Feel Good News: Celine Dion’s little fan, holy raccoon and hard-to-believe lottery wins

The Power of the Dream

If you’re a diehard Céline Dion fan, what are the chances that you’ll meet your idol on the streets of Paris during her landmark comeback concert residency?

Well, this past week 10-year-old Kate Berger got a chance to not only meet Céline, but also to sing to her and get a warm embrace from the singer.

The young fan who was patiently waiting for Céline Dion outside of her hotel in the French capital was lucky enough to sing an extract from Dion’s hit D’amour ou d’amitie. Touched by the girl’s talent, Celine gave Kate a big hug.

The special moment shared by the two will for sure be etched in the little girl’s memory for a very long time.

“Our Céline is an angel, she has a heart as big as the world. She truly loves her fans. I’m from Quebec, and at a show in Montreal, I was able to see her backstage; she gave me a real hug, full of warmth. She took a lot of time to speak with each person and was genuinely interested in her fans. May got protect her,” one of the fans left a moving comment under the video.

“It brings tears to my eyes. What a beautiful soul our Céline is,” wrote another.

A holy raccoon

Who do you expect to meet at your church on a random evening? A pastor, fellow worshippers?

Those attending the Nightmare Candlelight Prayer Service at a New York Catholic church were definitely not expecting to see a raccoon, but there it was strolling through the front door.

The St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich shared a video on its Instagram account of the religious raccoon casually entering the building.

It is not clear what motivated the animal to sneak into the church during the service, but it was quickly escorted outside by the local pastor.

Interestingly enough, the raccoon’s visit happened just one week before the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which features the Blessing of the Animals.

Lucky numbers, a forgotten ticket

A man in South Carolina scored a total of $250,000 after purchasing 50 identical tickets for a single lottery drawing.

The man bought 50 identical tickets across several convenience stores in Summerville in August. He trusted his intuition and used the Pick 4 combination 0-5-0-0 for the South Carolina Education Lottery.

His gamble paid off and each ticket brought him a $5,000 prize money. “I felt lucky,” the winner said.

Another man in Ohio discovered to his surprise that he won a $50,000 prize thanks to a forgotten lottery ticket.

Cleveland resident told the Ohio Lottery officials he purchased the ticket back in mid June and put into his bag.

Four months later the man found the ticket in the bag, checked the numbers of the drawing and discovered that he won thousands of dollars.

A nature makeover

Wildlife will replace historical figures, such as Sir Winston Churchill and Jane Austen, on the next series of Bank of England banknotes, the Bank said in a statement.

Over 478,000 people from all walks of life cast more than 2.5 million votes to put buff-tailed bumblebee, barn owl, European hedgehog, and Atlantic puffin on the redesigned banknotes.

“In 2025, we announced we were issuing a new series of banknotes which would include updated security features to ensure you can continue to use cash with confidence. With each redesign, we have to change the imagery so that you can easily tell the difference between the old and new banknotes,” the Bank said.

It explained that it would take a number of years before it launches the next series of banknotes.

“It is a detailed, multi-year process to design, test, and print the notes, ensuring they are high-quality, resilient, accessible and incorporate the latest anti-counterfeiting technology,” it said.

Also, the Bank will announce which animal will feature on which denomination (£5, £10, £20 and £50) closer to the launch date.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Kazakh student had invented a rehabilitation system for stroke survivors.