A 476,000-year-old wooden structure uncovered in Zambia predates Homo sapiens by centuries, showcasing ancient construction skills.

It seems like China tried for 40 years and has finally succeeded in what seems like the biggest transformation in history. In just 40 years, the nation has

The amount of money Americans are paying toward their energy bills has increased since President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, according to a new report.

Electricity bills have gone up by over 100% in two years in several states. In almost all cases, the increase was double digits in the same period. Electricity is an affordability crisis, Douglas A McIntyre, Editor-In-Chief of Climatecrisis247, explains. * * * Sponsor ### Find a Vetted Financial Advisor 1. Finding a fiduciary financial advisor doesn't have to be hard. SmartAsset's free tool matches you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area in 5 minutes. 2. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. Get on the path toward achieving your financial goals!

## Project 2026 is not destiny. It is a warning—and one we must answer with the full force of a movement that has never accepted a future written for us by someone else. Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, speaks at the National Conservative Convention in Washington D.C., Sept. 3, 2025. Vought is a key author of Project 2025’s 900‑page governing guide. (Dominic Gwinn / Middle East Images via AFP) When the Heritage Foundation released its new policy blueprint for 2026 this week—an extension of the now-infamous Project 2025—it did so with the calm confidence of an institution convinced no one will stop it. The document is shorter than last year’s 900-page “Mandate for Leadership,” but no less dangerous. It is, in fact, more candid. Project 2026 lays out a government redesigned to control women’s bodies, erase LGBTQ+ lives, dismantle civil rights protections and roll back decades of hard-won progress. Wrapped in the language of “family,” “sovereignty” and “restoring America,” it is a direct attempt to impose a narrow, rigid ideology on an entire nation. Make no mistake: This is a plan for forced motherhood, government-policed gender and the end of women’s equality as we know it. ## A National Strategy to Control Women’s Bodies Project 2026 picks up where Project 2025 left off: banning abortion pills, weaponizing the 150-year-old Comstock Act to criminalize medication by mail, embedding fetal personhood across federal agencies, and stripping every federal safeguard protecting reproductive freedom. As the Women’s March’s analysis notes bluntly, this blueprint is “designed to rebuild a country where women, queer people, trans people, and anyone outside their ‘ideal family’ have fewer rights.” Heritage puts this in softer words—saying that “every child conceived deserves to be born to a married mother and father” and pledging to reduce “the supply and demand for abortion at all stages.” But we know exactly what this means. A country where a woman’s future is no longer her own. ## Eliminating the Department of Education—and Women’s Rights With It The plan also endorses dismantling the U.S. Department of Education entirely. Heritage has pledged to “reclaim higher education from the radical Left,” a phrase that has become a catch-all for eliminating protections for survivors of sexual assault, Title IX enforcement, LGBTQ+ inclusion and academic freedom itself. Who benefits when civil rights oversight disappears? Not girls. Not young women on campus. Not any student whose gender, sexuality, race or disability puts them at risk of discrimination. This is not “parental rights.” It is state-engineered ignorance. ## A Direct Assault on Democracy, Via Women Voters Across the documents, Heritage also renews its push for nationwide voter suppression: requiring proof of citizenship to register, ending ranked-choice voting and weakening federal oversight of elections. A polling station in Smyrna, Ga., on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP via Getty Images) These are not isolated proposals. They are a coherent strategy to weaken the political power of the very groups most likely to oppose an authoritarian agenda—women, young voters, immigrants and voters of color. When women vote, democracy strengthens. When authoritarian movements rise, suppressing women’s votes is always among the first steps. ## The Disappearing Safety Net and the Burden on Women Project 2026 also doubles down on shrinking federal agencies that regulate health, safety and labor protections. Newsweek reports that Heritage wants to reduce government spending and regulation in ways that will “especially” hit working families struggling to make ends meet. Cut Medicaid, and women suffer. Cut childcare, and women leave the workforce. Cut workplace enforcement, and women face more harassment, discrimination and injury. These are not abstract policy debates. They are decisions that determine whether millions of women can survive. ## Targeting LGBTQ+ People and Calling It ‘Family’ Project 2026 places “restoring the nuclear family” at the center of its agenda—explicitly defining that family as a married man and woman parenting children. This is not accidental language. It signals a deliberate effort to undermine same-sex marriage, eliminate gender-affirming care, and erase transgender people from public life and federal policy. A society that tries to legislate gender and dictate family structure is not a free society. ## The Threat Is Not Hidden. It Is Declared. … But So Are We. Heritage’s leaders now openly celebrate what they are calling “Heritage 2.0,” complete with national advertising campaigns and promises to “dismantle the deep state,” which includes the very agencies charged with enforcing civil rights for women and marginalized communities. Their message is unmistakable: They are coming for reproductive freedom. They are coming for voting rights. They are coming for LGBTQ+ equality. They are coming for the federal protections that women rely on every day. The United States has faced coordinated backlash against women’s rights before—and every time, women have organized, resisted and reshaped the nation. The women who fought for suffrage did not stop when they were dismissed as unreasonable. The women who pushed Title IX into law did not stop when they were told girls didn’t need equal opportunities. The women who built the modern reproductive rights movement did not stop when the courts narrowed their freedoms. And we will not stop now. Project 2026 is not destiny. It is a warning—and one we must answer with the full force of a movement that has never accepted a future written for us by someone else. The coming year will test our resolve. But we have marched before. We have organized before. We have voted in record numbers before. And we will do it again. Because women’s rights are not a “radical ideology.” They are the foundation of a free and democratic society. And we intend to keep it that way. * * * ### **_You may also like:_** > Actually It’s Good That Fewer High Schoolers Want to Get Married > Escaping Abuse Isn’t Easy. Here’s What Survivors and Experts Want You to Know. * Email * Facebook * Bluesky * Threads * Pinterest * X * LinkedIn * Flipboard

A scholar claims to have deciphered Cryptic B, a mysterious alphabet in the Dead Sea Scrolls long thought impossible to read.

Archaeologists reveal that an ordinary house in Bosham was the private headquarters of King Harold II, which changes local history.

Combining solar panels and farming, agrivoltaics is proving to be a win-win for farmers and the planet. According to CleanTechnica, this "solar grazing" is a match made in heaven. For years, solar farms have used sheep to control vegetation. The sheep get to graze, and their excrement provides free fertilizer. As CleanTechnica noted, ranchers get paid, and solar operators avoid mowing. Everybody wins. Okay, but why stop at sheep? One company, Silicon Ranch, is now working to introduce cattle. As Nick DeVries, the company's head of technology, told Inside Climate News, this is a big challenge. "[Cows] are very large animals," he said. "They scrape on things. They like to rub." How do you stop a 1,400-pound bored and curious cow from demolishing a solar panel? Silicon Ranch's solution is a new system called CattleTracker. Each cow gets a tracking device. When the herd gets close, the tracker tells the solar array to reorient horizontally, letting the animals roam underneath without damaging the equipment. And the payoff for farmers is huge. This dual-use model, which is a key part of agrivoltaics, helps them generate new, reliable income and even helps plants retain moisture. There are reports of farmers in California's Central Valley earning $50,000 per acre annually from solar. Then there's the study in Japan that showed how panels over rice paddies produced a top-quality crop and nearly 44,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in one year. Farmer Daniel Bell, who grazes sheep at a Silicon Ranch, put it best. "I just can't even stress how awesome this opportunity is," he told Inside Climate News. CleanTechnica readers were enthusiastic about the idea, too. "Architects building new houses? Start with a solar roof for shade and rain-protection, and then build a nice house underneath," one user suggested. ## TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight 💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands ### These city bikes are perfect for daily rides Starting at $599 ### Tackle any climb with these rugged mountain bikes Starting at $849 ### Go farther and faster with this road collection Starting at $1,119 ### These adorable bikes fold up for convenient storage Starting at $749 ### Snag limited-time price drops on these top models Starting at $849 **Are you thinking about installing solar panels in the near future?** ** Yes 👍 ** ** No 👎 ** ** I'm on the fence 🤔 ** ** Maybe a few years from now 📅 ** Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Solar panels plus sheep sounds like a good combination, I'm a little doubtful about solar with cattle," another wrote. A third commenter added, "We have a few large farms with big barns that are loaded with Solar Panels and there's a lot of room up there..." Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club. * share * __ Facebook * __ Twitter * __ Link Copied! ## Cool Picks #### How the Expedia of solar panels helps homeowners save money and avoid a common trap: 'Giving you confidence in the systems' #### This innovative company will install solar panels on your roof with no upfront costs — here's how its business model works #### Startup turns grocery shopping into an adventure with 70% discounts: 'A fun experience akin to a treasure hunt' #### New analysis reveals next-gen HVACs can save homeowners over $10,000 — here's how to buy one with government incentives

Make easy crochet christmas ornaments with a super simple ball tutorial—perfect for beginners. Find ideas like “crochet Christmas ornaments free pattern.”

Trump first announced his massive tariffs on “Liberation Day,” which was April 2. This was supposed to be the beginning of the United States rebuilding

The European Space Agency's Juice spacecraft has captured an image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on its way to visit Jupiter's icy moon.

"Space archaeologist" Sarah Parcak located the potential site using satellite imagery.

Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas is thanking President Donald Trump for pardoning him and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case.

Human statues found hidden in the wall of Gobeklitepe: a 12,000-year-old discovery that reopens the mystery of the world's oldest temple.

A Yahoo/YouGov poll found that 49% of respondents said Trump's actions since taking office in January have raised prices rather than lowering them.

Hiring across construction, manufacturing and other blue-collar professions has continued to slide in 2025.