Runaway Bull Rodeo Rescue

0:03 This is one of those weird weeks where it's not Labor Day yet, but it's not August anymore either. Hi, I'm Johnny Mac with five good news stories. I'm distracted because I love the summer and going to the beach and got to get some beach days in before Labor Day. That's kind of here in the Northeast, the unofficial cutoff. Anyway, I'm Johnny Mac with your five good news stories. A Catholic university in the Bronx found a practical way to help college students facing homelessness. The nuns up there opened their convent. This is at the University of Mount St. Vincent. They have a residence called Dax House for women who are housing insecure. Students pay just $ 250 a month for a private room, a permanent address and access to a case manager who can help with everything from health insurance to budgeting to internships. That's awesome. And unlike a traditional dorm, they don't have to leave during school breaks. For Grace, that changed everything. She said, I was always going to be on that cusp of homelessness and not having a place to stay. She had already earned an associate's degree and wanted to study public policy at Mount St. Vincent.

1:05 She said it honestly was the perfect fit. Everything was great and wonderful, except for the fact there was no way I was going to be able to afford it. Then she found out about Dax House. That is a partnership between the university, the Sisters of Charity of New York, and the nonprofit DePaul USA. The Sisters of Charity owned a two-story building on campus called Rosary Hall. They lived upstairs, but the first floor really wasn't being used, so they renovated it. New floors, fresh paint, new kitchen. And in 2024, the first students moved in downstairs. Last year, eight women, including junior seniors and recent graduates, lived there, while the sisters continued living on the second floor. Residents regularly meet with case managers who help them apply for food assistance, create budgets, find internships, and navigate other parts of adult life.

1:46 Mel Reyes of DePaul USA said, It's not just that we provide a safe, clean space for you to be. The goal is long-term stability. That is fantastic. Good job. At a zoo in England, a reluctant bird dad has decided he should probably pitch in, and that is good news for five baby birds. The Chester Zoo announced the arrival of five endangered secretary bird chicks after the first successful breeding of the species in the zoo's 95-year history. Secretary birds are among Africa's most unusual birds of prey. They can fly, but spend most of their lives walking across the grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa. They're also great hunters. Secretary birds can grow to around four feet tall. They're famous for killing prey, including venomous snakes. How do they do that? With powerful kicks from their long legs. Wow.

2:33 Habitat loss has caused their population to decline dramatically. Some estimates suggest there may be as few as 6,700 left in the wild. That's why it's a big deal we have five new ones at the Chester Zoo. Jamie the Bird Keeper said, This is the first time secretary birds have ever bred at Chester Zoo in our 95-year history. Seeing five healthy chicks hatch in such a short space of time is an incredible achievement for everyone involved. Their parents are John and Jolene. And yes, we lost Dolly Parton last week. For years, keepers watched Jolene lay eggs that failed to hatch. John wasn't really into the fatherhood thing. But last year, John started taking turns with Jolene sitting on the eggs. Jonathan is an assistant team manager for birds at the zoo, and John said the most recent breeding has been so successful because John the bird has stepped up and shared incubation and is proving to be a brilliant dad. A new library opened up in Colorado.

3:26 You can, of course, check out books, but you can also check out snowshoes and telescopes and tents and wildlife cameras and birdwatching equipment. It's called the Anythink Nature Library. It's being described as the first nature library of its kind in the country. You'll find it in Thornton, Colorado. That's about 11 miles north of Denver. Most of the books naturally focus on wildlife and the environment. But the library offers outdoor equipment for people who might want to explore nature but don't necessarily own all the gear. That includes birdwatching kits, snowshoes, tents, telescopes, wildlife cameras, gardening equipment. There's a mud pit where children are encouraged to get dirty. There's a living plant wall, a cafe, a fireplace, a heated bench, and a darkened room with stars projected on the ceiling. The building has large walls of bird-safe glass to provide natural light. I like this place. 300 solar panels on the roof provide its power. About 5,000 people reportedly showed up for the library's grand opening on August 8th. Wow.

4:22 And New Orleans Recycling Company has a weird problem. They have too many empty glass bottles and not enough coastline. The company is called Glass Half Full. It takes discarded glass from bars, restaurants, and drop-off sites, crushes it in the sand, and then uses the sand to help rebuild disappearing wetlands. I kind of like that. Louisiana has been losing land for decades because of erosion and rising seas. Roughly a football field of land disappears every hour. I said every hour. Wow. Glass Half Full co-founder Francesca grew up with that threat heading over the region. She calls coastal erosion the boogeyman. It's this overwhelming thing looming in the distance. So the glass shows up. The bottles are crushed and sorted. Larger pieces can be shipped away and melted into new glass bottles. Smaller fragments are ground into fine silica sand. Now, near the company's facility, four experimental islands sit where there was once open water. Each is about 25 feet across. Wildlife cameras have recorded birds, alligators, marsh rabbits, and even a river otter using the new islands.

5:23 That's awesome. And in Alabama, the police officers had a trade in their patrol cars for cowboy hats. Why? A 1,500-pound bull had escaped and went wandering through town in Pickens County. The bull crossed Highway 17, headed back towards the neighborhood where it had been first seen, and made it clear that this bull is not interested in cooperating. At some point, responders brought in horses in an attempt to lasso the bull. Yep, actual police officers on horseback trying to rope a runaway bull. John, did you record your podcast in 1886? No. This episode is from September 2026. I know, right? But you know how five good news stories goes. They caught the bull. Nobody was hurt. The bull was fine. The sheriff's office said, we all learned one thing today. We're probably better off patrolling the county than trying to make a living on the rodeo circuit. Laying our cowboy hats and boots back on the wall until the next bull decides to go sightseeing.

6:16 And those are your five good news stories for today. Don't forget, I host a podcast. Well, obviously I host a podcast. I host this podcast. Rephrasing. Don't forget I host another podcast is what I should have said. That one is called Daily Comedy News seven days a week. We talk about comedy and comedians. It's kind of gossipy. It's kind of fun. No, it's not kind of fun. It's fun. Check it out. Daily Comedy News, wherever you found this show, and you have an awesome day.