Good News

A 5th-century Christian heritage site has reopened to visitors in Aleppo, Syria, after rehabilitation, restoration, and clearing the remnants of war. Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums officially reo…

If you thought adults sloths were cute, wait 'til you see this baby.

"You feel comfortable talking to them, and you find yourself sharing things with them that you don’t typically share."

Elementary school teachers make an average salary of $63,820.

Helmuth von Moltke, born in 1800, is the oldest known person to have their voice preserved.

Your weekly roundup of the best good news worth celebrating...

Our partner Rob Brezsny, whose latest book is Enlightenment for Rebels: Celebrating Our Wild and Sacred Earthly Selves, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrolo…

4,483 years ago today, or so it’s said, the sky above the Korean Peninsula opened and Hwanung, the mythical progenitor of Korean People descended from heaven. Today, it’s marked as National Foundation Day in both the So…

In the mid-19th century, some 400,000 people traversed the Oregon Trail to settle in the American west. Given that this migration occurred nearly two centuries ago, none of the settlers who made the journey are alive to…

Just days after she was born, Twiggy was found hiding amongst a herd of zebras for protection.

The BBC recently spoke with a sleep scientist who’s spent much of his career studying the sleeping habits of the last remaining, contactable, hunter-gatherer societies on Earth. What he found might surprise you—it might…

Climate Reserve is quietly building a lifeline for America's lost climate workforce, one job at a time.

Jane Doe’s lawyer alleged that Cornell University refused to refund her tuition following the assault outlined in her new lawsuit.

Episode Description: This week Arielle and Karissa cover the Colorado wildlife overpass that came in $15 million under budget and brought pronghorn back to habitat they hadn’t reached in decades, what Japan’s 107,000-pl…

Welcome back to The Spark, our monthly celebration of how people just like you are creating positive change, one meaningful step at a time. The Spark is generously supported by Laura Rice. Sign up to Reasons to be Cheer…

The ‘alternative Nobel prize’, global progress on ageism, and a boost for gorillas, plus more

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Researchers at the University of Manchester developed a non-invasive womb cancer test that correctly identified most cancers and returned a negative result for 93 percent of women wh…

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Portugal has released 30,000 sterile male mosquitoes in Lisbon as part of a push to bring down populations of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a species that can carry de…

The right to vote, the right to freedom of speech, the right to due process, and … the right to read? You may not think of the ability to dive into a good book as a civil right, but one nonprofit does — and it’s changin…

If you’ve been through a wildfire, you may never forget the torrid heat, the acrid smell of smoke and the threatening sight of flames closing in. On January 7, 2025, the Goodyear family joined 200,000 other Angelenos in…

Listening is often overlooked as a leadership skill, but it can challenge assumptions and lead to better decisions

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Every fall, the same conversation starts about how to stay well through cold and flu season. Most of the advice points to supplements: vitamin C, zinc, elderberry. Useful, but not th…

Can you entice kids away from screens with a screen? A new kid-friendly phone called Freckle is betting on it. The phone resembles a handheld gaming device (think Tamagotchi or Game Boy) but works like a cell — that is…

What changes when you swap the daily doomscroll for journalism that asks not just what’s wrong, but what’s working? Oliver Balch finds out The post I stopped reading bad news for 48 hours. Here’s what happened appeared…

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at [email protected] and we just might feature it here. Rat tales With the rat popul…

Fifty years ago, disco was dominating nightclubs, punk had emerged from underground, and the nascent hip-hop scene was budding in the Bronx. Stevie Wonder released his masterpiece album Songs in the Key of Life, and the…

How do you get the world to pay attention to a problem it thinks it's already solved?Around a billion children are exposed to dangerous levels of lead. It can be hiding in cookware, spices and cosmetics, or released thr…

There are so many benefits to being "the house" for your teens. Here's how to do it.

Native wisdom and ancient rock paintings save the day.

"These are good, hard-working kids that deserve some gratitude."

After months of discussions between UK ministries, the tourism sector, and London’s museums, the government has decided that the country’s national museums will remain free to international visitors. These 14 institutio…

As they near the end of their productive lives, the 3 wind turbines spinning on Antarctica’s Ross Island have made an enormous impact on the energy market of the continent. Built and commissioned over 2008-2009, the Ros…

In British Columbia, a small award ceremony was held to commend mine operators who continue to monitor and spend on mine reclamation, years after the pickaxes are hung up. Mining has long been the backbone of Canada’s e…

In 2012, Dave Benscoter was trimming trees in a friend’s backyard when he came across an apple he had never encountered before.

When a father takes significant leave — at least two weeks — children report experiencing more closeness and better communication up to nine years later.

3 years on from the illegal felling of Britain’s famous Sycamore Gap tree, new aerial images reveal how the stump is flourishing, and the basal sprouts that emerged are growing fast. For those who didn’t read or weren’t…

The Gulf Coast Primate Sanctuary gives once-domesticated monkeys and U.S. veterans alike a safe haven.

Rangers estimate that Chamboi was born prematurely and had to fight for survival just hours after he entered the world.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There are places where the land itself seems to generate energy. The Quebrada de Humahuaca in Jujuy province, in Argentina’s far northwest, is one of them. At altitude, in clear dese…

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Most of the damage noise does to your body is preventable, and the tools you need are either free or already in your pocket. The missing piece, for most people, is understanding what…

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 on a premise that hasn’t changed since: send a free book to every registered child under five, once a month, for the first years…

For decades, researchers have been working on different interventions to reduce suicide rates. It’s notoriously difficult, but a recent project revealed some encouraging insights into prevention strategies, finding that…

A sexy mantis, a laughing hare, a chatty polar bear, and more!

She described herself as an "Equal Opportunity Employer."

When a new homeowner moved into her house, she discovered a turtle with a bright blue shell in the yard. Wildlife rehab specialists quickly stepped in.

The trio gained international attention with the release of their semi-autobiographical film “Kneecap” in 2024.

In a world first, Chinese engineers have achieved brief nuclear fusion with a much cleaner and abundant fuel supply in what an international review team called a “significant and valuable” advance in the field. Using hy…

This breathtaking photograph is of an Arabian Sea humpback whale—the subject of a new genetic analysis that seems to confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s a totally different subspecies compared to its cousins in…

Millions of dollars in ancient Greek artifacts were recently repatriated to their mother country by New York authorities after they were identified at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They include 2 ancient bronze helmet…

Researchers estimated 25.4% of four-year music students were chronically absent, compared with 37.3% of students without four consecutive years of music.

The 12th annual Fat Bear Week has come to a close, and Google added a fun interactive surprise for the occasion.

A remarkably well-preserved fossil from Mongolia’s Gobi Desert is reshaping scientists’ understanding of mammal evolution during the age of dinosaurs. The new species, described today in the journal Nature, reveals that…

Often called “ghosts of the mountain,” snow leopards are a very elusive cat species. Now, a new arrival can be seen at the Bronx Zoo.

Today, Korbessa is affectionately called “little frog” by her four favorite keepers.

Uisge the Labrador works with Conservation Detection Dogs of Scotland to protect the area’s lochs and sounds.

The political commentary outlet hosted a live show in Springfield, Ohio, which acted as a benefit event to support Haitian immigrants.

Hollywood A-lister Chris Evans recently went out of his way to see if he could convince someone to make room in their home for two dogs who had to be adopted together. Greg and Carley were residents of the Animal Rescue…

A bombshell report last week from the LA Times details that a series of olive ridley sea turtles which laid their eggs on beaches in Southern California are the first of their race ever recorded buildings nests on the c…