Homeless man has close shave with police

His name is Phil and he's homeless. He applied for a job at McDonalds in Tallahassee, Florida, and was told he'd be considered if he shaved his beard. So he went next door to a gas station and tried to shave, but his razor was broken. That's when Officer Tony Carlson appeared. Phil asked for help fixing his razor, and Officer Carlson tightened a screw until it worked. But Phil was having a tough time shaving without any mirror, so Officer Carlson gave him a great shave.

                                                                                                 Tallahassee Police Department
A passerby took a video of the incident and sent it to the police department, where it was put on their Facebook page. It was shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook, but did Phil get a job under the Golden Arches? Phil still needed an ID and Social Security card, and Officer Carlson had good news for him. He'd been contacted by Senator Mark Ribio's office. The staff had seen the story and mailed all the forms that Phil would need. "I didn't do anything special," Carlson said. "It happens all the time."

Thanks to EMTs who work long shifts

An anonymous stranger is making headlines after she picked up the tab for an exhausted group of EMTs who were eating breakfast after a long overnight shift. The medics work for the Toms River First Aid Squad in New Jersey. They had just finished their pancakes at IHOP and asked for the check.

Instead, they were given a receipt from the woman who had already paid for their collective $77 meal. She signed her name "Recovering Addict" and had already left the restaurant. Capt. Alyssa Golembeski said that when she read the note, it brought an emotional hush over the "boisterous bunch" of medics. "It was just a reminder that there is still so much good in the world," she said.

How most people feel about school teachers

Kimberly Bermudez is a first-grade teacher from Chicago. She recently flew to Florida to see her parents, and the guy sitting next to her on the plane asked what she did for work. She told him how much she loves her job...how she has lots of underprivileged kids, and how amazing their parents are. She said they even go hungry sometimes just so the kids can eat. She mentioned that many teachers dip into their own pockets to buy them stuff, like supplies and clothing..

That's when the guy sitting behind her tapped her on the shoulder. He apologized for eavesdropping, and handed her a stack of five $100 bills. He told her to "do something amazing" with it. After they landed, another guy across the aisle gave her $20, and another gave her $10. She said she is using the money to buy books, backpacks, and other stuff her students need. After she posted something about this on Facebook, other people got in touch to see if they could send in more supplies for her school.

Student helps prevent suicides

There's a span in Sunderland, in northern England called Wearmouth Bridge. Unfortunately, it's a hot spot for suicides. So an 18-year-old  student at East Durham College named Paige Hunter came up with an idea. She attached more than 40 uplifting notes to the side of the bridge.

They say things like "You're not alone" or "Even though things are difficult, your life matters." And now the local police have given her a commendation. They say the notes have already helped save the lives of at least six people. Paige says she's not trying to get attention for herself. She's just trying to help people. But she will hang the commendation on the wall at home, because her parents are proud of her.

Grandmother delivers her granddaughter

Britt Miller has been a 911 dispatcher at Monroe County Central Dispatch in Indiana for 17 years. Until now, she's never actually met anyone she helped. That changed around 7 a.m. one recent morning when Kim Schroeder called to say her daughter-in-law, Bethany, was about to give birth and there was no time to wait for medics. Kim had been a labor and delivery nurse in the '80's, but had not delivered a baby in years. Britt said she had not delivered  a baby over the phone, "so we would do it together.

                                                                                                                              Chris Howell
As reported in the Herald-Times of Bloomington, they did it together, and Brooks Owen Schroeder, 6 pounds and 1 ounce, was born at 6:56 a.m., just ahead of the fire department's arrival. Since then, Britt has visited the family in the hospital and they all listened to a tape of the 911 call. Bethany said the conversation sounded only vaguely familiar because she'd been "a little busy" at the time.

Newborn baby promised a job!

A couple named Robert and Falon Griffin were dropping off their two daughters at a Chick-fil-A in San Antonio, Texas, when Falon went into labor with their third daughter. Robert delivered the baby in one of the stalls in the restaurant bathroom. Mom and baby are both doing great.

The hospital put "born at Chick-fil-A" on her birth certificate and listed Robert as the "attending physician" even though he's not a doctor. The baby's name is Gracelyn, and here's the best part. The owner of the Chick-fil-A franchise has awarded Gracelyn free Chick-fil-A for life! And he promised that once she's old enough, he'll hire her with no questions asked.

Balancing study and play

Most U.S. elementary schools are shortening recess and ramping up the Ritalin so children will be less fidgety, but Eagle Mountain Elementary School near Fort Worth, Texas, is trying a different approach. They tripled recess time in kindergarten and first grade. Instead of 20 minutes of playtime per day, they now get a full hour, divided into four 15 minute periods, in addition to lunchtime.

                                                                                                                                   TODAY
Some teachers at Eagle Mountain admit they were nervous about how they would keep kids on track academically with all the lost classroom time. But now they say the extra recess has transformed their students. "Their teachers say extra recess has "transformed" the pupils. First grade teacher Cathy Wells told NPR her kids are "way ahead of schedule." Another teacher said she no longer has to continually sharpen pencils for children, since they no longer snap the lead or chew on the wood. Instead they use the pencils for their original purpose -- to write something.