Good morning, everyone. It’s a big news day today. As is our Sunday tradition, this morning’s update is good news only. Around 1:00 PM EST, I’ll be sending out an interview with the attorneys representing multiple survivors.
Overnight, I received a powerful and deeply concerning letter from a Jane Doe Epstein survivor—one she sent directly to the Department of Justice after the DOJ failed to redact her name in publicly released files, exposing her identity. More soon.
For now, as always, I’d love for you to comment one piece of good news that happened to you this week. For me: I’m incredibly proud of our coverage of the Epstein files. We’ve centered survivors, prioritized accuracy, and reached tens of millions of people with responsible reporting. I’m also grateful to say I’ve fully recovered from my concussion.
To everyone who has subscribed to support—thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart. If you’re considering subscribing, today would mean a great deal. We’re approaching our year-end goal, and I have some exciting plans ahead for 2026.
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Here’s some good news:
A lost dog named Choco was reunited with his family just in time for Christmas after being missing for five years, thanks to a microchip discovery more than 2,000 miles away in Detroit and the efforts of rescuers from Helping Paws and Claws, staff at Lincoln Park Animal Shelter, and a volunteer who used donated airline miles to fly him home to California.
After noticing that 78-year-old Air Force veteran Charlie Hicks—who had eaten gumbo daily at the Shrimp Basket for over a decade—suddenly stopped showing up, chef Donell Stallworth grew concerned, went to check on him, and found Hicks collapsed at home with broken ribs and severe dehydration, ultimately saving his life and inspiring the restaurant to relocate Hicks nearby and reward him with free gumbo for life as a symbol of community care and vigilance toward elderly neighbors.
An elderly jaguar mother, Bonita, and her cancer-surviving son, Remi, have been moved together to a specially designed retirement enclosure at Chester Zoo, ensuring lifelong companionship and expert care as they live out their remaining years.
In war-darkened Odesa, a community-driven effort, led by an uncle of mine in Ukraine, delivered 40 generators during Hanukkah—restoring light to families, synagogues, churches, police, and children’s homes—and culminated in an unscripted second “miracle” when a volunteer, moved by instinct, crossed the street to a powerless church and discovered the congregation had already built and prayed over an empty spot for a generator, which he was able to provide, turning faith-in-action into literal light amid devastation. Here’s a video from the leader of the congregation:
After losing his sight to diabetic retinopathy, Dallas-area pitmaster Christopher Jones founded Blindfolded Barbeque, using touch, sound, and especially smell to cook award-worthy brisket and turn personal adversity into an inspiring, community-feeding success story.
A NASA-curated project called “New Perspectives” pairs awe-inspiring space images with microscopic photos from the Nikon Small World contest to reveal striking visual parallels between the vast universe and the hidden beauty of the tiny, highlighting how astronomy and microscopy both make the invisible visible.
A 25-year Swedish study of nearly 28,000 people found that higher consumption of high-fat cheese and cream was associated with a modestly lower risk of dementia—though researchers stress the results show correlation, not proof, and call for further study.
Scientists documented a rare case of a wild polar bear adopting a cub that wasn’t her own during the annual migration in Canada’s Western Hudson Bay, marking only the 13th known adoption observed in more than four decades of research by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and highlighting an unusual display of maternal behavior in a species more often associated with infanticide.
Taronga Conservation Society is launching a large-scale rewilding project in Australia’s Nandewar Range, restoring more than 3,000 acres of former farmland with native forest and eventually reintroducing species such as koalas, platypus and the endangered regent honeyeater as part of its effort to rebuild ecosystems and prevent further wildlife extinctions.
Scientists reported a breakthrough cancer treatment in which CAR T-cells were engineered directly inside patients’ bodies for the first time, with early trials in multiple myeloma showing remissions and even apparent cures, a development unveiled at the American Society of Hematology meeting that could make the therapy faster, cheaper, and more widely accessible than lab-based methods.
CNN Hero of the Year Quilen Blackwell is transforming vacant lots on Chicago’s South Side into eco-friendly flower farms that employ and empower local youth, reduce reliance on imported flowers, and reinvest opportunity into communities facing deep poverty.
A 6-year-old girl with a rare, aggressive leukemia is now cancer-free and thriving after receiving CAR T-cell therapy instead of chemotherapy, highlighting the life-saving potential of advanced immunotherapies for children once considered untreatable.
A new desalination plant in Rizhao, China, is producing ultra-low-cost fresh water and green hydrogen from seawater by using renewable energy and waste heat from industry, cutting costs below global benchmarks while also generating valuable byproducts like hydrogen fuel and mineral brine.
In the largest wildlife trafficking crackdown ever, INTERPOL’s Operation Thunder rescued about 30,000 live animals and seized massive quantities of illegal animal parts and timber across 4,620 raids in 134 countries, disrupting global poaching networks, identifying more than 1,100 suspects, and signaling progress against trafficking of iconic species like rhinos while exposing a shift toward other animals and illegal logging.
A New York City man, Bryan Reisberg, is boosting shelter dog adoptions by carrying them around the city in a backpack labeled “Adopt Me” and sharing the outings on social media, turning overlooked pets into viral stars and helping every featured dog so far find a home while significantly increasing overall shelter adoptions.
A heartwarming video from the Queens Zoo shows two young Andean bears cleverly turning a fallen tree branch into a playful see-saw, delighting viewers while highlighting the species’ natural curiosity, intelligence, and love of climbing and play.
In a world-first medical breakthrough, doctors successfully restored a legally blind patient’s sight using a 3D-printed, lab-grown human cornea, a development that could dramatically reduce donor shortages and transform treatment for millions suffering from corneal blindness.
After devastating Nile floods, the South Sudanese city of Bor transformed disaster into opportunity by building a $5.4 million water treatment and distribution system that now provides clean, affordable water to nearly 100,000 people, creates skilled local jobs, improves public health, and supports year-round farming and education.
CCTV footage of a river otter roaming the city center of Lincoln highlights the remarkable recovery of otter populations in England after decades of decline, showcasing the success of pollution controls and conservation efforts that have returned the species to rivers nationwide.
At the request of King Charles III, a traditional Royal Mail post box was installed at the British Antarctic Survey’s remote Rothera research station, giving scientists stationed deep in Antarctica a tangible, morale-boosting connection to home just in time for Christmas.
In the Sundarbans mangrove forests of India and Bangladesh, widows whose husbands were killed by tigers are partnering with conservation groups to replant hundreds of acres of mangroves—restoring coastal protection, fish stocks and tiger habitat while reducing human–tiger conflict and helping rebuild dignity and livelihoods in communities devastated by climate change and deforestation.
Volunteer “Grandma Stands,” inspired by a journalist’s bond with his grandmother, are popping up in US cities like McKinney, Texas, where rotating teams of grandmothers sit at sidewalk stands to offer free listening, empathy, and life advice—addressing loneliness and disconnection by providing simple, face-to-face human connection.
A viral photo of a Virginia raccoon dubbed the “trashed panda,” found passed out in a liquor store bathroom, sparked a merch fundraiser that raised more than $180,000 for Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter after fans bought shirts and mugs via Bonfire, turning a comic wildlife mishap into a major windfall for animal care and officer training.
Taronga Conservation Society is launching a major rewilding effort in New South Wales by restoring more than 3,000 acres of former farmland with around one million native trees to reconnect habitats and eventually reintroduce koalas, platypuses, spotted quolls and endangered birds, aiming to create a self-sustaining ecosystem beyond the traditional role of a zoo.
See you soon.
— Aaron
