Positive News ~ Feb. 1

This series is to spotlight the Light and Love inside humanity, and the wonder and miracles that can be found around us. Please click on the headline to read the full article. ~ESA

HEROS:

- 18-month-old granddaughter is a hero to family devastated by house fire The one word everyone in her family is grateful Alexis knows to say is “smoke.”

- Inmates on work crew save 3 boys from frigid Washington river Rescue officials say a group of inmates on a prison work crew dove into a fast-moving, frigid Washington state river to save three young brothers who were dumped in the water after their canoe capsized.

- World Vision Manager turns hero in Sierra Leone Dwight Jones is a hero owing to his selfless rescue mission that saved lives and properties worth millions of dollars in an inferno that almost gutted the top floor of the building past weekend.

- Unlikely Hero Turns Her In The man who rescued Nicholas' daughter from a life of horrible abuse at the hands of her own mother was a complete stranger to her. In fact, he was a man society has more or less forgotten.

- ‘Good Samaritan’ Praised for Racing to Help Paramedics Centralia police will nominate a Vancouver, Wash., woman for the department’s Good Samaritan award after she came to the aid of AMR paramedics who were attacked while at a gas station.

- Pasco sheriff pays tribute to unlikely hero The Pasco Sheriff's Office paid tribute to a Good Samaritan who helped a deputy free himself from a suspect earlier this month.

HELPING HANDS:

- Mysterious Note Reminds Us to Pay it Forward Recently one Rochester woman was the recipient of such an act. But it didn't just make her day, it helped her buy a necessity, food.

- Good samaritan comforts victim of crash that closed I-40 The crash in Pender County closed down I-40 this afternoon for almost an hour near mile marker 401, but a good samaritan showed up just in time to help save the day.

- Good Samaritan deserves kudos To this 20-something woman, I give you a huge virtual hug in honor of all decent loving people.

- A day in the life of a HERO officer They are men and women who put their lives on the line each day but you won't see a badge, instead you see a big yellow truck.

- Canora "Pay it Forward" splash park wins project funding The six-year-old boy had a big heart, taking an interest in a project at school which asked him to do a random act of kindness for someone.

- God's Storehouse in Danville Sees Increase God's Storehouse in Danville has seen big changes over the years but they say one difference is the number of people they serve.

- Church Lets Homeless People Sleep In Pews For the city’s homeless, San Francisco’s St. Boniface Church is seen as a safe haven.

MIRACLES/WONDERS:

- Prayer and Pay it Forward While Brenda Finnicum was sharing Cynthia's story with me in the parking lot, her daughter Krystel was on the phone praying with Cindy, asking for a helping hand.

- Woman pays it forward to clerk for saving her life The paramedics later told Kline that she had pneumonia in both lungs and if she had just taken aspirin, her airway may have closed all together.

- Miracle birthday for baby saved in a shop A miracle baby who was brought back to life by a quick thinking supermarket worker has celebrated the first birthday his family feared he would never see.

- NJ pilot says Sullenberger's 'miracle' gave her confidence in Hudson River landing The pilot who safely landed her sputtering six-seater in the icy Hudson River says Chesley Sullenberger's "miracle on the Hudson" gave her confidence as her plane dropped toward the water.

- It’s a real miracle on Avenue B as St. Brigid’s Church reopens Archbishop Edward Egan had actually started demolishing St. Brigid’s before relenting in May 2008 and agreeing to accept a $20 million gift from an anonymous “angel” to fund the renovations, the parish and St. Brigid’s School.

- Alaska Airlines plane lands safely after pilot passes out An Alaska Airlines jetliner bound for Seattle made an emergency landing in Portland, Ore., Thursday night after the pilot lost consciousness, an airline spokesman said.

HOPE/PEACE:

- Bundaberg sees small miracle in wreckage of floods Bundaberg residents are checking the damage of the floodwaters that overran their homes in an unprecedented and heartbreaking clean up for the city but there are small stories of success offering hope.

- Timbuktu residents say 'Thank you God' that rebel Islamists are gone Several days after French special forces parachuted in and liberated this storied city, there is a growing sense of freedom.

- Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope Airing on PBS tonight, the film tells the little-known story of Columbia astronaut Ilan Ramon from Israel, the son of Holocaust survivors who became Israel’s first astronaut.

- Acres of Hope Takes it on the Road Kids in Madison get into the act as Muskego brain injury facility shares their message of safety and hope.

- Nine graduate from Village of Hope program Nine adults and their eight children recently graduated from Village of Hope's transitional living program.

FURRY FRIENDS:

- Starving dog goes back for puppies A stray border collie went looking for help and, when she found it, she went back for her puppies.

- Chester, Adopted Tabby Cat, Saved By Online Donations And 'Good Samaritan Fund' An orange tabby cat that needed several costly medical procedures was aided by strangers who graciously stepped up to help the furry feline.

- In emergency, Fido to get ‘miracle’ in West Mifflin Mask distributor Invisible Fence Brand has given away over 10,000 masks to fire companies throughout the US and Canada through their Project Breathe program.

- Gorillas to Be Protected with New Congo National Park The Republic of Congo has declared a new national park that conservationists hope with protect a core population of western lowland gorillas, a critically endangered species, as well as other threatened species.

- Jimmy Fallon’s puppies ‘predict’ Super Bowl winner With the Super Bowl just days away, Jimmy Fallon decided to let a litter of puppies do the predicting, and while a winner was chosen, most of the pups seemed to think that “Late Night” was past their bedtime.

- San Diego Zoo Panda 'Diagnosed With Acute Cuteness' It took three sets of hands to measure and examine panda cub Xiao Liwu.

- Great white shark moves back to northeast The 3,500-pound great white shark headed north after spending weeks off the Southeast coast.

- How Owls Spin Heads Around Owls don't need eyes in the back of their heads to see what's behind them — they can just swivel their heads all the way around.

- How Rock Pigeons Got Their Mullets The rock pigeon's funky hairdos have been pinned to a single gene mutation that signals head and neck feathers to grow up rather than down in a tamer fashion, report researchers who have just decoded the bird's genome.

BUSINESS:

- Speedway Exceeds $53 Million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Through generous donations from its customers, vendors and employees, Speedway contributed $6.4 million to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in 2012, propelling the company’s total fundraising to more than $53 million since 1991.

- Westport Law Firm Donates To Homes With Hope Berchem, Moses & Devlin, a law firm in Westport, made a $1,000 donation to Homes With Hope, a Westport-based nonprofit that provides emergency and permanent housing to the homeless.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY:

- Mount St. Helens' Lava Dome Shoves a Glacier Two stunning time-lapse videos show a bulging dome in the volcano's crater shoving aside a glacier and sending it galloping out of the way.

- Sun Grows Super-Hot 'Dragon Tail' A NASA spacecraft studying the sun has recorded amazing video of a giant plume of super-hot plasma erupting from the star's surface, only to crash back down hours later.

- NASA to Launch World's Largest Solar Sail in 2014 The largest solar sail ever constructed is headed for the launch pad in 2014 on a mission to demonstrate the value of "propellantless propulsion"— the act of using photons from the sun to push a craft through space.

SPORTS:

- Kentucky target Labissiere a walking, shooting 'miracle' Gerald Hamilton — Labissiere's legal guardian in the United States — said Labissiere wasn't able to walk for a few weeks, and he took several months to get back in basketball shape.

- Despite illness, Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. is to see son play in Super Bowl for 49ers Just a few weeks ago the prospect of Ted Ginn Sr. even leaving University Hospitals was a long shot.

- CCU baseball holds benefit for Miracle League Coastal Carolina baseball puts away their bats and gloves for a night to help raise money for the grand srand miracle league.

- ‘Tournament of Charities’ tees off for Hope Hospice Hope Hospice has been named the beneficiary of The Golf Club at Magnolia Landing’s “Tournament of Charities.”

- San Diego Megachurch Helps Pro Athletes Inspire Kids in Sports, Faith More than a dozen professional athletes organized by The Rock Church in San Diego, Calif., put on an inspiring display of sporting prowess and faith for hundreds of youth who turned up for Superfest 2013.

- Tim Tebow, Bubba Watson, Ben Crane Attend PGA Tour Bible Study All three of these sports icons serve as outspoken voices in the Christian community.

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT:

- Drawing hope in Syria Nineteen-year-old Khalifa is on a mission: to camouflage signs of death and destruction in the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo with expressions of hope.

- Virtual Superheroes May Change You … for the Better Scientists now find that seeing superpowers in a virtual-reality game may lead people to act more virtuously in real life.

- NYC's landmark Grand Central Terminal turns 100 Grand Central, once in danger of being demolished, is celebrating its 100th birthday with speeches, a brass band and a rollback to 1913 prices when a slice of cheesecake might go for 19 cents.

- NASA Photos Capture Dazzling Nighttime Rocket Launch When NASA's newest satellite soared into space late Wednesday, a team of photographers captured dazzling views of the rocket streaking into orbit.

LIFESTYLE:

- Teenagers hope lawmakers pass more anti-bullying regulations On Wednesday, hundreds of teenagers talked about potential legislation dealing with bullying.

- No end in sight for 23-year game of tag Seven old friends from Spokane, WA, have decided to stay friends forever by constructing an insanely intricate game of tag catered to their new lives as full fledged “adults”.

- NY inmates help build ice palace in Adirondacks It's a far cry from breaking rocks in the hot sun on a chain gang.

- Watching the Moonrise Might Be Better Than Seeing Any Sunrise It's incredible to see the dark sky be filled with the gigantic glowing orb.

RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY:

- Former mob boss leaves mafia for God A mafia boss once named one of the "Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses" by Fortune Magazine took a dangerous change by walking away from the mafia and onto a straighter path.

- God wink brings joy amid great sorrow A God wink is defined by Squire Rushnell in “When God Winks at You” as what some call a coincidence or an answered prayer.

- For California mountain man, road to God runs through kosher wine roducing wine atop a tranquil mountain in a remote area of northern California is quite a way to make a living. For Benyamin Cantz, whose one-man operation in the hills of Santa Cruz produces kosher wine from organic grapes; it's also a calling.

- Tap into God’s power through prayer God loves to be needed. Therefore, tap into God’s power through prayer.

- God’s angels are still very much at work Only in heaven will we realize just how much they did for us.