Good News Headlines 10/27/2025

Photo courtesy Jordan Robins / Ocean Image Bank

Sea Turtles Rebounding Worldwide As Nests And Habitat Are More Protected, Says 2025 NOAA Study

by Good News Network

Once hammered by overhunting and habitat loss, sea turtles have persevered with new protections and conservation efforts—and a new study has found their populations are still rebounding, even as oceans change. “Sea turtles are a shining light of marine conservation with recoveries of many nesting populations,” said Marine Science Professor Graeme Hays at Deakin University in Australia. Scientists at the University joined NOAA Fisheries researcher Jeffrey Seminoff to review the status of all seven species of sea turtles around the world. They found most sea turtle populations rebounding worldwide, with more turtles nesting at beaches with stronger protections in place.

NFL Donates $100k To Trevor Project On National Coming Out Day

by Trudy Ring, Advocate

The National Football League is donating another $100,000 to the Trevor Project, gay former NFL player Carl Nassib announced Friday, National Coming Out Day. “I’m happy to announce that the NFL is continuing their support by making a $100,000 donation to the Trevor Project,” Nassib said on the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. “So for those who don’t know, young LGBTQ people are actually four times more likely to harm themselves, and so the Trevor Project provides lifesaving support to these kids, and so this $100,000 is going directly to that organization to continue that work. So huge, huge thank you to the NFL … it’s a really positive step.”

North Carolina Effort Wipes Out $6.5B In Medical Debt For 2.5M People

by Gary D. Robertson, AP

More than 2.5 million North Carolina residents are getting over $6.5 billion in medical debt eliminated through a state government effort that offered hospitals extra Medicaid funds from Washington if they gave low- and middle-income patients the financial relief and implemented policies to discourage future liabilities. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, the state health department secretary and other officials announced Monday results so far from what then-Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled 15 months ago as a first-of-its-kind initiative. While helping almost one-quarter of North Carolina residents, Stein said the effort has exceeded expectations in giving individuals and families a second chance to succeed financially after medical crises.

Fires And Fire Deaths From Almost All Causes Fall By Two-Thirds Since 1980

by Andy Corbley, Good News Network

One of the big problems with measuring progress in averting accidents is that you’re looking for nothing—because nothing happened. But determined to show how nothing is a big something indeed, Vox’s Bryan Walsh set out to measure America’s progress in preventing fires and fireproofing homes after he himself heard of a fire ripping through a Brooklyn artist’s warehouse. Deaths by fires have fallen by two-thirds since 1980, lead in part by advances in safety awareness and product safety. Decades of updated building codes and public safety campaigns have led to the majority of US homes and apartments having smoke detectors—the single best defense against small room fires turning into conflagrations.

Cannabis Blunts Back Pain In 2 New Studies

by Will Stone, NPR

Should I try cannabis for my back pain? It’s a question spine surgeon Richard Price says he gets at least several times a day from patients who come into his clinic. When Price finally dived into the evidence several years ago, he found there were not many high quality studies, even though chronic pain is one of the most common reasons people turn to medical marijuana. “Anecdotally, [people] say cannabis works great,” says Price, an assistant professor of neurological surgery at UC Davis. “It’s the only thing that helps them sleep at night, the only thing that takes the edge off.”