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Police Officer Praised for Spending Hours Looking After Children While Mom Filed Domestic Violence Report

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McKinley Corbley
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Police officers are always protecting and serving the community in different ways – and this cop is being praised for offering two helping hands to a mother in need.

Officer Robert Lofgran of the West Jordan Police Department in Utah was on hand earlier this month when a young mother and her children entered the station to file a domestic violence report.

As she filed the report, Lofgran offered to look after her kids. He reportedly “spent hours” holding the woman’s baby and caring for the other youngsters.

The station clerks were so touched by Lofgran’s gesture, they snapped several photos of him holding the infant and posted them to the police department’s Facebook page.

RELATED: Policeman Moved by Plea for Parenthood Adopts Baby of Drug-Addicted Homeless Woman

“Our records clerks caught Officer Lofgran during a call detail the other day,” says the post. “Officer Lofgran helped watch over the children while this mother got the help she needed for that day. He spent hours on this call. Thank you for your service!”

Since it was published to social media, the photos have been shared hundreds of times.

Sgt. Alex Earelli told CTV News that he was especially proud of Lofgran’s gesture because his officers are always showing “kindness and support… in all their calls” and “those are the type of values we’re trying to represent.”

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After Dedicating 16 Years of His Life to Mangroves, Man Has Helped to Plant 2 Million Trees

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Mangrove trees are an essential source of resources for humans and animals alike – and despite how deforestation has put the trees in a precarious position, one man has dedicated his entire life to protecting them.

Douglas Thisera, also known as the “Mangrove Master”, has planted over 2 million mangrove saplings across his home country of Sri Lanka in a bid to preserve the precious foliage.

“I love mangrove forests very much,” Thisera told Great Big Story. “I can compare my attachment to mangroves like the connection between a tree and its bark.”

RELATED: After Planting a Tree Every Day for 40 Years, Man Has Created Blossoming Forest on Barren Wasteland

Thisera first learned about the importance of mangroves when he began work as a fisherman at 11 years old. All of the crabs, shrimp and fish that he depended on for his own livelihood depended on mangroves as their source of food and shelter.

Though Thisera has been working in conservation since 1992, he has spent the last 16 years planting the saplings and organizing community projects to protect mangrove forests from being torn down for industrialization purposes.

(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Great Big Story

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Back Pain May Soon Be a Thing of the Past After Scientists Successfully Implant Lab-Grown Spinal Discs

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Back Pain-CC Esther Max

This exciting new study says that you may soon be cured of that awful ache in your back.

According to the study from Penn Medicine, scientists believe we will soon be able to grow new spinal discs from a patient’s own cells as a means of replacing the deteriorated ones that cause back and neck pain.

For the first time ever, spinal discs that were grown from stem cells were successfully implanted and provided long-term function in the largest animal model ever evaluated for bioengineered disc replacement.

The soft tissues in the spinal column, the intervertebral discs, are essential for the motions of daily life, such as turning your head to tying your shoes. At any given time, however, about half the adult population in the United States is suffering from back or neck pain, for which treatment and care place a significant economic burden on society—an estimated $195 billion a year.

RELATED: Scientists Can Now Regenerate and Implant Any Injured Organ Without the Body Rejecting It

While spinal disc degeneration is often associated with that pain, the underlying causes of disc degeneration remain less understood. Today’s approaches, which include spinal fusion surgery and mechanical replacement devices, provide symptomatic relief, but they do not restore native disc structure, function, and range of motion, and they often have limited long-term efficacy. Thus, there is a need for new therapies.

Tissue engineering holds great promise. It involves combining the patients’ or animals’ own stems cells with biomaterial scaffolds in the lab to generate a composite structure that is then implanted into the spine to act as a replacement disc. For the last 15 years, the Penn research team has been developing a tissue engineered replacement disc, moving from in-vitro basic science endeavors to small animal models to larger animal models with an eye towards human trials – “optimistically” in the near future.

“This is a major step: to grow such a large disc in the lab, to get it into the disc space, and then to have it to start integrating with the surrounding native tissue. That’s very promising,” said Robert L. Mauck, co-senior author of the paper, which was published in Science Translational Medicine. “The current standard of care does not actually restore the disc, so our hope with this engineered device is to replace it in a biological, functional way and regain full range of motion.”

CHECK OUT: Previously Thought Impossible, Scientists Will Soon Use Gene-Editing to Try and Stop Kidney Disease in Humans

Researchers demonstrated successful total disc replacement in the goat cervical spine. They chose the goat because its cervical spinal disc dimensions are similar to humans’ and goats have the benefit of semi-upright stature. Eight weeks after the implant, MRI results suggest that disc composition was maintained or improved, and that the mechanical properties either matched or exceeded those of the native goat cervical disc.

“When you look at the success in the literature from mechanical devices, I think there is a very good reason to be optimistic that we could reach that same success, if not exceed it with the engineered discs [in humans],” said Harvey E. Smith, MD, co-senior author and clinical lead on the study.

The research team credits the success of the work to the multidisciplinary and translational approach they’ve taken since it began at Penn Medicine, which is home to the many experts from the different departments and schools who were involved in this project.

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The next step will be to conduct longer-term studies to further characterize the function of the engineered discs in the goat model, the authors said, as well as model the degeneration of spinal discs in humans and to test how their engineered discs perform in that context.

“There is a lot of desirability to implant a biological device that is made of your own cells,” Smith said. “Using a true tissue-engineered motion preserving replacement device in arthroplasty of this nature is not something we have yet done in orthopaedics. I think it would be a paradigm shift for how we really treat these spinal diseases and how we approach motion sparing reconstruction of joints.”

(Source: Penn Medicine News)

Know Someone With Back Pack? Be Sure And Share This With Your Friends On Social Media – File Photo by Esther Max, CC 

Instead of Taking Their Share of Hospital Lotto Pool Winnings, Nurses Give It All to Two Struggling Co-Workers

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Good News Network
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This team of nurses was lucky enough to draw a winning ticket in their NICU’s lottery pool – but instead of divvying up the cash, the staffers decided to pool their money again and give all of the winnings to two nurses going through heartbreak.

Though the nurses at Mercy Children’s Hospital in Missouri didn’t win the whopping $1.6 billion Mega Millions lotto jackpot last month, they did draw one of five state tickets worth $10,000. After taxes, their winnings came to $7,200.

As they were celebrating in their good fortune, however, they realized that they could put their money to better use – more specifically, they decided to give the money to two of their staffers: Gretchen Post and Casey Orellana.

Post, who is a nurse at Mercy’s, has been grieving the loss of her 17-year-old son after he committed suicide on the night of the lotto drawing. The check that she received from her adoring co-workers ended up paying for his funeral.

RELATED: When Single Mom Wins State’s Largest Ever Lotto Prize, She Shares the Fortune With Those Who Need It Most

“I know it’s not the $1.6 billion dollars, but here is what we have to offer you,” Post’s co-worker recalls saying to the nurse. “Hopefully, it’ll help.”

The second check went to neonatalogist Orellana who has been struggling to make ends meet since her husband was diagnosed with sarcoma earlier in the year.

“When I got that phone call [about the lottery winnings], it was a day I was wondering how we were going to pay for certain medications,” Orellana told KMOV. “It just touches your heart.”

(WATCH the news coverage below)

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“I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.” –Duke Ellington

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Quote of the Day:  “I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.” –Duke Ellington

Photo: by Michiel Jelijs, CC license

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Drug That Can Stop a Dozen ‘Untreatable’ Cancers Gets Approval—And Company Vows to Help Every Patient Afford It

By
McKinley Corbley
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The FDA has just approved a first-of-its-kind drug that can target and treat over a dozen different kinds of cancers based on a common gene, rather than its location in the body.

Larotrectinib is an oral drug that received accelerated breakthrough status after it displayed remarkable success in treating adult and pediatric cancers that currently have no satisfactory alternative treatments or have progressed following treatment.

This is the second ever FDA-approved drug that treats cancers based on a certain genetic trait, regardless of the patient’s age or cancer type, and it is the first drug to ever treat cancers that contain the specific NTRK gene that is present in several common forms of adult cancer and many forms of rare pediatric cancers.

“In some cancers, a part of the TRK gene has become attached to another gene, which is called a fusion. When this occurs, it leads to the TRK gene being turned on when it’s not supposed to be and that causes the cells to grow uncontrollably,” said Dr. Ted Laetsch, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern’s Simmons Cancer Center. “What’s unique about the drug is it is very selective; it only blocks TRK receptors.”

RELATED: Previously Thought Impossible, Scientists Will Soon Use Gene-Editing to Try and Stop Kidney Disease in Humans

NTRK fusions are rare, but can occur in salivary gland, lung, breast, and thyroid cancers, as well as soft tissue sarcoma – and prior to this week’s FDA approval, there had been no treatment for many of the cancers that frequently expressed this mutation.

The drug was studied in three clinical trials that included 55 pediatric and adult patients with tumors that had displayed the NTRK gene fusion and were not treatable by any other means.

The drug demonstrated a 75% overall response rate that was considered especially durable, with 73% of those responses lasting at least six months, and 39% lasting a year or more at the time results were analyzed.

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The most serious adverse events, relating to neurotoxicity and hepatotoxicity, were mild for over 90% of patients.

Furthermore, results of the clinical trial which only enlisted pediatric patients showed a 93% success rate, and none of the patients had to drop out of the study due to a drug-induced side effect.

“Today’s approval marks another step in an important shift toward treating cancers based on their tumor genetics rather than their site of origin in the body,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. “Its approval reflects advances in the use of biomarkers to guide drug development and the more targeted delivery of medicine. We now have the ability to make sure that the right patients get the right treatment at the right time.

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“This type of drug development program, which enrolled patients with different tumors but a common gene mutation, wouldn’t have been possible a decade ago because we knew a lot less about such cancer mutations. Using our breakthrough therapy designation and accelerated approval processes, we support innovation in precision oncology drug development and the evolution of more targeted and effective treatments for cancer patients.”

The drug is currently being marketed by Bayer under the brand name Vitrakvi. Though the wholesale acquisition cost of the drug is $32,800 for a 30-day supply, the company has taken several steps to ensure that every patient who needs the life-saving medication will have affordable access.

For starters, the company insists that because the bulk of insurance companies will be covering the costs, most patients will only have to pay about $20 or less out-of-pocket. If there are complications with the insurance coverage, Bayer will help with expensive co-pays or provide the medication to the patient for free while the details are worked out.

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If all else fails, then the company will connect the patient with a Bayer-funded charity that provides the drug free of charge.

Additionally, Bayer’s Vitrakvi Commitment Program states that if a patient does not show a response to the drug within 90 days, then they will refund the cost of the medication to the insurance company or government program, according to Forbes.

“Today’s approval of Vitrakvi is the culmination of years of hard work and research by many people to bring the first ever treatment to patients with TRK fusion cancer,” said Robert LaCaze, member of the executive committee of Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division and head of the Oncology Strategic Business Unit at Bayer. “In this era of precision medicine, we are delivering on Bayer’s commitment to advance the future of cancer care while providing value for patients and physicians.”

Cure Your Friends Of Negativity By Sharing The Groundbreaking News To Social Media – Photo by Bayer

Man Saves a Child’s Life After He Saw a Woman He Liked in the Bone Marrow Donor Queue

By
McKinley Corbley
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Billy Higgins is now the “superman” life-saver of a 10-year-old boy thanks to a romantic twist of fate that compelled him to become a bone marrow donor.

Four years ago, young Rupert Cross was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder that required him to undergo chemotherapy in a specialist unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital for 80 days straight.

Though the prognosis was dire, the boy is now completely healed after Higgins discovered he was a match for Rupert’s bone marrow.

Coincidentally, Higgins was only given the opportunity to donate bone marrow because there was a different kind of match standing in line for the donor register. In an interview with BBC, Higgens said that he hopped in line after seeing a woman who he liked waiting in the queue.

RELATED: Hiker Was About to Die in a Snowstorm When She Was Saved by a Total Stranger Following Her Intuition

When he registered to be a donor and found out that he was a match for Rupert, he didn’t hesitate to undergo the operation for a transplant.

Not only did the woman go on to become Higgins’s wife, his bone marrow donation saved Rupert’s life – and he hopes that others will be inspired to do the same.

“If you’ve got that opportunity to provide bone marrow that someone desperately needs, then you have to do that,” he told BBC. “It’s the right thing to do.”

(WATCH the interview below) – Photo by BBC

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Sir Richard Branson Will Give $3 Million to Whoever Can Save the Planet By Reinventing the Air Conditioner

By
McKinley Corbley
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Inventors from around the world now have three million reasons to reinvent one of the most basic household appliances: the air conditioner.

When people start to earn more money, reports show that one of the most common first purchases they make is an air conditioning unit. With global temperatures slowly rising and more people earning higher incomes, the amount of utilized AC units could multiply to a whopping 4.5 billion units by 2050, generating thousands of tons of carbon emissions as a byproduct.

That is why Sir Richard Branson recently helped to launch an international competition that is searching for participants who can come up with a more sustainable design for the air conditioner.

As a means of combatting climate change, the Global Cooling Prize is offering a $3 million prize for anyone who can design an AC unit that has five times less of the environmental impact as the standard unit, but for less than two times the shelf price.

RELATED: Instead of Burning Coal, New Fuel Emits Zero Harmful Emissions – and It’s Made From Sewage

The Indian government is also backing the competition, as their nation’s residents are expected to buy 1 billion AC units during the coming decades.

A winning technology could prevent up to 100 gigatons of carbon emissions by 2050, and put the world on a pathway to mitigate up to 0.5º C of global warming by 2100, according to the Global Cooling Prize’s report.

“The increase in energy consumption for cooling represents a massive risk to meeting our climate goals … [and the prize] can literally help save the world from the disaster it’s facing,” says Branson.

LOOK: Totally Green Machine That Uses Biowaste to Generate Clouds for Clean Water Wins $1.75 Million XPrize

“This is a $20 billion market ready for a shake-up,” he added. “The challenge is that the market is broken. Incumbent manufacturers follow market signals, which currently reward high volume and low price. High R&D costs present a major barrier to entry.”

By offering up an incentive for a new design, however, competition organizers hope that smaller startups will finally have a chance to get their foot in the door of an industry that is dominated by a few multi-billion dollar corporations.

(WATCH the video below) – Photos by Global Cooling Prize

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Anonymous Man Calling Himself Santa Picked Up the Tab for Dozens of Walmart Customers

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Good News Network
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Kris Kringle was working his magic for some unsuspecting Walmart customers in Vermont last week.

An anonymous man who was photographed wearing a New England Patriots jacket waltzed into the Derby store and paid for every single item on layaway.

Walmart was not allowed to disclose how much money the man spent or how many people he helped that day, but judging by the amount of gifts that were stacked on the store’s layaway shelves, it was a lot.

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When asked who could afford to pay for so many items, the man simply said: “Santa Claus can.”

“There were people ahead of me who were eight, nine, hundred-dollar layaways,” customer Julie Gates told WCAX in the interview below. “I get goosebumps thinking that – that is the true magic of Christmas, that’s the Christmas spirit walking among us.”

“I left the store in awe, with tears in my eyes,” she told CNN. “That some man that didn’t know any of us would just walk into a Walmart in a little place like Vermont and pay for everyone’s layaway.”

(WATCH the news coverage below) – Photo by Julie Gates

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Watch NASA Scientists’ Emotional Reaction to Successfully Landing Robot on Surface of Mars

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Good News Network
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Mars has just received its newest robotic resident.

NASA’s InSight machine (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) successfully touched down on the Red Planet after an almost seven-month, 300-million-mile (458-million-kilometer) journey from Earth.

InSight’s two-year mission will be to study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all celestial bodies with rocky surfaces, including Earth and the Moon, were formed.

After InSight launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 5th, the lander touched down Monday, November 26th, near Mars’ equator on the western side of a flat, smooth expanse of lava called Elysium Planitia, with a signal affirming a completed landing sequence,

RELATED: NASA Engineer Saves Passenger Jet From Disaster When He Spots Malfunction From Window Seat

“We hit the Martian atmosphere at 12,300 mph (19,800 kilometers per hour), and the whole sequence to touching down on the surface took only six-and-a-half minutes,” said InSight project manager Tom Hoffman at JPL. “During that short span of time, InSight had to autonomously perform dozens of operations and do them flawlessly – and by all indications, that is exactly what our spacecraft did.”

InSight will begin to collect science data within the first week after landing, though the teams will focus mainly on preparing to set InSight’s instruments on the Martian ground. At least two days after touchdown, the engineering team will begin to deploy InSight’s 5.9-foot-long (1.8-meter-long) robotic arm so that it can take images of the landscape.

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“Today, we successfully landed on Mars for the eighth time in human history,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “InSight will study the interior of Mars and will teach us valuable science as we prepare to send astronauts to the Moon and later to Mars. This accomplishment represents the ingenuity of America and our international partners, and it serves as a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our team. The best of NASA is yet to come, and it is coming soon.”

InSight will operate on the surface for one Martian year, plus 40 Martian days, or sols, until November 24, 2020.

(WATCH the heartwarming reaction video below) – Photo by Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill (Today is Giving Tuesday)

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Quote of the Day:  “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill (Today is Giving Tuesday)

Photo: by Geoff Livingston, CC license

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Everyone is Celebrating Congo’s Massive New Park Since Similar Preserve Saved Gorillas From Extinction

By
Ryan Morris
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The Republic of Congo has just created its fifth ever national park – and with conservationists celebrating the recent rebound of a critically endangered gorilla species in a neighboring park, the new patch of protected land is expected to help dozens more struggling wildlife species.

Due to its location in the savannah transition zone, and its coverage of over 860,000 acres (500,000 hectares), the new Ogooué-Leketi National Park is of considerable significance regarding the protection and hopeful recovery of several vulnerable animal populations.

The park, which offers some of the greatest biodiversity within the Congo, is home to mandrills, forest elephants, forest buffalos, gorillas, orangutans, and a diverse plant population.

Conservationists are hailing the park’s creation as similar stories are surfacing of how such cautionary measures can truly impact the lives and welfare of the region’s great ape family.

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In 1978, the mountain gorilla was listed as “critically endangered” – the highest level of threat – due to unlawful poaching practices in its neighboring Rwandan habitat. Its community had reached a low of 240, with conservationists and scientists predicted their species would go extinct by the year 2000.

Due to extensive protective measures that were taken to preserve the apes’ habitat, however, their population recently increased to 600, which resulted in their reclassification from “critically endangered” to “endangered”, according to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

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“We are proud to be part of this international effort to save the world’s remaining mountain gorillas,” says Felix Ndagijimana, director of the Fossey Fund’s Rwanda programs and Karisoke Research Center.

“It is a great example of collaboration between governments, conservation organizations like the Fossey Fund, and local communities, and we remain committed to supporting the efforts of the Rwandan government to preserve its biological heritage,” he added.

The mountain gorilla’s success story shows what we can expect when the proper measures are taken to protect the lives of endangered and critically endangered species. With the right efforts, the Republic of Congo’s new park can be a foundation for similar stories and the restoration of various hominid populations from their current endangered status to one of significantly less concern.

Be Sure And Share This Exciting News With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

Fearless Uber Driver Stops Mid-Trip to Scoop Up Injured Hawk and Save It From the Highway

By
McKinley Corbley
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This red-tailed hawk is no small bird of prey – but that didn’t stop a courageous Uber driver from lending a hand when he saw that it was injured on the side of a major highway earlier this month.

58-year-old Kasim Eldilemi was in the middle of driving a passenger across the FDR Drive when he spotted the distressed hawk on the shoulder of the Manhattan road.

Though some motorists were content to take pictures of the taloned creature from their windows, Eldilemi stopped his car so he could scoop the bird into his arms.

“I put on the emergency lights and I jumped out and grabbed the hawk,” Eldilemi told the New York Daily News. “My passenger was surprised. He was like ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Look, I’m gonna drop you off first and then do something with the bird.’”

RELATED: Watch Olympic Sprinter Run Onto Busy Highway So He Can Save Tortoise From Traffic

“I tell it, ‘Look, I’m going to save you,’” he added. “The bird just looked at me, like, friendly.”

Eldilemi then drove all the way to Brooklyn with the bird held firmly in one arm. True to his word, he dropped off his human passenger before flagging down a police officer and handing off the bird.

The officer put the hawk into a cage and transported it to the Wild Bird Fund of New York City. The hawk, which had likely been hurt from flying into a car or skyscraper, was named Taxi after rescuers mistakenly thought that she was rescued by a cab driver.

Taxi spent four days in recovery before she was deemed to be in good health and was released back into the wild from Central Park.

Uber was quick to praise their courageous driver for rescuing the bird, saying: “Uber’s driver-partners do incredible things every day … but we’re particularly amazed by Kasim who ensured the hawk was safe.”

MORE: Watch Good Samaritan Teenager Revive a Squirrel With CPR After it Ran Into His Car

Eldilemi, however, is humble of his rescue efforts.

“This is an example for America,” he told the Daily News. “If I go to drive anywhere, and I see something — animal, human — I stop to help.”

Be Sure And Fly This Story Over To Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Wild Bird Fund

Groom Can’t Contain His Laughter When Bearded Best Man Shows Up in the Dress Where His Bride Should Be

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Good News Network
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SWNS
SWNS

A groom burst out in hysterical laughter at the altar when he turned​ to ​look at his bride ​on their wedding day and found​​​​​ his bearded best man standing there instead.

32-year-old David Hofmann was expecting to see his wife-to-be Brianne Dennis​​ in her white gown, but to his surprise, she had traded places with their friend 37-year-old Timmy Horton.

Photographer Anna Morrison captured the moment David almost collapsed in hysterical laughter after seeing his bearded pal squeezed into a dress and wearing a veil.

David, who works as an electrician, said: “Right in that moment, I was anxious. I was trying to calm my nerves because I was about to see my bride for the first time.

LOOK: Police Praise Creative Students for ‘Best Senior Prank’ They’ve Ever Seen

“I was expecting to see Brianne and I turned around to see Timmy in a wedding dress.

“He was pale and hairy and we love each other very much, but not in that way. I was falling down laughing.”

29-year-old Dennis and Horton plotted their prank after they saw some funny wedding gags online.

SWNS

While the bride was reluctant at first, she eventually came around and suggested tricking Hofmann during a fake “first look” photoshoot.

The “first look” refers to a wedding tradition where brides may debut their look to their husband-to-be moments before walking down the aisle.

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Dennis, who lives with David in Marysville, Washington along with her 4-year-old son, said: “I really wanted a serious ceremony at first. I didn’t want any of their shenanigans on the day, but a few months down the road, I changed my mind.”

SWNS

On the special day, an emotional Hofmann waited anxiously while Horton slipped into a spare wedding dress and donned a delicate chiffon veil.

Then, the dolled up trickster tapped the groom on his shoulder as friends and family looked on, trying to stifle their giggles.

WATCH: Math Teacher Impresses Students With Most Genius April Fools Prank

Horton, who lives in Snohomish, said: “I was really nervous and anxious because it’s my best friend and I love the bride and groom so much.

“[But] when it happened, I just couldn’t restrain myself and I burst out laughing. I think it really broke the ice and the tension.”

SWNS

​Moments after the prank, Hofmann got to see his real bride for the first time and was overcome with emotion, saying: “Brianne has always been beautiful so I didn’t expect anything less.

“There had been so much building up to that moment that when I first saw her, all of a sudden I just felt complete. I’ll remember the day and that moment forever.”

Hofmann and Dennis went on to tie the knot in a ceremony surrounded by their loved ones at Lord Hill Farms in Snohomish on November 17th.

SWNS

“When I look at the photos I’m really happy. I’m so glad we did it. It was hilarious,” says the now Mrs. Hofmann.

Photographer Anna, a close friend of the couple, added: “We made a forever memory and laughed so hard, everyone was crying.”

(WATCH the amusing video below) – Photos by SWNS

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After Years of Research, Scientists Finally Develop Army-Ready Pizza That Can Cheer Hungry Soldiers in the Field

By
John Large
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“Lean, mean, pizza-eating machines” may be the new recruiting slogan of the United States Army, because soldiers will soon be receiving the best combat-ready tool that they could possibly get: pizza.

An old adage states that “soldiers march on their stomachs” and the truth of this could not be understated. Since soldiers rely on MREs (meals ready to eat) in the field, Army scientists have spent two decades working around the clock to make food that is palatable, rather than the distasteful “mystery meat” predecessors.

In order to qualify for the field, food rations need to be able to survive everything from spending years in darkened storage to staving off insects and withstanding every kind of adverse weather condition on the planet. On top of that, scientists worry that typical food rations that are designed without taste in mind are bad for soldier morale.

With the end of the draft in 1972 and the beginning of the Gulf War in 1991, the culture of the Army has changed so that soldiers’ tastes have been taken into account. Even General Colin Powell, who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came down from on high and told the Combat Feeding Directorate to “fix it” – the food.

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Since that simple order was given, the scientists in charge of creating meals for the boys and girls in green have literally dug through the trash to see what soldiers choose to eat on their off time. These dumpster dives combined with military questionnaires revealed that soldiers have only one true desire: pizza.

Now, after years of surprisingly difficult development, the MRE pizza meal is ready for deployment.

“It scored pretty well, On our scale it got a seven. Nine is the highest. I think M&M’s get an eight,” Army food technologist Michelle Richardson told the New York Times. Few soldiers have reportedly had the opportunity to try this carb-bomb delight, but it is currently being shipped to military bases around the world.

RELATED: Two Veterans Have Spent an Unbelievable 15,000 Hours Driving Disabled Vets to the Hospital

Some civilians have already bought the pizza MREs online and given the pizza a rating ranging from “not bad” to something reminiscent of school lunch.

A spokesman for the Combat Feeding Directorate, David Accetta, gave his take, saying “You have to remember, these were designed to be eaten when you are wet, cold and hungry. They taste better then.”

The Times even interviewed Jeff Pond, a chef of an artisanal pizza restaurant from Area Four in Boston, in order to get the melty scoop.

MORE: Soldier Gets to Attend Mother’s Funeral After Kindness Delivers Her to the Doorstep

“There is a philosophy that no pizza is bad pizza,” he said while looking at the pouch, “but I’m wondering what I’ve gotten myself into.” Finally, after taking a few bites, he delivered his verdict. “You know, they’re not far off … It reminds me of the frozen pizzas I had as a kid.”

“I actually like this,” he said after a few more bites. “Think about it — their job, designing a pizza that will last, is much harder than what I do. It’s cool they would go through all that to deliver something like this for the average soldier.”

While it is not the most stellar review, the Army food technologists are probably pleased, given the circumstances: they managed to make a decent pizza that could last months in a pre-sealed pouch – and they did it in a way that could bring back memories of childhood slices.

Be Sure And Pie This Story Forward To Your Friends: Share It To Social Media – Photo by Senior Airman Marcus Morris / U.S. Air Force

When Stranger Finds Lost Wallet on Airplane, He Returns It to Owner With Even More Cash Inside

By
McKinley Corbley
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A compassionate airline passenger ensured that a 20-year-old man was reunited with his lost wallet – along with a little extra something to make up for their time apart.

Hunter Shamatt first lost his wallet while he was on a Frontier Airlines flight from Omaha to attend his sister’s wedding in Las Vegas earlier this month.

Upon realizing that his wallet was lost, he contacted the airline to see if anyone had turned it in – but to no avail. Since the wallet contained his ID, a signed paycheck, his debit card, and $60 in cash, he “feared the worst”.

Shortly after the flight, however, Hunter was stunned to receive a package in the mail from an anonymous sender. Inside was his wallet – along with an additional $40 in cash.

WATCH: 48 Years After Reading the Christmas Card That Got Him Through the Vietnam War, He Finally Got to Meet the Sender

“Found this on a Frontier flight from Omaha to Denver-row 12, seat F wedged between the seat and wall,” read a letter that was enclosed with the package. “Thought you might want it back. All the best. PS: I rounded your cash up to an even $100 so you could celebrate getting your wallet back. Have fun!!!”

Hunter’s mother, Jeannie, posted a photo of the letter to social media in hopes that they would be able to track down the sender and thank them for their kindness. All they had to go on was that the letter was sent from Applied Underwriters in Omaha and the sender’s initials were signed: “T.B”.

The Good Samaritan was later identified as Todd Brown, a father-of-five who was delighted at the chance to “have a little fun” with helping out a hard-working stranger.

“I saw he was just a kid, 20 years old, he had a paycheck in there, so I figured, ‘Well, he’s doing his best to make ends meet,’ but I was 20 once, and that’s a lot of money for a kid,” Brown told Yahoo Lifestyle.

“They were very thankful. Hunter was very thankful. He told me he has some student loans and a car payment that he needed to make so the timing was right,” Brown added. “They assumed it was gone forever. So when he opened it, [Jeannie] said he just started screaming, ‘No way! No way!’”

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Brown says that he often tries to do good deeds without any recognition, hence why he neglected to sign his full name on the letter, but Jeannie later insisted on praising the Nebraska native on social media.

“I try to teach my children to do the right things in life, help people when you can regardless of the outcome,” she wrote on Facebook. “This story is more about restoring faith in people than anything.

‘Everything in the wallet we could of replaced. We hear a lot of bad news but not enough good news. I personally want to thank Todd Brown and his wife for restoring faith that there are amazing people out there, the world is not as grim as it’s being made out to be.”

Be Sure And Share This Sweet Story Of Kindness With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Jeannie Shamatt

“Gratitude is a sign of maturity. Where there is appreciation: there is also courtesy and concern for the rights and property of others.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day:  “Gratitude is a sign of maturity. Where there is appreciation: there is also courtesy and concern for the rights and property of others.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

Photo: by Pablo Andres, CC license

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Take a Look Inside Britain’s Tallest Cottage – It’s Filled With Fairies

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Good News Network
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SWNS
SWNS
Written by Yasmin Harisha / SWNS

The stunning “House in the Clouds” is one of Britain’s tallest cottages and towers 70 feet above the surrounding landscape.

The 1920s structure was originally designed to hide an old water tower in the village, and included housing at the bottom for children’s author and poet Malcolm Mason.

Today it is the “fairytale home” of Sylvia Le Comber who has filled its interior with dozens of intricately crafted fairy dolls.

The fairies are scattered all around the house as a tribute to Mrs. Mason who featured them in her writings.

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The 78-year-old, who actually uses the “fairy house” as her home, said: “I have changed very little since I bought the house in 1976. The house looks exactly as was in 1922.”

The 5-story-tall home provides five bedrooms – two with double beds, three with twin beds – three bathrooms, drawing room, dining room and one room at the top where the water tank holding 50,000 gallons had been located.

SWNS

There is also one acre of private grounds surrounding the home, in Thorpeness, Suffolk which includes a tennis court.

The structure was built in 1923 to provide Aldringham Mill with water but was turned into a family home with impressive views across the Suffolk Coast.

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The house was originally converted for Mrs. Mason by the Ogilvie family – farmers who used to own the Thorpeness village. Sylvia, who is has now retired, said Mason authored a book filled with poems all about fairies. Granted the home by the Ogilvie family she lived there with her children, and named it ‘House in the Clouds’.

SWNS

Mason wrote in her book about the home: “The fairies really own this house or so the children say. In fact, all of them moved in upon the same day.”

WATCH: This Jolly King Has Lived in His Sandcastle for the Last 22 Years

“It is funny because the number of fairies I have is constantly rising,” adds Sylvia. “More fairies keep arriving at the home, they just appear all of a sudden because someone has come round and dropped one off.”

“There is more than 30 fairies around my house all different shapes and sizes as well. There are so many I can’t keep count. People who come and stay find the fairies all over the house and it surprises me, as well, sometimes.

SWNS

“It’s lovely, I have big giant mushrooms that have grown at the front of my house and they are for the ‘real’ fairies… Well, that is what I tell people.”

The grandmother of three says she is thankful to own a house which is a well-known landmark and says it is great for when her family comes to visit.

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“All the children love the fantasy of the house, as they see the mushrooms outside the house and imagine the fairies flying to the mushrooms.”

SWNS

Sylvia, who says she loves to continue to fuel the imagination of her young guests, adds: “It is quite an extraordinary house … It is lovely when the whole family comes.”

(WATCH the video to see the interior below)

Be Sure And Share This Stunning Piece With Your Friends On Social Media

DJ Spins Records From His Garden Shed Since 1974 for an Audience of One – His Wife

By
McKinley Corbley
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LISTEN to this story in our podcast, told by The Good News Guru (GNN Founder) on Friday’s radio broadcast with Ellen K on KOST-103.5 — Or, READ the story below… (Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean)

For the last 44 years, Deke Duncan has been spinning records from a studio in his garden shed for “the smallest audience in the country” – also known as his wife.

Because he did not have a radio license, Duncan was only able to ‘broadcast’ through a speaker placed in the living room of the home he shared with wife Teresa.

His friends in Stevenage, England would often join him for non-stop weekend broadcasts in which they would record all of their shows onto the same old spools of tape because they couldn’t afford to buy new ones.

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Though Duncan and his wife now live in the Greater Manchester area, he still plays records for her through their own special little radio setup – but now, his lifelong wish of broadcasting to a wider audience is coming true.

Back in October, BBC Archives tweeted a video interview they did with Duncan back in 1974, and it immediately prompted a social media search to find the self-made DJ.

When the radio network finally managed to track him down, they asked him to co-present on a morning show with BBC Three Counties host Justin Dealey.

While recording the radio segment, Dealey told Mr. Duncan that they had an even bigger surprise in store for him.

LOOK: Hospital Grants Dying Patient’s Last Wish For Wine, Cigarette

Dealey explained how – during Duncan’s vintage interview from almost half a century ago – he had mentioned that his “ultimate ambition” was to DJ for his city of Stevenage, which has a population of about 87,000 people.

The Three Counties host then played a recording of his station editor telling Mr. Duncan that they wanted him to be the DJ of his very own hour-long radio show over Christmas—playing music not only for one town, but for the hundreds of thousands of people living in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.

Now 73, the amateur DJ was beyond thrilled and emotional. “Pass the tissues,” he said, feeling speechless.

To top off the extraordinary saga, Host Dealey brought Deke Duncan back to the very home where he first started spinning records for his wife – and though the shed is no longer there, Duncan called the moment “magical”.

Be Sure And Share This Sweet Musical Story With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by BBC Three Counties

If You Send a Free Online Letter to Santa, Macy’s Will Donate Money to Cheer Sick Children

By
Good News Network
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You’re never too old to write a letter to Santa Claus – and now, a department store is offering to donate money to charity in exchange for your note.

For the eleventh year in a row, Macy’s is donating $1 for every letter to Santa for the first one million entries submitted on their website or through the red mailboxes located inside their stores.

All of the money pledged through their “Believe” campaign will be given to Make-A-Wish so the charity can grant the holiday wishes of sick children around the world.

Since 2003, Macy’s has donated more than $112 million to Make-A-Wish, including more than $17 million through the annual Believe campaign, helping grant more than 13,000 wishes and impact more than 2.6 million people, including wish kids and their families, volunteers, community groups, nurses, doctors, and more.

CHECK OUT: People Have Passively Planted Over 30 Million Trees Simply by Surfing the Web

“National Believe Day brings our Macy’s colleagues and customers together to help celebrate the holiday season by giving back in a big way,” said Sam Harrison, vice president of giving and volunteerism at Macy’s. “The amazing wishes bring unmatched joy and hope to children and families across the country, and Macy’s is thrilled to support such wonderful moments.”

“We have collected millions of letters throughout the years – each one representing an individual who was moved by the message of hope, love and generosity,” she added. “The result has been the creation of a holiday tradition for families across the country, and ultimately, wish fulfillments that deliver joy and hope to the most amazing children. Macy’s is incredibly proud to play a part in that magic.”

If you want to send a letter, Macy’s will be accepting the messages until December 24th – so if you don’t have to pay for stamps, what are you waiting for?

Be Sure And Send This To Everyone On Your Nice List By Sharing It To Social Media – Photo by Macy’s

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