Marine Welcomed Home | Student Scoops CNN: Saturday Smiles

Need a break from the bad news? If you are looking for lighter news for your weekend, check out these sweet NorCal stories.

Marine, Amador Valley High Grad Gets Hero's Welcome In Pleasanton

• U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Daniel Bennett returned to his hometown after deployment to Okinawa.

Deputy Fills Tank Of Woman Stranded, Unable To Afford Gas

• The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputy bought the woman gas after discovering the stranded driver while checking up on a school parking lot.

68-Year-Old Woman Found Alive After Week In SUV Buried In Snow

• A 100-hour search for a 68-year-old woman missing for a week ended when her SUV was found buried in the snow. And she was still alive.

Dublin High Student Scoops CNN On Its Iowa Poll

• Arjav Rawal, 18, beat everyone to publishing the results after he correctly guessed the poll's URL on the CNN website.

Zoo Koala Naming Contest Will Benefit Australia Wildlife

• All proceeds from the San Francisco Zoo event will go to the Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund.

Benicia Among Top 5 U.S. Towns In Running For $500K Hulu Makeover

• Public voting will determine whether the North Bay city is the focus of Season 5 of the hit Hulu series, "The Small Business Revolution."

Solano County To Give HS Diplomas To Veterans, Japanese-Americans

• Posthumous diplomas may also be granted to family members of deceased veterans and Japanese-American citizens who were interned.

Rapper Pays Homage To Watsonville's Rich Culture Through Music

• Kabwasa, 21, shows love for the culture and hardworking people of his hometown in newly released EP "Watsonville."