250 years ago, the Liberty Bell was rung in Philadelphia to call citizens to hear the newly-signed Declaration of Independence, or at least that’s what is said to have happened. No contemporary account of the ringing is known to exist, but there is historical documentation that when the Declaration was read publicly in Philadelphia, bells around the city were rung in commemoration. What we call the Liberty Bell had been specially commissioned years earlier to ring out across a much larger breadth of the city’s territory, and it would seem the least likely scenario that for some reason, it’s E-flat was silent on this most momentous occasion. READ more from On This Day… (1776)
Quirky Campaign Leaves Nice Surprises on Cars of Anyone Who Took Cabs Home from the Bar
It’s an early-summer’s night and you left your truck at the bar because you chose not to drive drunk—well someone’s noticed.
That someone is the Montana Barfairies, a volunteer effort that is going viral for tucking $5 gift cards under the windshield wipers of that truck and others like it—a reward for making the right choice and not driving drunk.
By the time you came to collect your vehicle, you see there’s something tucked under the wipers—oh no. But it’s not a ticket, it’s the cost of a coffee or latte to help with that hangover.
“What started as a small act of kindness—leaving coffee gift cards on cars left overnight at Flathead Valley, Montana bars—has grown into a nationwide movement advocating for stronger DUI laws and supporting families affected by drunk driving tragedies,” the nonprofit wrote on their website.
Like most volunteering, it requires a bit of sacrifice. Who wants to get up at 5:00 am on a Saturday morning in Montana in February just to go give their money away to strangers?
Jesse, Beverly, Grace, and Kate—that’s who. These four Bar Fairies racked up 142,000 views on a TikTok video of them rewarding bar patrons who took cabs home from the Whitefish Winter Carnival.
ANOTHER STORY LIKE THIS: Trending Moms are Leaving Gift Cards in Store Diaper Aisles–For Postpartum Peer Relief
Tim and Kelly left gift cards at 8 vehicles in Polson—”a reward” for their owners being “the smart ones.” They were in turn rewarded with 2.5 million views, as commenters praised their effort, generosity and the brilliance of the idea.
@the_barfairies Tim & Kelly in Polson are the BEST! ❤️ They found 8 cars in Polson, Montana this weekend! Thanks for getting up so early to do this, and thank you to everybody who left their car instead of driving home. ❤️ #dontdrinkanddrive #drunkdriving #thebarfairies #montanabarfairies #polsonmontana ♬ original sound - the_barfairies
In Kalispell, it was Shannon and Brittainy’s turn. The pair left 20 gift cards on a cold Montana morning, totaling $100 worth of complimentary coffees for community members that cared enough not to take a potentially life-shattering risk.
@the_barfairies Volunteers Shannon & Brittainy found a ton of cars in Kalispell and were able to leave all 20 gift cards on vehicles left overnight at the bar!! The best girls ever 🥰 @Brittainy Howk758 #montanabarfaires #bobbyslaw #dontdrinkanddrive #drunkdrivingawareness #montanastatelegislature #montana ♬ original sound - SpongeBob background music
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Woman Rower Breaks Men’s Record for Fastest Solo Voyage from California to Hawaii
As America celebrated its 250th Birthday, Kelsey Pflendler celebrated her own significant milestone—becoming the first American woman to row a boat from California to Hawaii alone.
As she pulled into Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu, she also set records for being the fastest to complete to solo row among either sex, and the youngest woman to do so.
“If any part of this made at least one person feel a little bit more powerful in their own skin, I couldn’t ask for anything else and I’m happy,” she said in a social media vlog entry dated day 43 of her marathon, 2,400-mile voyage.
An 8-year Grand Canyon rafting guide and leader of a 4-member female rowing team that made the Monterey-Hawaii trip in 2024, Kelsey Pflendler was alone in the eastern Pacific for over a month—something she admitted she “loves.” She spent some of day 37 “grieving for the loss of this row,” having then arrived within 500 miles of Oahu.
Those vlog entries on her Instagram detailed her challenges throughout the marathon row, included harrowing ones like dealing with rough seas and recalcitrant currents, as well as the mundane ones of keeping away sunburn and cooking food.
Pflendler shattered the previous women’s record of 86 days 10 hours and 5 minutes held by Lia Ditton according to the Ocean Rowing Society International, but also broke the men’s record of 52 days.
MORE MARATHON ROWS: Nebraska Woman Learns to Row, Then Becomes First Female to Cross the Atlantic Alone in 3,000 Mile Race
Her 43-day transit also came within 3 days of being faster than her previous rowing crew of 4 in 2024. Talk about upper body strength.
She arrived on Oahu in time to celebrate her birthday, after which it’s expected she will address the media which she did not do after she heaved the 21-foot rowboat Lily into Ala Wai after 9 PM, with a crowd of over 100 people from all over the USA there to greet here.
Her trip also aimed to raise money for a charity that supports the physical and mental care of Colorado River rafting guides. $30,000 was thusly raised.
WATCH her arrival moment below…
SHARE This Young Woman’s Incredible Voyage Alone Across The Vast Pacific…
Ugandan Coffee Growers Shrug Off Drought Thanks to Regenerative Agriculture
Among the rolling hills of Uganda’s Masaka region, robusta coffee plants are producing larger, tastier yields thanks to a pilot program utilizing regenerative agriculture to battle droughts or erratic rainfall.
A catch-all term for a variety of growing techniques as simple as mulching to as complex as cover cropping, regenerative agriculture is especially useful in the coffee belts where nutrient-poor tropical soils and heavy rainfall make erosion a real threat to productive crops.
Coffee is central to Uganda’s economy and the social fabric of life in many growing regions like Masaka. Global Environment Facility, (GEF) an international partnership focused on providing financial resources to help countries address global environmental issues, brought together a coalition of groups with the idea of setting up demonstration farms to teach the Ugandan growers in Masaka how to utilize regenerative farming.
Uganda’s oldest and largest licensed coffee exporter contributed their in-country expertise to the coalition, which included Nespresso and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and together they established 30 “model farms” where local growers could come and gain hands-on experience in these growing methods.
Cultivation of known varieties proven to be more resilient were done on the farms which could then be transplanted into plantations around the region.
“Too little or untimely rains have become serious threats to coffee production,” Nakalisa Mary Fatuma, a smallholder robusta coffee farmer in Masaka, told the IUCN.
“But since we applied mulches and planted drought resistant seedlings, the coffee farms are reliably resilient. My coffee is stronger and more promising, and so is my family.”
IUCN wrote that the benefits are already visible, beyond those observed merely by Fatuma. “Farmers are reporting adaptation of regenerative practices, improved yields and quality, healthier trees, and better income stability.”
While it may sound interchangeable with organic farming, and while organic farmers may utilize regenerative practices, there are differences. Practitioners of regenerative ag not only grow crops, but grow the topsoil through a mixture of mulching and cover cropping, or growing complimentary, non-food plants throughout the field.
This has the effects of helping retain soil from erosion, replacing nitrogen in the soil, and shielding microbes from the heat of the Sun. Shade trees grown throughout the acreage further protect the soil, which is never tilled, while adding more organic material through leaf loss.
GROWING BETTER COFFEE: Growing Coffee in the World’s Densest City: Hong Kong Roastery Hails Beans That Aren’t Imported
Some regenerative farmers will pasture livestock in their field between harvests to simulate natural soil disturbances and grazing activity in nature, enriching the soil yet further through the animals’ droppings.
“We used to think erosion was just something we had to live with,” Munanira Joseph told writers at IUCN. “But when we saw how the soil stayed in place on the demo plot, everyone wanted to try.”
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE IN THE TROPICS: This Wonder Tree is a Game-Changer for Rainforest Agriculture in Honduras And Deforested Sites Worldwide
In the last 10 years, the rate of price inflation in coffee has outpaced price inflation on average, with some particularly disruptive years like 2022 seeing double-digit rises in the prices of roasted coffee. Given that billions of people drink coffee almost every day, the first step towards slowing or reversing that trend is making yields more resilient and predictable.
Hopefully, the success of the model farms in Masaka will be grounds for hope.
TOAST These Farmers Helping To Make Better, More Resilient Coffee…
“There’s no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box on your lap.” – Kevin James
Quote of the Day: “There’s no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box on your lap.” – Kevin James
Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+
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?
Good News in History, July 7
36 years ago today, The Three Tenors performed live for the first time at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. The recording made from the show became the best-selling classical album of all time, while an astonishing 800 million people around the world watched the live broadcast. It was on the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final, and Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carreras gave voice to the orchestra of the Rome Opera House for the performance of multiple lifetimes. READ what happened next… (1990)
Rooftop Solar Gave Power to Pakistan When Fossil Fuels Failed– it’s Now Called a Boom
Battered by energy shocks, private Pakistani investment in rooftop solar panels has skyrocketed to the point that they now contribute one-fifth of the total national power supply.
The Guardian reviewed data on Pakistan’s energy sector from a variety of research-oriented think tanks, and found that Pakistan’s 150 million-plus population could lean on solar when there were few other shoulders around.
It started in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when established natural gas supplies and contracts were upended. Millions in Pakistan were left without power or forced to pay burdensome energy bills.
Yet thanks in no small part to its northeastern neighbor China, the global solar panel industry had been driving costs down for consumers for a decade through to economies of scale, determined long-term investment decisions, and incentivized markets in various parts of the world.
Suddenly, a private Pakistani household could just buy a few solar panels and put them on their roof, and free themselves, at least partially, from higher energy prices and blackouts.
“People who could afford to do it at that time realized that it was much cheaper and cost-effective and better for them in the long run to do a one-time investment in rooftop solar as opposed to keep paying high electricity bills from a grid that is also unreliable,” Nabiya Imran, an associate at Renewables First, a Pakistani thinktank, told the Guardian.
The country reached the point where cargoes owing to a long-term agreement with Qatar to supply liquified natural gas had to be diverted because of a lack of demand. As of February 2026, the country avoided about $12 billion in oil and gas imports by generating electricity from solar panels.
Then, having spent 3 years growing its solar potential, the Pakistani population watched as the US launched an attack on Iran in the Persian Gulf, driving the costs of oil above $100 per barrel, and virtually ending those LNG shipments.
Haneea Isaad, an energy finance specialist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said that distributed solar has been “a blessing for Pakistan,” preventing at least any immediate supply crunches in the gas sector.
SOLAR AROUND THE WORLD: The Sunniest, Windiest Country Announces Renewables Project to Power 6 Million Homes
“Pakistan serves as a great case study as to how renewables can provide a hedge against dependence on fossil fuels.”
The country still faced an economic blow from the war due to reductions in oil imports for other purposes than electricity generation.
SOUTH ASIAN STORIES: Record Low Child Mortality Rates Recorded in Both India and China
Imran would later add that to whatever degree solar panel adoption worldwide was driven by concerns about climate change, the unescapable reality now, and especially in a country like Pakistan that spends the equivalent of 10% of its GDP on fossil fuel imports, is that solar power is also a matter of energy security.
Isaad suspected that the conflict in the Gulf would probably convince more people to adopt solar panels, and some of the percentage of current existing utility providers to adopt storage methods as well to reduce the grid impact of peak hours in the evening.
Shell’s New Concept EV Designed to Charge in Under 10 Minutes and Run at 6 miles per kWh
Shell have unveiled an all-electric concept car to inspire the next generation of European-made mass-market EVs by focusing on lighter weights and better charging technology.
Known as the “Triple 10 Challenge Car,” its design is centered around a simplified, single-circuit cooling architecture to efficiently manage the thermal load of charging, even with the 175 kilowatt-hour fast chargers installed on the continent today.
Triple 10 refers to a car with a charge time of 10 minutes or less, that drives with a 10 kilometer (6 miles) per kilowatt-hour efficiency, and which generates 10 tons of CO2 across its whole lifecycle.
Ask any motor head (or petrol head, if you’re in the UK) how many concept cars they’ve seen make it no further than a prototype, and you’d do well to find a seat as you listen to all the examples they’re likely to list.
Shell make no bones about the Triple 10 car, which has no estimated list price, being a “proof-of-concept vehicle designed to inspire a new design philosophy for the next generation of battery electric vehicles,” but the accomplishments and technology they were able to pack into a compact-size vehicle are nevertheless impressive.
Europe is facing an unprecedented challenge to its automotive industry as the EVs the continent’s governments have long incentivized and championed—to the point of banning internal combustion engines at future dates—are suddenly coming not from northern Italy or southern Germany, but from China.
With price inflation in the Eurozone for automobiles rising between 20% and 25% between 2020 and 2025, the advent of a sub-20 grand electric vehicle has been a welcome relief for European consumers, who are choosing models like Leapmotor, BYD, and Geely at higher and higher rates than comparable models made by continental badges Volkswagen or Renault.
Shell’s Triple 10 concept closely models these Chinese brands that are rapidly gaining in popularity among the bloc, namely something well-made and compact that charges quickly, in contrast to “the current reliance on ever-larger batteries.”
“With the Triple 10 Challenge concept car, we have unlocked the potential for faster charging, lighter systems and improved lifecycle efficiency by using our advanced thermal fluids,” said Cara Tredget, VP for Mobility & Lubricants Technology at Shell.
“Together with our co-engineering partners, we are proud to develop alternative options for sustainable EV development leveraging technologies that are available today and are scalable to support customers into the future.”
Shell’s concept has been designed to achieve 10 km/kWh in driving economy with a smaller, more efficient battery system, adding over 30% improvement in overall energy efficiency compared to many current-generation EVs.
MORE EV STORIES: EV Popularity in China Accounts for 262,000 Fewer Deaths from Air Pollution
For example, the extended range model of one of the best-selling Chinese EVs in Europe, the BYD Dolphin, comes with a 43 kilowatt battery pack giving it just over 300 kilometers of range, or an efficiency of around 13.3 km/kWh.
The Triple 10 vehicle is also able to charge the battery from 10% to 80% in 9 minutes 54 seconds, without compromise to thermal stability or lifespan. While some EVs in the market today can charge in under 10 minutes, this requires using an ultra-fast charger in excess of 300kW, which is uncommon on the public charging network.
AUTO INNOVATION: Simply Add Water to Diesel Fuel to Cut Engine Pollution by 67%–with No Loss in Efficiency
Triple 10 Challenge vehicle is able to attain this on the existing charging network infrastructure using a standard 175kW charger, adding an equivalent to almost 90% more range added per minute of charge.
The key to these performance metrics is Shell Recharge thermal fluid. Unlike traditional cooling systems that use water-glycol, Shell’s dielectric fluid allows for direct immersion cooling of the battery and indirect cooling of the powertrain components including the motor and power electronics.
WATCH the car in action below…
SHARE These Impressive Performance And Charging Metrics With You Friends Who Own An EV…
Blind People Offered Hope of Seeing Again After Stem Cell Breakthrough Remakes Retinal Blood Vessels
Blind people have been offered fresh hope of seeing again after lab-grown cells restored retinal function in mice.
When injected into mice with retinal disease, the special retinal blood cells integrated into the damaged tissue to regenerate blood vessels and restore retinal function—including in a model of the leading cause of vision loss in working-age people.
The experiment was conducted by biomedical engineers at Duke University, North Carolina, and saw the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to grow specialized blood vessel cells critical to retinal health for the first time.
Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in 2012, which he shared with Sir John Gurdon, for discovering the now-termed “Yamanaka factors” that could ‘induce’ a normal adult cell back into a stem cell that could be remade into any cell in the body: hence the name ‘pluripotent’ stem cell.
The Duke research team also demonstrated the iPSCs’ ability to form functional retinal vascular tissue in a lab-grown environment, providing a pathway for future research into various eye diseases.
“Retinal vascular diseases affect millions of people, but our understanding remains limited, hindering our ability to discover and develop new therapeutics,” said Professor Sharon Gerecht, who led the research published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
“Using human stem cells, we generated the cells found in retinal blood vessels, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches.”
The retina extends directly to the brain, technically making the eyes part of the central nervous system. Also like the brain, the retina has a blood barrier that strictly controls what goes in and out such as oxygen, nutrients, water, and pharmaceuticals.
While the barrier of retinal endothelial cells keeps the retina healthy and relatively protected from disease-causing agents, Gerecht says it also makes treating the retina difficult.
“When this specialized blood vessel tissue begins to break down, it can cause a lot of different diseases that lead to vision loss,” said study first co-author Parker Esswein, a PhD student working in the Gerecht lab. “While there are sources of retinal endothelial cells, being able to grow a continuous supply from scratch could offer many advantages for those working in the field.”
The retinal endothelial cells are currently collected and grown from real patients, making them relatively expensive with a limited supply. To expand access, reduce cost and control variability, the Gerecht lab wanted to see if they could grow them from iPSCs.
EYESIGHT BREAKTHROUGHS: 6 Year Old Saffie Has Her Vision Saved from Rare Form of Blindness Thanks to One-Time Gene Therapy
The research team took commercial iPSCs and used a well-established procedure to get them to grow into common endothelial cells which form the inner layer of most of the body’s blood vessels.
The researchers then used a specialized cocktail of growth factors to coax the cells into becoming the specific type of endothelial cells found in the retina. Once successful, the researchers put their new creations to the test.
In experiments, the team was able to get the cells to form the same networks and structures that they do within the body. Next, the researchers subjected the lab-grown tissues to low oxygen and high glucose levels, which are detrimental conditions often seen in real people with diabetes.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Gene Therapy at Duke Improves NC Dad’s Failing Vision Just in Time for His Baby’s Birth
The team explained that the conditions are “fundamental” triggers of diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of vision loss in working-age people in the United States, and caused the tissue barrier to break down just like it does in patients.
The researchers then tried their lab-grown cells as a therapy for mouse models. When injected into the mice before any actual vision loss occurred, the cells successfully integrated into the existing tissue and helped develop strong blood vessels with strong barriers.
“The tests showed that these lab-grown cells have promise for preventative treatments, especially since they should be easier and cheaper to obtain using our technique,” said Esswein.
STEM CELLS AND VISION: Sight Restored to People Blinded in Eye Accidents Using New Stem Cell Treatment
“While our benchtop experiments did not attempt to model a wide variety of specific eye diseases in these studies, we’re confident we can create excellent human tissue models in the lab to help better understand these diseases and uncover therapies.”
Now the research team is planning to explore potential uses for their retinal endothelial cells both in their laboratory and through emerging industry partnerships. The group also has a patent pending that covers both the stem cell-based therapeutics and in vitro modelling for drug discovery and testing.
SHARE This Amazing Breakthrough In Future Eye Health With Your Friends…
€12 Million Portrait of Picasso’s ‘Golden Muse’ Recovered from Thieves After Paris Theft
A police raid on suspected drug dealers turned up a stolen painting by Pablo Picasso worth tens of millions of dollars.
That’s because it is reported to depict Picasso’s “golden muse” Marie-Therese Walter, a French model and lover of the famous painter whom he credited with one of the most productive periods in his career.
The raid was carried out in Champigny-sur-Marne, near Paris, at a house belonging to the aunt of the chief suspect. There, police found bundles of cash, cannabis, some $230,000 worth of luxury fashion items, and the painting.
Sonja Anderson at Smithsonian Magazine shares that the series of painting depicting Walter as the model includes some of the highest earning paintings of Picasso’s ever to move at auction; Femme à la montre selling for $139 million, for example.
The four suspects arrested in connection with the bust appeared in court where they confessed to several thefts of material from a storage warehouse in Paris where one of them worked as a security guard.
Art Newspaper, reporting on the subject via a source with the police, said that the theft appeared to be “opportunistic,” as the security guard likely found the Picasso, took it, “and, as it often happens in such cases… had no idea what to do with it.”
STOLEN ARTWORKS RETURNED:
- Stolen 18th-Century Painting of St. Francis Returned to a Mexican Church
- Painting Stolen in a Heist 30 Years Ago Returned to its Native Scotland
- Lost Painting Looted by Nazis Found Hanging on Wall in a Real Estate Listing
The painting was in the storage warehouse after having been authenticated by Claude Picasso, Pablo’s son and executor of his estate, before it was sold at auction to a buyer in Singapore.
Picasso first met Walter as she was emerging from a Parisian subway station in 1927. She claims that he approached her and said: “You have an interesting face, I’d like to paint a portrait of you. I am Picasso.”
Despite nearly 30 years of age separating them, the modeling role quickly turned into a romantic relationship that lasted 8 years, during which time Walter gave birth to a daughter, Maya.
SHARE The Good News Of The Great Artist’s Painting Returning To Its Rightful Owners…
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
Quote of the Day: “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+
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?
Good News in History, July 6
Happy 91st birthday to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Born in Taktser, China, and named at a young age to be the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, he also became a spiritual guide for non-Buddhists—especially as the author of several best-selling books on happiness. He is also the subject of a 2020 film, The Dalai Lama – Scientist, an award-winning documentary about the little-known side of him that is always in pursuit of science, which is available for rent or purchase. WATCH a 2020 BBC interview… (1935)
Surprise Audio Played at Wedding Shocks Everyone When Bride Accurately Predicts Husband’s Name as a 4-Year-old
The surprise was waiting at the wedding reception.
Max Creamer and Jordan Rosenberg met at a Halloween party about ten years ago when they were in college at San Diego State University. They got engaged on a California beach and were married this past May.
At the reception, Jordan was in the middle of her father-daughter dance, bobbing back and forth to “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys.
Suddenly, the audio changed. It was time for the surprise.
Weeks earlier, as the big day approached, Jordan’s parents, Lou and Jill Rosenberg, remembered that they had a video recording of Jordan at just four years old, describing all the details of her future wedding. The video was about 25 years old now. It provided a portal into the magic of childhood imagination—and it held a secret inside too.
Once the Rosenberg parents found it, they knew they had to share it with everyone else, so as father and daughter swayed together on the dance floor, the voice of four-year-old Jordan cut in.
“My wedding is going to have clowns dancing with the children and a moon bounce and face painting,” four-year-old Jordan exclaimed.
Then, the prescient preschooler started talking about her guest list—and it included three of her friends, Gracie, Kylie, and Sarah, all of whom were in attendance as adults.
The biggest surprise came next.
“Who will be your husband?” Lou Rosenberg asked his young daughter. And as the wedding reception videographer turned to the groom, young Jordan delivered his name. “Max!”
Max was overcome with shock, and Jordan broke out in tears.
“No way!” someone yelled in the background.
@jordannrose1 I could not stop crying!! 🥹🤍full backstory: my parents found a video from when I was 4 years old talking shout my future wedding, where I named my childhood friends as my bridesmaids that were in attendance, and said Max would be my husband…. While I didn’t meet Max until college it was kismet!! They edited that clip into our father daughter dance and totally surprised everyone including me!!! ❤️ #fatherdaughterdance #wedding #bride #2026bride #2026wedding @absocialstudio ♬ original sound - jordan
The unexpected recording added a dash of destiny to the wedding festivities—as sounds of surprise echoed throughout the reception room.
It turns out Jordan did have a friend named Max growing up, but she hadn’t thought of him or the recording in ages.
“I was just as surprised as everyone else!” Jordan told PEOPLE. “I was already emotional from the surprise of hearing my tiny 4-year-old voice. I couldn’t believe what was going on! I immediately started crying and laughing at the same time.”
Soon afterward, the reception video was posted to TikTok and went far beyond viral, receiving more than 22 million views and 3.5 million Likes, as hearts were warmed all over the internet.
MEANT TO BE: Couple Who Met as ‘Miracle Babies’ in Hospital Were Meant to Be Together–Now Have a Child of Their Own
“This is the most beautiful invisible string story I’ve ever heard of,” commented one TikTok fan.
TIE THIS INCREDIBLE STORY TO SOMEONE ELSE By Sharing On Social Media Feed…
Neighbors Pull Grandma Out of Burning Home But Looked Like ‘Drunk Thugs’ in Doorbell Camera Alert Sent to Daughter
Hero neighbors raced into a burning home to save an 87-year-old grandma after her daughter watched the terrifying fire on a doorbell camera.
Phyllis Day, who has Alzheimer’s, was asleep when a blaze broke out in the utility room of her home in Wigston, Leicestershire in England.
Luckily, neighbors spotted flames and smoke billowing from the property at around 11.30 PM last Thursday night—and charged in to help.
Daughter Suzanne Wright was at home five miles away when she awoke to a doorbell notification alerting her to activity at her mom’s house.
She watched in horror as around eight people tried to smash their way inside and initially thought they were drunken thugs trying to break in.
Using the intercom system on the doorbell, Suzanne realized the people were the neighbors and she guided them to a key box outside.
“It was just pure luck that her neighbors saw the flames and dashed round to help,” Suzanne told SWNS news.
“I could see a couple of men without tops on, hammering on the door. There were then lots of people outside trying to ram their way inside and a man was shouting ‘get out, there’s a fire’.”
“I was able to speak to them on the intercom on the camera and explained I lived elsewhere but my mum was inside.”
Suzanne, a full-time caregiver for her mother, quickly dressed, and while her husband drove them to the house, she watched as the neighbors rushed to save her mum.
“At one point I lost visual and could just hear shouting and screaming, it was terrifying. Luckily it came back on and I could see mum being led by the arm outside.”
Suzanne says she believes her mum, who has lived alone since her husband died in 2018, could not hear the smoke alarms because she took out her hearing aids before going to bed.
The neighbors, Pav Sarpal, 28, and Stephan Smart, 44, turned into heroes—running inside the house to rescue Phyllis.
“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Pav. “All I could see were flames and smoke and it was getting worse by the second.
“When the door opened I ran in first, but I couldn’t breathe. I told Stephan to get me a towel so I could go upstairs where Phyllis was asleep.
“I was coughing so much, the smoke was everywhere. It felt like I was being physically choked by the smoke. I had to run downstairs twice to get fresh air before heading up to bring Sue’s mum down.”
MORE EVERY DAY BRAVERY: Heroic Neighbor Uses Sledgehammer to Rescue 85-year-old Woman in Wheelchair from House Fire
Stephan added: “I just saw flames coming straight through the kitchen door.
“I panicked a little to start with, but I knew somebody was upstairs and I had to get up there and get her down as quickly as possible.
“When we found her bedroom we woke Phyllis up but she looked at me like I was going to rob her. I told her there was a fire and she needed to come with us and we gently got her out of bed.”
Stephan and Pav took an arm each as they helped Phyllis down the stairs and out of the front door.
Another neighbor, Dean Archer, 30, also rushed to help when he heard a loud explosion come from inside the house.
“It was a mad panic really. Stephan and Pav got up the stairs and managed to bring her down and luckily we got her out just in time. It felt like it took ages, everything was in slow motion.”
DEATH-DEFYING HEROISM: Courageous Hero Climbs to 6th Floor Ledge to Save Children and Mom Trapped By Flames in Paris (WATCH)
Phyllis, who has ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, will now stay with Suzanne until her home is repaired.
“I cannot thank the neighbors enough,” said the daughter. “They are absolute super heroes.”
A WHALE OF A RESCUE: Woman Rescues Shark Entangled in Fishing Line With Her Bare Hands as Friend Shoots Incredible Video
Afterward, local fire officials urged the public not to enter buildings that are on fire, because “doing so endangers more lives. Smoke inhalation can quickly disorientate, injure and incapacitate.”
But Suzanne has a different message: “I think King Charles should knight them all.”
SHARE THE BRAVERY With Friends on Social Media in Need of a Hero Story…
Crow Takes to Teaching a Starving Orphan Bird How to Eat (Watch)
A starving baby crow with barely any feathers is being nursed back to health—and another older bird has taken him under his wing.
The tiny English crow known as the jackdaw was found in a “sorry state” and close to death.
He was spotted in a field in Nottingham, England earlier this month and taken to a rescue centre where volunteers nicknamed him Frank Sinatra because of his piercing blue eyes.
They placed him in a recovery unit with another fledgling crow who was a little older and wiser, and he took on the role of surrogate parent—even feeding little Frank his daily meals.
Adorable videos show the pair perched together as the black jackdaw helps his pupil to swallow worms and seeds.
Jon Beresford, who co-founded Brinsley Animal Rescue, said Frank is around six weeks old but was small due to malnutrition.
“As soon as he arrived with us he stole all our hearts,” he told SWNS news.
“It’s not usual that we name the animals that come to us but his piercing eyes led us to call him Frank Sinatra—and it’s stuck ever since.”
While quarantined for treatment, Frank was observed calling out to his new friend. Being placed together is really helping his development.
“At this stage of his growth, Frank would still be reliant on his parents for food.”
But, to the team’s “amazement”, the older fledgling started to feed him—despite the fact he had only just learned to feed itself. (See it in the video below...)
“It’s amazing to watch them interact. Frank watches the older one’s every move and copies him.”
CHECK OUT THESE WILD BIRDS:
• Woman Who Rescued Injured Crow Keeps Getting ‘Thank-you Gifts’ from Other Birds
• Family That Owned This ‘Wildlife Wonder of the World’ for 300 Years Sells Bass Rock to Protect 100,000 Seabirds
The rescue workers hope Frank will recover sufficiently to be moved into an aviary where it can learn to fly and prepare for eventual re-release into the wild.
WATCH the video below…
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Rare 1776 Declaration of Independence Discovered by National Archives in UK–One of Only 11 Known to Survive
A rare 1776 printing of the US Declaration of Independence — one of just 11 known to survive and the only copy outside the United States — has been discovered by a volunteer sorting historical letters and papers at The National Archives in Kew.
As the Archives was preparing to open an exhibition charting the emergence of the United States for the 250th anniversary, a volunteer made an astonishing discovery: an unknown copy of the Declaration.
Michael Scurr, a volunteer on the institute’s America 250 – Royal Navy Admirals’ and Captains’ letters project, was cataloguing a box of correspondence when he the Declaration.
It was discovered among letters sent in by Thomas Fitzherbert, captain of HMS Raisonable, and the volunteer described his reaction in a video (see below).
This copy of the Declaration was taken from the papers of an American privateer (a private vessel commissioned by a government to attack enemy ships), the Dalton of Newburyport (Massachusetts), which was captured by the Raisonable on 24 December 1776.
It was printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, by Robert Luist Fowle sometime between the 16th and 19th July in 1776 for his newspaper, the New Hampshire Gazette or Exeter Morning Chronicle.
There are (now) only 11 known surviving copies of these so-called ‘Exeter Declarations’ and, prior to this discovery here in London, there were none known outside of the United States.
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While cataloguing a letter dated January 10, 1777, in which Captain Fitzherbert reports the capture of the Dalton, Michael noted a reference to documents seized from the ship.
On closer inspection of these records, one that Fitzherbert described as ‘another document’ proved to be the extremely rare ‘Exeter Declaration’.
The capture of enemy ships was a normal practice of warfare at this time. To ensure it was legal, however, the captors had to bring all the papers taken from any captured ship before a court.
Fitzherbert’s junior officer swore to the court that all seized papers from the Dalton had been provided. We now know this was not the case, as Fitzherbert had forwarded the Declaration to officers in the Royal Navy in London.
And, there it has been ever since, first with the Navy and finally with The National Archives, where it was discovered 250 years later. (Watch Michael’s reaction below…)
[Source: The National Archives, UK]
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“The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds.” – Caroline Kennedy
Quote of the Day: “The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds.” – Caroline Kennedy
Photo by: Katelyn Perry for Unsplash+
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Good News in History, July 5
32 years ago today, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in the garage of his home in Bellevue, Washington. Originally founded as “Cadabra,” it was famously limited to book sales, the nearby distribution chains for which was why Bezos chose Washington for the entrepreneurial project. Fast forward to today, and it can be said to have launched the e-commerce revolution, changing the face of retail forever and becoming the world’s largest “store,” available in dozens of countries. READ some more milestones on Amazon’s way to success… (1994)
Giant Gorilla Maze Celebrates Sir David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday
One of Britain’s biggest mazes is celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday by creating a spectacular design in the shape of a mountain gorilla.
Wistow Maze in Leicestershire, England, came up with the design to pay tribute to the legendary broadcaster who hails from their local county, having grown up near the University of Leicester.
The popular award-winning attraction features a winding labyrinth that stretches for three miles and takes around two hours to walk.
Each year the paths for the maze are marked out using GPS, so visitors can wind their way through towering walls of maize and sunflowers.
Each year a new topical design is chosen. Last year, it was designed in the shape of a steam train to commemorate 200 years of the modern British railway system.
It has also been shaped into a Crown to mark the Queen’s Jubilee, and a javelin thrower to mark the Olympics.
This year, its owner has paid tribute to one of Leicester’s most famous sons with a quirky design a gorilla—referencing the naturalist’s famous 1978 televised encounter with the creature in Rwanda.
“We spent almost a year mapping out the design,” said maze owner Diana Brooks. “It has been a lot hard work and effort since then to get it looking right.”
“He is certainly one of Britain’s national treasures, but it also ties-in nicely to him coming from Leicestershire, too.”
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Visitors are encouraged to find 12 quiz boards hidden among the pathways, featuring animals from his pioneering nature series, as well as interesting facts about the famous naturalist and broadcaster.
High-level bridges and towers give visitors stunning panoramic views over the fields, which will eventually blossom with sunflowers.
At the end of the season, the maize is harvested for cattle fodder before being redesigned the following spring.
Wistow Maze is a winner of Leicestershire’s “Best Visitor Attraction” and attracts thousands of visitors each year.
The maze will open daily (10am – 6pm) from July 20 until September 6 as well as the weekend of September 12/13, costing £8.95 for a child and £10.95 for an adult ($10 and $15). A family ticket for two adults and two children is £37.
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Voice Changes Measured by Phone Can Predict Asthma Flare-Ups 3 Days in Advance
Voice changes measured with a mobile phone can detect an oncoming potentially-deadly asthma attack up to three days in advance, according to new research.
Scientists from Maastricht University in the Netherlands say their high tech app can also provide a vital early warning for symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
A flare-up of asthma or COPD, known as an exacerbation, is when symptoms like difficulty breathing, coughing, and phlegm become suddenly worse—and sometimes, without prompt medical care, they can become dangerous.
It may soon be possible to use a daily voice-check to monitor for the earliest sign of a flare-up simply by speaking into your phone.
Study leader Dr. Sami Simons explained these sudden exacerbations are not only frightening, they can lead to longer-term deterioration and increase the risk of dying.
“Early on in my career I was told that the voice is different while a flare-up is happening.
“Now, the rise of artificial intelligence means it’s possible to perform sophisticated analysis to find patterns in audio recordings.
“Capturing voice via a mobile phone is the next logical step to detect deteriorations in asthma or COPD at home and on time.”
The study included 38 people with COPD and 35 people with asthma, who were being treated in the Netherlands.
Over the course of 12 weeks, participants were asked to use a specially designed app to record and analyze their voice daily.
Each person would record themselves speaking a long “a” sound, then either reading out a short piece of text or answering a question. They were also asked to complete a daily questionnaire to indicate whether their symptoms were flaring up.
Comparing the voice sounds with the data on symptom flare ups, researchers found that, at the very beginning of a flare up, people’s voices deteriorated in terms of tone, or pitch, the number of pauses, and voice quality.
The findings, published in the journal ERJ Open Research, showed that the measures improved as the flare-ups subsided.
“We found that the voice significantly changes—and this occurs as early as the first day that symptoms deteriorate,” said Dr. Simons, a consultant respiratory physician at Maastricht University Medical Centre.
“As the airways constrict during an exacerbation, the air that passes the vocal folds is limited.
“This weakens the normal vibration of the vocal folds, making it harder to keep the voice steady. As a result, the voice of someone with an exacerbation sounds ‘breathier’ and ‘rough.'”
The app called TACTICAS (Telemonitoring for Asthma and COPD Through voICe AnalysiS) was co-designed with patients and a start-up called Zana Technologies.
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It’s currently only available for research purposes, but Dr. Simons and his team have created a website (www.speaktoCOPD.com) to explain how the voice technology works and how people can contribute to the research with their own voices.
The research team developed machine learning algorithms that can detect exacerbations based on voice changes as early as three days before symptoms—and they’re are now testing the technology in two new studies: one in the Netherlands and one in Brazil.
The breakthrough was welcomed by the European Respiratory Society’s Dr. Marc Miravitlles.
“Being able to spot a flare up, or even anticipate it by a few days, could be really valuable in terms of reducing symptoms such as breathlessness or coughing as well as lowering the risk of lung damage, hospital admission or death.”
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“This technology could allow better monitoring and care for patients with asthma or COPD via a mobile phone wherever they are in the world,” added Dr Miravitlles, of Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
“This is a good example of how new technologies and AI could really improve the quality of life of our patients with chronic respiratory diseases.”
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