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The Week in Good News: A Floating Trap for Plastic, Naomi Osaka, Therapy Cats

With the creation of dozens of booms like this one, a nonprofit hopes to clean up half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.Credit...The Ocean Cleanup, via Associated Press

Sometimes it seems as if we’re living under a constant barrage of heavy news. But it isn’t all bad out there. This feature is meant to send you into the weekend with a smile, or at least a lighter heart. Want to get The Week in Good News by email? Sign up here.

Here are seven great things we wrote about this week:

It’s 2,000 feet long, and part of an ambitious undertaking to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This massive mess between California and Hawaii includes at least 87,000 tons of plastic.

The floating boom is meant to drift along, capturing plastic that will eventually be sorted and recycled. The hope is that it will trap as much as 150,000 pounds during its first year. Read more »

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Naomi Osaka said that she was “a little sad and a little happy” to have defeated Serena Williams in the U.S. Open.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

The women’s final, between Osaka and Serena Williams, was controversial, to say the least. But both women are outstanding athletes — and Osaka is the first Japanese-born tennis player to win a Grand Slam championship.

That’s prompting reflection in Japan, where there is a longstanding sense of racial purity and cultural identity. But there are signs that these ideas might be shifting as the country celebrated the victory of Osaka, the daughter of a Haitian-American father and Japanese mother.

“We live in a world where people have a limited view on nationality and race and ethnicity and say that you can only be one, you can’t be more,” said Megumi Nishikura, co-director of the documentary “Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan.” “I think Naomi Osaka really presents a very interesting challenge for people who are still attached to these antiquated ideas that you can only be one.” Read more »

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An Ethiopian mother found her daughter from Eritrea as the countries’ border reopened.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

War tore Ethiopia and Eritrea apart. Cross-border phone calls were banned, flights canceled, embassies closed.

No more. A formal declaration of peace finally opened up trade and travel. In a ceremony broadcast live, long-separated families held tearful reunions. People ran to each other as border crossings reopened, hugging and crying.

“This must be how the people during World War I or World War II felt when they met their families after years of separation and uncertainty,” said Astebeha Tesfaye, who was traveling as war broke out. He had to stay in Eritrea for 20 years. Read more »

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Matthew Joseph of Back on My Feet before a group run in Baltimore.Credit...Andrew Mangum for The New York Times

Matthew Joseph works at Back on My Feet in Baltimore, which helps people struggling with substance abuse and homelessness. It uses running to build community support. We spoke to him about the encouragement he found while dealing with his own addiction, and the job he eventually landed with the group.

“Running is the great equalizer,” he said. “Having conversations with fellow runners, especially volunteers with professional jobs, or alumni who were doing well, showed me that I wasn’t the loser I thought I was. It also has so many health benefits and is a great replacement for negative behaviors.” Read more »

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Kate Benjamin in 2013 with one of her cats, who are now helping her through her cancer treatment.Credit...John Burcham for The New York Times

The use of animals for therapeutic purposes is flourishing. They are being used to heal and elate the sick in hospitals and cancer clinics.

Far more research is done on therapy dogs than on cats and other animals, but there are signs of change.

“They help with pain management and fear, and they’re a diversion,” said Jennifer Toomer-Cook, a spokeswoman for Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. “Having a purring cat next to you creates calm.” Read more »

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The cast of “I Was Most Alive With You” in rehearsals.Credit...Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

Craig Lucas’s “I Was Most Alive With You” features two cast members for each of the seven characters. One actor performs entirely in American Sign Language, the other in a mix of English and sign. The artists themselves are about a 50-50 mix of deaf and hearing.

The Off Broadway show is in previews for a Sept. 24 opening. Read more »

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The bride shared a moment with the groom just before he blew out the candles.Credit...Gabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

It was Mannie Corman’s birthday. He wore a black shirt that read “Vintage 1918; Aged to perfection.”

It was also his wedding day, much to the surprise of the 160-plus guests who joined him. The bride is Judith Goldman, 76, his girlfriend of seven years.

“I never thought I’d get married at my stage,” Mr. Corman said on the dance floor. “Love is not a commodity. It’s a deep, intense feeling. She loves a man that’s 100. You got to be off your rocker. I joke with her and say, the next fella you’re with after me had better be a young man of 70 or 80.”

This pair is proof that it’s never too late for love. Read more »

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The women of Samba Que Elas Querem at a rehearsal in Rio de Janeiro. Female musicians in Brazil have begun breaking into the male realm of samba circles.Credit...Maria Magdalena Arrellaga for The New York Times

What would you like to see here? Email us at goodnews@nytimes.com. You can enjoy more of this feature at nytimes.com/goodnews.

Follow Des Shoe on Twitter: @DesNYT.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: The Week in Good News. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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