👋 Welcome to Smileworthy, where we round up all the good things happening out there that are not receiving the attention they deserve!

This week: a mum made the hardest decision of her life – sending her 13-year-old son to swim 2.5miles to shore alone to try and save them all. What happened over the next four hours had rescuers calling it "superhuman." Plus: a two-year-old snooker prodigy, a sledgehammer rescue, Yale going tuition-free for most families, and a heartwarming gesture that brought life full circle.

Let’s jump right in👇

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Feel good stories from Happilynews.com guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Brooke Skinner walked into her mom's house with a fresh haircut and a bag full of secrets.

As she walked into Teresa's house, Brooke asked if her mom liked the fresh cut. Teresa, 69, said she did – it looked great. That's when Brooke reached into her bag, pulled out a bundle of her own freshly cut locks, and explained the real reason she was there.

She'd donated her hair to make a wig for Teresa, who'd been battling breast cancer for months – and dreading the moment she'd lose her own.

Teresa's face shifted from confusion to understanding to tears as the gesture dawned on her.

Brooke, from Annapolis, Maryland, had spent months planning this moment. When Teresa was first diagnosed, Brooke knew immediately what would hit her mom hardest. Not the treatments. Not the endless appointments. But the hair loss.

"She's a strong woman," Brooke said. Teresa wouldn't say it outright – that's not her style – but Brooke knew. So after they hung up from the call where Teresa broke the news, Brooke burst into tears. And then she resolved to do her little bit to help her lvoed one through it.

She had long hair at the time, and a wild idea: What if she could donate it to make a wig specifically for her mother? A quick search revealed that companies actually do this. She found a wigmaker, launched an online fundraiser, and booked an appointment with her stylist – all without Teresa knowing a thing.

The surprise came shortly after, right as her mom’s hair loss began to take a toll. Brooke told her mom she was just stopping by to show off her new 'do. When she revealed the truth – that the hair Teresa was complimenting would soon become a wig she could wear – her mom broke down.

Over the following months, Teresa finished her chemotherapy. And then, last month, the wig arrived – made from the hair of the daughter she'd raised, supported, and watched grow up. When Teresa put it on, she beamed.

For Brooke, watching her mom wear it felt like the most natural thing in the world. And everything had come full-circle: she was regifting back, in her hour of need, her hair that her mom had created.

The video has since made the rounds online, racking up comments from strangers who say they can see the love between mother and daughter just by watching their faces. That's been Brooke's favorite part.

"I knew she had no idea," Brooke said. "Seeing her try to process what I did for her was so special. I could feel how much love she had for me just by her facial reactions."

Teresa's still rocking the wig and her treatment is progressing well.

Watch the video here:

It’s not all doom and gloom out there. Here’s some positive news items from publications around the world.

🏊 Western Australia
13-Year-Old Swims 2.5 Miles Through Rough Seas To Save His Family
When Austin Appelbee's family was swept out to sea on kayaks and paddleboards, his mum made the hardest call of her life: send him to shore alone. The teen ditched his life jacket because it slowed him down, swam for four hours through massive waves, then ran another mile down the beach to call for help. Rescuers found his mum and two siblings clinging to a paddleboard after 10 hours in the water. Everyone survived. (Read more 👉 ABC Australia)

📚 Connecticut, USA
Yale Goes Free For 80% Of American Families
The Ivy League just got a lot more accessible. Yale announced that starting this fall, families earning under $200,000 will pay zero tuition – and those making under $100,000 won't pay a dime for anything, including housing and meals. That covers roughly 80% of American households. The catch? You still have to get in. Last year's acceptance rate was 4.8%. (Read more 👉 Yale News)

🎓 Bristol, UK
Two Grads Unveil Toolkit To Help Students Avoid Gambling Harms
After watching mates spiral into gambling debt, Bristol grads Benjamin Parker and Jordan White built a toolkit to help universities protect students. Nearly half of UK students gamble, and 63% of those are at risk of harm. Their project – cheekily titled "From Freshers' Week to Losing Streak" – is now being rolled out nationwide. (Read more 👉 University of Bristol)

❄️ Tennessee, USA
Stranger Watching The News Steps In To Help Stranded Family During Winter Storm
Gerald Driver, his wife, and three kids – including a one-year-old – had been sleeping on the floor of a warming centre for days, surviving on beef jerky and fruit cups. A local therapist saw their story on TV and couldn't tolerate it. She fired up DoorDash, sent pizza, fried chicken, air mattresses, and wipes – all from home. (Read more 👉 Sunny Skyz)

🎱 Manchester, UK
Two-Year-Old Pots Breaks Two Snooker World Records Before His Third Birthday
Jude Owens can barely see over a snooker table, but he's already breaking records on them. The toddler became the youngest person to make a snooker double pot at 2 years and 261 days, then snagged the youngest pool bank shot record 41 days later. His dad knew he'd be good the moment he picked up a cue. And it seems Jude is pretty confident – when asked who'd win a match between him and his dad, Jude didn't hesitate: "Me!" (Read more 👉 Guinness World Records)

🔨 Illinois, USA
Neighbor Grabs Sledgehammer, Saves 85-Year-Old From Burning Home
When a garage fire trapped an elderly woman in her wheelchair, her 90-year-old husband had to be held back from running inside. That's when a neighbour grabbed a sledgehammer, smashed down the locked front door, and carried her out. Fire officials are calling it "quick and selfless action" – the kind that saves lives. (Read more 👉 People)

🏃 Devon, UK
Four-Year-Old With Cerebral Palsy Runs 100 Miles For His School
Jacob Fallows used his walking frame to run an average of three miles a day throughout January, raising over £1,160 for his primary school. His dad put it perfectly: "There are things he can't do – but there's a huge amount of things he can do." Jacob was inspired by watching his father complete a charity run three years ago. The Fallows have been running together ever since. (Read more 👉 Metro)

🌊 Worldwide
Global Ocean Cleanup Pulls Record 25 Million Kilos Of Plastic In One Year
That's over 55 million pounds – or about 2,000 garbage trucks' worth – hauled out of global waters in 2025 alone. The Dutch nonprofit's total haul now sits at 45 million kilos. Their next goal? Remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040. They've also launched a 30 Cities Program targeting the urban rivers responsible for a third of ocean-bound waste. (Read more 👉 Optimist Daily)

A unique, sometimes quirky, but always eye-catching photo feature each week.

When Macey and Tanner Sorrell went to check on their pregnant cow last Saturday, they found a surprise waiting – a newborn calf, lying in single-digit temperatures with ice forming on her body.

"She was just frozen," Macey said. "Her umbilical cord looked like a popsicle."

The Kentucky couple had lost a calf to frostbite the year before. They weren't about to let it happen again. So Macey did what any farmer-slash-mother would do: she brought the calf inside, wiped off the frozen afterbirth, and broke out the blow dryer.

Once the little one was warm and fluffy, she got placed on the couch to rest. That's when three-year-old Gregory wandered over, curled up next to her, and promptly fell asleep – as if sharing a sofa with a newborn cow was just the most normal thing in the world.

Because in the Sorrell house, it kind of is.

"We're used to bringing the occasional farm animal into our house," Macey said. Clearly, the kids have gotten the memo.

Gregory named her Sally. By sunrise, she was healthy enough to head back outside and reunite with her mother in the paddock – ready to explore a world that had nearly frozen her out of it just hours before.

The photo Macey snapped of her son snuggled up with Sally has since made the rounds online, and it's easy to see why. There's something deeply good about a kid who sees a shivering calf and thinks: she probably needs a cuddle.

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The "Awe Walk"

Next time you go for a walk, try this: look up. Researchers at UC Berkeley found that taking weekly 15-minute "awe walks" – where you intentionally seek out things that make you feel small in a good way (big trees, interesting architecture, cloud formations) – significantly increased feelings of joy and social connection. The key is shifting your attention outward, not inward. Participants who did this for eight weeks reported feeling more generous, more connected, and less caught up in their own problems. Same walk. Different focus. Better mood. (Source: Emotion journal, UC Berkeley, 2020)

— Martin Luther King Jr.

Scotland's national animal is the unicorn – and has been since the 12th century.

1653: New Amsterdam becomes a city, later renamed New York City

1859: One of the oldest known copies of the Bible, The Codex Sinaiticus (Sinai Bible), is seen in Egypt by Constantin von Tishendorf, who takes the manuscript home

1921: Charlie Chaplin releases his first full-length feature, The Kid, a silent film starring himself and 6-year-old Jackie Coogan

1972: Bob Douglas is the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame

1992: The Maastricht Treaty is signed by 12 countries from the European Community (EC) to create the European Union (EU)

2004: Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room

What four related items have been mixed together:

K N A N O T E E X H I W S Y O R A S K O A S

Answer at bottom of newsletter.

*Studies show that watching heartwarming videos can boost your mood. So sit back and start your weekend positively - doctors orders!

🧠 Brain Teaser Answer

Kansas, New York, Ohio and Texas