Friday, October 23, 2026
America's Good News: Friday, October 23, 2026
From American history
In 1903, a 31-year-old Vermont doctor named Horatio Nelson Jackson took a $50 bet in San Francisco that he could cross America by automobile, something nobody had done. He bought a 20-horsepower Winton, named it the Vermont, and hired a mechanic, Sewall Crocker. The West had almost no roads, so they followed trails, rivers and railroad tracks, winching the car out of mudholes with a block and tackle. In Idaho they picked up a bulldog named Bud, who got his own pair of goggles against the dust. Sixty-three days later they rolled into New York. The trip cost Jackson about $8,000, all to win fifty bucks, and Bud's goggles now belong to the Smithsonian. In America, the long way around is still a way.
1. Water up to her ears: a Marin County deputy smashes a sinking SUV's back window in a flood and pulls the driver out, earning a Medal of Valor
In a February 2025 storm, Marin County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Dawson broke the back window of an SUV sinking near Lagunitas Creek with his baton and pulled out the driver. The state sheriffs' association gave him its Medal of Valor.
Original title: “Marin sheriff's deputy gets medal for saving woman from flooded SUV”
Source: Read the full story: Marin sheriff's deputy gets medal for saving woman from flooded SUV →
2. School buses, made in Georgia: Blue Bird will invest $300 million in a new Fort Valley plant and add 375 jobs
Blue Bird, the school bus maker founded in 1927, will turn a former motorhome plant in Fort Valley, Ga., into a 1-million-square-foot factory for diesel, gas, propane and electric buses, investing $300 million and adding 375 jobs.
Original title: “Kemp touts pro-business climate as Blue Bird plans $300M Fort Valley plant, 375 jobs”
3. Where the world's first optical fiber plant was built: Corning will invest $585 million in Wilmington, N.C., and add 414 jobs
Corning will invest $585 million to expand in Wilmington, N.C., adding 414 jobs over five years with average pay above $85,000. The company has been in Wilmington since 1966 and built the world's first optical fiber plant there.
Original title: “Corning to invest $585M, add 414 jobs in Wilmington expansion”
Source: Read the full story: Corning to invest $585M, add 414 jobs in Wilmington expansion →
4. The longest drive on another world: NASA's Perseverance rover passes Opportunity's record on Mars
On Oct. 11, NASA's Perseverance rover reached 28.10 miles (45.22 km) driven on Mars, passing the off-world record of 28.06 miles set by Opportunity. Opportunity took about 14 years to set it; Perseverance did it in about 5.5.
Original title: “NASA's Perseverance Mars rover breaks interplanetary driving record — and it's far from done”
5. Into a burning truck for a stranger: two drivers pull a trapped man to safety, and Goodyear names one its 42nd Highway Hero
After a semi hit another trailer and caught fire, General Transport driver Joseph Stanekenas pulled over and, with fellow driver Charles Johnson, pulled the trapped driver out. He survived. Goodyear named Stanekenas its 42nd Highway Hero.
Original title: “Goodyear Names 42nd Highway Hero Award Winner”
Source: Read the full story: Goodyear Names 42nd Highway Hero Award Winner →