Airport Unveils Innovative Plan for Abandoned Runway

Rome's Fiumicino Airport is leading the way in sustainability with a massive solar farm project. The airport aims to reduce its carbon impact and become net zero by 2030. This initiative, part of a $200 million investment in sustainable mobility, sets a global standard for airports. Other airports worldwide are following suit, showing a trend toward eco-friendly practices in the aviation industry. Energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin sees great potential in repurposing underutilized land for renewable energy projects.

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Sperm Whales Observed Gathering to Assist a Calf's Birth

A group of sperm whales did something scientists had never seen this clearly before. Off Dominica in July 2023, two family groups came together and took turns helping a calf be born, then kept the newborn at the surface so it could breathe. The event is described in a new study published in Science Advances. Researchers say it is the first detailed record of this kind of coordinated birth support in sperm whales. Over several hours on July 8, 2023, scientists recorded two sperm whale family groups in the Caribbean Sea off Dominica. The groups were unrelated matrilines that usually forage separately. “Our results suggest that kin and non-kin engaged in sustained, cooperative postnatal care, taking turns to support the newborn and maintain group cohesion, in contrast to historical kin-segregated foraging patterns,” wrote a cross-disciplinary team led by computer scientist Alaa Maalouf of MIT’s Project CETI. “These findings provide rare quantitative evidence of direct allocare [caring for non-biologically related offspring] in cetaceans and can lend support to the hypothesis that transient, structured cooperation during birth is a key mechanism sustaining complex sociality in sperm whales.” Sperm whales are highly social animals and live in groups. Their smallest clan units can include up to 10 individuals and are matrilineal, led by a mother and made up of her daughters. Adult males usually live separately and only visit female groups for reproduction. Scientists do not know much about how that social structure works during births. Before this event, only four sperm whale births had been reported in the past 60 years, and all were either anecdotal or observed in whaling contexts. Those reports suggested some level of group support, but it had not been documented in detail. Maalouf and his colleagues were already in the field off Dominica in July 2023 as part of Project CETI, which is trying to decipher sperm whale communication using recordings and machine learning. At 9:50 am local time, researchers came across a group of 11 sperm whales gathered at the surface. The behaviour was unusual enough that the team stopped and deployed observational tools including hydrophones for audio and drones for overhead video. At 11:12 am, a pregnant whale known as Rounder began delivering her calf. The birth took 34 minutes. Other adult females positioned themselves around her in a tight, synchronized formation. At 11:46 am, scientists saw plumes of blood and the newborn calf. What followed lasted about an hour. According to the study, newborn sperm whales are likely unable to stay afloat on their own, so members of the extended group took turns lifting and pushing the calf to the surface to breathe. “The group rapidly transitioned to cohesive and highly active behavior; individuals took turns lifting the newborn, physically supporting and pushing it to the surface, consistent with supporting a negatively buoyant neonate. This phase continued for about an hour, during which time the entire unit remained tightly grouped,” the researchers wrote. The study also recorded other cetaceans nearby during the birth. “In addition, there were close passes by Fraser’s dolphins (Lagenodelphis hosei) and brief interactions with pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), which encompassed the sperm whale cluster and occasionally dove beneath them.” To work out exactly what happened, the team used machine learning and computer vision to identify individual whales, track their movements and examine how they interacted during and after the birth. That analysis found all 11 whales in the group took at least one turn supporting the calf in the hour after birth. About 96 percent of that support time came from four whales: Rounder, the mother; Aurora, her half-sister; Ariel, a juvenile unrelated to Rounder; and Atwood, an older relative of Rounder. Researchers also recorded an active acoustic environment throughout the birth, but the new study did not analyse what the whales were vocalising. It focused on their actions. Still, the team says the observations add to the understanding of sperm whale social behaviour. “Our results provide quantitative evidence for the paradigm that calf survival, particularly around births, drives selection for the social bonds underpinning the complex social organization that has evolved in sperm whales,” the researchers wrote. “These findings place the complexity of sperm whale birth behavior and coordination in comparative context with terrestrial mammals, including primates and humans, raising questions about the cognitive architectures and communication systems that support and mediate these behaviors.” 📸credit: Project CETI

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This 10-Year-Old, Who is Blind, Learns Boxing With Punch-by-Numbers System

In Archie Hayes's boxing lessons, the punches come with numbers. The 10-year-old from Bristol, who is blind, has learned to box through a simple system from his coach. "One" means jab, "two" means cross, "three" means hook and "four" means upper cut. Archie trains three times a week with coach Andy O'Kane, 62, at Paddy John's Boxing Gym in Bristol. During sessions, Andy calls out number combinations to guide him in the ring. Archie was born blind, but that did not stop him from taking up the sport and following his brother Josh, 15, who is also a boxer. Andy has been a boxing coach at the gym for more than 20 years and said he is "really proud" to be able to teach a young blind boy how to box. "Archie is hard working," says Andy. "He pays attention, he soaks up every single thing you tell him and he picks it up really quick. He has been with us for 18 months and he can box - he understands boxing. He does everything that any young person involved in boxing does. Because he is blind he is having to put complete faith in what I tell him. "He memorizes everything that I say to the point that if I make a mistake he will tell me. I'm really proud that a blind young boy can be included in the sport and in this club." Archie was born blind, but it took doctors seven months to get a full diagnosis. After several tests, he was diagnosed with Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, or LCA, a rare, inherited eye disorder that affects the retina. For training, Archie uses punch bags and pad work. He also takes part in sparring sessions with fully-sighted colleagues. Andy said it started gradually before becoming a regular part of club life. "I was starting to do little bits with him and then he really got interested and his dad asked if we could make this a regular thing and that's what we did," he said. It was about trying to get him to be part of the club as well. "Now he comes into the classes and he trains and the other kids are completely oblivious to it, they don't have any issue. The fact that he can't see doesn't change anything." Archie said boxing makes him feel stronger. "I like it because it makes me really strong and powerful," he said. "Boxing teaches you to become tough because I'm punching bags and stuff." His parents, Fred Hayes, 37, and Natalie Hayes, 40, said they have never "wrapped Archie up" and have always allowed him to do what he wants. "He was born blind so we don't know any different to everybody else so that's his way of life," said Natalie. "It doesn't affect him that he can't see, he is happy the way he is. I call him the champ." "Me and mum have never wrapped him up, we have just let him get on with it," said Fred. "He is got to learn with it. There's nothing that can be done to bring Archie's vision back at the moment but we don't know what the future technology might bring. He is happy the way he is." Archie often tunes in to hear boxing combats and said he wants to keep boxing for a long time. "It's really fun," he said. "It's a good sport and I like hearing it on the telly." He has also met Tyson Fury, Joseph Parker and Conor Benn. Andy said he hopes Archie's experience encourages other blind children to try boxing. "If that sends out a message to other blind kids that wanna they can try their boxing club then that's fantastic," he said. "It's nice to think that boxing can move on and the coaches have got open minds. "I'm really proud that he chose our club."

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Canadian Lands National Geographic Cover With This Underwater Seahorse Photo

A seahorse in a Bahamian pond has put Saskatchewan-born photographer Shane Gross on the cover of National Geographic. Gross, who specializes in marine life photography, took the photo while in a pond in the Bahamas. The image features a seahorse floating in underwater weeds. “I picked that seahorse because it wasn’t shy. All the elements were there for a good picture. Did I think it would end up on the cover of National Geographic? Absolutely not,” he explained to CTV News. Gross said he has returned to the pond many times over the years. He has camped there for days at a time to put in the work needed to catch the right pictures. “Some of the seahorses in there are very shy. You find the right seahorses that are curious and you can start to make some good pictures,” he said to CTV News. His photography has taken him to all seven continents, most recently Antarctica. Gross said the water there was so cold that he was only able to dive underwater for roughly 40 minutes at a time before his equipment began to freeze up. He also had trouble getting the right shots because visibility was low. Gross said it was not until the final day of the trip that he was able to capture pictures of fur seals and penguins moving through the water. “Having those penguins circle around us was one of those encounters you dream about and hope for,” he said. Gross said he was a National Geographic reader as a child. At the time, he said the idea of being part of the magazine in some way felt farfetched. For people who want to pursue top-quality photography and possibly be featured in well-known magazines, Gross said focusing on a specific subject is the best approach. “They need people who are passionate about a certain thing. To be able to withstand the hardships that you go through when you are shooting these things. It’s passion that gets you through that,” he told CTV News. 📸credit: National Geographic/Shane Gross

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This City Council’s Youngest Regular Is Inspiring More Parents To Seek Office

A seven-week-old baby made an appearance at Fredericton city council this week, even if she did not get a vote. Councillor Cassandra LeBlanc brought her daughter, Josie, to Monday’s regular council meeting as she balanced parenthood and politics, and said she hopes others will feel able to do the same. The first in-person meeting since Josie’s arrival came with some nerves. “I was worrying about my baby having a blowout. And where am I going to change them? If it’s a big council, I don’t want to miss a vote,” LeBlanc told CTV News. She also had to think about breastfeeding and what to do if Josie cried. But LeBlanc said Josie fit right in. At 27, LeBlanc was the youngest woman to run for Fredericton city council. She said that at the time, she knew she wanted to start a family at some point. She had been attending meetings virtually, but Monday night marked her first council meeting in person since giving birth. LeBlanc said she had support from her colleagues and from Mayor Kate Rogers, Fredericton’s first female mayor. Rogers said the city, like other political spaces, has taken time to make women feel welcome. “The conversation was, ‘Why aren’t there more women at the table?’ And I would say, ‘Women don’t want to be at that table because that table is not welcoming to us. And when we come to this table, we’re very aware it wasn’t designed for us,’” Rogers said. “I wanted to create a space where women knew that it was their place.” Very few sitting New Brunswick politicians have given birth while in office. Five years ago, MLA Megan Mitton asked the provincial legislature to install change tables so she could bring her newborn to the house. At the time, Mitton said that kind of change was needed so more young women would feel they could run for public office. “It tends to be a space that has been traditionally dominated by men, and so even going into politics I had heard recommendations to do it later in life, not do it when you have a kid,” Mitton said. “I haven’t followed that.” LeBlanc said she hopes Josie grows up in a world with even more women and young mothers around the professional table. “I hope one day she looks back on that and is proud of her mom. And maybe it inspires her and other little girls to run for council or other offices,” she told CTV News. 📸credit: City of Fredericton

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Washington, D.C. Cherry Blossoms Are in Peak Bloom, National Park Service Says

Spring has hit its mark in Washington. The National Park Service said on Thursday that peak bloom has arrived for the city’s cherry blossoms. Warm temperatures near 15.5 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, followed by warmer conditions on Thursday, sped up the process and pushed many Yoshino cherry trees from Stage Five, known as Puffy White, into full bloom. The Park Service said about one-third of the trees were still in Stage Five early Wednesday, but the mild weather lifted that number. The trees pass through six stages: Green Buds, Florets Visible, Extension of Florets, Peduncle Elongation, Puffy White and Peak Bloom. The National Park Service defines peak bloom as the point when about 70 percent of blossoms have opened. Peak bloom usually happens between late March and early April. Weather shifts have pushed it as early as March 15 in 1990 and as late as April 18 in 1958. The blossoms reached peak bloom on March 28 in 2025 and March 17 in 2024. The Yoshino trees usually stay in bloom for several days, depending on the weather. Cool, calm conditions can stretch out the display, while rain, wind or a late frost can cut it short or stop blossoms from opening. Most Yoshino cherry trees circle the Tidal Basin and extend onto the Washington Monument grounds. Part of the Tidal Basin will stay closed through the 2026 Cherry Blossom Festival because of a 112 million dollar seawall reconstruction project aimed at reducing flooding and improving accessibility. 📸credit: National Mall NPS / @NationalMallNPS Photo by Haoshuang Lou on Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/photo/pink-cherry-blossom-998958/)

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Two Maryland State Troopers Just Saved a Choking Infant While On an Unrelated Call

It turned from an ordinary call into an emergency in seconds. Two Maryland State troopers are being praised after helping save a choking infant when a frantic grandmother ran to them for help while they were on an unrelated call across the street. Trooper First Class Taylor Hersh and Corporal Jonathan Stoltzfus were nearby when the woman approached them with a baby who was unable to breathe. Bodycam footage shows the troopers running to her and starting life-saving measures right away. Within moments, they cleared the infant’s airway and the child was able to breathe again, bringing the ordeal to a safe end. Maryland State Police later highlighted the speed of the response. “Without hesitation, the troopers immediately began lifesaving measures and were able to clear the infant’s airway… Their quick actions and training made all the difference, preventing what could have been yet another tragic outcome,” the agency said. Hersh said the moment showed how training takes over in a crisis. “All the good training that we have, it just becomes second nature at that point,” he said. “We’re presented with critical situations a lot of times, and from that experience, you kind of just learn to stay calm and just not hesitate.” Stoltzfus said the incident also reflects the broad range of work state troopers handle in their communities. “A lot of people look at the state police and think we’re traffic cops… But what people don’t realize, in Southern Maryland specifically, is we do everything,” he said. “We do everything from going to medical calls to a traffic accident, to dealing with situations like this.” Maryland State Police praised the pair in a post, writing: “Job well done by Maryland's Finest!👏”

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Former Los Angeles Funeral Home Becomes Housing Hub For Homeless Seniors

A former mortuary in Los Angeles has taken on a very different role. The old Pierce Brothers Mortuary, once part of a 16-block stretch known as “Mortuary Row,” is now an affordable housing complex for seniors called Washington View Apartments. The shift comes as affordable senior housing has become harder to find. The Department of Housing and Urban Development says more than 146,000 Americans over age 55 experienced homelessness in 2024. Pierce Brothers Mortuary was one of the largest funeral homes in the area. It closed a few years ago, then briefly operated as a church. Attendance later dropped during the pandemic, and the property was converted into housing for older residents. Washington View Apartments now houses 100 elderly neighbors in 122 units priced for residents earning 30 to 60 percent of the area median income. Developers designated 91 of those units for formerly homeless residents. The project drew public and private funding. A private bank provided a $33 million construction loan, and the Los Angeles city government lent another $12 million to help revitalize the site. The building has a long history in the city. It was once the first full-service funeral home in Los Angeles. Over the years, the former Pierce Brothers Chapel suffered two fires and long-term damage before the adaptive reuse project began. The redevelopment restored major parts of the historic property, including the front of the building, the chapel, the bell tower and the red tile roof. The chapel had already been listed as a cultural-historic landmark by the city of Los Angeles, and the project was designed to preserve it. That work earned recognition from the city. Washington View Apartments was named a winner of Los Angeles’s 2023 Preservation Design Award for Reconstruction. The city’s awards page described the condition of the building when work started in blunt terms: “When the project began, the Spanish Colonial revival-style mortuary was a partial ruin,” the summary said. The same summary said the old chapel has been turned into a studio apartment, while the large gathering space now serves as a community area for residents. “The stained-glass windows were repaired, restored, or reconstructed,” the summary said. “The mortuary and converted garage received a seismic upgrade and, with the courtyard, are ADA-compliant.” The former hearse garage is also part of the housing complex. Together, the building and garage now support a residential community with recreation rooms, open community spaces and offices where residents can get case management and attend adult education classes. For people who live there, the building’s history is part of daily life. “It’s a one-stop shop,” resident Louis Juarez joked to The New York Times about living so close to the area’s remaining funeral homes. Juarez also told the paper what the apartment has meant for him after a year in a homeless shelter. “I love it here,” Juarez said to the New York Times. “Every morning I wake up and it relieves all the stress from my life.” 📸 credit: Washington View Apartments

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Staying 'Mentally Active' while sitting May Lower Dementia Risk, Study Finds

What you do while sitting may matter as much as how long you sit. Reading, doing a crossword or doing office work while seated may lower the risk of dementia, while spending long periods watching television may raise it, according to new research from Sweden. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that different kinds of sedentary behaviour are linked to dementia risk in very different ways. Researchers said mentally active sitting appeared to help protect against dementia, while mentally passive sitting, described in the study as “couch potato” behaviour such as watching television, was linked to a higher risk. It challenges the older view that all forms of sedentary behaviour carry the same dementia risk. The research team said previous studies had already suggested that mentally passive sedentary behaviours increase dementia risk, while mentally active sedentary behaviour, such as reading or office work, seemed protective. Most adults spend between nine and 10 hours a day sitting, the researchers said. Earlier research has shown extended, uninterrupted sitting is a risk factor for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and depression. It has also been associated with dementia. The new study is the first to separate passive sitting from mentally active sitting when looking at dementia risk, according to the researchers. They found that adults who spent long periods in mentally passive sedentary behaviour had a higher risk of dementia. Replacing passive sitting with mentally active sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower risk of dementia later in life. Dementia is the third highest cause of death and the seventh largest cause of disability among older adults worldwide, the researchers said. Lead investigator Professor Mats Hallgren, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said: “While all sitting involves minimal energy expenditure, it may be differentiated by the level of brain activity. "How we use our brains while we are sitting appears to be a crucial determinant of future cognitive functioning and, as we have shown, may predict dementia onset.” Researchers analysed data from a study involving more than 20,000 Swedish adults aged 35 to 64 who were followed over 19 years. The initial survey included questions about sedentary behaviour, physical activity and other behaviours associated with dementia. To identify dementia cases, the team linked the 1997 survey data with the Swedish National Patient Register and the Swedish Cause of Death Register. Using statistical models, the researchers examined the dementia associations that came from substituting mentally passive sedentary behaviour with mentally active sedentary behaviour. They found mentally active sedentary behaviour was associated with a reduced risk of dementia among middle-aged and older adults. Increasing time spent in mentally active sedentary behaviour was also associated with a “significant” reduction in dementia risk while maintaining levels of passive sedentary behaviour, light physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The same pattern appeared when researchers looked at replacing time spent in mentally passive sedentary behaviour with an equivalent amount of mentally active sedentary behaviour. That substitution was also associated with a lower risk of developing dementia. Because the survey collected data from 3,600 cities and villages across Sweden, the research team said the findings are likely generalisable to a wider global population. Hallgren said: “The prospective study design allowed us to establish the direction of these relationships and infers but does not establish causality. "Controlled trials are needed to confirm these important observational study findings." Hallgren, who also holds a post at Deakin University in Australia, said sedentary behaviour is common and can be changed, making it a target for public health efforts. He said: “Sedentary behavior is a ubiquitous but modifiable risk factor for many health conditions, including dementia. "Our study adds the observation that not all sedentary behaviors are equivalent; some may increase the risk of dementia, while others may be protective. "It is important to remain physically active as we age, but also mentally active, especially when we are sitting.” Photo by Polina Zimmerman on Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-reading-book-3747468/)

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Boston Musicians Are Bringing More Than 100 Concerts A Year To City Shelters

Sometimes the smallest stage says the most. On a recent Thursday, professional violinist Adrian Anantawan played with pianist Jennifer Hsiao at Women’s Lunch Place, a day shelter in Boston’s Back Bay. For Anantawan, the performance sat alongside appearances at the White House and for Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama. “I've been lucky to have a performing career,” Anantawan said to WCVB. “But oftentimes, the most meaningful experiences that I have as a musician, but also as a human being, is the work that we do here at Shelter Music Boston." Founded in 2010, Shelter Music Boston brings classical music to more than a dozen adult and family shelters across the city. Its paid professional musicians perform regularly, putting on more than 100 concerts a year. Anantawan also serves as the group’s artistic director. He said paying musicians matters to the program and to the idea behind it. “It's not to say that a volunteer can't do the same, but to be able to respect a professional's time and to make that sustainable, this idea of an artist working for social change is something I think that we need to respect and put our resources behind," Anantawan told WCVB. The group adjusts its performances depending on the shelter and the audience. Anantawan said concerts at family shelters take a different shape when children are involved. “Kids need to move, they need to make, so one of our signature programs at this moment is engaging kids with puppetry,” he said to WCVB. At Women’s Lunch Place, CEO Jennifer Hanlon Wigon said the performances have a strong effect on the space. “We really work hard to have a trauma-informed space,” she said. “When you bring the gift of music into that space, it just adds another element of, I think, dignity and joy in our space." Shelter Music Boston musicians perform in more than a dozen Boston shelters and hold more than 100 concerts a year. 📸 credit: WCVB

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Vivid Dreams May Make Sleep Feel Deeper, Study Finds

A good night’s sleep might have less to do with hours on the clock than people think. A new study from researchers at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca suggests that dreams, especially vivid and immersive ones, can make sleep feel deeper and more restorative, rather than disrupting it. The study was published in PLOS Biology. For decades, deep sleep has been seen as a state in which the brain is largely “switched off,” marked by slow brain waves, minimal activity and little awareness. Under that view, deeper sleep meant less brain activity. Dreaming, by comparison, has usually been tied to Rapid Eye Movement, or REM, sleep and treated as a sign of partial “awakenings” in the brain. The researchers said that creates a paradox. REM sleep involves intense dreaming and brain activity that resembles wakefulness, yet people often still report that this stage feels like deep sleep. To examine that contradiction, researchers analysed 196 overnight recordings from 44 healthy adults. Participants slept in a laboratory while researchers monitored their brain activity using high-density electroencephalography, or EEG. The data came from a broader project funded by a European Research Council Starting Grant that examined how different types of sensory stimulation influence the experience of sleep. Across four nights, participants were awakened more than 1,000 times and asked to describe what they had been experiencing just before waking. They also rated how deeply they felt they had been sleeping and how sleepy they were. The results showed that people reported the deepest sleep in two situations, when they had no conscious experience, and after vivid, immersive dreams. By comparison, shallow sleep was linked to minimal or fragmented experiences, such as a vague sense of presence without clear dream content. “In other words, not all mental activity during sleep feels the same: the quality of the experience, especially how immersive it is, appears to be crucial,” Giulio Bernardi, professor in neuroscience at the IMT School and senior author of the study, said. “This suggests that dreaming may reshape how brain activity is interpreted by the sleeper: the more immersive the dream, the deeper the sleep feels.” The researchers also found another pattern over the course of the night. Even as physiological signs of sleep pressure gradually decreased, participants said their sleep felt deeper as time went on. That perceived deepening closely tracked an increase in how immersive their dreams became. The findings suggest that dream experiences may help preserve the feeling of deep sleep even as the body’s biological need for sleep declines. The study also points to the idea that immersive dreams may help maintain a sense of separation from the external environment, a feature of restorative sleep, even while parts of the brain remain active. Bernardi said the findings could open a new way of thinking about sleep health and mental well-being. “Understanding how dreams contribute to the feeling of deep sleep opens new perspectives on sleep health and mental well-being,” he said. “If dreams help sustain the feeling of deep sleep, then alterations in dreaming could partly explain why some people feel they sleep poorly even when standard objective sleep indices appear normal. Rather than being merely a by-product of sleep, immersive dreams may help buffer fluctuations in brain activity and sustain the subjective experience of being deeply asleep.” The researchers said the idea echoes a long-standing hypothesis in sleep research, and in classical psychoanalysis, that dreams may act as “guardians of sleep.” The study was part of a broader collaboration between the IMT School, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, and Fondazione Gabriele Monasterio, where a new sleep laboratory has been established to combine neuroscientific and medical expertise. According to the researchers, the facility supports a multidisciplinary approach to studying sleep and the sleep-wake cycle, with the aim of better understanding how brain activity interacts with bodily processes. They said the findings are an early step in that work and a foundation for future research into how brain-body dynamics shape sleep in healthy people and in people with sleep disorders. Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-gray-tank-top-sleeping-on-bed-7556590/)

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