And on Day 322

Back on Solid Ground

Note: This story discusses attempted suicide. If you need help, please call or text 988 to reach SAMHSA’s confidential 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

What's going on: The USS Abraham Lincoln finally docked in San Diego on Thursday after a 322-day deployment in support of the Iran war, including a near-record nine and a half months at sea without a stop. Over the summer, the carrier made headlines amid reports of sailors’ mental health struggles, including multiple attempts to jump overboard, as well as shortages in food and other basic supplies. President Donald Trump denied any problems and even said in August that the deployment hadn’t been “nearly long enough.” The Navy eventually acknowledged the mental health crisis on board, with acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirming in September that eight sailors had attempted suicide. The day before the carrier docked, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew out to award the crew a Presidential Unit Citation, a high honor that usually recognizes combat. Now, the around 5,000 people on board have returned to the US.

Welcome home: Family members waiting for the carrier to dock held signs that read: “I’m here to pick up the love of my life,” and “Every family needs an anchor, and ours comes home today.” CNN correspondent Pamela Brown, who reported from the carrier ahead of the dock, showed how soldiers decorated the ship in celebration of its return. New parents were among the first allowed off the carrier, including 64 fathers who met their babies for the first time yesterday. Sailor Brent Ledbetter told NBC News of his 10-month-old son: “I’m excited to chase him around the house and give him all the love” that has "been kind of withheld for the last 10 months." But just because the ship has docked, doesn’t mean everyone has moved on. Some are calling for an investigation into the alleged poor conditions and lack of mental health support on board. “We need to prevent this crisis from happening ever again, and ultimately end the Iran war and bring all our service members home,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) said earlier this month. 

Related: Photos of USS Lincoln Sailors Reuniting With Their Families (USA Today)

Health

Mammogram, BOGO Edition

What's going on: There are roughly a million things we’d rather do than have our boobs pressed flat by a cold metal machine. Here’s a new reason to book the squeeze anyway: Your mammogram might have clues into your overall cardiovascular health. Along with checking for growths, the images can detect breast arterial calcifications (BACs), calcium deposits in the blood vessels of your breast. While they’re harmless to the breast itself, BACs can be a sign of calcification in the coronary arteries, a major risk factor for heart attacks. Maryland just became the first state to require mammography centers to notify patients about BAC findings. One study found that women with severe BAC had more than 10 times the risk of a cardiovascular event within five years compared to women with little or none.

Made for multitasking: Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the US, but a screening you’re already getting could help flag your risk. AI has also shown promise in spotting and grading these deposits on mammograms, potentially helping radiologists assess heart risk. Want insight now? If you’ve had a physical in the past year, plug your numbers into the American Heart Association’s PREVENT calculator. And on the mammo front, guidelines say start at 40, but your doctor may want you in sooner depending on your risk factors. Because if you're getting your boobs squashed, you may as well get the full picture.

Related: Should You Let AI Read Your Mammo? (The Wall Street Journal gift link)

PS: Every Wednesday, get the up-to-date news you need to take charge of your health, delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe to the Skimm Well + Good newsletter here.

Snail Mail

The Magic of a Pen Pal

What’s going on: Analog activities — so-called “grandma hobbies” — have been on the rise for a while. Now, one specific old-school move is taking credit for keeping people off their phones while fostering a more intentional, less stressful way to communicate: writing to a pen pal. For some, exchanging letters with a stranger conjures the nostalgia of a ‘90s summer camp friend. Shy or introverted people say letter writing helps them open up. And, because it’s 2026, finding a pen pal has even become social media fodder. One TikTok user took to "matchmaking" pen pals via a Google Doc, drawing 23,000 submissions on her first questionnaire. And fans of the best-selling novel The Correspondent, which is partially inspired by author Virginia Evans’s real-life letter exchange with fellow author Ann Patchett, are scouting for pen pals on book discussion boards.  

Does anyone know where the post office is?: Corresponding on paper isn’t a complete departure from DMs and texts (a girl can dream), but it offers a welcome way to slow down. Receiving a letter from a pen pal can be far less overwhelming — there’s no ping demanding an immediate response. A letter addressed directly to you creates a “singular experience” that makes a person feel seen and sought out, Evans said. Research also shows that writing by hand unlocks parts of your brain associated with creativity, memory, and your senses. Therapists have used letter writing to help patients channel grief. Email could never. Not that anyone needs an excuse to buy pretty stationery and a fancy pen, but consider this a sign (or a strongly worded letter). 

Related: Polaroid’s New Mod Is the Ultimate Analog Gift (Yahoo News)

TOGETHER WITH RULA 

Access, Made Easy

Cost. Timing. Finding the right fit. In a recent Instagram poll, 55% of you said all three factors are working against you when it comes to getting mental health support. 

Rula was built to address all three. We’re talking quality, affordable care with first appointments available as soon as tomorrow. And right now, Rula’s offering some extra help to make room for that first step. New patients who book their first session by tomorrow, October 10 (World Mental Health Day) will receive a $50 Taskrabbit credit^† to get help with an everyday task and make space for their mental health.

Quick Hits

❤️‍🩹 Viola Davis shared that getting diagnosed with shingles “made me wake up to the fact that I have to listen to my body” and prioritize rest. Even an EGOT winner has limits. 

🎂 One mom's take on a sugar-free first birthday cake? Watermelon topped with whipped bone marrow. A recipe for a parenting debate. 

👙 Rihanna, Charli xcx, and Anya Taylor-Joy are wearing underwire bras as outerwear. We don't support this development.

🍪 The cookie aisle just got a little more crowded with Ghirardelli getting into the game. Don't crumble now, Chips Ahoy.

📺 Dearest, gentle readers, a new Bridgerton spinoff is set to hit the ton, and this one focuses on Lady Violet and Viscount Edmund’s love story. We can’t wait to see the gowns… and the lingerie.

🎾 Serena Williams has a new Barbie doll, and it recreates her 2005 Australian Open victory outfit. What a Grand Slam. 

🌺 A beauty brand made a perfume inspired by the famously stinky corpse flower. But one editor calls it “impressively fresh” with “zero hint of ‘corpse.’” We'll take her word for it.

🏆 There's a new award-winning peptide cream in town, and first-timers get 20% off with SKIMM20.*