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Watch Rope-Dangling Rescue of Young Mountain Lions Before Dam Deluge ‘Likely Would Have Drowned Them’

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Mike Canterbury and John Livingston - Colorado Parks and Wildlife released on FB
Mike Canterbury and John Livingston – Colorado Parks and Wildlife released on FB

A nerve-wracking scene unfolded as Colorado wildlife officials pulled all the stops to rescue two young mountain lions in the path of a deluge of trouble.

A worker at the Pine River Irrigation District Dam was about to release a large amount of water down a concrete spillway when he spotted the yearlings at the bottom of the steep wall.

According to posts on social media, he called the Colorado Parks and Wildlife to alert them about the animals’ presence, before releasing the water from Vallecito Reservoir near Durango.

The high walls of the spillway meant the mountain lions wouldn’t be able to get out on their own.

“A release of water likely would have drowned the two lions,” writes the CPW.

Officer Ty Smith responded and pondered possible solutions.

He grabbed a long rope and dangled it in front of the young mountain lions to see if they would grab onto it so he could lift them out.

Mountain lion rescue-Mike Canterbury and John Livingston – Colorado Parks and Wildlife released on FB

The first mountain lion took the bait and held on, with legs dangling, as it was pulled to the top of the barrier—and quickly ran off into the woods.

“The second lion, however, wouldn’t hold onto the rope and ran down the spillway to where the Los Pinos River continues below the dam,” reported the Parks Officials.

“Unwilling to swim to reach the bank, the young lion continued to pace around at the water’s edge and moved into a corner of the spillway. Our wildlife officer climbed down a ladder into the spillway with the rope hoping to find a way to free the lion.

“With the lion interested in the rope, we were also able to use a catch pole and lift the lion over the concrete wall to quickly release it.”

MUST SEE: Dramatic Video Shows Strangers Desperately Fight to Remove Man from Car Engulfed in Flames–And Succeed

Everyone knows how cats like string, and in this case, it saved one of their nine lives.

Watch the video below–and hold your breath…

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Man Reveals Heart-Warming Friendship With Young Fox That He Cured of Illness in the Wild

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Bob Dunlop via SWNS
Bob Dunlop via SWNS

A wildlife fan has struck up an extraordinary friendship with a young fox after he noticed she was ill.

Bob Dunlop realized the fox had developed mange on her tail after spying her lack of hair on wildlife cameras set up near his home in Littleport, Cambridgeshire.

The 69-year-old worked out where the animal’s den was located and began to treat the cub by feeding it bread with a homeopathic remedy recommended by a wildlife expert.

Their heart-warming friendship blossomed as the young kit began to greet Mr Dunlop on his daily walks through the English forest.

Mr Dunlop said he knows he must let her re-wild and is slowly cutting down the amount of time he visits—and has already stopped feeding her.

“She’s such a special animal, it will be hard to let go.”

“But I do not intend to make her tame as she is a wild fox.”

In the video below, the fox can be seen rolling on her back and affectionately biting at Mr Dunlop’s trousers for his attention. She also greets him as he approaches, yelping and whining with excitement.

Dunlop began treating the mange—a skin disease caused by microscopic mites that burrow into skin—back in December.

Bob Dunlop’s friendly fox in Littleport, England (via SWNS)

LOOK: Woman Turns Her Apartment Into Hummingbird Hospital for Dozens of Battered Beauties–LOOK

Arsenicum and sulphur

He was unwilling to leave it untreated and sought advice from the National Fox Welfare Society. They sent Dunlop an arsenicum and sulphur 30c homeopathic remedy to treat it, free of charge.

He put the drops on some bread, alongside some dried food, delivering it every day.

Curing the mange also resulted in a unique bond between the compassionate Scotsman and the fox, which began acting more like a dog than a wild animal.

“It was a labor of love,” he told SWNS news service. “I monitored and fed her on a daily basis.

STRANGER KINDNESS: She Was About to End it All, Until a Stranger She’d Never Meet Told Her ‘Don’t Jump’

“I think she’s coming up to a year old because I believe she is the last remaining cub of a previous fox family who lived there.

“The mother of those cubs had some mange on her tail too – I think that’s where she got it from.”

“The day I put the food down and she first showed her belly, it was just wonderful.

“I know at some point I’ve got to stop and let her rewild. I think she was just a lonely animal that was ill, has recovered and is showing her appreciation.

WATCH: The Incredible Moment 69-Year-Old Stops a Bank Robbery with Words and a Hug

“She hides when she hears other people approach and is hunting at night which I see on my camera so I’m not concerned she’s at risk of being too tame.”

And he hopes that she might have her own cubs one day.

SHARE THE CURE With Fox Lovers on Social Media…

Spiders From Mars? Phenomenon Evokes David Bowie Song in These Photos Taken Near South Pole of Red Planet

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Image shows features known as ‘spiders’ near Mars south pole, as seen by the CaSSIS (Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System) aboard ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter – ESA / SWNS
Image shows features known as ‘spiders’ near Mars south pole, as seen by the CaSSIS (Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System) aboard ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter – ESA / SWNS

David Bowie would love this! There are spiders from Mars—if you believe these photos.

Incredible images taken by the European Space Agency’s spacecraft, the Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), shows distinctive arachnid shapes.

The apparent creepy crawlies are actually small, dark features that form when spring sunshine falls on layers of carbon dioxide deposited over Red Planet’s dark winter months.

The phenomenon was viewed at the outskirts of a part of Mars nicknamed Inca City in the southern polar region, named because as the linear, almost geometric network of ridges reminiscent of Inca ruins.

“The sunlight causes carbon dioxide ice at the bottom of the layer to turn into gas, which subsequently builds up and breaks through slabs of overlying ice,” said the ESA. “The gas bursts free in Martian springtime, dragging dark material up to the surface as it goes and shattering layers of ice up to a meter thick.”

The emerging gas, laden with dark dust, shoots up through cracks in the ice in the form of tall fountains or geysers, before falling back down and settling on the surface. This creates dark spots of between 45 meters and 1 km across.

“This same process creates characteristic ‘spider-shaped’ patterns etched beneath the ice—and so these dark spots are a telltale sign that spiders may be lurking below,” teased the agency in a media release.

LOOK: A Formation That Looks Like a Giant Grizzly Bear Spotted on Mars by NASA Camera

Mars image from the ESA Visual Monitoring Camera aboard Mars Express showing Inca City in the southern polar region-ESA / SWNS

Another ESA Mars explorer, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), has imaged the spiders’ tendril-like patterns especially clearly. The spiders captured by TGO lie near, but outside, the region shown in the new Mars Express image.

The Mars Express view shows the dark spots on the surface formed by escaping gas and material, while the TGO perspective also captures the spidery, web-like channels that are carved into the ice below.

Mars Express has revealed a great deal about Mars in the last two decades and counting, like when it peered into the depths of Mars’ own grand canyon to find that water made up as much as 40% of the ground there.

The orbiter continues to image Mars’s surface, map its minerals, explore the composition and circulation of its atmosphere, probe beneath its crust, and study the martian environment.

CHECK OUT: Listen to the First Eerie Sounds From Mars: China’s Rover Films Itself Driving on Red Planet, Making History

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“You exist only in what you do.” – Federico Fellini

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Danielle hugs one of the winners - One Simple Wish

Quote of the Day: “You exist only in what you do.” – Federico Fellini

Photo by: One Simple Wish

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?

One Simple Wish

Good News in History, April 28

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A coal power plant in India - credit Rawpixel

6 years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India had achieved its goal, ahead of schedule, of providing electricity to every village in India, one of the greatest achievements in the history of electrification. Once the absolute portrait of unaddressable grinding poverty, since 2000 around half a billion people have gained access to electricity in India, with political effort during the twenty-teens significantly accelerating progress. READ more about the staggering achievement… (2018)

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Rubber Duck Washes Up 18 Years After it Lost a River Race and Headed for the Hills–400 Miles Away

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Filip Miller holds a rubber duck released 18 years ago in Dublin race via SWNS
Filip Miller holds a rubber duck released 18 years ago in Dublin race via SWNS

A rubber duck that escaped a failed world record race 18 years ago has been found by a teen washed up on a beach 423 miles away.

The record attempt, held in Dublin in the summer of 2006, was part of “World Duck Race Ireland” which corralled 150,000 rubber ducks at the starting line in the River Liffey.

Despite organizer’s attempts to collect them all, several escaped into the sea. This one was found on the island of Stronsay in Orkney, Scotland.

Filip Miller, 13, stumbled across the rubber duck while walking the dog and brought it back home to show his mom.

“He didn’t really look at it, he just put it in his pocket,” said Marion. “I had a look at it and saw the writing.”

“It said “World Record Duck Race, Ireland 2006,” and so we got a bit excited and started Googling it.”

Each duck was sponsored for the race that required each duck to pass under five bridges, with the fastest one declared the winner—earning its sponsor a trip to the United States.

Other ducks that flew the coop in the race have been found in Morecambe and the Isle of Wight—with one even being discovered in Sweden in 2016.

LOOK: Little Boy Reunited With LEGO Man After Creating a ‘Missing Person’ Poster

Rubber duck found 18 years after it was released in Dublin race – SWNS

“It’s always fascinating finding things on the shore—a bit like a message on the bottle,” said Marion.

“You always wonder what the story is and where it’s come from, so it’s really special to be able to learn about its journey.

“It was so long ago as well…18 years ago and the writing is still intact on it and it even has a number on it.”

As the find was posted on social media, commenters began wondering about the future of the duck, but Marion says there’s no chance she’s throwing it out.

WOW: Daughter Gets Dad’s Long Lost Message in a Bottle 50 Years Later

“I don’t think we’ll keep him in the bath, but we’re definitely going to keep it on the shelf!”

FLOAT THIS REBEL DUCKIE Story to Pals on Social Media…

One in 5 Americans ‘Always’ Think About Planning Their Next Vacation–While On Vacation: New Survey

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Jakob Owens
Jakob Owens

A survey of 2,000 travel-loving adults found that one in five people long for another vacation again the day they get back and another 27% said this feeling wells up within a week.

Looking ahead, the average respondent wants to spend 15 days on vacation in 2024, after the average said they grabbed 11 days last year in 2023.

Just a quarter of respondents said they traveled more than the average person they know, but nearly half say they want to be known as the frequent traveler.

Conducted by OnePoll for Club Wyndham, the survey found that 89% of those surveyed said vacation reduces their stress levels, even temporarily, with 84% saying a vacation can relax them and decrease stress for weeks upon returning.

A majority of respondents said that they consider vacations as a form of self-care (86%).

And, because they can reduce stress, 80% would be interested in a “do-nothing” vacation where they sit by the pool or beach, reading a book or relaxing.

“According to the survey, more than 70% of potential travelers count down to their vacation, and a majority long to travel again just one week after returning home,” said Annie Roberts, senior vice president of club and owner services at Club Wyndham.

“It’s not surprising that they want to experience the ‘vacation glow’ again and again.”

To make sure they get what they’re looking for, many of those surveyed go to great lengths to dream of and plan a vacation well tailored to their interests.

Dan Dumitriu

Respondents want to steer clear of discomforts, like sharing a bathroom with others (27%) and want to avoid situations where they would have difficulty sleeping (27%).

When on vacation with others, 79% prefer having their own—or extra—space to spread out, including 82% of parents.

“People want to ensure their vacation decisions bring them quality, consistency, and peace of mind—the chance to gather comfortably to enjoy shared moments that become lifelong memories.”

Couple Who Met as ‘Miracle Babies’ in Hospital Were Meant to Be Together–Now Have a Child of Their Own

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Bronwyn and Jack being held by their mothers in 1994 - now hold their own (SWNS)
Bronwyn and Jack being held by their mothers in 1994 – now hold their own (SWNS)

Jack and Bronwyn were both born prematurely in the same hospital at the same time.

After he was born at 30 weeks, and she was delivered after just 26 weeks, their families forged a friendship during the many weeks spent waiting in the neonatal ward in 1994.

After finally going home from Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, England, the families stayed in touch over the years, and the two kids grew up together.

Jack and Bronwyn drifted apart in their teens before surprisingly realizing at age 27 that they were made for each other.

Two years later they decided to get married and now have a young daughter of their own—who was also born at the same hospital.

“I always knew there was something,” Bronwyn Tacey told SWNS news service, “but I didn’t think we would make anything of it.”

She talked about the unlikely beginnings with Jack Richardson.

“Jack was in intensive care for a year. I was there for 14 weeks. It was touch and go whether we would both make it. It’s a complete miracle that we are both here.”

Their parents stayed close for years, raising their kids alongside one another and keeping each other’s birthdays on the calendar.

The kids went off to different schools, and had several romantic relationships before everything changed in October 2021.

POPULAR: Quadruplets Who Beat the Odds at Birth Are About to Turn 18 and Be Apart for First Time

Bronwyn recalls posting a selfie after her hair was styled and he messaged her on Facebook.

The pair got to chatting and Jack asked if she was seeing anyone. After a few dates they realized they were “right for each other”.

In May, last year, the couple announced they were getting married—and their parents were “ecstatic” at the news.

Jack’s mom Sharon Pickering said she “couldn’t quite believe it”.

“It was just amazing. The first person he met is the person he’ll have a baby with.”

AMAZING: Tiny Baby That Fit Inside Mom’s Hand is Home Laughing After 181 Days in Hospital Not Expected to Survive

She gave birth to Sienna in February 23, 2024 in the same hospital that she and Jack were born in.

Bronwyn admits it’s “strange” how they got together.

“I don’t know anyone else or any other relationships that are like this.”

But now living in Nuttall, on the skirts of Nottingham, the couple couldn’t be happier.

Bronwyn said, “It’s a great partnership.

We’re like best friends as well as partners. It’s the best of both worlds.

“We just get each other, finish each other’s sentences. We know what each other is thinking before we say it.

LOOK: 12-yo Leap Year Quadruplets Celebrate ‘Third Birthday’–Brothers Are All Unique But 3 Are Triplets

“It feels really natural to be together.”

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Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ From Rob Brezsny

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Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of April 27, 2024
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Bordering the Pacific Ocean for a thousand miles, Chile’s Atacama Desert is a place of stark and startling beauty. Unfortunately, its pristine landscape is also a dumping ground for vast amounts of discarded clothes that people bought cheaply, wore out quickly, and didn’t want anymore. Is there any other place on earth that more poignantly symbolizes the overlap of sacred and profane? In the coming weeks, Taurus, you will possess a special aptitude for succeeding in situations with metaphorical resemblances to the Atacama. You will have an enhanced power to inject ingenious changes wherever messiness is mixed with elegance, wherever blemished beauty requires redemption, and wherever lyrical truths need to be rescued from careless duplicity or pretense.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
My Gemini friend Alicia thrives on having a quick, acute, whirling-dervish-like intelligence. It’s one of her strong points now, but it wasn’t always. She says she used to be hyperactive. She thought of serenity as boring—“like some wan, bland floral tea.” But after years of therapy, she is joyous to have discovered “a kind of serenity that’s like sweet, frothy hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.” I’m guessing that many of you Geminis have been evolving in a similar direction in recent months—and will climax this excellent period of relaxing growth in the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
All Cancerians in the coming weeks may feel their dormant potentials ripening. Imagine being guided to receive and bestow the love that gives your life supreme meaning. How should you prepare for this flood of blessings? Start by having a long talk with yourself in which you describe exactly why you deserve these gifts.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
A meme on Instagram said, “The day I stopped worrying about what other people think of me was the day I became free.” This sentiment provokes mixed feelings in me. I agree it’s liberating not to be obsessed with what people think of us. On the other hand,  I believe we should indeed care about how we affect others. We are wise to learn from them about how we can be our best selves. Our “freedom” includes the discernment to know which ideas people have about us are worth paying attention to and which are best forgotten and ignored. In my opinion, Leo, these are important themes for you to ruminate on right now.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
The city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is a holy place for Islam. Jerusalem is the equivalent for Judaism, and the Vatican is for Catholicism. Other spiritual traditions regard natural areas as numinous and exalting. For instance, the Yoruba people of Nigeria cherish Osun-Osogbo, a sacred grove of trees along the Osun River. I’d love it if there were equivalent sanctuaries for you, Virgo—where you could go to heal and recharge whenever you need to. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to identify power spots like these. If there are no such havens for you, find or create some.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In my astrological opinion, you are entering a period when you can turn any potential breakdown into a breakthrough. If a spiritual emergency arises, I predict you will use it to rouse wisdom that sparks your emergence from numbness and apathy. Darkness will be your ally because it will be the best place to access hidden strength and untapped resources. And here’s the best news of all: Unripe and wounded parts of your psyche will get healing upgrades as you navigate your way through the intriguing mysteries.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
According to my astrological perspective, you are entering a phase when you could dramatically refine how relationships function in your life. To capitalize on the potential, you must figure out how to have fun while doing the hard work that such an effort will take. Here are three questions to get you started. 1 What can you do to foster a graceful balance between being too self-centered and giving too much of yourself? 2. Are there any stale patterns in your deep psyche that tend to undermine your love life? If so, how could you transform or dissolve them? 3. Given the fact that any close relationship inevitably provokes the dark sides of both allies, how can you cultivate healthy ways to deal with that?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
I feel sad when I see my friends tangling with mediocre problems. The uninspiring dilemmas aren’t very interesting and don’t provoke much personal growth. They use up psychic energy that could be better allocated. Thankfully, I don’t expect you to suffer this bland fate in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You will entertain high-quality quandaries. They will call forth the best in you. They will stimulate your creativity and make you smarter and kinder and wilder. Congratulations on working diligently to drum up such rich challenges!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
In 1894, a modest agave ferox plant began its life at a botanical garden in Oxford, England. By 1994, a hundred years later, it had grown to be six feet tall but had never bloomed. Then one December day, the greenhouse temperature accidentally climbed above 68 degrees F. During the next two weeks, the plant grew twice as tall. Six months later, it bloomed bright yellow flowers for the first time. I suspect metaphorically comparable events will soon occur for you, Capricorn. They may already be underway.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Have you felt a longing to be nurtured? Have you fantasized about asking for support and encouragement and mentoring? If so, wonderful! Your intuition is working well! My astrological analysis suggests you would dramatically benefit from basking in the care and influence of people who can elevate and champion you; who can cherish and exalt you; who can feed and inspire you. My advice is to pursue the blessings of such helpers without inhibition or apology. You need and deserve to be treated like a vibrant treasure.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
In his book Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception, Thom Hartmann theorizes that distractibility may have been an asset for our ancestors. Having a short attention span meant they were ever alert for possible dangers and opportunities in their environment. If they were out walking at night, being lost in thought could prevent them from tuning into warning signals from the bushes. Likewise, while hunting, they would benefit from being ultra-receptive to fleeting phenomena and ready to make snap decisions. I encourage you to be like a hunter in the coming weeks, Pisces. Not for wild animals, but for wild clues, wild signs, and wild help.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Have you ever gotten your mind, heart, and soul in sweet alignment with the spiritual beauty of money? An opportunity to do that is available. During the next four weeks, you can cultivate an almost mystical communion with the archetype of well-earned wealth. What does that mean? Well, you could be the beneficiary of novel insights and hot tips about how best to conduct your finances. You might get intuitions about actions you could take to bring more riches into your life. Be alert for help from unexpected sources. You may notice that the more generous you are, the more the world’s generosity will flow your way.

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money.” – Thomas Jefferson

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Screenshot

Quote of the Day: “The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money.” – Thomas Jefferson

Photo by: Brian Garcia

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?

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Good News in History, April 27

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The Koreas summit - Mr. Cheongwadae - Blue House - Public Nuri license

6 years ago today, the Panmunjom Declaration was signed by President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong-un, declaring the intention to end the Korean War (which has never truly ended). Organized under the initiative of then-President Donald Trump, the summit was remarkable, with both leaders stepping across both sides of the border at the DMZ for photographs. In 60 years, no single moment has ever brought the two Koreas closer to a lasting peace. READ more… (2018)

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Archaeologists May Have Found the Villa Where the Roman Emperor Augustus Died

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Andy Corbley
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- credit University of Tokyo
The scope of the excavations – credit University of Tokyo

Excavations of a Roman villa dating to the start of the Imperial era show it may belong to the greatest of all the Roman emperors, Caesar Augustus.

Called the Somma Vesuviana, the villa was partially destroyed and buried by the same eruption that buried the city of Pompeii in 79 CE, but is located on the northern slopes of the mountain, the site where Augustus is said to have died at the end of a long rule.

Roman sources say he died in a villa north of Vesuvius, but scant further details remain. What might illuminate the matter would be evidence of extensive wealth worthy of a man who, in his own words, found Rome a city of stone and left it a city of marble.

At the moment, the Somma Vesuviana is being excavated by a team of Japanese researchers from the University of Tokyo who have been working in the area since 2022, and who recently released a statement on their progress.

“This archaeological discovery will be a key to unlocking an important phase in human history: the beginning of the ancient Roman Empire and emperor worship,” the translated statement read.

Indeed Roman sources say that the site where Augustus died was consecrated following his death, and the original structures buried by Vesuvius were used as an outline for a subsequent building constructed over top of it.

“Recent excavations have revealed some rooms of the building before the eruption in 79 CE. So far, four rooms and spaces have been identified,” the statement explains.

“In particular, in what we call Room 22, as many as 16 earthenware vessels (amphorae) were found for transporting and storing wine and other items, many of which remained leaning against the walls. On the floor of a small space called Room 25, a large amount of charcoal and ash from the fire was found. This is thought to be the part of the kiln where water is thought to have been boiled.”

The evidence of a fire-heated bath points to someone of great personal wealth, though many Romans among the patrician class had such bathing halls. Greater evidence for it being Augustus’ villa comes from the second structure.

SEE ALSO FROM POMPEII: Alongside What Appears to Be Pizza, Recent Pompeii Excavations Reveal Yet More Hidden Treasures

Much larger, and featuring brick arches, marble columns, and marble statues such as depictions of Dionysus, the god of wine, were all newly installed. The Japanese team described the second structure as “public in nature” due to its size and ornamentation.

By University of Tokyo

By the time of the end of the Western Roman Empire, the building had been adapted for mass wine production all before being buried yet again by the smoking behemoth to the south around the turn of the 5th century.

Born Gaius Octavius, part of the Gaius family and great nephew of a certain Gaius Julius, Emperor Augustus fought alongside Marcus Antonius to finish the final Roman civil war—the one which sprouted in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination.

MORE BIG ROMAN FINDS: 2,000-Year-Old Home Found Under a Seaside Playground May Be Pliny the Elder’s Villa

The next chapter of this famous story saw Antonius and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra attempt to leverage her son—Julius Caesar’s alleged child—to seize power in Rome, only for the now-grown and brilliant military mind of Augustus to defeat him.

The final chapter saw Octavius receive the title “Augustus” or Exalted One, from the Roman senate and then doubling the size of the empire, initiating the Pax Romana, in which the Roman interior, and even recently conquered provinces, were almost entirely free of conflict, and created a stable state which persevered for several centuries, ushered Christianity into power, and birthed the nation-state of Byzantium.

His famous last words were Acta est fabula, plaudite, which in admittedly dramatized English means “Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit.”

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Florida Teen Wins Prestigious Carnegie Award and Full-Ride Scholarship After Daring Rescue

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Andy Corbley
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Jakob Thompson - credit Carnegie Hero Fund Commission
Jakob Thompson – credit Carnegie Hero Fund Commission

From Lantana, Florida comes the story of a courageous teenager who rescued a woman adrift in the fast current of a canal carrying rainwater out to the Atlantic.

The rescue won the young man the Carnegie Hero Award, as well as a local, full-ride scholarship to the Boynton Fire and Rescue Academy to cover the cost of school while he pursues his ambition of becoming a firefighter.

In December 2023, a woman was spotted floating down the Boynton Beach Inlet, the most dangerous inlet of South Florida due to a rapid current, according to Boynton Beach Fire & Rescue.

Unconcerned with his own safety, 17-year-old Jakob Thompson took off his shirt and jumped into the canal, swimming 80 feet and securing the woman around his waist before powering back to the cement wall.

CBS 12 News reports that the woman, while completely exhausted, knew not to struggle, which allowed Thompson to focus on his strokes.

“I just swam as fast as I can to get her. By the time I got to her, I don’t want to say lifeless, but she was very tired from struggling and trying to get out of the water,” Thompson told CBS 12.

The rescue was widely viewed on the news and social media thanks to a video of the incident taken by bystander Maria Gutierrez.

MORE TEEN HEROES: Montreal Teens Hailed as Heroes for Saving Couple from Drowning in Barbados

It caught the attention of a Boynton resident named Sarah Perry, whose son Aden died years ago while trying to save the driver of a car that was sinking into a local lake. Since that tragic day, Sarah has managed the Aden Perry Good Samaritan Scholarship Fund, which aims to raise money and grant full scholarships to students who perform heroic acts.

Thompson is the first such recipient, though he says he never intended to seek a reward.

“Putting my life out there to help somebody came with a reward, but I was never looking for one,” said Thompson.

CARNEGIE MEDAL ON GNN: All His Training Pays Off: Slackliner Wins Carnegie Medal for Ski Lift Rescue Over Cables

Boynton Beach Fire & Rescue joined with Perry in inviting Thompson to tour one of the stations, but once he arrived, he was surprised with the scholarship.

Nearly 5 months later another organization has decided to honor Thompson for his heroic efforts—the Carnegie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund, given to those throughout the U.S. and Canada who risk death or serious physical injury in rescuing their fellow man.

17 others were honored with the medal this year. A verse from the New Testament encircles the outer edge: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13).

To date, more than 10,000 Carnegie Medals have been awarded, with about 20% given posthumously.

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Masterpieces Saved from Notre Dame Fire Now Restored and Back on View: It’s ‘Miraculous’

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Andy Corbley
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La Nativité, Jérôme Francken, 1585 © DRAC Île de France –Permission from Cultival Agency Paris, France (cropped)
La Nativité, Jérôme Francken, 1585 © DRAC Île de France –Permission from Cultival Agency Paris, France (cropped)

A collection of great historical artworks, saved from the fires of Notre-Dame, are set to be exhibited as they haven’t been for over 160 years as the famous cathedral nears its reopening this December.

Known as the Mays of Notre-Dame, they are 76 monumental religious works mostly from the 17th century, 13 of which were on display in the cathedral during the fire.

The double irony is that the reason they haven’t been exhibited together in so long is because the Notre-Dame’s famous architectural custodian Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, didn’t like them, and had them removed from their place between the central columns of the transept and placed in the side chapels either side of the nave.

This location was one of the last to suffer from the blaze, meaning that Viollet-le-Duc’s displeasure was their salvation.

To commemorate the Virgin Mary, every May from 1630 to 1707 the Goldsmith’s Guild in Paris would present a monumental religious scene to honor the saint—painted by some of the best artists of the age, giving this collection of paintings the nickname “the Mays of Notre-Dame.”

Painted 10 feet by 8 inches wide and 8 feet by 6 inches tall, they were uniform in size and style, with the paintings borrowing scenes from Greece, the Bible, and Rome to tell religious stories.

Restoration of one of the Mays of Notre Dame © DRAC Île de France11 – permission of Cultival Agency Paris (cropped)

On that fateful April day in 2019, treasures of all kinds were saved, including a wooden chest containing the 27-meter-long chancel rug of the cathedral, used last for the precession of Napoleon the Third’s wedding.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Rebuilding Notre Dame Cathedral Takes Leap Forward as the Majestic Spire Is Pieced Together

After the fires had gone out, first responders found the 13 ‘Mays’ still hanging in the side chapels. apart from some water damage, they were unscathed.

“We began removing them the day after the fire and decided they would all be restored. The exhibition is a chance to see them all in one place, in the order they were painted, which is how they would have been originally displayed. What you see now is how they would have looked the day they were completed,” said Emmanuel Pénicaut, director of Mobilier National collections, the association appointed by the French government to restore the works.

The Mays of Notre Dame seen in cathedral transept in 1780 © Société des amis de Notre-Dame de Paris / Cl. Bénédicte Colly

Of the 76 Mays that were painted, 52 are known to the art world. Most are in churches in France, while 7 reside in private collections in the UK.

REFRESHING OLD ART: Must See: 16th Century Turkish Baths Reopening in Istanbul as Part-Antique Spa, Part-Museum

Deciding to restore the paintings means that master painters who specialized in touching up damaged or antique works will be allowing visitors to Paris to see how this fierce contest of artistic and religious patronage unfolded over time.

The exhibition features another nine religious paintings saved from the fire, and 14 tapestries that were part of the Notre-Dame’s chancel, but which now reside in Strasbourg. The treasures of Notre Dame will be on display at the Mobilier National from 24 April to 21 July.

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Beloved Birds Return to Islands for First Time in 40 Years After Damming Damage Reversed

By
Andy Corbley
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A bittern hiding in the grass in Florida - Lee Coursey - CC license, Flikr
A bittern hiding in the grass in Florida – Lee Coursey – CC license, Flickr

What’s secretive, pretends to be a stick, and is sometimes confused with a mythical creature?

The figure in focus of this question is a beloved bird that’s returning in numbers to Tasmania for the first time in 40 years.

The Australasian bittern disappeared from Tasmania’s northern reaches for decades following a hydropower project in 1964 that disrupted a unique local wetland ecosystem called the Lagoon of Islands.

Raising the water level, flooding the islands, and eliminating the prime habitat of the bird, its return is a watershed moment in the area’s recovery following the elimination of the dams in 2012.

Wielding an “eerie deep hoot” that’s supposed to be similar to a mythical creature called a Bunyip,  a man-eating swamp creature, the few Aborigines who will try and describe it say it looks like a seal or swimming dog, while others describe it as having a long neck and small head. Both forms are accused of preying on humans.

The bittern is not a myth, but like the Bunyip, it is nocturnal and elusive. In fact, it has a cool camouflage trick. This large heron stands stock still with its bill pointed at the clouds, while a stripe of feathers on its neck, combined with its rough brown plumage, makes it look perfectly like a group of reeds.

ABC News Australia spoke with one of the birders in Tasmania’s community of Longford, around 40 kilometers north of the large town of Bothwell, who made up citizen science programs that recorded the bittern’s call for the first time in 40 years.

MORE BIRDING STORIES: Rare Nocturnal Parrot Described as ‘the Holy Grail of Ornithology’ Finally Recorded by Rangers in Remote Desert

“It’s probably one of the memories of my life in terms of birding, and I’ve done a lot of birding,” said bird expert Geoff Shannon, who additionally spotted a pair of bittern chicks through his binoculars.

MORE CHARISMATIC BIRDS: First Known Photos of ‘Lost Bird’ Not Seen in 2 Decades are Captured by University of Texas Scientists

 

The Lagoon of Islands was a rich wetland ecosystem of floating reed mats and small islands where the bitterns could nest, hide, and hunt.

The bitterns’ return is the restoration of a top member of the food chain, showing how well the lagoon as a whole has recovered, from the smallest fish or amphibian up to the largest bird.

LISTEN to its call below…

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“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

Photo: via Fotolia

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, April 26

By
Good News Network
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70 years ago, Seven Samurai was released in theaters, the epic cinematic masterpiece co-written, directed, and edited by Akira Kurosawa. A technical and creative marvel, it became Japan’s highest-grossing movie but also was highly influential among Hollywood filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and George Lucas. The story, set in 1586 Japan, centers around a village of farmers that hires seven samurai to combat the bandits who plan to return after the harvest and steal their crops. Each samurai brings a completely different personality to the mission, causing friction in their makeshift team. WATCH the trailer and a review to learn why this black-and-white film is still worth watching today… (1954)

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Solar Balconies Are Booming in Germany and You Can Plug in and Install Them Yourself

By
Andy Corbley
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A solar balcony from Ertex Solar Austria.
A solar balcony from Ertex Solar Austria.

Solar panels are finding their way onto all sorts of surprising surfaces, and now Central Europeans are beginning to line their balcony rails with them; because why not?

To mark the 70th anniversary of the solar cell’s mainstream entry into society, data acquired by Euronews claims that 400,000 German households have already connected their verandas and balconies to solar panels.

New data shows at least 50,000 of the PV devices were added in the first quarter of 2024 alone.

Easy to install—such that many do it themselves, the technology makes every bit of sense as rooftop PV solar panels. In the Northern Hemisphere, during the winter months especially, the sun comes at such a shallow angle that panels on a balcony may even exceed the power generation of those mounted on a roof.

They won’t generate more power, because they’re plugged into smaller sockets, but they present less of a hazard than rooftop solar, and may not even require installation fees. They can also be installed where people may not have the requisite sunlight, the property access, or the structural strength to install rooftop panels.

Jan Osenberg, a policy advisor at the SolarPower Europe association, told Euronews that 200 megawatts is a rough estimate of how much electricity is generated by solar balconies, compared to 22 gigawatts from all of Germany’s rooftop solar panels.

The technology has been a boom in Germany’s strong solar culture. More power is generated by solar in Germany than any other country in Europe.

A solar balcony from Ertex Solar Austria.

“Rooftop solar really has this empowering momentum that people who start to have a solar system, they start to track their electricity consumption, they start to feel themselves as being someone who is a frontrunner in the energy transition, someone who supports the energy transition and is already a part of it,” says Osenberg.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Undersea Cable to Funnel 3 Gigawatts of Solar Energy From Egypt to Power Millions of European Households

Some German states offer subsidies for a solar balcony kit, which pays for itself in electricity savings after around 3-5 years of its 20-year lifespan. However, at 24 kilograms—over 50 pounds—installation needs to be taken deadly seriously, as a panel falling three or four stories onto someone might be lights out.

Europe has been getting progressively more inventive with the placement of its solar panels. GNN has reported on solar power installations above a cemetery in France, between railway tracks in Switzerland, inside terracotta roof tiles in Italy, and on the roof of an SUV in the Netherlands.

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Pluto Has a Heart – And Scientists Solved the Mystery as to Why

By
Andy Corbley
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Plutos heart-shaped region as seen by the New Horizons spacecraft - SWNS
Plutos heart-shaped region as seen by the New Horizons spacecraft – SWNS

Most people know only that Pluto is a planet that wasn’t a planet that is extremely cold and far away, but it has a softer side as well.

Researchers believe the huge heart-shaped feature on the planetesimal’s surface was likely caused by a “giant and slow oblique-angle impact”.

A team of scientists from the University of Bern, including several members of the NCCR PlanetS and the University of Arizona, have used numerical simulations to investigate the origins of Sputnik Planitia, the western teardrop-shaped part of Pluto’s “heart” surface feature.

“Ever since the cameras of NASA’s New Horizons mission discovered a large heart-shaped structure on the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto in 2015, this ‘heart’ has puzzled scientists because of its unique shape, geological composition, and elevation,” the team writes in a release.

According to the research, Pluto’s early history was marked by a cataclysmic event that formed this sweet, stellar, rocky emoji: a collision with a planetary body about 360 miles (700km) in diameter, roughly twice the size of Switzerland from east to west.

“The elongated shape of Sputnik Planitia strongly suggests that the impact was not a direct head-on collision but rather an oblique one,” points out Dr. Martin Jutzi of the University of Bern, who initiated the study.

The team used Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulation software to digitally recreate such impacts, varying both the composition of Pluto and its impactor, as well as the velocity and angle of the impactor.

These simulations confirmed the scientists’ suspicions about the oblique angle of impact and determined the composition of the impactor.

The team’s findings, which were recently published in Nature Astronomy, also suggest that the inner structure of Pluto is different from what was previously assumed, indicating that there is no subsurface ocean.

The heart captured the public’s attention immediately upon its discovery. But it also immediately caught the interest of scientists because it is covered in a material that reflects more light than its surroundings, creating its whiter color.

However, the “heart” is not composed of a single element. The western part, Sputnik Planitia, covers an area of 720 by 1,200 miles (1200 by 2000 kilometers). This region is three to four kilometers lower in elevation than most of Pluto’s surface.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Webb Telescope Detects Water Vapor Just Hanging Out in Space Inside Fascinating Goldilocks Zone

“The bright appearance of Sputnik Planitia is due to it being predominantly filled with white nitrogen ice that moves and convects to constantly smooth out the surface. This nitrogen most likely accumulated quickly after the impact due to the lower altitude,” explains Dr. Harry Ballantyne from the University of Bern, lead author of the study.

The eastern part of the heart is also covered by a similar but much thinner layer of nitrogen ice, the origin of which is still unclear to scientists, but is probably related to Sputnik Planitia.

MORE SOLAR SYSTEM DISCOVERIES: Locked in a 4 Billion-Year-old Dance, Six New Exoplanets Demonstrate the Cosmic Beauty of ‘Resonant Orbits’

“In our simulations, all of Pluto’s primordial mantle is excavated by the impact, and as the impactor’s core material splats onto Pluto’s core, it creates a local mass excess that can explain the migration toward the equator without a subsurface ocean, or at most a very thin one,” explains Jutzi.

Other icy worlds like Pluto are believed to have hosted subsurface oceans, including Neptune, Saturn’s very large moon Enceladus, and its very small moon, Mimas.

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Two Big Cats from Infamous Tiger King Captivity Thriving in San Diego After Sanctuary Helps Save 69 Tigers

By
Andy Corbley
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Jem and Zoe, rescued from Tiger King Park - credit: Lions, Tigers, and Bears Animal Sanctuary
Jem and Zoe, rescued from Tiger King Park – credit: Lions, Tigers, and Bears Animal Sanctuary

A San Diego wildlife sanctuary is proud to report that two of the 69 tigers rescued from the infamous collection of the ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic are thriving at their Alpine, CA location.

Participating in the rescue of the cats, it took Lions, Tigers, and Bears Animal Sanctuary 3 years to help the pair of Bengal tigers, Jem and Zoe, to put on normal weight and get back to their wild ways, but that perseverance has paid off.

Netflix broke the world of the US tiger trade to the world with a landmark docu-series Tiger King in 2021, which centered around the private menagerie collection of Joe Exotic, and his difficulties with a woman named Carole Baskin, the owner of Big Cat Rescue.

Exotic is now in prison serving 21 years for conspiracy to commit murder after attempting to hire two hitmen to take Baskin out. Tiger King Park in Oklahoma was closed for ongoing violations of the Endangered Species Act.

An organized effort to relocate his 69 captive tigers to sanctuaries around the country saw Lions, Tigers, and Bears (LTB) take in two adults Jem and Zoe.

“Their condition was dire, marked by severe malnutrition, emaciation, dull skin, and other issues,” LTB told Fox News 5 San Diego. “The trauma from long-term abuse led to the development of uncharacteristic behavior, such as not eating for days at a time.”

However, LTB’s efforts succeeded, and after three years the pair are “living their best lives in their forever home.”

NEWS ON THIS BEAT: Breeding Big Cats for Pets or the Petting-Trade Will Soon Be Illegal as US Senate Passes Law

People can visit Zoe and Jem at the LTD Sanctuary by reservation only, but the sanctuary relies on visitors as well as contributions to perform life-saving rescues like those from Tiger King Park.

YOU’LL ALSO LIKE: World Wildlife Fund Gets Ex-Poachers To Protect and Save the Big Cats They Once Hunted

As their name implies, there are more than just tigers there, and visitors can see lions, bobcats, and leopards, along with other large animals beyond the Panthera genus.

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