Good News Headlines 9/29/2025
The jaguar population in Mexico has risen encouragingly in the last 15 years, but experts say it could take another 30 years for it to reach sustainable numbers. (Ramon Vloon/Unsplash)
Mexico’s Jaguar Population Has Jumped 33% Since 2010
by Mexico Daily News
Mexico’s jaguar population is climbing, but the country’s biggest cat isn’t out of the woods yet. A four-month census conducted last year by the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ) has concluded there are 5,326 wild jaguars throughout the country — a 33% jump from 2010, when the species was labeled endangered (as it still is). Moreover, the 2024 figure is an 11% jump since the last such census was completed in 2018. Results from the third national jaguar census were initially supposed to be released a year ago, and were then delayed until February 2025 before being released last week.
Tufts Will Be Tuition-Free For U.S. Families Earning Less Than $150,000
by Julie Flaherty, Tufts Now
Tufts University announced today that U.S. undergraduate students whose families make less than $150,000 a year will attend tuition-free, beginning with students entering in the fall of 2026. Students with an annual family income of less than $60,000 will typically receive a financial aid package with no student loans. The new policy, known as the Tufts Tuition Pact, is meant to ensure that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, including middle-income families, know that a Tufts education is within reach. Tufts is one of the few universities committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated financial need for all admitted students.
Experts Fired By Trump Revive Popular Climate Website
by Stuart Braun, DW
US President Donald Trump is an avowed climate science skeptic who during his second term has followed through on promises to slash funding for renewable energies like wind, and to promote oil and gas. But the administration has also gutted agencies that produce climate information used by millions of Americans. In February, only weeks after taking office, around 800 people were dismissed from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors ocean and climate conditions and issues weather forecasts and warnings via its National Weather Service.
Swimmers Race In The Chicago River For First Time In Nearly 100 Years
by Chris Bentley, WBUR
For the first time in nearly a century, the Chicago River hosted an organized open swim. The race on Sunday drew 263 swimmers and celebrated the river’s environmental turnaround. Memories of the river’s industrial past are a fixture for Chicagoans. On its website promoting the race, organizers posted a “water quality plan” under the headline “We know what you’re thinking.” Abhilasha Shrestha of the University of Illinois Chicago tested the river nine times over the 19 days leading up to the event and said water quality exceeded federal standards for swimming. “It is very clean,” she said.
Nexstar And Sinclair Bring Jimmy Kimmel’s Show Back On Local TV Stations, Ending Boycotts
by Associated Press, Yahoo! News
Nexstar Media Group joined Sinclair Broadcast Group in bringing Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show back to its local TV stations on Friday night, ending a dayslong TV blackout for dozens of cities across the U.S. The companies suspended the program over remarks the comedian made in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing. The move means “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to local TV on Nexstar’s ABC affiliates in 28 cities, along with the 38 stations where Sinclair agreed to restore the show. The show will also return to Sinclair’s local TV markets from Seattle to Washington, D.C.
