Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced questioning from members of the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday during a tense testimony.

A dozen federal judges, who asked to remain anonymous, have jointly condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s handling of Trump-related cases -- highlighting their unease over "heightened scrutiny" of lower court rulings.

Former Democrat President Joe Biden has reportedly undergone surgery to remove skin cancer lesions from his forehead.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM September is shaping up to be a month where the sky itself feels like a calendar of wonders. A total lunar eclipse, bright planets at their peak, and even a rare solar spectacle are just a few of the reasons to step outside after dark. Whether you’re an experienced stargazer or someone who simply loves the quiet awe of the night sky, this month offers ten celestial events worth circling on your calendar. September 7: a blood moon and the corn moon The month begins with drama: on September 7, the moon will slip into Earth’s shadow for a total lunar eclipse, glowing deep red for 82 minutes (17:30 to 18:53 UTC). Visible across much of Asia, the east coast of Africa, and western Australia, this “blood moon” eclipse is a reminder of just how dynamic the heavens can be. Meanwhile, the rest of the world can enjoy September’s full “corn moon.” Rooted in North American Indigenous traditions, the name marks the harvest season, a fitting time to pause and take stock under a glowing sky. September 8: a cosmic trio On the following night, the moon joins Saturn and Neptune in a striking lineup. Saturn will be easy to spot with the naked eye, while Neptune requires binoculars or a telescope. The three will travel together across the sky, peaking in visibility just after midnight. September 16: the moon meets Jupiter Early on September 16, look east to see a waning crescent moon passing close to Jupiter. With binoculars or a telescope, you may glimpse Jupiter’s four largest moons, which appear as tiny points of light circling their giant host. September 19: Venus slips behind the moon Venus, the “morning star,” will tuck behind the moon in a celestial hide-and-seek known as an occultation. Visible across Europe, Greenland, Canada, and Africa, the rest of the world will still see Venus shining close to the moon in the predawn hours. September 21: darkness brings the Milky Way With the new moon on September 21, the night sky will be free of lunar light, perfect for deep-sky viewing. From the Northern Hemisphere, this is prime Milky Way season, with the galaxy’s glowing core visible to the naked eye. Saturn also reaches its brightest point that night—opposition—shining steadily from dusk to dawn. September 22: a partial solar eclipse In the South Pacific and parts of Antarctica, the sun will briefly dim as the moon covers up to 85 percent of its disk. For the 16.6 million people within view, it’s a reminder to keep eclipse glasses handy! You should never look at the sun without protection. September 23: Neptune at opposition The farthest planet in our solar system reaches its brightest point, though “bright” is relative; it remains invisible to the naked eye. Through a telescope, Neptune will appear as a faint dot against the dark sky. A slim crescent moon ensures minimal light interference. September 24: pearls in the sky In the Southern Hemisphere, skywatchers can seek out the “string of pearls” galaxy, or NGC 55. Its irregular glow will reach its highest point at midnight, rewarding telescope users with a view of a galaxy that defies tidy classification. September 27: a glittering cluster Closing the month is 47 Tucanae, the second-brightest globular cluster in the night sky. Best seen from the Southern Hemisphere, it appears as a fuzzy patch to the naked eye but reveals itself as a dense ball of hundreds of thousands of stars through binoculars or a telescope. Why September is special What makes this month remarkable isn’t just the lineup of events but the reminder that wonder is never far away. A full moon, a glimpse of Saturn’s rings, or a simple stretch of the Milky Way overhead can be enough to stop us in our tracks and look up. So grab a blanket, a pair of binoculars if you have them, and a sense of curiosity. The sky has a full storybook waiting to be read this September.The post Spacey September: 10 dazzling night sky events you won’t want to miss first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Fukuoka, Japan, has quietly switched on a facility that could point to the future of renewable energy. The country’s first osmotic power plant (and only the second in the world) will generate roughly 880,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That electricity will support the city’s desalination plant, keeping fresh water flowing to households across the region. As Dr. Ali Altaee of the University of Technology Sydney explained, that amount is “the equivalent of powering about 220 Japanese households.” While the numbers sound small, the concept behind them is powerful: osmotic power can run continuously, day and night. Unlike solar and wind, it doesn’t rely on weather or daylight. It simply needs fresh water to meet salt water. The science behind the current Osmosis is a natural balancing act. Water moves through a membrane from a low-salt solution to a high-salt one, seeking equilibrium. Osmotic power plants put this to work: freshwater and seawater sit on opposite sides of a membrane, the seawater is lightly pressurized, and the movement of water increases pressure. That pressure drives a turbine, producing electricity. In Fukuoka, treated wastewater can also be used as a freshwater source, paired with seawater to turn the turbine. A global experiment Japan joins Denmark as one of two countries with working osmotic power stations. The first was built in 2023 in Mariager by the company SaltPower. According to University of Melbourne professor Sandra Kentish, Fukuoka’s facility is larger, though both plants operate at similar capacity. Elsewhere, pilot projects have taken shape in Norway and South Korea, while Altaee has worked on prototypes in Spain, Qatar, and Sydney. The Australian project lost momentum during the pandemic, but he says the expertise is still there to restart. Why it’s hard to scale Turning osmosis into practical power is more complex than the theory suggests. “While energy is released when the salt water is mixed with fresh water, a lot of energy is lost in pumping the two streams into the power plant and from the frictional loss across the membranes,” Kentish explained. “This means that the net energy that can be gained is small.” But there is progress. Advances in pump and membrane design are steadily cutting down energy losses. Fukuoka’s plant also demonstrates a smart twist: it uses concentrated seawater left over from desalination. That brine makes the difference in salt levels greater, which boosts the energy potential. Looking toward the future Researchers see the Japanese launch as a turning point. “Communities have salt lakes around New South Wales and Sydney that could be used as a resource,” Altaee said, pointing out that Australia already has the know-how to build its own facility if funding becomes available. The UTS prototype could be revived to match the scale of Japan’s progress. For now, Fukuoka’s contribution is modest. But as proof of concept, it matters. Osmotic power is one of the few renewable sources capable of running nonstop; no sun, no wind, no seasonal variation required. With every prototype and plant, the technology edges closer to becoming part of the world’s clean energy mix. A quick refresher: how osmotic power works in 3 steps Two waters meet Fresh water (or treated wastewater) and seawater are placed on opposite sides of a semipermeable membrane. Water flows across Fresh water naturally moves toward the salty side, boosting pressure in the concentrated solution. Power is generated That pressure is channeled through a turbine linked to a generator, producing steady renewable electricity. The post Japan’s first osmotic power plant shows how salt and fresh water can fuel renewable energy first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

We are thrilled to announce the return of our Local Changemakers Series for 2025! Last year, we had the honor of highlighting incredible individuals and organizations making a difference in their communities, and we cannot wait to do it again. Here are the solutions we had the honor of spotlighting last year! Nature in the Classroom and The Man That Rescues Dogs Coalition for Compassion and Justice and Fish Reef Project Lahaina Restoration Foundation and The Montana Institute The Waikōloa Dry Forest Initiative and Treasure House Fashions Lowlander Center and Ridwell Third Act and HeartMath GRuB and SparkNJ Laguna Food Pantry and The Rama Tree Foundation Delivering solutions, big and small Every day, we report on solutions big and small from across the globe, but often it’s the local actions that inspire us most: neighbors helping neighbors, small groups sparking big change, and everyday people proving that optimism is powerful. Changemakers in your community Now, we want to hear from you. Who is making a difference where you live? What project, person, or initiative deserves to be celebrated and shared with our global community? It could be something you are directly involved with, or something you have witnessed that inspires you. And here is a little bonus: For submitting a nomination, your name will be entered into a raffle to win a cozy Optimist Daily mug; perfect for sipping optimism this fall! Nominations are open now through September 26th. Selected changemakers will be featured in our series that will begin running at the end of October, shining a spotlight on the good happening in your corner of the world. Let’s lift up the stories that remind us we are never powerless in creating a better future. We cannot wait to discover and share more solutions with you. And make sure to subscribe to our free daily newsletter if you haven’t already to receive our solutions straight to your inbox first thing each day! Submit your nomination here.The post 2025 Local Changemakers Series first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

Biden underwent skin cancer procedure

There was no Labor Day holiday for Chicago criminals, who murdered nine people and wounded another 51; most (if not all) were black or brown people with names and stories we will never know. Meanwhile, crime is down sharply in Washington, D.C., where three people were shot and wounded, but no one was killed over the weekend. Rather than learn from Washington, D.C.’s experience, Chicago’s leaders are doubling down to frustrate a proposed federal law enforcement surge here that will make Chicago safer for all.  As the weekend’s carnage unfolded, Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an order blocking the Chicago Police from cooperating with any new federal law enforcement effort while Gov. JB Pritzker was on TV describing a D.C.-style federal law enforcement surge as an invasion. Last week, Pritzker declared that crime is a “manufactured crisis” in Chicago and that federal crime-fighting initiatives are merely a cover for President Donald Trump’s supposed darker, more authoritarian motives. Pritzker’s now familiar stridency contrasts sharply with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s approach, who thanked Trump last week, saying: “We greatly appreciate the surge of officers.” A new poll by M3 Strategies suggests Chicagoans would appreciate a surge of officers here, too. In 2024, among our nation’s 25 most populous cities, D.C. had the worst murder rate—28% higher than second-place Indianapolis and 179% higher than the group’s average. But after Trump intervened, for 13 days, there were no murders in D.C. Compared to 2024—when the district recorded 187 homicides—the odds of that happening randomly are just one in 800. Bowser announced that in the first 20 days after Trump’s takeover (Aug. 7-26), violent crime had plummeted 45%, carjackings down 87%, robbery down 62%, and sexual abuse down 44%. D.C.’s residents suddenly felt much safer. This isn’t rocket science. The research is clear: Crime goes down as the risk of arrest and conviction, and the cost of conviction, goes up. As of December, the D.C. police department had 1,340 patrol officers and 3,400 officers total, but only about a third of them are available on any given shift to serve a city of 720,000. “Crime is out of control, and our officers are stretched beyond their limits,” D.C. police union Chair Gregg Pemberton warned.  Trump added over 500 federal law enforcement officers and about 800 National Guard troops, effectively doubling the number of patrol officers, calming the mayhem dramatically. Contrary to what Illinois’ political leadership is asserting, Chicagoans do perceive violent crime as a real issue, according to the M3 Strategies poll, and there’s broad support for beefing up Chicago’s law enforcement to calm the mayhem here as well. The 5,000 officers being discussed for Chicago would also be a substantial increase over the roughly 11,700 officers Chicago employs to protect its 2.7 million residents. In response to Trump’s broader plan to deploy the National Guard and federal forces to cities like Chicago and D.C., Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson argued that jailing offenders is “racist, immoral, and unholy” and does not curb violent crime. “We’ve tried that, it doesn’t work.” Johnson isn’t the only Democrat who believes that arresting criminals is racist, but as the M3 Strategies poll shows, blacks and Hispanics are more supportive of law enforcement than white—no doubt because the burden of crime falls heaviest on blacks and Hispanics. A National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform analysis of D.C. homicides between 2019 and 2021 found that about 96% of victims were black. The same is true, though to a lesser extent, in Chicago. So far this year, 80% of the murder victims are black. With 573 murders last year, that amounts to about 450 black people murdered. Black residents suffer disproportionately in other crime categories as well, and they’re hurt by the corollary effects of high crime as businesses shut down, jobs disappear, stores close their doors, and property values take a hit. So, it should not be surprising that Chicago’s blacks and Hispanics support federal help to fight crime. Black residents, by a 48%-to-44% margin, think it would be a good idea. Hispanics have even stronger support by a 55%-to-38% margin. Washington, D.C.’s experience shows that a significant and visible increase in law enforcement will save lives and reduce violent crime. Pritzker and Johnson’s approach will instead disproportionately harm those they claim to want to protect: the low-income, black, and Hispanic communities. Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Johnson need to follow the data, learn from D.C., and embrace strategies that make it riskier for criminals to commit crimes. Let’s make Chicago safer for everyone. Originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available by RealClearWire.com We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Politics Over People: Chicago’s Leaders Are Failing Their City appeared first on The Daily Signal.