The Optimist: Decades later, ‘Home Alone’ fans are still casing the iconic house

He got a get-well card after open-heart surgery. Inside was a $1 million-winning scratch ticket.; She mistakenly called a stranger across the country 20 years ago. The two became friends — and finally just met in person.; How technology can help seniors beat loneliness and isolation; A man was ill and couldn't hang Christmas lights at his home for a food drive. A stranger got the job done.; Berry Gordy wanted to make the world 'weep with joy'; Why a media executive left his career to help maligned donkeys and save them from slaughter; Google fired its star AI researcher one year ago. Now she's launching her own institute.; A northern New Mexico judge's radical approach to addressing addiction: No jail time; Amy Schneider has made 'Jeopardy!' history — and helped the show find calm after chaos ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Stories that inspire.     (Youngrae Kim for The Post) Decades later, 'Home Alone' fans are still casing the iconic house It's been 31 years since Kevin McCallister battled dim-witted robbers in "Home Alone," but fans keep coming to iconic suburban Chicago home. By Leigh Giangreco ●  Read more »   He got a get-well card after open-heart surgery. Inside was a $1 million-winning scratch ticket. Alexander McLeish was recovering from surgery when he received some lottery tickets in the mail from a life-long friend. The bottom row word of one of the scratch-off tickets read "heart" — and got him the million-dollar prize. By Lateshia Beachum ●  Read more »   She mistakenly called a stranger across the country 20 years ago. The two became friends — and finally just met in person. "I asked her where she was from, and we just started talking," said Mike Moffitt, explaining how he and Gladys Hankerson became friends. By Sydney Page ●  Read more »   How technology can help seniors beat loneliness and isolation Some of these services focus especially on deepening social connections between the generations — relationships that support the health of older and younger people alike. By Matt Fuchs ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   A man was ill and couldn't hang Christmas lights at his home for a food drive. A stranger got the job done. Bob Coffey and four of his employees spent three hours hanging thousands of lights. By Cathy Free ●  Read more »   Get breaking news alerts, offline reading lists and more. Download the app   Berry Gordy wanted to make the world 'weep with joy' Berry Gordy's Motown record label became a form of diplomacy that crossed racial boundaries: "I felt that people were way more alike than different." By Robin Givhan ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Why a media executive left his career to help maligned donkeys and save them from slaughter His nonprofit cares for abandoned donkeys that would otherwise be slaughtered. "I've never been happier in my whole life." By Sydney Page ●  Read more »   Google fired its star AI researcher one year ago. Now she's launching her own institute. Timnit Gebru is starting Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute to promote ethical AI and document the technology's harms on marginalized groups. By Nitasha Tiku ●  Read more »   A northern New Mexico judge's radical approach to addressing addiction: No jail time Jason Lidyard witnessed the trauma of substance abuse firsthand. Now he's determined to keep those battling the same problems with their families. From the Magazine ●  By Ted Alcorn ●  Read more »   Amy Schneider has made 'Jeopardy!' history — and helped the show find calm after chaos The online reaction from "Jeopardy!" viewers has been overwhelmingly positive, Schneider said, and she's enjoyed chatting with fans and sharing behind-the-scenes details. By Emily Yahr ●  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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