We live in unusual times. It all gets a bit much some days. So each weekday we’re bringing you a much-needed dose of positivity to remind you that there’s inspiration, kindness and quirkiness out there too.
Girl asks police to run DNA test on cookie to prove Santa is real
Police in the US have received an unusual request: to provide definitive evidence that Father Christmas exists.
A package sent to a police station in Rhode Island contained a partially eaten cookie and carrot, alongside a handwritten note from a young girl explaining the food had been left for Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve.
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The note said she “was wondering if you could take a sample of DNA and see if Santa is real?”
The police chief was immediately on the case.
“This young lady obviously has a keen sense for truth and the investigative process and did a tremendous job packaging her evidence for submission,” Cumberland police chief Matthew Benson said in a statement.
“We will do our very best to provide answers for her.”
In the meantime, police had responded to the girl with “some already uncovered evidence in support of Santa Claus’ presence in her neighbourhood”: a photo of what looked like a deer with antlers.
The investigation is ongoing, with the DNA results expected soon.
Parents ecstatic to see son alive and well in water after hours lost at sea
Rescuers in the US have shared the heart-pounding moment a family spotted their 21-year-old son bobbing alive in the water, ending their frantic search.
Dylan Gartenmayer was free diving near Key West, Florida, when his friends realised he hadn’t surfaced, prompting a rescue mission by his family and the Coast Guard.
CNN reports the man had ended up swimming more than 3km before resting on a rock reef and making a flotation device out of buoys.
Gartenmayer was holding onto the buoys when his family saw him from a boat. He was unharmed by the ordeal, his parents crediting his 11 years of diving experience for saving his life.
He was rejected 14 times, now Ronald the dog has found his forever home
Things were not looking good for Ronald. Adopted and returned 14 times, the dog seemed destined for a life alone.
Too clumsy, too goofy, too large, too naughty … the excuses kept rolling as family after family returned him to the rescue shelter.
But staff did not give up hope. Believing Ronald to be cute, with a sweet nature, they upped their efforts to find his person.
And they did. Kiersten Davis saw the 1-year-old puppy on social media and fell in love. To Davis, his size and energy weren’t intimidating. Instead, he felt like the family’s missing piece.
And now the adoption is permanent, she says she will never let him go: “Oh, he’s perfect. He’s staying.”
Ronald with his new family, Corey Pierce, Kiersten Davis, children Kason and Cohen Pierce, and their other dog, Billie.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin marries his ‘longtime love’ on his 93rd birthday
US astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin has married his “longtime love” in a small ceremony in Los Angeles.
Aldrin, who made history along with Neil Armstrong as the first humans to set foot on the surface of the moon, said the wedding took place on Friday (local time), which was his 93rd birthday.
Pampered bunnies in Hong Kong enjoy stay at luxury rabbit resort
In one of the world’s most densely populated cities, where most apartments range from small to miniscule, rabbits are popular pets.
And when their owners are away, there are rabbit lovers ready to look after their lonely pets at Bunny Style, a luxury rabbit resort.
Anthony Kwan/AP
Donna Li offers the rabbits regular exercise, parties and even spa treatments.
Owner Donna Li says she’s often fully booked and keeps her charges happy with regular exercise, parties, spa treatments – and lots of carrots.
Li, who has two pet rabbits of her own, set up Bunny Style in June, starting with just a playroom offering space to hop and gain relief from Hong Kong’s hot weather.
“To begin with, my idea was mainly about setting up a safe indoor play space with a suitable temperature for rabbits,” Li said.
Anthony Kwan/AP
Photographs of the rabbit residents on display at Hong Kong’s Bunny Style Hotel.
From there, she began offering pamper packs including manicures and beauty treatments – which the rabbits (or maybe more so their owners) reportedly adore.
