The headlines are bad. Here are a few from today’s roundup:
“Shutdowns continue.”
“Baby formula recall. Infant botulism on the rise.”
“Bridge collapses in China; 11 die in disaster.”
“Over 850 flights cancelled today, due to government shutdowns. More expected.”
“Geomagnetic storm forecasted to hit Earth, ‘unprecedented’—potentially disrupting infrastructure.”
“Wendy’s to close 300 stores. ‘Where’s the beef?’”
But what about the headlines you never see? Does anything good ever happen? How come you watch the news and see all the godawful things that happened, but never see anything positive, save for a 45-second wrap-up story about a domesticated pig at a nursing home.
What about these headlines, which are also from this week:
“Breakthrough gene therapy gives deaf child hearing—young girl born deaf has hearing restored.”
“Green turtles are no longer considered endangered in many areas, thanks to rescue efforts.”
“Three sisters earn Eagle Scout all at once—Cedar Fitzpatrick, Macy Fitzpatrick and Maya Fitzpatrick of Troop 778 in St. Louis made history as the first Black sisters to earn the Eagle Scout rank together.”
“Missing cat in Western North Carolina returns home more than a year after getting lost during Hurricane Helene; family thrilled.”
“Global deforestation rate has slowed for third decade in a row, forests on the rise.”
“In less than 24 hours, Chicago suburb launched a community-wide food drive to help neighbors—over 100 volunteers signed up overnight.”
“Man in Miami recognized for personally removing over 17 tons of trash from Biscayne Bay.”
“Gun violence in U.S. cities is on a steep decline—analysis of 150 cities found that shootings dropped massively last year.”
“Free‑food vending machines launched in New York to support food‑insecure families—nonprofit vending machines offer eggs, meat, and produce, distributing free food to over 1,100 families.”
“Extinction rates rapidly slowing for plants and animals—study finds extinction rates among many plants, land vertebrates, arthropods have sharply declined in the last years.”
“New device can pull 1.5 litres of drinkable water from air daily—Los Angeles company creates device using recycled materials, offering solar water-harvesting solution.”
“Global declines in deaths from chronic diseases in many nations—recent analysis shows deaths from chronic conditions and terminal cancers have fallen since 2011.”
“Breakthrough discovery can help people with spinal injuries—scientists find cells from human fat tissue can be converted into bone‑forming clusters and used to repair spinal fractures (in animal models).”
And here are some more favorite headlines:
“Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health find that those who hope, have 10% greater odds of living past age 90, compared to the least optimistic.”
“Hope linked to better long‑term health and wellbeing—14‑year study of 25,000 participants found that those who hope live healthier lives.”
“New large‑scale study shows that even mild psychological distress and anxiety from negative news is linked to increased risk of death—even mild distress increases odds of death 20–30%.”
And my personal favorite headline:
“Cuddly 8‑year‑old cat dropped off at adoption shelter for being ‘too affectionate’—throngs of adoption applications pouring in from across U.S.”