ABC News

Every week, rain or shine, 18-year-old Chen You-ching climbs onto the back of a horse and laughs as it begins to move.

“She was happy the first time she got on a horse,” said her father, Hector Chen, who has brought her to sessions at the Therapeutic Riding Center of Taiwan for years. Chen You-ching was diagnosed with cerebral palsy more than 16 years ago. Horseback riding has become more than just therapy — it’s a highlight of her week.

At this center in Taoyuan, in northern Taiwan, children with cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, Angelman Syndrome and other conditions connect with specially trained horses in a form of animal-assisted therapy that’s growing in popularity around the world.

Abigail Liu says her 5-year-old daughter, Ayah, who has Angelman Syndrome, has gained confidence and curiosity since beginning the program. “She started to be less scared about things she doesn’t know and is willing to try [new things],” Liu said. “All this started after she rode horses here.”

The program relies on horses trained to remain calm in unusual situations — whether it’s a child suddenly moving in the saddle or a group of caregivers nearby offering support. Some children simply want to stand close, hug the animal, or rest their ear on its chest to hear the heartbeat.

“They feel very at ease, because the horse doesn’t show annoyance even if they keep talking to it,” said Alain Chang, a riding coach with the Fang Hsing-Chung Social Welfare Foundation for Horses in Education and Health. “To touch them, to observe them or even to hug them — this is a very special experience.”

Horse therapist Chan Shu-ya explained that the animals are carefully trained to work with children who may move unpredictably or express emotions in nontraditional ways. But once that bond is built, the effects are clear.

“Many of these students that I meet, they look forward to coming to this every week,” said Chang. “Rain or shine.”

Children are Finding Healing Through Horse Therapy At This Taiwan Riding Center

The Cool Down

When Wyoming rancher Doug Samuelson went camping in the African bush, he expected to hear lions. Instead, he was struck by their silence.

“I asked my friend, ‘Why don’t I hear lions?’” Samuelson recalled. His friend, South African conservationist Ivan Carter, had a sobering answer: they were gone — wiped out by poaching.

That moment kicked off what would become the largest international lion relocation effort ever attempted, according to Cowboy State Daily. With help from Carter and the Cabela Family Foundation, Samuelson set out to reintroduce lions to an area in Mozambique where they’d been extinct for years.

The ecological need was urgent. Lions play a critical role in regulating herbivore populations, which helps maintain vegetation and reduces carbon in the atmosphere — a chain reaction that affects the climate.

Samuelson, who studied wildlife management in college and has a long track record of conservation on his 30,000-acre property in Wyoming’s Laramie Range, knew the stakes.

But moving lions across countries isn’t as simple as loading them into a truck. It requires permits, aircraft, vet work, and, perhaps most importantly, a long-term commitment to anti-poaching protections. “It’s more than just releasing the lions,” Samuelson told Cowboy State Daily. “It takes huge anti-poaching and community buy-in and government buy-in.”

After discussing the idea with Carter, the two sought out support from the Cabela Family Foundation — the philanthropic arm of the family behind the outdoor outfitter brand. The foundation agreed to fund initial costs and long-term anti-poaching efforts.

Over the next 18 months, the team worked with veterinarians to identify 24 healthy young lions from reserves across South Africa. Finally, on August 5, 2018, three years after that quiet night in the bush, the lions were flown to their new home in Mozambique.

Today, that relocated population has quadrupled. As of 2025, there are 100 lions roaming the region once again.

Samuelson’s involvement didn’t end with the drop-off. He’s returned many times to assist with tracking and collaring efforts, and to support the broader community projects that are essential to the lions’ survival. That includes funding schools, health clinics, rice farming, and beekeeping — initiatives that provide alternatives to poaching and help build local support.

“Conservation can’t happen without communities,” Samuelson said. “If people aren’t bought in, it doesn’t matter how many lions you move.”

But for him, the success is measured not just in numbers — it’s in sound.

After years of silence, lions once again roar at night.

A Wyoming Rancher Helped Relocate 24 Lions to Africa — Now There Are 100

Good News Network

Patrick Duke wasn’t supposed to become a golfer. At 6-foot-2 and 127 kilograms, his sports were always rugby, Gaelic football, soccer and cricket. Golf wasn’t even on the radar.

Then, in 2012, a workplace accident took his arm — and nearly took his life with it.

Now, 12 years later, the 67-year-old is celebrating his first hole-in-one.

Duke was playing a round with friends at Overstone Park in Northamptonshire, England, when he stepped up to the fourth hole, a 120-yard par-3. With a seven iron in hand, he took aim — and for once, not at the green.

“This time I’m going to aim straight for the flag,” he recalled thinking. The shot landed a foot past the hole, then rolled back with unexpected backspin. “I’ve no idea how,” he said. But it dropped. Applause broke out from nearby players.

“I was gobsmacked.”

The feat would be impressive for any golfer — but it’s even more remarkable for someone who learned the game after losing a limb.

Duke picked up golf in 2018, six years after his accident. He had spent decades working in the road surfacing industry before his jacket was caught in a machine, leading to the amputation. He later developed PTSD and depression. “I was in a really bad place,” he said. “I had suicidal thoughts and lost confidence, self-worth, and relationships.”

A friend encouraged him to try golf. He contacted Brian Mudge, a PGA professional at Overstone Park, and asked for lessons. “Treat me as a blank canvas and I’ll do what you tell me,” he said. Mudge helped him adapt to a one-armed swing, and Duke slowly developed a technique that worked for him.

He credits the sport not only with helping him recover, but with keeping him alive. “I’m not very good at golf, but it’s saved my life,” he said. “It gave me confidence, friendship, and the will to live.”

The hole where he made the ace had always been his nemesis. “Eight times out of ten I knock it in the water — it gets into your head. My clubs have very nearly gone in the lake on a number of occasions.”

This time, things were different. As the ball dropped, Duke turned to his playing partner with a grin: “Fancy getting beaten by a one-armed man?”

Duke said he was told the odds of someone with a disability making a hole-in-one were one in 100,000.

For him, the game became about more than scorecards or technique. It became a path forward. “If just one person could see this — even if it’s not golf — I want people to know that there can be a life after something like this. If I can do it, anybody can.”

After Losing an Arm, This Golfer Just Scored a Hole-in-One — and Says the Game Saved His Life

Being a hands-on grandparent may do more than just support busy parents — it could also help protect the brain.

A new study has found that older adults who regularly care for their grandchildren show slower cognitive decline and perform better on memory and verbal tests, compared to those who don’t.

“Many grandparents provide regular care for their grandchildren — care that supports families, and society more broadly — but an open question is whether caregiving for grandchildren may also benefit grandparents themselves,” said lead researcher Flavia Chereches, a doctoral candidate at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

Chereches and her team looked at data from nearly 2,900 grandparents in England, all over the age of 50, with an average age of 67. The participants took part in three rounds of cognitive testing between 2016 and 2022, and answered questions about their caregiving habits over the past year.

Researchers asked whether they’d helped with tasks like babysitting, driving kids to school, helping with homework, preparing meals or looking after a sick grandchild. But it wasn’t the type of care or how often they did it that seemed to matter most.

“What stood out most to us was that being a caregiving grandparent seemed to matter more for cognitive functioning than how often grandparents provided care or what exactly they did with their grandchildren,” Chereches said.

In other words, it’s the involvement that counts.

The findings, published in the journal Psychology and Aging, suggest that caregiving could act as a buffer against age-related cognitive decline, particularly for grandmothers. Those who were actively involved in caregiving showed less decline on tests over the six-year period than those who weren’t.

The results support earlier claims by groups like Age UK, which has long said “gran-nannying” can be good for older adults, especially when the care isn’t overly stressful. The charity estimates that around five million grandparents in the UK take on regular childcare duties. About 90% babysit at least once a week, while one in 10 do so daily — often to help their children save money on child care.

According to Age UK, caregiving can keep older adults physically active, mentally engaged, and less isolated. Those benefits may help explain why regular involvement with grandchildren appears to protect brain health.

Even those living this reality weren’t surprised by the study’s findings. On CBS, a news host interviewed his own mom about it, and she shared what caring for her grandkids means to her.

“They energize me, more than drive me down,” she said.

New Research Shows Helping With Grandkids May Protect Against Cognitive Decline

Sunny Skyz

Most drivers would’ve passed right by a muddy drainage culvert off a Texas highway — especially during a winter storm. But Douglas Lane isn’t most drivers.

While navigating icy roads in Seagoville, Texas, Lane, a local tow truck driver, noticed a car stalled in the middle of the road and pulled over to help. That’s when he heard desperate cries coming from the freezing water below.

A man had fallen into the culvert and was trapped in the icy current. Lane didn’t hesitate. He rushed to the edge, reached down, and grabbed hold of the man’s sweatshirt hood, clinging tight to keep his head above water.

“He gave up fighting to stay above the water,” Lane later told police. “I said ‘no, you’re not going to do that.’”

Bodycam footage from responding officers captured the tense moments as Lane held on, refusing to let go, even as the water and the man’s weight pulled harder. Lane managed to call 911 while keeping his grip steady. Moments later, Seagoville police officers arrived and formed a human chain to pull the man out.

The man, whose name hasn’t been released, was rushed to the hospital and is still recovering, according to police.

Officers credited Lane’s quick thinking and determination with saving the man’s life.

As for Lane, he’s not interested in accolades.

“I wasn’t trying to get any kind of extra credit,” he said. “I’m just doing what I know best — and that’s helping others.”

The culvert now serves as a quiet reminder each time he drives past. Not of heroism, he says, but of what it means to do the right thing when it counts.

Tow Truck Driver Saves Man From Freezing Culvert During Texas Ice Storm

A 15-year-old boy with autism was safely found in Maryland after vanishing during a dangerous winter storm, thanks to the quick response of local police and the tracking skills of a state trooper’s K-9 partner.

The teen had quietly left his home in Bel Air on the morning of Sunday, January 25, without alerting his family. Snow blanketed the ground, and temperatures were well below freezing — a combination that authorities said created “potentially life-threatening” conditions for anyone outside for an extended time.

Bel Air Police officers were the first to respond. They began following footprints in the snow and knocking on doors in the area, searching for anyone who might have seen the boy. As time passed and weather concerns deepened, more law enforcement agencies joined the effort.

“There is a tendency for people who suffer from autism to want to find a body of water,” said Bel Air Police Chief Charles Moore. “There's a stream through [where the teenager was], there's a few ponds also. So, we had a lot of concern that he might be heading toward one of those locations.”

With local terrain and freezing temperatures working against them, police called in Maryland State Police Senior Trooper Taylor Bracken and his bloodhound, K-9 Margo. The team specializes in tracking missing persons, and they quickly joined the ground search.

Margo followed the boy’s scent through the woods and snow, ultimately leading officers to a wooded area roughly a mile from the teen’s home. Body camera footage captured the moment officers found him.

“Cold,” the boy said when asked how he was doing.

He was brought back to his family and then taken to a local hospital to be checked out, though police said it was just a precaution.

The rescue drew praise from local residents online, with many thanking the officers and K-9 Margo for braving the conditions and acting quickly.

Police said the successful search showed the power of collaboration, with multiple departments working together alongside specialized units to find the teen safely before temperatures could do serious harm.

A K-9 Just Helped Find a Missing Teen with Autism during a Snowstorm

GoodGoodGood

A quick cuddle with a dog might be just what the doctor ordered — at least according to a new study out of Thailand.

Researchers at Chiang Mai University found that just 15 minutes of playing, petting, and hugging a dog can significantly lower stress levels. Their findings, published in the journal PLOS One, back up what dog lovers have long claimed: dogs make us feel better.

“Even brief interactions with dogs can significantly reduce stress levels among university undergraduate students,” wrote lead author Jaruwan Khonmee.

To measure the effect, researchers looked at the pulse, blood pressure, and saliva samples of 122 university students both before and after they spent time with one of six dogs. After just a single 15-minute session, students’ self-reported stress levels dropped by 33.5 percent. Pulse rates and cortisol levels — a key stress hormone — also fell.

Notably, none of the dogs were certified therapy animals, and their owners were kept out of the room to reduce distraction. The study featured five Chihuahuas and one Shetland sheepdog.

And the dogs benefited too.

Researchers observed that all six dogs had lower cortisol levels in their fecal samples even a week after interacting with the students, suggesting the experience was also relaxing for the pets.

“Overall, these findings contribute to our understanding of the beneficial impact of human-dog interactions on human stress levels,” the team wrote, “and highlight the importance of addressing stress in both humans and animals during targeted interventions.”

The results come as more schools, hospitals, and workplaces consider bringing in dogs for stress relief and emotional support — and suggest that even brief, informal encounters can make a meaningful difference.

New Study Finds Spending 15 Minutes With A Dog Relieves Stress

The Guardian

Germany’s deep affection for potatoes just met its match — in the form of a historic surplus that’s turned into a citywide giveaway.

Dubbed the Kartoffel-Flut (potato flood), the country’s biggest crop in 25 years has left farmers, charities and everyday Berliners scrambling to put the unexpected abundance to use. One farmer alone found himself sitting on 4,000 tonnes of unsold spuds after a buyer backed out in December. Rather than let them rot or be turned into biogas, he offered them up for free.

That kicked off a grassroots effort with the Berlin newspaper Berliner Zeitung and the non-profit search engine Ecosia leading the charge. They launched “4000 Tonnes,” a distribution campaign that has since transformed Berlin into a potato pickup zone. At last count, 174 impromptu distribution sites have popped up around the city.

At one of those locations in Kaulsdorf, on Berlin’s eastern edge, Astrid Marz showed up with an old rucksack and loaded it with more than 150 potatoes. “I think I’ve got enough to keep me and my neighbours going until the end of the year,” she said.

Like many others, Marz had trouble believing it was real. “At first I thought it was some AI-generated fake news when I saw it on social media,” she said. “There were pictures of huge mountains of ‘earth apples,’ with the instruction to come and get them for free!”

But the appeal was no joke. Volunteers, soup kitchens, schools, kindergartens, churches and even the Berlin Zoo answered the call. The zoo took tonnes for animal feed. Two truckloads were sent to Ukraine. And for thousands of Berliners facing rising food prices, the giveaway arrived as both relief and community spectacle.

“There was a really party-like atmosphere,” said Ronald, who picked up a load for his family at Tempelhofer Feld. “People helped each other carry sacks and exchanged recipes.”

The timing helped. Berlin has been locked in an arctic freeze, with icy sidewalks and stalled public transit. The warm mood at the potato dumps offered a rare bright spot.

The potato itself is enjoying a bit of a comeback too. While once sidelined by carb-averse diets, it’s being celebrated again for its nutritional punch — rich in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Even top chefs are joining in. Marco Müller, a Michelin-starred chef at Berlin’s Rutz restaurant, says he’s using potato peels to craft a luxurious broth and a tangy vinaigrette.

Angela Merkel’s Kartoffelsuppe recipe has resurfaced too. The former chancellor’s technique? Skip the food processor. “I always pound the potatoes myself with a potato masher,” she once told a magazine, insisting it gives the soup the proper lumpy texture.

But not everyone is cheering.

Some farmers in the region say the giveaway has further saturated the market and devalued their own harvest. Environmental groups have also weighed in, arguing the glut highlights deep inefficiencies in Europe’s food system. They likened the situation to the “butter mountains” and “milk lakes” of the 1970s, when EU policies led to overproduction and mass stockpiling.

Last year, it was hops. Next year, they say, it might be milk.

For now, the focus remains on clearing the remaining surplus — an estimated 3,200 tonnes still waiting in storage. Organisers are urging Berliners to watch their site for the next drop locations.

And if you do get your hands on some of the free spuds, you might want to dust off your masher. There’s a lot of potato soup in Berlin’s future.

Berlin Residents are Rushing to Share a Surplus of Potatoes Amid Record Harvest

Goodable

Crowds lined the beach in Galveston, Texas, on Thursday, clapping and cheering as volunteers carried dozens of sea turtles back into the ocean. For many, it was a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

"It was amazing. It was really amazing," said Melodie Thompson, who traveled from Clear Lake just to witness it. “There was a lady next to me who was crying and they said, ‘Oh, are you OK?' She said, ‘I just love sea turtles so much. I wanted to see this.’”

The turtles—102 of them—had been rescued days earlier during a sudden winter storm that hit the Houston area. The drop in temperatures had left them cold-stunned, a life-threatening condition that renders sea turtles immobile and vulnerable.

“When water temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, turtles can go into a coma-like state,” said Christopher Marshall, director of the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research. “They stop feeding and swimming, float to the surface, and become vulnerable to boats and other predators.”

Marshall explained that turtles often try to swim from the cold bay waters to the warmer Gulf, but some don’t make it in time. Others get trapped or pushed into marshes by strong north winds, where they risk frostbite and pneumonia.

That’s where the volunteers stepped in.

Over several days, about 200 volunteers mobilized along the upper Texas coast, combing through shorelines and marshes to collect cold-stunned turtles. They carried them back using sleds, then transported them to a short-term turtle hospital on the Texas A&M Galveston campus.

Altogether, the team rescued 152 sea turtles.

Once warmed, the turtles were given a full health check by the Houston Zoo, including a swim test. On Thursday, after being cleared for release, 102 of them were returned to the sea.

“It’s a feel-good experience. You can hear people talk about it, but it’s nothing like experiencing it,” Marshall said.

The release drew families, children and turtle lovers from across the region, all eager to watch the animals return home. The Gulf waters, Marshall added, are warmer than the bays and should keep the turtles safe, even with another cold snap expected this weekend.

He also reminded beachgoers to avoid touching any cold-stunned turtles they may encounter in the future. Instead, he urged them to call the sea turtle hotline so trained responders can assist.

The event was led by the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research, which oversees sea turtle rescue and rehab efforts across the upper and middle Texas coast. For volunteers and onlookers alike, it was more than just a release. It was a moment of hope.

‘nothing Like Experiencing It’: More Than 100 Sea Turtles Released Into Gulf After Winter Rescue Efforts

Officer Freddy Cerpa wasn’t looking to be a hero. But in the span of just a few weeks, he saved two babies from choking — once while off duty, and again while responding to a 911 call in the Bronx.

His most recent lifesaving moment happened on January 16, when Cerpa sprinted three blocks to help fellow officer Megan Ficken respond to a panicked call about a 2-year-old boy who was unconscious and choking on mucus.

Officer Ficken, who happened to be just across the street when the call came in, had already started giving back slaps when Cerpa arrived. Drawing on a nearly identical emergency from the month before, Cerpa stepped in to help.

“I kind of used my past experience from a month ago to try to kind of give her an idea of what I did last time,” Cerpa said.

Body camera footage captured the tense scene as Cerpa continued administering back slaps until the toddler began to show signs of life. The boy was taken to Jacobi Hospital for evaluation and is now doing well.

Cerpa’s first experience came in December, while he was off duty at home in Elmont. A neighbor suddenly rushed over with her 1-year-old daughter, who wasn’t breathing. Cerpa acted fast, delivering the same emergency technique — and saved her life.

Back slaps are the recommended method to help a choking infant, and both officers credit their NYPD academy training for preparing them.

Officer Ficken, a mother of two, said the stakes felt especially high.

“You want everything to work out perfect,” she said. “It amps the intensity, the urgency and the understanding of how impactful this situation is for parents.”

Despite being central to both rescues, Cerpa downplays the attention. “The first one was definitely surreal,” he said. “But in my opinion, this one is all Officer Ficken and she was there first. I was just glad I was able to assist her.”

Two babies saved, two families forever changed — and two rookie officers quietly proving that training, instinct, and heart can make all the difference.

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