The latest World Happiness Report 2026 says that heavy social media use has contributed to a stark decline in well-being among young people. It found that the effects are particularly worrying in teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe. The annual report was published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. It also found that Finland is the happiest land in the world for the ninth year in a row. Other Nordic countries such as Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway ranked among the top 10 countries.

Rocks from outer space are constantly hurtling toward Earth, slamming into the atmosphere and often exploding into fireballs that both delight and alarm people. Thankfully, the vast majority cause no damage because they are smashed into small chunks or dust. A fireball streaked across the sky near Cleveland this week, caused by what was thought to be a space rock weighing 7 tons. The American Meteor Society says it was seen from Wisconsin to Maryland. No fragments have been found yet.

A 7-ton meteor that sped across the Cleveland sky at 45,000 miles per hour on Tuesday broke apart in a thunderous boom that startled residents who feared an explosion. People several states away reported seeing the bright fireball even though it was 9 a.m. The American Meteor Society said it received reports from Wisconsin to Maryland. NASA later confirmed that it was a meteor nearly 6 feet in diameter. Astronomer Carl Hergenrother says meteors typically fall about once a day in the U.S. The meteor was first seen about 50 miles above Lake Erie.

Spring gets its official start Friday in the Northern Hemisphere with the arrival of the vernal equinox. But what does that mean? The Earth’s axis is tilted at an angle as it travels around the sun. On the equinox, the Earth’s tilt is neither toward nor away from the sun, so both hemispheres get the same amount of sunlight. This means day and night last about the same amount of time. It also marks the start of a new season. Days will get a little longer every day in the Northern Hemisphere until the solstice in June.

Researchers say the discovery of the oldest known recordings of whale sounds could open up a new understanding of how the huge animals communicate. The recording captured the song of a humpback whale, a marine giant beloved by whale watchers for its docile nature and spectacular leaps from the water. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts, say it was recorded in March 1949 in Bermuda. The recording predates the discovery of whale song by nearly 20 years. Scientists say the recording is important because it documents whale song during a time when the ocean was quieter.

Black rain fell in Iran's capital after airstrikes on oil facilities sent up dark clouds of toxic smoke. Health officials warned of serious risks to anyone who breathes or comes into contact with it. Soot, toxic chemicals and acidic gases combined with water droplets in the atmosphere, then fell back to Earth when it rained. Experts say microscopic soot particles can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing breathing and heart problems that can lead to premature death. Some toxic substances can increase cancer risk.

Every year, math nerds and dessert enthusiasts unite to celebrate Pi Day on March 14, a date whose digits represent the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi. The holiday was created in 1988 by Larry Shaw, a physicist at the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco. In school, you might have used it to calculate the area of a circle or the volume of a cylinder, but the applications of pi are endless and part of every corner of our world. Pi is involved in every step of aerospace engineering and is also on the cutting edge of medical research.

Thousands of snow geese touch down at a Pennsylvania reservoir each spring, turning sunrise into a loud, swirling liftoff that draws big crowds. A few dozen birdwatchers gather before dawn at the Middle Creek wildlife preserve to catch the moment. After sunrise, the flock suddenly rises from the water's surface, circles and then heads to nearby fields to feed. The state Game Commission says Middle Creek has hosted huge groups of 100,000 or more in recent years. Scientists warn that the geese have grown so abundant that their numbers have damaged breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic. There are also concerns about avian influenza.

KLEINFELTERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Birdwatchers gather before dawn at Middle Creek in Pennsylvania to witness thousands of migrating snow geese lif…