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The best good news stories from September
September was filled with so much good news, it’s easy to overlook some of it!
Today, we’re highlighting some of the most popular stories from the past month — to help make sure you catch all the good news you might have missed.
Hegseth made military fitness tests ‘harder’ for women in combat roles — 9 in 10 female Marines are passing
New spring physical fitness test data show that 91.38% of women Marines who have taken the test since January have met or exceeded that threshold, and 96.53% of men have.
Thanks to abundant sunshine and smart policy, New Mexico’s electricity prices are some of the lowest in the US
The Public Service Company of New Mexico, or PNM, said it delivered 80% carbon-free electricity in 2025 after investing in solar energy, batteries, and wind.
Amid scrutiny, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blocked agencies from spending money on Flock
The order came as The Texas Tribune was preparing to publish an investigation detailing how a state agency has devoted at least $30 million to building the state’s Flock surveillance network.
Decades after they were hunted to near extinction, black bears are now rebounding in southern US states
Black bears were once abundant across most of the United States, but decades of habitat destruction and overhunting in the 1800s and 1900s threatened to wipe out the population altogether.
Humanitarian groups delivered 84 metric tons of aid to Nepal in the wake of deadly flash floods
The aid on board included acute watery diarrhea kits and diagnostic equipment; water tanks, hygiene kits, and water treatment supplies; tents; winter clothing kits for infants and children; and learning materials.
A teen invented an award-winning device that can catch elephant poachers in real time
The device uses a $250 low-resolution thermal camera that can plug into an iPhone and, once attached to a drone, give real-time insights with 90% accuracy.
A federal court upheld a ruling requiring shrimpers to use ‘turtle-safe’ nets that prevent sea turtles from drowning
A turtle exclusionary device, or TED, is a specially designed fishing net built on a slanted metal grid with an opening that allows large animals like sea turtles to escape as it catches smaller targets like shrimp.
After tourists put them at risk, over 3,000 sea turtle hatchlings are now swimming free thanks to local volunteers
The Tortugas Fundación Yepez A.C., a Mexican nonprofit dedicated to sea turtle conservation, released between 3,200 and 3,500 sea turtles into the Gulf of Mexico.
Volunteers are planting 3,000 new trees across the country to honor each life lost on 9/11
The initiative kicked off with the planting of a 15-foot willow oak tree in New York City’s Battery Park at the Labyrinth of Contemplation, a space created to honor the victims of the attacks.
Incarcerated people in Kansas raised over $4,000 to pay off kids’ school lunch debt
On August 3, nearly 30 incarcerated men gathered to present Corey Roy, the USD 211 Superintendent of Schools, with a final total of $4,267 — much of it raised from their own, personal funds — covering about 71% of the district’s debt.
Indigenous ‘turtle women’ are helping save endangered freshwater turtles in the Amazon
To help the turtles recover, a group of seven Siekopai women, who call themselves Tari Nomiowa’i, or “turtle women,” patrol the riverbanks looking for turtle tracks and nests.
New sensors are preventing high-speed trains from hitting elephants crossing railroads in Sri Lanka
The sensors will be installed along the railway line rather than mounted to the top of trains, and will detect ground vibrations and capture the sound of approaching animals to slow trains down and stop collisions.