The Optimist: At age 9, best friends separated fleeing the Nazis. Now, 82 years later, they finally hugged again.

Photos show vast coral spawning event in Great Barrier Reef, giving divers hope for climate change recovery; Her dream was to be a Muppeteer. Her Korean American 'Sesame Street' character just made history.; A cat got stuck in a tree for five days. More than 30 people helped with his rescue.; During the pandemic, an artist filled her neighborhood with fairy doors ; Mobile shower program seeks to pour kindness and confidence into the unhoused; A bagel shop owner saw a young customer lost her hair. He shaved his own head in solidarity. ; Chronic illnesses have kept them home during the pandemic. So volunteers delivered 8,520 pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.; Can you catch the gingerbread people?; Exonerated former inmate Kevin Strickland won't get compensation from Missouri, so donors raised $1 million ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Stories that inspire.     (Betty Grebenschikoff) At age 9, best friends separated fleeing the Nazis. Now, 82 years later, they finally hugged again. The last time they were together was 1939, when they shared a tearful hug in a Berlin schoolyard. By Sydney Page ●  Read more »   Photos show vast coral spawning event in Great Barrier Reef, giving divers hope for climate change recovery "It's a sign of hope that it's doing well, and we need to keep protecting it," said marine biologist Gareth Philips. By Ellen Francis ●  Read more »   Her dream was to be a Muppeteer. Her Korean American 'Sesame Street' character just made history. Kathleen Kim is the woman behind Ji-Young, the first Asian American muppet. We spoke to them both about their Thanksgiving debut. The Lily ●  By Soo Youn ●  Read more »   A cat got stuck in a tree for five days. More than 30 people helped with his rescue. "I can't believe how many people went out of their way to help me with this cat," said the owner of Hank, a cat that was stuck in a tree for five days. By Dana Hedgpeth ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   During the pandemic, an artist filled her neighborhood with fairy doors Fairy doors have appeared in neighborhoods, parks and forests across the United States and in England and Ireland, and materials to make them are available in craft stores. By Tara Bahrampour ●  Read more »   Get breaking news alerts, offline reading lists and more. Download the app   Mobile shower program seeks to pour kindness and confidence into the unhoused The Neighborhood Well's program provides a place for those without housing to groom themselves. By Donovan J. Thomas ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   A bagel shop owner saw a young customer lost her hair. He shaved his own head in solidarity. "I thought it was cool that he wanted to be bald like me," said 10-year-old Megan Ragucci. By Cathy Free ●  Read more »   Chronic illnesses have kept them home during the pandemic. So volunteers delivered 8,520 pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving. More than 300 volunteers signed up to help on Thanksgiving Day this year, and 200 of those delivered meals. By Nicole Asbury ●  Read more »   Can you catch the gingerbread people? Try to spot all 50 gingerbread cookies making a break for it! Game ●  By Eddie Alvarez, Jake Crump and Gus Morais ●  Read more »   Exonerated former inmate Kevin Strickland won't get compensation from Missouri, so donors raised $1 million "For us and for Mr. Strickland, what we see is an entire community — or entire world — that recognizes the harms that wrongful convictions cause and that there needs to be some sort of compensation." By Lindsey Bever and Timothy Bella ●  Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out Book Club for our weekly selection of book reviews and recommendations from Book World editor Ron Charles. Sign up »

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