It’s Groundhog Day, aka the day America’s favorite meteorologist delivers his much-anticipated forecast. As tradition dictates, Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his stump at sunrise. If he spots his shadow, we’re in for six more weeks of winter; if he doesn’t, an early spring is on the way. The event is being livestreamed, so if you’re reading this early enough — around 7:20 a.m. ET — you can catch the famed woodchuck’s prediction in real time. Tune in for the results and learn more about the quirky custom. — the Nice News team
Featured Story
7 Fun and Specific Ideas for Putting Your Heart Health First
Baluchis/ iStock
February is American Heart Month, an opportunity to spotlight the importance of cardiovascular health. Most of us aren’t exactly in the dark about how to keep our hearts in good shape — eat right, exercise, manage stress, don’t smoke. Actually enacting change, on the other hand, can be a bit more challenging. If we’ve learned anything from interviewing experts on building positive habits, it’s that making something fun is often one of the best strategies for sticking with it. Other research in the self-improvement realm points to the value of keeping goals realistic and specific. So how do you apply those concepts when it comes to taking care of your ticker? We put together some ideas, from gamifying your errands to printing out free coloring sheets for adults. Check them out below.
Solving the 2.3 Million Home Shortage, Like Clockwork
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This Week’s Top Stories
Environment
International Snow Sculpture Championship Winners Defy Gravity
Breckenridge Tourism Office
The next Winter Olympics are still a year away, but spectators in Breckenridge, Colorado, were recently able to follow along with another epic cold weather competition to tide them over. Twelve teams from around the globe converged for the 2025 International Snow Sculpture Championships, putting their skills to the test in a race for the gold, silver, and bronze medals. Using only hand tools, the teams spent up to 96 hours across five days molding 25-ton blocks of snow (provided by the Breckenridge Ski Resort) into staggering works of art. Taking technical skill, creativity, expressive impact, and continuity to the original design into consideration, the five judges selected their winners and presented the awards in a ceremony held Jan. 24. So who took home the gold this year? Team Germany clinched the top spot with their sculpture “APEX — zero-gravity series,” a geometric depiction of the creation of order. “Geometry is the music we experience with our eyes,” the artists wrote in the original design description. Check out their finished design, as well as the runners-up.
Culture
The “Low-Buy” Challenge Is a Money-Saving Strategy That Can Boost Your Mental Health
martin-dm/ iStock
When the “no-buy” trend blew up on TikTok in 2024, many participants found it hard to stick to. That’s not much of a surprise, as the challenge involves completely abstaining from spending money on non-essential items, typically for an entire year. But in 2025, a new iteration has emerged — one that’s much more manageable and may even have an emotional impact to boot. Called the “low-buy” challenge, the idea is that you can cut back on spending by making a list of rules to stick to for a set time period. The number of rules, and their content, is completely up to you, meaning you can create a method that works for your budget and lifestyle, and that you’re most likely to adhere to. “Unlike a no-buy year where you literally can’t buy anything non-essential, a low-buy year is slightly less strict, and I think it’s more achievable for most people,” TikToker Mia McGrath explained in a video. She pledged to follow “Project Pan” in 2025, where you “try to use up every single product to its last drop,” and to look for most items secondhand before buying them new. Aside from the obvious benefits to your wallet, the low-buy method may also boost your mental health — evidence suggests that taking charge of your finances can positively impact your state of mind. Learn more and get tips on crafting your list of rules.
Humanity
New Tennessee Bill Would Require Tattoo Artists to be Trained to Spot Signs of Human Trafficking
gregvr8156/iStock
Tattoos can shed light on someone’s life — and a new Tennessee bill is hoping to use that power to help victims of human trafficking. The Ink of Hope Act would require tattoo artists to undergo a free hourlong training, so they can better recognize red flags and respond accordingly. Traffickers often use tattoos to mark victims with names, symbols, or phrases to signal them as property. As such, tattoo artists have a unique opportunity to be “part of the solution” while still keeping themselves and trafficking victims safe, according to Thistle Farms, a nonprofit that helps women survivors. “Human trafficking thrives in silence and ignorance, but the Ink of Hope Act transforms the relationship between tattoo artist and client into a potential lifeline for victims,” the organization said in a statement, adding: “This initiative has the potential to save lives and send a powerful message: Tennessee is committed to protecting its most vulnerable citizens.”
National Book Award winner Imani Perry meditates on the world’s most popular color through the lens of Black history — from the use of dyed indigo to purchase enslaved people in West Africa to Miles Davis’ album Kind of Blue, Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye, and beyond. Using archival images, artwork, and other cultural artifacts, as well as her own experiences, the author beautifully illuminates the hue’s varied symbolism in this “spellbinding” book.
The 2025 Grammys will air live on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET tonight. Hosted by Trevor Noah, the event has been reimagined to focus on raising funds for Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts. It will feature performances from stars like Billie Eilish (pictured here at last year’s event), Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter — all of whom are also vying for album and record of the year. Even The Beatles are in the mix, with the band’s AI-assisted single, “Now and Then,” nominated in the latter category. Click the link to see the complete list of nominees.
This Week in History
New York City’s Grand Central Terminal Opens
February 2, 1913
Ken Welsh/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Byaround the turn of the century, New York City had become a cultural and commercial hot spot, and the opening of the spectacular Grand Central Terminal on this date 112 years ago reflects that ascent. Construction had started nearly a decade earlier, and in fact was still not fully complete when the 42nd Street train station welcomed its first visitors — more than 150,000 of them. The building has since housed an art gallery, art school, movie theater, rail history museum, and more, and is now designated a National Historic Landmark. See photos of the architectural marvel throughout the years.
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