Feel Good Friday

“The time on the clock: 10.04 seconds, faster than any other 16-year-old in history. No wonder the video of this track meet for Australian teenagers went instantly viral. It was impossible to watch him and not be reminded of Usain Bolt—even according to Usain Bolt. ‘He looks like young me.'” Australian sprinter Gout Gout—it rhymes with ‘Bout Bout’—is breaking records and drawing comparisons to the eight-time Olympic champion.

+ This drug is the ‘breakthrough of the year‘ — and it could mean the end of the HIV epidemic.

+ Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich published his first story for the newspaper since returning home from Russia.

+ Swifties took 353,000 Uber rides on their way to the Eras Tour — and tipped their drivers eight times the average.

+ Hundreds of bookstore staffers receive holiday bonuses from author James Patterson. (Sadly for my local bookstore staffers, I offered them a profit sharing deal on my book sales.)

+ East Bay engineer dedicates himself to cleaning up the Bay Area.

+ The Final Moments of Gukesh Winning World Championship. Trust me. (The crowd reaction is not unlike that of my proofer RD when I come up with a good headline.)

+ A lot of year-end news image collections can be a little harsh. Not this one. Hopeful Images From 2024. I really can’t believe my beagle dressed like Steve Jobs didn’t make the list.