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Last night, at my direction, the United States military conducted a successful operation to rescue an American hostage in Nigeria, kidnapped just 96 hours earlier. United States Special Forces executed a daring nighttime operation to rescue their fellow American with exceptional skill, precision, and bravery. No United States Service Members were harmed. The former hostage is currently in good health and has been reunited with his family. Securing the freedom of Americans held in captivity abroad has been a top national security priority of my Administration. Since the beginning of my Administration, we have rescued over 55 hostages and detainees...

If you are an animal lover, hearing rescue stories about them might be one of your favorite things. Well, this one will surely tug at your heartstrings, as the feline protagonist in this story surprised his rescuers with something they never imagined they would discover. This is Cotton, a stray cat who had been living in the streets before Joe, the owner of the home where he was found, saw him wandering outside his house in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. He said the lost kitten came out of nowhere and started eating from the bowl of food that he prepared...

As of noon Tuesday, California National Guard and U.S. Navy helicopters had rescued 362 people and 16 dogs that had become trapped as roads were blocked by the fast moving Creek Fire northeast of Fresno, California. Civilians extracted from the Edison Lake and China Peak areas were flown to the Fresno airport in Blackhawks, Chinooks, and a Navy Seahawk. Examples of their missions Tuesday at Lake Edison: A Stockton-based Cal Guard Ch-47 chinook evacuated 46 people and four dogs. A U.S. Navy SH-60 Seahawk helicopter rescued 17 people and one dog. Two Cal Guard UH-60 Black Hawks and one CH-47...

Two Marin County, California, firefighters were rescued Friday after becoming trapped while battling the Woodward Fire in northern California, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday. The California wildfires have burned more than 1 million acres, CNN reports.

Her name was Jessica McClure, but she will be forever remembered in America's hearts as "Baby Jessica." She was just 18 months old when she fell into the 8-inch well in her aunt's backyard. For more than two tense days, millions held their collective breath as what happened next became the focus of every media outlet in the country, with Americans watching and waiting to see if the toddler could be saved in time.

Hero police officer Erika Urrea’s stunning railroad tracks rescue of an elderly man was captured by her body camera for all the world to see. The Lodi, California Police Department officer’s Aug. 12 morning patrol spread like wildfire on social media this week due to her sprint to pull a man in a wheelchair from certain death. “Officer Urrea was in the area of Lodi Ave and the railroad tracks when she saw a male in a wheelchair who appeared to be stuck on the tracks,” the department wrote on its Facebook page. “She noticed that the railroad crossing arms...

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – To protect and serve… even when it comes to little ducklings. Officers with the Mount Pleasant Police Department on Tuesday rescued a couple of baby ducks who were trapped in a drain and shared photos and a video on the department’s Facebook page. Animal Control Officer Hoffman and Officer Sanford went to work and rescued the sweet ducks and reunited them with their mom.

Petty Officer 1st Class Beirut Pakbara was receiving treatment for the infection, but his condition worsened when it spread to his bloodstream, according to a Facebook post from the Royal Thai Navy. He died this week and was buried Friday at the Talosai mosque in the Langu district of the Satun province, reported the Bangkok Post. A Royal Thai Navy spokesman told the Bangkok Post that Beirut will be posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Beirut is the second diver to lose his life as a result of the cave rescue. Saman Kunam, a retired Thai navy diver, died...

A bald eagle on Canada’s west coast has learned that its eyes may be bigger than its stomach after it was nearly drowned by an octopus it tried to eat. After hearing shrieks coming from the water on the north-western tip of Vancouver Island, employees at a fish farm investigating the noises happened upon a bird and cephalopod locked in battle. The giant Pacific octopus, which had turned a deep crimson, had wound its tentacles tightly around the eagle, which was floating helplessly at the surface. Ilett maneuvered a pike pole in the water to pull the octopus over to...

When Sgt. Michael Nowacki of the Chicago Police SWAT Team had a day off this past weekend, he needed to find something to do. His longtime girlfriend, Officer Erin Gubala, was busy working the finish line of the Hot Chocolate 15K as part of Chicago Police’s bike patrol unit. Nowacki, an avid runner since he joined the Army in 1990, decided he might as well run the race, and represent his department while doing so—by completing it in his SWAT gear. An experienced marathoner with 11 Chicago Marathons under his belt, a 15K wouldn’t be that bad. The gear aspect,...

On the evening of 15 October 1956 a Pan American Airlines Stratocruiser named Clipper Sovereign of the Skies lifted off from Honolulu, headed to San Francisco on a 2,000-mile flight. 24 passengers and seven crew were flying the final leg of their around-the-world flight, but still had 2,000 miles of open ocean to cross. 4 hours, 38 minutes into the nine-hour flight Capt. Richard Ogg climbed from 13,000 feet to 21,000. After leveling off, Clipper‘s Number 1 engine started spinning out of control. The cockpit suddenly jolts and the high-pitched noise of the runaway engine can be heard inside the...

The Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Brighton, at the 22-mile mark of the Boston Marathon course, was the site of a dramatic rescue on September 24. Katie Kellner, 28, who is a member of the BAA racing team, was three miles into what was supposed to be an easy 60-minute run, which included a loop around the 1.5-mile reservoir. She witnessed a dog swimming in the water and a man on the shore calling to the dog. He was a dog walker, who handed off two other dogs to a bystander, then went into the water to pursue the loose dog,...

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. - More than 100 dogs were removed Wednesday from a home in Ross Township, making it the largest rescue on record for Animal Friends, officials said. In all, 117 dogs were taken from the home on Ridgeside Road. Twenty-five of them were puppies and the rest were middle-aged. Crews needed hazmat suits to enter the home because of high ammonia levels, officials said. Firefighters cooled down dozens of dogs and loaded them on a box truck, which transported them to Animal Friends to receive care and get a second chance at life. Officials said Thursday none of...

Life is about living and obtaining experiences. It really and actually is. If you are not out “there” living life to it’s fullest, making friends, helping others, and raising a little bit of “Heck”, then you are wasting your life. Here, we look at others who are making their life count. They are making a difference in the lives of those around them. They are contributing and participating in life. They are the heroes. When life SCREAMS out your name, will you answer? Will you answer the call, like these people did? Rufus was the name of the good Samaritan...

On the morning of Saturday, July 13, Cindy Eiseler and three of her friends were running along the Lansing River Trail by Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan, when they heard a voice calling for help from the woods nearby. “We heard a man’s voice crying out ‘I need help, I need help!’” Eiseler told Runner’s World. “It stopped us dead in our tracks not knowing exactly where the man’s voice was coming from.” The group did not want to venture into the woods alone, so they called 911 and assured the man that help was on the way. While...

A stray cat gave birth to a litter of kittens on the streets of Las Vegas. One of them was determined to stand out. Nikki Martinez @myfosterkittensNikki Martinez, a rescuer and foster based in Las Vegas, took in a stray momma and her kittens after they were rescued during a TNR (trap-neuter-returned) job. "Mama was living on the streets and delivered her babies outside. I took them in to foster," Nikki shared with Love Meow. Two of the five kittens sadly didn't make it, but the rest of the family quickly settled in and began to thrive in a safe...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A commercial jet carring 142 people went down in the St. Johns River near NAS Jacksonville on Friday, according to the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department. All people on board were alive and accounted for, according to Fire Rescue and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The plane was said to be a 737 airplane. These photos were shared by the Sheriff's Office:

LUCAS COUNTY, OH-A traffic stop in Ohio yesterday led to the arrest of an illegal alien from the sanctuary of state of New Jersey. Ohio State Trooper Mitch Ross pulled over a vehicle for a routine traffic stop when he noticed a young girl with a man. Neither of them spoke English or had identification. Luckily for the girl, Ohio is not a sanctuary state and the officer was able to determine the driver was an illegal alien. Ross was also able to determine that the child was in his police database as a missing person from New Jersey. Police...

Around noon on Sunday, March 31, Alicia Judy, 40, left her home in Scottsdale to run 16 to 18 miles on the Spur Cross Trail, which would lead her to Skull Mesa, a breathtaking summit surrounded by towering cactus trees. The path was very familiar to Judy, an experienced trail runner and nurse who has been running through the parks in her area regularly since moving to Arizona five years ago. Still, she studied the map before she left, double-checked her route with a fellow hiker on the trailhead, and made sure to pack her phone, compass, water, and maps...

(CNN) - A man with a broken arm proved not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they wear casts. Altavious Powell used his cast to smash a window and get into his elderly neighbor's house in Miami Gardens, Florida, as it was burning on Monday night, CNN affiliate WSVN reported. Powell said he ran toward the home of his neighbor, identified by WSVN as 93-year-old Maria Cabral, when he smelled smoke. He started hitting a window with his cast and a plastic chair until the window broke and he was able to get in. Powell said he found Cabral in the...