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A pandemic of good news: the top 50 positive stories of 2020.

It’s truly been a year like no other, yet people around the world have done so much good in 2020.

Scientists have not just been working on COVID vaccines, researchers have made major diabetes breakthroughs, discovered new cancer therapies, and launched critical green innovations to make the world a better place for us all.  

And though this year has been difficult for our favorite restaurants and bars, and people losing jobs—millions of people have done whatever it takes to keep them afloat.  

From all of us at GNN, thank you to our readers, for your hilarious and heartwarming comments, and for sharing our positive stories with your friends.  

With everyone proclaiming, ‘Good Riddance to 2020’, we can’t help but bask in the magnificent glow of kindness, resilience, and personal growth that has emerged…  

Remembering #CovidKindness

1. 89-year-old sews 600 masks while listening to the beatles.

Watch this young-hearted senior as she sews homemade face masks for all her friends, family, and community members—while jamming out to The Beatles.

2. Watch Matthew McConaughey Cheer Nursing Home Residents With Rousing Game of Virtual Bingo

The Oscar award-winning actor hosted several virtual bingo games for the Round Rock Senior Living facility—with his family cheering them on.

3. ‘Wine Fairies’ Have Been Anonymously Gifting Booze and Treats to Neighbors Who Could Use a Smile

Dozens of Facebook groups for the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine” popped up across America so ‘wine fairies’ can leave gifts for community members.

4. Jimmy Fallon Asks Twitter to Describe Their Quarantine in Six Words—and the Results Are Hilarious

Sheltering in place, Jimmy Fallon produced a Tonight Show ‘At Home Edition’, and his Hashtags segment was hilarious #MyQuarantineInSixWords

5. Hotel Stays Open During Lockdowns to House Homeless Locals Who Are Repaying the Favor With Odd Jobs

The Fownes Hotel in Worcester housed 45 rough sleepers during the COVID-19 shutdowns —and in return, the homeless repayed the kindness.

6. Family Cheers Up Neighborhood By Spending 6 Hours Coloring Each Brick of Their House With Rainbow Chalk

Although it took the little English family 6 hours and 40 sticks of jumbo chalk , their brick house became a source of cheer for the community.

7. Electrician Comes To Repair Lights For 72-Year-old, Then Enlists Entire Community To Fix Her Crumbling House—For Free

When electrician John Kinney found Gloria Scott living in a house that was falling into disrepair, he rallied their MA. community to help.

8. 17-Year-Old ‘Angel’ Cashier Picks Up $173 Grocery Bill for Senior Shopper Who Found Himself Short on Cash

A senior supermarket customer praised a teenage employee for being “the light of day” after she insisted on paying for his groceries .

9. Customer Leaves Entire $1,200 Stimulus Check as Generous Tip for Family-Owned Restaurant

The employees of the Colonial Steakhouse in Pine Bluff, Arkansas were over the moon with gratitude after a customer left them a particularly hefty gratuity.

10. Customers Jump Up to Help Run Restaurant When Chef is Left Alone After Staff Emergency: ‘Beautiful to witness’

Huntly, New Zealand restaurant customers jumped in to help when Thai Food Huntly lost most of its staff on a busy Friday night .

11. IKEA Released Instructions on How to Build the 6 Best Blanket Forts For Your Home Quarantine

The IKEA Instagram page published 6 DIY illustrations on how to build the best blanket forts—from the Cåve to the Wigwåm .

12. JOANN Stores are Handing Out Free Fabric Supplies at Curbside to Anyone Sewing Face Masks at Home

JOANN Fabrics rallied behind America’s healthcare workers by donating fabric and materials to anyone who wants to sew masks —with curbside pickup option.

13. This Moving Company Helps Victims of Domestic Violence Leave Abusive Homes Nationwide At No Cost

A moving company serving the U.S. and Canada has been donating its time and labor to help victims of domestic violence move safely and quickly .

Hobbies made a comeback in a beautiful way…

14. britain’s best gardening couple outdo themselves with spring spectacular after spending lockdown tending their oasis.

The Newtons have created ‘Britain’s best garden’ and grown a spring spectacular bursting with color in Walsall after spending lockdown tending their oasis.

15. Green-Thumbed Man Grows Plants Worth $15,000 Per Leaf, Inspired by Grandmother’s Love

Inspired by his grandma’s love of gardening, England’s Tony Le-Britton has been growing rare house plants worth $15,000 per leaf.

16. Engineer Makes a DIY Cell Phone With Rotary Dial So She Doesn’t Have to Use a Smartphone

Rather than learn to live with a smartphone, this engineer designed her own cell phone with a rotary dial—and she is helping others to make their own.

17. After Noticing Lack of Good Sticks At Park, Dad Turns Old Tree Branches into ‘Stick Library’ for Neighborhood Dogs

Since bringing the nifty little “Stick Library” to his local park, more than 50 dogs have delighted in the stash of sticks.

18. Isolated Art Lovers Are Recreating Masterpieces Using Everyday Objects—and the Results Are Amazing

Several social media pages asked their followers to combat quarantine boredom by recreating iconic paintings using just three objects from their house.

19. Dave Grohl Accepted This 10-Year-Old Girl’s Virtual Drum-Off Challenge–And It Wasn’t As Easy As it Sounds

When Nandi Bushell challenges you to a drum-off by playing your Foo Fighters hit song “Everlong,” if you’re Dave Grohl, you say ‘yes’—and more.

20. Nursing Home Residents Recreate Classic Album Covers While in Lockdown

The activities director for a London nursing home, Robert Speker, shot photos of seniors recreating classic album covers while in lockdown and donated calendar proceeds to an Alzeimer’s organization.

Embracing the Earth with green good news…

21. the guys who sell ocean plastic bracelets have surpassed 12 million pounds of waste pulled from the sea.

The company that has been selling $20 plastic bracelets made of ocean plastic is expanding operations and succeeding in a big way.

22. His Invention For Renewable Energy Inspired by the Physics of Northern Lights Won the 2020 Dyson Prize

Carvey Ehren Maigue invention harvests UV rays and converts it into visible light to generate electricity.

23. A Giant Fusion Reactor Hotter than the Sun to Provide Unlimited Clean Energy Without Waste Marks Milestone

The assembly phase of one of humanity’s most-complex engineering projects —a giant nuclear fusion reactor called ITER—launched in France.

24. Hawaii Group Sets Record For Largest Haul of Plastic Removed From The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Ocean Voyages Institute made history, removing 103 tons of fishing nets and consumer plastics in one trip to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

25. Tech Startup Can Now Brew Up Carbon-Negative Rocket Fuel by Capturing CO2 Emissions From the Air

Air Company is using their NASA award-winning carbon conversion technology to turn air pollution into eco-friendly rocket fuel.

26. Dutch Guy Famous for Cleaning Up Pacific Garbage Patch is Now Clearing the World’s Rivers Too

Young Dutch scientist Boyan Slat is responsible for cleaning up the worlds oceans— and he is now cleaning up rivers with his new invention : The Interceptor

27. As Earth’s Ozone Layer Continues to Repair Itself, Scientists Happily Report Good News on Global Wind Trends

It has been 35 years since the world passed legislation to protect the ozone layer— and new research says it has been a thrilling success.

28. This California Highway Has Just Become the First State Road Made From Recycled Plastic in the US

Not only is the process used by Caltrans more eco-friendly that traditional methods, the material lasts 3 times longer than normal asphalt.

29. These New Solar-Pavement Driveways Made of Plastic Bottles Can Power the Average Household

You’ve already heard about solar-paneled rooftops, but now, a company from Hungary is powering residential homes with solar driveways .

30. Dutch Man Invents Coffin T hat Turns Bodies Into Mushrooms: ‘We are nutrients, not waste’

Dutch biodesigner Bob Hendrikx has designed a coffin made of mushroom—a “living cocoon” that will turn a deceased body into super compost .

31. Breakthrough 3D Solar Panel Design Increases Light Absorption By 125% – A Potential Game-Changer

The University of York has increased the ability of solar panels to absorb light by a stunning 125 percent using a checkerboard design .

32. Student Who Grew Her Own Canoe Out of Mushroom Thinks Fungus is Our Best Ally in Climate Change

Katy Ayers has succeeded in growing her own canoe out of mycelium—and the student believes it’s a perfect example of how mushrooms can save the world.

33. Company Collects 80% of City’s Recyclable Plastics and Turns It All into Lumber

More than 80% of the municipal plastic recyclables of Halifax are being processed by a brilliant local company that turns it all into lumber.

34. Breakthrough Solar System Uses Recycled Aluminum to Store Energy—Without Batteries

Swedish startup Azelio is deploying solar systems that use recycled aluminum to store and generate power using thermal energy —without batteries.

Huge Health and Science Discoveries in 2020…

35. 100 years after first diabetes breakthrough, canadian scientists believe they’ve found a cure.

Edmonton’s Dr. James Shapiro has cured diabetes in mice, raising hopes for a cure in humans with funding and more research .

36. Accidental Discovery of New T-Cell Hailed as Major Breakthrough for ‘Universal’ Cancer Therapy

Once the researchers determine the mechanism of the revolutionary new T-cell, they hope to trial the treatment by the end of the year .

37. Scientists Discover a Complete Protein Found Nowhere on Earth That Fell From Space, May Hint at Planet’s Origin

On a meteorite, scientists believe they have discovered the first complete extraterrestrial protein that could define life’s origins on earth .

38. Hawking’s 50-Year Mystery About Falling into Black Holes Has Finally Been Solved

Solving Hawking’s black hole information paradox, scientists end a 50-year contradicton of what happens to things that fall in a black hole .

Animals Keep Us Smiling…

39. rather than slip into depression, man quits job, sells possessions, and travels the world with a ferret.

After enduring three heartbreaking losses in the same year , this former airman quit his job so he could find happiness on the road with his pet ferret.

40. Watch Family’s Dachshund and Speedy Tortoise Playing Football Together

Jaguar, the tortoise named for his speed, loves to play soccer with the family’s Dachshund, which is usually an unfair fight .

41. Watch Dog ‘Talk’ to His Owner in English Using a Sound Board With Dozens of Spoken Phrases

Bunny the dog may only be 11 months old, but he has already learned to communicate with his owners using a 45-button sound board.

42. After Years of Helping Crow Family, Man Was Left ‘Mind-Blown’ Over Their Homemade Gifts in Return

An amateur Seattle bird watcher was stunned to discover that the neighborly crow family in his front yard had left him two “mind-blowing” gifts.

43. Australian Woman Finds Koala Hanging Out in Her Christmas Tree – And the Photos are Adorable

An Australian woman found that her Christmas tree had a new ornament after a live koala wandered inside and snuggled up the branches .

People Have Been Giving Back, Falling in Love, Being AMAZING… 

44. shaq repays fan’s kindness in best buy by offering to pay for ‘nicest laptop’ in the store.

When a random basketball fan approached Shaquille O’Neal to express his condolences , the NBA legend repaid the kindness by buying the guy a laptop.

45. Woman Who Fostered 600 Kids in 50 Years Took in Anyone—Regardless of Age or Medical Condition

Linda Herring has fostered more than 600 children of every age, gender, race, and medical category .

46. Businessman Needing a Warehouse Stumbles Upon World’s Largest Train Set—And Refuses to Simply Tear it Down

Rather than tear down the elaborate model train display in this New Jersey warehouse, a businessman paid a quarter-million to renovate it for the public .

47. Single Mom Donates Lottery Win Anonymously to Wounded Policeman, But Officers Track Her Down to Reciprocate

Shetara Sims won $100, but even though she needed it, she donated it to a Kansas City officer, but the police department then raised $145,000 for her kindness.

48. Love in the Time of Corona: NYC Man is Now Dating His Neighbor After He Creatively Woos Her in Quarantine

Jeremy Cohen became internet-famous after he published a series of videos on how he won the heart of his neighborhood “quarantine cutie.”

49. Two Surfers Save a ‘Starving, Cold’ Dog From Sea Cave After It Had Been Missing For 3 Months

Zach Regan and Matty Johnson were camping on Vancouver Island when they found a lost dog stuck in a sea cliff cave for months .

50. When Black Man Was Afraid to Walk in His Upscale Community, 75 Neighbors Walked With Him

When African-American Shawn Dromgoole was afraid to walk in his gentrified community, he expressed his fear and 75 neighbors walked with him—and started a movement around the country.

Here’s to 2021, during which we wish for you—and the world—all the good news possible.  

Tell us Your Favorite 2020 Story in the Comments—and Don’t Forget to Share!  

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12 good news stories that warmed our hearts this year

• There were lots of inspiring and heartwarming news stories in 2021.
• Olympians displayed sportsmanship in the Tokyo Olympics, sharing medals and cheering competitors.
• There were also memorable weddings, like a couple celebrating 77 years together with belated photos.

A scuba diver saved a couple's diamond ring after the groom dropped it into Lake Tahoe during their March wedding.

Andrew and Marlee Kent eloped at Lake Tahoe, California, in March, reciting their vows on a dock. As Andrew took out the diamond ring to place it on Marlee's finger, it fell out through a crack in the dock and into the water below, Insider's Samantha Grindell reported .

The couple was able to retrieve Marlee's ring a day after the ceremony with the help of Phill Abernathy, a scuba diver they found on the Tahoe Scuba Diving Facebook group.

"We were just ecstatic," Marlee told Inside Edition .

A woman's doctor wrote her a prescription to hug her granddaughter after she received the COVID-19 vaccine.

Evelyn Shaw hadn't hugged her grandchildren in a year due to the pandemic.

Even two weeks after Shaw received the second vaccine, she was still too nervous to stop social distancing with family members. So their family doctor in New York came up with a way to help her feel more comfortable: a prescription for the best medicine there is.

On an official prescription note, the doctor wrote "You are allowed to hug your granddaughter."

Shaw's daughter Laura Shaw Frank and her daughter Ateret delivered the note in an emotional reunion.

"We stood 6 feet away and we handed her the note, and she opened it up and she took out the prescription and read the note — and she burst out crying," Shaw Frank told Insider. "And then they hugged, and it was amazing, and that's the video I took. We all cried. It was a really beautiful moment."

Evelyn's daughter Jessica Shaw shared the video of that long-awaited embrace on Twitter, where it went viral.

Nine years after a Picasso painting was stolen from Athens National Gallery, police received a tip and recovered it in the Greek town of Keratea in June.

In 2012, two thieves stole Pablo Picasso's "Head of a Woman," as well as "Stammer Windmill" by Piet Mondrian, from the Athens National Gallery in a seven-minute heist.

ARTNews reported in February that police received a tip that the  Picasso painting was still in Greece  with a price of $20 million on the illegal market. Authorities then  recovered the painting in the East Attica town of Keratea and brought a suspect into custody, according to The Washington Post.

Picasso had gifted the painting to the National Gallery in Athens to honor the country's resistance to Nazi Germany in World War II, the BBC reported.

Greece's Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told reporters it would have been "impossible" for the artwork to be sold or displayed after it was stolen because Picasso had inscribed it with a message: "For the Greek people, a tribute by Picasso."

Oksana Chusovitina, a 46-year-old gymnast from Uzbekistan, received a standing ovation at her eighth and possibly final Olympics in July.

Eight-time Olympian Oksana Chusovitina received a standing ovation after competing in vault during the women's artistic gymnastics qualifications. 

Chusovitina  made her Olympic debut in 1992 , where she won a team gold medal with the Soviet Union. She also won a silver medal while representing Germany in 2008.

In Tokyo, Chusovitina earned a score of 14.166, which wasn't enough for her to qualify for the event final. But the International Federation of Gymnastics tweeted that  there was "not a dry eye in the house" as Chusovitina took her bow  after the qualifying round.

High jumpers Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy agreed to share a gold medal.

Both men cleared a jump of 2.37 meters but failed to clear the next bar. Instead of a jump-off, Barshim and Tamberi  agreed to share the gold medal .

"I still can't believe it happened," Tamberi said after the win,  per the Associated Press . "Sharing with a friend is even more beautiful. ... It was just magical."

Barshim was equally thrilled with the result, saying that both he and Tamberi had put in a performance worthy of a gold medal.

"For me, coming here, I know for a fact that for the performance I did, I deserve that gold," Barshim said. "He did the same thing, so I know he deserved that gold."

"This is beyond sport," Barshim said. "This is the message we deliver to the young generation."

Olympic diver Tom Daley gave an impassioned speech to young LGBTQ people after his emotional gold-medal win.

Daley and teammate Matty Lee  triumphed in the men's synchronized 10-meter competition on July 26.

Speaking to press after his victory, Daley, who started competing at the Olympics at the age of 14, said he hoped his win would show young LGBTQ people that "you can achieve anything."

"I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone and that you can achieve anything. There is a whole lot of your chosen family out here ready to support you," he said.

He added: "I am incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion. I feel very empowered by that."

Two years after Saeid Mollaei fled his native Iran after authorities told him to purposefully lose a match, he won a silver Olympic medal in judo for Mongolia.

Mollaei left Iran after he said that authorities had told him to lose to avoid facing an Israeli opponent, Sagi Muki. Iran and Israel have been in a  proxy conflict  since 1985.

Mollaei and Muki went on to become friends,  Insider's Jackson Thompson reported . At the Olympics this year, Muki lost in the quarterfinal but supported Mollaei throughout the competition.

"I'm super happy for Saeid," Muki said,  according to The Times of Israel . "I know what he's gone through, and how much he wanted it."

Mollaei dedicated his silver medal to Israel.  According to The Jerusalem Post , Mollaei told Israeli channel Sports 5, "Thank you to Israel for all the good energy."

Mollaei and Muki's friendship is now  being adapted into a scripted TV series .

In August, Prancer the Chihuahua found a forever home after his brutally honest adoption ad went viral.

In an ad for his adoption posted to Facebook in April , Prancer's foster parent Tyfanee Fortuna described him as a "13-pound rage machine," "Chucky doll in a dog's body," and "a haunted Victorian child in the body of a small dog."

A representative for  Second Chance Pet Adoption League in New Jersey said that Fortuna's ad led to hundreds of emails inquiring about Prancer, who has had no interested adopters for months.

He was eventually adopted by Ariel Davis, who told the " People Every Day " podcast that he was "perfect" for her .

"It's been absolute heaven, even through the struggles, because life is about struggles," Davis said in the podcast interview. "Nobody has a perfect life. Nothing's ever perfect. It's about what you make of the situation."

In September, Steve from "Blue's Clues" made a heartwarming video addressing now-adult fans, saying, "I never forgot you, ever."

Steve from "Blue's Clues" shared a video addressing now-adult fans of the show directly, explaining his abrupt departure from the show and saying he's proud of his viewers.

"Look at you, and look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time, and it's just … it's so amazing, right?" he said in the video posted to Nick Jr.'s Twitter page .

He added: "I never forgot you, ever, and I'm super glad we're still friends."

USA Today called the video "the big warm hug we all needed."

Hospice workers helped a couple celebrate 77 years of marriage by taking the wedding photos they never had.

When Royce and Frankie King wed in 1944, they didn't have time to plan a big wedding or take photos. On their 77th anniversary, staff members at St. Croix Hospice in Iowa helped them recreate their 1944 nuptials and take the wedding photos they never had .

"It was so hard to keep from crying behind the lens as I got to witness the emotion with this beautiful couple, and the love and compassion that their team poured into preparing this event for them," photographer and St. Croix staff member Hilary Michelson said in a statement. "That's what our team strives to do at St. Croix Hospice. We go above and beyond for our patients and their families to ensure that their focus is on the quality of life and making each day and each memory count." 

The oldest World War II veteran turned 112 with a lively socially distant birthday party on his porch.

At 112 years old, Lawrence Brooks is the oldest known US World War II veteran alive today. In past years, the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana,  hosted birthday parties in his honor . This year, organizers got creative to give Brooks a memorable and COVID-conscious celebration on his front porch .

The National WWII Museum's vocal trio, The Victory Belles, serenaded Brooks as staff presented him with cake and cards. Then, participants drove by with celebratory signs in a Jeep parade sponsored by Kajun Outcast Jeep Club and Northshore Wrangler Association.

In October, a bride wore a tactile wedding dress so her blind husband could "feel how she looked."

Anthony and Kelly Anne Ferraro wed on October 2. Kelly Anne, who works in tech, partnered with Loulette Bridal in Brooklyn, New York, to create a tactile wedding dress with pleasing textures that Anthony could appreciate. 

"The second she got to me, it was incredible," Anthony told Insider. "She had a velvet strip around it and all this silk, and this beautiful fringe, and lace — all these materials. And it wasn't weird textures. It was beautiful, tactile, pleasing, sensory.

A video of their wedding went viral on TikTok with over half a million views.

"I just started tearing up because I see with my hands — with all my other senses, but especially my touch," Anthony said. "It blew me away."

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Amelia Tait

21 Things That Made the World a Better Place in 2021

The pandemic didn’t miraculously disappear. When the clock struck midnight and marked the beginning of 2021, Covid-19 didn’t melt away like a fairytale princess’s party dress, alas, and we were all forced to stare down another year of fear. The good news is: We did it! The bad news is: Well, you know … We all know. So let’s forget about that, just for a moment, and celebrate all of the actually good stuff that happened in 2021.

In December 2020, the UK administered the first non-trial Covid-19 vaccine in the world to a 90-year-old woman in a fetching leopard-print scarf. A year later, almost 9 billion Covid jabs have been put in arms around the world—and the number is climbing literally every second. It’s the largest mass vaccination campaign in history! If you were lucky, you got a cool sticker after your shot! The speed, intensity, and efficiency of the life-saving vaccine rollout is a phenomenon that’s powerful to behold, and it is estimated that we’re just three months away from 75 percent of the global population having had their first dose. Read more at Bloomberg .

In February, when all memories of seasonal goodwill and cheer had faded away and we were left with nothing but the cold, mocking whispers of the winter wind, scientists gave us a reason to keep going. Speaking out against unfounded rumors that cheese is an evil, murderous entity, one scientist told WIRED: “There’s almost no evidence that cheese causes weight gain—and in fact, there’s evidence that it’s neutral at worst.” This stigma-shattering analysis helped cheese to rebuild its reputation globally—and that’s grate. Read more at WIRED .

If there is a greater joy in the world than quitting, it is everyone in the world quitting at once. Spring and summer 2021 saw a wave of resignations after employees across the globe used the pandemic to reflect on their work-life balance. (Hint: There should be more life than work.) In April alone, 2.7 percent of the American workforce quit their jobs, setting a new record that was then beaten again in August. While employers might be left weeping into their “Can I grab you for a minute?” emails, employees are reasserting their rights. Read more at WIRED .

Philosophers might ask, “Is it really good news to say we’ve developed a small solution to a monstrously large, terrible, terrible, terrible ongoing problem that we ourselves created? Is it really something to celebrate?” to which we say: Just give us this one, please, philosophers, it’s all we’ve got. Throughout 2021, UK-based startup Ellipsis Earth has been mapping the scale of the world’s plastic pollution with camera-equipped drones that are able to (sometimes) identify the exact origin of the trash. These speedy surveys allow experts to better understand the solutions needed in different areas, from pushing through dumping regulations at beaches to installing more bins in littering hotspots. Read more at CNN .

In March 2021, researchers at Brown University successfully transmitted brain signals wirelessly to a computer for the first time—the move is a breakthrough for paralyzed people, as the removal of cumbersome wires takes this tech one step closer to being available for home use. Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) have been used to help people type, use robotic prostheses, and even move their own limbs in the past, but for the first time participants in these studies can use this technology in their homes, rather than in a lab setting. Read more at Input Mag .

As June came to an end, the World Health Organization declared China free of malaria after “decades of targeted and sustained action” against the disease. In the 1940s, China reported 30 million malaria cases annually; in 2020, the country reported four consecutive years of zero indigenous cases, paving the way for WHO to declare it malaria-free in 2021. In April, WHO launched a campaign to rid 25 more countries of malaria by 2025. Read more at The New York Times .

Over the course of the past decade, we have repeatedly seen our digital overlords refuse to protect us from harm, twisting their policies to maximize their profits with very little consideration for the ways in which democracy can be irreparably damaged in the process. This is why it was such a relief when Twitter finally banned not-president Donald Trump from the platform in January, after the Home Alone 2 actor glorified the violence surrounding the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters. The ban came into force on January 8—12 days before Trump stopped being president—and is permanent. Read more at BBC News .

More than 11,000 people counted bees as part of the Netherlands’ national bee census in 2021—and what they discovered was encouraging, as urban bee populations were found to have remained steady over the past few years. It is believed that a number of initiatives—from hollowed out plant stems that act as “bee hotels” to a ban on chemical weed killers—are helping the bees thrive. Next stop: AirBeeNBees. Read more at The Guardian .

The team at the Internet Watch Foundation in Cambridgeshire have a tireless job: They spend hours trawling through child sexual abuse images and categorizing them to help countries crack down on offenders. This year, the team rebuilt their hashing software so that the data shared with law enforcement agencies across the world is relevant to their localities, meaning they can prioritize the most serious images, more easily remove and block the content, and bring offenders to justice. Read more at WIRED .

If ever there was a year that aliens would say “hiya,” it was 2021—the year in which we reached unprecedented heights of “Yep, we’re living in a simulation.” Anyway, the aliens didn’t say “hiya” (at least not to me), but we got the next (or next to the next) best thing: NASA’s Perseverance Rover successfully converted some of Mars’s carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen in April. As a giant leap toward getting humans on Mars, NASA said the move “could pave the way for science fiction to become science fact,” which is just a cool thing to say. Read more at NASA .

Thanks to the inherently non-socially-distanced nature of queues, restaurants, entertainment establishments, and theme parks around the world decided to shake up the centuries-old habit by starting a virtual queue revolution. By allowing us to queue with a couple of taps of our finger, instead of our feet, virtual queues have reduced the pain associated with waiting (and waiting, and waiting) in line. Read more at WIRED .

In less than 24 hours—15 to be precise—affordable housing group 14Trees built an entire school in Malawi this July using 3D printing technology. It is hoped that similar initiatives will help to combat the classroom shortfall in the country, as well as the rest of Africa, enabling children to travel shorter distances to school and work in better conditions. Women and children sang and danced in front of the new school to celebrate its opening. Read more at Reuters .

The biggest-ever game of hide and seek ended in June when a rare species of orchid was found growing on top of an investment bank in London, despite scientists believing the plant was extinct in the UK. Ecologist Mike Waller, author of Britain’s Orchids , said: “This is clear evidence that with patience and dedication, even the most unlikely places can become havens for some of our rarest wildlife.” That's nice. Read more at The Guardian .

While it is unfortunately not possible to erase America’s opioid crisis overnight, leading galleries are at least helping to erase the name of the family that helped precipitate it. In recent years, Purdue Pharma founders the Sackler family have faced increased scrutiny for their company’s role in the opioid epidemic, and prominent museums who’ve accepted donations from the Sacklers are now distancing themselves from the family. Goodbye and good riddance! Read more at The New Yorker .

Pick your ideal location for rodents to seek their revenge, and you’ll likely agree that you can’t go wrong with a gated community. In October, capybaras began reclaiming an affluent neighborhood near Buenos Aires that was once their territory, munching on its array of manicured flower beds and neat lawns. This two-for-one act of class warfare and environmental activism was a valiant move by the largest rodents in the world. Read more at Smithsonian Magazine .

The gig economy was brought to heel this February when a landmark decision by the UK supreme court saw Uber drivers’ workers rights entrenched. The ruling that Uber drivers are workers and not self-employed opened the doors for minimum wage and holiday pay. “This ruling will fundamentally reorder the gig economy and bring an end to rife exploitation of workers by means of algorithmic and contract trickery,” said James Farrar, general secretary of the App Drivers and Couriers union. Read more at The Guardian .

In December, 100 passengers flying from Chicago to Washington, DC, were the first in the world to do so with one engine running on 100-percent non-petroleum-based sustainable fuel made from sugar water and corn (delicious!). The fuel is said to burn up to 75 percent cleaner than petroleum-based fuels, and while there is some debate about greenwashing surrounding the event, it was nonetheless a vital moment for the aviation industry. Read more at Business Insider .

When it comes to celebrities, 2021 already topped 2020 by default—no one tried to sing “Imagine ” at us when we were locked inside our homes. But there was also progress elsewhere, namely at the Oscars, where years of backlash and a much-needed broadening of voters finally resulted in a diverse lineup of nominees, including the first Asian American ever nominated for best actor. When the ceremony took place (in person!) Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to win best director, while Yuh-jung Youn became the first Korean actor to win an Oscar. Read more at Variety .

In August, electric cars outsold diesel ones in Europe for the very first time, and next year, experts expect that more electric cars will be sold overall in the UK. The surge is believed to be driven by a fall in prices, a wider range of vehicles, petrol shortages, and a rise in the number of charging spots available. Might this be the answer to that whole “climate change” thing? No, obviously. But, you know, maybe it’s a start? Read more at New Scientist .

It is a sign of just how grim things got earlier this year that one of the most widely talked and joked about events was a container ship getting stuck in the Suez Canal for six days. I mean, how do you explain that to your future grandkids? Still, we all had a reason to celebrate in late March when the vessel was finally freed (or, to put it another way, when the memes finally came to an end). Read more at WIRED .

When it comes to the climate crisis, the world needs any bit of good news it can get. And in December, the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed that 2021 was renewable energy’s biggest year ever, with roughly 290 GW of renewable energy generation installed globally—a k a loads of lovely wind turbines and solar panels—despite the pandemic and the rising cost of raw materials. Read more at The Guardian .

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Restaurant Owner Drops Everything, Drives Nearly 6 Hours To Fulfill Dying Woman's Last Wish

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In a heartwarming tale of compassion and kindness, Kevin Cherry, the owner of Outer Banks restaurant Mama Kwans, went above and beyond to fulfill the final wish of a dying woman, Heather Bowers, who resided six hours away in West Virginia.

Paul Skenes Is Donating $100 To The Gary Sinise Foundation For Every Strikeout

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The inspiring message from 'Hardest Geezer' Russ Cook as he completed epic run across Africa

Dozens flew into join the support cast for the final leg on Russ Cook as he finished his gruelling challenge to run the length of Africa.

Sports correspondent @RobHarris

Monday 8 April 2024 00:03, UK

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There was only one way to capture the magnitude of Russ Cook's monumental mission ending - running with the history maker.

Dozens flew in from England and beyond to join the support cast for the final leg on the 352nd day and 16th country of this odyssey across Africa.

They gathered by a petrol station in the tiny town of Ghezala in remote northern Tunisia in the fierce morning heat, waiting for the hero who captured their imaginations to arrive.

No one begrudged him a lie-in after 10,000 miles on the road in the last year on this quest across the continent.

By the time Cook arrived, he was ready to set off, and we tagged along - running while interviewing him live on Sky News.

"Bit tired. One final push. Finished and done," he said. "I've had a few tears this morning, so I've got it out the system."

Cook wore a 1990s retro England football jersey, while I attempted to keep up in shirt and jeans as the temperature climbed above 25C.

This has been a journey for Cook, discovering Africa and rediscovering himself.

Drinking and gambling had troubled his mental health before taking up running - and he took it to the extreme.

"You get one chance at life," he told me. "Go and have a stab at it."

And after checking he was going the right way, the 27-year-old was off into the Tunisian countryside.

It was far smoother terrain than much of the trek around Africa's west coast that started at the continent's most southerly point near Cape Town last April.

Maintaining strength and safety was a constant concern.

In Angola, phones and passports stolen as he was robbed at gunpoint.

All contact was lost in August in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when he was kidnapped. Villagers armed with machetes had to be paid off.

But a growing profile helped summon public and political support for permits, with Algeria eventually allowing entry to evade more violent areas of North Africa.

Sickness, sandstorms and snow challenged even this self-styled Hardest Geezer.

But through illness and injury, he made it to Ras Angela in Tunisia on Sunday before sunset.

After a kiss with his girlfriend after completing his adventure of a lifetime, he was off into the sea to cool down.

"I'm a bit tired," he said.

Not even Russ Cook could be tempted to swim home - this gruelling challenge testing endurance and enterprise was enough for now.

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What happens during a solar eclipse? Experts explain the awe-inspiring phenomena to expect on April 8

By David Pogue

Updated on: April 8, 2024 / 9:03 AM EDT / CBS News

Monday's total eclipse of the sun won't be just any old eclipse; it's being referred to as the Great American Eclipse, because it's going through some very populated areas of the United States. Solar eclipses actually occur every 18 months or so, but during most of them the spectacle is "wasted" on empty ocean. But this afternoon , the moon's shadow will leave 32 million Americans in 15 states briefly in the dark.

• Solar eclipse maps show 2024 totality path, peak times

Where is the best place to view the eclipse?

What exactly is a total eclipse?

Astronomy author and educator Ed Ting says that in a solar eclipse, the moon passes exactly between your eyes and the sun, and casts its shadow on the Earth. That shadow is only about 100 miles wide, so you have to be in a specific place to witness the solar eclipse in totality.

It's all the result of a freakish cosmic coincidence, when the moon and sun appear to be the exact same size in the sky. "The sun is 400 times bigger than the moon," said Ting. "But by happy coincidence, it is also 400 times further away. So, from our perspective they are the same size."

What can happen during a total solar eclipse?

But the thrill of an eclipse isn't just about what's overhead – it's what happens all around you as the sky darkens. "The wind sometimes starts to pick up," said Ting. "Animals get confused. The streetlights come on."

But it's not exactly like nighttime. "The sky takes on this sort of fish-scaly, shimmery quality, and you will freak out," Ting said. "You can understand why the ancients ascribe such spiritual or religious significance to eclipses, because you will feel very strange. Half of the people who see an eclipse for the first time will cry."

What preparations are being made?

If you live in the path of the eclipse, you may notice one more effect: A lot more traffic.

Cari White is the chairman of the Eclipse Oversight Committee for Jonesboro, Arkansas, where the moment of totality – complete blockage of the sun – will last 2 minutes and 17 seconds. And for that experience of totally, White said the town will briefly grow to twice its size: "One-hundred-sixty-thousand people might be in town for the eclipse, and we're very excited about it," she said. "Our police department, our fire department, city water and light, they've all been working for over a year to design a plan."

And Jonesboro is not alone: "Everywhere, all over the country, [people] are doing exactly what I've been doing. It's a big, big deal."

• How Americans in the solar eclipse's path of totality plan to celebrate the celestial event on April 8
• Here's how one airline is planning to provide a total eclipse experience — from 30,000 feet in the air ("CBS Mornings")
• Hotel prices soar as tourists flock to see solar eclipse

How to safely view the eclipse

Looking directly at the sun can permanently damage your vision, which is why you need eye protection. Cari White's committee in Jonesboro ordered 75,000 pairs of special glasses. "We have been working for weeks to pass them out to all the schools, we've passed them out at all of the major businesses, the library, the city hall," she said. "If you don't have a pair of glasses and you live in Jonesboro, I don't know how to help ya'."

But here's something about the glasses you might not know: According to Ting, "Once totality hits, you can take the glasses off. Because there's not much light coming from the sun. Once the sun starts to come out again, you do need to remember to put your glasses back on!"

Cameras need protective filters, too. But Ting offers a classic piece of advice for would-be photographers: "See your first eclipse, photograph your second. I have seen this personally where there is an eclipse, and the person is not looking up; they're fiddling with their camera. And then, before you know it, the eclipse is gone, you never saw it – and you didn't get the picture."

• Are your eclipse glasses safe? How to know if they'll really protect your eyes during the total solar eclipse

What about the weather?

Of course, all the precautions in the world won't help you if the conditions aren't right. Asked what she'll do if the weather is bad on Monday, White said, "I guess I'll cry. Don't talk to me about the bad stuff."

Fortunately, it's mostly good stuff.

"When you consider that this truly is the Great American Eclipse, because it goes through the center of the United States, it just puts you in awe," White said. "I just know that it's gonna be wonderful. And I'm gonna take it all in, every second of my two minutes, I'm gonna take it in and enjoy."

• Looking for the best places to see the April 8 solar eclipse in the totality path? You may have to dodge clouds
• Eclipse cloud cover forecasts and maps show where skies will clear up for April 8's celestial show

          For more info:

• Visit Jonesboro Tourism & Visitor's Bureau website
• Follow  amateur astronomer Ed Ting on YouTube

         Story produced by Annie Iezzi. Editor: George Pozderec. 

David Pogue is a six-time Emmy winner for his stories on "CBS Sunday Morning," where he's been a correspondent since 2002. He's also a New York Times bestselling author, a five-time TED speaker, and host of 20 NOVA science specials on PBS. For 13 years, he wrote a New York Times tech column every week — and for 10 years, a Scientific American column every month.

More from CBS News

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Solar eclipse maps show 2024 totality path, peak times across the U.S.

Why do you need special glasses to watch a solar eclipse? Doctors explain.

Is it safe to take pictures of the solar eclipse with your phone?

Black couple rented to a Chinese American family when nobody would. Now, they're donating $5M to Black community. 

In 1939, the Dongs, a Chinese American family in Coronado, California, found themselves unable to rent a house amid racially restrictive housing laws that favored white buyers and renters.

Emma and Gus Thompson, a Black entrepreneurial couple in town, allowed the family to rent and eventually buy their Coronado property when nobody else would. Now, to thank the Thompsons for helping them get a toehold in American society, the Dongs are donating $5 million to Black college students using proceeds from the sale of the house. 

“It may enable some kids to go and flourish in college that might not have been able to otherwise,” Janice Dong, 86, said about the plan to sell the family home they later purchased, as well as an adjacent property.

The Dong family will also work to have San Diego State University’s Black Resource Center named after Emma and Gus, who was born into slavery in Kentucky. 

Lloyd Dong Jr., 81, said the Thompsons gave their family a start with the land, and it is time for them to do the same for others.

“Without them, we would not have the education and everything else,” Lloyd Dong Jr. said. 

“Without [The Thompsons], we would not have the education and everything else,” Lloyd Dong, Jr. said.

The Dong family’s Coronado properties include the Thompsons’ original home at 832 C Ave. and an eight-unit apartment complex next door. Family members estimate the combined value to be worth $8 million. Lloyd Dong Jr. and his older brother, Ron Dong, plan to donate their portions — $5 million. 

Amid the backdrop of a national conversation about reparations, this isn’t a story about atonement and repair, said Kevin Ashley, a Coronado historian. The Thompsons’ gesture was a transaction with no strings attached; the Dongs didn’t have anything to pay back.

Instead, Ashley said, the story is about honoring and recognizing the enduring impact of one family’s will to help another get ahead. As the country continues to debate the merits and logistics of reparations for its history of chattel slavery, the Dong family’s decision to give back to the Black community could serve as an example, he said.

Ron Dong and his wife, Janice Dong, are both retired teachers who believe that education can change lives.

“It’s just exactly what’s appropriate,” Ron Dong, 86, said about their donation. 

For more from NBC Asian America,  sign up for our weekly newsletter .

Unity in the margins of society

The Dong family’s roots in California date back to the late 19th century. Lloyd Dong Sr. was a farmer in the Central Valley before he moved to Coronado to become a gardener. He  worked on the land six days a week, according to his son Ron. On the seventh day, he did extra work to allow his American-born children to attend schools, build careers and invest in real estate. 

In this chapter of their lives, when Lloyd Jr. and Ron Dong are thinking about their legacies, memories bubble to the surface of people in their past who changed the trajectory of their lives. In 1939, Gus and Emma Thompson gave the Dong family a place to stay, a promise to sell them the land and a chance to build a better life. 

It was a time in Coronado, a resort city known for its opulent hotel and white sand beaches on the San Diego Bay peninsula, when people living on the margins of society found it difficult to live within city limits. Racially restrictive housing covenants prohibited immigrants and people of color from renting and buying in Coronado.

“I think that when we talk about racism generally in California, and especially in places like San Diego and L.A., people think because there was no slavery in California, that racism didn’t exist,” said Jo Von M. McCalester, a Howard University political science professor who grew up in San Diego. “But it doesn’t mean that groups and individuals didn’t understand their places within the society.”

“[The Dongs] are saying, ‘Look at all you guys fighting about reparations. We’re giving this all back to the Black community.'"

Kevin Ashley, a Coronado historian.

At the time, the only place for minorities and immigrants to stay in Coronado was Gus Thompson’s boarding house on the upper level of their barn. This didn’t happen by chance. Thompson had traveled from Kentucky to California to work at the Hotel Del Coronado . He built the house and barn on C Avenue in 1895, before the city’s racial housing covenants took effect making him exempt from the restrictions. Thompson converted his barn into a boarding house for the vulnerable. 

Gus Thompson’s initiative shows a spirit of defiance and a resolve to help others, said Ballinger Gardner Kemp, his great-grandson. 

The Dong and Thompson families were on the same side of history. They were people trying to make it in a land that didn’t see them as full citizens. It wasn’t abnormal then to have marginalized individuals living together and supporting one another, McCalester said. 

“It was just something understood that marginalized people in San Diego had to rely very heavily on one another,” she said.

In 1955, Emma Thompson sold the Coronado home and the barn next door to the Dongs, who became the first Chinese American family to purchase real estate in Coronado, said Ashley, the Coronado historian. 

The Dong family lived in the house at 832 C Ave. and in 1957 replaced the barn with an apartment complex. Ron Dong became a high school teacher and Lloyd Dong Jr. became a jack of many trades, including a tax preparer. The brothers moved away from Coronado to different parts of California and managed the properties on C Avenue from afar. 

Memories of the Thompsons mostly faded away until the Dong brothers started making plans for their Coronado properties. They lived comfortably and had no children. Upkeep of the properties, which they did themselves, felt increasingly difficult. 

“It’s time,” said Janice Dong, Ron’s wife, about their decision to sell the Coronado properties. “We want to give back.” 

In 2022, Ashley contacted the Dongs after researching Black history in Coronado and asked the fateful question: Do you remember the Thompsons?

Holding a mirror up to society

The Dong family’s decision to donate to SDSU’s Black Resource Center coincides with California lawmakers’ introduction of 14 reparations bills to address some of the state’s legacy of racial discrimination. The bills are based on recommendations from the state’s Reparations Task Force, formed in 2020 amid a national racial reckoning and questions about why California, a historically free state, would lead the reparations effort.

“There’s plenty that California has to account for. In big and small ways, we need to reckon with this.”

Don Tamaki, a member of the California Reparations Task Force.

California entered the union as a free state, but its legacy of racial discrimination is often overlooked, said Don Tamaki, a member of the California Reparations Task Force. 

“There’s plenty that California has to account for,” Tamaki said, citing histories of local governments seizing properties and restricting access to housing and health care. “In big and small ways, we need to reckon with this.”

The debate on reparations is emotionally charged and mired with questions of accountability, budgetary constraint and arguments to let bygones be bygones. Most people don’t think descendants of enslaved people should be paid back, according to a Pew Research survey.  

“I think they understand how one family’s sacrifice can shape the lives of so many,” said McCalester, the Howard University professor. “I think that’s where reparations have to come from.”

In these families’ intersecting stories, the spirit of rebellion endures. Back then, the Thompsons thumbed their noses at racism by renting and selling to the Dongs. In 2024, the Dongs are doing something similar. 

The Dong family decision holds up a mirror to society to take a deeper look, said Ashley.

“They are saying, ‘Look at all you guys fighting about reparations. We’re giving this all back to the Black community,’” he added.

Lynda Lin Grigsby is a freelance journalist and editor who writes about the intersections of race, identity and parenting.  

The Church of Trump: How He’s Infusing Christianity Into His Movement

Ending many of his rallies with a churchlike ritual and casting his prosecutions as persecution, the former president is demanding — and receiving — new levels of devotion from Republicans.

A rally for former President Donald J. Trump in July in Erie, Pa. At many of his recent rallies, Mr. Trump delivers a roughly 15-minute finale that evokes an evangelical altar call. Credit... Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

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By Michael C. Bender

Reporting from Conway, S.C., and Washington

• April 1, 2024

Long known for his improvised and volatile stage performances, former President Donald J. Trump now tends to finish his rallies on a solemn note.

Soft, reflective music fills the venue as a hush falls over the crowd. Mr. Trump’s tone turns reverent and somber, prompting some supporters to bow their heads or close their eyes. Others raise open palms in the air or murmur as if in prayer.

In this moment, Mr. Trump’s audience is his congregation, and the former president their pastor as he delivers a roughly 15-minute finale that evokes an evangelical altar call, the emotional tradition that concludes some Christian services in which attendees come forward to commit to their savior.

“The great silent majority is rising like never before and under our leadership,” he recites from a teleprompter in a typical version of the script. “We will pray to God for our strength and for our liberty. We will pray for God and we will pray with God. We are one movement, one people, one family and one glorious nation under God.”

The meditative ritual might appear incongruent with the raucous epicenter of the nation’s conservative movement, but Mr. Trump’s political creed stands as one of the starkest examples of his effort to transform the Republican Party into a kind of Church of Trump. His insistence on absolute devotion and fealty can be seen at every level of the party , from Congress to the Republican National Committee to rank-and-file voters .

Mr. Trump’s ability to turn his supporters’ passion into piety is crucial to understanding how he remains the undisputed Republican leader despite guiding his party to repeated political failures and while facing dozens of felony charges in four criminal cases. His success at portraying those prosecutions as persecutions — and warning, without merit, that his followers could be targeted next — has fueled enthusiasm for his candidacy and placed him, once again, in a position to capture the White House.

‘He’s definitely been chosen by God’

Mr. Trump has long defied conventional wisdom as an unlikely but irrefutable evangelical hero.

He has been married three times, has been repeatedly accused of sexual assault, has been convicted of business fraud and has never showed much interest in church services. Last week, days before Easter, he posted on his social media platform an infomercial-style video hawking a $60 Bible that comes with copies of some of the nation’s founding documents and the lyrics to Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the U.S.A.”

But while Mr. Trump is eager to maintain the support of evangelical voters and portray his presidential campaign as a battle for the nation’s soul, he has mostly been careful not to speak directly in messianic terms.

“This country has a savior, and it’s not me — that’s someone much higher up than me,” Mr. Trump said in 2021 from the pulpit at First Baptist Church in Dallas, whose congregation exceeds 14,000 people.

Still, he and his allies have inched closer to the Christ comparison.

Last year, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and a close Trump ally, said both the former president and Jesus had been arrested by “radical, corrupt governments.” On Saturday, Mr. Trump shared an article on social media with the headline “The Crucifixion of Donald Trump.”

He is also the latest in a long line of Republican presidents and presidential candidates who have prioritized evangelical voters. But many conservative Christian voters believe Mr. Trump outstripped his predecessors in delivering for them, pointing especially to the conservative majority he installed on the Supreme Court that overturned federal abortion rights.

Mr. Trump won an overwhelming majority of evangelical voters in his first two presidential races, but few — even among his rally crowds — explicitly compare him to Jesus.

Instead, the Trumpian flock is more likely to describe him as a modern version of Old Testament heroes like Cyrus or David, morally flawed figures handpicked by God to lead profound missions aimed at achieving overdue justice or resisting existential evil.

“He’s definitely been chosen by God,” said Marie Zere, a commercial real estate broker from Long Island who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference in February outside Washington, D.C. “He’s still surviving even though all these people are coming after him, and I don’t know how else to explain that other than divine intervention.”

For some of Mr. Trump’s supporters, the political attacks and legal peril he faces are nothing short of biblical.

“They’ve crucified him worse than Jesus,” said Andriana Howard, 67, who works as a restaurant food runner in Conway, S.C.

A political weapon and vulnerability

Mr. Trump’s solid and devoted core of voters has formed one of the most durable forces in American politics, giving him a clear advantage over President Biden when it comes to inspiring supporters.

Forty-eight percent of Republican primary voters are enthusiastic about Mr. Trump becoming the Republican nominee, and 32 percent are satisfied but not enthusiastic with that outcome, according to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll . Just 23 percent of Democrats said they were enthusiastic about Mr. Biden as their nominee, and 43 percent were satisfied but not enthusiastic.

The intensity of the most committed Trump backers has also factored into the former president’s campaign decisions, according to two people familiar with internal deliberations. His team’s ability to bank on voters who will cast a ballot with little additional prompting means that some of the cash that would otherwise be spent on turnout operations can be invested in field staff, television ads or other ways to help Mr. Trump.

But Democrats see an advantage, too. Much of Mr. Biden’s support comes from voters deeply opposed to Mr. Trump, and the president’s advisers see an opportunity to spook moderate swing voters into supporting Mr. Biden by casting Mr. Trump’s movement as a cultlike creation bent on restricting abortion rights and undermining democracy.

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a top Democratic ally of Mr. Biden, pointed to an increasingly aggressive online presence from the president’s re-election campaign, which has sought to portray Mr. Trump as prone to religious extremism .

“There’s a huge opportunity here,” Mr. Newsom said in an interview. “Trump is so easily defined, and he reinforces that definition over and over and over again. And Biden has a campaign that can weaponize that now.”

‘Does he really care about evangelicals? I don’t know.’

Mr. Trump’s braiding of politics and religion is hardly a new phenomenon. Christianity has long exerted a strong influence on American government, with most voters identifying as Christians even as the country grows more secular. According to Gallup , 68 percent of adults said they were Christian in 2022, down from 91 percent in 1948.

But as the former president tries to establish himself as the one, true Republican leader, religious overtones have pervaded his third presidential campaign.

Benevolently phrased fund-raising emails in his name promise unconditional love amid solicitations for contributions of as little as $5.

Even more than in his past campaigns, he is framing his 2024 bid as a fight for Christianity, telling a convention of Christian broadcasters that “just like in the battles of the past, we still need the hand of our Lord.”

On his social media platform in recent months, Mr. Trump has shared a courtroom-style sketch of himself sitting next to Jesus and a video that repeatedly proclaims, “God gave us Trump” to lead the country.

The apparent effectiveness of such tactics has made Mr. Trump the nation’s first major politician to successfully separate character from policy for religious voters, said John Fea, a history professor at Messiah University, an evangelical school in Pennsylvania.

“Trump has split the atom between character and policy,” Mr. Fea said. “He did it because he’s really the first one to listen to their grievances and take them seriously. Does he really care about evangelicals? I don’t know. But he’s built a message to appeal directly to them.”

Support from local pastors

Trump rallies have always been something of a cross between a rock concert and a tent revival. When Mr. Trump first started winding down his rallies with the ambient strains, many connected them to similar theme music from the QAnon conspiracy movement, but the campaign distanced itself from that notion.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, said in a statement: “President Trump has used the end of his speeches to draw a clear contrast to the last four years of Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency and lay out his vision to get America back on track.”

But the shift has helped turn Mr. Trump’s rallies into a more aesthetically churchlike experience.

A Trump rally in Las Vegas in January opened with a prayer from Jesus Marquez, an elder at a local church, who cited Scripture to declare that God wanted Mr. Trump to return to the White House.

“God is on our side — he’s on the side of this movement,” said Mr. Marquez, who founded the American Christian Caucus, a grass-roots group.

And at a rally in South Carolina in February, Greg Rodermond, a pastor at Crossroads Community Church, prayed for God to intervene against Mr. Trump’s political opponents, arguing that they were “trying to steal, kill and destroy our America.”

“Father, we have gathered here today in unity for our nation to see it restored back to its greatness,” Mr. Rodermond continued, “and, God, we believe that you have chosen Donald Trump as an instrument in your hands for this purpose.”

But some Christian conservatives are loath to join their brethren in clearing a direct path from the ornate doors of Mar-a-Lago to the pearly gates of Heaven.

Russell Moore, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public-policy arm, said Mr. Trump’s rallies had veered into “dangerous territory” with the altar-call closing and opening prayers from preachers describing Mr. Trump as heaven-sent.

“Claiming godlike authority or an endorsement from God for a political candidate means that person cannot be questioned or opposed without also opposing God,” Mr. Moore said. “That’s a violation of the commandment to not take the Lord’s name in vain.”

Michael C. Bender is a Times political correspondent covering Donald J. Trump, the Make America Great Again movement and other federal and state elections. More about Michael C. Bender

Our Coverage of the 2024 Presidential Election

News and Analysis

Former President Donald Trump said that abortion rights should be left up to the states , remarks that came after months of mixed signals on the issue.

President Biden plans to announce a large-scale effort to help pay off student loans  for tens of millions of Americans, seeking an election-year boost by returning to a promise that was blocked by the Supreme Court.

Trump, speaking at a multimillion-dollar fund-raiser , lamented that people were not immigrating to the United States from “nice” countries .

Protests over the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza are disrupting the activities of Democratic officials, complicating their ability to campaign during a pivotal election year .

For all Trump’s populist rhetoric in 2016, his presidency proved to be business-friendly. But Trump and those around him are signaling that a second term would be different .

It’s usually a given that Republicans will win voters 65 and over, but that’s not the case in this election. Nate Cohn, our chief political analyst, explains Biden’s strength among seniors .

In Chicago, restaurants and venues are booking fast for the Democratic National Convention in August. But Milwaukee, host of the Republican National Convention in July, is wondering if customers will come .

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A person in Texas caught bird flu after exposure to cows that were thought to be ill

Joe Hernandez

Dairy cattle feed at a farm on March 31, 2017, near Vado, N.M. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says cows in multiple states have tested positive for bird flu. Rodrigo Abd/AP hide caption

Dairy cattle feed at a farm on March 31, 2017, near Vado, N.M. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says cows in multiple states have tested positive for bird flu.

Livestock at multiple dairy farms across the U.S. have tested positive for bird flu — also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI — in an outbreak that's likely spread to at least five states.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed Friday that cows in Texas, Kansas and Michigan had been sickened by the virus, and there were presumptive positive test results for additional herds in New Mexico and Idaho.

It's the first time the disease has been found in dairy cattle, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

On Monday, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced that a person who was exposed to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with bird flu had also caught the virus.

What we know about the deadliest U.S. bird flu outbreak in 7 years

It is only the second time a human in the U.S. has contracted HPAI A, or H5N1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A person in contact with infected poultry was sickened in Colorado in 2022.

Texas issued a public health alert Monday, asking health care providers in the state to be on the lookout for people with symptoms of bird flu who may have been exposed to an infected person or animal.

The new cases come just days after a group of young goats contracted bird flu on a Minnesota farm.

Bird flu infects the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts of birds and is often fatal to avian populations. It can spread from wild birds to commercial poultry and backyard flocks as well as terrestrial and marine mammals and humans.

Government officials say the risk to the public amid the current outbreak remains low. Most past human infections have occurred after people had "unprotected exposures to sick or dead infected poultry," according to the CDC, and it's rare for a human to transmit the disease to another person.

Officials say the strain of the virus detected in Michigan is similar to the one found in Texas and Kansas, which was shown through initial testing not to include any changes that would make it more transmissible to humans.

The first human case of avian flu in the U.S. is reported in Colorado

The rash of bird flu infections should also not dramatically impact consumers of dairy products, federal and state officials say.

"The good news is this is not a serious problem," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told NPR on Sunday. "It's not going to bankrupt anybody. Cows basically have the flu for a week, and they get over it."

Officials say the dairy supply is safe

The country's commercial dairy supply is safe and a milk recall is unnecessary , the USDA says.

That's because dairies are required to divert or destroy any milk from impacted livestock, and only milk from healthy cows can be processed for human consumption.

Additionally, pasteurization — which is required for milk entering interstate commerce — kills bacteria and viruses, including influenza.

Shots - Health News

Eggs prices drop, but the threat from avian flu isn't over yet.

The Food and Drug Administration says there is limited information available about the transmission of bird flu in raw, unpasteurized milk. The agency has long warned people to avoid raw milk, which it says can harbor dangerous bacteria and sicken consumers.

Federal officials say the loss of milk from ill dairy cows is too limited to significantly impact the commercial supply, which is typically higher in the spring due to increased seasonal production. Dairy prices are not expected to rise due to the outbreak, they added.

How regulators and farmers are working to contain the spread

The USDA believes the dairy cows have been sickened by a strain called H5N1, Eurasian lineage goose/Guangdong clade 2.3.4.4b, which was likely introduced by wild birds. Pigeons, blackbirds and grackles were identified at the affected Texas farms.

But federal officials are also not ruling out the possibility of cow-to-cow transmission. That's after a Michigan farm recently received a shipment of cattle from an affected Texas farm before any of the cows show signs of disease, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said Friday.

South Africa culls millions of chickens in an effort to contain bird flu outbreaks

While there are still many unknowns, the available evidence collected from infected cattle isn't alarming to Richard Webby, a virologist from Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

"There's nothing in the sequence of the virus that sort of immediately screams that it has changed, and that's why these cows are getting infected," he said. "It just seems to be fairly typical of the viruses that have been detected in birds in various regions."

Cows sickened by bird flu at affected dairy farms have recovered "after isolation with little to no associated mortality reported," according to the USDA.

Texas officials said Monday that the person who tested positive for bird flu had reported eye inflammation, or conjunctivitis, as their only symptom. They were told to isolate and were being treated with oseltamivir, an antiviral drug.

Federal and state agencies are continuing to test sick livestock and unpasteurized milk samples.

The USDA also recommends that farmers and their veterinarians practice "good biosecurity," which includes limiting animal movements, testing livestock before they're moved and isolating sick cows.

NPR's Will Stone contributed reporting.

Bird flu detected in dairy worker who had contact with infected cattle in Texas

A dairy worker in Texas is being treated for bird flu , only the second human case in the United States of an illness caused by a highly virulent virus that has recently rampaged through dairy cows in five states, federal and state officials said Monday.

The patient, who experienced eye inflammation as the only symptom, was tested for flu late last week, with confirmatory testing performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the weekend. The patient was told to isolate and is being treated with oseltamivir, an antiviral drug sold under the brand name Tamiflu. The newly emerged case does not change the risk for the general public, which remains low, federal officials said.

“The patient worked directly with sick cows at a dairy, so the virus was most likely transmitted through that close contact,” said Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The case has alarmed disease trackers monitoring for the worst-case scenario: human-to-human transmission of the pathogen, which has happened infrequently worldwide, typically among family members engaged in work with animals. And it raises questions about whether this pathogen is now more easily transmitted among mammals .

About 15 people with flu-like symptoms and possible exposure have been tested, and only the one worker tested positive, Van Deusen said. Testing of asymptomatic individuals is of little value because of a high rate of false positives.

Texas health officials are working with other state and federal agencies to provide guidance to dairies about precautions workers should take to minimize the risk of transmission from animals and encourage those who become ill to get tested, Van Deusen said.

CDC spokesman Kevin Griffis said the investigation into how widely the virus has spread is ongoing. “At this time, we are not aware that any of the individual’s close contacts have experienced any symptoms,” he said. Officials do not yet know the specific route of transmission.

While the CDC considers the risk of infection for the general public to be low, people with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection.

Still, any time the virus changes “that makes me sit up and take notice,” said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Its recent emergence in cattle and the likelihood of cow-to-cow transmission represents a worrisome change.

This marks the first time the highly pathogenic avian influenza has been identified in U.S. dairy cattle, the American Veterinary Medical Association said in a statement last week.

Matt Steele, chief executive of the Kansas Cattlemen’s Association, said beef and dairy producers constantly check the health of their animals. If an animal appears sick, they’ll pull it aside, take its temperature and call in a veterinarian, if needed.

The odds of infected meat or dairy products leaving the farm are “very, very low,” Steele said, citing a system of checks and balances between the producers and state and federal agencies. “This isn’t really a major disease outbreak” that would heavily impact the meat and dairy market, he said.

Human infections with avian influenza viruses are uncommon but have occurred sporadically worldwide. The CDC has been monitoring for illness among people exposed to H5 virus-infected birds since outbreaks were first detected in U.S. wild birds and poultry in 2021.

Until now, only one human case had been identified in the United States. In 2022, a person in Colorado tested positive for the same strain of avian flu. The person was involved in culling poultry presumed to have been infected with H5N1 bird flu. The person reported fatigue for a few days as their only symptom and recovered, according to the CDC.

Human illnesses with H5N1 bird flu have ranged from mild, such as eye infections and upper respiratory symptoms, to severe illness, such as pneumonia, that have resulted in death in other countries.

Experts worry about the potential for viral evolution. There are several scenarios: The virus could remain primarily a threat to animal health and then recede, as it has in the past. It may continue to circulate among animals, but not routinely infect humans. Or, in the worst case, it evolves to spread easily between people and becomes the next pandemic, Rivers said. Such a pandemic would have significant costs to human life, society and the global economy, she said.

Pandemic flu has long been the boogeyman of infectious-disease and public health experts because the influenza virus is known to be wily, constantly changing, with an ability to combine with other influenza viruses to form new subtypes. A pandemic flu occurs when a new strain of influenza emerges that can be transmitted easily from person to person, and for which there is little or no natural immunity.

The more the virus is able to circulate in mammalian species , the greater the opportunity for the pathogen to mutate to spread more efficiently between humans. Although the H5N1 bird flu has rarely infected humans, among the cases that have been diagnosed, the fatality rate is roughly 50 percent.

Rivers said it’s important for U.S. policymakers to be proactive. If this strain of bird flu becomes easily spread from human to human, “the opportunity we have to make a difference is very short,” she said, because there is no immunity in humans and transmission would be fast. “You can’t adopt a wait-and-see attitude.”

Bird flu is different from the influenza virus that affects humans. Seasonal flu vaccines for humans do not protect against avian viruses.

The CDC, the U.S. Agriculture Department, and the Food and Drug Administration, along with state health and veterinary officials, say they are closely monitoring developments. The CDC has a tool that gauges how likely bird flu will efficiently spread between humans. It was last updated in April 2023, after the virus had spread to a commercial mink farm in Spain.

H5 bird flu is widespread among wild birds and has been documented to infect dozens of other mammalian species, but it rarely spreads between them. These viruses have caused outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry flocks , leading to the culling of millions of poultry . Epidemiologists have been worried about the growing number of mammals infected by the highly pathogenic avian influenza — commonly known as HPAI — around the world.

Last month, HPAI was found in a baby goat in Minnesota, the first case in U.S. livestock.

The virus was detected in dairy herds in Texas and Kansas on March 25. Unpasteurized milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, as well as a throat swab from a cow in another dairy in Texas, tested positive. Testing showed the genetic clade to be the same that is widespread among birds globally. Since then, bird flu has spread to additional herds in at least five states, adding evidence that the virus may be spreading cow-to-cow. The strain was confirmed in a Michigan dairy on March 29 and in a New Mexico dairy on April 1, and presumptive positive tests have also been reported from Idaho, federal officials said.

Preliminary analysis has not found mutations that would make these viruses resistant to FDA-approved antiviral medications for flu, the CDC said Monday.

The United States has a small amount of bird flu vaccine that targeted an earlier bird flu strain, part of a program to prepare for strains of influenza virus with pandemic potential. With the latest spread of bird flu, vaccine candidates are being developed and tested that are expected to match the current strain, according to an official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.