A 22‑year‑old marine student is stuck waiting for his Coast Guard exam because a government shutdown has halted federal exams. His family has spent four years of hard work on this day, but politics have turned it into a waiting game. The problem is not just one student; the Coast Guard, TSA an
A quiet road in the Western Sahara turned into an unexpected battlefield when a gigantic group of locusts appeared out of nowhere. Drivers had to weave around the insects, which looked like a living cloud that blocked the highway and rattled cars. Locusts are notorious for destroying crops, and s
The lake sits a few miles north of Washington, in British Columbia. It has no rivers to drain it, so rainwater stays until the heat turns it into vapor. Because of this closed system, minerals cling to the bottom and make the remaining water very salty—think of the Great Salt Lake or the Caspian Sea
A woman from Minneapolis named Aliyah Rahman, who had been invited by Representative Ilhan Omar to attend the President’s State of the Union address, was taken into custody after she stood up during a speech by former President Donald Trump. Rahman had been using a crutch to walk and claimed she had
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are called “forever chemicals” because they linger in the body for many years. A new study looked at how these substances might make men feel older than their calendar age. The researchers found that the link between PFAS levels in the blood an
Jean Franklin saved a lot of money before she became a mom. She and her husband, Charles—who calls himself Chaz—were ready to live comfortably in their house near Sacramento. But a health scare changed everything. In May, Jean felt shaky and went to the hospital after her speech got slurred. She lo
The United States has seen a shift in how voters view the president’s mental and physical health. While Donald Trump was elected at 79, polls over the past year show a steady rise in concerns about his cognitive abilities. A recent survey conducted before his first State of the Union address found t
In 1982, a film hit the big screen that many people still talk about because it is so oddly entertaining. The movie came out the same day as a famous alien story, but it did not do well at first. Audiences later saw that the film was a fun, silly adventure that people could enjoy for its humor and s
Individual health plans often focus on a person’s choices, but the places where they live matter a lot. Researchers have found that the surroundings of a neighborhood can either help or hinder people’s efforts to change habits such as eating, exercising or quitting smoking. Health records—whether
In Spain, 2025 was the hottest summer on record, beating 2022 by about one tenth of a degree. Yet, fewer people died from the heat—908 deaths less than in 2022. Researchers wondered if a tweak to how authorities warn about heat waves could explain this drop. They looked at each province’s year
