Good morning, everyone. I want to begin with our good news update. This Sunday tradition matters. With a war unfolding in Iran and the world feeling loud and overwhelming, choosing to pause and recognize what is good is not naïve. It is necessary.
We are sharing this in the wake of another war. I have read your messages and I know many of you are feeling overwhelmed. So start your morning with something steady and hopeful. A full news update will come later this afternoon.
I would love for you to share one piece of good news from your own life in the comments. Big or small, personal or professional. Let’s keep building a community that stays informed and lifts one another up.
My good news is twofold. First, I am finally back to marathon training after recovering from an injury. Second, we are building something really special here. Several people came up to me this week and told me that before reading this they did not follow the news much at all. Now they feel more informed and more energized to be involved in their communities. That tells me we are doing something right.
Here’s some good news:
- A retirement community in Illinois created a cooking club called the “Rolling Scones” that lets senior residents cook meals together every week. The group helps residents rediscover the joy of preparing food, share lifelong cooking skills, and stay socially connected while making nutritious dishes. For many members, the club restores creativity and independence that they missed after moving into assisted living. It also encourages healthy eating and provides a meaningful activity that brings residents together.
- An 80-year-old man and his 99-year-old father became the first people to redeem a decades-old sign at an Alabama oyster restaurant offering free oysters to any man who is 80 and accompanied by his father. The sign had originally been posted as a joke, but the family remembered it for more than 50 years and turned it into a goal. When the son finally turned 80, they celebrated with friends at the restaurant, which honored the promise and served the oysters for free. The heartwarming moment also highlighted the rare and special bond of a father and son still sharing milestones together at such advanced ages.
- A Wendy’s employee in Palm Desert, California, touched a family’s heart by remembering their weekly order of Frostys for a daughter in hospice care with terminal brain cancer. The simple gesture of recognizing the routine and asking, “No spoons, right?” brought comfort to the family during a very difficult time. After the story was shared online, many people responded with similar stories about small acts of kindness from service workers. The moment highlighted how even small gestures can provide meaningful support and connection.
- A Pennsylvania postal worker named Bruce Armah found a wallet buried in the snow while delivering mail in −11°F weather and decided to return it after his shift. He drove 52 miles to find the owner and refused any reward, saying he did it because his father once had a lost wallet returned and taught him to do the same for others.
- Hawaiʻi Pacific University’s “Bounty Project” has removed more than 84 metric tons of abandoned fishing gear from the North Pacific Ocean over the past three years. The program pays commercial fishermen to collect ghost nets, lines, and floats while they are already at sea, preventing the debris from damaging reefs and harming marine wildlife. By turning fishing crews into ocean cleanup partners, the project has recovered nearly 200,000 pounds of waste and helped protect sensitive marine ecosystems. Some of the recovered gear has even been recycled into experimental road materials in Hawaii.
- The owners of The Standard restaurant in Toledo surprised their entire staff with a paid three-day cruise to the Bahamas to thank them for their hard work. About 60 employees, along with a few loyal customers and former staff members, joined the trip, which included island visits, games, and group activities. The restaurant closed so everyone could attend, and the owners said the gesture was meant to show appreciation for the team they consider the “lifeblood” of their business. Many employees said the experience brought them closer together and made the workplace feel like a family.
- A woman in England discovered she had early-stage lung cancer after her dog repeatedly sniffed her breath and acted strangely, prompting her to get medical tests. Doctors found a tumor that was removed in surgery, and they said the dog likely saved her life by helping detect the cancer early. Inspired by dogs’ ability to smell disease, scientists are now developing an AI-powered “electronic nose” that can detect cancer from urine samples. Researchers hope the technology could become a non-invasive diagnostic tool used in hospitals within the next few years.
- A young girl playing near Three Shells Lagoon in Essex, England suddenly became stuck knee-deep in wet sand. When her mother rushed to help, she also sank waist-deep and the two began shouting for help. Four employees from the nearby Adventure Island theme park quickly responded by bringing ropes and carefully pulling the daughter and then the mother to safety. After the rescue, officials fenced off the lagoon and posted warning signs to prevent others from getting trapped in the dangerous wet sand.
- A 10-year-old boy in the Bahamas threw a message in a bottle into the ocean as a fun experiment with his mother, including their contact information and the date. Nearly a year later, the bottle traveled more than 4,000 miles across the Atlantic before washing up on a beach near Porto, Portugal. A schoolteacher walking her dog discovered the bottle and contacted the boy’s family, surprising them since they had long forgotten about the experiment. The unexpected discovery created a joyful connection between the two families, and the woman hopes they may meet someday to throw another bottle into the sea together.
- Scientists have developed a PSMA PET/CT scan that causes prostate cancer cells to “glow,” helping doctors identify aggressive cancer more clearly than standard imaging. The technology can reduce the need for invasive biopsies by about half because it can determine whether a patient has harmful cancer, low-risk cancer, or no cancer at all. In a major clinical trial, men with negative or low-risk scan results avoided biopsies, while those with positive results received more targeted procedures, improving accuracy and reducing complications. The scan is already available in Australia and parts of Europe and could help prevent unnecessary treatments and anxiety for many men being tested for prostate cancer.
- Researchers found that artificial intelligence can analyze routine mammograms to detect calcium buildup in breast arteries, which is linked to a higher risk of heart disease. In a study of more than 120,000 women, those with moderate calcification had about a 70% higher risk of serious cardiovascular problems, while severe cases had two to three times the risk. Because many women already receive mammograms for breast cancer screening, this approach could help doctors identify heart disease risk earlier without requiring additional tests. Scientists believe the technology could improve prevention and help address the underdiagnosis of heart disease in women.
- A fruit known as the “miracle berry” is helping chemotherapy patients overcome the metallic taste often caused by cancer treatments. The berry contains a compound called miraculin that temporarily changes how taste receptors work, making sour foods taste sweet and improving the flavor of meals. This effect can last about 30–40 minutes, allowing patients to enjoy food again and maintain better nutrition during treatment. While it doesn’t treat cancer itself, doctors say it can greatly improve quality of life for patients experiencing “chemo mouth.”
- North American river otters have made a major comeback in the Great Lakes region after conservation efforts began reintroducing them in the 1980s. Decades later, their populations have successfully spread across areas like Ohio, New York, Michigan, and Ontario as water quality improved and habitats were restored. The recovery was supported by environmental policies such as the 1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which reduced pollution and helped rebuild ecosystems. Today, the growing otter populations signal healthier rivers, stronger fish stocks, and improved biodiversity throughout the region.
- An 80-year-old farmer in Hertfordshire, England faced a £40,000 ($52,000) bill to remove about 200 tons of waste that criminals illegally dumped on his land. Because the perpetrators were never found, the responsibility for cleaning up the trash fell on the farmer, putting him at risk of prosecution. After hearing about the situation, a neighbor named Archie Ford started a fundraiser that quickly raised more than £58,000 from nearly 2,000 donors, covering the cleanup costs and restoring the farmer’s faith in the kindness of strangers while highlighting the growing problem of illegal dumping affecting farmers.
- Scientists discovered that European hedgehogs can hear extremely high-frequency ultrasonic sounds—up to about 85,000 hertz—much higher than humans, dogs, or cats. Researchers believe this ability could help protect hedgehogs from road accidents, which cause about one-third of their deaths and have contributed to their “Near Threatened” conservation status. The team is now exploring whether ultrasonic devices installed on cars or lawn equipment could emit sounds only hedgehogs can hear, warning them to stay away and potentially reducing roadkill.
- The historic ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida where Jackie Robinson first played professional baseball in 1946 is receiving a $30 million renovation. The project will modernize the stadium with updated training facilities, clubhouses, and a new grandstand while preserving its historic layout and significance. The renovation will also include a museum honoring Robinson’s legacy and the park’s role in breaking racial barriers in baseball. Officials hope the upgraded stadium will continue serving the community and minor league baseball for decades to come.
- Scientists discovered that chimpanzees are strongly attracted to shiny crystals, often choosing them over ordinary rocks, examining them closely, and even carrying them back to their sleeping areas. In experiments, the chimps could quickly identify crystals among regular stones and appeared to treat them as valuable objects. Researchers believe this behavior may help explain why humans have long been fascinated with gemstones and crystals. The findings suggest that the attraction to shiny stones could have deep evolutionary roots shared with our primate ancestors.
- An artist in Seattle created “Rainworks,” a special eco-friendly spray that reveals hidden images or messages on sidewalks only when it rains. The artwork remains invisible when dry but appears as water hits the surface, turning rainy days into surprising public art experiences. The idea began as a viral street experiment and has since grown into a global community using stencils and sprays to create rain-activated designs. Cities like Seattle have even started using the technique to decorate public spaces such as bus stops.
- A lost page from the famous Archimedes Palimpsest has been rediscovered in a museum in Blois, France, after being missing for decades. The page contains part of Archimedes’ ancient mathematical work On the Sphere and the Cylinder, though some of the text is hidden beneath later writing and an illustration added in the 20th century. Researchers plan to use advanced X-ray imaging and multispectral analysis to reveal the hidden text without damaging the manuscript. The discovery adds another piece to one of the most important surviving documents from ancient Greek mathematics.
- Scientists have developed a method using satellite radar imaging to detect tiny movements in bridges that may signal structural damage before a collapse occurs. By combining satellite data with traditional inspections, researchers can monitor bridges worldwide and identify risks earlier and more accurately. The technique can measure millimeter-scale shifts in structures, helping engineers prioritize repairs and reduce maintenance costs. This approach could improve global infrastructure safety, especially in regions where frequent on-site inspections are difficult or expensive.
- The large tortoiseshell butterfly has returned to England decades after Dutch elm disease caused it to disappear from the country in the 1960s. After years of sightings and the discovery of caterpillars breeding in the wild, conservationists now consider it a resident species again. The butterfly has been spotted across several regions in southern England, suggesting its population is expanding. Scientists believe warmer temperatures and suitable host trees have helped the species recolonize its former habitat.
- India’s cheetah reintroduction program has seen new success with the birth of five cubs to a female cheetah named Jwala, bringing the number of cubs born in the country to 33. The project began in 2022 when cheetahs from Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa were relocated to India after the species went extinct there in the mid-20th century. Although some of the relocated animals have died, the growing number of India-born cubs shows signs that the population is beginning to establish itself. Conservationists say the births mark an encouraging step toward restoring cheetahs to their historic range in India.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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