Good News Thursday: Youngest woman to fly around the world solo, Rihanna’s foundation donates to climate justice

Youngest woman to fly around the world solo

A 19-year-old pilot became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, as she landed in Belgium on Jan. 20.

The journey consisted on completing 32,000 miles and it took Rutherford 155 days.

The young pilot explained how one of her goals was to inspire other women and girls to enter STEM fields, as only 5.1% of pilots are women. “This is a career where you basically get paid to travel around the world,” Rutherford said to CNN.

YouTuber discovers new species of tarantula

A wildlife YouTuber with 2.5 million subscribers discovered a new species of tarantula in Thailand.

After finding the spider, the YouTuber JoCho Sippawat sent a photo to arachnologist Narin Chomphuphuang, who spent three months studying the area and the spider. After their research was done, they declared the species new to science.

“This species is unique because it is associated with bamboo, and we have never observed this tarantula species in any other plant,” Chomphuphuang wrote. “It is not an exaggeration to say that they are now Thailand’s rarest tarantulas,” he added.

Rihanna’s foundation donates to climate change

Pop singer Rihanna announced the donation of $15 million through her Clara Lionel Foundation on Jan. 25.

The money will be directed to combat climate change by doing work in seven Caribbean nations and the United States.

“Climate disasters, which are growing in frequency and intensity, do not impact all communities equally, with communities of color and island nations dicing the brunt of climate change,” Rihanna said in a statement.