Don’t Give Up Hope! Even 2025 Had Bright Spots.

It was a very bad year. Israel has continued its methodical destruction of Gaza, the Taliban have intensified their repression against Afghan women, the civil war in Sudan has killed hundreds of thousands of people, democracy is in decline around the world, Elon Musk and Trump have done their best to destroy the federal government, ICE has arrested immigrants without due process and often with great violence, RFK Jr. wants to deprive children of life-saving vaccines, and on and on. To keep myself from giving up completely and spending the rest of my days drunk on the couch, I subscribe to positive news sites:Great news, Goodgoodgood, Good News Network-full of happy stories about medical advances, rescued dogs, and kids donating their lemonade stand earnings to charity. Most people, I tell myself, are good, and sometimes I even believe in them. So, let’s bid the year farewell on a hopeful note. Here are 11 stories to remind us that even 2025 had positive moments. May 2026 will have many more.

1. The U.S. murder rate fell 20 percent, continuing its decline in 2023 and 2024. Among cities, Birmingham, Alabama takes the top prize, with 49 percent fewer murders since 2024. Many cities recorded rates not seen since the 1960s, with San Francisco having the lowest rate since 1942.
2. New York’s congestion pricing, which charges passenger vehicles $9 to enter midtown Manhattan, is a success. There were plenty of opponents when the project began Jan. 7, and President Donald Trump vowed to cancel it, but it has reduced traffic, pollution, accidents, injuries and noise complaints, while increasing public transportation ridership and raising about half a billion dollars for MTA capital improvements. Plus, people were using downtown more, not less.
3. The ACLU was opposed to it for some reason, but when New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law banning students from using cell phones at school, she joined some 18 states, from Vermont to Texas. Seven other states ban cellphone use during instructional time, and almost all others are working on restrictions. Result: Students talk to each other and are attentive in class. Preliminary research suggests that teachers are delighted: children are less distracted in class, test scores are up, as is physical activity during recess.
4. According to Wikipedia’s Loyal Editors Chart, this year saw three of the five largest protest marches in U.S. history: Hands off in April, No Kings in June, and No Kings in October. According to the Crowd Counting Consortium, “protests in 2025 affected more of the United States than at any other time on record. And the geographic reach of protest activity—the share of U.S. counties hosting at least one event—remained remarkably high throughout the year.”
5. Mamdani, Mamdani, Mamdani! Who would have thought that a 34-year-old Muslim socialist of Ugandan descent would win the election for mayor of New York with proposals for free day care, free buses, reduced rents and city-run grocery stores? He joins a growing cohort of left-leaning big-city mayors: Katie Wilson in Seattle, Michelle Wu in Boston and Brandon Johnson in Chicago. Additionally, Janeese Lewis George appears to be in a strong position to be the next mayor of Washington, DC.
6. More good news at the polls: Despite Elon Musk’s attempt to swing the vote by donating about $10 million to his Republican opponent, Judge Susan Crawford, a liberal, won a seat on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court by 11 points, ensuring a liberal majority through 2028. Nationwide, Democrats flipped 21 percent of state legislative seats held by Republicans up for election. Republicans have not flipped a single seat held by a Democrat.
7. Science is advancing: black coffee is good for your health. Take that, killjoy who keeps looking for reasons to give up one of life’s simple and affordable pleasures. According to The nutrition journalA cup or two of black coffee reduces the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, and all-cause mortality. But cream and sugar cancel out these benefits, so avoid the million-calorie syrup-laden drinks at Starbucks and do like the Italians: only black after eleven in the morning.
8. Women’s rights have stagnated or declined in one in four countries, from Poland and Iraq to Russia and the United States, according to a UN report. But there are places where progress has been made: Italy has made femicide, the killing of a woman because of her gender, a separate and specific crime. Driven by the horror of the Gisèle Pélicot affair, in which a husband drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her, France added lack of consent to the definition of rape. And despite the compulsory wearing of the hijab in Iran, women continue to show their hair as a sign of defiance. Never believe when its supporters say that the veil is “just a piece of cloth.” If it were true, the mullahs would not arrest the women who kidnap it.
9. In seven states, voters added the right to abortion to their constitutions: Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New York and Nevada. Unfortunately, pro-choice measures have failed in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Florida, where a proposal to add abortion rights to the state constitution failed to pass the required 60% threshold by 3 percent. Additionally, despite 20 states banning or restricting abortion since the Supreme Court struck down Roe deerthe number of abortions has actually increased, thanks to the widespread use of abortion pills. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean everyone who might want them gets them: In Texas, for example, teen births are on the rise after years of decline, as are pregnancies and births caused by rape.
10. Book sales are on the rise. Surprised? Fewer people are reading, so those who do read – disproportionately women – have to buy more books. Unfortunately (that word again), a lot of what they buy is junk, but that’s probably always been true. And anyway, reading is forming a habit, and you have to start somewhere. Today, Onyx Stormtomorrow, At the lighthouse.
11. Hundreds of new species have been discovered and/or described (apparently this happens every year). To name just a few: a new species of tinamou, a very pretty little bird that lives in the mountain forests of Brazil, the wonderfully named hooded babbler in Papua New Guinea, a tiny mouse opossum called the Marmosa chachapoya with a long tail, a long nose and huge sad eyes, as well as lots of fish, insects, arachnids, plants and long-extinct dinosaurs, including a feathered one with its last meal still in its stomach. It’s still a world of wonders, so in 2026, let’s try to keep it that way.