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The Library of Congress is Unveiling Some Newly Acquired "Wizard of Oz" Treasures
The Library of Congress has added a rare and remarkable collection to its archives: original materials from the making of The Wizard of Oz, including the only known handwritten draft of the lyrics to “Over the Rainbow.” The newly acquired trove includes 35 musical manuscripts from composer Harold Arlen and lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, draft song lists, and correspondence from the film’s director, Mervyn LeRoy. Among the highlights is a scrap of yellow legal paper with Harburg’s early pencil sketch of what would become one of the most iconic movie lyrics of all time. “Some day I’ll wish upon a star + wake + find the darkness far behind me,” Harburg originally wrote. The final line, sung by Judy Garland as Dorothy, eventually became: “Someday I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.” The sketch reveals more than just word tweaks. It shows that Harburg first imagined “darkness” instead of “clouds,” and that the order of the following lines was reversed in the final version. The lyric sheet, donated by Arlen’s sister-in-law, Rita Arlen, now joins dozens of other rare items in the Library’s Music Division, including Arlen’s own Academy Award statue for Best Original Song, which he won in 1939 for “Over the Rainbow.” Nicholas Brown-Cáceres, acting chief of the Music Division, told NPR that the song’s inclusion in the film was not always guaranteed. “‘Over the Rainbow’ nearly got left on the cutting room floor,” he said. “The creators had to advocate for it to get placed back in multiple times.” That perseverance paid off. Today, “Over the Rainbow” is widely regarded as one of the greatest songs of all time. It topped the “Songs of the Century” list by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts, and was later named the greatest movie song ever by the American Film Institute. It’s been covered by artists ranging from Ariana Grande to Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole, whose Hawaiian ukulele version remains beloved around the world. The Wizard of Oz itself was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1989, securing its place in American cultural history. Now, with these new additions, the Library holds some of the most intimate and influential pieces of the film’s legacy. “For a long time this has been an important work for us to try to preserve,” said Brown-Cáceres. “For the Music Division’s collections to now have the opportunity to hold some of the documentation relating to the creation of the soundtrack is wonderful. We’re excited that it will now be available as part of our nation’s heritage for hundreds of years to come.” The newly acquired items will go on public display at the Library of Congress from October 23 through January 7. Visitors can view the original lyrics sketch, the Oscar statue, and artifacts from Wicked, the hit Broadway musical inspired by The Wizard of Oz. Anyone over the age of 16 can also obtain a Library of Congress reader card to access the collection in the Performing Arts Reading Room.
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Runaway Tortoise Named Mr. T Saved After Wandering Onto Train Tracks
A wayward tortoise caused an unexpected delay at a railway station in Oxfordshire this week — but thankfully, its slow-moving adventure had a happy ending. The pet, named Mr. T, was spotted on Tuesday clambering onto the train tracks at Bicester North Station. Passengers quickly raised the alarm, prompting Chiltern Railways staff to halt trains and rescue the reptile before it could be harmed. Once safely off the tracks, staff treated Mr. T to lettuce and water in the station café while they searched for his owner. The railway company even posted photos on social media appealing for help identifying him. Hours later, Mr. T’s relieved owner came forward, explaining that the tortoise had escaped from a nearby home and wandered onto the line. “I don’t think anyone could quite believe it when we were alerted by customers at the station that there was a tortoise on the tracks,” said Giles Conway, Area Manager at Chiltern Railways. “I am grateful to our station staff who located the tortoise and worked with Network Rail to safely retrieve it from the tracks unharmed.” Steve Gill, a mobile operations manager with Network Rail, was the one who carried out the rescue. “In my 30 plus years on the railway, this is the first time I’ve ever had to save a tortoise,” he said. “I’m glad we managed to get the pet safely away from the tracks and reunited with its owner.” Mr. T may have slowed down service for a few minutes — but he’s now safely back home, no worse for wear, after one very unlikely railway adventure.
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Teen Hero Saves Missing Sister From Florida Lake With Deputy's Help
A 17-year-old boy in Florida is being hailed a hero after helping rescue his missing 5-year-old sister from a lake — with the dramatic moment captured on a deputy’s body camera. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to Lake Lisa Park around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 6, after reports that a nonverbal, autistic child had gone missing. When they arrived, they learned the girl had been spotted in the nearby lake — and that her older brother had already jumped in to save her. Body camera footage released by the sheriff’s office shows the deputy sprinting toward the water after bystanders point out where the girl was last seen. When he reaches the edge, he spots the 17-year-old standing waist-deep in the lake, holding onto a tree branch — with his sister clinging to another branch nearby. “She’s awake and talking!” the teen calls out, but explains that his sister is stuck between the branches of an overhanging tree. The deputy quickly climbs onto the branch above them to help. “I’m right behind you!” he says, encouraging the teen as they work together to free the girl. “Give me her left hand,” the deputy instructs, as the boy gently pulls his sister over the branch. Moments later, she’s free — and starts giggling as her brother lifts her into his arms. “I got her! I got her!” he shouts with relief. “Thank God I’m standing on soil!” Both siblings made it safely to shore, where they were checked by emergency crews. In a statement, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office praised the teen’s quick and selfless actions: “The Pasco Sheriff’s Office commends the 17-year-old brother for his courageous actions.” The department also credited the teamwork between the deputy and the young rescuer for preventing what could have been a tragic outcome — turning a moment of fear into one of pure relief and heroism.
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Don't Speak — Scream!: No Doubt Announces Las Vegas Residency, Marking First Shows in 14 Years
Don’t speak — just scream. No Doubt is officially back, announcing the band’s first shows in 14 years with a six-night residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. After reuniting for a surprise performance at Coachella 2024, the ska-punk icons are taking over the state-of-the-art arena for shows on May 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, and 16, 2026. The 17,500-capacity Sphere, a $2.3 billion immersive venue that’s already hosted U2, Phish, the Eagles, and Dead & Company, will see Gwen Stefani make history as the first woman ever to headline the space. “The opportunity to create a show at Sphere excites me in a new way,” Stefani said in a statement. “The venue is unique and modern and it opens up a whole new visual palette for us to be creative. Doing it with No Doubt feels like going back in time to relive our history, while also creating something new in a way we never could have imagined.” Presale tickets open Wednesday at 10 a.m. Pacific via No Doubt’s official website. General ticket sales begin October 17 at 10 a.m. Pacific. The band’s last residency, “Seven Night Stand,” took place in Los Angeles in 2012. Since then, members have pursued solo projects, with Stefani focusing on her pop career and TV appearances while bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont, and drummer Adrian Young worked in production and side bands. Now, they’re bringing their energy — and decades of hits — to one of the most cutting-edge stages in the world. “I can’t wait to get on stage again with my bandmates,” Kanal said. “There is a beautiful energy that happens when we play together, an electricity I have felt through all of our years. To be able to leave it all on the table each night and take our fans on the insane journey that is Sphere is beyond our wildest dreams. See you in May!” Looks like 2026 will be a hella good year for No Doubt fans.
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A Clouded Leopard is Receiving a Heart Monitor To Help Biologists Study Stress Levels
At the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia, a 9-year-old clouded leopard named Masala just became part of a groundbreaking experiment in animal care — one that could transform how scientists understand stress in wildlife. During a recent checkup, veterinarians implanted a tiny heart monitor under Masala’s skin. The device, originally designed for humans, will track changes in his heart rate, body temperature, and hydration, all indicators of stress and anxiety. For Rosana Moraes, a Brazilian biologist leading the study, it’s a major step forward. “It’s a gigantic leap in animal care,” she said. Clouded leopards, native to Southeast Asia, are agile tree-dwellers whose numbers are rapidly declining due to deforestation and poaching. Masala is part of a global breeding program aimed at preserving the species, but lately, his caretakers have noticed troubling signs — he’s been biting his tail and showing signs of anxiety. The monitor will help pinpoint exactly when and why those stress spikes occur. Moraes studies how chronic stress can affect animals’ ability to thrive and reproduce. Understanding those patterns, she says, is crucial for species survival — especially in captivity, where stress can directly impact breeding success. The Smithsonian has now implanted similar devices in eight animal species worldwide, including giant anteaters in South America, using a minimally invasive procedure. The effort is a partnership with Medtronic, the world’s largest medical device company. Tim Laske, a biologist who studies bears and also serves as Medtronic’s vice president of research, realized that expired human heart monitors could be repurposed for wildlife studies. “We’ve implanted more than 600 over the years,” Laske said. “These are all devices that would otherwise have been disposed of.” The data from these devices has already led to surprising insights. Researchers can now track when maned wolves are best suited for reintroduction into the wild, or when scimitar-horned oryx herds experience stress from nearby human activity. For Moraes, that real-time window into animal physiology is what excites her most. “We can finally visualize data that used to be invisible,” she said. “It’s giving us a deeper understanding of how animals experience the world — and how our actions are shaping that experience.” In Masala’s case, it could be the key to helping one anxious leopard — and, in time, an entire species — live a calmer, healthier life.
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A Patient in the UAE Regained Their Smile With a Jaw Implant After a Tumor Battle
For two years, Nemr Mazen Nimer Altaher couldn’t smile, speak clearly, or eat without pain. The 46-year-old Jordanian’s face had been left severely disfigured after surgery to remove a benign tumour from his upper jaw — a procedure that saved his life but took a heavy emotional and physical toll. Today, Altaher is smiling again, thanks to a 3D-printed prosthesis designed and fitted by specialists at Medcare Dentofaces in Dubai. Altaher was diagnosed in 2022 with ameloblastoma, a rare but benign tumour that had grown aggressively across his upper jaw. Surgeons successfully removed it, but the operation left him with a deep facial deformity that made it difficult to chew, speak, or even appear in public without discomfort. “I had survived the tumour, but I felt like I had lost myself,” he said. “Eating food was a challenge, I could not participate in conversations, and smiling became something I actively avoided. The stares and the constant worry about being judged by people when they saw me weighed heavily on me.” Determined to regain his quality of life, Altaher turned to Dr. Saman Fallahi, a specialist dentist and prosthodontist, for help. Using digital imaging, 3D modelling, and precision casting, Dr. Fallahi and his team designed a custom removable prosthesis that restored both function and facial symmetry. “Technology was crucial in Nemr’s recovery,” said Dr. Fallahi. “The use of digital diagnostics, 3D modelling, and the precise manufacture of the prosthesis allowed us to solve Nemr’s issues seamlessly with a solution that worked perfectly and provided him with comfort.” Within weeks of receiving the prosthesis, Altaher’s transformation was remarkable. He was once again able to join family dinners, speak with ease, and smile without hesitation. “I never imagined I would get my life back,” he said. “Losing the ability to do simple things like eat, speak, or smile happened so suddenly, and for a while it felt like my world had ended. But today, I feel like a new person. I can face people again with confidence, and I have rediscovered the joy of living my life fully.” Dr. Fallahi said the case demonstrates how technology-driven prosthodontic care can be life-changing for patients recovering from major surgery. “After the health of a patient is restored following tumour removal, the next phase — prosthetic restoration — becomes critical,” he said. “With the aid of technology, we can restore dignity, function, and self-confidence. These are not luxuries; they are essential parts of being human.” For Altaher, the result is more than medical — it’s personal. After years of hiding, he now meets the world with a renewed sense of self. “Every time I smile now,” he said, “it feels like I’m living again.”
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Tiktok Star Breaks World Record For Cycling Up The Eiffel Tower
There aren’t many sports records that stand for more than two decades — and even fewer that make you wonder, who thought of doing that in the first place? On Friday, French cyclist and social media star Aurélien Fontenoy shattered one of the strangest endurance feats on record: biking up the Eiffel Tower. Fontenoy climbed 686 steps to the monument’s second-floor platform — the highest point accessible by stairs — in 12 minutes and 30 seconds, smashing the previous mark set by Hugues Richard in 2002 by nearly seven minutes. Of course, riding a bike up a staircase isn’t really “riding” at all. “For this challenge, I break my brake, and I just have to compress my tire because I don’t have suspension or anything — it’s just a rigid bike,” Fontenoy told CNN Sport. “So we just have to pump with the brake and jump, jump, jump a lot!” Four years in the making The 35-year-old former mountain bike racer trained for months — in the gym, on jump ropes, and on stairs — to prepare his body for the punishing, high-impact effort. But organizing the record attempt was just as grueling. “It’s a challenge that I organized maybe three or four years ago,” Fontenoy said. “I started four years ago at the Tour Trinity and I was supposed to go to the Eiffel Tower after. But Covid-19, then the Olympic Games, then building work and repainting the tower — it was a lot of work to organize it!” Because of the tight security and logistics surrounding Paris’s most famous landmark, Fontenoy had only one shot. “The last record was in 2002 and we needed 20 years to make a new challenge here,” he said. “I didn’t want to miss it.” When he finally reached the top, exhaustion hit all at once. “I was destroyed,” he said. “It’s 12 minutes but 100% effort during 12 minutes. I was super happy — I showed nothing, but it was a small stress for me to beat this record.” From racer to content creator Fontenoy retired from competitive mountain biking five years ago but has built a massive following online by tackling eye-popping stunts and world-record attempts. “When you are in small sports like bike trials, it’s very hard to live with only competitions,” he said. “So we have to find solutions to make money or to find sponsors.” That solution turned out to be social media. Fontenoy now has over one million followers on both TikTok and YouTube, where he posts challenge videos, tutorials, and reviews — all designed to push the limits of what’s possible on two wheels. “My idea was to make more content creation and reach a larger public,” he said. “It was also a good idea to show what the sport is and do something crazy we haven’t done before.” For Fontenoy, riding up the Eiffel Tower was as much about creativity as competition — a perfect mix of athleticism, showmanship, and modern storytelling. And though his legs are still recovering, he says he’s already thinking about what’s next.
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Retired Major Embarks On Final Charity Row In Homemade Boat: Tin-tanic II
At 85, retired Army Major Mick Stanley is about to hang up his oars — but not before one final voyage in his beloved homemade boat, the Tintanic II. Known locally as “Major Mick,” Stanley will set off on Friday from The Hard at Itchenor in West Sussex at noon, rowing to the Chichester Yacht Club at Birdham. It marks the last charity trip for the corrugated-iron craft he built five years ago in his garden in West Wittering. “This is the final outing for me,” he said. “I think it’s time to end it. It’s given me great satisfaction, very rewarding.” Since first launching the Tintanic II, Major Mick has rowed more than 500 miles (804 kilometers) and raised over £90,000 for causes close to his heart, including Alzheimer’s Research UK, Children on the Edge, and St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Chichester. His adventures have taken him through the canals of England, the lakes of Scotland, the rivers of Wales, and even onto the Seine in Paris. Everywhere he’s gone, the sight of the silver, tin-plated boat — powered by his slow, steady strokes — has drawn smiles, donations, and admiration. The Tintanic II was Stanley’s second creation, an upgrade from his original Tintanic boat. True to his inventive spirit, retirement won’t mean rest. This winter, he’ll be back in his workshop crafting Tintanic III, which he says will be “a sailing boat two feet longer than Tintanic II.” Like its predecessors, it will be built from corrugated iron and, he hopes, ready to launch by spring. “My daughter says I’m a bit eccentric,” he laughed. “I don’t mind that.” If his past voyages are anything to go by, that eccentricity has turned into something far greater — a lasting legacy of charity, craftsmanship, and adventure.
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Matchmaking Magic: This Festival is Reviving Real-Life Romance in the Digital Age
The first sign that you’ve reached Ireland’s last matchmaking town is a bright blue-and-pink billboard with the smiling face of Willie Daly, the country’s most famous matchmaker. For more than half a century, he’s been the heart of Lisdoonvarna’s annual matchmaking festival — a month-long celebration of music, dancing, and the pursuit of love. Fifteen years ago, I passed that same sign from a tour bus, when our guide joked that singles might want to come back to find “their one true Irish love.” This September, I did. Lisdoonvarna, a town of barely 1,000 people tucked near the Cliffs of Moher, turns into something extraordinary each fall. For one month, it transforms into a living time capsule — a place where romance still happens face-to-face, where people dance instead of swipe. The festival dates back more than 150 years, when farmers would head to town after the harvest to find wives. The idea stuck. Thousands still pour in every September — some chasing love, others just chasing the craic. At the Imperial Hotel, three women from County Kerry — Geraldine Beirne, Marie Walsh, and Nora O’Sullivan — sit nursing drinks and watching couples jive across the floor. They’ve been coming for decades. “My sister met her husband here. My best friend met her husband here. I did meet somebody that was in my life for a while here,” Walsh says. They laugh when asked if they’re still looking. “No, no,” Beirne insists. “We come for the music, the company, the fun.” Still, she admits things have changed. “Since COVID, Lisdoonvarna’s had a big drop. The atmosphere’s different. It’s quieter. But when you’re good friends, you come out and you have a ball anyway.” Across town, a younger crowd is more hopeful. “I’m looking to find true love,” says 30-year-old Fearghal O’Sullivan, pint in hand. His friend, Liam Shivers, nods. “You have no real connection with Tinder, you know? I want to look a woman in her eyes when I first meet her. I really believe in love at first sight.” He laughs, then adds, “I thought I had it once, but she said no. She said, ‘Stop looking at me.’” By nightfall, the Matchmaker Bar is heaving. There’s live music, laughter, and, at the center of it all, Willie Daly himself — the man from the billboard. He’s well into his 80s now, though he can’t say exactly how old. He sets up his booth in a corner, surrounded by signs reading “Love Won’t Wait.” His battered, century-old ledger — bound together with tape and rubber bands — sits open like a relic of magic. “You just touch the book,” he says. “Think about happiness and love, and you’ll be in love and married inside the six Irish months.” Over the years, Daly says he’s paired some 3,000 couples. “That never seemed many,” he shrugs. His fees are just as casual — three euros, maybe 40, usually five. “Five euros for a husband!” he shouts, laughing. One by one, hopefuls take a seat before him. He listens, nods, then scrawls quick notes — “Gorgeous,” “Intelligent,” even “Pamela Anderson.” For some, it’s less about matchmaking than the comfort of being heard. Not everyone is single. One woman, Laura Ryan, has been with her partner for 15 years but never married. “I really only want a blessing,” she says. Daly’s advice? “Tell him you got a lot of offers.” He admits his own marriage didn’t last. “You should never count what you have,” he says with a grin. But he’s proud of his 20 grandchildren — and that one of them, 25-year-old Oonagh Tighe, is now following in his footsteps. Tighe has already matched several couples, including Patrick Mead and Angela Heavey, who met two years ago. “She asked for our star signs,” Mead says. “She looked it up and said, you’re compatible. You’re a match.” The pair returned this year to celebrate their anniversary. Others have come from even farther. Denise Almas flew in from Vancouver, Washington, after seeing the festival online. “I got off dating apps three years ago. Never again,” she says. “This is more normal. You’re live, in person. And we need more of this. We need more community.” She’s not alone in that sentiment. A recent Forbes Health poll found that 78 percent of dating app users in the U.S. are frustrated — ghosted, exhausted, or just feeling disconnected. “Community is our culture,” says Melissa Condon, a farmer from Tipperary who attends the festival every year with her husband. “It’s about meeting people, talking, telling stories.” By midnight, the party has moved to the Ritz Hotel. Two dance floors pulse with energy — one blasting pop hits, the other alive with fiddles and reels. Couples spin and sway, young and old, locals and visitors, all swept up in the same hope that maybe, just maybe, they’ll find someone to dance with again tomorrow. And just as the night winds down, one of the Kerry women from earlier, Geraldine Beirne, finds me in the crowd. Seventeen years a widow, she’s smiling like a teenager. “I just met a gentleman,” she says, her voice light. “With amazing blue eyes.” Maybe, after all, Lisdoonvarna still works its magic.
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María Corina Machado Wins 2025 Nobel Peace Prize
the committee called her “tireless work promoting democratic rights.” The 58-year-old activist, who has long been one of President Nicolás Maduro’s most outspoken critics, was praised as “a woman who keeps the flame of democracy going, amidst a growing darkness.” The committee said her efforts to “achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” had inspired millions of Venezuelans living under authoritarian rule. “I’m in shock,” Machado said in her first public remarks after the announcement. She has been in hiding since August 2024, following months of threats and harassment by the Maduro government. Machado was barred from running in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential elections, which were ultimately won by Maduro in a vote widely dismissed internationally as neither free nor fair. Despite the ban, she mobilized massive crowds in Caracas and across the country in support of opposition candidate Edmundo González, who ran in her place. BBC South America correspondent Ione Wells reported that Machado’s movement “managed to attract huge crowds” even under heavy intimidation from security forces. Her defiance has made her a symbol of Venezuela’s democratic resistance. For years, Machado has called for peaceful protests, international pressure, and unity among opposition groups, while refusing to flee the country despite repeated warnings of arrest. The Nobel Committee’s decision is likely to draw sharp reactions from Caracas. Maduro has frequently accused opposition figures of conspiring with foreign powers to destabilize the country, and several of Machado’s allies have been detained in recent months. Machado’s supporters see the prize as international validation of their struggle. “This is not just for me,” she told reporters via a recorded message. “It’s for every Venezuelan who has refused to give up on freedom.” The Nobel Peace Prize carries an award of 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1 million). But for many Venezuelans, the greater value lies in the recognition of a cause they say has long been ignored by the world: the fight to restore democracy in their country.
Score (96)
AI-Powered 'Bird Facial Recognition' is Boosting Avian Conservation
Every winter, tens of thousands of black-headed gulls fly thousands of kilometres from as far as Siberia to Kunming, the “Spring City” of southwest China. For decades, their arrival at Dianchi Lake has been a cherished local ritual — but this year, the gulls were greeted not only by residents with bags of bread, but also by cameras, drones, and artificial intelligence. Researchers at the Kunming Dianchi Plateau Lake Research Institute have spent the past two years testing what they call “bird facial recognition” — an AI-powered monitoring system that can identify individual birds and track their migration patterns in real time. “Previously, manual monitoring of the same area required at least two professional birders for a full day,” said Pan Min, deputy director of the institute. “Now, the AI system accomplishes this in just hours with 90-percent accuracy, while simultaneously recording behavioral data like feeding and roosting.” The system uses high-definition cameras, microphones, and deep neural networks to distinguish species based on subtle features such as plumage, body size, and beak shape. Each bird essentially receives a digital identity, allowing the software to count populations, map migration routes, and build a dynamic archive of the lake’s birdlife. The data already show changes in migratory behaviour. After two years of tracking, researchers found that the main flock’s arrival in 2024 was about 10 days later than in 2022 and 2023 — a finding that could help scientists understand how climate and environmental shifts affect migration. The AI program, which has now identified 17 bird species around Kunming, has created a vast database of hundreds of thousands of images, videos, and audio recordings. Acoustic recognition systems can even detect species like magpies and night herons by their distinctive calls. Zhang Zhizhong, an engineer at the institute, said the technology is helping scientists see patterns that were previously invisible. “The system allows us to monitor long-term changes in bird communities and study activity patterns, breeding habits, and migration routes,” he said. The data, he added, are vital for measuring wetland health and biodiversity. Their work gained international attention after the team published a paper in the Journal of Environmental Management in May 2025, confirming the accuracy and reliability of their AI-based monitoring. The technology’s success is spreading beyond Yunnan. In Chongqing’s Shuangguihu National Wetland Park, a big data platform now uses ultra-high-definition cameras for real-time identification of multiple bird species. And at the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Shandong Province, an AI system installed in 2022 has already documented more than 1,200 birds, including oriental white storks and whooper swans — all without human interference. “The use of technological means allows us to understand and protect nature more scientifically and gently,” Zhang said. For Kunming’s residents, the arrival of the gulls remains a joyful symbol of the season. But now, thanks to artificial intelligence, it’s also become a symbol of how tradition and technology can coexist — helping people see their familiar feathered guests with new eyes.