5 Good News Stories

Johnny Mac shares five Halloween-themed stories: a pediatric dentist lists eight candies worst for kids’ teeth, emphasizing that days of post-Halloween snacking are the real problem, and naming sticky chews, sour candy, taffy/caramels, hard candy, licorice-type candies, pure sugar candy, candy corn, and chocolate with caramel/nougat. Major League Soccer shifts most Saturday night matches to Saturday afternoon or Sunday for trick-or-treating, except the Colorado Rapids. In Westland, Michigan, visitors can take guided paranormal investigations at a former psychiatric hospital, with claims of hauntings and overnight options. Hong Kong hosts three weekends of Halloween crowds mixing Western and Chinese-themed co...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Zoë, a KLM pilot who started flight academy at 17, unexpectedly co-piloted a flight with her father Michel, a 35-year KLM veteran, while her mother Marjan served passengers on the same plane. In India, Julia Roberts visited a sanctuary in 2009 and named a rescued sloth bear Odum; now 26, he lives calmly at Wildlife SOS’s Bear Rescue Center. At Kenya’s Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Nursery, orphaned black rhino Titan and zebra Noddy became close companions as Titan is prepared for eventual release. Despite rain, the 40th Broadway Flea Market raised $1,490,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fight...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: wildlife workers in Massachusetts found a rare two-headed (bicephalic) baby diamondback terrapin that is being monitored at the Cape Wildlife Center; archaeologists in a Paris hospital courtyard on the Seine discovered a 2,000-year-old Gallic fortification wall and related finds dated to around Julius Caesar’s 52 BCE conquest; a bear wandered into an Aspen market, ate bread from a booth, climbed a tree when authorities arrived, and left on its own; New York City planted 18,261 trees in fiscal year 2026, the most since 2016, focusing on heat-vulnerable neighborhoods and improving nursery timing and post-plant care; and th...

Johnny Mac shares five Halloween-themed stories: Sydney Sweeney revives her Euphoria character Cassie Howard’s controversial look to promote a Halloween costume for her brand centered on a $269 Date Night Satin Corset with a lace-up back and structured silhouette, plus dog ears, collar/leash, and matching bracelets. In Boise Beach, residents report rats eating porch pumpkins; a pest-control worker advises moving pumpkins indoors near windows, avoiding straw, and focusing on removing food sources rather than relying on remedies like cayenne pepper. He also reviews Halloween candy, praising Kinder Joy’s Stranger Things crossover egg and Hershey’s Cookies ’N’ Cream Fangs, whi...

Tim Dillon | Five Good News Stories: Floodwater Shark, Dinosaur-Age Mammal Find, School Shooting Prevention, Rescued Deer, Nepal Tigers Surge
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: after a New Jersey nor’easter flooded Surf City, video showed a shark swimming through driveway floodwater, later identified by a biologist as a harmless smooth dogfish likely headed toward Barnegat Bay; a small 66-million-year-old skeleton found in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert and later reexamined at Stony Brook challenged a decades-old tooth-based classification of Cretaceous mammals and the theory that modern hoofed mammals originated in Asia; Sandy Hook Promise’s Say Something Anonymous Report...

Johnny Mac shares five Halloween-themed good news stories: Tropical Smoothie Cafe launches its first Halloween drink, the bright orange Fanta Phantom smoothie topped with purple vanilla popping boba and served in a clear cup; Rivian adds a limited-time Ghostbusters Halloween mode via over-the-air update through November 2 with themed lights, sounds, lock tones, a scavenger hunt, and a Mini Puff “Mallow Mash” game; United Way and local partners in Muscatine County provide free Halloween costumes so children can celebrate at no cost; Florida offers major attractions including The Haunt: Fever Dream in Fort Lauderdale and Miami’s Sound of Screams amusement park...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a whale watch boat off Massachusetts spotted an 18-foot whale entangled in fishing gear and towing a buoy, prompting a response from the Center for Coastal Studies Marine Animal Entanglement Response Team and the Coast Guard. In England, the National Trust transformed the Sandal Lands coastal golf course into a wetland of about 45 football fields, and birds began nesting there before the project was complete. In Pennsylvania, 17-year-old Alexander built “Iris,” wearable AI glasses that map surroundings and use vibrations to guide blind users; the materials cost $170, and he received the Presidential AI Chal...

Johnny Mac shares five Halloween-themed good news stories, starting with candy reviews: Hi-Chew Mystery Mix is praised for flavors like green apple, cotton candy, and orange creamsicle (with a mystery flavor unrevealed until Halloween), while Brach’s Mellow Cream Spooky Graveyard is panned across its flavors and shapes; Kit Kat “Counts” are highlighted as a Halloween standout despite thicker chocolate, and Keebler Spooky Fudge Stripes are criticized. He then spotlights Aldi’s Halloween cheeses, including Death by Garlic cheddar, Scary Pumpkin Spice Wensleydale, and green Freaky Franken Sage Derby. The episode also promotes Los Angeles’ United Theater screening of Mario Bava’s 196...

Host Johnny Mac shares five good news stories centered on Halloween season trends. He recaps a cleveland.com look at the unloved orange-and-black “Peanut Butter Kisses,” originally Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, tracing their makers’ decline and noting Milster Candies as the sole current producer selling them online. He highlights Halloween-themed Nike and Jordan Brand sneaker releases, including models tied to Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant with various spooky colorways and glow details. He previews New York City’s free family-friendly fall festivals and Halloween events, including “Trick or Streets” with 160 car-free sites. He spotlights South Florida Fair...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories, led by Adam Vinatieri kicking a 33-yard field goal at Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps (11,317 feet) to earn the Guinness World Record for highest altitude American football field goal, organized by the Patriots to promote their game vs. the Lions in Munich. In Ecuador, the 1997 discovery of the Jocotoco antpitta led Robert Ridgely to protect its habitat, creating the Jocotoco Foundation’s network of 19 private reserves safeguarding 123,000 acres and documenting 1,350 bird species. In Virginia, a woman and her mother win $500,000 from a Food Lion scratch-off ticket. In Wisconsin, inmates at Red Granite Correctional In...

David Rush Sets New Cup-Flipping Record as Scotland Cycling Surges
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Bicycles outnumbered cars on Edinburgh’s Leith Walk during a morning count for Cycling Scotland’s 48-hour survey, with 67,000 bike journeys statewide (up 25% year over year) and strong impact from Edinburgh’s e-bike rental program, which has logged 1.5 million trips since last fall. In Northern California, two years after four dams were removed from the Klamath River, more than 20,000 Chinook salmon migrated upstream, with salmon repopulating about 90% of their pre-dam range within the first year. Guinness record-setter David Rush flipped 10 cups in 6.63 second...

Johnny Mac shares five Halloween-themed good news stories: Spirit Halloween’s annual costume trend report, noting fandom-driven picks like Toy Story, K-pop demon hunters, Spider-Man, The Backrooms, and Fortnite alongside staples, and that 70% of shoppers buy Halloween items before September with Home Depot’s 12-foot skeleton often sold out before Labor Day. Chewy pet lifestyle expert Whitney says funny pet costumes are popular, with wigs rising and a new baked potato costume, plus simpler options like glow-in-the-dark collars and harness-style wings, capes, and headpieces, advising pets should move freely. He then lists the most common Halloween costumes by year from 1950 to 2...

Johnny Mac shares five good news Halloween stories: Tombstone Pizza is selling a limited-edition Candy Corn Pizza kit via online drops, offering a cheese or pepperoni pizza plus candy corn for $1.31 shipped; in New York City, Heidi Klum’s limited Butterfinger dessert pizza is available all month at Crazy Pizza in SoHo with samples planned for the Village Halloween Parade on Oct. 31. Fifteen Tommy’s Express locations in Michigan are running a “Tunnel of Terror” haunted car wash. DoorDash data shows top treats by state (Reese’s leads 17 states) and reports dinner deliveries usually drop on Halloween except pizza. In Shrewsbury...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: researchers in Bolivia confirmed a newly documented wild cat species, locally called “Chilkayo,” genetically distinct from the oncilla and split from its nearest relative about 1.4 million years ago. At Chimp Haven in Louisiana, 54-year-old chimp Pierre, blinded by cataracts, was trained with positive reinforcement to cooperate with care and then underwent successful cataract surgery, quickly reconnecting with caregivers and his companion Jill. Emma’s family achieved a Guinness-certified record when her son Arthur became the fifth consecutive generation born on September 14th, with alternating genders across generations. Concord Public Library in New Hampshire ended...

Tim McGraw Songwriter Helps Rescue Nashville Foxes as Bison Return to Mexico Reserve
Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: 48 bison were reintroduced after 200 years to the El Santuario Wildlife Reserve within Mexico’s Cuatro Ciénegas Biosphere Reserve, where their hooves, coats, and dung help break compacted soil, spread seeds, and fertilize the desert oasis ecosystem. In Nashville, 78-year-old songwriter Jerry, who has had songs recorded by Tim McGraw, has spent seven years trapping foxes suffering from a worsening mange epidemic and bringing them to Walden’s Puddle Animal Rescue; by September the rescue rehabilitated over 60 foxes, surpassing last...

Johnny Mac shares five good news Halloween stories: Costco is selling a 5.5-pound Belgian chocolate Frankenstein head that comes with a wooden mallet and contains a pound of body-part-shaped gummy candies for $55, though it’s sold out and being resold for up to $100. Lego released a 323-piece Halloween Pumpkin Lantern set that lights up when the stem is pressed and includes a spider and glow-in-the-dark ghost for about $30. In Philadelphia, Newsroom Philly becomes the Pumpkin Press, a Poe and Headless Horseman-inspired pop-up with themed decor and cocktails like the Headless Horseman, Moon Over Sleepy Hollow, and a Raven’s Cauldron for...

Johnny Mac shares five upbeat stories: a 15-year-old, Derek, survives two days on an overturned fishing boat in Alaska’s Bering Sea and is rescued by a Coast Guard crew and a nearby vessel; the Metropolitan Opera hires a boa constrictor named Princess (with understudy Nala) for a Mozart production reset at a 1950s Coney Island carnival after singer Zoe auditions the snakes; in Hungary, 19 teams compete in a grave-digging contest to highlight the skill and effort, won by Robert and Laszlo in 1:21; Callum, 23, born without arms, races using his feet and trains with Team Brit toward a Le Mans go...

Host Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a Hollywood, Florida steakhouse called Class Soiree Steakhouse will host a nude dining experience the first Monday of every month, with clothed staff, rules including no touching, robes and seat covers provided, and pricing of $250 for men, $150 for women, and $300 for couples for adults 18+. An engineering prodigy in Florida, Nathan Thomas, became the youngest college professor at 18 years and 346 days at Miami Dade after earning a master’s in electrical engineering, and he now teaches online while pursuing a University of Miami law degree with a 2028 graduation target. A British man set a...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories, including a farmer bride, Victoria, who rode a Swiss cow named White Chocolate Button into Holy Cross Church after arriving mostly by tractor, then returned to the farm to milk cows with her new husband Mike before their reception. A Cincinnati Animal Care kitten, Gelato, previously seen using a homemade wheelchair, received a custom 3D-printed wheelchair after the story went viral. In Australia, a large python was found in a car’s glove compartment and was removed by Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers and taken to a wildlife hospital for a small injury. A 97-y...

The episode delivers five upbeat Halloween items: Variety’s 2026 costume ideas, including Nikki from “Obsession,” Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl bushes, Athena or Odysseus from “The Odyssey,” Madison Square Garden Knicks celebrity row (highlighting a Taylor Swift Knicks shirt), doctors from “The Pit,” and Dolly Parton. Chicago Cat Tours announces a Halloween neighborhood cat-walk event on Saturday, October 10, featuring costumed cats and a block party, with registration due by Wednesday, September 30, and cats like Professor Meatloaf and Mr. Flufflepants. Dairy Queen introduces a Halloween menu with the Enchanted Oreo Blizzard using purple yam, the Bubble Brew DQ Sparkler drink, and ghost pepper sau...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Binghamton University researchers used Shannon entropy to create a Wordle strategy that solved 99% of puzzles in simulations by maximizing information gain rather than guessing the most likely answer, though it requires running a side program. Researchers in Thailand found Asian elephants can resist impulsive reaching and adapt to a rotated clear box to access fruit, with older elephants adjusting more slowly, informing human-elephant coexistence strategies. Reece, homeless for a decade, played “Bohemian Rhapsody” at St. Mary’s Church, went viral as the “Night Church Pianist,” met Ron Wood, and has raised about $54,000 for charity. A...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: the Ig Nobel Awards in Zurich honored unusual research including a project burying 1,000 pairs of underwear across 25+ countries to study soil health by measuring fabric breakdown, alongside studies of cockroach milk, nose-blowing mechanics, and the evolution of kissing, with paper airplanes thrown as part of the ceremony. In Florida, deputies found a buck inside a home near the bathroom; they guided it outside, where it repeatedly jumped into a pool before escaping through a fence opening. Saul set a Guinness World Record by solving 211 Rubik’s Cubes while bouncing on a pogo stick. In...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a supposed new island in British Columbia’s Williston Reservoir that vanished and reappeared 18 miles away, which BC Hydro says is actually unstable driftwood and decaying debris; Chardonnay, a four-year-old Australian shepherd, setting a Guinness World Record by jumping across 56 people’s backs in 16 seconds at an Alberta Riverhawks baseball game with 44 seconds to spare; a retired South Carolina firefighter collecting over 2,000 pairs of socks aiming for a Guinness record and planning to donate public sock donations to shelters after certification; Justin, a 48-year-old San Jose City College freshman defensive end returning to foot...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: in Los Angeles, singer-songwriter Mikaela collaborates with Youppi the Horse, who plays guitar with his nose and also experiments with other instruments while they work toward an EP. New York City is funding an $800,000 study to test a transit thermal energy network at the Brooklyn Bridge and Chambers Street subway stations that would capture platform heat, store it underground, and reuse it to warm nearby buildings in winter. NASA has found a way to keep Voyager 2 operating for another year as its plutonium-powered generators lose about four watts annually. A 27-year-old junior analyst...

Johnny Mac presents five good news stories: a Wisconsin Maine Coon named Erebus Anomaly sets a Guinness World Record with 29 toes due to polydactyly, surpassing previous record-holder Jake (28) and a kitten named Toby who matched 28. A Dutch TV host Klaas sets the fastest motorized clog record at 70.05 mph in a polyester-and-fiberglass clog built on an electric go-kart frame with help from inventor Kevin Nicks. In Mexico, fisherman Arasto is rescued after 15 days trapped in a submerged cave, surviving on spring water and later hospitalized for malnourishment and dehydration. New Jersey Transit employees recover Julie’s 1905 antique wedding ring from a tr...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Lu and his wife, partially paralyzed due to diabetes, began driving China’s coastal provinces in 2014 and are still traveling more than a decade later in a camper Lu outfitted with living essentials while serving as her full-time caregiver. In Italy, police recovered stolen paintings by Renoir ("Fish"), Cezanne ("Still Life with Cherries"), and Matisse ("Odalisque on the Terrace"), valued at more than $10 million, with nine suspects in custody after thieves used a stolen tractor to breach a gate and abandoned another Renoir. In Switzerland, gardener Jorg set a Guinness record with a 20.6-i...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories, starting with a Virginia doctor who woke from a dream of a mouse entering her mouth to find a bat on her face; her husband captured it, she went to the ER with the bat, and it tested negative for rabies. Two men metal detecting at New York’s Great Sacandaga Lake found a Red Creek High School class of 1988 ring and, after contacting the school, returned it to its owner Kim, who lost it 28 years earlier. A Swiss man, Robin, set a Guinness World Record in blobbing by being launched 92.58 feet above wa...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Lithuania hosted the fifth annual Corgi Race of Vilnius, drawing 150 corgis from nine countries, with American corgi Gigi winning the 25-meter final, Mr. Corgington placing second and taking loudest bark, a costume parade won by Amigo, and Latvia’s Tora and Rusty winning a hidden treat search. In Abu Dhabi, Amira’s Ice Station serves date-based soft serve made with naturally sweet kollas dates after years of experimentation, and she is working on her 448th flavor. A May 2025 survey in India counted 891 lions, about a 70% rise since 2015, with expanded range and 17 lions now livi...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Punch, a Japanese zoo monkey abandoned by his mother and rejected by other monkeys, went viral with a stuffed toy and now comforts and protects younger monkeys struggling to adjust, acting like a big brother. In England, 76-year-old John fought a parking company for over two years over a 90p fee after a machine printed only part of his plate; a judge dismissed the company’s £277 claim, awarded John £289.50 plus expenses, and he advised drivers to keep tickets and records. Nevada wildlife officials hired Karelian Bear Dogs Badger and Banjo to chase black bear...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: France has banned unsolicited telemarketing calls unless consumers opt in, with fines up to 75,000 euros per illegal call and limited exceptions for consent or existing contracts. Dale “Graybeard” Sanders, 91, became the oldest person to complete the 2,193-mile Appalachian Trail, finishing Aug. 31 after 71 falls, injuries, and a hospital visit, encouraged by his wife and supporters. UC San Francisco researchers found a frog protein, saxiphilin, that prevented and reversed lethal saxitoxin poisoning in mice, offering hope for an antidote to paralytic shellfish poisoning. A Tulsa high school tradition has seniors cheer freshmen into kissing parents or g...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Spain’s Buñol hosted La Tomatina on August 26, with thousands throwing overripe tomatoes in an hour-long fight rooted in a 1945 food fight and popularized for some by a 2011 Bollywood film; inventor Diana created the iThrone, a waterless toilet that evaporates about 95% of the water in human waste and has been deployed in Uganda, Panama, and the U.S., earning a Global Citizen Wastelets Award and $100,000; ReShark released 82 young zebra sharks into protected Indonesian waters after estimates of only about 20 adults remained in 2019; missing dog Teddy was rescued after nearly three weeks on an...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: Colorado researchers studying yellow-bellied marmots launched “OnlyMarms,” a free OnlyFans account with wholesome marmot videos that has drawn about 1,700 fans and roughly $6,000 in tips, plus events like Fat Marmot Week and a fundraising beer called Marmot Tears. Desertas Island land snails, once thought to have only 21 left under a single rock in Portugal, are being restored after Chester Zoo bred 300+ descendants and conservationists removed invasive species and repaired habitat before a careful nighttime release on Bujio Island. Florida teens Ashrita and Anish built the Pizza For a Purpose app, helping donate 25,000 slices to char...

Johnny Mac presents five good news stories: an Italian lottery player in Bitonto won about $1.15 million but mistakenly threw away the ticket after a store scanner said it was “non-payable,” and a local garbage company safely sorted the collected trash to recover the intact winning ticket; a juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle found stranded in Wales in December 2023 was rescued by Anglesey Sea Zoo and, after 2.5 years of permits and planning, will be transported in a temperature-controlled crate back to Texas via helicopter, road, and a British Airways cargo flight; JK Boots in Spokane turned its HQ into a rest s...

Johnny Mac presents five good news stories: the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx opened Dax House, a renovated convent residence offering housing-insecure women private rooms for $250 a month, a permanent address, and case management through a partnership with the Sisters of Charity of New York and DePaul USA. Chester Zoo in England celebrated five endangered secretary bird chicks after its first successful breeding in 95 years, credited to the father bird sharing incubation. Thornton, Colorado opened the Anythink Nature Library, lending books and outdoor gear like snowshoes, tents, telescopes, and wildlife cameras in a solar-powered, nature-focused space. New...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories, including a TikTok-viral baby sea turtle named Franklin in Barbados that safely reached the ocean after onlookers let nature take its course, with a marine biologist explaining the beach crawl’s developmental importance. Two former teenage pen pals, Jo Ellen and Eiko (Agnes), reunite after 50 years when Jo Ellen uses Google to find her in Illinois and they meet for brunch. In suburban Chicago, Wheaton’s Buddy Baseball program pairs volunteers with players with disabilities to make baseball accessible and fun. In Idaho, record-setter David Rush clears Hungry, Hungry Hippos solo in 9.03 seconds usin...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: St. Mary’s, Canada begins removing about 330,000 gallons of fermented fish sauce left in an abandoned Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company factory, with crews draining tanks, mixing the liquid with peat moss, and burying it in a prepared pit. In upstate New York, the Salamanca City Central School District postpones introducing “Sally,” a $60,000 robot teacher’s assistant, after questions from parents, teachers, and officials about data collection and concerns about robots replacing educators; union leader Melinda of NYSUT says students need relationships with caring adults, and Sally’s maker Realbotics is linked to RealDoll. In Austral...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a 639-year performance of John Cage’s Organ2/ASLSP in a medieval church in Halberstadt, Germany, begun in 2001 and scheduled to end in 2640, using an electric blower to sustain notes and drawing crowds for rare chord changes while helping fund church repairs; Paralympic medalist Mohammed completing the Triathlon Across America by swimming around Manhattan, cycling 3,000 miles across 16 states, and running 300 miles on a prosthetic leg with careful wound-management stops; Guatemala’s La Aurora Zoo breeding Guatemalan beaded lizards for eventual release into the Motagua Valley; Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey passing laws restricting surv...

Barley, a golden retriever whose seizure medication dulled her personality, regains her spark after bonding and playing with Louie, a duck acquired via Facebook Marketplace for Justin’s garden center; 67-year-old Claire cycles 6,835 miles from Portugal to Norway on her bike “Margaret” to honor her father and raise awareness of motor neuron disease, noting strangers’ generosity and an encounter that helped an MND-affected family speak openly; standup comedian Dan Hudson seeks verification for a world record running the fastest half marathon dressed as a microphone, adding to his existing microphone-costume marathon record; 74-year-old Kathy in Illinois opens a “Stick Library” for neighbor...

Johnny Mac delivers “five and a half” good news stories, starting with his dogs safely getting back inside on their own. In British Columbia, a five-year-old is reunited with his pink stuffed donkey after BC ferry staff turned it into a social media star, renaming it Churro the Burro. In Illinois, a maintenance worker is stranded 130 feet up inside a gas station sign for about five hours after a boom lift malfunctions, and is rescued using a replacement boom. In Japan, a vending-machine-sized “human refrigerator” cools one person at a time to 59 degrees and sells for about $9,300. In Poland, Damian sets a r...

Johnny Mac shares five good news stories: a man dressed as Spider-Man for Superhero Day helped a wheelchair user cross a busy Arkansas intersection and the act went viral after police posted traffic-camera footage; a Nebraska family reunited with their missing dog, Chung, found 642 miles away after five years despite a microchip complication; the Phenom 300 EV business jet will add Garmin’s emergency auto land system, inspired by the 1999 Payne Stewart crash; Oakland Parks, Rec, and Youth Development is lending sports equipment like a library to reduce youth sports costs and expand access; and a Florida family’s security camera aler...