It wasn’t all bad
■■ Three people stranded on a small uninhabited island in the Bahamas were rescued after 33 days. The two men and a woman, all Cuban nationals, had been on a boat that capsized in a storm, forcing them to swim to the island. They survived on coconuts and small animals for nearly five weeks before a U.S. Coast Guard patrol spotted them waving a makeshift flag. The crew dropped food, water, and a radio, then airlifted them to safety. “I was amazed how well they had it together,” said Lt. Justin Dougherty. “They are incredibly lucky to be alive.”
■■ A French nun survived the coronavirus to celebrate her 117th birthday. Sister André of Toulon, who lived through both world wars and the 1918 flu pandemic, is believed to be the world’s second-oldest person. Born in 1904, Sister André worked in a hospital, took care of elders and orphans, and became a nun at age 40. Last week, for her special day, she enjoyed a special menu of foie gras, baked Alaska, and red wine— “one of her secrets of longevity,” according to a spokesman at her nursing home. After a Mass in her honor she was treated to champagne, “because 117 years have to be toasted.”
■■ When a TSA officer at Portland International Airport was called over to translate for a Spanishspeaking family, he learned that they had been stuck in the airport overnight. The family had intended to travel to Portland, Maine, but a travel agent booked them a flight to Portland, Ore. Officer Martin Rios escorted the family to the ticketing desk and found that they had just $200, not enough to fly across the country. Rios paid for the tickets out of his own pocket and sent the family on their way. “I just know that I didn’t really have it in me to turn them away,” he said.