California has joined the vast majority of states in setting up a way to strip the badges of police officers who act criminally or with bias, a change that was among several criminal justice reforms signed into law Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.”
"Officers can now lose their certification for serious misconduct including using excessive force, committing sexual assault, intimidating witnesses, making a false arrest or report, or participating in a law enforcement gang."
2. Inventor of Hand-Cranked Washing Machine is Distributing the Low-Cost Device to Refugees
The inventor of a hand-cranked washing machine has travelled to Iraq to distribute the low-cost device to refugees.
Navjot Sawhney created the Divya to allow those living in poverty to be able to wash their clothes more easily. He said the two-week trip to northern Iraq to hand out the machines has been a "completely humbling experience".
"To give them the dignity of clean clothes is very fulfilling," said the former University of Bath student.
3. Ocelots rescued from traffickers returned to wild in Ecuador
Six ocelots rescued from illegal wildlife traffickers have been returned to the wild in northern Ecuador, the environment ministry said on Saturday.
"They released six female ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in the Cotacachi Cayapas Reserve," near the border with Colombia, it said in a statement.
"All the specimens returned to their natural habitat after a rehabilitation period of approximately one year."
4. CRISPR Gene-Editing Experiment Partly Restores Vision In Legally Blind Patients
“On Wednesday, researchers revealed the first evidence that the approach appears to be working — improving vision for at least some patients with the condition, known as Leber congenital amaurosis, or LCA, a severe form of vision impairment.
"It's a really amazing technology and very powerful," says Dr. Mark Pennesi, professor of ophthalmology at the Casey Eye Institute at the Oregon Health & Science University. He presented the results at an International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration in Nashville, Tenn.”
Imagine being the person who had their sight partially restored. You have what you believe is a life sentence and one day you get your sight back, and if you never had it at all what an overwhelming experience to witness a beautiful sunset for the first time. I would just travel around seeing cool things for like a year. What an awesome story.
5. Rare Arabian leopard cub is born, raising hopes for the species’ survival
“The birth of an Arabian leopard cub in Saudi Arabia is fuelling hope for the survival of one of the world’s most critically endangered animals.
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has just announced that the female cub was born on April 23 at the Arabian Leopard Breeding Center in Taif, Saudi Arabia.”
6. Orlando school elects its first transgender homecoming queen
"It made me feel like I actually belonged," Bialosuknia said. "Not just like a joke. Cause that was one of my fears, I was in bed one night like, 'What if they were just doing this to laugh at me?'"
Bialosuknia is 17, and in her first year living the way she wants and feels. Just a few months ago, she started her transition.
"I still have a long way to go and more change is coming," she said.
“Duane Garvais-Lawrence biked and ran across the country — from Washington state to Washington, DC — to advocate for more resources to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. He met with families of the missing along the way and with lawmakers in DC.”
That's it for this week. Until next week, stay safe and don’t forget to share this newsletter with your friends :)
I really enjoyed this! after a long week it's great to get some good news in my inbox