United States milestones | Good News for Humankind

Female protester with megaphone, for article on rape kit reform

All 50 U.S. states now have rape kit reform laws after 16-year campaign

By Peter Schulte / May 9, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Rape kit reform just hit a milestone 16 years in the making: with Maine’s new law on May 1, 2026, all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico now have at least one pillar of reform on the books. The campaign began when survivors started writing letters to actress Mariska Hargitay, whose Joyful Heart Foundation later built a research-grounded framework called the Six Pillars — covering mandatory testing, dedicated funding, and a survivor’s right to know what happened to their own kit. Before this wave, a person could endure an hours-long exam and never learn if the evidence was tested. Laws on paper aren’t justice in practice yet, but the distance covered shows what survivor-led advocacy can accomplish when it refuses to quit.

Inside independent bookstore, for article on independent bookstores

U.S. independent bookstores have grown 70% since 2020

By Peter Schulte / May 6, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Independent bookstores are staging a comeback few saw coming: U.S. membership in the American Booksellers Association has climbed from about 1,900 stores in 2019 to roughly 3,200 today. A big part of that turnaround is Bookshop.org, an online alternative to Amazon launched in January 2020 that has funneled nearly $47 million back to local shops, with more than 80 cents of every profit dollar going to stores. Founder Andy Hunter calls bookselling “a high-love business,” and readers seem to agree, increasingly choosing where they buy a book as carefully as what they read. It’s a hopeful reminder that intentional spending and a little shared infrastructure can rebuild what big platforms once seemed destined to erase.

Minneapolis skyline, for article on nudification app ban

Minnesota passes ban on fake A.I. nudes

By Peter Schulte / May 6, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Minnesota’s nudification app ban just cleared the state Senate with a 65-0 vote, and it carries real teeth: fines up to $500,000 per fake image, with the money flowing directly to services for survivors of sexual assault and abuse. The bill targets the tools themselves — apps built specifically to strip images of real people without consent — while exempting general-purpose software like Photoshop. It exists because survivor Molly Kelley spent two years organizing after a man in her social circle used a nudifying service to fabricate images of more than 80 women he knew. Her advocacy turned a legal void into unanimous bipartisan action, offering a template other states are already studying as AI-enabled abuse outpaces older laws.

California landscape, for article on California state park expansion

California announces biggest state park expansion in decades

By Peter Schulte / May 4, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

California’s state park system just grew by three brand-new parks plus expansions to several others, adding hundreds of protected acres from the Central Valley to the redwood coast. Among the highlights: a 2,000-acre oak woodland becomes Yuba County’s very first state park, and the Bakersfield-area camp that inspired Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath will be preserved for future generations. Near Fresno, six riverfront properties totaling 874 acres will secure public access that was at risk of disappearing. It’s the biggest expansion of the system in decades, now totaling 283 parks. As climate pressures mount and access to nature remains uneven, this is a hopeful reminder that protecting land — especially in long-overlooked communities — is still very much possible.

Scientist filling tubes, for article on reversible male contraception

Cornell researchers achieve first reversible male birth control in mice

By Peter Schulte / April 30, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Reversible male birth control just cleared a major hurdle: in a new Cornell study, male mice stopped producing sperm entirely after three weeks of treatment, then bounced back to full fertility within six weeks of stopping. The approach skips hormones altogether, targeting a specific window of sperm development in the testis so libido and other traits stay untouched. Even better, the mice went on to father healthy pups who were themselves fertile. The researchers are now testing new molecular targets and hope to launch a company within two years to move toward human trials. If the science holds up across species, it could finally give men a real long-acting option — and ease a contraceptive burden women have shouldered alone for generations.

Salmon in river, for article on coho salmon recovery

Coho salmon returns surge 10x on California’s Mendocino Coast over last decade

By Peter Schulte / April 28, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Coho salmon are back on California’s Mendocino Coast in numbers no one alive expected to see: more than 30,000 endangered adults returned to spawn this past season, roughly ten times the count from a decade ago. Biologists who once walked miles of empty stream are now finding fish tucked under their boots and spawning in channels barely a foot and a half wide. The turnaround follows decades of patient work — over 100 restoration projects, removed culverts, and rebuilt floodplains — meeting a rare stretch of favorable ocean conditions. It’s a reminder that endangered species can come back when communities commit to the long, unglamorous work of healing the places they depend on.

Researcher examining brain scan imagery for an article about Alzheimer's prevention trial results

U.S. researchers cut Alzheimer’s risk by half in first-ever prevention trial

By Peter Schulte / April 14, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Alzheimer’s prevention may have reached a turning point after a landmark trial showed that removing amyloid plaques before symptoms appear can cut the risk of developing the disease by roughly 50%. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine studied people with rare genetic mutations that make Alzheimer’s nearly inevitable, finding that early, aggressive treatment can genuinely alter the disease’s course. The results, published in The Lancet Neurology, mark the first time any intervention has shown potential to prevent Alzheimer’s from appearing at all, not merely slow its progression. That distinction matters enormously, since amyloid begins accumulating in the brain two decades before symptoms emerge.

A person sitting quietly on a bench at sunset, for an article about global suicide rate decline — 15 words.

Global suicide rate has dropped nearly 40% since the 1990s

By Peter Schulte / April 10, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Global suicide rates have dropped nearly 40% since the early 1990s, falling from roughly 15 deaths per 100,000 people to around nine — one of modern public health’s most significant and underreported victories. This decline was driven by expanded mental health services, crisis intervention programs, and proven strategies like restricting access to lethal means. The progress spans dozens of countries, with especially sharp declines in East Asia and Europe. Critically, this trend demonstrates that suicide is preventable at a population level — making the case for sustained investment in mental health infrastructure worldwide.

A California condor in flight with wings fully spread, for an article about California condor recovery on Yurok tribal land

California condors nest on Yurok land in the Pacific Northwest for the first time in over a century

By Peter Schulte / April 6, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

California condors are nesting in the Pacific Northwest for the first time in over a century, on Yurok Tribe territory in Northern California. The confirmed nest marks a landmark moment in condor recovery and represents deep cultural restoration for the Yurok people, who consider the condor — prey-go-neesh — a sacred relative. The Yurok Tribe has led reintroduction efforts since 2008, combining Indigenous ecological knowledge with conventional conservation science. Successful wild nesting signals the recovering population is crossing a critical threshold, demonstrating that Indigenous-led conservation produces measurable, meaningful results.

Washington state capitol building in Olympia with blue sky for an article about Washington state millionaires tax — 15 words.

Washington state enacts a millionaires tax to fund schools and families

By Peter Schulte / April 1, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Washington state millionaires tax marks one of the boldest state-level tax equity moves in recent U.S. history, imposing a surcharge on capital gains and investment income earned by the state’s wealthiest residents. The revenue will fund K-12 public schools, early childhood programs, and relief for small businesses long burdened by the state’s business and occupation tax structure. The law is especially significant because Washington has historically had one of the most regressive tax systems in the country, with lower-income residents paying a far higher share of their income in taxes than the wealthy. By targeting investment income, the state begins correcting that structural imbalance without adding burdens to working families.