Forget the World Cup. The most compelling “soccer story” of the week is one of hope and perseverance and global cooperation.

A Thai boys soccer team, lost in a labyrinth of caves in northern Thailand, was found Monday. For 10 days, rescuers hunted for the 12 boys and their coach, fighting rising fear and rising waters.

On June 23, the boys, ages 11 to 16, rode their bicycles to a popular hiking spot: the Tham Luang Nang Non caves. But heavy rains flooded the caves, driving the boys deeper. Efforts were made to pump water out. Monks offered prayers. More than 1,000 people, including teams from Thailand, Britain, the United States, Australia, and China, searched for alternate entrances and plumbed flooded caverns. Nothing. But as rains eased this past weekend, hopes rose. British divers found all huddled on a small ledge.

Outside, tears of joy flowed among families and rescuers. On Tuesday, Thai Navy medics brought in food, but extracting the boys won’t be easy. Twisted, narrow passages filled with muddy waters – hard for experienced divers to navigate – lie between the team and their exit. “We worked so hard to find them and we will not lose them," the provincial governor declared. Families are eager to be reunited. One mother, proclaiming her love in a universal way, affirmed she would soon make her 11-year-old lost boy his favorite meal: a Thai fried omelet.

Now to our five selected stories, including the quest for integrity in American democracy, new paths out of poverty in Oklahoma, and the power of humor in Colombian politics.