Stamp enthusiasts (and Golden Girls fans): The U.S. Postal Service recently unveiled its slate of 2025 forever stamps, and it includes an homage to iconic actor Betty White. The collection also features stamps honoring musician Allen Toussaint, a 1985 Keith Haring drawing, the Appalachian Trail, and more.
Want to Stay Active This Winter? Take a Cue From the November Project
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The sun may or may not be out, the days are shorter, and curling up under a blanket on the couch is more tempting than ever. But fall and winter can still be prime time for building a fitness routine — if the November Project has anything to say about it. Running rain or shine, the November Project is a network of free outdoor group exercise classes that aim to get folks outside before dawn once a week or more. The project was born in 2011 when friends Bojan Mandaric and Brogan Graham challenged each other to stay active every morning in November, and then started recruiting others. “A party is better when there’s more people around,” Mandaric told ABC News. Their party has indeed grown, as there are now 52 chapters in eight countries and the festivities are no longer limited to the cold weather months. The workouts include traditional exercises like burpees and squats, as well as quirkier activities (i.e. intense rounds of “duck, duck, goose”) that prioritize silliness. “Fitness doesn’t have to be this hard-nosed, drill-sergeant type thing,” said Tanis Smith, a November Project member based in Canada. “You can have fun and get fit.”See if there’s a chapter near you.
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All Grown Up! Babies Born Live on “GMA” Return to Show Over 2 Decades Later
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Let’s rewind to Feb. 1, 2001, when Good Morning America made TV history by taking viewers behind the scenes of five births. The following year, co-anchors Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson (pictured) took things up a notch, documenting the births of six babies on the air. “There is something about that magic moment, and it is magic when the baby is first there and everybody’s getting the first look at a miracle, and so, yeah, I got emotional, totally unexpected,” Gibson said of the broadcast. “We were all witnessing something very special and awe-inspiring.” Now, fast forward a couple decades. This past Thursday, six of the then-babies and now-adults made yet another appearance on the morning show to share where they are today and how the GMA story impacted their lives — from inspiring family traditions to serving as a trusty fun fact (coolest fun fact ever if we may say so ourselves). Get a peek at the group, then and now.
Environment
Less Is More: The Secret to Rainforest Recovery May Be Letting Them Be
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Just as many wounds heal on their own, so can rainforests, according to a recent study. An international team of scientists found that over 800,000 square miles of deforested lands could recover naturally with minimal human involvement. “A rainforest can spring up in one to three years — it can be brushy and hard to walk through,” Matthew Fagan, a conservation scientist and co-author of the paper, told Grist. “In five years, you can have a completely closed canopy that’s 20 feet high.” Five countries (Brazil, Indonesia, China, Mexico, and Colombia) accounted for the majority of the estimated potential regrowth. The study noted that when forests bounce back on their own, they can sequester significant amounts of atmospheric carbon and improve water qualityin the process. In this sense, instead of voraciously planting the same species of tree (“à la Johnny Appleseed,” the outlet writes), the better approach may be to do less. “This is one tool in a toolbox — it is not a silver bullet,” Fagan said. “It’s one of 40 bullets needed to fight climate change. But we need to use all available options.”
In Other News
The U.S. Forest Service released a proposal to prevent wildfires and boost rural economies (read more)
PBS and PBS Kids will soon be streamable on Amazon Prime for free — no membership necessary (read more)
Titanic treasure: A gold watch given to one of the shipwreck’s heroes sold for a record price (read more)
Congrats, Robin Roberts! The broadcaster is celebrating an impressive achievement in journalism (read more)
Watch red crabs on the move in Australia as they make their annual journey to the ocean to breed (read more)
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Inspiring Story
Adventure called …
… and Omar Nok answered in an epic way. This year, the 30-year-old decided to trek from Cairo to Tokyo with one rule: no planes. Instead, he traveled by camel, cargo ship, train, ferry, foot, and more to cover 28,700 miles in 275 days. Nok’s takeaway from the trip? “There are good people everywhere. It doesn’t matter the country, race, religion. We as humans, we have more in common than we have differences.” See pics from his plane-less journey.
Photo of the Day
Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The final supermoon of 2024 has come and gone, and this stunning photo of the spectacle in L’Aquila, Italy, is just one of many.
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