A Moving Rio Moment: 5 Brilliant Stories of the Week

Including the tale of a girl's favorite shirt
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 21, 2016 5:17 AM CDT
A Moving Rio Moment: 5 Brilliant Stories of the Week
New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin and United States' Abbey D'Agostino greet each other the race.   (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A model of amazing sportsmanship and the best my-favorite-shirt story in a long time make the list:

  • Nasty Fall Leads to One of Rio's Best Moments: A nice moment emerged out of a rough one in Rio Tuesday morning: During a qualifying race for the women's 5,000 meters, USA's Abbey D'Agostino and New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin got tangled up, and both fell to the ground hard. D'Agostino got up first but paused to make sure her rival was OK. In a moment, Hamblin found herself returning the favor.

  • Internet Helps Autistic Girl Replace Beloved Shirt: Ever since Deborah Skouson came home with a pink flowered shirt for her daughter five years ago, Cami, who has autism, has been "fixated" on it. It quickly became her favorite, leading Skouson to scour eBay each time her daughter's current shirt became unwearable. But the fifth time she sought a replacement, eBay's stock had run dry. That's when the Utah mom turned to Facebook, asking friends to share her request for the shirt. At last count, 150 had arrived, and not just from people in the US.
  • One Year Later, Mayor's Idea of Homeless Shows Promise: An Albuquerque program that hires the homeless to beautify the city is being hailed as a success on its first birthday. Republican Mayor Richard Berry launched the effort after spotting a man holding a sign on the street: “Want a Job. Anything Helps.” Instead of telling the homeless to get jobs, Berry figured, why not bring the jobs to them? And so he did, one day at a time.
  • 65 Years After Dying in POW Camp, Veteran Comes Home: A Korean War veteran who died in a POW camp is finally home in Massachusetts. The remains of US Army Cpl. Ronald Sparks, who died in 1951 at age 20, were flown from Hawaii to Boston's Logan International Airport on Tuesday. And it's all thanks to his nephew's 11-year effort.
  • Homeless Get Day at Beach, Pizza, On the Pope: Pope Francis this summer is treating dozens of Rome's homeless to a day at the beach and dinner in a pizzeria on the way back. The pontiff's almsgiver drives a van with 10 people to a beach near Rome for a dip in the sea, sunbathing, and then pizza. The Vatican supplies the swimsuits and beach towels. It's not Francis' only outreach to the homeless.
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