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in the headlines...

👏 A federal judge dismissed the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the Trump administration brought the charges as part of a vindictive effort to punish him for challenging his wrongful deportation. (Gifted link)

🌎 Despite U.S. opposition, in a 141-8 vote, the UN adopted a historic climate ruling that says countries have a legal obligation to address climate change.

✝️ Pope Leo XIV made a historic apology for the Vatican’s role in legitimizing slavery and for having failed to condemn it for centuries, calling it a “wound in Christian memory.”

🏀 Amid ticket prices reaching well into the thousands of dollars, the New York Knicks announced it would provide hundreds of free tickets to the NBA Finals for underprivileged youth across the city.

Environment

A record number of dams were dismantled across Europe to restore nature and help wildlife thrive

Last year, a record-breaking 602 dams were removed across Europe, up 11% from the year prior and part of a larger, global trend to restore rivers and allow the surrounding ecosystem and wildlife to thrive.

With 2,324 miles of rivers reconnected through dam removals, the EU is a step closer to its goal of restoring 15,500 miles of rivers to their natural flow by 2030.

Since the first official count in 2020, removals have increased sixfold, with Sweden leading the way at 173, Finland at 143, and Spain at 109. Iceland and North Macedonia removed their first barriers in 2025.

Why is this good news? For centuries, communities around the world used rivers for economic growth, redirecting them to improve navigation or damming them to harness power, but that came at an enormous ecological cost. This massive effort is a critical corrective step in the right direction.

→ Read more​

good Progress

Teenage pregnancy rates have fallen across the world in the last few decades

Since 2000, teenage pregnancy rates have fallen across all regions for women aged 15 to 19.

Globally, rates have fallen by more than one-third, with even steeper declines in some regions, such as Central and South Asia, where they dropped by more than three-quarters.

According to the United Nations, birth rates have also decreased among adolescent girls aged 10 to 14, where pregnancy poses even greater health risks.

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People doing good

‘Off Campus’ star Belmont Cameli donated a kidney to a stranger, saving the lives of 7 people in a ‘transplant chain’

In the latest hockey romance to grace the silver screen, 28-year-old actor Belmont Cameli, who plays hockey star Garrett Graham, is seen shirtless on a myriad of occasions, and viewers were quick to notice that the actor has two scars on his abdomen.

They are the result of Cameli’s decision to donate a kidney in 2018. Cameli was tested as a donor after learning his childhood friend needed a transplant, and while he wasn’t a compatible match, he joined a paired kidney exchange program.

He ended up donating his kidney to a stranger and became part of a 14-person transplant chain that saved seven lives, an experience that Cameli said would never leave him.

Why is this good news? More than 90,000 people in the U.S. are currently waiting for a kidney transplant, often waiting years for a “deceased donor kidney,” or becoming too sick before one becomes available. Living donor kidneys also often last longer, work immediately, improve survival, and more.

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Clean energy

The largest wind energy project in the U.S. is coming online next month, despite Trump’s attempts to stop it

The SunZia wind project in New Mexico is considered the “largest clean energy installation” in the U.S., capable of powering around 1 million homes every year, and is on track to come online next month.

The project includes a 550-mile transmission line that will help connect wind power to neighboring Arizona, too.

The Trump administration has cut off federal tax incentives and held back permits for renewable energy projects — around 5,000 turbines are on hold for federal approval. This milestone marks a major step in the clean energy transition in the U.S.

Why is this good news? Not only will the size and scale of this project add clean electricity supply, it will also help reduce strain during peak demand times, like when air conditioners run non-stop in the summer, reduce reliance on much dirtier, pricier fossil fuel sources, and help stabilize prices for customers and businesses.

→ Read more​

Animals

The first gray wolf was detected in Sequoia National Park in more than 100 years

After traveling hundreds of miles across the state in recent months, a gray wolf was detected in Sequoia National Park for the first time in over 100 years.​

Gray wolves were “extirpated” from the state in 1924, largely through government-backed programs driven by concerns among locals over livestock losses and perceptions of wolves as threats.

They are now listed as a protected, endangered species under state and federal law, and wolves like the female seen here are considered to be “pioneering individuals” for the species slow reestablishment in California.

What’s the nuance? Communities in Northern California have started raising concerns again about wolf activity, like livestock killings near homes, and some county officials have issued emergency resolutions.

→ Read more​

More Good News

​Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” charity auction raised nearly $2.5 million for World Central Kitchen. Colbert launched the auction to do some good ahead of the show’s finale on May 21, and presented a (tiny) check to the organization’s founder, Chef José Andrés, during the second-to-last episode of The Late Show last week.

​After winning its “encore contest,” the USPS is reissuing beloved “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” stamps. When they first printed in 2018, the USPS ordered about 12 million, and they sold out within a few weeks.

​A single GoFundMe fundraiser inspired 28,000 people to donate $1 million and help veterans in all 50 states. Samuel Weidenhofer is a self-described “kindness influencer” who helped December 88-year-old veteran Ed Bambas retire, and the act of kindness reached a scale he never imagined possible.

​A new whale detection network launched in San Francisco to alert ships in real time and protect whales. The system, called WhaleSpotter, scans the bay around the clock for whale blows and heat signatures up to 2 nautical miles away.

​The longest-running guaranteed income program gives Black mothers in Mississippi $1,000 a month. According to the organization’s report on the third cohort, 82% of participants felt more hopeful about their children’s futures, and 79% felt more hopeful about their own futures.

​Conservationists are celebrating the birth of a rare wild horse, proof that the last “truly wild” horse in the world is no longer extinct. On April 21, the Bronx Zoo welcomed a new foal to its herd of endangered Przewalski’s horses.

​A new study found that most people are not actually worried about trans women in women’s bathrooms. The data shows that most people are not actually complaining about trans women using “women-only spaces.”

​A first-in-the-nation “dementia village” is a tiny town built just for residents with memory loss. The new model aims to maintain the best possible quality of life for its residents and help “normal” life last longer, even as their illness progresses.

​After Hawaiians noticed “graffiti” on sea turtle shells, a 600-person project is helping improve protections. The NOAA’s Honu Count encourages locals to document any sightings of turtles with white alphanumeric etching on the right side of their shells to help biologists understand the foraging habitats, migration, distribution, and survival status of these turtles.

more good bits

🏳️‍🌈 Psssst! Pride Month starts on Monday — get ready to celebrate.

📚 And pick up some essential reading material.

🦍 Jane Goodall’s grandson is keeping her legacy alive.

🐢 A conservation team saved hundreds of baby sea turtles.

🌸 In this garden, all the plants are gay.

🕷️ “Happy face spiders” evolved on opposite sides of the world.

👏 Safety or tradition? Now, Thai women don’t have to choose.

🐨 Happy retirement to the most famous koala-sniffing canine.

🦉 After seven months and a feather transplant, an owl is flying free.

🎤 This unique suicide prevention approach is no joke.

🏠 Dream come true: Living above the library.

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