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Evan Speigel, along with his wife, Australian model Miranda Kerr, have just announced that they will relieve $550 million in medical debt for an estimated 261,000 Californians. Credit: Snapchat The billionaire couple, who primarily reside in Los Angeles, have partnered with nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to provide relief to families struggling with medical debt and rising healthcare costs. Undue Medical Debt is a nonprofit that buys debt “in bulk,” meaning that for every $10 donated to the organization, $1,000 of medical debt is relieved for families in need. In total, the organization has relieved over $40 billion across America. It’s a remarkably simple process, as everyone lucky enough to be offered debt relief doesn’t have to do anything. The gift reaches people directly through qualifying debt acquired and canceled by Undue Medical Debt. According to the organization, California families benefiting from this relief can expect envelopes to start arriving in the mail in mid-July. “One of the reasons we wanted to share this directly is because if you happen to receive a letter in the mail saying your medical debt has been forgiven, we want you to know it’s real,” Kerr said. “At a time when so many Californians are already struggling with rising costs, medical debt can make it even harder for families to regain their footing. We’re grateful to support Undue Medical Debt’s work to help lift that burden, and we hope this relief gives families more peace of mind and more room to prioritize their health, their loved ones, and their future.” Undue Medical Debt president and CEO Allison Sesso said: “The scale of this gift to Californians is truly astonishing, unburdening over a quarter million families of over half a billion dollars of un-payable medical debt.” Snapchat has 956 million monthly active users worldwide, with 483 million people using the app daily.

Ensuring Tuesday gets off to a bright start with today's eclectic collection of positive news nuggets. Credit: Alon Goldsmith Slow Down And Notice On New Year’s Day 2026, Alon Goldsmith began what he calls a “365-day project, which involves taking and posting a photo every day for a year." This image was taken on day 111. Johannesburg-born, LA-based Goldsmith was on his daily bike ride, which usually takes him through Venice and around Santa Monica Pier, areas he describes as containing a “cornucopia of curiosities”. “I spend a lot of rides hunting for photos,” he says. “Looking at the world from this vantage point allows me to slow down and notice what’s around me in a different way. When I’m not rushing, the world reveals itself more fully.” This Hi-Spy Viewing Machine is situated on the pier, looking over the beach. Goldsmith decided to translate what he captured into black and white during editing. “I think the change emphasises the graphic and cinematic nature of the composition.” Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 Back From The Brink The (adorable) numbat is no longer endangered. The IUCN has moved Western Australia’s animal emblem from Endangered to Near Threatened on its Red List, after more than 40 years of conservation work. “The downlisting of the numbat from Endangered to Near Threatened is what we have been working for over the last 40 years,” said Tony Friend. “I feel very elated.” By the late 1970s, the population had fallen to around 300 individuals. The striped, termite-eating marsupial was being killed by introduced predators, mainly red foxes and feral cats, along with ongoing habitat loss and changes to fire patterns. At 300 animals, extinction was a serious possibility. Now there are between 2,000 to 3,000. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi New Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is about to get its own Guggenheim - designed by none other than the late architect Frank Gehry. It’s been two decades since the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation announced plans to build a museum in the United Arab Emirates capital. Now, the $1 billion Guggenheim Abu Dhabi finally has an opening date: 11 December 2026. Like other Guggenheim museums - which are located in New York, Bilbao and Venice - Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will focus on modern and contemporary art. Curators have been developing its collection since 2009 and among the featured artists will be stars like Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Remarkable Progress Six years ago, fewer than one in six rural homes in India had a tap water connection. As of mid-July, more than four in five do, and the difference adds up to 124 million additional households. So, 156.7 million of the country’s 193.6 million rural households now have tap water. When the Jal Jeevan Mission launched in August 2019 (its full name, “Har Ghar Jal,” means water for every home), only 32.3 million rural households, about 16.7 percent, had it. Replica of the Nao Victoria First Circumnavigation A replica of a 16th Century ship that accomplished the first circumnavigation of the world and is described as a "floating museum" has docked at Great Yarmouth, on England's south east coast. The ship, built in Spain in 1991, is based on the Nao Victoria. Commanded by Juan Sebastián Elcano after Ferdinand Magellan's death, the historic expedition departed Seville, Spain, in August 1519 and returned in September 1522. Between 2004 and 2006, the replica repeated the historic feat, sailing over 26,800 nautical miles across five continents and visiting 17 countries. Eastern imperial eagle Conservation Success Protection and conservation programs have resulted in a great year for the majestic eastern imperial eagle - the national bird of Serbia. Emblazoned on the flag of the Balkans nation, 29 breeding pairs were counted out of which 16 helped 25 chicks to hatch and fledge. The news comes from the Serbian Bird Protection and Research Society which called it the most successful year since targeted conservation began in 2017. Then, just a single known breeding pair remained in the country. Young fledglings will be fitted with radio transceivers when possible and safe, a method of conservation that will inform where this gradually growing population are dispersing to, where they’re hunting, and where bachelor males are traveling. Credit: NBCNews / Reuters You Couldn't Make It Up A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at a global health conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online. The State Department said it took “full responsibility” for the confusion caused and that the map had been produced by a team member who hastily changed the slide deck before the event. The map showed Nigeria, where the U.S. has several hundred troops deployed, as landlocked in the Sahara. Mozambique, which is in southeastern Africa, was relocated to the Horn of Africa, while Ivory Coast in West Africa was placed on the other side of the continent. “Be the reason someone believes in goodness again.” Chris Bharnes On This Day 4 August 1958: Billboard Hot 100 is published for the first time with Poor Little Fool by Ricky Nelson at No.1 Today's Articles Making a Difference: A company owner turns down $400 million and gives it to a charitable 'purpose trust' instead. NaMo Green Rail: India launches hydrogen train pilot scheme on its vast railway network to cut emissions. Random Fun Facts: Facts that may be a surprise to you, compiled by the team at BBC Science Magazine. Illusion of Infinity: Swirling book sculpture in Prague Library has become a tourist hotspot. Mood Boosting Video Only in California: The 2026 World Dog Surfing Championship.

The hydrogen rail push is part of a broader national effort to develop green hydrogen domestically, cut carbon from heavy transport, and reduce fuel import dependency. India Hydrogen Train India has just launched its first hydrogen-powered train: two hydrogen-powered driving cars, eight passenger coaches, a capacity of about 2,500 passengers, and a top speed of 47 mph (75 kph). Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the train, called the 'NaMo Green Rail,' and announced that “This is a very significant day in the direction of self-reliant India and sustainable development.” India’s rail network is one of the world’s largest, with around 84,000 miles of track, and the vast majority is electrified. However, dirty diesel powers most of the unelectrified routes, and hydrogen trains can neatly replace polluting diesel locomotives without requiring those lines to be fully electrified first. Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen. The only direct emission is water vapor. The pilot includes hydrogen storage and refueling infrastructure to test how the technology performs in India’s rail network before any wider rollout. The launch is part of India’s wider efforts to develop green hydrogen and reduce carbon emissions. India has set a target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2070, with Indian Railways exploring hydrogen as an alternative to diesel on some routes.

Grady-White owner Eddie Smith was inspired by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, and has handed control of Grady-White to a “purpose trust.” Credit: University of North Carolina Back in 1968, Eddie Smith Jr. bought a fledgling boat maker based in Greenville, North Carolina. It was a risky move. The company, Grady-White Boats, was in trouble. But Mr. Smith turned it around, and now the maker of high-end recreational fishing boats designed for coastal waters pulls in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, reports The New York Times. Indeed, under his leadership, the company has become the world’s premier builder of outboard powered sport fishing boats ranging from 18 - 45 feet. Along the way, Mr. Smith kept full control of the company, never taking on outside investors or selling stock to the public. Now, Mr. Smith has made one last big move: He renounced a potential $400 million payday and pledged all of Grady-White’s future profits to charity. “God has really blessed me to put me in a position to give away the vast majority of my net worth. I don’t need a 200-foot yacht or to spend the winters in the Mediterranean. I’m really happy here in eastern North Carolina.” Grady-White will distribute tens of millions in annual profits not reinvested in the company to the nonprofit organization, which will give the money away to causes including conservation, health care and education. He said he was inspired by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, who gave away his stock and set up a nonprofit organization to distribute the outdoor apparel company’s profits in 2022, setting a New Gold Standard in Climate Philanthropy aimed at helping fight climate change.

Canva billionaires Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht (who are now married) are investing $150 million in an ambitious experiment that challenges conventional aid by putting cash directly into the hands of Malawi's poorest households. Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins Since launching the initiative in 2021 through the Canva Foundation and nonprofit GiveDirectly, the couple has expanded what began as a $10 million pilot into the largest unconditional cash transfer program ever attempted in a low-income country. Instead of building infrastructure or distributing food, the program sends cash directly to recipients via mobile phones, with no strings attached. Each adult receives about $550 - which can exceed a year's income for many Malawians. The initiative has expanded rapidly. After committing $50 million between 2021 and 2023, the couple pledged another $100 million in October 2025, the largest single donation in GiveDirectly's history. In explaining the initiative, the founders said Canva has always been guided by what they call a "simple yet ambitious" two-step plan. "Step One is to build one of the world’s most valuable companies. Step Two is to do the most good we can. With more than 30 percent of Canva’s value (shares) committed to doing good in the world, this vision has shaped everything we do, from the products we create to the kind of company we’ve strived to be." Early results have been striking. In Malawi's Khongoni sub-district, where every adult received cash, 90% of recipients rose above the extreme poverty line within three months, according to GiveDirectly. The organisation also reported a 48% decline in child mortality, a 27% reduction in illness and a 23% increase in school enrolment. More than 139,000 people have benefited from the program.

Harvard scientist Rudolph Tanzi shares his recommendations for brain health and making sure you age well. Credit: Brain Research Foundation Long before “brain health” became a buzzword, Rudolph Tanzi was rewriting the science behind it and, during his four decade career, has written hundreds of journal articles that have helped shape modern understanding of neurodegenerative illness. Tanzi is also the architect of a lifestyle intervention plan for brain health known as SHIELD that emphasizes the importance of sleep, handling stress, interaction with others, exercise, eating well and learning. Now 67, Tanzi told the Washington Post that his research helped him stay mentally sharp, physically active and deeply engaged with his work. Here are his six recommendations for making sure you age well. Sleep: Aim for 7-8 hours of high-quality sleep each night. Adequate rest is essential for brain function and memory. People often ask him for advice about what to do if they only got five or six hours of sleep, and he recommends power naps. “Even a short one in the office that results in a little drool on your desk - that’s good.” Indeed, a UCL study shows that napping during the day may slow down brain shrinkage and cancel out up to seven years of ageing, a study suggests. Handling Stress: Minimize chronic stress, which has been linked to accelerated cognitive decline. Tanzi worries that the constant demands of modern life - such as from staying current on social media or responding to a steady stream of emails - have created unprecedented levels of stress. His strategy of choice for handling stress is meditation. Perhaps take a look at the Mayo Clinic's 5 Tips to Feel Less Stressed. Interaction With Friends: Maintain an active social life. Loneliness is associated with a higher risk of neurodegenerative conditions. A recent Harvard study, conducted over 80 years, shows that a healthy social life is the secret to long-term health and happiness in men. Exercise: Engage in regular physical activity to boost blood flow to the brain and support the growth of new neural connections. The evidence for this is extensive and consistent. For example, squats improve brain power. Doing just a few minutes of this resistance exercise can go a long way towards improving your brain power and making you smarter, according to recent research. Learning New Things: Challenge your brain by trying new activities to strengthen neural pathways, such as using your non-dominant hand to write a new word every day. Diet: Follow a brain-healthy diet to support long-term cognitive health. “This is the most important … to have a diet that makes the bacteria in your microbiome happy. We used to say what’s good for the heart is what’s good for the brain, and it turns out that’s true.” Adding foods that are rich in compounds to your diet can help nourish your mind and keep your brain in optimal condition.

Interesting observations from Angell Deer on the impact of mobile devices in our life. Casting spells? The first time I realized my phone was casting spells on me, it wasn’t in the middle of a great ceremony, a wilderness fast, or a profound shamanic initiation. It was while sitting on the toilet, half-scrolling, half-wiping, completely dissociated from my body, my morning, and my life. There I was - supposed to be waking into the sacred miracle of existence - and instead I was hunched over, absorbing pixelated outrage, anxiety, and distraction before my coffee even finished brewing. In that moment, I didn’t feel sovereign. I didn’t feel wise. I didn’t even feel fully human. I felt like a trained lab rat, wired into someone else’s dream. Phones are not neutral tools. They are portals. They are spellbooks. They are scrying mirrors - not only reflecting our reality but actively rewriting it, hijacking it, colonizing it. Our ancestors would have recognized them immediately. A black mirror that speaks in many tongues, flashes images to capture the will, drains vitality, and shapes the mind without consent? That would have been called what it is: sorcery. Today, we use softer language. We call it “staying connected.” We call it “being informed.” We call it “keeping up.” But what it very often is, behind the gloss and branding, is spiritual mugging. Each morning, millions of people wake up and unconsciously lay their sacred, freshly risen energy on the altar of the algorithm. They offer up their first thoughts, their moods, their creative life force. Not to Spirit. Not to the Earth. But to an empire built on monetizing their attention. And the empire, well-versed in the art of invisible warfare, feasts on that offering.

Saunas are popular for our health because the increased ambient heat triggers a cascade of positive effects in the body that can lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation. But, most people don't have access to a sauna... No sauna? No problem. Obviously, things are different in Scandinavia where saunas are everywhere and having a regular sauna is built into these northern cultures. There has been lots of research into the health benefits of saunas (and there are many) but the good news is, thanks to researchers from the University of Oregon - after comparing the effects of saunas to an indulgent hot soak in a bath - found that a hot bath was more beneficial than a sauna. “We saw that hot water immersion was the most impactful in increasing core body temperature, which is the main stimulus for these subsequent responses,” lead author Jessica Atencio told the University of Oregon press. In the study, researchers monitored body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output (the amount of blood the heart pumps per minute), immune cell populations, and blood biomarkers of inflammation. Data was collected before, during and after subjects soaked in a hot tub, sat in dry heat, or tried far-infrared saunas. The research was published in the American Journal of Physiology and the authors say it was the first time that three different heat therapies were compared. “Hot water immersion gives you the most robust changes in core temperature because you can’t effectively dissipate heat as you can if you have contact with the air and you’re sweating to cool the body,” Atencio said. “When you’re submerged in water, the sweat mechanisms aren’t efficient.” Both saunas and hot tubs can replicate some of the benefits of exercise by increasing heart rate - but soaking in tubs, can create the effect more quickly and efficiently. The Finnish Way to Enjoy a Sauna: All the secrets for a pleasant, healthy, and respectful Finnish sauna and ice-plunge experience. Short explainer video...

The 10th Annual Dog Surfing Championship in Pacifica, California, drew crowds as dogs of all sizes competed in the waves alongside their human handlers.

Kick-starting the week with some tasty bite-sized chunks of upbeat news. “Falling Asleep,” by Catherine Wang | Nominee, Creative Photo Awards | 2026 Siena Falling Asleep The Siena International Photo Awards is open to professionals, amateurs, and students, and honours images that are creative, original, and have visual impact. At the same time, the competition promotes photography - taking a broad view of it - as a “tool for understanding and bearing witness to reality.” The 2026 nominees have now been revealed, including this gorgeous image of a flamingo, with the winners to be announced in October at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Siena International Photo Awards Festival in (yes, you guessed it) Siena, Italy. Some Good Numbers 48: Percentage drop in Beijing’s air pollution levels between 2010 and 2024, in part thanks to mass EV adoption. More than half of all cars sold in China in 2025 were electric. One-Third: Global hunger declined on every continent last year, but has been decreasing faster in South America than anywhere else in the world. It is down by one-third since 2020, says the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. $114 Million: Morocco has secured a loan to build Africa’s first EV battery factory. With the use of electric vehicles soaring across the continent, Morocco is hoping to become a hub for green technology manufacturing. 60 Years: The time it took for the world’s fourth most populous country, Indonesia, to go from aid recipient to aid donor. It is funding World Food Programme operations in Gaza, Afghanistan and beyond. Oh, and Indonesia’s free school programme, started 18 months ago, now reaches 62 million people, more than 20 percent of the population. 500,000 Tonnes: The amount of food that food banks saved from going to waste or into landfills in 2025. The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) says the saving stopped around two million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, equivalent to taking 473,000 cars off the road for a year. Credit: @pvmagazine | X Solar-Powered Ambulance A Dutch student team have unveiled what they believe to be the world's first solar-powered ambulance, which they hope can bring much-needed medical care to the remotest parts of the globe. The sleek, futuristic-looking, white and yellow vehicle boasts solar panels on the roof that power its engine but also medical devices, such as x-ray machines, defibrillators, cooled storage for vaccines, and ultrasound for pregnant women. The two-seater ambulance, named Stella Juva, can reach a top speed of 75 mph, has a range of 400 miles, and is designed for inaccessible off-road terrain. The vehicle is designed to bring healthcare to the patient, rather than transport them to hospitals. It contains testing kits for tuberculosis, cooled storage for vaccines, and ultrasound for pregnant women. The team plans to travel to Kenya next month to put the car through its paces. Credit: NAS Oceana and Maikayla First Time Ever Say hello to Virginia’s newest visitor(s)! The leatherback sea turtle (pictured) is the first of its species ever recorded to nest on Virginian shores, showing up on a military base in Virginia Beach. The endangered turtle received a very kind welcome, with the Naval Air Station Oceana and partners working quickly to fence off the area, giving her eggs the best odds of hatching safely. The largest sea turtle species on Earth, leatherbacks can grow up to 8 feet and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Unlike other sea turtles, they lack a hard shell. Instead, their back in covered in a leathery skin that helps them dive deeper and travel farther into colder waters than any other turtle species. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge | UNESCO Natural Wonders Seven new natural wonders just joined UNESCO’s World Heritage list, including South Sudan’s Boma-Badingilo landscape, where six million antelope form the largest land-mammal migration on Earth, Jordan’s heat-resilient Aqaba corals, Greece’s Mount Olympus, and the USA's Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The latter very nearly became a titanium mine. After a six-year fight the Conservation Fund bought roughly 3,200 hectares of Trail Ridge and its mineral rights on the edge of Georgia’s great blackwater swamp, ending Twin Pines Minerals’ plan to dig for titanium. The $60 million purchase protected 422 species and the headwaters of two rivers: now it’s a World Heritage site. “A once-in-a-generation environmental win.” End of Annoying Beep If you suffer from misophonia (or just want to heat leftovers in peace), this one’s for you. A two-person startup called Starling turned its attention to the ear-piercing microwave beep we know all too well and, much to the delight of our ears and wallets, found an affordable way for manufacturers to change the sound. The zen invention is thanks to the startup’s software tool, Microwave Sound Bench, which replaces the beeps with more pleasant chirps and tones using the appliance’s existing hardware rather than adding a speaker. That means the tweak would be a low lift on the manufacturer’s end and simply require new code in the device. "Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." Vincent van Gogh On This Day 3 August 1492: Christopher Columbus, with Juan de la Cosa as second-in-command, sets sail on his first voyage with three ships - Santa María, Pinta, and Niña - from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, to try to find a western sea route to Asia. But only found the Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti), before returning home. Today's Articles First Air, Now Waterways: London's rivers to be cleaned up and waterway habitats restored in £1.8 billion plan. Clever Device: Europe approves hi-tech eye implant for people with age-related macular degeneration. US looks set to follow. Tiny Changes: Collection of inspiring ideas that may just help transform your life for the better. Mon Dieu: For the first time in France’s recorded history, beer has overtaken wine as the drink of choice. Mood Boosting Video Why the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could change everything we know about the universe.

A 10-year plan to clean up some of London's rivers and waterways has been announced by mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who says they have suffered from "decades of neglect and pollution". Regent's Canal, central London A total of £1.8 billion ($2.42 billion) has been pledged by water companies, boroughs and charities, with London's mayor adding £15 million. The Clean Rivers and Waterways initiative pledges to stop pollution while ensuring nature can thrive. "Habitats that should support otters, kingfishers, water voles, fish and other wildlife have been damaged by sewage, road run-off, litter and decades of underinvestment," says Sir Sadiq. "The impact has been felt by nature and by Londoners, particularly those communities that already experience the greatest environmental inequality. I firmly believe access to nature is an issue of social justice. Through this ambitious plan we will work with partners to tackle pollution, restore nature and open up new swimming and recreation opportunities, improving access to help Londoners enjoy and reconnect with their waterways.” The initiative will focus on 10 key locations stretching from Croydon to Waltham Forest, creating and restoring 550 hectares (1,359 acres) of waterway habitat and 80km (50 miles) of rivers. “We will clean up London’s rivers in the same way we cleaned up our toxic air, bringing about lasting change as we work to build a greener, fairer city for everyone,” the mayor added. He is already credited with significantly cleaning London's air after creating an Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) covering Greater London. The zone measures 580 square miles (1,500km2) and covers nine million people, making it the largest zone of its kind in the world. Roadside nitrogen dioxide pollution levels have now dropped by 54 percent in central London and 27 percent overall.

NASA’s Roman Project Scientist explains how the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will discover thousands of new worlds, map billions of galaxies, and investigate the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.