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The Best Positive News We’re Celebrating This Week —

For the first time in history, the world has all the tools it needs to completely eliminate one form of cancer

Thanks to groundbreaking vaccines, diagnostics, and treatment, the world today not only has the power to stop cervical cancer — but it could be the first cancer in history to be eliminated entirely.

This is further evidenced by the fact that some high-income countries are already close to eliminating cervical cancer, with fewer than four cases per 100,000 women.

Where the world has the most room to improve is in low- and middle-income countries, which have been given disproportionately low access to these tools and therefore now account for 94% of cervical cancer deaths.

Why is this good news? Every year, around 660,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 350,000 women die — leaving as many, if not more, children without a caregiver, leading to greater poverty, and families grieving the loss of a loved one.

The fact that we have all the tools we need is incredible news — now, we need to get those tools to all parts of the world where they’re needed.

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Led by progress in Brazil, poverty in Latin America just hit a 33-year low

While severe inequality still persists, poverty levels in Latin America fell to a 33-year low in 2023. This progress was primarily led by Brazil.

Poverty is defined as those living without sufficient income to afford their basic needs, and extreme poverty includes those who can’t afford to buy a basic basket of food.

In 2023, 27.3% of the population in Latin America were impacted by poverty, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the year prior, and over a 5-point drop from 2020.

While this is good progress to celebrate, millions of people still live in poverty — particularly in Haiti, Nicaragua, and Honduras. And with an increase in GDP predicted this year, experts anticipate the poverty rate could decline further.

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The world’s first and largest offshore solar farm is now online in China

Located off the coast of eastern China, the first solar units in the world’s largest offshore solar farm have now officially been connected to the grid.

Once fully complete and online, the solar farm is expected to generate 1.78 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year, which is enough to power around 2.67 million homes.

It’s expected to save around 503,000 tons of coal and cut carbon emissions by 1.34 million tons annually. Notably, the solar farm is dual-purpose and includes fish farming to integrate renewable energy with aquaculture.

Why is this good news? As carbon emissions in China continue to rise at a staggering rate, it’s critical that the country also be investing in massive renewable energy solutions like this to provide cleaner means to reach its energy demand.

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A now-teenager in Missouri has spent years creating ways for other kids to get involved with community service

Every year before opening her own Christmas presents, Legacy Jackson’s family would serve meals to people experiencing homelessness in her community.

Then seven years old, it bothered Legacy that there were no other kids there helping. Wanting to figure out a way to involve them, she dreamed up an idea to make community service fun for kids, too.

And “Little Legacies” was born: Now 15-year-old Legacy’s organization that teaches young people that giving back can be a celebration. They deliver toys to young hospital patients, bring joy at senior centers, and more.

Perhaps most notably, Legacy’s impact is visible in the vibrant play space at Gateway 180, the largest emergency shelter for families in St. Louis — where she grew up giving back.

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Making history for the endangered species, a gray wolf pack was just spotted in a California national park

A pack of endangered gray wolves has been spotted living in Lassen Volcanic National Park — a first for the park in recorded history.

The new, yet-to-be-named wolf pack likely descends from neighboring members of the Lassen Pack, a group of wolves that reside in Lassen County outside of Lassen Volcanic National Park.

In 2017, young pups from the Lassen Pack were spotted playing on trail cameras set up by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife — and it is possible that one of those same pups is now leading this new pack of its own.

Why is this good news? Gray wolves are classified as federally endangered in the state of California, due to habitat loss and human interference. Shrinking habitats have led wolves to attack local livestock instead of wild prey, which is all the more reason to protect and expand their natural habitat.

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Black plastics are hard to recycle, so scientists are using sunlight to make it easier (and cost-effective)

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By investing in early childhood literacy, Mississippi went from ranking 49th to 29th in reading achievement

Mississippi is the poorest state in the U.S. and consistently ranks the lowest in the country for quality of life measures.

But there’s one area it’s been making major improvements in: reading. And it’s all thanks to a package of educational reforms in the Literacy-Based Promotion Act that boosted support for early childhood literacy.

Among other things, it expanded access to full-day pre-K programs, focused on education phonics and the science of reading, invested in teacher professional development, increased screening tests, and more.

And the results have been staggering — and could provide a model for other states in the U.S. needing to improve childhood literacy.

Between 2013, when the legislation was passed, and 2019, Mississippi went from being ranked 49th in 4th-grade reading achievement to ranked 29th in the nation. And research shows it was thanks largely to the LBPA.

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With the help of community donations, an Ohio restaurant is providing thousands of free Thanksgiving meals

For the fifth year in a row, Good Plates Eatery in Ohio is making sure its neighbors have a free meal to enjoy on Thanksgiving — no questions asked.

The restaurant’s twice-a-year tradition (they also do it on Christmas) started during the pandemic in 2020, when they provided 70 meals. This year, they’ll provide more than 3,000 meals.

Part of the reason for this incredible growth: the surrounding community. All the food that’s being given away this year was donated, including about 800 pounds of chicken and 2,000 pounds of potatoes.

Why is this good news? This year, as the cost of certain food items has increased, more families than usual may be experiencing food insecurity around the holidays especially. This local restaurant is using the skills and tools they have, with the help of others, to make a difference at a time when people really need it.

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More good news of the week —

​Corporations in America are investing in clean energy at record-breaking levels. U.S. businesses have installed nearly 40 GW of solar capacity both onsite and offsite through the first three months of 2024, and over 3 GWh of battery storage will come online in the next five years.

​Researchers developed an AI model that can detect any cancerous brain tumor remaining during surgery in under 10 seconds. With “the potential to change the field of neurosurgery” the technology outperformed conventional methods for identifying what remains of a tumor by a wide margin.

​Starting next fall, MIT announced it will offer free tuition for families earning less than $200,000. And for students whose families earn less than $100,000 per year, the university will also cover all other costs, including housing, dining, books, and more.

​Helping solve inequitable access to internet, rural communities are building their own high-speed networks. Communities in Massachusetts are using federal, state, and city funding to build out fast, reliable internet networks to help close the gap of millions of rural Americans not having access.

​For the first time in history, women will make up more than half of Colorado’s state legislature in 2025. A record number of women — at least 2,450, based on unofficial election results — will serve as state lawmakers nationwide in 2025, representing 33.2% of all positions.

​In the first major trial to reduce poverty in the UK, people experiencing homelessness will be given cash payments. Last year researchers in Canada found that giving CA$7,500 to 50 homeless people in Vancouver was more effective than spending money housing them in shelters, saving around CA$777 per person.

​A new, first-of-its-kind fund will help protect Montana’s grasslands and wildlife with “invisible fencing.” The fund’s purpose is to replace barbed wire fences, which are a major barrier to wildlife migration in the region, with virtual fences, that help conserve those migration corridors.

​Businesswoman and philanthropist Michele Kang just made a historic donation to women’s soccer, pledging $30 million. Kang is the owner of the professional soccer team Washington Spirit, and the donation will go to the girl and women’s programs of U.S. Soccer.

​Surgeons at NYU just performed the first fully robotic double lung transplant for a patient with COPD. A breakthrough in the potential of robotic surgery and minimally invasive patient care, doctors transplanted both lungs in a 57-year-old woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

​Volunteers bagged 50,000 pounds of food for Thanksgiving dinner for Hurricane Helene victims. Communities throughout South Carolina are still reeling from the impacts of Hurricane Helene, which destroyed tens of thousands of households and businesses.

​A first-of-its-kind “turkey tracker” outlines the environmental impact of your Thanksgiving feast, with tips to reduce emissions. In the U.S., 46 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving alone, with the average turkey weighing over 30 pounds and shipped over 1,500 miles.

​A school district in central Kentucky is helping students experiencing food insecurity over Thanksgiving break. According to Feeding America, more than 700,000 Kentuckians are currently facing hunger, and more than 200,000 of them are children.

​A TikTok creator is helping families in need save on Thanksgiving dinner with “Dollar Tree dinner.” While the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner has dropped to an average of $58.08, the price of certain items has dramatically increased, so @dollartreedinners created a meal for $20-$25 from the Dollar Tree.

​To alleviate rising food insecurity, an organization in Connecticut is providing 50,000 free Thanksgiving meals. Food insecurity in the state is 23% higher than last year, mainly from the high cost of groceries and the cost and lack of available housing.

​Using bed sheets, hundreds of people in New Zealand came together to rescue more than 30 pilot whales stranded on a beach. New Zealand is a whale-stranding hotspot and pilot whales are especially prolific stranders, so a team monitored the site to make sure none were stranded again.

​“Dancing with the Stars” finalists just became the first-ever Black duo to make it to the show’s final competition round. On Tuesday night’s finale episode, Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong took third place and their “freestyle dance” featured an ensemble cast of all Black dancers — a first in the show’s 33-season history.

​The University of Texas System announced it would provide free tuition to students whose families earn less than $100,000 annually. Helping improve equitable access to higher education, the program will impact undergraduate students in the fall of 2025 and cover tuition and fees.