Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Good news about America: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
From American history
On September 4, 1882, Thomas Edison stood in J.P. Morgan's Wall Street office and waited for the lights to come on. A few blocks away, his Pearl Street Station, a building packed with steam engines and giant dynamos nicknamed "Jumbos," began pushing electricity through copper wires buried under Lower Manhattan's streets. Around 3 p.m. the switch was thrown, and the station's first customers had steady electric light. The New York Times, one of those customers, reported the next day that the new lamps gave a soft, mellow glow that was easy on the eyes. By 1884 the station was lighting more than 10,000 lamps. It all started with one city block and a man who refused to accept that night had to be dark. Americans have been flipping switches on the future ever since.
1. American curiosity crosses an ocean: a Purdue-backed team lands on Nikumaroro to test an Earhart clue
Original title: “Crew searching for Amelia Earhart arrives at crab-infested island”
A 17-person ALI and Purdue team reached remote Nikumaroro on Oct. 12 to inspect the 'Taraia Object,' a lagoon feature some think could be Earhart's Electra. Survey work starts Oct. 14; nothing has been identified yet.
Source: Read the full story: Crew searching for Amelia Earhart arrives at crab-infested island →
2. Help within 18 hours: Virginia's elite rescue team answers Panama's call after a 7.7 quake
Original title: “Elite VA Urban Rescue Team Deploys To Panama After Destructive Earthquake”
Fairfax County's Virginia Task Force 1 sent a 10-person team to Panama after Friday's 7.7 earthquake, on the ground within 18 hours to check hospitals, schools and water plants. LA County's USA-2 team deployed too.
Source: Read the full story: Elite VA Urban Rescue Team Deploys To Panama After Destructive Earthquake →
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3. Lighting up a village: North Dakota lineworkers volunteer to bring power to rural Guatemala
Original title: “Volunteer lineworkers to electrify Guatemalan village”
Twelve North Dakota co-op lineworkers will spend 17 days in November building about 2.5 miles of line, setting three transformers and connecting 50+ homes and a school in San Luis Palo Grande, Guatemala.
Source: Read the full story: Volunteer lineworkers to electrify Guatemalan village →
4. Made in Alabama: an equipment maker brings 72 manufacturing jobs to a small Route 280 town
Original title: “REAMCO relocates to Harpersville in $13.8M investment”
Electrical engineering firm and equipment maker REAMCO is moving to Harpersville, Ala., investing $13.8 million, including $7M+ in equipment and building upgrades, and plans to add 72 jobs over three years.
Source: Read the full story: REAMCO relocates to Harpersville in $13.8M investment →
5. Hometown hero: a New York man plunges into a flooded river and brings three boys home safe
Original title: “Bainbridge Chamber Of Commerce Recognizes Local Lifesaver And Presents Community Awards”
Bainbridge, N.Y., named Shane Nordberg its 2026 Hero. On Aug. 7 he heard screams, went into the flood-swollen Susquehanna and, though pulled by the current himself, got all three young fishermen back to shore.