The heat waves just keep on coming this summer. We humans know many of the best ways to stay safe amid high temps, like reapplying SPF, staying hydrated with water and electrolytes, and remaining inside during peak hours, but helping our animals do the same is a whole other beast. Get some tips on keeping animals of all sizes — from horses to house pets — cool in the heat.
Nice News Today
Did you know mammograms can detect more than just breast cancer? Today's podcast episode dives into how some doctors are using the scans to help assess heart disease risk in women as well. Listen to learn more about that story and many others.
A photo of jumping lemurs won the grand prize in the 2025 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition
Singer Connie Francis, who recently reentered the spotlight for her 1962 song "Pretty Little Baby," died Wednesday at 87 — learn more about her life
Science
Astronomers Capture First-Ever Baby Picture of a Solar System
ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.
What you're looking at above is the first-ever image of a solar system beginning to form. In other words, it's a baby picture — cosmic edition.
"For the first time, we have identified the earliest moment when planet formation is initiated around a star other than our sun," Melissa McClure, co-author of a paper published this week on the findings, said in a statement. Fellow author Merel van 't Hoff added it's like discovering "a picture of the baby solar system." Using the James Webb Space Telescope and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array telescope in Chile, a team of international researchers spotted specks of planet-forming material around a baby star named HOPS-315, located 1,300 light-years away from Earth. Beautiful photo aside, the finding is made even more special by the fact that HOPS-315 resembles our own solar system in its youth, opening a potential window into our cosmic history. "We're seeing a system that looks like what our solar system looked like when it was just beginning to form," van 't Hoff explained. "This system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our solar system." Get a closer look at the star's infancy.
Together With FinanceBuzz
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How "the Brad Pitt of Mountain Lions" Inspired a Historic Wildlife Bridge
Office of the Governor of California
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is in its final stage of construction in Southern California, so it seems like a good time to reflect on the story that inspired the historic project: the epic journey of a bachelor mountain lion named P-22. Back in 2012, P-22 made headlines for surviving a harrowing 50-mile journey to Hollywood that involved crossing two major freeways. The next chapters of his story were anything but easy, as he ended up marooned in a park surrounded by neighborhoods and highways (and away from potential mates). P-22 — dubbed "the Brad Pitt of mountain lions" — died in December 2022 at the age of 11 or 12, but his story of resilience lives on in music, a museum exhibit, and what will soon be the biggest wildlife crossing in the world, just miles away from his former home. Scheduled to open in 2026, the bridge in Agoura Hills, California, will connect the Santa Monica Mountains to the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, allowing animals to roam more safely without the threat of vehicle collisions. "These roads were just literally dooming this population to extinction because they were trapped and isolated," Beth Pratt, with the nonprofit National Wildlife Federation, told the BBC. Pratt also started an Instagram account for P-22 with the bio "LA's loneliest bachelor" to raise awareness and funds for the wildlife crossing. Beyond providing a safe pathway for animals, the bridge represents something bigger, explained Pratt: "I think building relationships with animals is actually what we need to be doing, and what humanity has done for a long time." All this to say, thank you for the inspiration, P-22.
Humanity
Why Some Students in Maine Choose to Serve Their Detention on the Trails
BalanceFormcreative/ iStock
When kids get in trouble in school, detention is the customary consequence, giving them space to think about what they did. But what if they could reflect in a more calming environment? Leslie Trundy, a counselor at Morse High School in Bath, Maine, heads a program in which students can choose to spend their after-school detention hiking instead of sitting in a classroom. After attending an outdoor education conference last year, Trundy wondered if a nature-filled setting would help students open up more. She hoped that on the trails, she could "be a listener for them, and pay back the time to the school and sort of serve their consequence. But also [help them] receive more care and attention," she told Maine Public Radio. Trundy also runs an outdoor outing club, which some students joined voluntarily after their detention hikes. Freshman Wyatt Wells, for example, served a handful of detention hikes but then began joining on his own accord. "I haven't gotten detention in three months now," he shared. In the fall, Trundy plans to start an optional hiking program, and is interested in tracking her students' growth in the coming years, saying, "I could see leadership potential in a lot of them."
Global Good
🇩🇰 Denmark is setting its sights on developingthe world's most powerful quantum computer (read more)
🇦🇱 What might be the oldest human settlement built on a European lake was uncovered in Albania (read more)
🇨🇳 A women-led society in ancient China has been brought to light by recent DNA evidence (read more)
🇧🇷 The world's largest known nesting site for a species of threatened turtles was spotted in the Amazon (read more)
🇵🇱 Quite the scoop: A centuries-old skeleton was found beneath a former ice cream shop in Poland (read more)
Inspiring Story
A toddler and her dog against the world
Caitlyn Mellor may just be 3 years old, but that's not stopping her from competing in the world's largest dog show next year alongside her adorable miniature schnauzer, Zeeva. The toddler, who seems to have been born with a love for pups, is one of the youngest handlers to enter the Crufts dog show. See the dog lover in her element — and learn what her first word was (spoiler: it tracks).
Photo of the Day
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
This month, swimmers from all over the world are making a splash at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore — competing in everything from water polo to open water swimming, artistic swimming, diving, and more. Find out how to watch the action.
HomeBuddy: Your Next Shower Could Be Spa Worthy
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Up This Weekend
WNBA All-Star Weekend: Several days of programming will culminate in Saturday's All-Star Game in Indianapolis, airing at 8:30 p.m. ET
Gion Matsuri: This monthlong festival with roots going back over 1,000 years transforms Kyoto, Japan, every summer, and it began yesterday — dive into the history
Shark Week: If you're looking to beat the heat and spend some time in the AC, the Discovery Channel's 37th Shark Week starts airing Sunday
The Nice News merch collaboration with Because Weekend is all about celebrating optimism and making every day feel like the weekend. To help us spread that ethos beyond the inbox, shop our collection of T-shirts and sweatshirts here.
Odds & Ends
🐶 Want a rescue pup with your new home? ✈️ Amex is switching up its airport lounge strategy 🚙 Your car insurance company may be overcharging you — but that's an easy problem to fix* 🖼️ Queen Camilla celebrated her birthday with a new portrait *Indicates a Nice News brand partnership or affiliate
Quote of the Day
"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
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