Good News Headlines 2/17/2025
Freshman members of the 119th Congress. Photo courtesy Instagram
119th Congress Brings New Growth In Racial, Ethnic Diversity To Capitol Hill
by Katherine Schaeffer, Pew Research Center
Overall, 139 of today’s senators and representatives identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian American or Native American, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from CQ Roll Call and the Congressional Research Service. This number has nearly doubled in the two decades since the 109th Congress of 2005-07, which had 73 members belonging to racial or ethnic minorities. This analysis reflects the 533 voting members of the 119th Congress as of Jan. 3, 2025, the first day of the new Congress. Our count of Hispanic lawmakers excludes at least three members of Congress who identify as Portuguese American.
Bison, Not Prison: Activists Buy A Prison Site To Rewild The Land
by Katie Myers, Grist
On a freezing cold Wednesday afternoon in eastern Kentucky, Taysha DeVaughan joined a small gathering at the foot of a reclaimed strip mine to celebrate a homecoming. “It’s a return of an ancestor,” DeVaughan said. “It’s a return of a relative.” That relative was the land they stood on, part of a tract slated for a federal penitentiary that many in the crowd consider another injustice in a region riddled with them. DeVaughan, an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation, joined some two dozen people on January 22 to celebrate the Appalachian Rekindling Project buying 63 acres within the prison’s footprint.
In The LA Fires And The N.C. Floods, ‘CPR For Mental Health’ Treats Unseen Wounds
by Katia Riddle, NPR
Survivors of the floods of Hurricane Helene and the wildfires of Los Angeles have something in common: Some got help from frontline workers trained in a practice called Psychological First Aid. It’s a mental health intervention designed to address a therapeutic deficit exposed by other terrible events — like the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Nineteen children were among the 168 people who died that day in 1995. It is still the deadliest act of domestic terrorism. Robin Gurwitch was a young psychologist in Oklahoma City at the time, and she soon found herself dealing with the aftermath.
Clean Energy Costs Expected To Drop 2-11% In 2025, Report Says
by Paige Bennett, EcoWatch
According to a new report from BloombergNEF, global clean power costs could fall between 2% and 11% this year, despite tariffs. Even with potential trade barriers, the “Levelized Cost of Electricity” report estimated that clean energy costs for technologies such as wind, solar and battery storage will decrease 22% to 49% by 2035. Much of these cost savings are made possible through China’s rapid clean energy technology manufacturing capacity. According to the report, China can produce a megawatt-hour of clean energy at 11% to 64% lower costs than other markets.
Former Days Inn Given New Life As Housing Project For Homeless Folks: ‘We Can Get 40 People Off The Street At One Time’
by Kamrin Baker, Good Good Good
For those experiencing chronic homelessness — being homeless for a year or longer while living with a condition like mental illness, substance use disorder, a physical disability, or HIV/AIDS, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — the best relief they can receive is a safe, dignified place to live. Many states and cities have purchased former hotels and motels to provide these folks with a consistent, supportive living space. In Des Moines, Iowa, a former Days Inn is nearing its final stages of renovation and will soon reopen as The Monarch Apartments: an affordable housing project with supportive services for adults and couples recovering from chronic homelessness.
