Good News Headlines 11/24/2025
A juvenile ginkgo-toothed beaked whale was spotted off the coast of Mexico swimming alongside an adult male, which is covered in scars, marking the first time this whale species has been photographed alive. Photo courtesy Henderson et al., Marine Mammal Science 2025 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
These Rare Whales Had Never Been Seen Alive. Then A Team In Mexico Sighted Two
by Fanni Szakál, The Guardian
It was an early morning in June 2024 and along the coast of Baja California in Mexico, scientists on the Pacific Storm research vessel were finishing their coffee and preparing for a long day searching for some of the most elusive creatures on the planet. Suddenly a call came from the bridge: “Whales! Starboard side!” For the next few hours, what looked like a couple of juvenile beaked whales kept surfacing and disappearing until finally Robert Pitman, a now-retired researcher at Oregon State University, fired a small arrow from a modified crossbow at the back of one of them. The tip carved out a small chunk of skin the size of a pencil eraser.
Plastic Wet Wipes Banned In England Under New Law
by Lynsey Barber, Cosmetics Business
The sale of wet wipes made from plastic has been banned in England to tackle pollution. Wet wipes can block waterways and create ‘fatbergs’ in sewer systems when flushed, and they can also break down into microplastic, which can poison wildlife and enter the food chain. A ban on the supply and sale of plastic wet wipes has now been signed into law and is expected to take effect from Spring 2027 to give the industry an 18-month transition period. During this time retailers will be able to work through selling existing stock. “This ban will put an end to plastic wet wipes which choke our sewers, litter our beaches and poison wildlife,” said Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds.
She Left Her Desk Job And Walked 3,541 Miles From Mexico To Canada: ‘Give Yourself Permission’
by Victoria Namkung, The Guardian
Jessica Guo had only slept for two and a half hours on an overnight bus when she arrived at the Mexico-US border near Lordsburg, New Mexico, in April. Out of the window she saw a flat, shadeless landscape. First-day jitters had Guo questioning what she was doing there. The former consultant had left corporate America to attempt something no woman had completed: a single, continuous hike of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and the Great Divide Trail (GDT) in a single season. The rare linking up of the two trails captivated tens of thousands of viewers online as Guo recorded and edited her daily journeys, while keeping a pace of about 48km (30 miles) each day.
Obama Surprises Dozens Of Veterans After Their Plane Arrives In Washington For Veterans Day
by Nikole Killion, CBS News
It’s a Veterans Day they won’t soon forget. On a balmy 70-degree day in the nation’s capital this past weekend, former President Barack Obama boarded an Honor Flight filled with veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars that had just touched down from Madison, Wisconsin. “Hello, everybody,” his voiced boomed over the loud speaker. “What!” exclaimed one person. Another veteran gasped, his mouth wide open. “I just wanted to say thank you,” the former president continued in a moment captured on video. Obama shook hands with them as they exited the aircraft and presented them with a Presidential Challenge Coin, a token to express his personal gratitude for their sacrifices.
France’s Birds Start To Show Signs Of Recovery After Bee-Harming Pesticide Ban
by Phoebe Weston, The Guardian
Insect-eating bird populations in France appear to be making a tentative recovery after a ban on bee-harming pesticides, according to the first study to examine how wildlife is returning in Europe. Neonicotinoids are the world’s most common class of insecticides, widely used in agriculture and for flea control in pets. By 2022, four years after the European Union banned neonicotinoid use in fields, researchers observed that France’s population of insect-eating birds had increased by 2%-3%. These included blackbirds, blackcaps and chaffinches, which feed on insects as adults and as chicks.
