We are overjoyed to share that only four days into "pip watch," beloved eagles Jackie and Shadow have welcomed two chicks! The first eaglet hatched just before midnight Monday, and the second came into the world in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. The exciting family additions mark the California couple's first successfully hatched eaglets since 2022 — and it was all captured live by the webcams set up by nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley. We'll be keeping our eyes on egg No. 3 in the days to come.
Why falling asleep gets more difficult as you get older — and what to do about it
Humanity
What's the "Wednesday Waffle"? All About the Viral Friendship Ritual (No Toaster Required)
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It's Wednesday, are you waffling? The internet seems to have a big appetite for trends, and this one is called the "Wednesday Waffle." To be clear, no breakfast food is involved — "waffle" is an Australian slang term that means to chat at length about nothing in particular. In a now-viral TikTok, Zach Perez describes the Wednesday Waffle as the ritual of sending 1- or 2-minute videos to a group of friends about the happenings in your life on, of course, Wednesday. The idea is to keep a thread of contact with one another in a way that's more personal than texts but less regimented than scheduled calls. "It just keeps you connected," Perez says in the clip. Since the TikTok made the rounds about a year ago, friends worldwide have started sending "waffles" of their own, and the weekly ritual even inspired an app to encourage people to stay in touch with loved ones, no matter the physical distance between them. "I feel like we're constantly catching up, even though we're only seeing each other a few times a year," one of Perez's friends in the original Wednesday Waffle group told NBC News. Get more tips on how to stay in touch with friends from afar.
Learn What Makes These the Best Hearing Aids on the Market
Hearing aids have come a long way over the years, with modern specs including smartphone connectivity and Bluetooth streaming. But hear.com's IX hearing aids offer something more: They can process speech and background noise independently, then recombine them for unparalleled, crystal clear sound. These are the world's first hearing aids with multi-stream processing, so you can follow the conversation wherever it goes, even when there's ambient noise or multiple people are talking at once. The state-of-the-art noise suppression and lightning-fast dual processing technology result in the most natural listening experience you'll find on the market.
Some States Simplify Licensing Process for Internationally Trained Physicians
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Amid nationwide physician shortages, some states are offering new — and less difficult — pathways for doctors trained in other countries to secure medical licenses, NPR reports. At least nine states have dropped the requirement for certain doctors to repeat residency programs in the U.S. Instead, three of those states (Massachusetts, Virginia, and Idaho) now ask these doctors to work for a select amount of time in a rural or other underserved area to help address the shortages, which are more severe in remote locations. To qualify, the physicians must meet prerequisites, such as having completed an international residency program of similar rigor to those in the U.S. and Canada. Proponents of the new pathways say that requiring foreign doctors to repeat training is a time-consuming barrier, and that their time could be better spent treating patients under supervision. One of those proponents is Zalmai Afzali, a doctor from Afghanistan who spent 12 years getting fully licensed to practice in the States. He explained that some internationally trained doctors might even have more training than their U.S. counterparts — and that the road to getting relicensed was extremely challenging, mentally and financially: "I do not know how I did it," he said. Erin Fraher, a health policy professor at the University of North Carolina who studies alternative pathways for foreign-trained physicians, said time will tell if the state initiatives will be effective in easing shortages: "I think the potential is there. But we need to see how this pans out."
Environment
Blooming This Summer: A New Garden to Plant Climate Awareness
Mizzi Studio
Looking at headlines of the climate crisis, it can be all too easy to feel like there's nothing we can do to make a difference. But London's Kew Gardens is here to help change that. The team at the U.K. landmark is opening a new permanent garden that will offer a tangible (and beautiful) example of how to tackle climate changewith nature. The Carbon Garden, debuting in July, draws on research to show why carbon is vital to life on Earth through intentional displays such as a dry garden and fungi-inspired pavilion. It will also include climate-resilient trees, drought-resistant plants, and wildflower meadows, all to highlight how plants and fungi act as "our natural allies in climate repair," per a press release. Richard Wilford, who is designing the Carbon Garden, explained that it presents a "unique opportunity to showcase our ongoing research, combining scientific insight with thoughtful design and beautiful planting." He added: "We hope the Carbon Garden inspires visitors to act and join us in shaping a more sustainable, resilient future for life on our planet." See more renderings of what it might look like when complete.
In Other News
Orcas on the hunt for a bird stunned a group of whale watchers in Seattle — see the rare footage (read more)
To preserve historic Black churches, $8.5 million in grants has been awarded to congregations nationwide (read more)
Microsoft introduced "Dragon Copilot," a new voice-activated AI assistant for doctors (read more)
A California startup created a sleek electric stove that plugs into a normal wall outlet (read more)
"Save Starry Skies": Residents of a small Nevada town are coming together to fight light pollution (read more)
Inspiring Story
Operation: Rescue Rex
After running away from home, doggo Rex found himself on an icy lake in Ontario, where he was trapped for 28 hours. Luckily, this story has a happy ending thanks to an all-hands-on-deck effort from the community to get Rex back on firm ground. "It was a miracle for sure," owner Jennifer Bondy said of the rescue.
Photo of the Day
Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
On Saturday, people in the figure skating community came together in Washington, D.C., for "Legacy on Ice," an event honoring the victims of the Jan. 29 American Airlines plane collision and the first responders who worked tirelessly in the aftermath of the tragedy. More than half of the passengers on the flight were members of that community, including skater Isabella Aparicio's father Luciano and brother Franco. Isabella, pictured here, performed to a recording of her dad playing "Canon in D Major." And when she knelt down on the ice afterward with her head in her hands, the audience responded with a roaring standing ovation.
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