Neighbor turns out to be a long-lost brother, and more

Neighbor turns out to be a long-lost brother

When Tommy Larkin, 30, began searching for his long-lost biological brother, he didn’t know how far he’d have to travel from his Newfoundland, Canada, home. Then the agency that arranged adoptions for both boys when they were toddlers called with the address of Larkin’s brother, Stephen Goosney, 29. It was right across the street. “I said … ‘I am looking at the house right now!’” recalls Larkin. Now the two see each other nearly every day. “We both have families,” Goosney said, “but this is as close as it gets.”

French tourist rescues 2-year-old from New York’s East River

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A French tourist enjoying his last day of vacation rescued a 2-year-old girl from New York’s East River—then promptly disappeared in a taxi. Julien Duret, 29, was walking with his girlfriend when he spotted something falling from a ship at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport. As he approached, he realized it was a little girl. Duret dove into the water and grabbed the child, Bridget Sheridan, whose father jumped in soon after. While Bridget was rushed to a hospital, where she was treated and released, Duret, soaking wet, hailed a cab. He was later tracked down by reporters. “I don’t really think I’m a hero,” Duret said. “Anyone would have done the same thing.”

Whale escorts surfer in paddle boarding mission

Surfer Jodie Nelson was halfway into a grueling, 40-mile paddle to raise money to fight breast cancer when she got a surprise companion. Nelson was engaged in “stand-up paddle boarding,” in which surfers propel themselves with a paddle, when a 30-foot minke whale began escorting her along the Southern California coast. The whale stayed by her side for two hours, playfully blowing bubbles and exposing its belly to her. Friends on a nearby boat took a video of the pair, and the publicity helped Nelson raise $125,000. Nelson was in little danger—minkes don’t have teeth.