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73% Reduction in Suicides on Golden Gate Bridge Since They Installed Safety Nets

By
Andy Corbley
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A picture of the nets along the bridge - credit: Goldengatebrige.org
A picture of the nets along the bridge – credit: Goldengatebrige.org

Installing safety nets on the Golden Gate Bridge has led to a 73% reduction in suicides, according to new research.

The number of people jumping to their deaths from the San Francisco landmark has rapidly declined in the 12 months since safety nets were installed, reveals the study.

Researchers say their findings, published online in the journal Injury Prevention, highlight the importance of barriers to prevent suicides.

“Early evidence indicates that the installation of safety nets on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco has been successful in reducing the number of suicides at the bridge,” study author Dr. Sangsoo Shin said.

The bridge, like so many others across the world, was a notorious suicide hotspot. The installation of safety nets to prevent suicide by jumping was completed in January last year along the entire length of the span.

Work on the project commenced in 2018 but faced numerous construction delays, as well as resistance from protestors who didn’t want to alter the landmark, arguing that people seeking to end their lives would find other ways in any case, or jump down to the nets, and then jump again to their deaths.

To evaluate whether the safety nets were working as intended, researchers studied the change in suicide rates at the bridge during three periods: before (January 2000 to July 2018), during (August 2018 to December 2023), and after installation (January 2024 to December 2024).

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Korea is Using Artificial Intelligence to Prevent Suicide Attempts on Bridges

Because staff and volunteers at the bridge are trained to intervene when someone is showing signs of a suicidal crisis, the research team also examined whether the three periods were linked to changes in the number of times a third party intervened to prevent suicide.

During the entire study period, there were 681 confirmed suicides and 2,901 interventions by a third party.

There were 2.48 suicides per month before installation of the safety nets, 1.83 during installation, and 0.67 after installation.

During the installation of the nets, suicides declined by 26% and after installation by 73%. Also during installation, the number of interventions by a third party increased by 75% and after installation by 34%.

ALSO CHECK OUT: In the Amazon, One Woman’s Ingenious Canopy Bridges Are Helping Monkeys Cross the Road Safely

In cases where someone falls into the nets 20 feet below the bridge deck, which are made of stainless steel and designed to be painful to land on, teams of trained professionals stand ready to perform rescues, Golden Gate Bridge.org wrote.

District staff have been coordinating and training with local fire departments and law enforcement agencies to respond to net rescues in a timely manner and with minimal disruption to traffic. Thus far, the interagency teams have performed several successful rescues from the net using existing personnel and equipment.

The researchers say the study on the effectiveness of the newly installed nets provides “early but clear evidence” that they are associated with an “immediate and substantial reduction” in suicides at the site.

OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Gorgeous Suspension Bridge Set for Completion in 2025 Will Make History Immediately – (LOOK)

“There are many high-risk places around the world where people die by jumping from heights,” said Dr. Shin, of the University of Melbourne, Australia. “Our study provides further evidence to policymakers that barriers are highly effective means of reducing suicide at bridges.”

It also demonstrates how the intuitive thinking behind the protestors’ seemingly-reasonable criticism was nevertheless unfounded, a reminder that things that may seem logical to the thinker are often a result, as Daniel Kahneman laid out in his famous book Thinking Fast and Slow, of coming to a conclusion without evidence and then deducing “backwards” to find a way to prove one’s pre-conceived belief correct.

SHARE The News Of These Nets Stemming The Loss Of Life In California… 

Good News in History, March 21

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Good News Network
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45 years ago today, Pink Floyd’s single, Another Brick in the Wall, hit No.1 on Billboard, beginning an 11-week domination at the top of the charts. From their rock opera album The Wall, written by bassist Roger Waters, it is a protest song against rigid schooling—and features a local elementary school choir. Called (Pt. 2), it became their only No.1 single in the US and UK, and many other countries—and it sold over four million copies worldwide. WATCH the band’s official animated music video… (1980)

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“Don’t waste a minute not being happy. If one window closes, run to the next window—or break down a door.” – Brooke Shields

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Don’t waste a minute not being happy. If one window closes, run to the next window—or break down a door.” – Brooke Shields

Photo by: Oumaima Ben Chebtit (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

The Old Man and the Stork: An Unlikely Friendship That Captivated a Nation

By
Andy Corbley
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Photo by Anastasiya Dragun on Unsplash
Photo by Anastasiya Dragun on Unsplash

Now from Turkiye comes the story of an annual spring reunion that has captivated the hearts of a nation for 14 years.

It involves a simple rural fisherman Adem Yilmaz, waiting in his boat for the return of a dear friend: a white stork named Yaren.

Casting his lines and nets upon the beautiful Uluabat Lake near Yilmaz’s home of  Eskikaraagac Village in the region of Bursa, he has waited patiently, eagerly, for the white stork’s arrival.

“Yaren generally comes at the beginning of the month, and when it didn’t show up, I feared something had happened to it,” Yilmaz told national news. “I spent a week in sorrow, thinking it might have faced danger on the way. But thankfully, Yaren has returned. This morning, it came to my boat and ate the fish I had brought for it.”

It is the 14th year that Yaren has come to the lake to perch on the prow of Yilmaz’s rowboat after making a 2,500-mile journey from the species’ winter breeding grounds in sub-Saharan Africa.

The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) flies this route, via the Balkans, Greece, and Turkiye, or via Gibraltar, every year before returning in spring to nest and raise its young. Eskikaraagac is part of the European Stork Villages Network, an organization that honors and celebrates towns whose members prioritize and engage with stork conservation strategies.

MORE SWEET AND HEARTWARMING FRIENDSHIPS: Man Reveals Heart-Warming Friendship With Young Fox That He Cured of Illness in the Wild

Alper Tuydes, a wildlife photographer from Turkiye, traveled to the lake to wait for Yaren along with Yilmaz for the chance to photograph the charming bond between man and bird that has captivated even the political elite.

“Spring has come, longing is over… That heart-warming reunion happened again on its 14th anniversary,” Ibrahim Yumakli, the Turkish Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, wrote on X. “Uncle Adem and Yaren are together again.”

BONDS BETWEEN SPECIES: Rescued Crow Is Boy’s Best Friend, Waiting for Him to Get Home from School Every Day: ‘We’re his flock’

“It’s a beautiful reminder of the importance of nature, friendship, and the deep connections that can transcend the barriers of species,” wrote Turkiye Today. “For those lucky enough to witness this annual reunion, it’s a heartwarming sight that continues to inspire and delight.”

The story is reminiscent to a similar bond between a Brazilian man and a penguin, which was so famous it was made into a movie.

SHARE This Charming, Heartwarming Vernal News With Your Friends… 

‘Flipping for Joy’ NASA Astronauts Welcomed Home by Pod of Dolphins After Splash Down Near Florida (Video Fixed)

By
Andy Corbley
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Dolphins visit NASA Splash down
Dolphins swimming around the Crew 9 Dragon mission – credit, NASA, via SWNS

NASA announced on X yesterday that an additional, and unexpected welcoming party arrived to greet returning astronauts Berry Wilmore and Sunita Williams.

Splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, teams on boats arrived to help the astronauts out of the Crew 9 Dragon Capsule, when a pod of bottlenose dolphins arrived to see what the fuss was about.

Stranded because of a malfunction with the Boeing Starliner that brought them to the International Space Station, Williams and Wilmore spent an unplanned 280 days in space before finally being relieved by the new Crew 10 mission astronauts.

It was a return that had Earthlings of all shapes and sizes celebrating.

Dolphins visit NASA Splash down

At the onset of the operation to open the capsule there appeared just two dolphins.

But more arrived soon, and the NASA live commentator repeatedly mentioned them to her listeners. “Wow, we’ve got a cute little pod of dolphins not just one or two.”

WATCH the dolphins check out the pod below… 

SHARE This Unexpected Arrival Story With Your Friends Who Need A Laugh…

6.8 Million of India’s Poorest Got Treated For Cancer by New State Health Insurance in Just 7 Years

By
Andy Corbley
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Indian Health Minister J P Nadda - credit, Ayushman Bharat, Facebook
Indian Health Minister J P Nadda – credit, Ayushman Bharat, Facebook

India’s Health Minister just reported that a national insurance program has treated an astonishing 6.8 million people for cancer, three-quarters of whom live in rural areas.

The cost of the work amounted to $1.5 billion, described in the Indian counting system as 13,000 crore.

Managed and paid for by the country’s flagship health insurance program called Ayushman Bharat, patients could get financial assistance to fight breast, oral, cervical, and lung cancers, as well as metastatic melanoma, chronic myeloid leukemia, and Burkitt’s lymphoma.

Being that it’s India, nothing about this effort was small, and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda said that there were 200 individual insurance packages, included in which were 500 different cancer treatments spanning the traditional realms of radiation oncology, chemotherapy, and surgical oncology, with palliative care being offered as well.

Additionally, those living below the poverty line have been able to avail themselves of one-time financial assistance up to $17,500, or 1.5 million rupees, provided they or a loved one already have cancer.

Minister Nadda also said that the program offers many cancer medicines for 50 to 80% of the cost by trading in generic, rather than name-brand drugs, according to the Times of India. 289 different oncology drugs were reduced in cost by half under the program.

INDIAN BREAKTHROUGHS:

Launched in 2018, Ayushman Bharat is the world’s largest health insurance program, the government claims, covering hospitalization care on a needs-based model at the level of the individual family with a special focus on the lower 40% of income earners in the country.

Looking over the last 7 years of work and progress, it’s an amazing accomplishment with a population as wide and diverse, and a bureaucracy as large and federalized, as India’s.

SHARE This Mind-Boggling Number Of Cancer Treatments… 

Rare Sighting of Four Snow Leopards Together Sparks Frenzy of Excitement – (WATCH)

By
Andy Corbley
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courtesy of Sakhawat Ali
courtesy of Sakhawat Ali

In the remote mountains of northern Pakistan, four majestic snow leopards have been recorded recently moving through the snow-covered hills in a piece of footage that has ignited a flurry of excitement among conservationists.

These animals are seldom seen alone, much less in a group, and it’s being considered a sign of success for Pakistan’s conservation efforts in the animal’s habitat.

“For the past 15 days, I had been noticing leopard pawmarks. While I was on the roof of my house, I used binoculars to observe the mountains and spotted a female snow leopard along with her four cubs,” the photographer Sakhawat Ali told GNN.

“As a wildlife lover, I was extremely happy to see the snow leopards. I quickly moved closer and filmed them from a distance of about 150 meters.”

Ali lives in the remote village of Hushe, and is also a gamekeeper at the Central Karakorum National Park in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region where the sighting was made. Snow leopards thrive here; their coats allow them to blend into the snowy mountains and remain undetected by their prey species.

That a female could have three large and healthy cubs is a sign that as much as the snow leopard population is doing well, prey populations of Siberian ibex, argali, roe deer, and Thorvold’s deer must also be thriving.

Still, the snow leopard is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List because of its susceptibility to habitat loss and fragmentation across the mountain ranges it lives in.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Earth’s Tiniest Wildcat Is Captured on Camera for First Time – the Rusty-Spotted Cat of India

Pakistan, and indeed all 12 of the snow leopard range countries, have made great strides in halting and reversing declines of snow leopards over the last 20 years. CNN reported that Ali’s footage was celebrated by local villagers, even though snow leopards sometimes kill livestock.

Dr. Zakir Hussain, the Chief Conservator of Parks and Wildlife for Gilgit-Baltistan told CNN that 80% of the region’s communities are engaged in the tracking, monitoring, and reporting of snow leopard populations on a citizen science basis.

OTHER BIG CAT NEWS: Two Tigers Couldn’t Be Apart–A Love Story Born of Restoring Big Cats in Russia After 50 Years

The snow leopard can be found in Russia, China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan, which together make up the Global Snow Leopard Forum, an international platform for coordinating and sharing conservation strategies to protect this borderless wanderer between state wildlife and environment ministries and NGOs like the Snow Leopard Trust.

WATCH them move across a snowy landscape… 

SHARE This Great Wildlife Sighting With Your Friends Who Love Animals… 

“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?” – Oscar Wilde (International Day of Happiness is today)

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Good News Network
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By

Quote of the Day: “With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?” – Oscar Wilde (The International Day of Happiness is today)

Photo by: Micheile Henderson

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

By Micheile Henderson

Good News in History, March 20

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Good News Network
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The lighted whisps in this image of a solar eclipse are just a tiny portion of the Sun's corona - credit: Drew Rae

10 years ago today, no doubt some lucky souls in the path of totality were able to see the 2015 solar eclipse that also fell on the date of the vernal equinox. Those able to watch the eclipse with their glasses would have noticed that the moon was 15% bigger, because this cosmic double turned into a triple off the right field wall, so to speak because the moon was a supermoon. READ just how rare that was… (2015)

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After 50 Years of Searching for Exoplanets, We Found Our Smallest Cosmic Neighbors Orbiting Local Star

By
Andy Corbley
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An artist's illustration of the planets around Barnard's Star - credit: International Gemini Observatory/NSF's NOIRLab/International Gemini Observatory
An artist’s illustration of the planets around Barnard’s Star – credit: International Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab/International Gemini Observatory

Astronomers have identified 4 exoplanets orbiting the nearest single star to Earth, an effort that had been ongoing for 50 years and produced many false positives.

These rather small planets are a stone’s throw from Earth in galactic terms, but were too small for previous instruments to detect.

Barnard’s Star is a low-mass red dwarf star just 6 light-years from Earth discovered in 1916, and astronomers have long wondered if there could be planets orbiting it just like there are in our solar system.

There are two conventional ways to look for exoplanets. The first is the transiting technique, whereby a telescope will look for detectable drops in the level of light from a star caused by an exoplanet passing between the telescope and the star. However, the planets around Barnard’s Star, and likely many, many others in the Milky Way, are too small to reduce the level of light as we see it with today’s observatories.

So instead, astronomers can use the radial velocity method which looks for “wobbles” in the star’s position caused by the gravity of an orbiting exoplanet gently tugging at it during close approaches.

“It’s a really exciting find—Barnard’s Star is our cosmic neighbor, and yet we know so little about it,” said lead study author Ritvik Basant, doctoral student of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago, in a statement cited by CNN. “It’s signaling a breakthrough with the precision of these new instruments from previous generations.”

The worlds are referred to as sub-Earths, meaning they have a much lower mass than Earth, in this case between 19% and 34% of our planet’s total size. They are likely uninhabited rocks due to their positioning around their star.

“When compared to our solar system, each of the four planets are inside the distance of Mercury’s orbit,” Basant said.

That means on the closest one, it takes just 3 days to complete a year, and even the farthest one takes 7.

They were detected using the radial velocity method with MAROON-X, an instrument mounted on the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii that’s designed to search for exoplanets around red dwarf stars, the smallest kind of living star.

NEAR AND DEAR TO YOUR STAR: New Temperate Planet That Could Support Human Life Discovered in Pisces Constellation by UK Scientists

The star has likely been blasting them with X and UV radiation, solar wind, and other harmful forces that would have scoured any water or atmosphere, and so there’s not much point looking for signs of life there, or even as a thought exercise of interstellar human migration.

Instead, and perhaps contrary to intuition, these sorts of sub-Earths are believed to be more highly varied in composition than larger worlds, of which well over 5,000 have been officially documented.

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

Accordingly, these and other small planets like them should help expand our understanding of all the possibilities of planetary formation.

The study was published in the Astrophysics Journal Letters.

TELL Your Friends To Say Howdy To Our Nearest Cosmic Neighbors…

Millions Praise Crossing Guard Waltzing with Sad Girl Whose Mom Arrived Late to School

By
Andy Corbley
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The security guard Liu - via Douyin
The security guard Liu – via Douyin

Millions of his Chinese countrymen have taken to social media to applaud the moment this kindergarten security guard began to waltz with a child who was left behind by her mom that day.

The guard, named Liu Jie, saw that the mother of one girl at a kindergarten in eastern Shandong Province was late picking her up.

The 5-year-old, nicknamed Little Peach, was upset, and Liu, who studied classical and contemporary dance in his youth, knew just how to cheer her up.

“I want you to go home happily, and your mother will not feel guilty anymore,” he wrote in a video on his Douyin (Chinese TikTok) account.

He was so fleet that her feet barely touched the floor as the former professional dancer led the girl in a twirling waltz, although that could be because he was holding her.

Liu started working at the small kindergarten 8 years ago as a security guard. Reportedly a workaholic, he got the job because he loves children and because he lives in Shandong taking care of his elderly parents, while his wife manages the family business.

Liu abandoned his dancing career in 1993 after economic liberalization created a craze of business startups. Liu’s succeeded, and his wife and children live in Guangzhou managing it.

Reporter Fran Liu who shared the man’s story in South China Morning Post, wrote that he remembers the name of every child and parent who comes to pick them up.

OTHER VIRAL STORIES: Massachusetts Cafe Offers Free Coffee if You Come in Dancing

Responsible for greeting and seeing off kids in front of the kindergarten every day, his love of children can be explained simply.

“I love kids for a simple reason: If you treat them sincerely, they will treat you with the same sincerity,” Liu said.

CHARMING CHILDREN: When Kindergartener Has Her Shirt on Backwards, Classmates Are a Heartwarming Example of Kindness

“An elegant man and a giggling baby. What a lovely picture,” one of the comments left on the video read.

“An interesting soul shines anywhere no matter what job they do,” another wrote.

SHARE This ‘Elegant Man And Giggle Baby’ On Social Media…

This Undersea Tunnel Marvel is Set to Break 5 Records and Shave Hours Off Travel Times in Europe

By
Andy Corbley
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The Fehmarnbelt tunnel will carry two rail lines and a pair of two-lane highways under the Baltic Sea - credit: Femern A/S, screenshot
The Fehmarnbelt tunnel will carry two rail lines and a pair of two-lane highways under the Baltic Sea – credit: Femern A/S, screenshot

Betwixt the shores of Germany and Denmark, a massive road and rail tunnel is being built and assembled for positioning under the seafloor.

The marvel of modern engineering will set records; even the facility erected to build it will be an achievement, and the product will dramatically alter the road and rail networks of Northern Europe.

Called the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, it will span 18 kilometers (11 miles) of water with two double-lane highways, and two rail tunnels. From Hamburg, the journey to Copenhagen will be reduced by half, from 5 hours to just 2.5. From the seashore, a ferry trip that once took 45 minutes will now be a ten-minute drive.

Each 700-foot-long section of the tunnel is as heavy as 10 Eiffel Towers, and there are 79 of them in all, plus another 10 special sections that will house the largest electrical components. They can be manufactured 5 x 1 at a time in an assembly facility as big as 300 football fields on the shore—purpose-built for the project. 

When finished, a pair of purpose-built pontoons will utilize 120 miles of steel cables to lower each section into place 40 feet down into a trench dredged on the Baltic Seabed, connected to the other sections, and then buried, making the structure the longest “immersed” undersea tunnel in the world.

Specially engineered gaskets and secondary seals mean that these massive concrete blocks, which by then will have taken 9 weeks to build, can float. After the crews finish installing as many accessory components into each section as possible on land, the sections are positioned in a basin that will be flooded with seawater.

The tunnel elements will be floated into position – credit: Femern A/S, screenshot

Thus christened, a fleet of tugboats will move them into the grip of the two pontoons for positioning in the sea.

“There will be no test run for the actual immersion,” Denise Juchem, a spokesperson for Femern A/S, the state-owned Danish company in charge of the project, told CNN. “It must work the first time. We will not compromise on quality and safety. That is why we are taking the necessary time to ensure that we are perfectly prepared.”

ENGINEERING THE FUTURE: Giant 2-GW Geothermal Project in Utah Gains Federal Approval

Femern A/S reckon they can lower the pieces into the trench with a precision of 12 millimeters thanks to a suite of underwater cameras.

MORE UNDERSEA MARVELS: Global Project of the Year Turns 1-Hour Car Ride into 5-Minute Journey Along the Seafloor

When finished it will be the “world’s longest immersed tunnel; world’s longest combined road and rail tunnel; the world’s longest underwater tunnel for road; the deepest immersed tunnel with road and rail traffic; and the second deepest concrete immersed tunnel,” the senior project managers claim.

A rendering showing the tunnel’s construction site and eventual opening – credit: Femern A/S, screenshot

Fehmarnbelt will have a price tag of around $7.4 billion, and is expected to be a boon in both cross-border business and tourism between the countries, which while touching each other, have 12 miles of seawater between the island on which sits Copenhagen and the German mainland.

LOOK AT WHAT WE CAN DO: SpaceX Lands its Rocket On a Dime– So it Can Be Reused and Launched Back into Orbit

As a result, eastern Denmark is especially eager to see the tunnel opened, which will see it seize a justifiable place high amongst the great marvels of undersea engineering.

CHECK out this video explainer from Femern A/S… 

SHARE This Triumph Of Human Engineering In Action Today… 

Strangers Make Boy’s Birthday Extra Special with Sing-Along Party in Heartwarming Video (WATCH)

By
Andy Corbley
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James at his birthday party - credit: Ashley Giselle Jeffords
James at his birthday party – credit: Ashley Giselle Jeffords

A young boy was celebrating his 8th Birthday in the park, and was ready to blow out the candles on a delicious cake when he received an unexpected surprise.

Strangers: just a few, but enough to raise James’ eyebrows in surprise, came over to help sing Happy Birthday.

On their own initiative, an adult and three children in matching jackets asked if they could help James ring in his new year, perhaps because the party was pretty scant on guests.

As the famous song starts off, the shock and surprise can clearly be felt through James’ coy smile, growing without stopping until the final note sends James up onto his feet to high-five his new friends.

WATCH the video below from ABC 6… 

SHARE This Heartwarming Video With Someone Who Needs A Smile… 

“For a time, tyrants can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall.” – Mahatma Gandhi

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Good News Network
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Damaged Bronze Lenin statue in backyard of Estonian History Museum-Ferran Cornellà - CC BY-SA 3.0 EE

Quote of the Day: “For a time, tyrants can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Photo by: Ferran Cornellà – CC BY-SA 3.0 Estonia (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Damaged Bronze Lenin statue in backyard of Estonian History Museum-Ferran Cornellà – CC BY-SA 3.0 EE

Good News in History, March 19

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Good News Network
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Sydney Harbour Bridge - shot by Rodney Haywood

93 years ago today, the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in Australia. Spanning Sydney Harbor from the central business district (CBD) to the North Shore, the bridge is lovingly referred to as “the Coathanger” because of its single, shapely arch. The bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long of Middlesbrough and is still today the tallest steel-arch bridge in the world, measuring 440 feet from top to water level. READ about some interesting construction details… (1932)

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Boy Saves His Friend from Choking at School: ‘I just did my thing, which was a Heimlich’

By
Andy Corbley
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Jayceon Branch (in white) performing the Heimlich maneuver - credit Raleigh Oak Charter School, released
Jayceon Branch (in white) performing the Heimlich maneuver – credit Raleigh Oak Charter School, released

In surveillance video from a North Carolina school, a 9-year-old boy stepped in to save his friend from choking by using the Heimlich Maneuver.

The boy said he learned this classic, lifesaving technique for clearing the airways by watching YouTube, showing that maybe a little screen time isn’t all that bad.

WRAL News first reported the story that at Raleigh Oak Charter School, young Jayceon Branch nonchalantly saved the life of his 7-year-old friend, Darren.

“We were playing basketball and he ate a granola bar and we started playing longer until he started choking,” the Branch told WRAL News. “I didn’t know he was actually, actually choking, so I just did my thing, which was a heimlich.”

The surveillance footage indeed shows them playing basketball with 2 other kids when the shorter of the two suddenly stopped and bent over. Wasting no time at all, Branch, who can be seen in the white shirt, gave two compressions on Darren’s abdomen, which dislodged the food.

The remarkable part is how quickly everything went back to normal.

MEET THE ‘MINI MEDIC’: 10-Year-old Paramedic Teaches Adults Lifesaving Skills and CPR as ‘The Mini Medic’

“I’ve had to be called to the school before; for him,” Jayceon’s father said with a wry smile. “But I was hoping this time, like ‘Oh god, don’t let this be this again.”

OTHER LITTLE LIFE-SAVERS: 3-year-old is Hero for Braving the Dark to Help Great-Grandma After Bloody Fall: ‘Yay, I did it!’

But, he said, because he missed the call he got to listen to the voicemail telling him the good news: his part-time trouble-maker had become a part-time hero.

WRAL was able to show the footage to the parents of both boys, who watched in amazement at the quick response of the older one to save his friend, the foundation of a friendship that will surely last a lifetime.

WATCH the story below from WRAL…

SHARE This Little Heroic Boy’s Actions With Your Friends On Social Media… 

9-Year-old Make-A-Wish Survivor Chosen to Design Ritzy Restaurant Sandwich for Fundraiser –Due to His ‘Expensive Taste’

By
Andy Corbley
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Prince Wise, a 9-year-old heart transplant recipient, and chef Fernando Canales - supplied to Today by Christopher Ramirez, Fairmont Pittsburgh
Prince Wise, a 9-year-old heart transplant recipient, and chef Fernando Canales – supplied to Today by Christopher Ramirez, Fairmont Pittsburgh

A 9-year-old transplant survivor recently had the opportunity of a lifetime to help craft a menu item for the restaurant of a ritzy Pittsburgh hotel.

In the name of raising money for the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, little chef in the making Prince Wise was adamant it be crab cakes.

Wise was just 7 when he was rushed to the hospital with dilated cardiomyopathy, an inflammatory condition of the left ventricle. He needed immediate surgery, a special pediatric heart assist machine, and months to recover.

During that time, he was on the waiting list for a heart for a total of 3 months, a harrowing experience for him and his mother.

“Everything happened so quick,” 30-year-old Chantell Hardin told Today. “At that time, we were told he had to go to immediate surgery in order to save his life. It was the worst nightmare ever.”

A donor heart was eventually found, and Wise underwent the transplant successfully. But there was something particularly bad about the whole experience: the hospital food.

Wise is no fool when it comes to food. Even though he’s just a boy, he knows every one of the 50 spices that Hardin keeps in her spice rack. He likes a good seafood boil, and loves nothing more than a visit to the local sushi bar.

Once he learned how to eat without a feeding tube, he had to deal with cheeseburgers and a berry shake every day, because everything else was just too bland. During his treatment, Hardin got in contact with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which organized a trip to Orlando, Florida on a tour of its famous amusement parks.

The experience was amazing, but Hardin assumed that was the end of their association. Then, last year, Make-A-Wish of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia reached out to see if the little survivor wanted to help design a dish for the restaurant at the Fairmount Hotel in Pittsburgh Floor 2, leaving the son and mother crying with excitement.

YOU’LL LOVE TO READ: 8-Year-old Heart Transplant Patient Craved Pickles so Hospital Chef Taught Her How to Make Them

Arriving at the Fairmount, Wise got to meet head chef Fernando Canales from Mexico, and after familiarizing himself with the kitchen and ingredients, sat down to brainstorm a dish.

“I was impressed when he said, ‘Oh I love crabcakes,’ because he’s a kid,” Canales tells TODAY.com. “When he told me, ‘Oh I love lobster.’ I was like, ‘You have expensive taste.’”

They discussed how to incorporate crab into the menu, how to account for seasonable availability, and what to do about garnishes and flavors to make a high-end restaurant-quality menu item.

MORE LITTLE SURVIVORS: These Twins Are Thriving 10 Years After Open Heart Surgery at Queensland Children’s Hospital

Wise suggested avocado. Perfect, Canales said. There had to be extra thin fries on the side like McDonalds. Tartar sauce suggested the chef—here’s how to make it. The brainstorming went well, and soon, Prince’s Crab Cake Sandwich was featured on the menu for several months to raise money for Make-A-Wish.

The hotel gifted Prince an apron and chef’s hat with his name on them, capping an experience he’ll never forget. Hardin was parental pride personified.

“He rocked it,” she said. “Everything was so natural for him.”

SHARE This Inspiring Story Of A Resilient Boy And His Love For Cooking… 

Earth’s Tiniest Wildcat Is Captured on Camera for First Time – the Rusty-Spotted Cat of India

By
Andy Corbley
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Rusty-spotted cat of India by David V. Raju - CC BY-SA 4.0
A rusty-spotted cat in the forests of West Bengal – credit: Human and Environment Alliance League.

One of the world’s most secretive and tiny wildcat species has recently been photographed for the first time ever in its home of West Bengal, India.

Weighing in at a ferocious 2 to 3.5 pounds, and stretching 14 to 19 inches from whisker tip to tail tip, it’s the smallest species of wildcat in Asia. If more were known about it, it could be confirmed as the world’s smallest, but Africa’s black-footed cat may be smaller.

An environment and conservation NGO called HEAL (Human and Environment Alliance League) recorded an image of a rusty-spotted cat in the wilds of eastern India’s state of West Bengal during a camera trap survey.

Very little is known about the ecology and behavior of the rusty-spotted cat in the wild. Captive ones are mostly nocturnal but also briefly active during the day.

“Such a rare and sensitive lesser cat will only survive in a forest where it gets a favorable ecosystem,” said Anjan Guha, divisional forest officer of Purulia (a district in West Bengal). “The recent movement by tigers, presence of leopards, and now this lesser cat also show that the wild food chain is being maintained in the forests here.”

Reported first by the Times of India, Vasudha Mishra, a researcher at HEAL, said that the presence of the rusty-spotted cat means the state’s known wildcat species have increased from 8 to 9. There are 39 wildcat species in the genera Felis and Panthera found worldwide.

Camera trap surveys like the one carried out by HEAL are primary ways to estimate populations of animals in forest habitats. They can also ascertain an animal’s range, all of which goes to inform conservation strategies.

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Found in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India, this cat is exclusively confined to the subcontinent of India, where it used to be widespread. Today, recorded sightings have been found in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, and now West Bengal, which share a particular ecoregion called the Chhotanagpur Plateau where leopards were recently recorded as well.

Rusty-spotted cat of India by David V. Raju – CC BY-SA 4.0

“Villagers residing in the forest fringes are already aware of the presence of the leopard and are being assisted with our livestock support projects to promote tolerance,” said Suvrajyoti Chatterjee, the secretary of HEAL.

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“Together such initiatives will continue to support the persistence of a rich cohort of mammals like sloth bears, pangolins, small Indian civets, golden jackals, jungle cats, hyenas, and wolves.”

SHARE This Great Sign Of Robust Indian Wildlife Populations… 

Man Lives for 100 Days with Artificial Titanium Heart in Successful New Trial

By
Andy Corbley
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The Total Artificial Heart, made of titanium - credit BiVACOR
The Total Artificial Heart, made of titanium – credit BiVACOR

In Australia, a man was kept alive for 100 days on an artificial heart made of titanium while a donor heart was eventually found.

This is the longest-ever period that a man has been kept alive by an artificial heart, giving its developers encouragement that it can play a major role in supporting waiting list patients whose hearts are failing.

5 months ago, a man in his forties received the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) after experiencing heart failure. The TAH has no pumps, valves, or other moving parts susceptible to wear. Instead, magnetic levitation permits a single rotor to pump blood to the body through both ventricles.

He was able to leave the hospital even, before a donor heart was found that was transplanted successfully.

In a statement, BiVACOR, St. Vincent’s Hospital where the surgery was carried out, and Monash University which provided the grant funding for the development of the TAH, said that the result is a sign the artificial heart could potentially offer a long-term option for people suffering from heart failure.

BiVACOR’s founder, Australian bioengineer Daniel Timms, who invented the device, said it was “exhilarating to see decades of work come to fruition.”

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“The entire BiVACOR team is deeply grateful to the patient and his family for placing their trust in our Total Artificial Heart,” he said in the statement. “Their bravery will pave the way for countless more patients to receive this lifesaving technology.”

In the United States, there are around 3,500 donor hearts made available every year for more than 4,400 people who join the waiting list.

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The TAH has already been tested in an early feasibility study in search of eventual FDA approval. 5 patients received the device, CNN reports, with the first being last July, when a 58-year-old man suffering end-stage heart failure received the implant during surgery at Texas Medical Center.

The four others also received it successfully, and organizers hope to expand it to 15 patients.

SHARE This True Breakthrough In Artificial Heart Technology… 

“Strong people alone know how to organize their suffering so as to bear only the most necessary pain.” – Emil Dorian

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Strong people alone know how to organize their suffering so as to bear only the most necessary pain.” – Emil Dorian

Photo by: Jaime Dantas

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

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