Happy Birthday to the gospel and blues singer Mavis Staples, who turns 86 years old today. Born in Chicago, she started singing with her family’s band The Staple Singers as a young girl, and her deep-throated voice catapulted the group to the top of the charts eight times between 1971 and 1975, with songs like I’ll Take You There, Let’s Do It Again, and Respect Yourself. WATCH a video about her birthday… (1939)
6 New Electric Buses in Colorado Double as Backup Batteries for Denver Area Power Grid
A Colorado town’s new electric school bus fleet also doubles as a backup battery to help out during peak power demand.
Charging at night, using power to pick up, drop off, and then drop off children again, the buses would normally sit at their charging stations until daybreak calls them out again.
But in Cherry Creek School District, after the last backpack has gone bobbling down the street home, the buses return to their depot to become a supporting cast to the power grid thanks to a clever bi-directional charging system that allows them to use excess energy from their routes to power excess demand from homes.
In most of the world, peak demand will be after work hours when men and women come home, turn on their kitchen appliances, TVs, or air conditioners, and begin to unwind. Being that hundreds of kilowatt hours remain in the school buses’ batteries after taking children home, Highland Electric Fleets has designed them to pay forward their own grid demand by releasing some of those kWh during the late afternoon and early evening.
There are still plenty of hours during the night, when demand is lowest, to recharge before the school day.
“This partnership works to support our environmental goals while delivering long-term operational savings,” Jennifer Perry, Cherry Creek’s interim superintendent, said at the June 3rd groundbreaking for the new bus facility.
The 6 buses and the bus “barn” are being funded by a $2.4 million rebate that Highland Electric Fleets collected from a partnership with the federal government. Cherry Creek wasn’t charged a penny.
MORE ELECTRIFICIATION STORIES:
- All-Electric Truck Completes Milestone Canberra-to-Sydney Haul, Cutting 84% in Fuel Costs
- Sub-Zero Temperatures Didn’t Affect Madison’s Electric Bus Fleet This Year–A Major EV Milestone
- India Approves $7 Billion For 10,000 Electric Buses to Clean Air in 170 Cities
Given that diesel prices remain elevated from the war, and given that maintenance on electric vehicles is so much less than in EVs owing to the 95% reduction in the number of moving parts, Perry said that there’s a competitive cost savings in the long-term.
Indeed Highland Electric Fleets have several of these pilot programs ongoing, which will also support healthy communities through the reduction in diesel tailpipe exhaust, and the general mood from the reduction in noise pollution.
Highland Electric estimates that 2 dozen of these buses could help the grid manage the excesses of 100 homes during peak hours, while a couple hundred could support over a thousand.
SHARE This Great News For Electrification In Colorado, And The Country…
Scientists Identify Gene at the Center of Muscular Aging – And How Exercise Defeats it
Respect cardiologist Dr. Benjamin Levine said last year in an interview that exercise “needs to be part of your personal hygiene, like brushing your teeth or taking a shower.”
That’s because it prevents our muscular repair systems from weakening with age, a new study has shown.
Beginning in middle age, muscle strength and function gradually decline, increasing the risk of falls, fractures, and slower recovery after illness or injury.
The consequences extend beyond individual health. As populations age, muscle loss can increase demands on caregivers and healthcare systems. Preserving muscle function is therefore an important part of maintaining independence and quality of life. By preserving function, and therefore movement, independence is also preserved, and elderly individuals who are independent are more likely to pursue other activities known to support healthy aging like recreational sports.
One of the key regulators of muscle health is a growth pathway called mTORC1, which helps control protein production and muscle maintenance. In aging muscles, this pathway can become excessively active. When that happens, muscles focus more on building new proteins while becoming less efficient at removing damaged ones.
Over time, these damaged proteins accumulate inside muscle cells, placing them under stress and contributing to the gradual loss of strength associated with aging. Until now, scientists did not fully understand what causes this imbalance.
A team of researchers from Singapore General Hospital and Cardiff University identified a gene called DEAF1 as an important factor behind this process.
“Exercise tells muscles to ‘clean up and reset.’ Lowering DEAF1 helps older muscles regain strength and balance, almost like hitting the rewind button,” said Priscillia Choy Sze Mun, a research assistant in the Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Program at Duke-National University of Singapore (NUS) and the study’s first author.
“With millions of older adults at risk of muscle decline, understanding DEAF1 could lead to new ways to protect muscles and improve quality of life.”
According to the study, DEAF1 levels rise in aging muscles. As DEAF1 increases, it drives mTORC1 activity higher, disrupting the normal balance between protein production and protein removal. This imbalance accelerates muscle deterioration.
Under normal conditions, DEAF1 is regulated by a group of proteins known as FOXOs. However, FOXO activity naturally declines with age. As a result, DEAF1 is no longer kept under tight control, allowing its levels to increase and pushing muscles further away from repair and maintenance.
“Exercise can reverse this process, correcting the imbalance,” said Assistant Professor Tang Hong-Wen from the program at Duke-NUS.
UNDERSTANDING EXERCISE: This Rarely-Trained Muscle Is Recognized Worldwide as a Marker of Human Health–And the Test for Living to 100
“Physical activity activates certain proteins which lower DEAF1 levels, bringing the growth pathway back into balance. This allows aging muscles to clear out damaged proteins, rebuild themselves properly, and help them stay stronger and more resilient.”
To test their findings, the researchers conducted experiments in both fruit flies and older mice.
The results were consistent across both species. Raising DEAF1 levels caused muscles to weaken more rapidly, while lowering DEAF1 restored healthier protein balance and improved muscle strength.
The researchers also found an important limitation. In some older muscles, DEAF1 levels become extremely high or FOXO activity drops significantly. In those cases, exercise alone may not be enough to fully restore the muscle’s repair capacity.
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Study Finds Many Older Adults Will Improve Over Time–Depending on Their Mindset
This finding may help explain why some older adults experience greater benefits from exercise than others and highlights the importance of understanding the underlying biology of muscle aging.
The findings could also prove valuable for people recovering from surgery, illness, or chronic diseases such as cancer. Researchers suggest that targeting DEAF1 could potentially reproduce some of the beneficial effects of exercise at the molecular level, helping maintain muscle strength even when physical activity is limited.
SHARE This Important Discovery With Your Friends…
Oregon Records 5 Years of Zero Pesticide-Related Deaths in Bees
According to an inaugural report on the health of bees in Oregon, scientists at Oregon State University have found no incidences of pesticide-related bee deaths since 2021.
This significant achievement underscores the capacity that everyday citizens have to protect pollinators if given correct information, even in a state which hosts one of the most biodiverse and specialized populations of bee species in the country.
Mia Maldonado at the Oregon Capital Chronicle writes that it was down to a pesticide-related mass-mortality event in a parking lot in 2013 that the Oregon state legislature established a Task Force on Pollinator Health to address the causes of the event and others like it linked to pesticide use.
Oregon State was charged with developing a suite of educational materials to help inform private sector businesses and professionals who work with pesticides how to do so in a way that protects bees.
Then in 2018, the issue was expanded with the Oregon Bee Project, an initiative aimed at disseminating those educational materials to as many people as possible. Some 12,000 landscapers and agriculturalists were trained to best understand the risks of pesticides to bees and how to minimize them, while information was also provided to K-12 schools.
Further materials about how to tend a pollinator-friendly garden or landscape were developed in concert with Oregon State, which began working to better understand bee health.
NEW BEE NEWS: A New York Cemetery Was Hiding Over 5 Million Burrowing Bees, One of the World’s Largest Concentrations
The university also compiled the Oregon Bee Atlas, the largest species inventory of bees in any state of the union which coalesced scientific observations and information on all 567 species of bee in the territory.
For gardeners and land managers, the atlas translates bee survey data into practical guidance. It includes top plant picks for every Oregon county and information that can help communities make more precise habitat decisions.
This incredible outreach operation—which extended to the point of commemorative state license plate issuance that raised $800,000 for the Oregon Bee Project—has paid off in spades, with no bees known to have been lethally-affected by pesticides since 2021.
OREGON ON THE UP: Beloved Oregon Waterfall to Become Public Land as State Buys Abiqua Falls Property
“Oregon has built one of the strongest bee survey and education networks in the country,” said Andony Melathopoulos, a pollinator expert at OSU’s Extension Service. “The public value is that we can now give people better information for protecting bees, improving habitat and making informed decisions in every part of the state.”
BUZZ About This Fantastic 5 Year Success With Your Friends…
Hidden Artworks in Gold Surprised Renovators of America’s Oldest Basilica (LOOK)
Renovators recently washing an arch high up on the ceiling of St. Mary’s Basilica in Minneapolis were left stunned when a sheen of gold suddenly began to gleam from beneath a paint layer.
Below the dull, tannish mauve, gold stencil work—hidden perhaps since the previous cleaning in the 1950s—was found to cover the arch and nearby panels, delighting everyone involved in the process, and continuing a famous trend of religious buildings holding hidden secrets.
The oldest basilica in the US, St. Mary’s was finished in 1914. The beautiful cathedral is undergoing its second renovation since then—a $50 million project that has a hard deadline of Easter Sunday next year.
Getting a move on, workers had to erect 15 floors of scaffolding to reach the beautiful ceiling of the nave. In the section just before the altar, while washing a broad arch, workers discovered that the whole archway had been decorated with gold stenciling yet covered up for unknown reasons.
Speaking in an exclusive for the CBS affiliate WCCO, project leader Johan van Parys, the basilica’s managing director of ministries and the director of liturgy and sacred art, said that there was no record of the artwork.
“We don’t know why the stenciling that was originally here was covered over with flat paint. So whether it was an aesthetic choice or financial reason, all the stencil was covered up,” he said. “When we came to this arch we had no idea we’d discover this.”
MORE HIDDEN SURPRISES: Remains of ‘Three Musketeers’ Hero May Have Been Found Under Church Altar – DNA Testing Underway
Medallion panels set in the corners of the ornate ceiling design array contained another secrets, ultramarine blue fields with gold fleur-de-lis designs.
“It was a supremely emotional moment because that which had been hidden for 75 years now could be revealed again,” van Parys said. “The people from 1914 who came here for the first Mass, this is what they saw—and that is what we will see again.”
WATCH the story below from WCCO
SHARE This Amazing Discovery At The Oldest Basilica In The US…
“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” – Voltaire
Quote of the Day: “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” – Voltaire
Photo by: Curated Lifestyle for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, July 9
Happy 70th Birthday to actor Tom Hanks. Known for both his dramatic and comedic roles (Big, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail), he is one of the most popular film stars in the world—and in 2018 became the highest-grossing actor in the US. Hanks collaborated with director Steven Spielberg on five films, including Saving Private Ryan and The Terminal, and is himself a director, producer, and screenwriter—and, of course, the voice of Sheriff Woody in Toy Story. READ more about Hanks… (1956)
England Fan Who Spent Life Savings on World Cup Trip with Granddad Gets Money Gifted Back
An England fan who used his life savings to take his grandad to the World Cup has been left stunned after a company inspired by their story gifted him the entire $13,000 back.
Jacob Allmendinger sacrificed the cash he had saved up for a house deposit to take Geoff Golliker, 80, on the trip of a lifetime in the USA and Mexico.
21-year-old Allmendinger has been going to matches in his hometown of Hull by his grandfather since he was a little boy, and said he now wants to return the favor.
“We’ve had an amazing trip so far,” Allmendinger told Ed Chatterton writing for England’s Southwest News Service. “We’re still in Mexico at the minute and fly tomorrow to Miami for the quarter final. The Mexico game was a once-in-a-generation game to watch.”
Jacob and Geoff have traveled to New York and Atlanta for the matches with Panama and DR Congo before witnessing the historic 3-2 win at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
They are now on their way to the quarter final against Norway and during their time abroad the pair say they had been stopped in the street by people recognizing them after their heartwarming story went viral through Allmendinger’s social media channels.
Among the viral readers was a US-based online crypto casino called Metawin, which contacted the devoted grandson and vowed to pay back the money if England beat Panama by more than two goals.
An unsolicited social media promise made by a crypto currency casino is not one that any sensible person is likely to take to heart, and Allmendinger was skeptical from the off.
“When we only won 2-0 they said they would still pay £10,000 if we won against DR Congo by any score,” he said. “I didn’t quite believe it, to be honest, until I looked at my bank and it was there. I was just in shock.”
England have the quarter finals against Norway next. The descendants of the Vikings have thoroughly embraced that aspect of their culture as they’ve torn through the competition—including knocking out 5-time winners Brazil—led by the ferocious finishing of Erling Haaland at center forward.
But Allmendinger told the BBC that he’s hopeful, and for good reason.
“The parallels to now and 1966 when we last beat Mexico in the World Cup and then went on to win the whole thing, it kind of gets you giddy for the rest of the trip.”
MORE WORLD CUP STORIES: 30,000 Scottish Descend on Boston for World Cup–And the Amazing Viral Videos Remind Us We’re All Neighbors
Whether or not England break the 60-year wait for World Cup number 2, the trip has already been unforgettable—all the more thanks to Metawin.
“I think I’ll save the money until I get back home. I’ll put it in a savings account for now and see what happens after the next couple of months. I could buy a house, anything is possible,” he said.
The young man said he had been bombarded with positive messages from people since his story made headlines.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Japanese Fans Cleaned the Stadium After World Cup Match While the Players Cleaned Locker Room
“I think it just resonates with people,” he said. “I’ve had people reach out who have lost their grandparents and how they wish they’d done something similar. It just makes us cherish this time more, really.”
“We get on like a house on fire. We’re more best mates than grandad and grandson,” said Allmendinger.
SHARE This Brilliant And Bizarre Turn Of Events For A Grandson-Grandad Duo…
Canada Successfully Exploring for ‘White’ Hydrogen Gas, a Clean Power Source Beneath Existing Mines
Reprinted with permission from World at Large
Scientists in Canada have discovered that ancient underground rocks are naturally producing hydrogen gas—and lots of it, and it may be everywhere—and it may be cheap.
The rocks could offer another source of clean energy known for emissions accounting purposes as “white hydrogen,” a largely unexplored and hidden underworld resource with the potential to help power industries and remote communities while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
How underexplored is white hydrogen? Well extractive industry news outlet Autonocion points out that every hydrogen well currently known was found by accident—by geologists looking for something else.
While researchers at the Univ. of Toronto were gathering data from an active mine near the legendary Timmins gold mining camp in Ontario, a micro-cap exploration company MAX Power became the first geologists to break that trend—they went looking for a big hydrogen discovery, and they found it.
About 87 miles (140 km) south of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the explorers drilled down 1.2 miles through the prairie sediment and bedrock of their Lawson target before punching out an 8 meter chunk of “Precambrian basement” rock which they found rich in signs of naturally-flowing hydrogen from a gas well deep underground.
The sample returned 28% hydrogen concentration, which itself contained a 90% hydrogen-nitrogen mix and none of the poisonous/flammable hydrogen sulphide. It also contained between 8.7% and 4.4% helium, a valuable gas that has been in the news of late because of the disruptions in supply due to the Strait of Hormuz closure.
“After perforation, the well quickly achieved free gas flow to surface, delivering strong initial rates and pressures before being overtaken by a powerful influx of formation brine,” a statement from the company’s January 16th press release on the occasion read.
“We have confirmed the existence of a natural hydrogen system in the subsurface from the first well ever drilled in this country specifically targeting this new primary energy source,” said President and CEO of MAX Power, Mr. Ran Narayanasamy. “Lawson is no longer a concept – it’s a discovered geological system with gas flow, pressure, and the key ingredients required for future commercial natural hydrogen development”.
A remote power source
At Timmins, the researchers found that boreholes drilled into the rock by miners looking for gold release an 8 kilograms of hydrogen gas each year. According to the study, the gas can continue flowing for at least a decade.
When expanded across the site’s nearly 15,000 boreholes, the estimated hydrogen output exceeds 140 metric tonnes annually. The team calculated that this amount could generate approximately 4.7 million kilowatts of energy per year from just one location, enough to meet the yearly energy demands of more than 400 homes.
“The data from this study suggests there are critical untapped opportunities to access a domestic source of cost-effective energy produced from the rocks beneath our feet,” says Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto, the lead author of the study.
“What’s more, this provides a ‘made in Canada’ resource that might be able to support local and regional industry hubs and reduce their dependence on importing hydrocarbon-based fuels”.
Hydrogen already plays a major role in the global economy, which one market analysis firm valued at over $200 billion worldwide. It is widely used in fertilizer manufacturing, which is essential for agriculture and global food production. Hydrogen is also important in methanol production and steelmaking.
Today, most hydrogen is produced through industrial methods that rely on fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal—so-called “grey” hydrogen. These processes require large amounts of energy and release carbon monoxide and CO2. Even “green” hydrogen, which is generated using renewable energy, remains expensive and energy intensive while also requiring transportation and storage infrastructure.
Natural hydrogen, the “white” kind, has received far less attention in comparison. Until recently, most research focused on its role in underground microbial ecosystems and its potential importance for astrobiology and space exploration. Estimates of its energy potential were largely theoretical because scientists lacked direct long-term measurements from real-world sites.
The two most significant real-world sites in operation are in Lorraine, eastern France, and in Mali, where it has been quietly powering a town for a decade. In 1987, a driller boring a water well was left burned and bewildered when seemingly out of nowhere, the air in the well exploded as he leaned over it with a lit cigarette. The outrushing air sparkled ocean blue in the daytime, and gold at night, and the villagers cemented the well in confusion. Eventually in 2012, a local entrepreneur brought oil and gas geologists in to have a look, and the Bourakébougou hydrogen pilot plant was built.
“Natural hydrogen is produced over time through underground chemical reactions between rocks and the groundwaters in those rocks,” says Lollar. “Canada is blessed that vast amounts of its territories, especially on the Canadian Shield, contain the right rocks and minerals to create this natural hydrogen”.
MORE HYDROGEN GAS NEWS: Hydrogen Gas Blend Will Reduce Power Plant’s Emissions by 75%–as it Helps Power 6 States
Lollar and her team say that Canada may have a unique opportunity to produce cleaner and potentially cheaper hydrogen without depending on hydrocarbons. They also note that similar hydrogen-producing rocks exist in many other countries, suggesting the approach could eventually be used worldwide. The largest concentrations of natural hydrogen appear in geological regions already associated with Canadian mining activity. These include Northern Ontario, Quebec, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories.
“The common link is the rock,” says study co-author Oliver Warr, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at University of Ottawa. “Natural hydrogen is produced in the same rocks where Canada’s nickel, copper, and diamond deposits are found, and that are currently under exploration for critical minerals such as lithium, helium, chromium, and cobalt. The co-location of mining resources and hydrogen production and use mitigates the need for long transportation routes to market, for hydrogen storage and major hydrogen infrastructure development”.
The study’s authors believe natural hydrogen could help reduce both costs and carbon emissions for Canada’s gargantuan mining sector. Hydrogen generated close to mining operations could provide a local energy source without requiring major new transportation systems. If exploitation infrastructure becomes available and affordable for white hydrogen, it could also save junior mining companies starting up in established mining areas like Timmins, Val d’Or, or BC’s Golden Triangle, from incorporating power access or diesel generators into their mining and exploration plans.
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: Massive ‘Shovel-Ready’ Critical Minerals Deposit Found in Utah–Largest Potentially in North America
The researchers also suggest that northern communities, which often face high fuel transportation costs, could benefit from nearby hydrogen resources. Using locally sourced hydrogen may lower energy expenses while reducing reliance on imported fuels.
“There is a global race to increase hydrogen availability in order to decarbonize and reduce the costs of the existing hydrogen economy,” says Lollar. “We now have a better understanding of the economic viability of this resource that can be mapped to hydrogen deposits around the world that are both already known and yet to be discovered”. WaL
This ‘Outback Barber’ Brings Hair-Cutting Workshops to Remote Islands, Leaving Dignity and Doos in His Wake
There’s an old saying: cut a man’s hair, and he’s fresh for a month. Teach a man to cut hair, and he’s fresh for a lifetime.
Er, wait—wasn’t it something about fish?
For Queensland barber Jon James, stepping off a small plane onto Mornington Island off the northern coast of Australia, he found a community that knew how to fish, but if he wanted to find the red and white barber’s pole, he’d need to wait for his flight home.
For that reason too, there was a hoard of people waiting for him as he disembarked hoping for a trim, a cut, or a fade.
James was on the island as part of the Fade Wellbeing Barbering Program run by Australia’s North West Remote Health. He was there to run barber workshops among a resilient and deeply rooted community that nevertheless struggles with listlessness and unemployment, and had recently endured the loss of several men by suicide.
James had spent the previous 6 months volunteering at haircutting workshops across Queensland, and despite the remoteness, he told ABC News down under that the locals were naturals.
It wasn’t long before the que of people in need of a barber was quickly diverted from the 42-year-old barber, slightly famous on social media for his tattoos and orange hair, to his various new students.
“I couldn’t believe how quickly they picked up barbering,” James said. “They’re like, ‘Let’s go further.’ And then they were doing skin fades straight up, and then they were doing them on their own.”
NWRH had sent James to Mornington Island with 20 professional barber kits to give out to workshop participants when it was finished, but that was after he got approached by a local with a special request.
BARBERING FOR THE BETTER: CNN Hero: Man Helps Barbers Fill Their Shops with Books to Help Kids Find Excitement in Reading
Someone asked him if he were willing to straighten up the doos for a bride and a groom on their wedding day. James needed a hand from his students, who took care of the wedding guests, while he handled the wedding party who then invited him to attend.
“To be part of that emotionally, and be asked to attend the wedding after, it was incredibly humbling. I’m so grateful that I had that opportunity.”
ALSO CHECK OUT: They Disguised Themselves As Boys in Order to Pay the Bills, Now ‘Barbershop Girls’ of India Given Scholarships
It was a powerful experience, he explained, before saying he’d love to come back and see what becomes of the new barber boom—perhaps a few new salons.
“They’re so remote and not many outsiders come in there, and they’re just so welcoming. That really means the world.”
SHARE This All-Smiles Story From Behind The Barber’s Chair On Social Media…
11-year-old ‘Wasn’t Going to Let a Man Die’ When He Alone Dove in to Rescue Drowning Man
An 11-year old in Kentucky is credited with saving a man who fell unconscious in an apartment swimming pool last week.
Seeing that nobody was doing anything about the situation, Avory Woolery took the burden of action upon his shoulders—broad in spirit, if not in size.
“No one was doing anything, so I put on my goggles. I went underwater,” Avory told local news.
“I grabbed him up and I just felt really bad because there was no way that I was going to let another man die today. He’s a human being. He should be treated as such.”
Once Avory had gotten him onto solid ground, a friend, or so Avory supposed, came over and began performing CPR until first responders arrived at someone’s calling.
The man was taken to a local hospital, where WKYT reported he remained in critical condition.
Avory’s father said he was so proud of his son for acting so decisively.
“I’m proud of him. Somebody, when I was walking up here, somebody said, ‘Thank you, you taught him how to swim,’” Mr. Woolery said.
WATCH the story below…
SHARE This Young Man’s Initiative And Maturity With Your Friends…
A Streetside Painting Salvaged for its Frame Returned After Honest Man Realized its Enormous Value
A man from Murcia in Spain couldn’t believe his luck when a gallery told him the painting he found propped up against a wall in Sevilla was an original by 19th century Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla.
Yet as soon as he saw a police notice about the painting being “stolen,” Andrés Hurtado didn’t waste any time doing the right thing—”fulfilling his obligation” as he would later describe it.
Hurtado was visiting Sevilla with his family when he saw a rather small and nondescript painting of a beachscape leaning up against the garden wall of a house. Assuming it was left for the garbage man, Hurtado took an instant fancy for the beautiful golden frame, and decided to spare it from the landfill.
The painting’s true owners left it against the wall in what is fair to describe as probably a lapse of concentration familiar to many who have tried to pack for a long trip in a hurry.
The family were bringing the painting to a beach house, a little family tradition, but while they were loading their car they were apparently also blocking traffic, and amid a flurry of honking horns, they rushed and left it behind.
“We picked it up because of the frame, not because of the painting,” Murtado, who passed by the house, told Radio Sevilla on Wednesday.
With the help of a little AI magic, Hurtado discovered that the painting he took for the frame was actually an original Sorolla, worth as much as €150,000. Hurtado couldn’t believe it, so he called an auction house in Madrid, which confirmed both the painting and the value.
Meanwhile, the family who lost it was frantically looking for it, not realizing it had been taken over 300 miles back to Murcia. They put up flyers around the neighborhood asking for information about a painting “of great sentimental value,” while discreetly reporting the work as having been stolen to the police.
SIMILAR ACTS OF HONESTY: Florida Man Spends Days Searching for Owner of Lost $30,000 He Found: ‘it wasn’t mine to take’
Hurtado was perhaps getting ready to celebrate, but later the same evening, news reached him that a painting had been stolen from Sevilla, and the picture was of the very thing he’d assumed was garbage.
“‘But it’s the one I have!'” Murtado told El Mundo. “I immediately called the police and told them that the news was not true, that the painting had not been stolen, that I had it and that it was lying in the street.”
ARTWORKS RETURNED: €12 Million Portrait of Picasso’s ‘Golden Muse’ Recovered from Thieves After Paris Theft
To the credit of the police, they told Murtado not to worry about anything, and said to sit tight while they organized for the artwork’s return: he wouldn’t have to do anything.
Overjoyed to be reunited with their painting, the family have since told reporters that they’ve prepared a reward for Murtado.
SHARE The Story Of This Man’s Honesty And Just Reward With Your Friends…
“What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” – Werner Heisenberg
Quote of the Day: “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” – Werner Heisenberg
Photo by: Curated Lifestyle for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, July 8
250 years ago, the Liberty Bell was rung in Philadelphia to call citizens to hear the newly-signed Declaration of Independence, or at least that’s what is said to have happened. No contemporary account of the ringing is known to exist, but there is historical documentation that when the Declaration was read publicly in Philadelphia, bells around the city were rung in commemoration. What we call the Liberty Bell had been specially commissioned years earlier to ring out across a much larger breadth of the city’s territory, and it would seem the least likely scenario that for some reason, it’s E-flat was silent on this most momentous occasion. READ more from On This Day… (1776)
Quirky Campaign Leaves Nice Surprises on Cars of Anyone Who Took Cabs Home from the Bar
It’s an early-summer’s night and you left your truck at the bar because you chose not to drive drunk—well someone’s noticed.
That someone is the Montana Barfairies, a volunteer effort that is going viral for tucking $5 gift cards under the windshield wipers of that truck and others like it—a reward for making the right choice and not driving drunk.
By the time you came to collect your vehicle, you see there’s something tucked under the wipers—oh no. But it’s not a ticket, it’s the cost of a coffee or latte to help with that hangover.
“What started as a small act of kindness—leaving coffee gift cards on cars left overnight at Flathead Valley, Montana bars—has grown into a nationwide movement advocating for stronger DUI laws and supporting families affected by drunk driving tragedies,” the nonprofit wrote on their website.
Like most volunteering, it requires a bit of sacrifice. Who wants to get up at 5:00 am on a Saturday morning in Montana in February just to go give their money away to strangers?
Jesse, Beverly, Grace, and Kate—that’s who. These four Bar Fairies racked up 142,000 views on a TikTok video of them rewarding bar patrons who took cabs home from the Whitefish Winter Carnival.
ANOTHER STORY LIKE THIS: Trending Moms are Leaving Gift Cards in Store Diaper Aisles–For Postpartum Peer Relief
Tim and Kelly left gift cards at 8 vehicles in Polson—”a reward” for their owners being “the smart ones.” They were in turn rewarded with 2.5 million views, as commenters praised their effort, generosity and the brilliance of the idea.
@the_barfairies Tim & Kelly in Polson are the BEST! ❤️ They found 8 cars in Polson, Montana this weekend! Thanks for getting up so early to do this, and thank you to everybody who left their car instead of driving home. ❤️ #dontdrinkanddrive #drunkdriving #thebarfairies #montanabarfairies #polsonmontana ♬ original sound - the_barfairies
In Kalispell, it was Shannon and Brittainy’s turn. The pair left 20 gift cards on a cold Montana morning, totaling $100 worth of complimentary coffees for community members that cared enough not to take a potentially life-shattering risk.
@the_barfairies Volunteers Shannon & Brittainy found a ton of cars in Kalispell and were able to leave all 20 gift cards on vehicles left overnight at the bar!! The best girls ever 🥰 @Brittainy Howk758 #montanabarfaires #bobbyslaw #dontdrinkanddrive #drunkdrivingawareness #montanastatelegislature #montana ♬ original sound - SpongeBob background music
SHARE This Brilliant Nonprofit And Volunteer Work With Your Friends…
Woman Rower Breaks Men’s Record for Fastest Solo Voyage from California to Hawaii
As America celebrated its 250th Birthday, Kelsey Pflendler celebrated her own significant milestone—becoming the first American woman to row a boat from California to Hawaii alone.
As she pulled into Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu, she also set records for being the fastest to complete to solo row among either sex, and the youngest woman to do so.
“If any part of this made at least one person feel a little bit more powerful in their own skin, I couldn’t ask for anything else and I’m happy,” she said in a social media vlog entry dated day 43 of her marathon, 2,400-mile voyage.
An 8-year Grand Canyon rafting guide and leader of a 4-member female rowing team that made the Monterey-Hawaii trip in 2024, Kelsey Pflendler was alone in the eastern Pacific for over a month—something she admitted she “loves.” She spent some of day 37 “grieving for the loss of this row,” having then arrived within 500 miles of Oahu.
Those vlog entries on her Instagram detailed her challenges throughout the marathon row, included harrowing ones like dealing with rough seas and recalcitrant currents, as well as the mundane ones of keeping away sunburn and cooking food.
Pflendler shattered the previous women’s record of 86 days 10 hours and 5 minutes held by Lia Ditton according to the Ocean Rowing Society International, but also broke the men’s record of 52 days.
MORE MARATHON ROWS: Nebraska Woman Learns to Row, Then Becomes First Female to Cross the Atlantic Alone in 3,000 Mile Race
Her 43-day transit also came within 3 days of being faster than her previous rowing crew of 4 in 2024. Talk about upper body strength.
She arrived on Oahu in time to celebrate her birthday, after which it’s expected she will address the media which she did not do after she heaved the 21-foot rowboat Lily into Ala Wai after 9 PM, with a crowd of over 100 people from all over the USA there to greet here.
Her trip also aimed to raise money for a charity that supports the physical and mental care of Colorado River rafting guides. $30,000 was thusly raised.
WATCH her arrival moment below…
SHARE This Young Woman’s Incredible Voyage Alone Across The Vast Pacific…
Ugandan Coffee Growers Shrug Off Drought Thanks to Regenerative Agriculture
Among the rolling hills of Uganda’s Masaka region, robusta coffee plants are producing larger, tastier yields thanks to a pilot program utilizing regenerative agriculture to battle droughts or erratic rainfall.
A catch-all term for a variety of growing techniques as simple as mulching to as complex as cover cropping, regenerative agriculture is especially useful in the coffee belts where nutrient-poor tropical soils and heavy rainfall make erosion a real threat to productive crops.
Coffee is central to Uganda’s economy and the social fabric of life in many growing regions like Masaka. Global Environment Facility, (GEF) an international partnership focused on providing financial resources to help countries address global environmental issues, brought together a coalition of groups with the idea of setting up demonstration farms to teach the Ugandan growers in Masaka how to utilize regenerative farming.
Uganda’s oldest and largest licensed coffee exporter contributed their in-country expertise to the coalition, which included Nespresso and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and together they established 30 “model farms” where local growers could come and gain hands-on experience in these growing methods.
Cultivation of known varieties proven to be more resilient were done on the farms which could then be transplanted into plantations around the region.
“Too little or untimely rains have become serious threats to coffee production,” Nakalisa Mary Fatuma, a smallholder robusta coffee farmer in Masaka, told the IUCN.
“But since we applied mulches and planted drought resistant seedlings, the coffee farms are reliably resilient. My coffee is stronger and more promising, and so is my family.”
IUCN wrote that the benefits are already visible, beyond those observed merely by Fatuma. “Farmers are reporting adaptation of regenerative practices, improved yields and quality, healthier trees, and better income stability.”
While it may sound interchangeable with organic farming, and while organic farmers may utilize regenerative practices, there are differences. Practitioners of regenerative ag not only grow crops, but grow the topsoil through a mixture of mulching and cover cropping, or growing complimentary, non-food plants throughout the field.
This has the effects of helping retain soil from erosion, replacing nitrogen in the soil, and shielding microbes from the heat of the Sun. Shade trees grown throughout the acreage further protect the soil, which is never tilled, while adding more organic material through leaf loss.
GROWING BETTER COFFEE: Growing Coffee in the World’s Densest City: Hong Kong Roastery Hails Beans That Aren’t Imported
Some regenerative farmers will pasture livestock in their field between harvests to simulate natural soil disturbances and grazing activity in nature, enriching the soil yet further through the animals’ droppings.
“We used to think erosion was just something we had to live with,” Munanira Joseph told writers at IUCN. “But when we saw how the soil stayed in place on the demo plot, everyone wanted to try.”
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE IN THE TROPICS: This Wonder Tree is a Game-Changer for Rainforest Agriculture in Honduras And Deforested Sites Worldwide
In the last 10 years, the rate of price inflation in coffee has outpaced price inflation on average, with some particularly disruptive years like 2022 seeing double-digit rises in the prices of roasted coffee. Given that billions of people drink coffee almost every day, the first step towards slowing or reversing that trend is making yields more resilient and predictable.
Hopefully, the success of the model farms in Masaka will be grounds for hope.
TOAST These Farmers Helping To Make Better, More Resilient Coffee…
“There’s no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box on your lap.” – Kevin James
Quote of the Day: “There’s no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box on your lap.” – Kevin James
Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, July 7
36 years ago today, The Three Tenors performed live for the first time at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. The recording made from the show became the best-selling classical album of all time, while an astonishing 800 million people around the world watched the live broadcast. It was on the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final, and Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carreras gave voice to the orchestra of the Rome Opera House for the performance of multiple lifetimes. READ what happened next… (1990)
Rooftop Solar Gave Power to Pakistan When Fossil Fuels Failed– it’s Now Called a Boom
Battered by energy shocks, private Pakistani investment in rooftop solar panels has skyrocketed to the point that they now contribute one-fifth of the total national power supply.
The Guardian reviewed data on Pakistan’s energy sector from a variety of research-oriented think tanks, and found that Pakistan’s 150 million-plus population could lean on solar when there were few other shoulders around.
It started in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when established natural gas supplies and contracts were upended. Millions in Pakistan were left without power or forced to pay burdensome energy bills.
Yet thanks in no small part to its northeastern neighbor China, the global solar panel industry had been driving costs down for consumers for a decade through to economies of scale, determined long-term investment decisions, and incentivized markets in various parts of the world.
Suddenly, a private Pakistani household could just buy a few solar panels and put them on their roof, and free themselves, at least partially, from higher energy prices and blackouts.
“People who could afford to do it at that time realized that it was much cheaper and cost-effective and better for them in the long run to do a one-time investment in rooftop solar as opposed to keep paying high electricity bills from a grid that is also unreliable,” Nabiya Imran, an associate at Renewables First, a Pakistani thinktank, told the Guardian.
The country reached the point where cargoes owing to a long-term agreement with Qatar to supply liquified natural gas had to be diverted because of a lack of demand. As of February 2026, the country avoided about $12 billion in oil and gas imports by generating electricity from solar panels.
Then, having spent 3 years growing its solar potential, the Pakistani population watched as the US launched an attack on Iran in the Persian Gulf, driving the costs of oil above $100 per barrel, and virtually ending those LNG shipments.
Haneea Isaad, an energy finance specialist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said that distributed solar has been “a blessing for Pakistan,” preventing at least any immediate supply crunches in the gas sector.
SOLAR AROUND THE WORLD: The Sunniest, Windiest Country Announces Renewables Project to Power 6 Million Homes
“Pakistan serves as a great case study as to how renewables can provide a hedge against dependence on fossil fuels.”
The country still faced an economic blow from the war due to reductions in oil imports for other purposes than electricity generation.
SOUTH ASIAN STORIES: Record Low Child Mortality Rates Recorded in Both India and China
Imran would later add that to whatever degree solar panel adoption worldwide was driven by concerns about climate change, the unescapable reality now, and especially in a country like Pakistan that spends the equivalent of 10% of its GDP on fossil fuel imports, is that solar power is also a matter of energy security.
Isaad suspected that the conflict in the Gulf would probably convince more people to adopt solar panels, and some of the percentage of current existing utility providers to adopt storage methods as well to reduce the grid impact of peak hours in the evening.