The week's good news: August 24, 2017

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1. DNA kit leads man to his biological father
2. Instead of wedding gifts, Utah teacher requests items for homeless students
3. 10-year-old helps his mother deliver baby at home
4. Smartphones help Little Leaguers cross language barrier
5. Life-saving act lands paramedic student a coveted internship

published 24 August 2017

1. DNA kit leads man to his biological father

For their first anniversary, Sam Landis' wife gave him a life-changing gift: a DNA kit that connected him to the family he'd spent decades wondering about. Landis was adopted in 1974 by a couple in Cincinnati, and because it was a closed adoption, he was unable to find any of his biological relatives. After he turned in the DNA kit, Landis found a cousin, which led him to his birth father, Greg Baker. Landis flew to Orlando, where he finally met Baker. "When I saw him and he looked just like me, there's no doubt," Landis told WLWT. "A DNA test wasn't even needed. I can't even explain the joy that I felt and then when I got to hold him and hug him. I felt that we belonged together."

When Rickee Stewart walks down the aisle next month, she won't have any wedding presents waiting for her when the day is over — and that's exactly how she wants it. The West Jordan, Utah, high school teacher told KSL.com she had no idea there were more than 100 homeless students at Copper Hills High School until the school set up a food pantry for them, and in her wedding invitations, she let guests know that instead of sending gifts to her, they could help provide students with coats, shoes, and blankets. Donations are coming in from across the U.S., and Stewart said her "hope is that we get to not only have this amazing wedding and start our lives together, but that we are able to put some warmth on all of those kids."

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Jayden Fontenot, a quick-thinking 10-year-old, recently saved his newborn brother's life. Ashley Moreau of Sulphur, Louisiana, didn't know she was in labor until she went to the bathroom and saw her baby was starting to come out, feet first. Her eldest son ran to his grandmother's house, called 911, then raced back to help his mother. As gently as possible, Fontenot began to slowly pull at the baby's feet, "just hoping I didn't hurt him," he told ABC News. Fontenot was able to get the baby out, safely. Had he not intervened, the baby would have died, doctors said, and it's possible Moreau could have bled out. "I'm just so proud of him," she said. Both Moreau and her newborn are doing well.

They didn't speak the same language, but it didn't matter — two young baseball players at the Little League World Series used technology to communicate. Former ESPN anchor Bob Holtzman was at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday when he stumbled upon a familiar scene: two boys glued to their phones. But they weren't focusing on a game or surfing the internet — the players, one from South Dakota and the other from the Dominican Republic, were using Google Translate to talk to each other. Holtzman tweeted that watching these kids form a new friendship in a very modern way was the "coolest thing" he saw that day.

With one quick act of bravery, Will Stewart saved a life — and landed himself an internship. The Sacramento State student was waiting in a café before an interview for a paramedic internship when he noticed a man choking. Stewart administered the Heimlich maneuver and cleared the patron's airway. Shortly after, he interviewed around the corner with ambulance field supervisor Fred Motlo, who was unaware of the incident in the coffee shop. When the café owner found out Stewart was up for the internship, he told Motlo about Stewart's heroic act, and encouraged him to offer him the job, which he did. Stewart starts in his new role with San Luis Ambulance in October. "I still feel pretty good about it," Stewart told WKMG. "It gives me a tingly feeling in my chest, like 'Hey, I helped someone.'"

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.