Endangered Thick-Billed Parrot That Once Filled the Skies is on the Way to Recovery

A recent survey in Mexico reveals that the population of thick-billed parrots has increased by 10 percent since 2012, with approximately 2,500 individuals now thriving in protected areas. Once on the brink of extinction, these charismatic birds are making a comeback thanks to collaborative efforts between government agencies and local communities. Conservation actions are proving successful, showing that with dedication and teamwork, endangered species can flourish once again.

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Kenyan Woman Sets World Record by Hugging a Tree for 72 Hours — And Sparks a National Movement

Truphena Muthoni stood, arms wrapped around a tree, for three days straight — and made history doing it. The young Kenyan environmentalist has broken her own Guinness World Record by hugging a tree for 72 consecutive hours from Dec. 8 to 11, 2025. Her goal wasn’t just the record. It was to spotlight climate change and protest the destruction of Kenya’s Indigenous forests. “I’m encouraging people to first protect what we have,” Muthoni said in a video, pushing back against tree-planting efforts that fail to preserve native ecosystems. “We are cutting down Indigenous forests, Indigenous trees, replacing them with saplings and calling that mitigation.” This wasn’t her first feat. Muthoni previously set the record in February 2025 by hugging a tree for 48 hours. Her latest attempt pushed even further — no sleep, no food, no breaks — though she did have access to medical care and was surrounded by supporters throughout the challenge. Guinness officially recognized her new record on January 26. Days earlier, she had already been named one of Timely Kenya’s 20 Most Impactful Women of 2025, honored alongside national leaders in governance, health, politics, and the environment. Muthoni said she undertook the effort to honor the wisdom of Indigenous communities, whose knowledge she believes is central to solving the climate crisis. “I yield my life and my work to You,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Before the people of Kenya and before the nations of the earth, I commit myself to be an instrument of healing for the world.” That message has clearly resonated. Since her record-breaking hug, Kenyans across the country have taken up the challenge — using trees to send a message. In Nanyuki, 43-year-old Paul Kago hugged a cedar tree for 96 hours to promote peace ahead of the country’s 2027 elections. In Murang’a, James Irungu attempted 80 hours for cancer awareness but collapsed just 20 minutes short. In Nairobi, 14-year-old Stephen Gachanja hugged a tree for 50 hours to raise money for his brother’s surgery. None of them registered their feats with Guinness. But they say they were inspired by Muthoni. That groundswell of support has turned into something larger. Muthoni now works with the Kenya Forest Service to help restore a local forest reserve and is an ambassador for the Kenyan government’s goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032. She also leads youth planting drives, urging young people to connect with nature not just symbolically, but actively. For her, the tree hugs are not stunts. They are statements. “We must fall in love with nature again,” she said. “That’s where healing begins.”

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A 5,000-Pound Game Changer: How a Canadian-Built Machine Is Revolutionizing Disaster Relief

It weighs as much as a small elephant, can swim, climb, and spin 180 degrees in tight quarters — and for Rahul Singh, it might just be the future of emergency response in Canada. “These are beasts. They’re extreme all-terrain vehicles,” said Singh, founder of Global Medic, a disaster relief agency that has helped more than 6 million people in 90 countries since launching in 1998. Singh is talking about the ARGO Sasquatch, a Canadian-made, amphibious vehicle that’s built for some of the world’s harshest environments. Designed and manufactured in New Hamburg, Ontario, the machine costs about $250,000 and is partially funded by the Ontario government. The Sasquatch isn’t your average off-roader. With the push of a button and a turn of the wheel, its tires automatically deflate to boost traction on difficult terrain. It can glide through water, chew through deep snow, and navigate rugged ground — all while rotating on the spot when space is tight. Global Medic, known for its rapid response in the wake of natural disasters, now relies on the Sasquatch to reach people stranded in places where regular vehicles can’t go. And Singh says the stakes are only getting higher. “We know with climate change, we get these significant weather events,” he said. “So, if people are trapped by snow and we’ve got to get in and rescue them... Sure, we can come in by snowmobile. We can pull drivers off the highway. But if grandma slips and breaks her hip, we can’t pull her out on a snowmobile.” “But this unit, we can do it. We can get right in that last 100 metres, get grandma, stabilize her, support her, and get her out.” That ability to go where others can’t is what makes the Sasquatch stand out — and not just in Canada. The factory that produces it employs about 150 people and is now looking to grow, even after recent layoffs tied to U.S. tariffs on raw materials. “Everyone’s happy to be here. We’re making a good product,” said Carol Witzke, Director of Operations at Argo XTV. “Still, apprehension is on everyone’s mind on what the future holds.” The U.S. market has become more challenging due to increased production costs, but interest is growing elsewhere. “Europe, Australia, New Zealand, countries around the world — we’re definitely seeing business pick up,” said Michael Kelly, Argo XTV’s Director of Commercial Sales. Singh sees the vehicle as more than a piece of gear — he sees it as a smart investment in local innovation. With disasters becoming more frequent, and with the realities of climate change putting more Canadians at risk, he believes the solution should be made close to home. “We’re going to need better tools right here in Ontario. So we should be using the Ontario-made solution for right here in Ontario,” he said. “We’ve got one and I want more.” Global Medic’s use of the Sasquatch highlights just one example of Canadian ingenuity being put to work in the service of others — and with Singh’s drive, it likely won’t be the last.

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Clemson Basketball Star Gets Surprise Visit From Mom After Teammates Secretly Raise Money

For Rusne Augustinaite, home is more than 8,000 kilometers away. The 22-year-old junior guard at Clemson University grew up in Lithuania, far from where she's made a name for herself as one of the best three-point shooters in the Atlantic Coast Conference. And despite years playing in the U.S., one person had never seen her suit up in person: her mom, Rasa. Travel costs and work commitments had kept Rasa at home — until Augustinaite's teammates quietly changed that. After learning how much she missed her family, the Clemson Tigers pooled their own money and arranged a surprise visit. A video shows the emotional moment Rasa knocked on the door. Augustinaite answered, froze for a second, then lit up and embraced her mom as her teammates erupted in cheers. "I don't know how it didn't ... slip or someone didn't text it in the wrong group chat or something," Augustinaite told CBS News. "But they did a great job, and it's all because of my teammates, and I'm just so happy to have them." The timing couldn’t have been better. In her next game, with her mom in the stands for the very first time, Augustinaite delivered a season-high 21-point performance, helping Clemson defeat Southern Methodist University. And after the final buzzer, she ran straight into a well-earned post-game hug from her biggest fan.

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Heroic 13-Year-Old Australian Boy Swims Four Hours to Save Family from Sea

A teenage boy in Western Australia is being hailed as a hero after swimming for four hours through rough seas to get help for his stranded mother and two younger siblings. The 13-year-old, whose name has not been released, was vacationing with his family in Quindalup, about 250 kilometres south of Perth, when strong winds pushed their inflatable paddleboards and a kayak out to sea on Friday. The family had been paddling on Geographe Bay when conditions turned dangerous. As the mother, 12-year-old son, and eight-year-old daughter drifted further out, the 13-year-old boy tried to paddle the kayak back to shore but it began to take on water. With daylight fading and the situation growing more urgent, he made a decision: ditch the kayak and swim to shore. “He swam in, he reckons, the first two hours with a life jacket on,” said Naturaliste Marine Rescue commander Paul Bresland. “And the brave fella thought he’s not going to make it with a life jacket on, so he ditched it, and he swam the next two hours without a life jacket.” When he finally reached the beach, exhausted but alive, he immediately alerted authorities. A multi-agency rescue operation launched, involving local volunteers, Western Australia Water Police, and a rescue helicopter. According to police, the mother and two children were found around 8:30 p.m. on Friday — roughly 14 kilometres offshore — clinging to a paddleboard. Bresland said the mother had been struggling but stayed strong for her children. “She just said they’re looking her in the eye, and she just kept going and kept them together,” he told ABC. The teen’s detailed description of the kayak and paddleboards proved critical in helping crews locate the family. “Within an hour, we found the kayak,” said WA Police Insp. James Bradley. The family was treated by paramedics before being taken to Busselton Health Campus for further assessment. They were discharged over the weekend and later visited the rescue team to express their gratitude. Bradley called the boy’s actions “life-saving,” adding, “The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough — his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings.” Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue echoed that praise, calling the teen’s effort “superhuman” and “extraordinary.”

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This Catholic-School Priest Just Busted a Move at a Basketball Game Halftime

A Catholic priest in Hendersonville, Tennessee, busted out surprising dance moves during halftime at a high school basketball game on January 16. Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School (JPII)’s Knights were hosting a game against rival team Father Ryan High Irish when the pastor turned the court into his stage. Footage from @jpiiknights/@jpiiathletics shows “Father O” dancing to NSYNC’s 2000 hit Bye Bye Bye. “We’ll be waiting to see what moves you bring @fatherryanhighschool @frhscampusministry when JPII comes to your court,” JPII Athetics wrote to Instagram.

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This Alabama Pilot Flew to Rescue Stranded College Students After an Ice Storm

A group of college students stuck in freezing conditions after a brutal winter storm in Mississippi got an unexpected lift — literally — from a family friend with a helicopter. David Upton, a Birmingham-based pilot and equipment company owner, flew to Oxford, Mississippi, on January 26 to rescue three young women who had been stranded for two days without power after an ice storm knocked out electricity and sent a tree crashing through the roof of their rental home. “They had been stranded for two days there without power,” Upton told WBRC, a Fox affiliate in Birmingham. With roads blocked and temperatures dropping, the students’ situation quickly became serious. One of their parents reached out to Upton, a longtime friend, asking if there was any way he could help. Upton owns Craneworks, a heavy equipment rental business, but his real passion is flying helicopters. When the call came in, he didn’t hesitate. “I can fly from point A to point B and land at farms and friends’ places, and that’s the beauty of the helicopter,” he said. Upton flew directly to the Oxford airport. The students managed to hitch a ride there, since the University of Mississippi wouldn’t allow the chopper to land on campus. Video shared by WBRC showed the three students smiling from the cabin of the helicopter, finally on their way home after a harrowing 48 hours. “The first thing they said is they wanna get to the heat, and they want to take a warm shower,” Upton said. The pilot said using his skills and equipment to help others adds extra meaning to something he already loves. “Of course, I love flying,” he said. “But being able to use it to help others makes it kind of extra fun.”

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How the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Celebrates Deep Bond Between Humans And Canines

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show might be the ultimate showcase of America’s best-groomed canines, but it’s also a celebration of the bond between people and their dogs — and, often, the people behind those dogs. “It would be very hard to do this without somebody who was as vested in it as I am,” said Bill McFadden, a two-time Westminster-winning handler. His wife, Taffe McFadden, is no slouch either — she handled a second-place winner in 2019. The two met at a dog show in the late 1970s, married in 1985, and have been traveling the show circuit together ever since. They’ve even gone head-to-head in competition. No tension, though. “I think some of my best memories are watching Taffe win best in show,” Bill said. “If one of us takes the big ribbon home, it’s awesome. Doesn’t matter which one.” This year marks Westminster’s 150th anniversary. Monday’s festivities included tributes to past finalists like Taffe and Bono the Havanese, as well as the start of the breed-by-breed competitions that lead to Tuesday night’s coveted best in show award. Among the early finalists was Zaida the Afghan hound, a two-time World Dog Show winner who finally advanced at Westminster for the first time. Her handler, Willy Santiago, choked up while telling the crowd he’d been waiting for “this day for all my life.” “She’s the dog that makes me feel everything can happen,” he said. Cookie the Maltese also made waves, knocking off two-time finalist Comet the shih tzu in a surprise semifinal win in the toy group. One of the dogs still in the hunt is JJ the Lhasa apso, winner of the massive AKC National Championship in December. His breeder and handler Susan Giles described him as outgoing — a rare trait in a breed typically known for being aloof. “He’ll talk to everybody,” she said after JJ cruised through his first round. The McFaddens aren’t the only couple in the game. The show world is full of husband-and-wife teams who, like Bill and Taffe, share their lives with dozens of dogs and a full travel calendar. That kind of schedule, Bill joked, makes dating outside the sport pretty much impossible. “I’m going to be gone five days a week, and I’m going to have like 20 dogs with me” doesn’t make for an easy sell. Their secret? “Being with someone you can actually coexist with — constantly.” Even couples with full-time jobs find a way. Randy and Andrea Huelsemann of Wisconsin juggle careers in emergency dispatch and dental hygiene with breeding and showing French bulldogs. “We do it for just the love of it, for something to do together,” Randy said. “It’s a great hobby for the two of us,” Andrea added. Then there are celebrity attendees like Lydia Hearst and Chris Hardwick, who screamed their support for their otterhound, Zoltar. He didn’t win his breed, but definitely won the volume war. “I die a lot in horror movies, so I can scream for a long time,” Hearst joked. Her mom, Patricia Hearst Shaw, a longtime Frenchie fan, was also at the show with her dog Sassy. And yes, Hollywood made an appearance in the ring, too. Wilbur the beagle, who stars in the upcoming Netflix cop drama The Rip with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, competed Monday with 13-year-old Charlotte Jones, a junior handler from Hawaii. Since flying one of her family’s dogs from Honolulu wasn’t practical, Charlotte was paired with Wilbur through beagle circles. Does Wilbur prefer the spotlight or the show ring? “Everything,” said his owner, Mary Cummings. “He likes anything that involves food and getting attention.” At Westminster, that’s exactly what every dog gets — whether they leave with a ribbon or just a lot of applause.

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Wild Blueberries Show Promising Benefits for Heart Health, New Review Finds

A berry that’s been eaten for thousands of years may be more powerful for heart health than most Americans realize — and it's probably sitting in the freezer aisle. A new scientific review released by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America on January 27 highlights the cardiometabolic benefits of wild blueberries, especially their role in improving blood vessel function and circulation. The findings are based on 12 human clinical trials spanning 24 years. “Overall, the authors report that evidence is strongest and most consistent for improvements in vascular function,” the review stated. There were also “encouraging” signs for other markers such as blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar regulation — though researchers say more large-scale studies are needed to confirm those effects. So what makes wild blueberries different? Unlike conventional cultivated varieties, wild blueberries grow naturally on low-lying shrubs in the cold, rugged climates of Maine and Canada. Their underground stem systems, called rhizomes, allow them to survive extreme winters. That harsh environment may be the secret to their nutritional power. Researchers believe the stress on the plant prompts it to produce more protective compounds, including polyphenols like anthocyanins — the pigment that gives the berries their deep blue hue. And while these compounds aren’t absorbed quickly, they do reach the gut, where microbes break them down into substances that may help the heart and metabolism once they enter the bloodstream. People can get those benefits by eating about one cup of wild blueberries per day, according to the review. Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, a professor at the University of Maine and co-lead author of the study, said the berries have long been part of traditional diets. “Traditional knowledge recognized their value, and today’s research continues to explore how the unique composition of wild blueberries may support health when eaten as part of an overall balanced diet,” she said. Despite their advantages, wild blueberries aren’t a staple in most American diets — largely because they’re harder to find fresh. But most of the harvest is frozen right after picking, and nutrition experts say the freezer section of the grocery store is the best place to look. New York-based nutritionist Nicolette Pace, who wasn’t involved in the study, says the findings reinforce what many in the health community have long suspected — that wild, heirloom, and seasonal fruits are often more nutritionally dense than standard cultivated varieties. “What really impressed me about this study was that it didn’t just look at outcomes,” said Pace. “It looked at mechanisms and what is actually happening in the body.” She recommends adding frozen wild blueberries to yogurt, smoothies, oatmeal, or baked goods. Other polyphenol-rich berries she suggests include black chokeberries, black currants, wild cranberries, and mulberries. “The key takeaway,” Pace said, “is to prioritize wild, heirloom and seasonal fruits whenever possible. They can have powerful cardiometabolic and gut health benefits.”

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Bencic and Svitolina Make Tennis History as Top-10 Mothers, WTA Calls It a Milestone

For the first time ever, two mothers are ranked inside the top 10 of women’s tennis — and the sport’s governing body says it’s proof that motherhood and elite competition can go hand in hand. Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina are now ranked ninth and tenth, respectively, in the latest WTA rankings. It marks a historic first for the tour, which has stepped up support for players returning to the sport after having children. “Two mothers ranked inside the WTA Top 10 for the first time is an incredible moment for tennis and for women’s sport,” said WTA chief executive Portia Archer. “Not only does this highlight the exceptional achievements of Belinda and Elina, it reaffirms the WTA’s commitment to creating an environment where mothers can continue to compete and succeed, at the very highest level of sport — or any profession.” Bencic, a former world number four, gave birth to her first child in 2023 and returned to the top 10 in January after a year back on tour. She was seeded tenth at last month’s Australian Open but suffered a surprise second-round loss to Czech teenager Nikola Bartůňková. Still, she climbed one spot in the rankings. “Coming back to the WTA Top 10 one year after returning to competition after maternity leave is something I am incredibly proud of,” Bencic said. “Very few people know or have experienced how difficult that journey is, but my family, my team and I have put all of our energy, work and dedication into it to accomplish this goal.” Svitolina, who gave birth in 2022, surged back into the top tier thanks to a semifinal run at the Australian Open. Along the way, she defeated top-10 stars Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva before falling just short of the final. “It’s a dream to return to the WTA Top 10 and doing it as a mother means so much to me,” Svitolina said. “I’m proud of my fight and resilience and I can’t thank the fans enough for their incredible support.” The WTA has launched several initiatives aimed at supporting motherhood in the sport. Last year, the organization introduced a maternity fund, and both Bencic and Svitolina have used the WTA’s Special Ranking Rule, which helps returning players enter tournaments based on their ranking before maternity leave. Elsewhere in the rankings, Australian teen Maya Joint broke into the top 30 for the first time, reaching a career-high number 29 despite a first-round exit at her home Grand Slam. At the top of the chart, Elena Rybakina moved up two spots to world number three after beating Aryna Sabalenka to win the Australian Open title. Sabalenka remains the world number one.

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New App Matches Footprints to Dinosaurs That Made Them

It started with a bedtime story. Physicist Gregor Hartmann was reading a book on dinosaurs to his son when he had a realization: the artificial intelligence methods he used in photon science might also work for identifying dinosaur tracks. So he reached out to the book’s author, University of Edinburgh paleontologist Steve Brusatte, and together they built something new — DinoTracker. The tool, now available on GitHub, uses artificial intelligence to classify fossilized dinosaur footprints — a task traditionally done by hand and prone to human bias. Their findings were published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “You never find a footprint and alongside [it] the dinosaur that had made this footprint,” Hartmann told The Guardian. “So, no offense to palaeontologists and such, but most likely some of these labels are wrong.” The software’s neural network was trained on nearly 2,000 unlabeled fossil tracks. It studied eight key features, including toe spread, ground contact, and heel position. After more than a year of training, the model was able to match expert classifications around 90 percent of the time. Brusatte says the tool could have saved him a lot of time back when he started studying tracks. “It really is challenging to understand the variation among tracks that were made by different dinosaurs and preserved in different environments, and this app now makes everything more objective,” he told IFLScience. While the A.I. is powerful, it doesn’t work in isolation. Human experts still analyze track age and location to confirm results. The model only sees the footprint itself. “This app certainly isn’t the end of the story when it comes to puzzling over the mysteries of dinosaur footprints,” co-author Paige dePolo wrote in The Conversation. “It’s a useful research resource for figuring out what tracks any footprint is most similar to in terms of shape, and what features are driving that similarity.” Interestingly, the DinoTracker system backed up a longstanding hunch among paleontologists: that some three-toed Triassic-era tracks look a lot like bird tracks. The model found unbiased, shape-based similarity between them. “Our dinosaur footprint A.I. model shows that some of these mysterious, controversial three-toed Triassic tracks really do resemble those of birds,” Brusatte told IFLScience. “The humans studying them were correct. It wasn't just wishful thinking.” That finding could suggest birdlike species existed tens of millions of years earlier than previously thought — though not everyone agrees. Jens Lallensack, a geoscientist at Humboldt University of Berlin who also works with A.I. in paleontology, cautioned that tracks aren’t perfect proxies for actual feet. “Birdlike” impressions don’t mean birds were walking around back then. The shape also depends on how the animal moved and the softness of the ground. Still, the researchers believe DinoTracker is a sign of things to come. “I think A.I. has a bright future in paleontology,” Brusatte said. “It’s not that A.I. will become some all-knowing god... but what excites me most is that A.I. can become a new type of paleontologist — one that compiles and observes and filters through and classifies data, and does so in a way that is free from the usual human biases.” And in this case, it all began with a bedtime book.

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