All Section

Sun, Aug 23, 2026

Good News Network

Good News in History, August 5

Good News in History, August 5

120 years ago today, American actor, director, and screenwriter John Huston, was born. He also wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 film classics he directed, like The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, Moulin Rouge (1952), The Misfits, and The Man Who Would Be King. WATCH his amusing acceptance speech at his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony… (1906)

John Huston publicity shot

During his 46-year career, Huston received 15 Oscar nominations, won twice, and directed both his father, Walter Huston, and daughter, Anjelica Huston, to Oscar wins in different films.

An accomplished painter, Huston symbolized "intellect, charm and physical grace" within the film industry, said producer George Stevens, Jr. "He was the most charismatic of the directors I knew, speaking with a soothing, melodic voice that was unique to him." Among his friends were Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway. Humphrey Bogart was one of his best friends and Huston delivered the

Single Fossil Shows a Pterosaur Eaten by an Ichthyosaur Eaten by a Pliosaur: ‘A 3-Way Chompfest’

Single Fossil Shows a Pterosaur Eaten by an Ichthyosaur Eaten by a Pliosaur: ‘A 3-Way Chompfest’

An artist's illustration of the event, (right) Dr. White and Kevin Petersen holding the pterosaur remians – credit, Kronosaurus Korner Museum, released

In what must rank as one of the rarer fossil assemblages ever discovered, an incredible moment where the whole top-third of the Cretaceous era marine food chain was being sorted out has been presented by scientists.

Following 7 years of study, the jumble of bones is nothing less than the remains of a flying reptile known as a pterosaur lodged inside the stomach of an ichthyosaur—a large and widely-dispersed, versatile marine predator.

The ichthyosaur's body was determined to have been mangled by something even larger—likely a pliosaur, and perhaps even Kronosaurus queenslandicus, the largest pliosaurid known to have lived, and as the species name suggests, was first discovered in the Australian state of Queensland, where the fossil jumble was found.

"[It is] a marine reptile crime scene, and it did take a bit of working out to tell that story," Dr. Matt White, a paleontologist at the University of New England in Australia and lead author of the study presenting the discovery, tells ABC News Down Under.

The story of

Inspiring CEO Gives Company to Charity After Working 80-hour Weeks for 58 Years, Saving it from Bankruptcy

Inspiring CEO Gives Company to Charity After Working 80-hour Weeks for 58 Years, Saving it from Bankruptcy

Eddie Smith Jr on a Grady-White boat – credit, released as a courtesy of Grady-White Boats to Fortune

Grady-White Boats market their vessels as the "finest boats ever crafted" which is quite the statement.

GNN can't comment on boat quality, but they certainly don't make humans like Grady-White's ex-CEO much anymore.

For 58 years, Eddie Smith Jr. worked 80-100 hour workweeks to salvage the near-bankrupt boat builder and turn it into a 9-figure revenue generator that will now power philanthropy in perpetuity.

That's because Smith turned down multiple offers around half a billion dollars in order to pass controlling stakes in Grady-White Boats to a "purpose trust" that will operate it according to his values and convert its bottom line into community service, conservation, and other philanthropic causes.

Profiled by Preston Foore at Fortune Magazine, Smith said he was inspired by entrepreneurs like Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, who also turned the brand into a financial engine for conservation and climate change prevention.

"I just think that those of us that are fortunate enough to be in a position to help others…It's really a

UN Summit on HIV/AIDS Shows Incredible Progress in Infection Rates, Deaths, Treatment Access

UN Summit on HIV/AIDS Shows Incredible Progress in Infection Rates, Deaths, Treatment Access

New HIV prevention drug lenacapavir has shown 100% success rate in trials

New HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are at their lowest levels in more than 30 years, a special report released by UNAIDS shows.

Released in time for the 26th International AIDS Conference taking place in Rio de Janeiro, it also showed that 7 countries: Benin, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Nepal, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe, achieved an almost 80% reduction in new infections since 2010.

It further showed that 11 countries achieved the "95-95-95" treatment targets, meaning that 95% of all people living with HIV know their status, 95% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection are accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART), 95% of all people accessing ART are virally suppressed.

"The world is on the cusp of an HIV prevention revolution in prevention medicines which offer close to vaccine like protection against HIV," UNAIDS wrote in a statement.

"Monthly and six-month injections are slowly trickling into the market, and monthly pills are in late-stage trials. What is coming to market and in the pipeline is extraordinary."

Other positive news in the report shows that Brazil has increased the number

Used for Centuries as Poison, Larkspur, Wolfsbane May Become Medicine After Lab Breakthrough

Used for Centuries as Poison, Larkspur, Wolfsbane May Become Medicine After Lab Breakthrough

A larkspur specimen in bloom at Beal Botanical Garden – credit, Paul Henderson, released by MSU

Two famously toxic plants—known also to treat pain, malaria, cancer, and pests—may have had those medicinal properties synthesized in a lab for the first time.

The researchers behind the discovery believe "plants are the best chemists"—and their breakthrough demonstrates that next-generation drugs don't need to come from chemists' inventions.

Centered on the plants wolfsbane and larkspur, the discovery comes about through a collaboration between scientists at Michigan State University and the Czech Academy of Sciences, and is published in the journal Molecular Plant.

"These plants have been used in different forms of medicine throughout the world for thousands of years," said MSU alum Garret Miller, co-first author of the paper and now an assistant professor of biotechnology at University of Michigan-Flint.

"We know they interreact with our bodies in so many ways, and understanding how to create them can help provide totally new routes of testing."

"Plants are the best chemists around, upgrading their arsenal of natural compounds over millions of years to help them survive," said Björn Hamberger, study author an

Good News in History, August 6

Good News in History, August 6

100 years ago today, American Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Called "The Queen of the Waves," she was an Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder in 5 events for which she received a ticker-tape parade on her return from the games in Paris in 1924. In 1925, the Women's Swimming Association sponsored Helen Wainwright and Ederle in an attempt at swimming across the English Channel. Helen Wainwright cancelled due to an injury, but Ederle decided to try the crossing on her own. READ how it happened… (1926)

Olympic swinner Gertrude Ederle

Ederle received a contract from both the New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune that paid her expenses and provided her with a modest salary as she trained for the swim in New York City.

Approximately 1 year after an earlier, disqualified attempt, Ederle swam the channel in 14 hours and 34 minutes, beating the fastest male channel swim time by 1 minute short of 2 hours.

She started at Cap Gris-Nez in France at 07:08 am on August 6th, 1926, and came ashore at Kingsdown, Kent, having swum the equivalent of 35 miles due

Over 100 Refill Stations for Home/Laundry Cleaners to Open Across Singapore at 30% Discount

Over 100 Refill Stations for Home/Laundry Cleaners to Open Across Singapore at 30% Discount

Splitscreen images via Lam Soon & Ecoworks, via the Mothership

A company which learned that Singapore's recycling rates have "plateaued" around 11% is deploying over 100 refill machines for cleaning products around the city.

Reducing the cost of packaging has allowed the household product manufacturer Lam Soon to offer their Bio-Home line of goods at a 30% discount if filled up at the vending machine-style refill stations.

According to Lam Soon, in a report on the stations published in the Mothership, the national recycling rate in the city-state has plateaued at about 11% of waste—far from the government's goal of 70% by 2030.

"Upstream" solutions—this is, changes in the supply chain before things become waste—are needed to cross the plateau, and Lam Soon, which manufacturers a variety of biodegradable home products including laundry detergent, dishwasher liquid, and floor cleaner, felt stocking the refill stations rather than store shelves would allow them to eliminate the opportunity for bottles to even become waste in the first place.

Because there's no bottle or packaging, prices can be cut, while consumers can use their own, larger containers, over and over again. Indeed prices

Town’s Beloved Santa Claus Delivers a Very Special Present to Someone in Need–His Donated Kidney

Town’s Beloved Santa Claus Delivers a Very Special Present to Someone in Need–His Donated Kidney

– credit, provided to WTVR as a courtesy of Henrico Doctors' Hospital

A man who dresses up every year as Santa Claus to spread Christmas cheer has just delivered a very special present.

Though central Virginia is far too hot for Santa's reindeer to flyover, the gift couldn't wait until December.

Dave Bell is well known as the town's go-to Santa Claus, and has done so for years, lighting up children's faces with smiles in Powhatan. Bell recently donated a kidney to an anonymous recipient, and wore the Santa hat on the hospital bed during recovery at Henrico Doctor's Hospital.

"I have two of these things, and I only need one," Bell said. "There's somebody who has none and they need one."

Though demonstrating his commitment to the Santa spirit and the spirit of Christmas besides, Bell now has a lot of work to do to get back into Santa-shape in time for the holidays; he had to shed 40 pounds to be eligible to donate.

"Stories like Dave's make organ donation feel real and personal," Dr. Amanda Bailey, transplant surgeon at the Virginia Transplant Center at Henrico Doctors' Hospital,

Locals Succeed in Tripling Protected Seascapes Along 300 Miles of Turkiye’s Breathtaking Coastline

Locals Succeed in Tripling Protected Seascapes Along 300 Miles of Turkiye’s Breathtaking Coastline

The seas that Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Program is working to restore and protect – credit, Zafer Kızılkaya, provided to ELSP

From Turkiye's Mediterranean shore comes the remarkable story of how a group of unsupported conservationists and fishermen received a helping hand from an NGO and restored 300 miles of coastline into a biodiverse marine paradise.

Parts of the area had already been designated as marine sanctuaries, but limited funding, lack of enforcement, disparate connectivity, and absence of local engagement saw its sharks, seals, and turtles vanishing, driven off by lack of food from illegal fishing.

Meanwhile, law-abiding fishing communities who depended on the area's rich marine biodiversity were suffering reduced catches and lower incomes. Something had to change.

The Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Program (ELSP), a nonprofit born out of a Cambridge University conservation initiative and funded by the billion-pound Arcadia Fund UK, organized a grant program for a team of local Turkish environmentalists to try and take protection of the area into their own hands.

Armed with $3 million, their goal was to restore the bountiful seas between Gökova Bay and Cape Gelidonya, drive out illegal fishing

Japanese Team Develops ‘Eco-Fireworks’ with Water-Soluble Shells to Cut Back on Debris

Japanese Team Develops ‘Eco-Fireworks’ with Water-Soluble Shells to Cut Back on Debris

When a man who loves things that go 'boom' met a men who loves things that go 'bloom,' they realized there was much to gain from an alliance.

Hence, Ryukoku University professor Takahiko Nakaoki and president of Kakinoki Fireworks Industry Co. have created and brought to market what may be the world's first water-soluble fireworks shells and canisters.

"Of the 20,000 fireworks (we plan to produce this year), I want 10,000 to be eco-friendly ones," said President Hiroyuki Kakinoki, according to the Mainichi Shimbun.

Mr. Kakinoki met professor Nakaoki in 2018, when the former had been trying to R&D more environmentally friendly fireworks shells, but had then lately abandoned the effort due to repeated failures working with resins.

Rather than develop an entirely new material, the new shells use a water-soluble resin commonly applied to agricultural seeds and soil improvers. Becoming sloughy like hot caramel when wet, the shell can vanish into the ecosystem through this already-approved harmless medium, and no street-sweeper need be troubled in the days after a holiday.

A lot of Japanese fireworks shows occur near water bodies, like large rivers, lakes, or the ocean, meaning most casings will

Good News in History, July 28

Good News in History, July 28

133 years ago today, the Vizcaya Bridge, Spain's only UNESCO World Heritage Site of industrial heritage was completed. Spanning the two banks situated at the mouth of the Nervion River, connecting the towns of Portugalete and Las Arenas, it is the world's oldest transporter bridge, using a 6-car gondola suspended on steel cables to ferry people and vehicles across the water without disrupting maritime traffic. READ how it was built, and how it works… (1893)

There's no walking across Vizcaya. It works like a horizontal elevator and has only been disrupted once in its whole history during the Spanish Civil War. Designed by Alberto Palacio, one of Gustave Eiffel's disciples, UNESCO considers the bridge to be a perfect combination of beauty and functionality.

It was the first to use a combination of iron technology and new steel cables which began a new form of constructing bridges which was later imitated throughout the world.

The structure is made of four 61-meter towers which are the pillars and stand on the river banks. The towers are braced by iron cables to the crossbeam and are parallel to the river and by cables following the line of

American Indian Schools Achieve Highest Graduation Rates in the Nation’s History

American Indian Schools Achieve Highest Graduation Rates in the Nation’s History

– credit, Bureau of Indian Education

High schools funded and/or managed by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) have achieved the highest average graduation rates yet recorded in its history.

8 high schools saw every senior in the 2025/26 class graduate, while another 13 high schools achieved graduation rates of 90% or higher.

It's no secret that Native American communities often rank as disadvantaged when measuring for things like literacy and education, medical services, life expectancy, and income levels.

The rise in graduation rates, reports AP, reflects a mixture of different approaches and accounting methods that have put the graduation rate of students at BIE managed or funded schools bang on the national average of 87-88%, eliminating that previous disparity.

"These schools are a testament to what is possible when students, families, educators, and tribal communities work together," said BIE Director Tony Dearman.

"Our students are showing the nation what Native excellence looks like. Their success reflects the unwavering dedication across our school communities to keep students at the center of everything we do, to ensure they graduate, and to thrive afterward."

In a statement

Image