Global round up of positive news nuggets to brighten the day.

Glassy Gem
A man in Arkansas visited a famous state park with his girlfriend and ended up walking out with a 4.87-carat diamond - the largest colorless diamond found in the park this decade. At Crater of Diamonds State Park, anyone can come and comb through the hills and ditches for diamonds, which is exactly what Jerry Evans was doing. Remarkably, within ten minutes of entry, Evans saw what he thought was a piece of glass, picked it up, and stuffed it in his pocket. He later sent the stone to the Gemological Institute of America for identification on the hunch that it was something more than just broken glass. And, sure enough, he heard back that it was a near-colorless diamond, which is probably worth $20,000. Result!
The King Toppled
On the final day of the year, Taylor Swift added one more accolade to her long list of accomplishments in 2023: She now holds the record for most weeks for a solo artist at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) topped the ranking this week, giving Swift 68 weeks atop the album chart and surpassing The King himself, Elvis Presley. Only The Beatles have more weeks at No. 1 now than Swift, with 132 weeks on top across 19 No. 1 albums from 1964 to 2001. Sixty-eight weeks is a long way from 132, but at least Swift and her fans have something left to look forward to.
Twins a Year Apart
Eve Humphrey was due at the end of January, but her water broke on New Year's Eve - which also happens to be her husband Billy's birthday. "I'm like - what a great birthday gift!," he told ABC News. Ezra, was born at 11:48 p.m. on New Year's Eve. But little brother had other plans. Ezekiel was born at 12:28 a.m. on New Year's Day. Twin brothers, born on different days, in different years. "I just know they're going to be world changers. And they couldn't share the same day, right? They needed their own spotlight," said Billy.

Saiga Rebounds
The IUCN Red List status of this timeless talisman of the Central Asian steppes has been changed from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened. The dramatic downlisting reflects a remarkable rebound in saiga numbers, particularly its Kazakhstan stronghold, where populations have bounced back from a perilously low 48,000 individuals in 2005 to a new high of over 1.9 million.
Lost and Found
A wallet lost at an Atlanta cinema has been found 65 years later, reported UPI. A contractor working on renovations found the old wallet behind a wall at the Plaza Theater and handed it to the venue's owner, who checked online and discovered the wallet's owner, Floy Culbreth, died in 2005. But he was able to contact her daughter, Thea Culbreth Chamberlain, 71. Chamberlain was only 6 years old when her mother lost the wallet in 1958. Its contents included old family photos, a library card and raffle tickets.
Potable Reuse
California is set to adopt regulations allowing sewage to be extensively treated and transformed into pure drinking water delivered directly to taps. This move represents a milestone in the state's efforts to address water scarcity by recycling more water, with the regulations permitting "direct potable reuse" to incorporate highly treated water into the drinking-water system.
"Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life." Robin Sharma
On This Day
3 January 1977: Apple was incorporated by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. As of January 2024, Apple is valued at almost $3 trillion, making it the most valuable company in the world.
US starts its biggest-ever survey of nature and wildlife “to take stock of nature and nature’s benefits.” New perspective...
Mood Booster
Take a look at some of David Zinn's quirky anamorphic street art.