BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Off the coast of Miami, a team of scientists is attempting something extraordinary: giving struggling coral reefs a fighting chance against climate change. In partnership with the University of Miami, the Florida Aquarium, and Tela Marine in Honduras, researchers are transplanting crossbred coral fragments onto a reef decimated by bleaching in 2023. These efforts are a response to one of the ocean’s most pressing crises: warming waters. As ocean temperatures rise, Florida’s coral reefs, which are already stressed by pollution and other human impacts, are struggling to survive. Breeding corals for survival To help restore these vital ecosystems, researchers turned to an idea that took shape over several years: introduce new genetic diversity from the Caribbean. “Some of the biggest threats to corals, like climate change, are really global phenomena,” said Andrew Baker, director of the Coral Reef Futures Lab at the University of Miami. “If you try to have Florida’s reefs save themselves on their own, we could give them some outside help.” The team chose to crossbreed Florida’s native corals with those from a reef off Tela, Honduras. That site offered an ideal candidate: warm, nutrient-rich waters where Elkhorn corals are thriving despite environmental stressors. These crossbred offspring are the result of combining Florida and Honduran coral spawn at the Florida Aquarium. A first-of-its-kind international transplant This marks the first time crossbred coral from two countries has been permitted for planting on a wild reef. Baker called the project “the end of a very long process” and expressed excitement about its future. On a recent dive, the team placed the juvenile Elkhorn coral fragments onto concrete bases along Miami’s reef. The carefully arranged layout allows scientists to compare the performance of different genetic combinations in real-world conditions. Why Elkhorn corals matter Elkhorn corals are iconic species in Florida and play a crucial role in reef structure. “The reef is what protects shorelines from storms and flooding,” Baker explained. Healthy Elkhorn populations form natural barriers, absorbing wave energy before it reaches the coast. But these corals have been in steep decline. Coral bleaching, driven by warmer temperatures, has wiped out more than 95 percent of Florida’s Elkhorn population. When corals expel the algae that give them color and nutrients, they leave behind vulnerable white skeletons. This phenomenon drastically weakens their ability to survive. Testing resilience, planting hope The goal now is to see if corals with a Honduran parent show greater resilience to rising ocean temperatures. Researchers will monitor their performance throughout the summer, comparing them to Florida-only counterparts. Some fragments date back to 2020, raised and nurtured in lab conditions for years. “We hope that every year we can make more crosses and figure out which parents produce the best offspring,” said Keri O’Neil, senior scientist at the Florida Aquarium. A blueprint for global cooperation If successful, the project could be replicated across the Caribbean, where coral populations face similar threats. “Our environment really doesn’t have closed borders,” said Juli Berwald, co-founder of Tela Coral. “It shows that when we work together, we can really do something that might be life-changing—not just for us, but for the reefs and all the animals that rely on them.” Andrew Baker called it the most exciting project of his 20-year career. For Miami’s reefs and perhaps many others around the globe, this progress could signal a turning point.The post Crossbreeding corals to save Miami’s reefs first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A healthy kitchen goes beyond just eating green. On top of an eco-friendly diet, having planet-friendly appliances in the heart of your home can go a long way in making your household more sustainable. Although repairing existing items is a great first choice, if you do have an appliance in need of replacement, here’s a list of 10 sustainable ways to make your kitchen greener. An electric kettle If you currently use the stove to boil water, switching to an electric kettle for your morning tea will significantly reduce your daily electricity use. Opt for one with a measuring scale and a temperature control feature that switches off the kettle automatically when the water is boiled. Coffee maker with reusable filter For an eco-friendly coffee maker, it’s best to pick one that doesn’t use single-use coffee pods but instead has a reusable filter. Ideally, you should brew your coffee manually with a French press or pour-over and use old coffee grounds as fertilizer in your garden. An eco-friendly toaster An eco-friendly and energy-efficient toaster doesn’t have unrealistically long bread slots, toasts just two slices at a time, and has a good temperature control feature. An energy-efficient blender When buying a blender, pick one that doesn’t consume too much energy to process the ingredients and make sure that the plastic containers it comes with are BPA-free. A rice cooker A rice cooker is a great addition to the kitchen which can save you both time and energy use. Pick the one that actually meets your daily need and is sufficiently large to feed all your family members. It should also have a stainless steel bowl instead of one with Teflon which contains harmful chemicals (PTFE and PFOA). An induction cooktop We’ve previously written about the benefits of magnetic induction stoves. This appliance is the most energy-efficient gadget you can have in your kitchen. They use magnetic fields to produce electric charges and generate heat in pots and pans while keeping the stovetop itself cool to the touch. The food heats up only when a pot is placed over the cooktop. On top of avoiding the use of gas, it can also help to save a significant amount of energy. An electric oven Pair your induction cooktop with an electric oven that’s also a microwave to save both kitchen space and energy. A dishwasher with an eco mode By picking the right dishwasher, you can significantly minimize your energy and water use and thus save money on your utility bills. Pick one that has an eco-friendly mode. Also, while you shouldn’t get a dishwasher that’s bigger than your needs, investing in a larger machine is a good idea because it reduces the number of times you would put it in use. A low-energy refrigerator When choosing a refrigerator, look for the Energy Star rating. The more stars the appliance has, the less electricity it uses to run. Also make sure they don’t emit CFC and HFC (chlorofluorocarbon and hydrofluorocarbon), which are known to hurt the planet’s ozone layer. Teflon-free frying pans Needless to say, pans and pots are indispensable in any kitchen. One of the main things to look out for when picking these appliances is to avoid getting them with Teflon coating, which contains carcinogens and environmentally harmful chemicals such as PFOA and PFC. Instead, opt for cast iron, stainless steel, stoneware, and enamel-coated pots and pans.The post 10 eco-friendly kitchen appliances to make your home greener first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

'How deep this corruption goes'

'Designed, built and made right here'

'Fight ICE terror with class war!'

'I had a front row view of all this'

The Democrat Revolution Is Eating Its Own

Alligator Alcatraz, the new immigration detention center that opened in the Florida Everglades, had the left-wing media twisting the purpose of the facility. On Monday, CNN News Central featured Correspondent Rafael Romo, who made the false claim that “hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at Alligator Alcatraz.” What Romo was trying to mischaracterize to the CNN audience was the fact they had criminal charges filed in other countries.  On July 3rd, Alligator Alcatraz officially opened with the first group of detainees. Of course, the immigration detention center has received backlash from the liberal media, but Romo got the facts wrong when he claimed:   Hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at Alligator Alcatraz, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times, which obtained records about the migrants being held there. According to the report, Brianna, there are more than 250 people who are listed as having only immigration violations but no criminal convictions who are being held together with those accused and convicted of crimes.        The key words Romo used were “no criminal charges in the United States.” Romo failed to report that many of the illegal immigrants have criminal charges in their origin countries, not just in the United States.    An edited version of the Miami Herald article, referenced by Romo, had a statement made by the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin that opposed their false claims:   Many of the individuals that are counted as ‘non-criminals’ are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters are more; they just don’t have a rap sheet in the U.S. Further, every single one of these individuals committed a crime when they came into this country illegally. It is not an accurate description to say they are ‘non-criminals.’   It’s worth noting that Romo tried to use President Trump’s words against him when he visited the facility, but there was an obvious truth to his statement: He said that it would very soon house some of the most menacing migrants. He said, some of the most vicious people on the planet.   Yes, Rafael, “some of the most vicious people on the planet” have origin countries that are on Earth, and they just happen to be in the United States illegally.   Romo also added a quote from Democratic Representative Darren Soto about how the architecture of the detention center could have “serious concerns” of flooding during hurricane season.  What separates this facility from prisons located along both sides of the coast in Florida?   CNN’s efforts to sympathize with illegal immigrations while opposing the Trump administration’s policies prove that they didn’t have the safety of the American people in mind. The people who were sent to Alligator Alcatraz were criminals, whether they crossed the border illegally or committed crimes in their home countries.  Click here for the transcripts: CNN News Central 7/14/25 1:43:46 p.m. Eastern BRIANNA KEILAR: Significant new details about the controversial new immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. According to reporting from the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times, more than 700 migrants are either currently detained at or scheduled to be sent to the facility, nicknamed by Trump: Alligator Alcatraz. And many of them do not have criminal records. They’re listed as having only immigration violations. CNN's Rafael Romo is with us now. Rafael, what are you learning about this? RAFAEL ROMO: Well, Brianna, you may remember at the beginning of the month when President Donald Trump toured the migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades. He said that it would very soon house some of the most menacing migrants. He said, some of the most vicious people on the planet. But a new report published Sunday suggests that may not be the case. Hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at Alligator Alcatraz, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times, which obtained records about the migrants being held there. According to the report, Brianna, there are more than 250 people who are listed as having only immigration violations but no criminal convictions who are being held together with those accused and convicted of crimes. The report says, only a third of the detainees have criminal convictions, with charges that range from attempted murder to illegal reentry into the United States, as well as traffic violations. The information comes from a list of more than 700 migrants who are either already being held at the tent facility or are scheduled to be transferred there. Several elected officials and members of Congress had access to the migrant detention center on Saturday for the first time since it opened earlier this month. This is what two of them had to say about the facility. [Cuts to video] REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): They should not put humans in cages in the middle of swampland in the Everglades. It's outrageous. It's inhumane. It's unlawful. REP. MAXWELL FROST (D-FL): What is the hurricane plan? What is the plan with flooding? We want to see the medical unit. We want to see what the segregation unit looks like. We want to see where the law library is. We want to see all this and make sure that it's up to the standards of what a federal facility is. [Cuts back to live] ROMO: And Brianna, Wasserman Schultz also said that migrants are packed into what she described as cages with 32 people inside each holding unit and only three toilets available. In an interview with NBC on Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem dismissed the claims, saying ICE detention centers are generally better than most county jails or federal prisons across the United States. [Cuts to video] SEC. KRISTI NOEM: Well, our detention centers at the federal level are held to a higher standard than most local or state centers, and even federal prisons. The standards are extremely high. [Cuts back to live] ROMO: One final point, Brianna. This is rather important. After touring the detention center Saturday, Representative Darren Soto, a Democrat, said lawmakers also witnessed evidence of flooding, highlighting serious concerns of what could happen to detainees if there's severe weather. During what forecasters say may be a very busy hurricane season. Brianna.  KEILAR: Rafael Romo, thank you so much for that.  

The Epstein saga continues. Now Ghislaine Maxwell — Epstein’s longtime romantic partner and convicted accomplice in his sex trafficking of underage girls — may give us the “client list” we were told by the DOJ doesn’t exist.On July 13, a source close to Maxwell leaked to the media that she is willing to testify before Congress about which elites were clients of Epstein’s. According to a Daily Mail report, the source said Maxwell would “welcome the chance to tell the American public the truth.”But Sara Gonzales, BlazeTV host of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” isn’t convinced this is the magic solution to our Epstein problem. “Why in the hell should we trust anything that she has to say? Like, you're talking about a convicted child sex offender,” she says.On the other hand, “maybe there are reasons why Ghislaine Maxwell might actually be credible,” Sara adds, playing devil’s advocate. After all, Maxwell was never offered a plea deal. And yet, how can we trust her when Epstein isn’t alive to challenge her narrative?The Daily Mail’s source also stated that “no one from the government has ever asked [Maxwell] to share what she knows” — a claim Sara finds odd.“I have a very hard time believing no one from the government has ever asked her to share what she knows,” she scoffs, “but if that were the case, that would be very telling, and I would want Ghislaine Maxwell to come up and tell the American people the truth about what happened.”Thus far, “not a single member of Congress has publicly responded about hearing Ghislaine Maxwell,” she adds, calling it “odd.”She actually agrees with Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.), who tweeted the following on July 12: — (@) “I do not support Medicare for all or taxing the wealthy in a wealth tax,” but it’s true that “every single congressional member should be put on the record as to whether they want the Epstein files to be released to the public,” Sara says. “Do you want transparency or do you not? Speak now or forever hold your peace because eventually we will find out if you are one of the ones on that list, and we will deal with you accordingly.”To hear more of Sara’s analysis, watch the episode above.Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Millions of meteors reach Earth daily, but since 1988, only 822 have been large enough to explode in the atmosphere causing meteorite showers. The post 19th Century Documents Reveal An Account Of The Only Person Known To Be Killed By A Meteorite appeared first on All That's Interesting.