Synopsis of last week's most important good news highlights.
American Hero: An abandoned oil tanker in the Red Sea, loaded with more than a million barrels of crude oil, was on the brink of causing an environmental catastrophe until David Gressly orchestrated a remarkable last-ditch cleanup operation.
Kremlin Offended: The Kremlin is apparently seeing red after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Washington will be sending $5.4 million seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to Ukrainian veterans. Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was suddenly deeply offended by the “lawlessness” of Kremlin-connected businessmen losing their money.
Mother to Baby: America's FDA approved the first RSV vaccine for pregnant mothers to protect babies. RSV can be particularly dangerous in infants, and this vaccine transfers protective antibodies from mother to infant before birth.
Ocean CleanUp: The Ocean Cleanup organization has been tackling the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for the past two years and has now deployed their vast new System 03 for the first time. It's nearly three times larger than their previous systems and, amazingly, it's capable of cleaning an area the size of a football field every five seconds.
The Rolling Stones: Announce that a new album is on the way. Hackney Diamonds will be the band’s first studio album in 18 years. The album's first single - Angry - was released last week and is being hailed as their best in 40 years. Want to hear it (and watch the great retro-style video)? Click here
Golden Era: UK cancer death rates have fallen by a quarter since the 1980s, thanks to a “golden era” of medical advances, said The Times. Breakthroughs in treatment, diagnosis and prevention have saved the lives of more than one million people, according to analysis by Cancer Research UK, which the charity said proved the disease was a “fixable problem”.
Alaska Oil Cancelled: In a significant move for both climate action and protecting biodiversity, the U.S. Interior Department just announced it is officially canceling all remaining oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This will protect 1.5 million acres of coastal plain.
Braille Lego: Lego has just started selling braille bricks to help vision-impaired children learn to read. The packs will include educational game ideas and more to help families and siblings learn and play together.
Kindhearted Couple: A couple in England who just won £100,000 ($126,000) on the lottery are going to spend their winnings on fostering children. “My three kids will be leaving home soon and I have too much love to give."
Game-Changer Drug: Researchers from Monash University, Cleveland Clinic, and Eli Lilly have developed an oral drug to target a form of cholesterol that has previously been untreatable and is largely caused by genetics, making it difficult to control by way of exercise, diet or other lifestyle factors. “This drug is a game-changer in more ways than one,” says the study’s lead author. “Not only do we have an option for lowering an elusive form of cholesterol, but being able to deliver it in an oral tablet means it will be more accessible for patients.” The study was published in the journal JAMA Network.
EU Beats Solar Targets: Recent data reveals that most EU countries are likely to achieve their 2030 renewable energy targets earlier than expected, thanks to a significant expansion in solar power, writes Politico. 23 EU nations are projected to meet their solar installation goals by 2027. That's partly thanks to 41 gigawatts of new solar capacity added in 2022, marking a 40 percent increase from 2021.
Sucking Up CO2: The U.S. Department of Energy is committing $1.2 billion towards two facilities that will use direct air capture (DAC) technology to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. These facilities, located in Texas and Louisiana, are just the beginning. The long-term plan includes creating four DAC hubs over the next decade, which will cumulatively aim to remove millions of tons of CO2 every year.
Seen a UFO? The Pentagon has officially launched its website for reporting and cataloging sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects.
Today's Articles
1930s Slang: Some great slang terms from the 1930s that you may wish to add to your verbal repertoire...
Ancient Discovery: A cache of excellently preserved 1,900 year old Roman swords found in a cave overlooking the Dead Sea. Booty...
Predicting the Unpredictable: In 1861, a Vice-Admiral invented the term 'weather forecast' and published his first forecast in The Times - and received a barrage of complaints. Outlook...