When Ocean City crews raced to 19th Street on Oct. 2, they found multiple swimmers, including children, caught in changing ocean conditions. Rescue swimmers dove in alongside Maryland State Police aviation and the Coast Guard — and every swimmer made it back to shore alive. — Delmarva Now

When doctors told Ross Andrew “I cannot believe you’re not dead,” the Scottish dad refused to accept the prognosis. A year after CNS lymphoma and sepsis left him unable to move his legs, he’s preparing to run the Edinburgh half-marathon. — Edinburgh Live

Brooke Mikutowicz calls it her “one-year anniversary of life again” — after doctors told her husband to prepare for the worst, an Impella device let her heart rest and she made a miraculous recovery in days. Now she’s back to braiding her daughters’ hair and spreading heart-health awareness. — FOX 10 Phoenix

Joan Litt has been beating cancer for 41 years — through breast cancer, bone metastasis, bladder and esophageal cancers — and she’s still walking strong. This year she walked the Komen More Than Pink Walk as one of its top fundraisers, sharing her simple truth: “I’m still here.” — MyCentralJersey.com

When Robert Maifert saw his neighbor bleeding from a severe arm injury, he stayed calm and built a makeshift tourniquet on the spot. EMTs on scene said they are 100% sure the man would have died without his quick action. — Livingston Daily

Sergeant Newton of the Capitola Police Department stepped up in an emergency and saved a child’s life — and the American Red Cross honored him for it. His reminder: “You never know when you’re going to need it. It could be a family member or a neighbor.” — American Red Cross

When a school teacher saw his neighbor’s home burning, he ran in barefoot, found her through the smoke, and carried her to safety. “I don’t think of myself as a hero,” he said. “Just doing what anybody would have done for their neighbor.” — People

When her mom suffered a grand mal seizure, 3-year-old Emi FaceTimed her grandparents 700 miles away to get help, stayed on the phone, and even climbed on a chair to unlock the door for paramedics. Her mom says she’ll always remember her little girl whispering, “Mommy, it’s gonna be okay.” — People

Five-year-old Gentry, who was born with Down syndrome, has been fundraising for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma — and her favorite Thunder player Chet Holmgren noticed, chipping in Thunder gear and a $1,000 donation. Her team has raised $22,000 so far and sits in second place heading into the weekend. — News 9

Walking along the trail by Mossy Creek, college student Noah Matthews spotted a 3-year-old boy clinging to a submerged tree branch in swift water — and didn’t hesitate. He pulled the child to safety and called 911, and first responders credit his selfless actions with preventing an almost certain tragedy. — WVLT

The Coral Springs Fire Department showed up for a September 11 remembrance ceremony and left with an unexpected rescue assignment — a tiny kitten stuck on their platform truck. Firefighters got her down safely, a spectator fell in love, and the newly named “Hero” (who turned out to be a girl) is now thriving in her forever home. — The Animal Rescue Site

When a kitten named Suki wedged herself inside an entertainment center cabinet, three firefighters from Engine 50 in Camarillo dismantled the furniture to free her. The rescue video racked up more than 7 million views, and one commenter summed up the public mood perfectly: “I 100% approve this use of my tax dollars.” — New York Post

Ten-year-old Rio vanished from his Oklahoma home and turned up 1,000 miles away in Greensboro, North Carolina — where a good Samaritan brought him to a shelter and his microchip led straight back to his stunned owner. She hopped on the first flight she could, and the mystery of his cross-country adventure remains all his. — The Cool Down

BioNTech’s gotistobart lifted median survival to 18.5 months versus 10.0 months on standard chemo for patients with advanced squamous lung cancer whose disease progressed after prior therapy — a 43% reduction in the risk of death, with no new safety signals. Real hope for patients who have run out of options. — Medical Xpress

Regeneron’s trevogrumab prevented 70% of the muscle loss that can come with GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, with benefits sustained through a full year of treatment and validated by MRI. For the millions shedding pounds on semaglutide, keeping strength along the way could soon be part of the plan. — GlobeNewswire

About 70% of pediatric patients saw clinically meaningful tic reduction within 8 weeks on ecopipam, with benefits holding through 18 months — and no new safety signals. If approved, it would be the first new Tourette therapy in over a decade and the first with a novel mechanism of action in more than 50 years, bringing real hope to kids and families. — GlobeNewswire

Angel Reese thought it was just a team gathering — until her mom walked in carrying the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award, a bouquet, and the family dog. Tears flowed as the three-time All-Star, who set league records with 521 rebounds and 32 double-doubles, shared the moment with the people who believed in her first. — USA Today

Fifty-eight years of waiting ended in glory on Oct. 3 as Wakefield Trinity beat Warrington 23-10 to claim the Super League Grand Final — their first, making them only the sixth-ever winner. The small city was small no longer as thousands roared their team into the history books. — Sky Sports

The Minnesota Golden Gophers ended a 50-year home win drought against the Michigan Wolverines, winning 20-14 to claim the Little Brown Jug for the first time since 1977. Back-to-back upsets over Michigan and Washington — winning really is hard in the Big Ten, which makes this weekend’s joy all the sweeter. — Heavy

After a year of extreme challenges — including a 31-mile ice-skating ultramarathon in Finland — fundraiser Lloyd Kembrey got the surprise of a lifetime when Tom Cruise himself showed up to thank him for raising money for children’s hospice charity Jessie May. — Daily Post UK

In a ceremony at Rideau Hall on October 2, Michael J. Fox received Canada’s highest honor for his decades of Parkinson’s advocacy — his foundation has funded roughly $3 billion in research since 2000 and just launched a $2.5 billion “All Grit. No Quit.” campaign for a cure. — Zoom TV

Lindsay Lohan winked her way into fans’ hearts with a playful Instagram video recreating the “It’s October 3” scene from Mean Girls — and even former co-star Jonathan Bennett chimed in to celebrate the unofficial holiday. — Parade

Upstate Medical University researchers discovered that a protein called Piezo1 helps nerve cells measure fiber size and build perfectly sized myelin coatings — a breakthrough that could lay the groundwork for new treatments for nerve and brain disorders. — Medical Xpress

For the first time, scientists have filmed the exact pathway a light-sensitive molecule follows as it changes shape — a beautiful bit of basic science that will help design future smart materials, drug delivery systems, and molecular machines. — phys.org

A University of Missouri study found that a low daily dose of rapamycin improved brain blood flow in middle-aged adults carrying the APOE4 gene variant — a promising hint that the anti-aging drug could help preserve memory in those most at risk. — Medical Xpress

The first-ever New York Games Week is underway, packing five boroughs with tournaments, showcases, mixers, and the Fashion in Gaming Awards — a week-long celebration shining a big light on NYC’s thriving game industry and community. — Drop The Spotlight

This week’s game deals come with a heart: charity bundles of tabletop RPGs and 3D-printable miniatures are raising funds for causes like Make-A-Wish and Oceana — proof that grabbing great games can also do great good. — EN World

The beloved studio behind Psychonauts released Keeper, a heartening tale of a long-forgotten lighthouse who awakens and journeys alongside a spirited seabird — a story of unlikely companionship that’s also now available to more Game Pass subscribers. — The Daily Game News

SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit on Test Flight 14, deploying 28 operational Starlink V3 satellites along the way — a major milestone bringing NASA’s goal of a permanent human presence on the Moon another giant step closer. — Exterra JSC

NASA’s SSPICY mission lifted off October 1, sending Starfish Space’s Otter spacecraft to inspect up to four dead satellites in orbit — the first step toward cleaning up space junk and learning to service and rescue stranded spacecraft. — Entrelligence

October’s night sky is putting on a show: Saturn at its closest, a crescent moon meeting Mars on October 5, two meteor showers, and a hunter’s moon on the 26th — plenty of free, sky-gazing joy all month long. — Beacon Journal

A virtual biotech of 37,000 AI agents analyzed lung cancer data and proposed a promising new antibody-drug design — and when four human experts redid the work themselves, all eight checks came back matching the agents’ conclusions with zero errors. — Earth.com

A Baylor College of Medicine team combined AI structural modeling with protein analysis to discover a new class of “molecular glues” that destroy harmful proteins linked to blood cancers and autoimmune diseases — a shortcut that could speed up drug discovery by years. — phys.org

At the world’s biggest robotics conference, RoboParty debuted RP1 — the first high-performance open-source humanoid robot — and let visitors kick it to prove it stays on its feet. Its open design means researchers and students worldwide can build, modify, and learn on it freely. — Asia News Today

Engineers at Binghamton University built wallpaper that generates electricity from room humidity — 1,596 miniature units powered a wireless keyboard at 80% humidity, and it doubles as a passive dehumidifier. No sun, no batteries, just the moisture in the air. — Xe.Today

Oregon State researchers developed a new family of materials that turn water into energy-producing hydrogen using only sunlight — a potential clean-energy alternative to solar panels that could one day fuel cars and chemical manufacturing. — The Debrief

Oregon State scientists created BVR-X, a sponge-like material that captures factory CO2 even in very humid exhaust — flipping moisture from carbon capture’s biggest enemy into a helper. The team has already filed a patent. — Knowridge