Climate resilience: Copenhagen's dream of a flood-proof city

In response to increasing rain due to climate change, Copenhagen is building new infrastructure above and below ground. The city's 'cloudburst management plan' includes tunnels and nature-based solutions. These innovative projects aim to prevent damage from heavy downpours in the future, showcasing a proactive approach towards climate adaptation. Copenhagen's efforts serve as an example for other cities looking to increase resilience against extreme weather events.

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He Just Won the Daytona 500, Months After His Son's Life-Saving Surgery

Tyler Reddick had already lived through the longest few months of his life by the time he rolled into Daytona. His eight month old son, Rookie George, had just hit a milestone that felt bigger than any checkered flag. He started crawling. For a family that spent the fall worrying if their baby would even make it to surgery, watching him push himself across the floor felt like winning. Then Sunday, Feb. 15 arrived, and Reddick did something no one expected. He captured the 68th running of the Daytona 500 after taking control on the final lap. It was the only time he led the entire race. The surprise finish brought out the cheers, but the real celebration had started days earlier at home. Everything changed back in October. Rookie needed life saving surgery to remove one of his kidneys after doctors discovered a tumor in his chest. The mass was pressing on vital structures and disrupting blood flow. In a social media post at the time, Reddick’s wife, Alexa DeLeon, described how the tumor was affecting their son’s heart, “choking’ the renal vein and renal artery” and “telling the heart, ‘Hey I’m not getting enough blood … pump harder.’ ” Rookie had been born on May 25, and for a while, everything seemed fine. But Alexa was the first to sense that something was off. She and Reddick already had one child, their five year old son Beau, so they knew what ordinary infant fussiness looked like. This felt different. “As he started to grow and things were going on with him, he just started going the wrong way,” Reddick, 30, said during an interview on Good Morning America on Monday, Feb. 16. “My wife trusted her mom gut and just over time said, ‘The direction he’s going is not great.’ ” Their concerns did not translate to a diagnosis right away. Pediatricians floated ideas like colic or allergies. Nothing explained the symptoms. Nothing fit well enough to stop the feeling that something more serious was happening. Eventually, Alexa brought Rookie to Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September. That visit changed everything. Reddick said doctors were able to “quickly identify” what was “causing the heart failure and piece it all together.” The surgery solved what had threatened Rookie’s heart, and it also revealed something about how the family operates under pressure. Reddick described how steady his wife stayed while everything around them tilted. “I’m really proud of my wife,” he said. “She had to go to a lot during the entire process but she really was the centerpiece that held everyone together throughout the whole thing. It was tough.” Reddick did not shoulder it alone. He said support came from across the sport, including from 23XI Racing, where he drives. Team owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin checked in repeatedly. “Michael and everybody at 23XI basically told me, ‘Look, if you need to step away and not run another race, do whatever you need to do,’ ” Reddick remembered. It went beyond management. Other drivers stepped up as well. Fellow racer Joey Logano made sure Beau had a place to be, and kids to play with, while his parents focused on Rookie in the hospital. “The amount of support we had from the NASCAR community throughout all of that was just incredible,” Reddick said. By the time Rookie started crawling, the family had already been through the hardest part. His father told GMA that he is now “happy and healthy,” and that the pressure on his heart eased once the tumor was removed. It showed. Rookie handled the noise of the track, including the Thunderbirds flyover, with no trouble at all. Reddick said the baby seemed to enjoy it. On Sunday, Rookie stood with his mom and brother as the checkered flag waved. Reddick stepped out of the car and took in a moment he had imagined for years, but never like this. Winning Daytona is one thing. Winning it while looking at a child who just crawled for the first time a few days earlier is completely different. “I just remember getting out of the car, and typically I’ve just been able to focus on Beau and my wife, and it’s like Rookie is getting to experience this for the first time, too,” Reddick said to the Associated Press. “Rookie is a trooper, whether it’s been the Thunderbirds blasting over the track, just super loud, stuff I love.” Reddick also joked that the newfound mobility at home is keeping him and Alexa busy. “He’s been like a speedster,” he said. “We have to keep up with that. Keep away from the stairs and the bus!” What the family went through gives the win a different weight. A last lap charge at Daytona will always be a career highlight, but this week, it sits second in line behind something far more personal. A few seconds of crawling across the floor proved something to his parents that medicine could not fully put into words. Rookie pushed off with his hands and moved under his own power. After months of uncertainty, that was the signal his parents had been waiting for. The race victory came later.

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Ontario Veterinary College Is Helping Pets Shed Pounds and Regain Energy

Sometimes pets need help with their weight too. At the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, a dedicated weight care program is helping dogs and cats shed extra kilos in a healthy, supervised way. One of its most motivated participants is Leo, a seven year old golden retriever whose health challenges sent him down an unexpected fitness path. “He started having kidney issues,” said Leo’s owner, Christina Motyka. “We had to be very specific with his diet. That kind of started his journey when it came to weight care. Then he got hit with multicentric lymphoma.” Radiation and chemotherapy slowed him down. The reduced activity meant the kilos climbed quickly. “He was at 100 pounds,” Motyka said. “People around us were saying, ‘Oh he’s gained a lot of weight.’” So Leo started a program that looks surprisingly similar to what many humans go through. The Ontario Veterinary College built him a custom food plan and even a workout routine. “The more weight they bear on their joints, the more stress that causes their joints,” said Adronie Verbrugghe, a professor at the Ontario Veterinary College and the Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Endowed Chair in Canine and Feline Clinical Nutrition. “And in a case like a dog with osteoarthritis, we don’t want them to be in pain for the rest of their life.” Extra weight can set off a chain reaction in pets, raising the risk of diabetes, urinary problems and skin conditions. The purpose of the program is to cut fat while keeping muscle as intact as possible. “If we combine our nutrition with exercise, we can aim to lose body fat mass, while trying to maintain muscle mass as much as possible,” Verbrugghe said. For Leo, the workout days are the highlight. Hydrotherapy became his happy place. “Every time we drop him off for his workout, he pulls us to the pool and just cannot wait to jump in and does not want to ever get out,” Motyka said. The routine is working. Leo’s arthritis and mobility have improved, and the scale is finally moving in the right direction. When CTV News visited on Friday, Leo weighed in at 82 pounds. Staff and his family consider that a major milestone. Motyka jokes that watching Leo’s commitment sometimes makes her rethink her own habits. “I’ll look at his acupuncture appointments in the pool and I’m like, ‘I wish I focused this much on myself,’” she said. His goal weight is around 75 pounds, and he is closing in. More importantly, his energy is back. His family says he is acting like a younger dog again, a side effect no diet plan can promise but one they are greatful to see.

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Canadian Teens are Remixing Indigenous Tracks With Coding Skills In Unique Music Program

Teenagers across Canada are learning that a single line of code can remix a beat, amplify a story, and spark conversations their classrooms have never held before. Your Voice is Power, an education program and creative music competition, teaches students how to separate, edit, and remix tracks using coding basics. In 2024, it introduced a new focus on Indigenous music, reshaping how teens approach both technology and culture. “I think it's really a unique experience,” said Marika Schalla, an Indigenous educator who helps lead the program, in an interview with CTV News Calgary. The lessons go far beyond computer science. The program creates space to talk about the socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. For Indigenous students, it is a chance to bring lived experiences into their art. For their classmates, it becomes a way to learn by listening. “You wouldn't think that coding music and social justice would go so beautifully together, but they create a meaningful message,” Schalla said. “They're going to be going out into the community prepared and know that it is possible to have a job in computer science or STEM, even if you're an Indigenous kid from the reserve.” Students use EarSketch, a free online coding editor available in English, French, Ojibwe, and Inuktitut. Through the platform, teens remix tracks from Indigenous artists such as Dakota Bear, Jayli Wolf, Samian, Twin Flames, and Aysanabee. The program ends with a competition, awarding two 5,000 dollar scholarships, one to an Indigenous student and one to a non-Indigenous ally. The idea is to celebrate creativity and make space for new voices in fields where Indigenous representation is still limited. Artists say music is a powerful medium for that work. “Music is a universal language,” Dakota Bear said. “It's a vibrational frequency. It's that feeling it evokes, that emotion. So music, being that universal language, also connects us on a different level as human beings. When you have music and use that with the message, it just becomes so much more impactful.” Your Voice is Power blends technical learning with cultural expression, giving students a way to build skills while exploring identity, storytelling, and solidarity. It asks teens to code, but also to listen, reflect, and create with intention.

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How the U.S. Men's Hockey Team is Honoring Johnny Gaudreau At the Olympics

The U.S. men’s ice hockey team entered the Milan Cortina Games with one goal in mind, but inside their locker room sits a reminder that they are skating for something deeper. At Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, a number 13 jersey hangs in tribute to Johnny Gaudreau, the NHL star whose life was cut short in 2024. Gaudreau, 31, who played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames, died alongside his brother, Matthew, 29, after they were struck by an alleged drunk driver while bicycling in New Jersey. It happened the night before their sister’s wedding. Tributes poured in across the NHL after the shock of losing a player known for both his skill and his connection to teammates. Over his career, Gaudreau represented Team USA in six international tournaments, including five IIHF Men’s World Championships. He collected 43 points in 40 games, the most in USA men’s IIHF history, and was widely seen as a strong candidate for the 2026 Olympic team. Ahead of the Milan tournament, the Gaudreau family released a statement sharing their grief and reflecting on how much the moment would have meant to him. They wrote about his commitment to making the roster. “In that final summer, John was training harder than ever, with his dad, pushing himself to be in the best shape of his life. He was determined to earn his spot on that Olympic roster,” the statement said. They also expressed how they continue to feel his presence during the Games. “While it breaks our hearts that John won’t be there to live out that dream, we know he will be so very present with Team USA and all of his close friends competing throughout these games,” they said. The message closed with encouragement for the team. “Go Team USA. We know John and Matty are watching with pride.” Players have echoed that sentiment throughout the tournament. Alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk said, “We know he’s here with us, cheering us on and rooting for us. He’s got his own area in the locker room and it’s always nice to see that as a reminder.” Defenseman Zach Werenski, who played with Gaudreau in Columbus, added that the jersey hanging in the room carries meaning for everyone on the roster. “I know how much Johnny wanted to be here for the Four Nations and the Olympics,” he said. Werenski and Gaudreau also played together for Team USA at the 2024 World Championship. “It’s super special to see his jersey hanging, and we’re playing for him and trying to make him proud.” Head coach Mike Sullivan, who also coaches the NHL’s New York Rangers, said the tribute reflects the kind of teammate Gaudreau was. “We did it in the Four Nations tournament a year ago, and we’re carrying that jersey with us here in Milan,” he said. “The fact that our team is celebrating him throughout this tournament just speaks volumes to the character and the person that Johnny was. I know how much he meant to a lot of the guys in that room.” As Team USA chases a gold medal, Gaudreau’s presence lingers in the space he used to occupy. For a team built around speed and ambition, number 13 has become a reminder of why they are skating, and who they are skating for.

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Father Officially Adopts Daughter He Never Knew Existed After 40 Years

Jennifer Skiles’ life has been filled with loss, resilience, and remarkable reunions. After years of searching for the parents she never knew, she not only found her father, he officially adopted her decades after her birth, turning a long and painful journey into a beautiful new beginning. Born in Germany, Jennifer Skiles spent her first three years with her biological mother before being placed for adoption in the United States. She grew up in a loving home, surrounded by parents and siblings and filled with memories of beach trips and fishing days. Then, in her early teens, everything shifted. “My home life was wonderful until it wasn't,” she said. “My father that raised me started abusing me when I was 12 years old, and that went on for six years.” By the time she was 25, both of her adoptive parents had died. Her father passed away when she was 18, and her mother died of cancer seven years later. The losses left her feeling cut off from every part of her identity. “For me, it was like I lost everybody at one time, and it was so devastating. It was then that I decided that I wanted to really, really find my biological mother.” All she had was a name and a location in Texas. Still, she started searching. A move to Germany with her children’s father helped her obtain her original birth certificate, which gave her a new piece of information to work with. After paying for an online search, she found an address and decided to send a letter. Two weeks later, the phone rang. “There’s this like shaky voice on the other end, and she said she was Cheryl, she knew who I was, and she'd like for me to call her,” Skiles said. That call turned into visits, and those visits grew into a close relationship built on the connection both of them had hoped for. For Skiles, it felt like the start of a new chapter after years of grief. But 12 years later, Cheryl died in a car crash. “I just thought I'd never find her, and there she was, and then there she was gone again,” she said. Even after that loss, one part of her story remained unresolved. Her mother had told her only the basics. Her parents met while both were serving in the military. They spent a weekend together in New York, then went their separate ways, not knowing a child had resulted from that brief moment in time. Her biological father had never known she existed. A DNA match through Ancestry finally opened a new path. Some determined online searching led Skiles to Rhode Island and to her father, Paul Lonardo. She sent him a message before they spoke for the first time. “I sent a message to my dad, I said, ‘I know you're just as nervous as I am, I’m praying for both of us,’” she said. “And then, he called. And it was just like home. First time I heard his voice, it was like being at home.” Meeting in person only strengthened that feeling. “I’m blessed every day,” Lonardo said. “Sometimes people will meet me, I say, you might want to shake my hand. I'm the luckiest guy you're ever gonna meet in your whole life.” As they spent time together, they noticed small details that felt significant. Both are left-handed. Skiles embraced learning about her Italian roots and even traveled to Italy to see where her family came from. Then Lonardo shared something he had kept for more than forty years. It was a small bar of soap from the hotel where he and Skiles’ mother stayed during their weekend in New York. “Being a 19-year-old kid, I don't know why, but just something told me to save this,” he said. “It's a little bar of soap from the hotel that I stayed at, and I never wanted to forget it.” For Skiles, it was proof that she had always been more than a forgotten chapter. “I always mattered,” she said. “Somehow, he knew… this was something to say, I mattered to him.” They sometimes think about the years they missed, but Lonardo is firm about one thing. “When she told me how it was, I was like 'the same reason you're looking for me is the same reason I'll never let you out of my sight',” he said. Their story recently reached a milestone neither expected. Lonardo officially adopted his daughter, finalizing a connection that had always felt real but was now recognized in law. “I want my dad’s name to be attached to me,” Skiles said. “And I just think it’s so beautiful. We’re so excited.” Her journey continues in another way too. Skiles wrote a book about her life called Vault of Treasures, available on Amazon, hoping her story might help others searching for their own missing pieces.

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NYC Teen Heroically Rescues Child From Frozen Pond

A New York City teenager is being called a hero after jumping into action to help save a child who fell through the ice of a frozen pond, screaming for help. The frightening scene unfolded at Springfield Park in the Springfield Gardens neighborhood of Queens. Fourteen-year-old Alex Smith happened to be nearby when the ice suddenly gave way beneath a younger boy. “I was like ‘oh my God, oh my God, I need to go help him,’” Smith said. “The first thing I jumped to was help him — I didn’t even call the police or nothing, I just instantly ran to help him.” Smith saw the child struggling in the freezing water, his head barely above the surface. Without hesitating, he spotted a safety ladder close by, dragged it across the slick ice and slid it toward the boy. The ladder gave the child something to hold onto, helping him stay afloat as precious seconds ticked by. Around the same time, other children sprinted to a nearby firehouse to get help. Firefighters from FDNY Engine 311 and Ladder 158 rushed to the park on foot. “Children came to the firehouse door, frantically banging on the door, reporting that a kid had fallen through the ice next door,” said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Tim Keenan. Probationary firefighter Shaun McMahon put on a cold-water suit and made his way onto the ice toward the stranded child. But the rescue quickly took another dangerous turn. “About halfway out onto the ice, the ice gave way, and I went into the water,” McMahon said. Despite plunging into the icy pond himself, McMahon kept his focus on reaching the boy. “It was definitely cold, but all I really had thoughts of was getting to this kid—because regardless if I was cold or not, he was even colder,” he said. Roughly a dozen firefighters worked together during the tense rescue. One firefighter tethered McMahon with a rope as he moved toward the child. Once he reached him, the team pulled both McMahon and the boy safely back to shore. The child had spent about 10 minutes in the frigid water, clinging to the edge of the broken ice. He was placed in an ambulance and wrapped in blankets to prevent hypothermia. Authorities have not released further details about the boy’s condition, but thanks to quick action from both a teenager and first responders, the outcome could have been far worse. Smith’s role in the rescue has not gone unnoticed. Firefighters later told him his decision to act made a difference. “They told me if I hadn't done what I did, he wouldn't have been able to stay afloat and he would have drowned,” he said. For his part, Smith downplayed his bravery, saying he simply reacted in the moment. Still, in a situation where every second counted, his fast thinking bought time until professional help arrived. In the freezing cold of a New York winter, that time likely saved a life.

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Astronomers Just Spotted One Of The Largest Spinning Structures In The Universe

The first time University of Oxford astronomer Lyla Jung saw the structure on her screen, she almost dismissed it. The shape looked too strange and too orderly to be real. But it was, and that moment led to the identification of one of the largest rotating structures ever observed in space, a chain of galaxies twisting inside a cosmic filament about 400 million light years from Earth. The study, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, offers a new clue into how galaxies form, evolve and vary over time. Galaxies do not scatter randomly through the universe. They cluster along filaments, which act as bridges connecting them with dark matter across immense distances. These filaments, along with empty voids and massive clusters of galaxies, form what astronomers call the cosmic web. Filaments also serve as pathways for matter flowing toward galaxies and galaxy clusters as the universe grows. “By studying filaments, we gain insight into how large scale structure forms and how galaxies acquire their spins,” says astrophysicist Peng Wang of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. He was not involved in the new research. Wang and his team reported in 2021 that several filaments appeared to be rotating based on calculations and satellite images. The new study focuses on one of those candidates. Using data from the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, which was mapping cold hydrogen gas in nearby galaxies, Jung’s team spotted 14 hydrogen rich galaxies lined up in a slim structure stretching 5.5 million light years. That smaller chain sits inside a filament roughly 50 million light years long containing more than 280 galaxies. It was not just the individual galaxies spinning. To the team’s surprise, the entire filament appeared to be rotating in sync at about 110 kilometres per second. Jung said, “I started doubting if it was real or if I did something wrong in the analysis.” Wang calls the detection “exceptional” because signals on these scales are faint and can easily be distorted by overlapping objects unless the data are handled with extreme care. Jung’s later analyses suggest the filament is still gathering mass. Many of its galaxies look like they are in early growth phases because they carry large amounts of hydrogen, the raw material for new stars. One of the strongest threads of evidence for dark matter comes from measuring how galaxies rotate. Astronomer Noam Libeskind of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, who was not part of the study, says filament rotation could reveal how much dark matter these structures contain. By showing how much of the universe’s mass lies within filaments, he says research like this offers “a way of measuring the dark matter content of the universe.” The discovery adds a new piece to the picture of the cosmic web. It suggests not only that matter flows through these channels but that the channels themselves may carry a shared rotation, shaping how galaxies take form across the universe.

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Liverpool Students Launch "Freddie's Friendly Corner" To Support Classmates

Students at a Liverpool primary school are being praised for creating a simple idea that aims to help classmates who may feel isolated or anxious. Students at All Saints Primary School in Anfield came up with Freddie's Friendly Corner, a space where children can find someone to play with and take a break when they need support. The project grew out of a six-week course run by Andy Robinson, a youth worker and boxing coach who focuses on helping young people become what he calls “positive citizens”. He said the most impressive part of the scheme is that it is driven entirely by the pupils. “It's children run, which is superb,” he said. “That's what makes me really proud of it, and the support the school have shown throughout really gives them that push.” The pupils are now raising money for the space, which they expect to open after Easter. It will include blankets, beanbags, pillows and items such as fidget toys and colouring books that students hope will help lower anxiety levels. The group of children who took part in Robinson’s programme will form a committee to oversee and run the corner. The name, Freddie's Friendly Corner, came from a mascot the children invented. Freddie the Frog represents “friendship, kindness and looking out for one another”. To support the fundraiser, pupils held a themed day at school wearing green to match the mascot and the space they plan to create. Staff say they are proud of what the children have built. Stacey Prior, a teaching assistant at All Saints, said she “couldn't be prouder”. “The children have come up with this idea just to make a safe space to make all the children feel involved and feel happy and safe in school,” she said. Pupil Olivia said the space will help calm children who are upset. “If they're being sad at something that's just happened, it'll calm them down.” Her classmate Trudie said the fundraising day showed how excited students are. “It makes me feel so happy because everyone's in green, everyone's been coming up to me saying they're so excited for this day, so it just makes me feel proud.” Robinson said the students took ownership from the start. He pointed to the funding challenge many schools face. “It's hard, all schools are on budgets and stuff,” he said. Their response impressed him. “The idea that the young people don't complain and they actually do something about it, to take the initiative and raise the funds themselves? We're looking at possible future councillors.”

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Dance Classes Are Helping Canadians With Parkinson's Reclaim Joy And Movement

Though she has always danced, Barbara Salsberg Mathews found a more urgent reason to return to classes after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2020. “I just thought, ‘I better break out and start dancing, because Parkinson's can't stop me from dancing,’” she said. The 67 year old said symptoms like muscle weakness and stiffness have settled into her body over the years, but dancing helps her feel like herself again. “When I'm lost in the music, so to speak, I feel freer, my range and fluidity of my movement just comes right back.” Growing research suggests dance can help slow the progression of Parkinson’s. That evidence is driving the launch of a national online arts hub that aims to connect people across Canada with programs like singing and dancing. Rebecca Barnstaple, an assistant professor of theatre at the University of Guelph, is leading the effort. “If participating in something like dance can help someone feel better, even as they're living with a neurodegenerative condition, then that's what I hope to be able to promote,” she said. Her project is part of a wider shift toward social prescribing, which uses social services to support overall well being and fill gaps in the healthcare system. Barnstaple said many people assume dance is off limits once they develop a movement disorder. “When someone feels or is told or knows they have a movement disorder, they think dance is not for them,” she said. “But this is exactly the moment when we should dance.” More than 110,000 Canadians are living with Parkinson’s disease, a number expected to reach more than 150,000 within a decade, according to Parkinson’s Canada. “In a few years from now, [Parkinson's] will become the most common neurodegenerative disease,” said Dr. Alfonso Fasano, a neurologist at University Health Network in Toronto. People in Canada can wait up to two years to see a specialist. Barnstaple said she wants people to feel empowered during that time, not hopeless. She has been teaching dance to people with Parkinson’s since 2013 and said the benefits are clear. “We've seen that it can impact people's balance, their ability to get up from a chair, some really functional movements,” she said. Parkinson’s is a progressive nervous system disorder that reduces dopamine in the brain. Dopamine helps control movement and affects mood. People may experience tremors, stiffness, slowed movement and cognitive changes, including anxiety and depression. Exercise is commonly recommended to counter some of those symptoms. Fasano said aerobic movement can slow the progression of the disease. “Any movement is good for the body, in particular aerobic exercises,” he said. “Some people have said that if exercise was a pill, it would be the most prescribed drug. And so dancing motivates people to take this pill.” He said dance raises heart rate while also improving balance, coordination and flexibility. Experts say dance seems to offer wider mental benefits compared with typical workouts. Joseph DeSouza, an associate psychology professor at York University in Toronto, said dance challenges both the body and the mind. “Doing dance is super complex for your body,” he said. “If a doctor said you got to run more or do more steps, those are very simple things that don't push cognition.” His recent research found that people with Parkinson’s who attended weekly dance classes for six years had better cognition and maintained walking stability compared with those who did not dance. “It's surprising to me because it's pushing the disease kind of in the back pocket of people,” he said. “Now the question is: what aspect of dance is doing it?” Studies suggest several factors may contribute, from music to the social interactions that lift mood and reduce depression. “As soon as you get the disease, you should be prescribed exercise, dance, swimming, whatever you think is fun,” DeSouza said. Still, he said researchers have more to learn about how dance changes the brain. Meanwhile, dance classes for people with Parkinson’s continue to grow. In Windsor, Ontario, 78 year old Ken Wickens attended his first class after living with the disease for about 12 years. He said he is always looking for ways to stay moving. “I am not sitting still and I am not watching the world go by,” he said. “I'm getting a part of it.” Researchers believe that sense of connection plays a significant role. Barnstaple said human interaction is a powerful tool, and she hopes more people gain access to it when the online arts hub launches in April.

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This Historic Document Almost Became a Lampshade — Now It's Being Celebrated 400 Years Later

A unique document from the 17th Century was rescued from becoming a makeshift lampshade after a bookshop owner in Kent almost cut it up for decoration. The Royal Charter, granted to Leeds by King Charles I in 1626, survived only because he showed it to a friend before taking a pair of scissors to it. The West Yorkshire Archive Service shared the story as Leeds prepares to mark 400 years since the charter was granted. The document itself dates from 1646 and is a precise handwritten copy on animal skin in Latin. The original charter was lost during the English Civil War, so officials at the time created a replacement. The charter formally incorporated Leeds as a “free borough” and a “body corporate and politic”. Archivists say it helped shape the political and economic structure that allowed the city to grow into an influential regional centre. “The charter is a truly impressive document and a physical representation of what was without a doubt one of the most significant moments the history of Leeds,” said Alex Pearson, archives assistant with West Yorkshire Archive Service. Pearson said it outlined the early rules that let Leeds govern itself. Records show the charter resurfaced in the 1950s, when Mr C E Cheshire, who owned a bookshop in Canterbury, bought it at a village sale in east Kent. It later slipped behind a bookcase and stayed there for six years. When Cheshire found it again, he assumed it was a piece of antique vellum and planned to turn it into a lampshade. He asked a friend who worked as an archivist to take a look, which is when he learned the document was the only surviving copy of the charter. Pearson called the story astonishing. “To think the only remaining copy almost became a lampshade, and it goes to show how even the most important documents can sometimes crop up in the most unlikely places.” Once the Corporation of Leeds learned of the discovery, it offered to buy the charter for £10 and 10 shillings. Cheshire declined payment and donated it instead. In a 1952 letter to the Corporation he wrote, “As we now realise the importance of this missing link in your civic history we would like you to ask the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Members of the Corporation if they would accept this Copy of the Charter as a gift to the Citizens of Leeds from my Son (C E Cheshire Junr) and myself.” Today the charter is kept by the West Yorkshire Archive Service in Leeds, along with another charter issued by Charles II in 1661 that expanded the city’s autonomy. The document will go on display later this year for the Leeds 400 celebrations. Pearson said it remains a powerful reminder of how the city was shaped. “Four hundred years later, we can still see the massive impact the charter had on Leeds and as the city celebrates this historic year, it's a privilege to give people the chance to see such a remarkable piece of heritage in person.”

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