• Worried about political polarization in the U.S.? Most people identify as neither Republican nor Democrat, give more money to charities than to political organizations, and don’t watch polarizing news. Axios.
• 175 nations agreed last week to fast-track a treaty to curb plastic pollution. Bloomberg Green.
• Denver has expanded the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program, which dispatches licensed mental health professionals instead of police for certain 911 calls. 9News Denver.
• Delaware is shrinking racial gaps in cancer death. NPR.
• An oral medication shows benefits treating Type 1 diabetes for at least two years after diagnosis. UAB.
• Nanorobots propelled by magnets can be used repeatedly without fuel, offering a sustainable and cost-effective way to clean up industrial wastewater. NewScientist.
• Target is raising its minimum wage to as much as $24 an hour. NPR.
• Saudi Arabia has eliminated trachoma. WHO.
• Japan’s 10-year cancer survival rate increased to 58.9%. Nippon.
• Large-scale treatment decreases prevalence of Schistosomiasis by 60% among school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa. WHO.
• U.S. adopts rules easing path to green cards for abused, neglected minors. Reuters.
• Britain pardons all men convicted under historical laws that criminalized being gay. Global Citizen.
• New Zealand’s brown kiwi no longer threatened as population swells to 20,000. Stuff.
• Humpback whales no longer listed as endangered after major recovery. ABC News.

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• Polio has nearly been eradicated in Pakistan. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Move over, crypto. A record number of workers are becoming millionaires with their boring 401(k)s and IRAs. Washington Post.
• We can now use CRISPR to fight tick-borne diseases. Freethink.
• A Florida plan to save manatees is working — thanks to 25 tons of lettuce. NBC News.
• Belgium approves four-day week and gives employees the right to ignore their bosses after work. Euronews.
• US approves new headlights that won’t blind oncoming drivers. AP News.
• A major barrier to affordable housing is finally falling. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• By altering the blood type of lungs, researchers raise the possibility of universal organs for transplants. STAT.
• There’s finally a malaria vaccine. Meet the woman making sure it reaches Kenya’s children. Global Citizen.
• Psychedelic therapy for depression still effective one year later. New Atlas.
• These eye drops could replace your reading glasses. Scientific American.
• Advances and breakthroughs in mental health worth celebrating. Good Good Good.
• Mutation protecting against Alzheimer’s edited into human cells. Freethink.

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• Overall, the practice of female genital mutilation has been declining over the last three decades. In the 30 countries with nationally representative prevalence data, around 1 in 3 girls aged 15 to 19 today have undergone the practice versus 1 in 2 in the late-1980s. Unicef.
• There’s been a 48% drop in Rubella cases between 2012 and 2020 due to the rubella vaccine. WHO (PDF)
• In the two decades since Portugal decriminalized the personal possession of all drugs, new HIV infections, drug deaths, drug-related crimes, and the prison population all fell sharply. Transform.
• The number of euthanized dogs has hit record low, saving millions of lives. Time.
• In 2021, Indonesia rehabilitated 300,000 ha of peatlands, representing 25% of its four year target. Mongabay.
• In Australia, wind and solar provided five times more power than gas in 2021. Coal is down to 62.8% too. The Age.
• New minimum wage announced for South Africa. Business Tech.
• Federal internet program reaches 10 million households. Axios.
• Texas restaurant workers are eligible for free child care. Eater.
• MIT scientists create a super plastic that’s two times stronger than steel. Fast Company.
• A twist on stem cell transplants could help blood cancer patients. Wired.
• Immunity-boosting breast cancer drug could save thousands, finds UK research. The Guardian.
• Revolutionary ‘bionic’ pacemaker capable of reversing heart failure now set for human trials. Study Finds.

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• The United States passes bipartisan legislation that will overhaul how workplace sexual assault and harassment claims are handled, eliminating a central source of protection for the perpetrators. The New York Times.
• Pakistan’s new law aims to protect women in workplace. Human Rights Watch.
• Puerto Rico teachers will get a $1K a month salary boost. NBC News.
• 10 states passed laws to protect hospital patients from heavy medical debt. The Wall Street Journal.
• Malaria-preventing bed nets save children’s lives with impacts that can last for decades. Science.
• 2 cancer patients “cured” after promising immunotherapy treatment. Axios.
• Walking again after paralysis: Early study suggests stimulation could jolt spinal cord back to life. STAT.
• Tiny homes, big dreams: How some activists are reimagining shelter for the homeless. NPR.
• Bionic eye implants enable a blind person to see again. Freethink.
• A roadway will charge your electric vehicle while you’re driving. Axios.

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• These simple green lights could save sharks and turtles from fishing nets. Science.
• How HIV elimination is within Australia’s reach. BBC.
• A Swedish company plans on using crows to pick up cigarette butts. The Hill.
• Crime is down from pre-pandemic levels in San Francisco and other cities. Reason.
• UK ovarian cancer death rate down 17% since 2017, study suggests. The Guardian.
• Chemists turn carbon emissions into a solid — instantly. Anthropocene.
• From the start of the US vaccination campaign through the end of November 2021, Covid-19 vaccines prevented about 1.1 million deaths and 10.3 million hospitalizations in the United States. Vox.
• U.S. economy grew 5.7 percent in 2021, fastest full-year clip since 1984, despite ongoing pandemic. Washington Post.
• Fur seals in New Zealand were hunted close to extinction, but in the century since the sealing industry collapsed, they have recovered to more than 200,000. The Guardian.
• As we enter the Year of the Tiger, WWF looks back on all the progress made in tiger recovery since the last Year of the Tiger in 2010. WWF.
• 2021 was a banner year for solar power in the European Union. All EU states are currently on track to reach their 2030 solar goals, with Latvia and Estonia already meeting their 2030 solar targets, and Poland, Ireland, and Sweden expected to reach them next year. Yale360.

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• CostPlus Drug Company is selling medications at cost, plus a small markup, allowing Americans to pay a similar price for medications to Europeans. In some cases, medications cost thousands of dollars less than the retail price at pharmacies. TechCrunch.
• World records fewest guinea worm cases in history of eradication campaign. The Carter Center.
• This startup is turning nonrecyclable plastic into building blocks fit for construction. Fast Company.
• Between 1978 and 2016, the median level of lead in the blood of children in the US fell by 95%. Our World in Data.
• Federal agencies are raising minimum wages for government employees to $15 an hour. Axios.
• A Zambian park has reversed the national extinction of black rhinos. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Conservation efforts are saving humpback whales. Good Good Good.
• UCLA researchers cure HIV in 40% of mice. The Jerusalem Post.
• Swedish startup Molecular Attraction plans to kill mosquitoes in places plagued by malaria by tricking the insects into drinking beetroot “blood” laced with toxins. Freethink.
• Giant pristine coral reef discovered off Tahiti. BBC News.
• Rains bring salmon back to California streams after 25 years. The Guardian.
• Ghostly monkey and slug snake among 224 new species found in Mekong region. The Guardian.
• GM to invest historic $7 billion in 4 facilities across Michigan, creating 4,000 jobs. Detroit Free Press.

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• The overall cancer death rate dropped by about a third from its peak in 1991 to 2019, averting about 3.5 million deaths, CNN.
• Uganda has immunized eight million children against polio in just three days. Uganda has achieved incredible results in childhood health over the past 20 years, with the mortality rate for under fives dropping by more than half. The East African.
• Child mortality rate worldwide has also dropped by half over the past 20 years. UNICEF.
• Tanzania has lifted a 20-year ban preventing adolescent mothers from attending school. The Citizen.
• Fatal police shootings in America dropped by 13% between 2020 and 2021, reaching the lowest annual number on record. ABC.
• The Philippines has banned child marriage. South China Morning Post.
• Technology, education, and community efforts have helped Bangladesh reduce cyclone-related deaths more than 100-fold since 1970. The New Humanitarian.
• Giraffe populations across Africa have rebounded by 20% since 2015. National Geographic.
• Mexico’s endangered jaguar population increased by 20% between 2010 and 2018. Mongabay.
• South Australia set an impressive new renewable energy record in the final days of 2021, with the state’s solar and wind farms and rooftop solar systems supplying an average of just over 100% of local demand every day for a period of almost one week. Renew Economy.

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• The history of the end of poverty has just begun. Our World in Data.
• First-ever pig-to-human heart transplant offers hope for thousands in need of organs. USA Today.
• Researchers find a new target for a universal flu vaccine: the “anchor”. Freethink.
• A Texas team comes up with a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer for low income countries. NPR.
• First female judge nominated for Pakistan’s supreme court. The Guardian.
• mRNA vaccine technology has helped repair broken hearts in mice. New Scientist.
• Grazing livestock among the trees is helping to prevent wildfires. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Beijing meets state air quality standards for first time in 2021. Reuters.
• U.S. sees record job growth in 2021. Bloomberg.
• Spain returns to pre-pandemic employment levels thanks to creation of 776,000 jobs in 2021. El Pais.
• Thousands of seasonal farmworkers will get their much-deserved raises after all. Daily Kos.

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• US Army creates single vaccine against all COVID & SARS variants, even future strains. Defense One.
• Many surprise medical bills are now illegal. Axios.
• Michigan’s new congressional maps undo years of gerrymandering. NY Times.
• After being declared extinct in the wild, the Tequila fish is making a comeback. BBC.

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• COVID-19 vaccines have saved over a million lives in the US alone. The Commonwealth Fund.
• 21 things that made the world a better place in 2021. Wired.
• China has eliminated malaria. The New York Times.
• Executions dropped to lowest level in three decades. The Wall Street Journal.
• 56 cities, counties, and states will raise minimum wage rates on January 1. NELP.
• White House unveils plan to replace every lead pipe in the U.S. NBC News.
• Is 70 the new 60? People are aging better. Scientific American.
• 13 animals that made a comeback in 2021. The Progress Network.

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