Good updates...

⚖️ The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador.

🥘 At the urging of the U.N., the Trump administration restored USAID emergency food programs in Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Jordan, Iraq, and Ecuador. However, critical aid was still cut off in Yemen, Afghanistan, and other countries in need.

Housing & Environment

An architecture firm in Hawaii is building more sustainable homes out of surfboard waste

While Hawaii is seeing a shortage of housing and space for new landfills, one plentiful thing it has is surfboards. But making surfboards results in a lot of waste — so an architecture firm is using it to build homes.

Hawaii Off Grid is turning polystyrene foam offcuts from surfboard building into cinder block-style forms for building homes. The first home to use the “Surf Blocks” is nearing completion, and it could set a new precedent for home-building on the island.

The state has looked into a number of options to solve its housing issues while also keeping climate change in mind, which has devastated the island with weather events like the Maui wildfires.

Why is this good news? For a lot of reasons! This solution helps solve several issues at once: Hawaii’s chronic housing crisis, increased costs of building materials, which is partly due to them shipped to and sold at a premium in Hawaii, lack of landfill space for waste, and an abundance of surfboard waste.

→ Read more​

More Good News

​A federal judge blocked an offshore oil and gas lease sale for not considering the impact on an endangered whale. The ruling could set a precedent for new offshore drilling activity so that it accounts for the highly endangered Rice’s whale, of which there are only an estimated 51 left in the wild.

​The U.K.’s controversial first drug injection room is saving lives and connecting people in need with resources. Following similar programs in other countries, the service seeks to reduce drug-related harm in a hardcore population of injecting users, allow medical staff to prevent overdose deaths, reduce blood-borne viruses, and clean up the local area of drug debris.

​The world’s first “Pangolarium” is covertly rehabilitating the most trafficked animal in the world. The exact location of the center is highly classified, since the pangolin’s global decline has been hurried along by overhunting with poachers targeting the “walking pinecones” for their meat and scales.

Interesting story

Ms. Rachel adds voice to interactive art exhibit designed to comfort people on their ‘roughest day’

→ Read more​

Good news at TED 2025

This week, the Good Good Good team has been reporting live from TED 2025 in Vancouver. Some of the most thought-provoking, inspiring, and truly world-changing ideas have been shared from the TED stage — we’re thrilled to report that this year brought so much more of that good energy.

Here are some of our favorite stories from the week (and watch this space for even more good news and exciting announcements shared from the TED stage!) —

​The Ocean Cleanup says it can clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years. Also focused on preventing new plastic from reaching the ocean in the first place, the organization’s new-and-improved ocean cleanup technology now measures about 1.5 miles in length, and it cleans up an area of the ocean the size of a football field every five seconds.

​Google demoed Android XR, the ‘Tony Stark’ glasses that translate languages in real time. Impressively, the glasses can detect, translate, and transcribe languages in real time into pop-up subtitles as well as use a “Memory” tool to help users remember where they’d misplaced forgotten items.

​A Lucasfilm executive looked at “Star Wars” innovations to show how AI should be used as an artist tool, not as a replacement. Rob Bredow admitted that it’s natural for artists to be anxious about AI replacing human jobs — and it’s up to leaders in the industry to quell that anxiety, lead by example, and “use these tools thoughtfully and with the full permission of the talent.”

​The creator of the world’s first clinically trained therapeutic AI shared how AI therapy can fill gaps in access and meet critical needs. Called Woebot, the service is currently covered by a network of health services, privacy is integral to the company, and the data is built on cognitive behavioral therapy practices built by trained professionals.

More Good bits

🎼 When is it okay to borrow from another culture that isn’t yours? (TikTok)

🏀 Ken’s job is basketball.

🏈 The Philadelphia Eagles have hiring non-negotiables.​

❤️‍🩹 Rick needed to go to Bangkok! (Content note: News article mentions someone who died by suicide.)

📵 The vibes are phone-free in this nightclub.​

What’s good?

This week’s most-clicked good news story was the one about the countries that successfully reversed the decline of their democracies. Can’t imagine why. 😉

What good news most encouraged you this week?

I’d love to know what helped you stay hopeful this week!

— Megan