo in Erie County, Ohio.

Maxwell Hinton, a cancer patient, never thought he would get a chance to play with explosives at such a young age. But on Sunday the little boy's big dream came true
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