By Scottie Andrew

Ahh, the great outdoors. Spending time in nature — or even adjacent to nature, if it’s too hot for a prolonged visit — really is fortifying, huh? Last week, I was at a writing program in coastal Connecticut, anxiously checking myself for ticks and trying not to sweat through my clothes while we critiqued each other’s work in tall grass. I’ve never been one to work outside, but writing in this little oasis, among beetles and osprey and curious deer, forced everything but the essentials to fall away. Bills and assignments and long-term plans were scraped off my plate; I woke up and spent all day outside, reading and writing and sharing the sun with delicate little mushrooms and a pack of brazen coyotes. In Connecticut, I knew only bug bites and breezes. I already miss it. 

Here are some good things that happened this week.

Mikayla Schlosser/Kansas City Chiefs/AP

A better NFL starts with acceptance

As a defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints, Khalen Saunders (pictured right) is trying to build a more tolerant NFL. He’s starting with the football stars of tomorrow. Saunders recently hosted Bink’s Youth Combine, his third annual youth football camp and the first specifically created for young people in the LGBTQ community. 

The camp was inspired by his older brother Kameron (pictured above, hugging Saunders) a prolific dancer and choreographer who recently accompanied Taylor Swift on her blockbuster Eras Tour. Kameron, a member of the LGBTQ community, has been to almost every single one of Khalen’s football games over 20 years, the NFL player said. So it hurts Khalen to hear homophobic slurs in locker rooms and endure “very toxic heterosexual climates” throughout his career in professional sports. 

“My intention with this camp is to unify everybody and just promote positivity and empathy amongst others,” he told CNN Sports. 

Kids at camp with Saunders (or Bink, as his teammates call him) can test their skills without worrying about bullying or unsafe spaces. At his camp, talent is the star, and acceptance is the norm. 

“I’ve seen great athletes be shied away for several reasons,” Saunders said. “I would just not want gender identification or sexual orientation to be one of those reasons.”

Courtesy Mattel

Hi, new Barbie!

Mattel’s newest Barbie rocks a chic blue polka dot number, but it’s her accessories that have doll lovers really excited. She’s the first Barbie with type 1 diabetes, and she comes with a pink insulin pump, a heart-shaped glucose monitor and a rubbery purse full of snacks so she can control her blood sugar. Her outfit’s blue hue is intentional, too: Blue circles are the symbols for diabetes awareness. 

Mattel created the doll with Breakthrough T1D, a nonprofit that supports the more than 300,000 young people in the US diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Her debut also comes at a pivotal time for type 1 diabetes research. Funding for Congress’ Special Diabetes Program ends after September, and advocates have been meeting with lawmakers to secure the program’s future.

That’s a tall order for a doll, but if there’s anything the “Barbie” film taught me, it’s that one should never underestimate the power of pink plastic. Congress shouldn’t, either!

Dan Campisi/CNN

By the power vested in me ...

Perhaps the key to feeling more powerful is wearing power. Case in point: These cool utility vests, which are fitted with thin solar panels that generate electricity while you wear them.  

The panels weigh less than a sheet of paper and don’t look terribly indiscreet, either: The vests wouldn’t look terribly out of place in a collection from a workwear clothier like Carhartt (I wonder if they’ll come in camouflage or fluorescent orange?). And during their debut at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, the vests helped power neck fans to beat the extreme heat. 

The panels are made of perovskites, a family of crystals that are lighter, cheaper to produce and can absorb a broader range of light than the silicon solar panels most commonly used today. They can even generate power inside or in low lighting, say the scientists who built the panels.

Though promising, the new technology still has a ways to go: It’s only reached 21.2% efficiency in the lab setting, so only about a fifth of the energy it’s generating is converted to electricity. It’s also less efficient in the long term than silicone, degrading more quickly when exposed to heat, moisture or UV rays. But wearable panels are an exciting step toward sustainably powering our busy lives.

Air Zermatt/AP

A cutie with a duty

This Chihuahua helped his owner escape a seriously scary situation in Switzerland — and looked good doing it. 

The adventurous pup was accompanying its owner on a hike on a Swiss glacier when said human fell into a crevasse. One of them had to keep their cool, so the patient pet waited right outside the hole into which its owner fell — an extremely helpful move, since the dog led an air rescue team to the owner’s exact location. 

“Imagine if the dog wasn’t there,” said Bruno Kalbermatten, spokesman for Air Zermatt, which rescued the man. “I have no idea what would happen to this guy.”

Luckily, we’ll never have to imagine his fate — his devoted dog helped save his life, with hardly a hair out of place.

Kerry Burnight

The secret to life? Start living!

At 96, Betty Parker pretty much has life all figured out. She’s shared the lessons she’s picked up along the way with Dr. Kerry Burnight, a gerontologist (and Parker’s daughter). And now, Burnight is sharing her mom’s wisdom with us!

Living well in your 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond is all about reconceptualizing aging, Burnight says. It can be painful and challenging to grow older. But it’s also enormously edifying and enriching. And even if you’ve spent decades of your life in one, unsatisfying place, there’s never a deadline for starting to love life. 

“It’s not too late at all,” Burnight said. “In fact, it’s the perfect time to really lean into and redefine it.” 

Here’s a sampling of Burnight and Parker’s advice on how to live vibrantly: 

Start living now. Retirement can be almost dauntingly unstructured to those used to devoting their time to work or familial duties. But with all that free time, you can devote the rest of your life to your dreams. So if you’ve always wanted to write a book, travel abroad, redecorate a room or upend your life entirely, now’s the time!

Diversify your social portfolio. Consider reaching out to people you wouldn’t expect to relate to, like someone much younger than you or a regular at your favorite coffee shop. Swapping stories and connecting across generations and experiences can really boost your social life, one of the most important areas of overall wellness. 

For more guidance on living fully from Burnight and Parker, click here!

Klaus Driessen

Here’s a lovely story from my colleague Morgan Severson, who wrote a beautiful edition of 5 Good Things in my absence a few weeks ago. 

We here on the 5 Things team know we have some dedicated weekly news quiz players, but a senior center in Colorado takes it to the next level.  

Every Friday morning, members of the Castle Rock Senior Activity Center’s current events group play the quiz together and discuss the news. Klaus Driessen, a 77-year-old who reads the quiz questions to the group, said each meeting turns into a lively, hourlong discussion about the state of the world.

“These people are older, they’ve already lived full lives, and they have a lot of experiences that they can share,” Driessen said. “That’s the neat part about it.”  

The group has around 30 members from different backgrounds with occasionally dissenting points of view. Larry Pratt, 80, serves as the group’s moderator and works hard to ensure everyone is heard. 

“It’s a good way to keep up with what’s going on, because oftentimes we as seniors, don’t pay attention to the news as much as we should,” Pratt said. “It’s always fun. We always have a good time, and I try and end it with a little humor. So, if it’s getting kind of intense, we try and lighten it up a little bit.”  

To Pratt, the current events group feels like a fellowship of friends. 

“We may not enjoy each other’s company all the time,” Pratt said with a laugh. “But we have a good time.” 

Carter Johnston/The New York Times/Redux

The devastating floods in central Texas have completely upended communities and families. But countless stories of true heroism have emerged from the devastation, too. 

More than a dozen bus drivers risked their lives to transport 400 stranded campers from Camp La Junta, an all-boys program in Kerr County, to safer ground. One of them had just earned her license a week before the disaster and still sprang into action, said Kerrville Independent School District superintendent Brett Ringo.

“We put an all-call out to our drivers, our coaches, anybody who drives a bus, to show up,” Ringo said. “And within 10 minutes, we had about 16 drivers commit to showing up.”

With extra room on the buses, some of the drivers drove over to Camp Mystic, rescuing 300 more girls from floodwaters. 

“For our bus drivers to be able to give them a smile, tell them everything will be okay, we’re going to get you to see your families — very, very heart-wrenching,” Ringo said.

You don’t have to be a Texan to contribute to flood relief efforts. CNN’s Impact Your World has vetted several nonprofits that are already working in affected communities to provide essential aid to victims. Through Impact Your World, you can donate to one or multiple nonprofits assisting victims of the Texas floods.

This week on CNN’s 5 Good Things podcast, a Virginia shelter dog finds a home after revealing a lifesaving skill. Comedian Roy Wood Jr. shares why the home run is so special. Plus, a small town in Nebraska opens up a time capsule once dubbed the world’s largest 50 years later. Click here to listen!

Let’s end with a small act of loveliness: Awoken by a squawking mother bird, two men in Kentucky rescued her baby from a dark sewer grate. The avian reunion is almost unbearably cute. Click here to watch!

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5 Good Things is edited by CNN’s Kimberly Richardson.

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