5 Most Uplifting Stories of the Week

Including a community that trumps the graffiti of Islamophobes
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 12, 2014 5:12 AM CST
5 Most Uplifting Stories of the Week
Imam Mamut Kalfi shows on his mobile phone pictures of the vandalism at a mosque in central Stockholm. The swastikas were later covered in flowers by members of the community.   (AP Photo/TT, Leif R Jansson)

Residents of Stockholm get the last word in on anti-Islam vandals, and a what-are-the-odds photo helps a family find a missing son:

  • Supporters Cover Swastikas at Mosque With Flowers: A vandal or vandals defaced the doors of a mosque in Stockholm with swastikas, but the move seems to have backfired. Anonymous members of the community then covered the swastikas with bouquets of flowers, along with a note of solidarity.
  • Chance Photo Leads to Missing Son: An upstate New York family was reunited with their missing son in amazing fashion. The troubled 20-year-old disappeared on New Year's Day and made his way to DC, where an AP photographer by chance snapped a photo of him huddled on a grate for warmth.
  • Alert Target Employee Saves Kidnapped Girl: Police in California's Bay Area say Target employee Roxanna Ramirez saved a kidnapped girl by being alert. Ramirez spotted a "fidgety" shopper acting strangely and took down his license plate just in case, a decision that paid off for a 7-year-old girl later that night.
  • Wife's Calls Save Man Pinned Under Truck: A Florida truck driver who became trapped under his vehicle in sub-zero temperatures survived thanks to a wife who wouldn't stop calling. Tim Rutledge, 53, went under his truck to loosen ice from his brake pads when the vehicle shifted, pinning him to the ground with his cell phone in his pocket—but out of reach. He got to it only after his worried wife called for the umpteenth time, and it shook his phone to within reach.
  • Waitress Receives $6K 'Gift From God' Tip: A Cracker Barrel waitress in Nebraska received a special tip the other day: $100. But that was nothing compared to the $6,000 in checks the customers also left behind for tuition and other bills. They were moved by her story of growing up in foster care.
Click for more uplifting stories, including one about a restaurant owner who is selling his establishment to help an ailing employee. (More uplifting news stories.)

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