Kelsey Pflendler in her rowboat named Lily - credit, @yourowkelsey on IG
Kelsey Pflendler in her rowboat named Lily – credit, @yourowkelsey on IG
As America celebrated its 250th Birthday, Kelsey Pflendler celebrated her own significant milestone—becoming the first American woman to row a boat from California to Hawaii alone.
As she pulled into Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu, she also set records for being the fastest to complete to solo row among either sex, and the youngest woman to do so.
“If any part of this made at least one person feel a little bit more powerful in their own skin, I couldn’t ask for anything else and I’m happy,” she said in a social media vlog entry dated day 43 of her marathon, 2,400-mile voyage.
An 8-year Grand Canyon rafting guide and leader of a 4-member female rowing team that made the Monterey-Hawaii trip in 2024, Kelsey Pflendler was alone in the eastern Pacific for over a month—something she admitted she “loves.” She spent some of day 37 “grieving for the loss of this row,” having then arrived within 500 miles of Oahu.
Those vlog entries on her Instagram detailed her challenges throughout the marathon row, included harrowing ones like dealing with rough seas and recalcitrant currents, as well as the mundane ones of keeping away sunburn and cooking food.
Pflendler shattered the previous women’s record of 86 days 10 hours and 5 minutes held by Lia Ditton according to the Ocean Rowing Society International, but also broke the men’s record of 52 days.
Her 43-day transit also came within 3 days of being faster than her previous rowing crew of 4 in 2024. Talk about upper body strength.
She arrived on Oahu in time to celebrate her birthday, after which it’s expected she will address the media which she did not do after she heaved the 21-foot rowboat Lily into Ala Wai after 9 PM, with a crowd of over 100 people from all over the USA there to greet here.
Her trip also aimed to raise money for a charity that supports the physical and mental care of Colorado River rafting guides. $30,000 was thusly raised.
Cover cropping between the coffee plants - credit, KCL officer Aventino Ssentume, provided to the IUCN
Cover cropping between the coffee plants – credit, KCL officer Aventino Ssentume, provided to the IUCN
Among the rolling hills of Uganda’s Masaka region, robusta coffee plants are producing larger, tastier yields thanks to a pilot program utilizing regenerative agriculture to battle droughts or erratic rainfall.
A catch-all term for a variety of growing techniques as simple as mulching to as complex as cover cropping, regenerative agriculture is especially useful in the coffee belts where nutrient-poor tropical soils and heavy rainfall make erosion a real threat to productive crops.
Coffee is central to Uganda’s economy and the social fabric of life in many growing regions like Masaka. Global Environment Facility, (GEF) an international partnership focused on providing financial resources to help countries address global environmental issues, brought together a coalition of groups with the idea of setting up demonstration farms to teach the Ugandan growers in Masaka how to utilize regenerative farming.
Uganda’s oldest and largest licensed coffee exporter contributed their in-country expertise to the coalition, which included Nespresso and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and together they established 30 “model farms” where local growers could come and gain hands-on experience in these growing methods.
Cultivation of known varieties proven to be more resilient were done on the farms which could then be transplanted into plantations around the region.
“Too little or untimely rains have become serious threats to coffee production,” Nakalisa Mary Fatuma, a smallholder robusta coffee farmer in Masaka, told the IUCN.
“But since we applied mulches and planted drought resistant seedlings, the coffee farms are reliably resilient. My coffee is stronger and more promising, and so is my family.”
Growing school – credit, KCL officer Aventino Ssentume, provided to the IUCN
IUCN wrote that the benefits are already visible, beyond those observed merely by Fatuma. “Farmers are reporting adaptation of regenerative practices, improved yields and quality, healthier trees, and better income stability.”
While it may sound interchangeable with organic farming, and while organic farmers may utilize regenerative practices, there are differences. Practitioners of regenerative ag not only grow crops, but grow the topsoil through a mixture of mulching and cover cropping, or growing complimentary, non-food plants throughout the field.
This has the effects of helping retain soil from erosion, replacing nitrogen in the soil, and shielding microbes from the heat of the Sun. Shade trees grown throughout the acreage further protect the soil, which is never tilled, while adding more organic material through leaf loss.
Some regenerative farmers will pasture livestock in their field between harvests to simulate natural soil disturbances and grazing activity in nature, enriching the soil yet further through the animals’ droppings.
“We used to think erosion was just something we had to live with,” Munanira Joseph told writers at IUCN. “But when we saw how the soil stayed in place on the demo plot, everyone wanted to try.”
In the last 10 years, the rate of price inflation in coffee has outpaced price inflation on average, with some particularly disruptive years like 2022 seeing double-digit rises in the prices of roasted coffee. Given that billions of people drink coffee almost every day, the first step towards slowing or reversing that trend is making yields more resilient and predictable.
Hopefully, the success of the model farms in Masaka will be grounds for hope.
TOAST These Farmers Helping To Make Better, More Resilient Coffee…
Quote of the Day: “There’s no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box on your lap.” – Kevin James
Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The Three Tenors in Concert, Decca Classics, fair use
36 years ago today, The Three Tenors performed live for the first time at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. The recording made from the show became the best-selling classical album of all time, while an astonishing 800 million people around the world watched the live broadcast. It was on the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final, and Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carreras gave voice to the orchestra of the Rome Opera House for the performance of multiple lifetimes. READ what happened next… (1990)
A rural home in the Himalayas - credit, Bhupendra Singh Bhandari
A rural home in the Himalayas – credit, Bhupendra Singh Bhandari
Battered by energy shocks, private Pakistani investment in rooftop solar panels has skyrocketed to the point that they now contribute one-fifth of the total national power supply.
The Guardian reviewed data on Pakistan’s energy sector from a variety of research-oriented think tanks, and found that Pakistan’s 150 million-plus population could lean on solar when there were few other shoulders around.
It started in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when established natural gas supplies and contracts were upended. Millions in Pakistan were left without power or forced to pay burdensome energy bills.
Yet thanks in no small part to its northeastern neighbor China, the global solar panel industry had been driving costs down for consumers for a decade through to economies of scale, determined long-term investment decisions, and incentivized markets in various parts of the world.
Suddenly, a private Pakistani household could just buy a few solar panels and put them on their roof, and free themselves, at least partially, from higher energy prices and blackouts.
“People who could afford to do it at that time realized that it was much cheaper and cost-effective and better for them in the long run to do a one-time investment in rooftop solar as opposed to keep paying high electricity bills from a grid that is also unreliable,” Nabiya Imran, an associate at Renewables First, a Pakistani thinktank, told the Guardian.
The country reached the point where cargoes owing to a long-term agreement with Qatar to supply liquified natural gas had to be diverted because of a lack of demand. As of February 2026, the country avoided about $12 billion in oil and gas imports by generating electricity from solar panels.
Then, having spent 3 years growing its solar potential, the Pakistani population watched as the US launched an attack on Iran in the Persian Gulf, driving the costs of oil above $100 per barrel, and virtually ending those LNG shipments.
Haneea Isaad, an energy finance specialist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said that distributed solar has been “a blessing for Pakistan,” preventing at least any immediate supply crunches in the gas sector.
Imran would later add that to whatever degree solar panel adoption worldwide was driven by concerns about climate change, the unescapable reality now, and especially in a country like Pakistan that spends the equivalent of 10% of its GDP on fossil fuel imports, is that solar power is also a matter of energy security.
Isaad suspected that the conflict in the Gulf would probably convince more people to adopt solar panels, and some of the percentage of current existing utility providers to adopt storage methods as well to reduce the grid impact of peak hours in the evening.
The Triple 10 Concept Car - credit, Shell, released
The Triple 10 Concept Car – credit, Shell, released
Shell have unveiled an all-electric concept car to inspire the next generation of European-made mass-market EVs by focusing on lighter weights and better charging technology.
Known as the “Triple 10 Challenge Car,” its design is centered around a simplified, single-circuit cooling architecture to efficiently manage the thermal load of charging, even with the 175 kilowatt-hour fast chargers installed on the continent today.
Triple 10 refers to a car with a charge time of 10 minutes or less, that drives with a 10 kilometer (6 miles) per kilowatt-hour efficiency, and which generates 10 tons of CO2 across its whole lifecycle.
Ask any motor head (or petrol head, if you’re in the UK) how many concept cars they’ve seen make it no further than a prototype, and you’d do well to find a seat as you listen to all the examples they’re likely to list.
Shell make no bones about the Triple 10 car, which has no estimated list price, being a “proof-of-concept vehicle designed to inspire a new design philosophy for the next generation of battery electric vehicles,” but the accomplishments and technology they were able to pack into a compact-size vehicle are nevertheless impressive.
Europe is facing an unprecedented challenge to its automotive industry as the EVs the continent’s governments have long incentivized and championed—to the point of banning internal combustion engines at future dates—are suddenly coming not from northern Italy or southern Germany, but from China.
With price inflation in the Eurozone for automobiles rising between 20% and 25% between 2020 and 2025, the advent of a sub-20 grand electric vehicle has been a welcome relief for European consumers, who are choosing models like Leapmotor, BYD, and Geely at higher and higher rates than comparable models made by continental badges Volkswagen or Renault.
Shell’s Triple 10 concept closely models these Chinese brands that are rapidly gaining in popularity among the bloc, namely something well-made and compact that charges quickly, in contrast to “the current reliance on ever-larger batteries.”
“With the Triple 10 Challenge concept car, we have unlocked the potential for faster charging, lighter systems and improved lifecycle efficiency by using our advanced thermal fluids,” said Cara Tredget, VP for Mobility & Lubricants Technology at Shell.
“Together with our co-engineering partners, we are proud to develop alternative options for sustainable EV development leveraging technologies that are available today and are scalable to support customers into the future.”
Shell’s concept has been designed to achieve 10 km/kWh in driving economy with a smaller, more efficient battery system, adding over 30% improvement in overall energy efficiency compared to many current-generation EVs.
For example, the extended range model of one of the best-selling Chinese EVs in Europe, the BYD Dolphin, comes with a 43 kilowatt battery pack giving it just over 300 kilometers of range, or an efficiency of around 13.3 km/kWh.
The Triple 10 vehicle is also able to charge the battery from 10% to 80% in 9 minutes 54 seconds, without compromise to thermal stability or lifespan. While some EVs in the market today can charge in under 10 minutes, this requires using an ultra-fast charger in excess of 300kW, which is uncommon on the public charging network.
Triple 10 Challenge vehicle is able to attain this on the existing charging network infrastructure using a standard 175kW charger, adding an equivalent to almost 90% more range added per minute of charge.
The key to these performance metrics is Shell Recharge thermal fluid. Unlike traditional cooling systems that use water-glycol, Shell’s dielectric fluid allows for direct immersion cooling of the battery and indirect cooling of the powertrain components including the motor and power electronics.
WATCH the car in action below…
SHARE These Impressive Performance And Charging Metrics With You Friends Who Own An EV…
A mouse’s retina suffering from conditions similar to diabetic retinopathy both before (right) and after (left) being treated with human lab-grown retinal endothelial cells.
A mouse’s retina suffering from conditions similar to diabetic retinopathy both before (right) and after (left) being treated with human lab-grown retinal endothelial cells.
Blind people have been offered fresh hope of seeing again after lab-grown cells restored retinal function in mice.
When injected into mice with retinal disease, the special retinal blood cells integrated into the damaged tissue to regenerate blood vessels and restore retinal function—including in a model of the leading cause of vision loss in working-age people.
The experiment was conducted by biomedical engineers at Duke University, North Carolina, and saw the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to grow specialized blood vessel cells critical to retinal health for the first time.
Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in 2012, which he shared with Sir John Gurdon, for discovering the now-termed “Yamanaka factors” that could ‘induce’ a normal adult cell back into a stem cell that could be remade into any cell in the body: hence the name ‘pluripotent’ stem cell.
The Duke research team also demonstrated the iPSCs’ ability to form functional retinal vascular tissue in a lab-grown environment, providing a pathway for future research into various eye diseases.
“Retinal vascular diseases affect millions of people, but our understanding remains limited, hindering our ability to discover and develop new therapeutics,” said Professor Sharon Gerecht, who led the research published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
“Using human stem cells, we generated the cells found in retinal blood vessels, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches.”
The retina extends directly to the brain, technically making the eyes part of the central nervous system. Also like the brain, the retina has a blood barrier that strictly controls what goes in and out such as oxygen, nutrients, water, and pharmaceuticals.
While the barrier of retinal endothelial cells keeps the retina healthy and relatively protected from disease-causing agents, Gerecht says it also makes treating the retina difficult.
“When this specialized blood vessel tissue begins to break down, it can cause a lot of different diseases that lead to vision loss,” said study first co-author Parker Esswein, a PhD student working in the Gerecht lab. “While there are sources of retinal endothelial cells, being able to grow a continuous supply from scratch could offer many advantages for those working in the field.”
The retinal endothelial cells are currently collected and grown from real patients, making them relatively expensive with a limited supply. To expand access, reduce cost and control variability, the Gerecht lab wanted to see if they could grow them from iPSCs.
The research team took commercial iPSCs and used a well-established procedure to get them to grow into common endothelial cells which form the inner layer of most of the body’s blood vessels.
The researchers then used a specialized cocktail of growth factors to coax the cells into becoming the specific type of endothelial cells found in the retina. Once successful, the researchers put their new creations to the test.
In experiments, the team was able to get the cells to form the same networks and structures that they do within the body. Next, the researchers subjected the lab-grown tissues to low oxygen and high glucose levels, which are detrimental conditions often seen in real people with diabetes.
The team explained that the conditions are “fundamental” triggers of diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of vision loss in working-age people in the United States, and caused the tissue barrier to break down just like it does in patients.
The researchers then tried their lab-grown cells as a therapy for mouse models. When injected into the mice before any actual vision loss occurred, the cells successfully integrated into the existing tissue and helped develop strong blood vessels with strong barriers.
“The tests showed that these lab-grown cells have promise for preventative treatments, especially since they should be easier and cheaper to obtain using our technique,” said Esswein.
“While our benchtop experiments did not attempt to model a wide variety of specific eye diseases in these studies, we’re confident we can create excellent human tissue models in the lab to help better understand these diseases and uncover therapies.”
Now the research team is planning to explore potential uses for their retinal endothelial cells both in their laboratory and through emerging industry partnerships. The group also has a patent pending that covers both the stem cell-based therapeutics and in vitro modelling for drug discovery and testing.
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Guests at the Museo Picasso in Malaga - credit, Holger Uwe Schmitt via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Guests at the Museo Picasso in Malaga – credit, Holger Uwe Schmitt via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A police raid on suspected drug dealers turned up a stolen painting by Pablo Picasso worth tens of millions of dollars.
That’s because it is reported to depict Picasso’s “golden muse” Marie-Therese Walter, a French model and lover of the famous painter whom he credited with one of the most productive periods in his career.
The raid was carried out in Champigny-sur-Marne, near Paris, at a house belonging to the aunt of the chief suspect. There, police found bundles of cash, cannabis, some $230,000 worth of luxury fashion items, and the painting.
Sonja Anderson at Smithsonian Magazine shares that the series of painting depicting Walter as the model includes some of the highest earning paintings of Picasso’s ever to move at auction; Femme à la montre selling for $139 million, for example.
The four suspects arrested in connection with the bust appeared in court where they confessed to several thefts of material from a storage warehouse in Paris where one of them worked as a security guard.
Art Newspaper, reporting on the subject via a source with the police, said that the theft appeared to be “opportunistic,” as the security guard likely found the Picasso, took it, “and, as it often happens in such cases… had no idea what to do with it.”
The painting was in the storage warehouse after having been authenticated by Claude Picasso, Pablo’s son and executor of his estate, before it was sold at auction to a buyer in Singapore.
Picasso first met Walter as she was emerging from a Parisian subway station in 1927. She claims that he approached her and said: “You have an interesting face, I’d like to paint a portrait of you. I am Picasso.”
Despite nearly 30 years of age separating them, the modeling role quickly turned into a romantic relationship that lasted 8 years, during which time Walter gave birth to a daughter, Maya.
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Quote of the Day: “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Happy 91st birthday to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Born in Taktser, China, and named at a young age to be the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, he also became a spiritual guide for non-Buddhists—especially as the author of several best-selling books on happiness. He is also the subject of a 2020 film, The Dalai Lama – Scientist, an award-winning documentary about the little-known side of him that is always in pursuit of science, which is available for rent or purchase. WATCHa 2020 BBC interview… (1935)
Max Creamer’s big surprise – Courtesy of Jordan Rosenberg
Max Creamer’s big surprise – Courtesy of Jordan Rosenberg
The surprise was waiting at the wedding reception.
Max Creamer and Jordan Rosenberg met at a Halloween party about ten years ago when they were in college at San Diego State University. They got engaged on a California beach and were married this past May.
At the reception, Jordan was in the middle of her father-daughter dance, bobbing back and forth to “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys.
Suddenly, the audio changed. It was time for the surprise.
Weeks earlier, as the big day approached, Jordan’s parents, Lou and Jill Rosenberg, remembered that they had a video recording of Jordan at just four years old, describing all the details of her future wedding. The video was about 25 years old now. It provided a portal into the magic of childhood imagination—and it held a secret inside too.
Once the Rosenberg parents found it, they knew they had to share it with everyone else, so as father and daughter swayed together on the dance floor, the voice of four-year-old Jordan cut in.
“My wedding is going to have clowns dancing with the children and a moon bounce and face painting,” four-year-old Jordan exclaimed.
Then, the prescient preschooler started talking about her guest list—and it included three of her friends, Gracie, Kylie, and Sarah, all of whom were in attendance as adults.
The biggest surprise came next.
“Who will be your husband?” Lou Rosenberg asked his young daughter. And as the wedding reception videographer turned to the groom, young Jordan delivered his name. “Max!”
Max was overcome with shock, and Jordan broke out in tears.
“No way!” someone yelled in the background.
@jordannrose1 I could not stop crying!! 🥹🤍full backstory: my parents found a video from when I was 4 years old talking shout my future wedding, where I named my childhood friends as my bridesmaids that were in attendance, and said Max would be my husband…. While I didn’t meet Max until college it was kismet!! They edited that clip into our father daughter dance and totally surprised everyone including me!!! ❤️ #fatherdaughterdance#wedding#bride#2026bride#2026wedding @absocialstudio ♬ original sound - jordan
The unexpected recording added a dash of destiny to the wedding festivities—as sounds of surprise echoed throughout the reception room.
It turns out Jordan did have a friend named Max growing up, but she hadn’t thought of him or the recording in ages.
“I was just as surprised as everyone else!” Jordan told PEOPLE. “I was already emotional from the surprise of hearing my tiny 4-year-old voice. I couldn’t believe what was going on! I immediately started crying and laughing at the same time.”
Soon afterward, the reception video was posted to TikTok and went far beyond viral, receiving more than 22 million views and 3.5 million Likes, as hearts were warmed all over the internet.
Hero neighbors raced into a burning home to save an 87-year-old grandma after her daughter watched the terrifying fire on a doorbell camera.
Phyllis Day, who has Alzheimer’s, was asleep when a blaze broke out in the utility room of her home in Wigston, Leicestershire in England.
Luckily, neighbors spotted flames and smoke billowing from the property at around 11.30 PM last Thursday night—and charged in to help.
Daughter Suzanne Wright was at home five miles away when she awoke to a doorbell notification alerting her to activity at her mom’s house.
She watched in horror as around eight people tried to smash their way inside and initially thought they were drunken thugs trying to break in.
Using the intercom system on the doorbell, Suzanne realized the people were the neighbors and she guided them to a key box outside.
“It was just pure luck that her neighbors saw the flames and dashed round to help,” Suzanne told SWNS news.
“I could see a couple of men without tops on, hammering on the door. There were then lots of people outside trying to ram their way inside and a man was shouting ‘get out, there’s a fire’.”
“I was able to speak to them on the intercom on the camera and explained I lived elsewhere but my mum was inside.”
Doorbell camera capture shows Suzanne Wright with mother after rescue -SWNS
Suzanne, a full-time caregiver for her mother, quickly dressed, and while her husband drove them to the house, she watched as the neighbors rushed to save her mum.
“At one point I lost visual and could just hear shouting and screaming, it was terrifying. Luckily it came back on and I could see mum being led by the arm outside.”
Suzanne says she believes her mum, who has lived alone since her husband died in 2018, could not hear the smoke alarms because she took out her hearing aids before going to bed.
The neighbors, Pav Sarpal, 28, and Stephan Smart, 44, turned into heroes—running inside the house to rescue Phyllis.
“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Pav. “All I could see were flames and smoke and it was getting worse by the second.
“When the door opened I ran in first, but I couldn’t breathe. I told Stephan to get me a towel so I could go upstairs where Phyllis was asleep.
“I was coughing so much, the smoke was everywhere. It felt like I was being physically choked by the smoke. I had to run downstairs twice to get fresh air before heading up to bring Sue’s mum down.”
Stephan added: “I just saw flames coming straight through the kitchen door.
“I panicked a little to start with, but I knew somebody was upstairs and I had to get up there and get her down as quickly as possible.
“When we found her bedroom we woke Phyllis up but she looked at me like I was going to rob her. I told her there was a fire and she needed to come with us and we gently got her out of bed.”
Stephan and Pav took an arm each as they helped Phyllis down the stairs and out of the front door.
Another neighbor, Dean Archer, 30, also rushed to help when he heard a loud explosion come from inside the house.
“It was a mad panic really. Stephan and Pav got up the stairs and managed to bring her down and luckily we got her out just in time. It felt like it took ages, everything was in slow motion.”
Afterward, local fire officials urged the public not to enter buildings that are on fire, because “doing so endangers more lives. Smoke inhalation can quickly disorientate, injure and incapacitate.”
But Suzanne has a different message: “I think King Charles should knight them all.”
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Frank the jackdaw is being nursed back to health by an older crow - SWNS / Brinsley Animal Rescue
Frank the jackdaw is being nursed back to health by an older crow – SWNS / Brinsley Animal Rescue
A starving baby crow with barely any feathers is being nursed back to health—and another older bird has taken him under his wing.
The tiny English crow known as the jackdaw was found in a “sorry state” and close to death.
He was spotted in a field in Nottingham, England earlier this month and taken to a rescue centre where volunteers nicknamed him Frank Sinatra because of his piercing blue eyes.
They placed him in a recovery unit with another fledgling crow who was a little older and wiser, and he took on the role of surrogate parent—even feeding little Frank his daily meals.
Adorable videos show the pair perched together as the black jackdaw helps his pupil to swallow worms and seeds.
Jon Beresford, who co-founded Brinsley Animal Rescue, said Frank is around six weeks old but was small due to malnutrition.
“As soon as he arrived with us he stole all our hearts,” he told SWNS news.
Frank the jackdaw fledgling – Brinsley Animal Rescue / SWNS
“It’s not usual that we name the animals that come to us but his piercing eyes led us to call him Frank Sinatra—and it’s stuck ever since.”
While quarantined for treatment, Frank was observed calling out to his new friend. Being placed together is really helping his development.
“At this stage of his growth, Frank would still be reliant on his parents for food.”
But, to the team’s “amazement”, the older fledgling started to feed him—despite the fact he had only just learned to feed itself. (See it in the video below...)
“It’s amazing to watch them interact. Frank watches the older one’s every move and copies him.”
The rescue workers hope Frank will recover sufficiently to be moved into an aviary where it can learn to fly and prepare for eventual re-release into the wild.
A rare 1776 printing of the US Declaration of Independence — one of just 11 known to survive and the only copy outside the United States — has been discovered by a volunteer sorting historical letters and papers at The National Archives in Kew.
Michael Scurr, a volunteer on the institute’s America 250 – Royal Navy Admirals’ and Captains’ letters project, was cataloguing a box of correspondence when he the Declaration.
It was discovered among letters sent in by Thomas Fitzherbert, captain of HMS Raisonable, and the volunteer described his reaction in a video (see below).
This copy of the Declaration was taken from the papers of an American privateer (a private vessel commissioned by a government to attack enemy ships), the Dalton of Newburyport (Massachusetts), which was captured by the Raisonable on 24 December 1776.
It was printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, by Robert Luist Fowle sometime between the 16th and 19th July in 1776 for his newspaper, the New Hampshire Gazette or Exeter Morning Chronicle.
The National Archives, UK
There are (now) only 11 known surviving copies of these so-called ‘Exeter Declarations’ and, prior to this discovery here in London, there were none known outside of the United States.
While cataloguing a letter dated January 10, 1777, in which Captain Fitzherbert reports the capture of the Dalton, Michael noted a reference to documents seized from the ship.
On closer inspection of these records, one that Fitzherbert described as ‘another document’ proved to be the extremely rare ‘Exeter Declaration’.
The capture of enemy ships was a normal practice of warfare at this time. To ensure it was legal, however, the captors had to bring all the papers taken from any captured ship before a court.
Fitzherbert’s junior officer swore to the court that all seized papers from the Dalton had been provided. We now know this was not the case, as Fitzherbert had forwarded the Declaration to officers in the Royal Navy in London.
And, there it has been ever since, first with the Navy and finally with The National Archives, where it was discovered 250 years later. (Watch Michael’s reaction below…)
Quote of the Day: “The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds.” – Caroline Kennedy
Photo by: Katelyn Perry for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Jeff Bezos' house in Bellevue, Washington, where Amazon was founded - credit, SounderBruce CC BY-SA 4.0
32 years ago today, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in the garage of his home in Bellevue, Washington. Originally founded as “Cadabra,” it was famously limited to book sales, the nearby distribution chains for which was why Bezos chose Washington for the entrepreneurial project. Fast forward to today, and it can be said to have launched the e-commerce revolution, changing the face of retail forever and becoming the world’s largest “store,” available in dozens of countries. READ some more milestones on Amazon’s way to success… (1994)
Wistow Maze in Leicestershire, England features mountain gorilla design to celebrate Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday – Credit Tom Maddick / SWNS
Wistow Maze in Leicestershire, England features mountain gorilla to celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday – Tom Maddick / SWNS
One of Britain’s biggest mazes is celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday by creating a spectacular design in the shape of a mountain gorilla.
Wistow Maze in Leicestershire, England, came up with the design to pay tribute to the legendary broadcaster who hails from their local county, having grown up near the University of Leicester.
The popular award-winning attraction features a winding labyrinth that stretches for three miles and takes around two hours to walk.
Each year the paths for the maze are marked out using GPS, so visitors can wind their way through towering walls of maize and sunflowers.
Each year a new topical design is chosen. Last year, it was designed in the shape of a steam train to commemorate 200 years of the modern British railway system.
It has also been shaped into a Crown to mark the Queen’s Jubilee, and a javelin thrower to mark the Olympics.
This year, its owner has paid tribute to one of Leicester’s most famous sons with a quirky design a gorilla—referencing the naturalist’s famous 1978 televised encounter with the creature in Rwanda.
“We spent almost a year mapping out the design,” said maze owner Diana Brooks. “It has been a lot hard work and effort since then to get it looking right.”
Tom Maddick / SWNS
“He is certainly one of Britain’s national treasures, but it also ties-in nicely to him coming from Leicestershire, too.”
Visitors are encouraged to find 12 quiz boards hidden among the pathways, featuring animals from his pioneering nature series, as well as interesting facts about the famous naturalist and broadcaster.
High-level bridges and towers give visitors stunning panoramic views over the fields, which will eventually blossom with sunflowers.
At the end of the season, the maize is harvested for cattle fodder before being redesigned the following spring.
Wistow Maze is a winner of Leicestershire’s “Best Visitor Attraction” and attracts thousands of visitors each year.
The maze will open daily (10am – 6pm) from July 20 until September 6 as well as the weekend of September 12/13, costing £8.95 for a child and £10.95 for an adult ($10 and $15). A family ticket for two adults and two children is £37.
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Sami Simons and Loes van Bemmel – Credit: ERJ Open Research / Sami Simons / SWNS
Sami Simons and Loes van Bemmel – Credit: ERJ Open Research / Sami Simons / SWNS
Voice changes measured with a mobile phone can detect an oncoming potentially-deadly asthma attack up to three days in advance, according to new research.
Scientists from Maastricht University in the Netherlands say their high tech app can also provide a vital early warning for symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
A flare-up of asthma or COPD, known as an exacerbation, is when symptoms like difficulty breathing, coughing, and phlegm become suddenly worse—and sometimes, without prompt medical care, they can become dangerous.
It may soon be possible to use a daily voice-check to monitor for the earliest sign of a flare-up simply by speaking into your phone.
Study leader Dr. Sami Simons explained these sudden exacerbations are not only frightening, they can lead to longer-term deterioration and increase the risk of dying.
“Early on in my career I was told that the voice is different while a flare-up is happening.
“Now, the rise of artificial intelligence means it’s possible to perform sophisticated analysis to find patterns in audio recordings.
“Capturing voice via a mobile phone is the next logical step to detect deteriorations in asthma or COPD at home and on time.”
The study included 38 people with COPD and 35 people with asthma, who were being treated in the Netherlands.
Over the course of 12 weeks, participants were asked to use a specially designed app to record and analyze their voice daily.
Each person would record themselves speaking a long “a” sound, then either reading out a short piece of text or answering a question. They were also asked to complete a daily questionnaire to indicate whether their symptoms were flaring up.
Comparing the voice sounds with the data on symptom flare ups, researchers found that, at the very beginning of a flare up, people’s voices deteriorated in terms of tone, or pitch, the number of pauses, and voice quality.
The findings, published in the journal ERJ Open Research, showed that the measures improved as the flare-ups subsided.
“We found that the voice significantly changes—and this occurs as early as the first day that symptoms deteriorate,” said Dr. Simons, a consultant respiratory physician at Maastricht University Medical Centre.
“As the airways constrict during an exacerbation, the air that passes the vocal folds is limited.
“This weakens the normal vibration of the vocal folds, making it harder to keep the voice steady. As a result, the voice of someone with an exacerbation sounds ‘breathier’ and ‘rough.'”
The app called TACTICAS (Telemonitoring for Asthma and COPD Through voICe AnalysiS) was co-designed with patients and a start-up called Zana Technologies.
It’s currently only available for research purposes, but Dr. Simons and his team have created a website (www.speaktoCOPD.com) to explain how the voice technology works and how people can contribute to the research with their own voices.
The research team developed machine learning algorithms that can detect exacerbations based on voice changes as early as three days before symptoms—and they’re are now testing the technology in two new studies: one in the Netherlands and one in Brazil.
The breakthrough was welcomed by the European Respiratory Society’s Dr. Marc Miravitlles.
“Being able to spot a flare up, or even anticipate it by a few days, could be really valuable in terms of reducing symptoms such as breathlessness or coughing as well as lowering the risk of lung damage, hospital admission or death.”
“This technology could allow better monitoring and care for patients with asthma or COPD via a mobile phone wherever they are in the world,” added Dr Miravitlles, of Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
“This is a good example of how new technologies and AI could really improve the quality of life of our patients with chronic respiratory diseases.”
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From purple mountain majesties to amber waves of grain, America’s 4 million square miles of jaw-dropping landscapes is matched only by the audacity of its founding premise: 250 years ago, British colonists looking for independencelaunched a radical experiment, betting that a free people could govern themselves—without the rule of a king or queen.
Despite years of political division and cultural friction in pursuing “a more perfect union”, America has a lot to be profoundly thankful for. Here are 250 reasons (in no particular order).
On this historic Semiquincentennial birthday, we look back at the brilliant tapestry of innovation, culture, and community flourishing for two and a half centuries—proving this nation is still a home worth cherishing. Happy Birthday, America!
1. Yellowstone National Park: The world’s very first national park
2. The Chocolate Chip Cookie: Invented in Massachusetts, loved by the world.
3. The Birth of Jazz: America’s greatest original art form
4. Fall Foliage in New England
5. Air Conditioning: Willis Carrier’s invention made living in deserts possible
6. Freedom of Speech (enshrined in First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
7. The Appalachian Trail: 2,200 scenic miles from Georgia to Maine
8. Motown: The pop-soul Detroit sound that mowed down racial barriers
9. Surfing: Born in Hawaii and became a laid-backculture in California
10. The Comic Book: An American invention that popularized superheroes
11. Craft Beer from thousands of innovative local microbreweries
12. Bob Dylan leading a generation with his protest anthems
13. The Declaration of Independence: Proclaiming unalienable rights to life, liberty, and happiness
14. Thomas Jefferson: Founding Father who wrote the above document, paid for the Library of Congress, and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase
15. Susan B. Anthony: Faced arrest leading the fight for women’s voting rights
16. Jonas Salk: Refused to patent his polio vaccine, giving it to the world
17. The Peace Corps: Sending Americans abroad to bring humanitarian aid
18. The Rocky Mountains
19. Woodstock: The greatest festival ever held
20. State Fair Food on a Stick: Deep-frying everything from butter to Oreos
21. Pickleball: The invented racquet sport sweeping the nation
22. New Orleans: Creole Culture and the birthplace of jazz
23. Diners: serving breakfast 24 hours a day
24. Route 66: One highway from Chicago to a California pier
25. The Golden Gate Bridge: Architectural masterwork framed by San Francisco fog
26. Barbecue from Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, or Carolina.
27. Diversity of Landscape: tundra, desert, rainforest, and tropics in one nation
28. Redwood Trees
29. Clam Chowder
Fallingwater – Credit: Daderot
30. Frank Lloyd Wright: 400 buildings, including Fallingwater (above)
31. The Great American Novel: The Great Gatsby
32. Broadway musicals
33. Jackie Robinson: With immense poise he broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier
34. Food Trucks: Mobile kitchens democratizing gourmet food on the street
35. Rock and Roll: A rebellious genre that electrified the world
36. The Sitcom: Brought families together for laughs
37. Napa Valley: World-class wine in America
38. The Personal Computer
39. The Space Shuttle: Reusable rockets
40. Tailgating: Pre-game community party in stadium parking lots
41. The Bill of Rights: Protects crucial individual liberties
42. Bagel with Lox and cream cheese
43. Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field: Home of America’s only publicly owned football team
44. KentuckyBourbon
45. Teddy Roosevelt (and Teddy Bears, which were named for him!)
46. Hip-Hop: Musical genre born in the Bronx
47. Adopt-A-Highway: Keeping local roads clean out of civic pride.
48. March Madness
49. Jim Henson’s Muppets
50. The Western: movies about the old west
51. Buffalo Wings: Game-day snack, born in upstate New York.
52. The Blues: Soulful songs of struggle from the Mississippi Delta
53. Hollywood
54. Bluegrass music
55. Stand-Up Comedy: From Mark Twain to Jerry Seinfeld
56. Martin Luther King Jr: Guided the Civil Rights Movement with nonviolence
57. The Assembly Line from Henry Ford
58. Baseball: (The National Pastime)
59. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
60. The Porch Swing
61. The Gettyburg Address: Lincoln’s immortal 272 words about government of, by, and for the people
62. The Boston Marathon: the nation’s oldest
63. The Pacific Coast Highway: One of the most scenic coastal drives in the world
64. Coachella and Bonnaroo
65. Late-Night Talk Shows
66. Mr. Rogers: Championed kindness for kids on public television
67. Hamilton: invented new way to teach history
68. Apple, inc
69. Sundance Film Festival
70. The Smithsonian: Free museums on the National Mall
71. Henry David Thoreau – From Walden pond to Civil Disobedience
72. The Music Video: invented by MTV
Ralph Lauren sweater
73. Ralph Lauren fashion
74. Freedom of the Press
75. Walt Disney
76. The Apollo Moon Landing and Neil Armstrong’s inspiring first words
77. Silicon Valley tech hub
78. GPS: Developed by the military, but given to the public
79. Lighthouses along the Atlantic coast
80. The Airplane: The Wright brothers proved humans could fly
81. Mammoth Cave: World’s longest known cave, hidden in Kentucky
82. The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia
83. Louis Armstrong’svoice
84. Morgan Freeman
85. George Washington: Won the Revolution but said NO to Presidency after 2 terms
86. Hubble and James Webb Telescopes: Gorgeous views of deep space
87. The Mars Rovers: exploring the red planet
88. The Airstream Trailer: The sleek, silver icon of freedom
89. The National Laboratory System like Los Alamos for scientific research
90. The Great Smoky Mountains
91. Open-Source Software
92. Halloween Trick-or-Treating
93. Southern Biscuits and Gravy
95. The National Science Foundation: Public funding driving discovery
96. The Cotton Gin: Transformed agricultural tech
97. Zion National Park: Massive sandstone cliffs of pink, and red
98. The Transistor: The foundation of all modern microelectronics.
99. Television: Invented by Philo Farnsworth in Rigby, Idaho
100. George Lucas
101. Carlsbad Caverns: Stunning limestone formations in New Mexico
102. Friday Night Lights: High school football games uniting entire small towns
103. The Super Bowl
104. Roadside Attractions: Giant balls of twine and dinosaur statues
105. The NBA
106. Cesar Chavez: His Nat’l Farm Workers group secured migrant laborers’ dignity
107. Lobster Rolls: Atlantic lobster served on a buttered, toasted bun
108. The Seventh-Inning Stretch: Singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” with thousands of strangers.
109. Skateboarding: Invented in Southern California
110. The Outer Banks: Pristine white beaches and pirate history galore
111. Red Rocks amphitheater
112. DC monuments on the National Mall
113. Little Free Libraries
114. Winslow Homer paintings
115. Niagara Falls
116. Social Security
Washington monument with cherry blossoms by Andy He
117. The Cherry Blossoms in DC
118. Title IX Legacy: Funding equal opportunities for female athletes
119. Tex-Mex
120. Paul Newman: His Newman’s Own food products give hundreds of millions to charity
121. The Sports Bar: Where fans of all backgrounds instantly become family
122. Mount Rushmore
123. The Smash Burger
124. Oprah
125. S’mores
126. Key Lime Pie: Florida’s tart, creamy dessert
127. The U.S. Constitution: A resilient, adaptable framework for self-governance.
128. Amelia Earhart
129. The Statue of Liberty
Luke Stackpoole
130. The Civil Rights Movement: Citizens marching to force the U.S to live up to its promises.
131. Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O’Connor: Supreme Court pioneers
132. The Underground Railroad: Brave networks of secret routes defying unjust laws for freedom.
133. Charlie Brown: Especially the Christmas special
134. The Separation of Powers: A system of checks and balances designed to prevent tyranny.
135. A Walk-Off Home Run: One of the most dramatic, instantaneous moments in sports
136. The Florida Keys
137. The Spirit of Generosity: Millions giving to charities even in hard times
138. The Great Lakes
139. The Right to Peacefully Assemble: Empowering citizens to protest
140. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese
141. Carol Burnett
142. Taylor Swift: Donated $26 million to charity to honor her recent marriage
143. The Federalist Papers: A brilliant masterclass in political philosophy and debate.
144. Daniel Boone: Pioneering the West
145. Dolly Parton: Her Imagination Library gifted 240 million free books to kids
146. Elvis Presley
147. Native American Heritage: The First Americans
148. Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show
149. The Great Seal’s Motto: E Pluribus Unum — “Out of many, one.”
150. The Peaceful Transfer of Power: A foundational election tradition
151. The Getty Museums
152. The Interstate Highway System
Central Park in New York City – Credit: ep_jhu (CC license)
153. Central Park in NYC
154. The Classic Road Trip: Snacks, music, and changing landscapes.
155. Dick van Dyke
156. The Skyline of New York City
157. Medicare for Seniors
158. The Brooklyn Bridge: offering breathtaking pedestrian walks.
159. CharmingCovered Bridges
160. The Hoover Dam: A triumph of 1930s tamed the mighty Colorado River
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of July 4, 2026
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
There are phases when the cosmic energies and I urge you to put others first—even tend to their pain before you tend to your own. But this isn’t one of those times. Right now, sacrificing yourself for the sake of others would obstruct the flow of righteous grace into your life. So then what is the most soul‑honoring path available? Here’s what I think: Summon your inventive brilliance and use it to imagine generous ways to care for yourself. Shower yourself with gifts, treats, and blessings that delight you. Take the loving care you so deftly pour into other people and lavish it wholeheartedly on yourself.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Most fields of human endeavor work like this: A few people are truly brilliant, a handful are actively harmful, and the majority fall somewhere between “not great” and “pretty good.” That’s true whether you’re talking about engineers, doctors, poets, or astrologers. So it’s inadvisable to assume a physician is wise about your well-being just because they’ve logged 15 years on the job, or to trust your life direction to the first astrologer whose promotion catches your eye. In the coming weeks, dear Leo, discernment like this matters even more than usual. Let your natural hopefulness be balanced by sharp, thoughtful judgment. Don’t just challenge obvious authority. Put every so-called fact, spin, assumption, and official line under your own clear-eyed review.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Architects designing spaces for collective use try to balance two human needs: to see expansively and also have safe places to retreat. Too much exposure creates anxiety; too much enclosure brings claustrophobia. The ideal is to provide both shelter and spaciousness. Let’s use this theme as a metaphor for your life during the coming months. You’ll be wise to create an equilibrium between engagement and privacy, between vastness and protection. Make it easy for yourself to observe the larger scene and also withdraw when needed.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Self-proclaimed “skeptics” love to sneer at astrologers, as if pondering what lies ahead were a violation of scientific purity. And yet economists, sports analysts, trend watchers, and political commentators churn out shaky predictions every day. Honestly, those professionals of probability often create more confusion than those of us who read the heavens. Take weather forecasters, for instance: From Europe to Japan, their models routinely miss sudden floods and twisters and trigger more than a few false alarms. But do the debunkers brand them as charlatans? Of course not. Forgive the outburst, but I’m building to a key foresight: Every forecast, projection, or vision that crosses your path over the next month will miss the mark—except for this one. So free yourself of their meddling.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Ethnobotanists describe how certain Indigenous traditions work with “teacher plants.” These are flora that offer not only physical benefits but spiritual instruction. They include psychoactive substances, but also ordinary plants approached with extraordinary attention. In the spirit of reinventing your education, Scorpio, I invite you to expand your understanding of who and what your teachers are. What ordinary elements of your daily life might offer wisdom if you engage them with deep respect? What situations at the edges of your awareness could bring lessons that enrich your perspectives? Now is an excellent time to seek new apprenticeships.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Western science and Western religions may disagree about how the universe began, but both place its birth in the distant past. Tantra and other spiritual paths, by contrast, propose that the universe is born afresh in every instant through the sacred, erotic interplay of God and Goddess. When humans approach love-making as an experimental sacrament, these traditions suggest, we can tune in to the union of those primordial forces and, in a sense, take part in the continual creation of existence. So, are you ready for a bit of world-making erotic play? The current astrological indicators say yes, you are.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
A common obstacle to healthy intimacy is the belief that a beloved ally should automatically know what you need, without you saying a word. I used to suffer from this delusion myself and worked hard to dissolve it. I no longer unconsciously assume that my companions are so attuned to me that they can always intuit my desires. But I know this bad idea feels romantic to many people, even though it can sabotage even the most promising bond. In the weeks ahead, Capricorn, I invite you to starve this fantasy. Your intimate world is ripe for a fresh infusion of lucid, straightforward honesty.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Your next few weeks will be sponsored by CoffeeBeer, the paradoxical elixir that both pumps up your energy and decompresses your defenses. You will be an exemplary role model for this innovative product because you will epitomize what occurs when a sensitive soul gets excited and mellows out at the same time. I also expect you will soon be exploring intriguing opportunities that become available to you because of your supercharged calm. Fortunately, you don’t need to drink actual coffee and beer together to make this happen. The cosmic forces will be conspiring to help you.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Finish this sentence, Pisces: “The one thing that really keeps me from being myself is _______.” Is it someone’s opinion, an old story about who you are, a fear of loss, a habit of over-pleasing, a secret shame, or a belief that you’re “too much” or “not enough”? Whatever first pops into your mind is probably closest to the truth. Here’s your next step: Loosen the grip of this stressor by even just 20 percent. I bet your real self will feel relaxed enough to bloom more fully.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Archaeologists studying ancient wells have discovered that some weren’t finished in a single effort. Communities might dig to the current water table, use the well for years, then probe further down when water levels dropped or needs increased. This is a useful metaphor for you, Aries. As of yet, you don’t have the ability or tools to reach the deepest layers you aspire to reach. My counsel is to go as far as you can now and gather what you find there. Later, when you’re readier, you will build on what has come before.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
The doom‑and‑gloom wing of astrology is exhausting. The superstition that Mercury retrograde causes scrambled messages and dire mix‑ups is dull and misguided. The planet’s apparent backward motion, which is happening right now, shows up about three times every year like clockwork. It’s perfectly normal! In my view, Mercury retrograde isn’t threatening unless you obsess on the idea that it is, in which case, yes, your payment might go astray, and a friend may misunderstand you. But if cultivating relaxed clarity is more fun and productive for you than coping with fearful tension, treat the time between now and July 23 as a rich opportunity to refine, deepen, and upgrade how you communicate.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
You Gemini readers have decreed that I must halt all musings about maddening, riddle-drenched ambiguity. You’ve delivered the message to me that you’re tired of wrestling with enigmas wrapped in paradoxes. Straightforward, plainspoken factualness is what you want. Well, OK. (Please remember that I don’t make this stuff up; I simply channel cosmic omens.) Maybe I’ll start obeying your orders next time. But first, I will advise you: 1. Unexpected gifts are coming from people and situations in transition. 2. Tough but friendly interventions will nudge you toward healthy course corrections. 3. Mysterious assistance is on its way.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
