• On Jan. 1, 2026, the minimum wage will increase in 19 states and 49 cities and counties. In 2026, 79 jurisdictions will have a minimum wage of $15 or more. USA Today.
• Over two decades, a couple planted over 2.5 million trees to restore a Brazilian nature preserve. Good Good Good.
• Scientists discovered thousands of new species in 2025. See 9 that wowed them, from the ‘curiously isolated’ butterfly to the screaming pika. Good Good Good.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

• Cabo Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles eliminate measles and rubella. WHO.
• Bangladesh reduced poverty significantly between 2010-2022, lifting 34 million people out of poverty. World Bank Group.
• Switzerland prohibits use of violence in raising children. End Corporal Punishment.
• New Mexico now offers free childcare for all. The Guardian.
• Iowa City made its buses free. Traffic cleared, and so did the air. The New York Times.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

• New, effective anti-malaria drug could help fight rising resistance. Reuters.
• Since devoting nearly all of its profits to climate and nature in late 2022, Patagonia has given away an extra $180 million. Fast Company.
• With new ordinance, Santa Fe becomes first city to tie minimum wage to rental costs. Albuquerque Journal.
• This vending machine in Colorado dispenses free prescription drugs to people facing homelessness. Good Good Good.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

• In 2024, Gavi-supported vaccines saved a record-breaking 1.7 million lives – 400,000 more than in 2023. Gavi.
• Traffic deaths in New York City reached near-record lows through the first three quarters of 2025, with traffic fatalities down 18 percent compared to the first nine months of last year due to street redesigns. NYC DOT.
• Since 2010, the number of people using tobacco has dropped by 120 million. WHO.
• Burkina Faso bans child marriage. Girls Not Brides.
• Time on social media peaked in 2022, with young people cutting back first. Financial Times.
• Renewables overtake coal as world’s biggest source of electricity. BBC.
• Sales of fully electric or hybrid vehicles made up more than half of all new car registrations in the UK last month. BBC.
• Self-driving cars are 80% less likely to get into a serious crash than human drivers. The Argument.
• Student invents self-sanitizing door handle for hospitals. Good Good Good.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

• The US has finally destroyed all of its chemical weapons. Vox.
• Explore how much the world has changed since you were born. Human Progress.
• The plastic-eating bacteria that could change the world. The Guardian.
• Girl receives UK’s first rejection-free kidney from mum. BBC News.
• Renewable energy champion Kenya plans Africa’s biggest wind farm. Bloomberg.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

• In Afghanistan, women have been allowed to go back to Kabul University. Twitter.
• An experimental drug that addresses anhedonia could increase the brain’s capacity to experience pleasure and herald a new era of precision medicine in psychiatry. Neo.Life.
• Reported crime in Japan hits postwar low for seventh year running. Nippon.
• A new distribution system is helping African countries ramp up vaccinations. New York Times.
• How the US women’s soccer team won its battle for equal pay. El Pais.
• In Uganda, a new approach to ending sexual and gender based violence: training men. Minority Africa.
• Germany: Traffic deaths fall to lowest point in 60 years. DW.
• New sickle cell treatment given to first patients in England. BBC News.
• Guaranteed income program in DC lowered rates of food insecurity, report says. The Hill.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

• 99 good news stories you probably didn’t hear about in 2021. Future Crunch.
• 192 ways the world got better in 2021. Reasons to be Cheerful.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

• At 1.9%, Nebraska now has the lowest unemployment rate of any state, ever. Wall Street Journal.
• Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is recovering from life-threatening coral bleaching episodes. NPR.
• A new stem-cell treatment has cured a man of Type-1 Diabetes. The New York Times.
• US jobless claims hit 52-year low after seasonal adjustments. AP News.
• Portugal goes coal-free long before deadline. CNN.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, Future Crunch, and Reasons to be Cheerful.

These are crazy times, right? We haven’t had a do a wide-scale quarantine like this since the 1918 Flu. It’s good this sort of thing doesn’t happen more than once every 100 years or so. At least we can learn from the past. Looking at the 1918 Flu, we know social distancing does slow the spread of the disease and saves lives. It might need to last months, but that’s better than ending it early. The most important take-away is we’ve been through this before, we can go through it again. Plus, we have much better medical technology now than we did then, so it likely won’t be as bad as 1918. Continue reading →