Saturday, October 24, 2026
America's Good News: Saturday, October 24, 2026
From American history
In 1902, a Brooklyn printing plant had a sticky problem: summer humidity made its paper swell and shrink, so its colors landed in the wrong places. The fix fell to Willis Carrier, a 25-year-old engineer. On July 17 he signed drawings for chilled coils, fans and ducts that held the plant at 55 percent humidity, with the cooling effect of melting 108,000 pounds of ice a day. A few months later, staring into the fog on a Pittsburgh train platform, he realized he could dry air by pushing it through a spray of water. In 1915 he and six colleagues scraped together $32,600 to start their own company. He set out to fix one printer's paper and ended up cooling a nation. America does its best work when things get sticky.
1. He ran after a rolling school bus, jumped through the open door and stopped it: a St. Paul man keeps a busload of kids safe
On Oct. 19 in St. Paul's Dayton's Bluff, a middle school bus kept rolling after its driver had a medical emergency. Ebro Ahmed, 27, ran after it, jumped through the open door, shifted to neutral and set the brake. No students were hurt.
Original title: “St. Paul man jumps onto moving school bus after driver's medical emergency, saving 18 kids”
2. The company that invented modern air conditioning bets big on Texas: Carrier will invest $600 million in Fort Worth and add 1,500 jobs
Carrier will invest more than $600 million over three years in a manufacturing and engineering center of more than 1 million square feet at AllianceTexas in Fort Worth, adding 1,500 jobs. It will build commercial chillers starting in 2027.
Original title: “Carrier to Invest More Than $600 Million to Expand Advanced U.S. Manufacturing and Engineering Capacity”
3. Cancer medicine made start to finish in Virginia: Eli Lilly breaks ground on a $5 billion plant with 650 jobs
Eli Lilly broke ground Oct. 22 on a $5 billion plant west of Richmond, Va., that will make targeted cancer drugs from start to finish. It should bring 650 permanent jobs and 1,800 construction jobs, with production by 2030.
Original title: “Eli Lilly breaks ground on $5B Virginia manufacturing site”
Source: Read the full story: Eli Lilly breaks ground on $5B Virginia manufacturing site →
4. 'Fully functional' and sharper than predicted: NASA's Roman Space Telescope enters its final checkout before science begins
NASA says its Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launched Aug. 30, is fully functional and has entered its final commissioning phase. Its main instrument is performing nearly 30% better than the team predicted.
Original title: “NASA's Roman Space Telescope Enters Final Commissioning Phase”
Source: Read the full story: NASA's Roman Space Telescope Enters Final Commissioning Phase →
5. She helped save one life, then raised nearly $37,000 to save more: a Michigan nurse puts a defibrillator in every sheriff's patrol car
After nurse Heather Hallack gave CPR to a woman who collapsed in Oceana County, Mich., until a deputy revived her with a defibrillator, she raised $36,964 to put one in every patrol car. She received a state sheriffs' Lifesaving Award.
Original title: “Oceana Sheriff’s Office displays new technology, presents Lifesaving Award”
Source: Read the full story: Oceana Sheriff’s Office displays new technology, presents Lifesaving Award →