It might just be the best Christmas present ever for one Kentucky woman. An extremely generous gift from an anonymous donor is making her life a lot easier.

"It took my breath away. It touched my heart that they had did this for me. So, I thank them for everything they have done for me and my grandkids," said Regina Russell, the recipient of a car from an anonymous donor.

The gift of transportation is something Regina Russell has needed for a long time.

"The car that I had, it was a 2003. I had it ever since, and it just broke down. So, I was getting on the bus," Russell said.

The 61-year-old is raising two of her grandkids. She took her 16-year-old and 9-year-old granddaughters in when their mother was having a rough time. Their father is incarcerated. Despite no transportation, she's managed to get them to and from doctors and dental appointments, grocery shopping and other places all through a pandemic.

"I took the bus for about a year, and getting on it with all this COVID going on, I didn't want to get sick," Russell said.

Russell has been in the Louisville Urban League's senior jobs program for the past two years, which prepares them to find employment. That's currently her only source of income. When someone reached out to the league about wanting to gift someone with a car, they knew Russell would be the perfect recipient.

"When they called me up, I had prayed on it and prayers work. God is good. I prayed every day for me to get some time of transportation," Russell said.

Russell says her grandchildren are just as grateful as she is.

"Giving in life, once you keep giving, you will always get back more," Russell said. "So, what he did for me, that's a blessing. He will get blessed."

Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury forming triangle in the sky this weekend

You won't want to miss this rare sight!

Updated: 11:58 PM EST Jan 8, 2021

Above video: Closest alignment of Jupiter, Saturn in nearly 800 yearsRight before Christmas, the two largest planets in our solar system formed a "double planet," an incredible spectacle that hasn't happened in more than 800 years. Well, soon one more planet will be joining them for another rare celestial sight. This weekend, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury will form a triangle for the first time since 2015, according to EarthSky.Dubbed a "planetary trio" or a "triple conjunction," the three planets will appear close together just after sunset from Jan. 8 through Jan. 11. Tonight, Mercury will start to move closer to Saturn, which will appear below Jupiter. So when's the best date to see the triple conjunction? The tightest grouping of these planets will occur on Sunday. The best way to catch the planetary trio is find a spot with an unobstructed view of the horizon, and look toward the direction of the sunset. It's important to start searching for the planets no later than 45 minutes after the sun sets because they will fall out of view beneath the horizon by nightfall, according to EarthSky. It might be difficult to spot the planets (especially Saturn, the dimmest of the three planets) while they're competing with the glow of the sunset. So it's a good idea to bring along binoculars or a telescope.Wondering what other celestial sights you can look forward to this year? Check out this complete list of full moon dates throughout 2021. Time to mark your calendars, skywatchers!

'Lean into it': Firefighter honored for answering call to adopt 2 girls in horrific situation

Updated: 1:30 PM EST Jan 19, 2021

Firefighter Richard Jett happened to be working at a different fire station and ended up meeting two girls on a welfare check at a storage unit.Jett, a man of faith, knew God was trying to tell him something.At the time in October 2017, the girls were just 2 years and 4 days old.He ended up adopting them, joining his family of two other adopted children.His colleagues recently honored him in a surprise ceremony and given a surf trip by a charity in the area, S.W.E.L. (Surf Waves Enjoy Life), that takes veterans and first responders surfing.For more information on S.W.E.L, click here.

An Iowa woman will donate her kidney to a Minnesota toddler she has never met.

Heather Kimbrough, of Eagle Grove, stumbled across a Facebook post back in August that really touched her. In the post, a mother in Minnesota put out a desperate plea to find her son a kidney donor.

"He has zero kidney function. He's been on dialysis since he was born. Doctors gave him less than 1% to make it so he is just a true miracle. He was on life support the first three weeks of his life and spent the first six months of his life at the hospital. He just continues to fight," said Desiree Teubert.

Teubert's son, Ryder Geisler, spends twelve hours a day hooked up to dialysis. Ryder is 22 months old, but he can't walk, talk or eat without a feeding tube because of his kidney failure.

"It's an emotional roller coaster and traumatizing at the same time, but we're so proud of him and hope he continues to fight," said Teubert.

After reading Teubert's post, Kimbrough decided to fill out an application online. She then underwent vigorous testing.

"It was a lot of making sure I was healthy in every way and didn't have something I could pass on to him," said Kimbrough.

Doctors at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center notified Kimbrough that she is a near-perfect match. She will undergo surgery on March 19 to donate her kidney to Ryder.

"I feel grateful that I can give this to him ... help him have a normal life," said Kimbrough.

"There is no way to repay her. There is no words that I can describe to give my child a second chance at life. I'm speechless. I really am," said Teubert.

According to the United Network of Organ Sharing, 7,397 living donor transplants were performed in 2019. Doctors say a living donor kidneys last much longer.

"It's going to make such a big difference," said Dr. Vanessa Humphreville. She is the director of the Living Donor Kidney Transplant Center at the University of Minnesota. Humphreville will be the surgeon performing Kimbrough's surgery. She says the new kidney will give Ryder a chance to live a completely normal life.

"I did a kidney transplant on a 2-year-old. He couldn't walk. He couldn't talk. About four months after this I am walking through the hospital and this little kid comes running up to me. Sorry, I still get a little choked up about it, but he came running up to me and it was just night and day. He was talking. He could walk. It was just night and day. Kidney transplants made such a difference for these patients," said Humphreville.

If you would like to know more about kidney donation, you can fill out a questionnaire at https://www.umnhealthlivingdonor.org/

You can also visit the National Kidney Registry.

As some members of the Oakley Unified Elementary School District Board of Trustees prepared for their monthly meeting Wednesday, they spoke to one another while parents logged on. They didn't realize the public could hear their comments about parents complaining that their students are still at home doing distance learning.

Board member Lisa Brizendine referred to the people who write letters to the board calling for schools to reopen, noting that the board members are members of the community with kids who've gone to the schools.

"They don't know what goes on behind the scenes. It's really unfortunate they want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back," said Brizendine.

Board member Richie Masadas joked that his brother had a medical marijuana service and "the clientele were parents with their kids in school."

"When you got your kids at home no more smoking out," Masadas added.

Board member Kim Beede used profanity in one instance when talking about parents.

The Contra Costa County school district is apologizing. In what was believed to be a closed session meeting, Oakley Union Elementary School board members are seen sounding off, unaware parents were listening, even recording the unfiltered conversation.

Greg Hetrick, the superintendent said in part in a statement, "Last night at the Oakley Union Elementary School District Regular Board Meeting there were unfortunate and truly inappropriate comments made that were heard by many. These comments are not typical and more importantly they are not what the community should expect from our school district. "

Hendrick called the district a "diverse learning community committed to educating and empowering today’s learners and tomorrow’s leaders."

SFGATE and sister station KCRA-TV reached out to the Oakley Unified Elementary School District Board of Trustees members for comment but did not initially hear back.

An online petition launched to call for the board to resign or be recalled noted that during the hot mic moment the board members spoke in a disrespectful way about parents in the school district.

"Parents were tuned in to learn if we will be sending our kids back to school soon and if not, why," the petition reads. "There has been a lack of communication from the board and this was the first communication we heard."

The petition is calling for board members to resign immediately as "a recall would cost the district money that should be going to the kids."

In the video, Hetrick also talks with the board members about implementing a new system for public comment in meetings that would require people to call in and record their public comments rather than making them live in a meeting. The recording would cut comments off at three minutes.

As many San Francisco Bay Area school districts reach a point where they've been closed for nearly a year to in-person learning, a debate is heating up around whether it's safe for teachers and students to return to schools that have been closed as the holiday surge eases and as new, more infectious variations of COVID-19 multiply.

Vaccines are at the heart of the controversy as political leaders, teachers unions and school districts argue over whether it's safe for teachers and students to return.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that vaccinating teachers isn’t a prerequisite for the safe reopening of U.S. schools, while the California Teachers Association and many local unions want all educators vaccinated before returning to the classroom.

KCRA-TV contributed to this report.

VIDEO: Dog enjoys snow with skis, in need of forever home

Updated: 12:06 AM EST Feb 25, 2021

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with the white stuff still on the ground. US humans aren't the only ones enjoying winter sports. We put courage on the skis, and she seemed to really enjoy that. This nine month old mutt from Mississippi is named courage. This a disability has not stopped her one bit, and her name is fitting. Having survived a traumatic experience when she was only a few months old, a not a very nice man kicked her off a porch, severed her spine on DSHEA. She was taken into rescue. Becky Panacea had courage. Transported to Cranston from the south. She's been a joy. She's fun. She's challenging. She's very, very sweet. She's been fostering courage for about four months, and despite her back legs, being paralyzed and having to wear a diaper, she's still a playful pop. There's no problem with her getting around. Absolutely not. In fact, there seems to really be nothing else wrong at all. Besides her being incontinent, she's healthy, very healthy dog. The community recently rallied, raising about $2500 so Courage could have an M. R. I and extensive testing done. It was it was wonderful, and I thank them very much when she's not hitting the slopes in her front yard. She uses a wheelchair to get around. She's a little celebrity around here in in Rhode Island, but she would really love to head to her forever home. Venecia says there are some requirements, but she's hopeful someone will have the courage to make the dogs dream come true. She deserves this, and she deserves a great life.

VIDEO: Dog enjoys snow with skis, in need of forever home

Updated: 12:06 AM EST Feb 25, 2021

A dog with a disability is enjoying a special setup.The pet, named Courage, uses a wheelchair but also can enjoy the snow with a pair of skis to support her."This disability has not stopped her one bit," said Becky Paniccia, who has been fostering the dog, WJAR-TV reports."Have you ever seen a dog have this much fun? This girl continues to inspire us with her spunk, bravery, spirit of love and forgiveness, and sense of adventure," Friends of Homeless Animals, Inc. in Rhode Island noted in a Friday post on Facebook. "She deserves a great home!"Tap the video above to find out more about her story.

A dog with a disability is enjoying a special setup.

The pet, named Courage, uses a wheelchair but also can enjoy the snow with a pair of skis to support her.

"This disability has not stopped her one bit," said Becky Paniccia, who has been fostering the dog, WJAR-TV reports.

"Have you ever seen a dog have this much fun? This girl continues to inspire us with her spunk, bravery, spirit of love and forgiveness, and sense of adventure," Friends of Homeless Animals, Inc. in Rhode Island noted in a Friday post on Facebook. "She deserves a great home!"

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Tap the video above to find out more about her story.