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The streets of London are thronged with people waiting to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II, and Ryan Reynolds raises colon cancer awareness by undergoing a colonoscopy and documenting it for fans. Plus, researchers may have cracked the code on how to get a crying baby to sleep with a 13-minute routine.

👑Thousands have joined a line stretching across London to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.

A crowd of thousands formed a line stretching at least 3.5 miles along the River Thames in London today, waiting to say goodbye as Queen Elizabeth II lies in state at Westminster Hall before her funeral Monday. King Charles III is expected to spend the day privately after yesterday's ceremonial procession behind his mother's coffin. Also today, Prince Harry marks his 38th birthday as he mourns the loss of his grandmother. Here's what to know about ceremonies for the queen on Thursday. 

Biden announces a tentative deal to avoid a railworker strike that threatened a massive disruption to the supply chain.

President Joe Biden announced early this morning that the White House has struck a tentative deal to avoid a railworker strike that could have potentially crippled the nation's supply chain and disrupted passenger services. Two railworker unions were willing to strike over quality-of-life concerns, mainly scheduling practices that leave many workers on call 24/7 every week of the year. Biden said the workers will get better pay and "improved working conditions." 

Ryan Reynolds got a 'potentially life-saving' colonoscopy, and he documented it online to raise awareness. 

The actor is grateful he lost a bet to fellow actor and "Welcome to Wrexham" star Rob McElhenney because getting his first colonoscopy at 45 turned out to be an important procedure. Reynolds was told by his doctor that "an extremely subtle polyp" was removed during the colonoscopy, which his doctor called "potentially life-saving." McElhenney also underwent one and had three small polyps removed. “Part of being this age is getting a colonoscopy," Reynolds said. "It’s a simple step that could literally — and I mean literally — save your life." 

👶This routine can help get a crying baby to sleep in 13 minutes, a study says.

It turns out getting a crying infant to sleep is as much science as art. Japanese researchers have found in a new study that if a caregiver carries a crying baby for 5 minutes and then sits with the baby for 8 minutes, they can successfully soothe the child and possibly get him or her to sleep. Researchers used baby EKG machines and video cameras to monitor the effectiveness of the 5-minute walk, 8-minute sit method. There's one catch, though: It only works with crying babies, not ones that are calm to start.

Achieve your life goals with easy tips.

Sometimes just taking a deep breath is the best way to immediately calm yourself down and deal with stress. Yoga breathing can also help improve sleep and mindfulness, and TODAY fitness contributor Stephanie Mansour has 4 breathing exercises that can help in the short term and long term. Deep belly breathing and breath retention are just some of the ways to help short-circuit anxiety or stress — watch Stephanie demonstrate each technique here. 

Allow us to do the meal-planning for you.

If you're fried after a day at work and just want something simple and delicious without a lot of thought, this "Amatriciana on the fly" dish from Sam Sifton, the founding editor of New York Times Cooking, is the way to go. It's a "no-recipe recipe," which means no specific measurements and no must-follow steps. All you need are spaghetti, canned chopped tomatoes, an onion, and some bacon. You can also substitute guanciale (cured pork jowl) or spicy salami for the bacon. And if you don’t eat meat, add a couple of tablespoons of butter in its place.

A little pick-me-up before you go.

Who says a dog can't be best buds with a cow? An enlightened canine named Buddha has branched outside his doggy world to become BFFs with a cow named Marley at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary in Colorado. Marley is now a 1,200-pound cow, so it's not safe for them to play together anymore, but that doesn't mean their friendship is over. “Still to this day, when Marley sees Buddha, she starts hopping and jumping and they greet each other and kiss each other through the fence,” sanctuary executive director Shartrina White told us. See more cute photos of Buddha and Marley, as well as some other animal friends at the sanctuary. 

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Written by Scott Stump | Edited by Philip Caulfield

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