Dating back to the dawn of civilization, humans have been one of the only creatures on Earth that use multi-purpose tools. Now, there's a new animal in the club. "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil has the story.

A recent study has observed a pet cow in Austria named Veronica using a brush as a tool to scratch different parts of her body, adapting the tool for specific needs. Over 70 randomized trials, researchers recorded her using the brush 76 times, with her owner confirming this behavior has been ongoing for years.

These findings challenge the long-standing assumption that cows lack intelligence and the ability to use tools, previously thought to be unique to humans and chimpanzees. The scientists behind the study suggest that the real oversight may have been in underestimating the cognitive abilities of cows and potentially other animals.

Researchers say cow's behavior challenging long-held assumptions

We're back with the good stuff tonight. It's a milestone from the world of animals, but I have to say a bit of a setback for us humankind. Dating back to the dawn of civilization, human beings have been among the few creatures on earth that use multi-purpose tools. Chimpanzees are the others, but apparently we now have to make room for a new animal in this exclusive club. And it's an animal almost no one saw coming. Meet Veronica. She's a pet cow in Austria, and as you can see, when she has an itch, she picks up a brush and she scratches it. The bristled end for her back, the softer, pointy end for her underside. Over the course of 70 randomized trials in a new study, researchers said she did this 76 times. And her owner, a farmer named Wittgar Weigel, says she's been doing it for years. She's been getting real good at it, too. What all of it means is that this old far side cartoon about cow tools was actually apparently some sort of prophecy, but also that despite 10,000 years of history alongside cows and cattle, humans have assumed mistakenly, it seems, that they were dumb animals. Or as the scientist behind the study put it, perhaps the real absurdity lies not in imagining a tool using cow, but in assuming such a thing could never exist. Kind of makes you wonder, what else we might be missing? That's another day in America. For all of us here at CBS News, I'm Tony Dacopo in New York, good night.

A Barcelona commuter train crashed after a retaining wall fell onto the tracks, killing at least one person and injuring 37 others. The crash in Catalonia came just two days after a separate deadly train collision killed at least 42 people in the country's south and injured dozens more.

Barcelona

One killed in Barcelona train crash, days after Adamuz collision

Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, Israel has sought to ban UNRWA over alleged ties to Hamas, claims the UN denies. DW visited the site as Israeli forces bulldozed the UN agency's compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israel demolishes UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem

Global stocks fell after U.S. President Donald Trump made new threats to take Greenland by force during a long press conference. Asked how far he’d go, Trump replied, ‘You’ll find out.’ The threats came just hours after he shared an AI-generated image of both Canada and Greenland covered in the U.S. flag.

Davos

Greenland Stand-Off

Markets plunge, allies rattled after Trump's new Greenland threats

The Syrian government has announced a four-day ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, following renewed fighting in the north. The SDF says it will abide by the truce. The government says the ceasefire will give time for the SDF to find ways to integrate the northeastern province of Hasakah.

Damascus

Four day ceasefire announced in Syria, Hasakah future to be discussed

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said the European Union should not bend to 'the law of the strongest.' He told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that it was staggering that the EU was having to contemplate using its 'anti-coercion instrument' against the U.S. (Macron is wearing dark glasses because of an eye condition.)

Paris

France's Macron says EU shouldn't bend to 'law of the strongest'

France's Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump have long exchanged firm handshakes, but their relationship is showing cracks. In a striking break from diplomatic norms, Trump publicly shared what he called a private message from Macron – proposing a G7 meeting in Paris and discussing Syria, Iran, and Greenland.

Washington

Trump publishes Macron's message, threatens French wine tariffs

The death toll from Sunday's high-speed train collision in Spain has risen to 41 as recovery crews use cranes to lift up the train cars and look for victims underneath. Chris Livesay reports on the search for a cause of the crash.

Adamuz

Investigators search for cause of deadly Spain train crash

Valentino, the renowned Italian fashion designer who proudly boasted he "knows what women want" has died in Rome. His sumptuous creations saw him crowned the king of the red carpet for major celebrities needing to be dressed to impress.

Rome

Valentino, 'The Last Emperor' of Italian fashion dies aged 93

The "Board of Peace" was an idea initially proposed by Trump last September as part of his plan to end the war in Gaza, although the initiative now seems to be aimed at mediating global conflicts more broadly.

Global Tariffs

Trump threatens 200% tariffs on French wine over ‘Board of Peace’

People who joined antigovernment protests in Iran are given a three-day deadline to turn themselves in and face a more lenient sentence.

Tehran

Iran police give protesters three days to surrender for leniency

Some 3,000 federal agents are still in the Twin Cities area as President Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act over continued protests against immigration operations there. Ian Lee reports.

Minnesota

ICE operations, protests continue in Twin Cities as Trump threatens

President Trump continued his push for the U.S. to take over Greenland, telling the prime minister of Norway his perceived snub for the Nobel Peace Prize meant he no longer feels obligated to "think only of peace." The prize is awarded by the private Nobel Institute, not the Norwegian government. Ed O'Keefe has more, and then Holly Williams joins with analysis.

Trump ties Greenland threat to perceived Nobel Peace Prize snub

Valentino Garavani, founder and namesake of the luxury fashion empire Valentino, has died at 93. Garavani was known for a trademarked shade of red, a staple at his fashion shows for nearly half a century.

Iconic fashion designer Valentino Garavani dead at 93

Experts studying the cause of the derailment of a high-speed train in Spain - which killed dozens of people - found a broken joint on the rails, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Investigators find broken joint on track at Spanish rail crash site

Prince Harry is back in a London court, along with a slew of other high-profile figures, fighting the publisher of the Daily Mail over invasion of privacy and illegal information gathering tactics.

London

Prince Harry back in London court fighting British tabloids

U.S. President Donald Trump has told Norway's prime minister in a letter that he no longer feels obligated "to think purely of Peace" because he had not been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and he repeated his demand for control of Greenland.

Trump tells Norway he no longer feels obligated to think only of peace

Billionaire wealth surged at three times ‍its recent pace ​last year to reach its highest level on record, deepening economic and political divides that threaten democratic ⁠stability, anti-poverty group Oxfam said.

World billionaire wealth hits new peak amid rising poverty, Oxfam says

A high-speed train collision that caused a derailment in southern Spain has killed at least 39 people, officials say. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash.

High-speed train crash in Spain kills dozens

Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending Canadian Forces personnel to Greenland for military exercises with NATO allies in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats on European nations who block his efforts to acquire the island, two senior Canadian officials told CBC News.

Ottawa

Carney considering sending troops to Greenland for NATO exercises

The deal followed hours after the Syrian army seized oil and gas fields and two major northeastern towns in clashes with the SDF. Fighting earlier this month has displaced tens of thousands.

Aleppo

Syrian government agrees to ceasefire with Kurdish-led SDF

European countries held an emergency meeting in Brussels Sunday in response to President Trump's post threatening tariffs against countries that have sent military forces into Greenland amid his push to annex the Arctic island.

Brussels

European leaders denounce Trump's tariff threat over Greenland

After 25 years of talks, the EU signed the EU-Mercosur trade deal on Saturday, creating a 700 million-person free-trade area. Ratification is still pending, however, with the European Parliament set for a heated debate.

Asunción

EU seals contentious trade deal with Mercosur countries

European governments blasted U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that eight countries will face 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland beginning next month.

Nuuk

European governments condemn Trump's tariff threats over Greenland

Palestinians in Gaza expressed both concern and hope after the White House announced some members of a so-called "Board of Peace" that will supervise the temporary governance of the war-torn enclave, which has been under a fragile ceasefire since October.

Gazans wary as U.S. names 'Board of Peace' under Trump's plan

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on eight European countries until they allow the U.S. to buy the autonomous Danish territory.

Trump escalates pressure on Europe over Greenland control

Protesters who support the surge of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis have clashed with counter-protesters, while state officials announced that the Minnesota National Guard had been mobilized. Adding to the mayhem was the freezing January weather.

Minneapolis

Pro and anti-ICE protesters clash in Minneapolis

Iran's supreme leader blamed the U.S. for the protests against his regime that resulted in a violent crackdown. Willie James Inman has President Trump's response.

Iran blames U.S. for protests, Trump punches back

President Trump announced that he would institute 10% tariffs on eight European countries who oppose his plan to put Greenland under U.S. control. The announcement came after a bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers flew to Denmark to express support for keeping Greenland under Danish control.

Trump announces new tariffs on European countries who backed Greenland

Large crowds of demonstrators marched through Copenhagen and other Danish cities on Saturday in support of Greenland's sovereignty amid tensions with the US.

Copenhagen

Thousands take part in 'Hands off Greenland' protests in Denmark

The United States will impose increasing tariffs on several European countries until the U.S. is able to purchase Greenland, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff.

Breakdown