uplifting news

Read recent happy news and other uplifting news stories from around the world on Newser.com

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Reddit User's Secret Santa: Bill Gates

He donates a cow on her behalf

(Newser) - You might end up with a great Secret Santa this year, but Reddit user Rachel will probably have you beat. Hers ended up being none other than Bill Gates in Reddit's online gift exchange program, reports Fast Company . She posted the news yesterday under her NY1227 handle, thanking Gates...

Mutt Goes From Gas Chamber to Rose Parade

He's 'spokesdog' for drive to end inhumane treatment

(Newser) - Two years after he was put in a steel box and gassed with carbon monoxide, a beagle mix with a knack for survival will be proudly riding a float in Pasadena's Rose Parade. Daniel was six months old when he was placed with 17 other dogs in a gas...

Lottery Winner Giving Away $40M Prize

Canadian wants to honor late wife with donations to charity

(Newser) - Canadian lottery winner Tom Crist says he doesn't need his $40 million prize, but he knows who does: cancer charities. The 64-year-old Calgary man has pledged to give the entire jackpot away to charity in honor of his wife of 33 years, starting with a $1.2 million donation...

Boston Bombing Survivor Engaged to Nurse He Met at Hospital

He met her at rehab hospital weeks after attack

(Newser) - The Boston Marathon bombing left James "Bim" Costello with serious shrapnel injuries and burns so bad that he needed pig skin grafts on most of his right arm and right leg—but it also introduced him to the love of his life. Costello has become engaged to nurse Krista...

5 Most Uplifting Stories of the Week

People are getting into the spirit of Santa

(Newser) - Stories about people playing Santa and an orphan's wish come true make this week's list:
  • 'Layaway Santas' Pay for Strangers' Holiday Gifts : "Layaway Santas" started popping up around the country in 2011, and the trend appears to be on the rise this season. Stores such as
...

Toddler Falls From Window, Is Caught by Passing Man

Luigi Barbanera hailed as hero

(Newser) - A 23-month-old boy fell from a second-floor window in Italy last week, but fortunately for him, Luigi Barbanera was passing by at the exact right moment. Barbanera, a former goalkeeper and current penitentiary officer, saw the toddler learning over the ledge and quickly positioned himself underneath, the Huffington Post reports,...

Christmas Wish Happens: Orphan Gets Family Holiday

Davion Only's plea went viral a few months ago

(Newser) - Remember Davion Only ? He's the 15-year-old who has spent his entire life in foster care and whose plea to be adopted went viral in October. More than 10,000 people responded , and now the Florida teen is living with a prospective adoption family, reports ABC News . And while...

'Layaway Santas' Pay for Strangers' Holiday Gifts

Trend is on the rise

(Newser) - "Layaway Santas" started popping up around the country in 2011, and the uplifting trend appears to be on the rise this season, NBC News reports. The way it works: "Secret Santas" visit a store that offers layaway and pay down strangers' accounts. (At many stores, the final payments...

Astronaut Calls Kid, 6, Who's Fighting to Save NASA

Moon-walker Gene Cernan likes the boy's White House petition

(Newser) - A 6-year-old Denver boy is such a big fan of outer space that he created an online petition on the White House's We the People website when he heard that Congress might slash NASA funding. Connor Johnson still has a long way to go—about 85,000 signatures—to...

NFL's Andre Johnson Buys $17K in Toys for Kids

Houston Texan makes it an annual tradition

(Newser) - A little antidote to the usual headlines that NFL players make off the field: Houston Texan Andre Johnson dropped more than $17,000 at a Toys R Us for a dozen kids and their siblings in child protective services, reports Fox Sports . In fact, it's the seventh straight year...

Missing Kids, Adults Found Alive in Nevada

4 kids, 2 adults 'in pretty good shape'

(Newser) - It's a happy ending: Nevada authorities have found the four kids and two adults missing in frigid conditions since Sunday—and they all appear to be fine, reports the Reno Gazette-Journal . Details remain thin, but all six were being taken to a hospital in Pershing County. "They are...

Goats Manage to Escape Avalanche
 Lucky Goats 
 Escape Avalanche 

Lucky Goats Escape Avalanche

As onlookers cheer

(Newser) - Things were not looking good for 10 mountain goats in the French Alps: As concerned onlookers watched (and videotaped), it appeared the Chamois goats would be overtaken by an avalanche. Six of the animals outran the oncoming snow, but four of them appeared to be overcome by it, the Telegraph...

5 Most Uplifting Stories of the Week

A forgiving group of workers and a sneaky pope make the cut

(Newser) - Tips factor into this week's list more than once, but in very different ways:
  • After Guy Steals Their Tips, Workers Decide to Help Him : When a man stole money from the tip jar at an Ohio coffee bar, the employees didn't react how you might expect: They didn'
...

Miracle Cat Found Alive in Rubble of Burned Shelter

Many other animals died in the blaze

(Newser) - A Kentucky animal shelter burned to the ground last Friday with 60 animals inside, about half of whom died in the blaze—but nearly a week later, a miracle. Freckles, a 1-year-old cat, was found in the rubble of the Knox Whitley Animal Shelter, WKYT reports. She was found by...

After Guy Steals Their Tips, Workers Decide to Help Him

Nervous Dog owner, manager assume he must be struggling

(Newser) - When a man stole money from the tip jar at an Ohio coffee bar, the employees didn't react how you might expect: They didn't contact police, but they did start a food drive for the man. "We assume that if he was desperate enough to steal tips,...

Girl, 13, Recounts How Dad Lost His Life to Save Her

Gracie Johnson survived rockslide that killed parents, sister, 2 cousins

(Newser) - A 13-year-old girl who survived a rockslide that killed her parents, her sister, and two cousins says she's alive today for one reason: her self-sacrificing dad. “I did cover myself, but I was just standing in the open," Gracie Johnson said on the Today show. "He...

Video Records Amazing Undersea Rescue

It shows divers' astonishment that cook had survived nearly 3 days

(Newser) - News that a tugboat's cook had survived being trapped underwater for nearly three days came out six months ago . But it wasn't until this week that video emerged showing the dramatic moment when Harrison Okene's outstretched hands reached toward his rescue divers, and they realized to their...

Pope May Be Sneaking Out at Night to Help Poor

Rumors seem to be true: Huffington Post

(Newser) - This will only help Francis' reputation as everyone's favorite pope: It seems that the pontiff is ducking out of the Vatican at night dressed as a priest to minister to Rome's homeless and hand out money. The rumor got buzzing when an archbishop whose job it is to...

Boy, 5, Gets His Dream: to Be a Police Officer

Morgan Steward, confined to a wheelchair, becomes honorary officer

(Newser) - Morgan Steward is confined to a wheelchair, but that wasn't nearly enough to keep the 5-year-old from his dream: He's always wanted to be a police officer, and yesterday, he was made an honorary one in Covington, Ga. "He always said, 'Mom, I want to be...

Mystery 'TipsforJesus' Diner Drops $54K in Huge Tips

Anonymous Good Samaritan leaving considerably more than 20%

(Newser) - Someone is going around the country leaving humongous tips at restaurants under the moniker "TipsForJesus," and the Daily Dot estimates they've added up to $54,000 so far. Think tips like $1,000 on a $152 tab—you can see pictures of the receipts on Instagram . The...

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