March 29 - 31, 2026 (The Bear of Bad News 5)

IntroHello, my name is welcome to the Bear of Bad News, I’m your host LorBear, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, so I won’t! This is your recap of positive news stories from around the world. Articles included in this broadcast were originally published from March 29 - 31, 2026.That’s right, we are moving to shorter than 1 week per episode, this new format will allow us to do 2 things. First, we can move to twice a week for episodes, which I think will be a nice addition, as I have found a lot of articles that were missed, and more per week now as I find better resources. Second, I am going to start a segment called Wheel of GOOD FORTUNE (I forgot to update this when reading), where we add more articles from the missed pile to give additional content for episodes and make sure all the stories we find are included if possible.The stories in this episode are sourced from various news outlets and publications. The Bear of Bad News does not conduct independent fact-checking or verification of these stories. Listeners are encouraged to review original sources for accuracy and complete context. We are not responsible for the accuracy or content of third-party reporting.Which is a fancy way of saying I read it, I didn’t report it, and here are this week’s stories:ArticlesDenver nonprofit’s new campus helps homeless youth exit crisis three times faster, independent data showshttps://www.9news.com/article/news/community/denver-nonprofit-campus-homeless-youth-exit-crisis/73-66faea3b-9687-4529-a54d-c3be4e225dc5From homeless teen to law school grad, Zarina Sementelli returns to shelter that saved herhttps://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/land-of-10000-stories/from-homeless-teen-to-law-school-graduate-zarina-sementelli-returns-to-shelter-that-saved-her/89-2c5187ce-0e01-49e5-9be4-a1982e1ba918Maradona’s former home is transformed into a soup kitchen in Argentinahttps://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/maradonas-former-home-is-transformed-into-soup-kitchen-argentina-2026-03-31/Canada aims to double areas protected from development by 2030https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/canada-aims-double-areas-protected-development-by-2030-2026-03-31/Scientists achieve ‘impossible’ solar efficiency in renewables breakthroughhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/solar-panel-breakthrough-renewable-energy-japan-b2948851.htmlDeepwater discoveries: scientists find more than 110 new fish and invertebrate species in the Coral Seahttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/01/queensland-great-barrier-reef-coral-sea-110-new-fish-species-discoveredIntroducing a new citizen science nature app that’s geared towards the scientific communityhttps://phys.org/news/2026-03-citizen-science-nature-app-geared.htmlTransmasc Ironman team wins third place ‘for trans people and beyond’https://www.out.com/gay-athletes/transmasc-ironman-teamThe Ecuadorian Amazon reduces noise in its rivers with solar boats and innovative acoustic measurementshttps://noticiasambientales.com/energy/the-ecuadorian-amazon-reduces-noise-in-its-rivers-with-solar-boats-and-innovative-acoustic-measurements/Decades after poaching drove them extinct, rhinos are back in the wild in Ugandahttps://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-after-poaching-drove-them-extinct-rhinos-are-back-in-the-wild-in-uganda/A South African politician goes snorkeling in a giant pothole to highlight city management failureshttps://apnews.com/article/south-africa-snorkel-johannesburg-zille-mayor-management-395daaa4e5e9254771ba06abb393d419A Tale of Two ParagraphsAnd that is the end of this weeks articles, hopefully they added a little positive joy to your life. Before we end, I have our final segment of the show, something I like to call, A Tale of Two Paragraphs.In this segment, I take the first and last paragraph from an article on substack or another similar source, and read them to you, to encourage you to go read the article yourself. Many people forget the power of the written word to move us, and how intriguing the middle of the story is. The less I read the better, but people often want to know how we got to endings more than the endings themselves, and maybe then you will go exploring the substack and read the paragraphs in between.This podcasts article is from Dave Barry’s substack, entitled “The Rock Bottom Remainders in Omaha,” and comes from The situation was this: The city of Omaha, Nebraska, had finally finished work on a spectacular, brand-new, state-of-the-art $158 million library building, and the folks who made it happen wanted to throw a big grand-opening bash.So they needed a band.There are many performers they could have invited. The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Wayne Newton, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Reformed Bunny, Cher and the late Jimi Hendrix are just a few of the many names I could type in this sentence.But Omaha did not want just any band. Omaha wanted a band whose members met certain strict musical requirements, specifically that:* They had some connection with libraries.* They did not expect to be paid.And so Omaha chose the Rock Bottom Remainders.A few paragraphs in between and an ending of:Greg was a great writer and an excellent musician — way too good for the likes of us, though he loved being in the Remainders. He was also a really, really good guy. We miss him a lot. Toward the end of the Omaha show we did a little tribute to him, and we invited his widow, Caroline Hungerford, to join us onstage so we could serenade her with (of course) “Sweet Caroline.”So that was nice. In fact the whole Omaha experience, aside from Amy having her underwear ransacked by the TSA, was great. We thank the library folks for inviting us, and for their wonderful hospitality, and above all for the open bar. Also we promise not to quit our day jobs.OutroWe hope you enjoyed our show everyone, thanks for tuning in, and until next time, I hate to be the Bearer of Bad News, so I won’t! Have a good day.Thanks for reading The Bear of Bad News! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebearofbadnews.substack.com