Positive News is an ongoing series from The Latch turning the spotlight on all the good in the world that you may have missed.
Life is tough and the news cycle ain’t helping anything right now. Disaster, drama, and death sell papers and get eyeballs on the page but they don’t do much for our mental health.
If you’ve felt like simply switching off from the constant barrage of updates charting the world’s lurch from one crisis to the next, we’re here to provide you with a much-needed antidote.
Good stuff happens all the time. It just doesn’t get quite the same coverage as bad stuff. That means we end up thinking that everything that’s going on in the world is terrible when it really isn’t.
So, here are five of the best news stories from the past week that will put a spring in your step and give you a little something to smile about.
The Chances of Spreading COVID When Vaccinated are Incredibly Low
While the pandemic is still a huge concern and playing a large role in our lives currently, there are promising signs that it is starting to wind down — not least of all the news that NSW will be opening up next month as vaccination rates climb.
Delta proved to be a game-changer and for a while, we were worried that the transmissibility of the new strain could be very dangerous.
However, new data has been compiled at Brown University in the US which shows that the chances of a fully vaccinated person spreading COVID is around one in 5000. For those taking precautions like social distancing and mask wearing, the rate drops even lower to one in 10,000.
In related news, South America, which until recently had been overwhelmed by COVID infections, has seen case numbers rapidly decline in the past few weeks. Rising vaccination rates, with some countries like Chile and Uruguay having over 70 percent full vaccinations, are thought to be the cause of the decline but it appears so rapid that experts are stumped as to how exactly the continent has been able to get on top of the outbreak so quickly.
Internet Drumming Sensation, 11-Year-Old Nandi Bushell Joined The Foo Fighters on Stage in LA
Nandi Bushell is a name you might have come across if you spend any time at all on the internet. She’s a tiny powerhouse of musical talent who shot to fame last year with her incredible drumming covers of famous songs by artists like The Pixies, Muse, Rage Against the Machine, and The Foo Fighters.
She’s earned fans from the likes of Tom Morello and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and she stuck up an online friendship with Foos frontman and all-round legend Dave Grohl.
Grohl invited the drumming prodigy to join her on stage at The Forum in LA where she absolutely killed it playing their hit song ‘Everlong’. Her reaction is pure joy and the song itself has swept the charts in response to the clip.
It happened!!! It was #EPIC!!! Thank you so much @foofighters!!! I had the best night ever jamming with you at @TheForum! Thank you so much Mr. Grohl and Taylor! #foofighters – Full Video here: https://t.co/4xJtHT4l3w (My Daddy was screaming a lot in the video it took) pic.twitter.com/QGgZe4xtOB
— Nandi Bushell (@Nandi_Bushell) August 27, 2021
Former Blue’s Clues Host Steve Shares Heartwarming Message to His Now-Grown Up Fans
The beloved Nick Jr kid’s TV show Blue’s Clues turned 25 this week and to mark the occasion, Steve — the original host of the show’s first four seasons — returned with a message for the now-grown up adults who used to watch it. It’s fair to say it broke the entire internet.
Steve — played by Steve Burns — left the show about a blue puppy named Blue who leaves clues in a 2002 episode called “Steve Went to College”, handing off hosting duties to his brother, Joe.
However, Burns returned this week to check in with fans who may have felt his departure was abrupt and those of a certain age could not handle the absolutely crushing wholesomeness of his message.
So about that time Steve went off to college… #BluesClues25 pic.twitter.com/O8NOM2eRjy
— Nick Jr. (@nickjr) September 7, 2021
Gen Z is Gearing Up to Fight Climate Change
With the climate situation… less than ideal, the younger generation are turning out in droves to enter careers that deal with environmental issues.
The Guardian reports that those in their early 20s in the US are are “responding to the planet’s rapidly changing climate by committing their lives to finding a solution”.
Survey after survey has shown that young people are not just incorporating new climate-conscious behaviors into their day-to-day lives — they’re in it for the long haul.
College administrators across America have said that surging numbers of students are pursuing environmental-related degrees and careers that were once considered ‘irresponsible’ compared to more ‘stable’ paths like business, medicine, or law.
Fireflies Treat Residents to ‘Magical’ Displays in Backyards
It wouldn’t be a Positive News round up without some wholesome animal content and this week we’ve got a double dip for you.
First up is this incredible display of fireflies in Kangaroo Valley, NSW.
Bioluminescent beetles known as ‘fireflies’ live in forests and mangroves along the coast of NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory. They are normally only seen for a short period of time during spring and summer and have just started emerging this season, treating locals to ‘magical’ displays.
To follow, look at this wombat:
This guy is a northern hairy-nosed wombat, a species of native animal that was pushed almost to the brink of extinction in the 1980s. Now, with the help of conservationists, their numbers are bouncing back in their native habitats.
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