Good News Headlines 11/17/2025
Photo courtesy YKK
Innovative Tapeless Zipper Saves Tons Of Fabric While Creating A Better Fit On Your Clothes
by Andy Corbley, Good News Network
For a company that makes half the world’s zippers, new ideas have big impacts. At Japan’s YKK, they’ve debuted a zipper sans fabric tape—the typically black-colored strip of material that separates the back of the zipper teeth from the garment. Descente Japan was among the first to prototype AiryString® in 2022. The North Face has selected the system for use in its new Summit Series Advanced Mountain Kit, and the reception is positive—with users testifying to flexibility, lighter weight, a more unifying design, and a better, more natural fit. The secret behind is that zipper teeth are actually more bendy and twisty than the fabric tape they attach to.
The Great Escape: Seal Flees Killer Whales By Jumping On To Photographer’s Boat
by The Associated Press
A wildlife photographer on a whale-watching trip in waters off Seattle captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of killer whales hunting a seal that survived only by clambering on to the stern of her boat. Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20ft (6 metre) boat near her home on an island in the Salish Sea about 40 miles north-west of Seattle when she spotted a pod of at least eight killer whales, also known as orcas. The orcas’ coordinated movements and tail slaps suggested they were hunting. Drucker used the zoom lens on her camera to spot a harbor seal that was trying to flee from the pod. One of her shots showed the seal flying through the air.
Australia Has So Much Solar That It’s Offering Everyone Free Electricity
by Jameson Dow, ElecTrek
The Australian government is floating a scheme that would share the benefits of solar power with everyone on the grid, offering totally free electricity to ratepayers in the middle of the day, when the sun is shining the strongest. Australia is a sunny place. It’s kind of known for it. It’s the sunniest continent, and the sunniest country outside of the Middle East/Africa, with extensive photovoltaic power potential across its entire territory. In recognition of that, Australia has been installing lots of solar power. Formerly a coal-heavy nation, solar and wind have rapidly taken over Australia’s electricity grid, pushing coal and methane gas out of the equation.
Supreme Court Rejects Call To Overturn Decadeold Same-Sex Marriage Decision
by Mark Sherman, Associated Press
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The justices turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the high court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower-court order for her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorney’s fees to a couple denied a marriage license. Her lawyers repeatedly invoked the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, who alone among the nine justices has called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling.
Norway, Indonesia, Brazil And Others Pledge Billions To Bold New Plan To Protect Tropical Forests
by Inayat Singh, Jill English, Susan Ormiston, CBC News
A bold new plan to protect tropical forests, which aims to raise $125 billion US and directly pay developing countries to halt deforestation, is taking shape at the COP30 UN climate conference in Brazil this week. Brazil is leading the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, which will essentially reward countries that can limit deforestation in their territory, while also generating financing for clean energy in developing countries. The facility is a kind of investment fund, with capital put up by donor countries and the private sector. “We really need to go from reducing deforestation to permanently protecting the tropical rainforests,” said Andreas Bjelland Eriksen.
