Must Reads

• Meet the youngest serving mayor in the U.S.

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• Three doctors share their thoughts on compression socks​

Culture

It's Lüften Time: Behind the German Practice That's Literally a Breath of Fresh Air

It's that time of year when there's nothing more appealing than snuggling under a blanket, ideally with a fire going and a warm beverage in hand. But even on the coldest nights, many Germans practice a simple ritual that doubles as a wellness hack: lüften, which roughly translates to "airing out."
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​In Germany, it's common to crack open every window in your home for five to 10 minutes each day — or to put it in TikTok speak, "burp" your home. The practice, which has been making waves on social media, comes with some solid health perks, according to Time.
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Letting fresh air in can reduce air pollutants, mold, odors, and humidity, and thus improve indoor air quality, which can be worse than the outdoors due to contaminants from cleaning products, gas stoves, dust, and more. Fresh air is also associated with sharper cognition, mindfulness, and better sleep.
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So when should you practice lüften? Lynelle Schneeberg, a sleep psychologist at Yale University, advises letting in the air right before bed for a refreshing reset: "You know that feeling when you've washed your sheets and they're so clean and fresh?" she said. "[With lüften], it's almost like you're giving yourself that feeling on a daily basis. So I think it's really a great idea."

Together With The Bouqs OpCo

Two College Roommates Solving a $100 Billion Problem

Seeing 60% of flowers get wasted without ever being sold, roommates John Tabis (ex Disney exec) and Juan Pablo Montufar-Arroyo (third-generation farmer) founded The Bouqs Co. to reinvent the $100 billion floral industry. They're now the No. 4 highest-revenue company to ever appear on Shark Tank.
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Why? Because they've successfully created a flower business model that gets 90% of flowers directly from farm to consumer. Skipping importers, wholesalers, and order-gatherers makes The Bouqs Co. 3X more efficient than traditional models. The result is 270 million stems sold and up to $1.2 million in annual revenue per store.
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Environment

In These States, Supporting Wildlife Is a Check Box Away

There's a silver lining to tax season this year in North Carolina. For the first time, the Tar Heel State has launched a tax return option allowing residents to donate some or all of their refunds to the N.C. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund — just by checking a box.
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The donations go a long way, as the program will match every $100 given with $186 in federal grant funding to protect "species of greatest conservation need," Sara Schweitzer, with the state's Wildlife Resources Commission, said in a press release. She added: "In western North Carolina especially, donations will help us address the immense impacts of Hurricane Helene on species such as the Eastern hellbender, bog turtle, gray bat, Carolina Northern flying squirrel, and several high-elevation migratory birds."
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Other states with similar "tax checkoff" programs include California, Colorado, and Wisconsin, where residents can dedicate part of their state refunds directly to wildlife conservation funds that are matched by the federal government. And while we're talking taxes, check out this guide that lists out key filing dates — plus, what's different this year.

Health

New Heart Attack Research Could Pave the Way for Less Invasive Treatments

It's not news that the heart is intimately connected to the brain and the rest of the body. However, when it comes to understanding heart attacks specifically, the research has long been focused on the heart alone.
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A recent study bucks that trend, finding that the cardiac events trigger a "triple node" feedback loop involving the heart, brain, and immune system. In other circumstances, such communication helps the body respond to injury or infection. But during a heart attack — when no pathogens or bacteria are present — it can trigger an overactive immune response that may actually make the damage worse.
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"The brain says, 'hey, get up and run, you're going to die,'" Dr. Kalyanam Shivkumar, whose previous research is cited in the study, explained to NPR, adding: "And then the heart swells up. You get arrhythmias and heart failure."
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Understanding this feedback loop could help change the way heart attacks are treated: "Current treatments for heart attacks focus on repairing the heart, including bypass surgery, angioplasty, and blood thinners, which are all invasive," co-author Vineet Augustine said in a statement. "This research is showing that perhaps by manipulating the immune system we can drive a therapeutic response."

In Other News

1. 9/11 first responders secured health care coverage through 2040, thanks to a bipartisan measure (read more)
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2. The oldest-known wooden tools, dating back 430,000 years, were discovered in Greece (read more)
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3. In awards news, One Battle After Another led the 2026 BAFTA nominations with 14 nods (read more)
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4. Gem of a story: A new phase of ice was discovered by compressing water between two diamonds (read more)
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5. A rare pygmy slow loris was born at the Bronx Zoo — see the ridiculously cute newborn primate (read more)

Inspiring Story

Cold hands, warm hearts

The weekend's winter storm has left many in bitter cold and without power — but people across the country are stepping up to support their communities, including by delivering hot meals. "It was both heartbreaking and very rewarding because some of these people were literally crying as we handed them hot food," said chef Daniel Yarzagaray-Modjeska, who worked with World Central Kitchen in the Nashville area.

Photo of the Day

Scotland's Shetland Islands lit up earlier this week for the Up Helly Aa Festival, Europe's largest fire festival (not to be confused with that ill-fated Fyre festival). The annual winter celebration takes place in the town of Lerwick and honors Viking heritage. Watch the fiery event in action.​

Money: Spot Helps Make Pet Care More Affordable

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Odds & Ends

💾 When you show a middle schooler a floppy disk …
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🐶 Westminster may not accept these pups, but we certainly do
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🛒 Make sure you're always getting the best deals at Costco*
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📖 Bilingual life lessons, in comic book form​
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Quote of the Day

"Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning."

– WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD