Today’s the third Sunday of June, which means it’s Father’s Day, an opportunity to celebrate the special dads and father figures in our lives. If you’re a dad, we hope you get to enjoy your day exactly as you wish. Per a recent survey, for most pops, that means being with your family: 56% of American dads said spending time with kids or grandkids is their preferred Father’s Day activity. The next most popular choice was a meal at home, followed by going out to eat in the No. 3 spot. But comedian and father of five T. Murph, who recently went viral for a humorous video advising people on what dads really yearn for on the holiday, had a different answer — and according to him, “it’s so simple.” — the Nice News team
Featured Story
A Dad Started Designing Magical Costumes for His Kids — Then Turned It Into a Career
lev radin / Alamy Stock Photo
It wasn’t the first costume Nephi Garcia had designed for his then-4-year-old daughter — he’d been putting her in custom outfits since she was an infant — but the silky blue fairy godmother dress he stitched together from scraps represented a new chapter for his family. And soon enough, it wouldn’t be just his own children who were wearing his magical creations. “As a dad of three then, I had no other choice but figure out a way to provide for my wife and kids,” Garcia, 41, tells Nice News, adding: “Being able to find my passion and use it to feed my family, I want my kids to know that dreams can provide.” Learn the story of how Garcia went from being a regular dad to “Designer Daddy” (his Instagram handle) and check out some of the elaborate costumes that got him there.
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This Week’s Top Stories
Environment
Denali National Park’s Sled Dog “Puppy Cam” Is Live: Meet This Year’s Litter
Jacob W. Frank / NPS
Stop the presses! There’s another animal live stream to get glued to, and this one features some adorable future heroes: the next generation of sled dogs at Alaska’s Denali National Park. The Denali Sled Dog Kennels’ seasonal “Puppy Cam” is turned on when the newest recruits to the mushing squad are old enough to wander around and play on their own. This year’s litter was born May 3, and the cam went live May 30, introducing viewers everywhere to pups Storm, Squall, Graupel, Fog, and Dew. Filling the open spots of the squad’s retirees — when Denali’s dogs reach age 9, they move to private homes to live out their golden years — the puppies were named in honor of an important milestone. In 2024, the Kennels and the National Weather Service marked 100 years of the mushing rangers collecting weather data, so the “Weather Litter” puppies were all given monikers representing “the diverse and sometimes dramatic ways water influences our weather,” per a news release. When they’re older and have gone through training, the newcomers will join the rest of the squad. Together with human rangers, the mushing dogs help preserve and protect Denali National Park by patrolling over 2 million acres of federally designated wilderness. Meet the puppies.
Humanity
Donation Collection Gives the Formerly Incarcerated — and Fallen Trees — a Second Chance
Formr
These intricately crafted, Japanese-style end tables don’t just make beautiful additions to your home — they also help formerly incarcerated individuals transition to independent living. The Donation Collection, a new initiative in which historically marginalized communities build furniture from construction waste and fallen trees, gives both artisans and discarded materials a second chance. The designs for its first release, consisting of two “Healing Forest Tables,” are a collaboration between Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, a nonprofit architecture firm seeking to end mass incarceration, and Formr, an organization that offers disadvantaged individuals — including those who served prison time, veterans, and immigrants — a fresh start through crafting furniture. The limited-edition tables, available until June 30, come in two styles: a small version with metal hairpin legs and a large one with wooden branch legs. They’re made using Shou Sugi Ban, a Japanese method that chars the wood and increases its resistance to fire and water, creating dark edges and highlighting the wood grain’s pattern in the process. As a bonus, Formr plants a tree for every order, and all come in eco-friendly packaging. “By repurposing construction waste into something beautiful and functional, we reduce environmental impact, while our production process creates meaningful job opportunities for individuals from disadvantaged communities,” said Formr founder Sasha Plotitsa. “Each piece is a testament to what’s possible when we invest in both sustainability and social equity.”
Culture
Survey Crowns Paris the Food Capital of the World
Jumping Rocks/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
There are arguably great places to eat just about anywhere in the world. But if you’re looking to go somewhere with a 10/10 meal on pretty much every street corner — Paris is the place, according to a recent survey. To sniff out the top 15 foodie cities in the world, Japanese rail ticket provider JR Pass surveyed 18,500 locals about the quality and affordability of their city’s dining scene. The rankings considered factors like food-based attractions, national dishes, the average meal price for two, and the number of five-star restaurants. While it’s no surprise the No. 1 spot went to the French capital, the home of flaky croissants, colorful macarons, and lively bistros, some more under-the-radar foodie destinations also soared to the top 10, such as Athens, Greece, and Ljubljana, Slovenia. See the full list.
Sunday Selections
Deep Dives
What can we learn about humanity by studying animals that seem to appreciate music?
Desi Arnaz is rarely mentioned without reference to Lucille Ball, who won America’s hearts and left an indelible impression on comedy. The Cuban singer was best known for being the straight man to his wife’s clown, but his contributions as an entertainer and businessman in a time when Latinos onscreen were rare made a mark in their own right. In this book, Todd S. Purdum gives Arnaz his due, writing what the Associated Press called a “deeply researched, insightful, and enjoyable biography” of one of television’s pioneers.
We tend to view yesteryear through rose-colored glasses, but when it comes to safety standards of the past, things weren’t always all that rosy. Looking back from the comfort of our current seats can be downright fun, however, as Henry Winkler is proving with his new History series, which premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Each 60-minute episode explores pastimes, practices, and products that were once allowed (or even encouraged) in the U.S. but would never be today. The first focuses on kids’ toys and playgrounds — eek!
This Week in History
The Statue of Liberty Arrives in New York
June 17, 1885
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Proposed by a French abolitionist in 1865 to celebrate the American ideal of freedom for all, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from France to the U.S. And quite a generous gift at that — the statue cost around $250,000, the equivalent of over $5.5 million today. It would take two decades to fully come to fruition, finally arriving at New York Harbor in 350 pieces packed in 214 crates in 1885. In April 1886, American architect Richard Morris Hunt finished the granite pedestal on which the statue would stand, and construction crews began piecing the monument together. Then, on Oct. 28 of that year, in front of thousands of spectators, President Grover Cleveland presided over the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. It wasn’t until 1903, though, that poet Emma Lazurus’ now-famous sonnet “The New Colossus” was inscribed on a plaque and added to the pedestal. Read the poem in full.
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