“The births are a ‘big dill,’ says the zoo, because the radiated tortoise, native to Madagascar, is a critically endangered species whose numbers are in decline.” Finally living up to his nickname, a 90-year-old tortoise named Mr. Pickles just became a father of 3. (Meanwhile, the Hare has like 4000 kids at this point.)

+ “Cox’s story is as unlikely as the instruments he somehow wills back to life and into the hands of the most talented on the planet. Raised in a log cabin in the North Carolina woods, Cox got into a science and math-focused public boarding school in nearby Durham as a teen, only to decide that math and science weren’t his jam.” The Calif. guitarmaker whose work is loved by Phoebe Bridgers and Taylor Swift.

+ WaPo: She was accepted by 54 colleges and got $1.3 million in scholarship offers. (Sure, but 53 of those were safety schools…)

+ “Bystanders and police who attended the scene told Elyse and Bella that without their help, the younger girls would likely not have survived.” Bravery medals for Ballina women who raced into ‘rough, crazy’ surf to save drowning girls.

+ “A dog who went missing in Farmington, New Mexico, in 2015 surprised everyone by turning up in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, in 2023.” New Mexico Dog Missing for 7 Years Found 1,700 Miles Away Walking Down South Carolina Road. (He was carrying a rudimentary map that had been given to him by the family cat.)