Happy Friday, Fab Fam. I’ve rounded up the week’s news so you don’t have to. Included are the stories affecting your money, your health, and your Friday night. Want the full details? The links are waiting below.

What happened: At a nutrition conference on July 25, researchers shared 20 years of data on 66,892 women from the Women's Health Initiative. Women who ate closest to a Planetary Health Diet had about 28% lower risk of heart disease, including heart attacks, stroke, and heart failure.

What it means: A huge group of women followed for a long time, so it's a strong signal, not a fad. You don't need to be perfect.

Should you change anything? Fill half your plate with vegetables, use olive oil instead of butter, and do one meatless dinner a week.

Who should care most: Any woman at or past menopause.

One honest note: this was presented at a conference, so it's early-stage, but the advice matches what heart doctors have said for years.

For the deeper dive on what's actually happening in your body, we wrote the full guide to what menopause actually is.

The 2027 raise now looks like about 3.7% to 3.8%, down from a 4.7% guess in the spring. It's not official until October, so it can still move. Budget around a 2.8% raise so you're pleasantly surprised instead of short.

The 2027 base premium hits $41.33, up roughly 24%. Put one date on your fridge: October 15 to December 7, Medicare Open Enrollment. Shop your plan, don't auto-renew, and check an older parent's plan the same week.

OpenAI turned on ChatGPT Health for all U.S. adults on July 27.

One caution, because I love you: a helper, not a doctor. Use it to prep questions, then let your real doctor decide.

AI is moving faster than any other technology. New models. New tools. New claims. New noise.

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Saar spent seven decades turning everyday objects into art that confronted racism and reclaimed Black womanhood, most famously in her 1972 piece The Liberation of Aunt Jemima. She kept working into her nineties. A full life, well lived.

Paramount+ ordered the follow-up this week, thirty years after the original. If you quoted this movie in high school, you already know you're watching.

The You're So Vain singer, 83, shared that she's living with Parkinson's and has also faced a cancer diagnosis. She called it unpredictable but said she's still writing and still herself. Sending her love.

Her line: post-menopause, life is not over. This one's from earlier in July, but it's too good to leave out. The story we were handed about getting older is optional. You can put it down.

More on this over on Fab: why life gets better after 50.

The group chat's been busy this week. If yours has gone quiet lately, we wrote about that too: when the group chat goes quiet in midlife.

Before you clutch your pearls, the Knots Landing legend says she’ll be sharing personal updates, style and behind-the-scenes moments—not explicit content. Honestly, we love an 85-year-old woman doing exactly what she wants.

Shania opened up about menopause, aging and the body criticism she has faced, declaring that her body is “not shameable.” That does impress us much.

The unexpected couple celebrated their one-year anniversary cuddling, kissing and vacationing in Saint-Tropez. Former prime minister meets pop star was not on our bingo card—but apparently, it works.

The pitch: an active, water-cooled mattress pad (like the SAITRIO Bed Cooling System) that sits under your fitted sheet and pumps cooled water through it all night, aimed at hot flashes and menopause night sweats.

The honest read: Sleep experts say active water-cooling systems genuinely outperform passive gel pads, which warm up fast and stop working. The catch is upkeep: you're filling a small reservoir and running a quiet pump, and it takes a night or two to get the temperature dialed in. Worth it if night sweats are wrecking your sleep most nights. Skip it if you only run warm occasionally, a $20 cooling pillow will do the job.

Verdict: Buy it, if your hot flashes are anything like mine, I’d try anything.

See it on Amazon

USA TODAY has rounded up the best beauty and wellness products of 2026.
See which skincare, makeup and self-care finds are actually worth the hype.

Travel folks keep pointing at the fall season, roughly September and October: fewer crowds, softer weather, lower prices. Fall flight prices tend to bottom out a few weeks out, so watch a route and jump when it dips. My tip: set a flight alert for your favorite destination. Log into google, go to google flights, choose the desired flight or destination, and turn on tracking. Book when the fare drops.

Book (new this week): Furious Violet by Sarai Walker, out July 28. A burned-out crime journalist near 50.

TV (new this week): Furious on Hulu, premiered July 27. Emmy Rossum as an FBI agent chasing a female serial killer.

Movie (stream this weekend): Nyad, Diana Nyad's Cuba-to-Florida swim in her sixties, with Annette Bening and Jodie Foster.

Podcast: The Magnificent Midlife Podcast.

The toll scam. A text says you owe a small unpaid toll with a link to pay now. Real toll agencies don't text surprise links. Delete it.

The task-job scam. Easy work-from-home tasks that later ask you to deposit your own money. That money is gone.

Your simple rule: if a text pushes you to tap fast or asks for money to make money, stop.