California authorities on Tuesday announced an end to their nearly decade-long criminal prosecution of an independent journalist and an anti-abortion activist who secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood allegedly selling aborted fetal tissue.
The pair at the center of the legal fight, founder of the Center for Medical Progress David Daleiden and journalist Sandra Merritt, agreed to a “no-contest” plea deal on a single charge, resulting in no fines or prison sentences. California prosecutors had at one point pursued up to 15 felony counts in a case Daleiden said was politically motivated “lawfare.”
“My case is the first and only one that was ever criminally charged by the state attorney general’s office, and it was because of Planned Parenthood’s demand to cover up the information that was on those video recordings about how they’re using partial birth abortions to sell late-term aborted baby body parts at their taxpayer funded mega clinics across the state of California and across the country,” Daleiden told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday.
“I’m no expert, but I definitely think that the election has something to do with it,” Daleiden said when asked why he thinks prosecutors dropped the charges all these years later. Daleiden dubbed the litigation “lawfare,” in a post on X.
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Founder of Center for Medical Progress, David Daleiden, and pro-life journalist Sandra Merritt had their California case dropped with no prison time or fines on Monday. The pair secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood allegedly selling aborted fetal tissue.(Getty Images)
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, California State Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “While the Trump Administration is issuing pardons to individuals convicted of harming reproductive health clinics and providers, my office is securing criminal convictions to ensure that Californians can exercise their constitutional rights to reproductive healthcare.”
“We will not hesitate to continue taking action against those who threaten access to abortion care — whether by recording confidential conversations or other means,” he said.
Daleiden and Merritt’s plea agreement requires no contact with victims, no public identification of them, and compliance with all laws, including restrictions on recording, according to Bonta’s office.
“[T]his entire case was an exercise in grotesquely political weaponization of government.” – pro-life activist David Daleiden
As the then-California Attorney General, Kamala Harris initiated an investigation into Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress, focusing on the legality of their undercover methods and a narrow application of the state’s eavesdropping law following the release of undercover footage. In 2016, a Texas grand jury indicted Daleiden and Merritt on felony charges related to the creation of fake IDs and offering to purchase fetal tissue. These charges, however, were later dismissed.
In April 2016, under then-AG Harris, California authorities raided Daleiden’s home for evidence, prompting questions about her relationship with Planned Parenthood, which has donated to her campaigns and many other Democrats.
Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate months later and resigned as state attorney general in January 2017.
In 2017, California prosecutors under Harris’ successor Xavier Becerra charged Daleiden and Merritt with 15 felony counts, including criminal conspiracy and invasion of privacy, for recording individuals without consent.
“They pursued this case viciously for nine years, because it was such a priority for national Planned Parenthood,” Daleiden said. “But ultimately, it’s a totally weaponized political prosecution. They’re totally wrong on the facts and the law of undercover video reporting in California, all the conversations that me and my team recorded were in public areas where other people could overhear.”
“For the Attorney General’s Office of California to come this far after nine years, and essentially walk away with nothing… just shows this entire case was an exercise in grotesquely political weaponization of government.”
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Planned Parenthood is sending a bus to the DNC.(Getty Images)
When the recordings were released, Planned Parenthood maintained it strictly donates the specimens, charging only for transportation and storage costs.
Some of the videos were recorded in 2015 during meetings between Daleiden’s operatives, posing as representatives of a fetal tissue procurement company, and various Planned Parenthood staff members. The hours-long footage published online showed conversations in which Planned Parenthood providers and executives appeared to negotiate prices for fetal tissue and discuss under-the-table procedures for obtaining it.
Merritt was involved in the undercover operation as one of the key figures behind the release of the footage alongside Daleiden.
“Sandra Merritt did nothing wrong,” Merritt’s attorneys at the Christian law firm Liberty Counsel said in a statement Monday. “She did the right thing by exposing the depravity of the abortion industry.”
According to a 2015 Guardian report, Planned Parenthood stopped accepting reimbursements for its fetal tissue donation program following state and federal probes after Daleiden’s undercover videos.
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North Dakota’s previous restrictions on abortion were challenged in court by what was formerly state’s only abortion clinic. Pictured is an abortion clinic in Idaho.(Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday, “to end the use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion,” reinforcing the Hyde Amendment. As a result, organizations like Planned Parenthood, which provide abortion services, may face funding challenges depending on how the organization receives its funds for elective abortions.
According to a blog post by the organization’s political action fund, “60% of Planned Parenthood patients rely on public health programs like Medicaid and Title X.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Harris and Planned Parenthood for comment.
Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
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A film shows a large group of children walking out of Auschwitz concentration camp in the company of nuns. Regina Horowitz recognized her own child and begged the camera operator to give her the frames of the film depicting Ryszard.
There are very few survivors left as the world commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz. The Horowitz family’s tale of survival is one such documentation.
The Kraków orphanage would send her Regina Horowitz to another address, where she miraculously found her five-year-old son, who was just as shocked to see his mom alive. And not just her, but also his sister Niusia and his grandmother . . . all three women saved by German industrialist Oskar Schindler.
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Ryszard Horowitz, Niusia Horowitz-Karakulska and Roman Polanski enjoying a day at Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków, with Roman’s uncle. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz )
Renowned photographer Ryszard Horowitz was born on May 5th, 1939, to a loving family in the historic city of Kraków, the former capital of Poland, but just four months later Nazi Germany invaded Poland, resulting in utter devastation.
Ryszard Horowitz, highlighted, behind the barbed wire of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Liberation of the camp in 1945. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz )
The war would turn brutal and sinister, especially for Poland’s Jews.
“When the Germans marched into Kraków,” Horowitz told Fox News Digital, “my parents’ first reaction was to run away. They packed their suitcases and left me with my non-Jewish nanny, Antosia. But soon they returned with my sister, because they did not want me to stay behind. So, we were reunited but eventually forced to relocate to the ghetto.”
Dawid and Regina Horowitz, wedding photo. Kraków, 1932. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz )
The Nazis segregated Jews from the rest of the population, forcing them into Krakow’s notorious ghetto. Life was bleak behind the fences, in constant fear of Nazi persecution.
Kraków Ghetto, gate one, 1941. Photo from the collection of The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków, Poland.
Fortunately for Ryszard, there was an older boy there, called Roman Liebling, known later as Roman Polanski, who attended his third birthday party. According to Polanski, although food was scarce, by some miracle Ryszard’s mother, Regina, managed to procure hot chocolate for the kids. Ryszard, however, did not care for hot chocolate and refused to drink it.
Niusia Horowitz, Roman Polanski, Ryszard Horowitz, Roma Ligocka in Kraków, 1946. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
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By 1943, the Germans were liquidating Kraków’s ghetto, and the Horowitz family was forced to relocate to a Nazi concentration camp in Plaszow. It was run by a notorious Nazi commander, Austrian officer Amon Göth.
The remnants of a wall from the Jewish ghetto in Krakow, Poland. January 11, 2023.(Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
“It was a terrible camp, because the man in charge was an extremely brutal character. He created a tremendous sense of fear. He was shooting people right and left. He was like a God in terms of his power and made life there totally impossible,” Horowitz recalled.
Göth liked to throw parties in his villa, where two of Ryszard’s musician uncles were forced to play.
Ryszard Horowitz’s uncles had careers as entertainers before World War Two began. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
One of the men attending the parties was German industrialist Oskar Schindler. His friendship with Göth enabled him to run a business that would ultimately become a lifeline for many of the camps Jews.
“Oscar Schindler got permission to open a factory producing utensils for the German army, and my family worked there.” Horowitz explained.
Steven Spielberg, Ryszard Horowitz, Ania Bogusz and Bronisława Horowitz-Karakulska. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
Steven Spielberg introduced Oskar Schindler to the entire world in his 1993 movie “Schindler’s List,” and Horowitz shared some observations about the famed businessman.
“Everybody will tell you something else about him. How good he was, how bad he was, how handsome he was, how many women he had, but the bottom line is . . . somehow, he felt this urge to save people. Once, he got into trouble when he kissed my sister when she gave him a cake for his birthday,” Horowitz said.
In 1944, the Germans decided it was time to dismantle Plaszow, disguise the traces of their atrocities, and close Schindler’s factory.
The Jewish Cemetery in Kraków, photocomposition by Ryszard Horowitz. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
“Schindler managed to get permission to move a certain number of workers to his factory in Brünnlitz, in Czechoslovakia,” Horowitz said.
Brünnlitz was a German labor camp, and as Spielberg showed in his film, a list was created with names of those who would be relocated there.
“There is no question that there was a list, and my family was on that list. I was not, because I was too small to work, but somehow, I managed to squeeze in. There were two transports, one of men and one of women. I was traveling with my father,” Horowitz explained.
Schindler’s men made it to Brünnlitz alive, but Ryszard’s life was about to unravel.
“We waited for the women to follow us to Brünnlitz. But, for some reason, we do not know why, they were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp instead,” he said.
Schindler hurried to Auschwitz to rescue his women and left Josef Leipold in charge of his factory.
“Leipold was the exact opposite of Schindler.” Horowitz said. “From the beginning, his idea was to finish us off. And he did not want children there. So, he packed us with our fathers and shipped us to Auschwitz.”
Upon arriving at Auschwitz, Ryszard was selected to have concentration camp numbers tattooed on his forearm. Which meant he would stay alive, for a time.
Businessman Oskar Schindler speaks about saving lives during the Holocaust of Germany’s Third Reich in an interview with United Press International.(Bettmann / Contributor/Getty Images)
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Oskar Schindler managed to rescue the women. They were aboard a train that was about to depart for Auschwitz.
Horowitz recalled these heartbreaking moments, “My cousin and I saw the train, and my mother was there, my sister, my grandmother . . . and they saw us. My mother was certain this was the last time she would see me. They went to Brünnlitz, and my father and I remained in Auschwitz.”
In January 1945, with the Red Army approaching, German SS forces marched thousands of prisoners out of Auschwitz to different camps on German territory. Richard’s father, Dawid “Dolek” Horowitz, was forced to leave his son behind.
“I think that one of the reasons I survived was that a man in charge of a warehouse, Roman Gunz, agreed to look after me. Sometimes he would feed me, and when things got difficult, he would hide me in the warehouse or inside the infectious hospital ward,” Horowitz said.
Then one day, the nightmare of Auschwitz came to an end.
“When the Red Army came close to the camp, the Germans were in a panic. They rounded all the kids up and were ready to shoot us, but just then two German officers arrived on motorcycles screaming to drop everything and follow them, so they did,” Horowitz remembered.
A few hours later, Soviet troops entered Auschwitz.
“The Red Army arrived, most of them on horseback,” he said. “They gave us food and sweets. They had cameras with them, and they recorded a lot of footage. The following day, nuns arrived and took us to an orphanage in Kraków. Polanski’s aunt Tosia found me there and took me to her apartment on Dluga Street. And Roman was already there.”
The Horowitz Family survivors, Szachne, Sabina, Niusia, Regina, Ryszard and Dawid. Kraków, Poland. (Ryszard Horowitz)
In March 1945, Brünnlitz was liberated, and the Horowitz women returned to Kraków.
“One day, my mom was out in the market Square, where they were showing a documentary movie about the liberation of Auschwitz, and she recognized me in it,” Horowitz said.
The Horowitz women moved in with Roman Polanski’s family. They were soon joined by Dawid Horowitz.
“We all lived under one roof for two years, until my father got us a nice apartment near Market Square,” Horowitz said.
After the war, Poles found their country in ruins with a hostile communist regime in charge.
“Most of my closest friends and their families were anti-communists. Everybody’s dream was to get out of Poland as fast as possible,” Horowitz explained.
Regina and Dawid Horowitz reunite with Oskar Schindler and Henry Rosner in Vienna. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
Dawid Horowitz managed to open a store selling tools and building materials, with Polanski’s aunt Tosia as his business partner. Life went on.
“For me and my friends, life was pretty good at the time, because we were not engaged in politics. We were artists, and we believed that we lived in a totally free society, so we did what we wanted to do, and we had this amazing outlet, a cabaret called “Piwnica pod Barnami” (The Cellar under the Rams). And we had jazz,” Horowitz recalled.
Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, in Kraków,1958. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
In 1958, American jazz pianist Dave Brubeck arrived in Kraków to perform. Ryszard Horowitz was there with his camera and documented it in pictures. Little did he know that photography was his future. And that future was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Ryszard Horowitz, aboard the Polish ocean liner “MS Batory,” departing for America in 1959. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
“I had this opportunity because my uncles here in New York were ready to offer me room and board. And I also received a scholarship from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn,” Horowitz said.
With his father’s encouragement and some U.S. dollars hidden in the heel of his shoe, Horowitz boarded the Polish ocean liner “MS Batory.”
Life as an immigrant in the Big Apple was a mixed bag. But at the Pratt Institute, Horowitz quickly exhibited a unique talent for photography.
Ryszard Horowitz photo shoot for Tiffany & Co. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
“I created their first photography lab at Pratt, and I was asked to design their 75th anniversary yearbook, which I edited, and I pretty much took all the photographs for them. It was the first time in history that the New York Art Directors Club gave an award to a student. So, this became my portfolio,” Horowitz explained.
Photocomposer Ryszard Horowitz: One-Man show in Beijing, China.(Ryszard Horowitz)
Ryszard connected with influential people who helped pave his way to success. Among them were photographer Richard Avedon, graphic artist Saul Steinberg and ballet choreographer Sergei Diaghilev, as well as his idol, disc jockey Willis Conover, who hosted the Jazz Hour on the Voice of America.
Through the lens of his camera, Horowitz saw the world somewhat differently. His photographs looked like computer-generated graphics, except that they predated the digital age. He became known as the pioneer of special effects photography.
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“I found a way of reversing perspective and juxtaposing large objects to make them look small and vice versa,” Horowitz said.
Horowitz was a master of light. He learned to manipulate light to photograph expensive jewelry and new cars.
“My art education in Kraków helped me – my devotion to the great masters of painting,” Horowitz explained.
Ryszard Horowitz receives an honorary doctorate at the University of Warsaw, Poland. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
His iconic commercial work captivated audiences in the world of advertising, bringing him fame and prestigious awards. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Warsaw and Wrocław in Poland, and in 2014, his hometown of Kraków made him an honorary citizen.
“Some of my photographs consist of different images taken in different parts of the world, and they are merged into a single unit that’s not jarring but believable. They appear as though they are an instance of a situation that never existed except in my head. That’s why I call myself a ‘photocomposer,” Horowitz explained.
Award-winning digital photo-composition: Allegory (1992) by Ryszard Horowitz. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.(Ryszard Horowitz)
He achieved success in his personal life as well. Since 1974, he’s been happily married to Anna Bogusz, and they have two grown sons: Daniel and Emil.
Emil, Ania and Daniel Horowitz. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.
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“I met Ania at a party. She was an architecture student from a Polish family living in Caracas, Venezuela. She was only passing through New York on her way to Paris to continue her studies. She never made it to Paris,” Horowitz smiled, recollecting meeting the love of his life.
Ania Bogusz and Ryszard Horowitz, 1974. Photo courtesy Ryszard Horowitz.
So many years after he walked out of Auschwitz alive, Ryszard Horowitz feels blessed to live the American Dream with his family, and doing what he loves most – creating his photo compositions . . . and listening to jazz.
The Connor Group founder and managing partner discusses what needs to happen to unleash the housing market and the impact of regulations on rebuilding California following the wildfires.
Existing home sales in the U.S. in 2024 were the lowest in nearly 30 years, as home prices hit an all-time high.
The National Association of Realtors released data that showed existing home sales declined to the lowest level since 1995 last year, with 4.06 million homes sold on an annual basis.
Meanwhile, the median home price rose to a record high of $407,500 in 2024.
“With mortgage rates close to 7% and generally soft homebuying sentiment, strength in existing home sales is unlikely to be sustained,” said Alice Zheng, an economist at Citigroup. “We do not expect much further upside for housing demand near-term.”
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Existing home sales fell to the lowest level in nearly 30 years in 2024. (iStock / iStock)
Existing home sales did show signs of rising in the closing months of 2024, rising 2.2% from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.24 million in December. Year-over-year, sales were up 9.3% from an annual rate of 3.88 million in December 2023.
“Home sales in the final months of the year showed solid recovery despite elevated mortgage rates,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
“Home sales during the winter are typically softer than the spring and summer, but momentum is rising with sales climbing year-over-year for three straight months,” Yun said. “Consumers clearly understand the long-term benefits of homeownership. Job and wage gains, along with increased inventory, are positively impacting the market.”
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Existing home sales increased on an annual basis in all four regions analyzed by the NAR, while prices also increased in each of the four regions.
Sales were up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis – the largest gain since June 2021, which was mostly driven by transactions for housing valued at over $500,000.
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Elevated mortgage rates have chilled the housing market. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The median home price for existing homes was $404,400 – an increase of 6% from $381,400 a year ago.
“The median home price was elevated partly due to the upper-end market’s relative better performance,” Yun said. “Sales rose by 35% from a year ago for homes priced above $1 million, while sales fell for homes priced under $250,000.”
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First-time homebuyers accounted for 31% of home sales in December, up from 30% in November and 29% in December 2023.
NAR’s “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” that was released in November found that the annual share of first-time home buyers was 24%, the lowest ever recorded.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were photographed Friday boarding Air Force One for the first time in four years.
Trump and his wife — who was wearing a green jacket and aviator sunglasses — were seen getting onboard the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
The president is heading to North Carolina to survey damage from Hurricane Helene last September.
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Trump and the first lady board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 24.(Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
“We’re going to North Carolina. It’s a horrible thing, the way that’s been allowed to fester. And we’re going to get it fixed up. Should have been done months ago from the hurricane that took place almost four months ago,” Trump told reporters after leaving the White House. “North Carolina has been treated very badly.”
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Trump and the first lady are welcomed by Air Force Col. Angela Ochoa, second right, on arrival to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday.(Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
“So we’re stopping there and we are then going to go to Los Angeles and take a look at a fire that could have been put out if they let the water flow but they didn’t let the water flow, and they still haven’t for whatever reason. So, I think we’re going to have a very interesting time,” Trump added.
Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for North Carolina.(Leah Millis/Reuters)
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Trump was last photographed stepping off Air Force One on Jan. 20, 2021, while Joe Biden was being sworn in as president that day.
Bihar’s tableau will make a grand return to the Republic Day parade on Delhi’s Kartavya Path this year, marking its participation after an eight-year gap. The tableau will showcase the rich historical and educational heritage of the state, with a special focus on the renowned Nalanda University. An official from the Bihar government highlighted the significance of the tableau, stating, “Since ancient times, Bihar has been a land of prosperity, education, liberation, and peace. It has been known as the seat of education and the land of knowledge.”This return to the Republic Day parade is expected to draw attention to Bihar’s illustrious past and its enduring cultural significance. Republic Day Tableaux 2025: Uttar Pradesh Showcases Maha Kumbh; Jammu and Kashmir Its Scenic Beauty, Rich Heritage.
Bihar’s Tableau To Make a Comeback to January 26 Parade
Delhi: On Republic Day, Bihar’s tableau will also be showcased on Delhi’s Kartavya Path. After eight years, Bihar’s tableau will have the opportunity to participate in the Republic Day parade
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Khalid Al-Falih, minister of investment of Saudi Arabia, on boosting non-oil investments, Middle Eastern conflict and President Donald Trump’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump the kingdom plans to sink $600 billion into new investments and trade with the U.S. over the next four years, according to reports.
The Saudi State news agency reported that, during a phone call between the two leaders, bin Salman said expected reforms from the Trump administration could create “unprecedented economic prosperity.”
The agency also said Saudi Arabia would like to capitalize on these conditions, though it did not say where the $600 billion would come from, how it would be deployed and if it would be public or private spending.
Bin Salman told Trump the investment “could increase further if additional opportunities arise,” the report noted.
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with President Donald Trump at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (Reuters/File photo / Reuters Photos)
During his first term, President Trump built close ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. In fact, Saudi Arabia invested $2 billion in a firm created by Trump’s son-in-law and former aide, Jared Kushner, after Trump had left office.
During his inauguration Monday, Trump said he would consider making Saudi Arabia his first destination for a foreign visit if the capital city of Riyadh agreed to purchase $500 billion in American products.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin presents a gift made of a mammoth tusk to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, looks on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 14, 2019. (Reuters/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
“I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to bury $450 billion worth of our product,” Trump said in reference to his 2017 visit to the country. “I said, ‘I’ll do it, but you have to buy American product,’ and they agreed to that.”
After winning his way back to the Oval Office in November, Trump and several others attended a UFC fight at Madison Square Garden.
Those in attendance with Trump included Elon Musk, Kid Rock, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
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The PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, which is controlled by bin Salman and governed by Al-Rumayyan.
According to Reuters, the PIF was estimated to have about $925 billion in assets in July.
A comet not seen for more than 80,000 years will be visible from Earth, potentially during two separate time periods over the next month.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, also known as Comet A3, is believed to have an orbit around the sun of more than 80,000 years, according to earth.com.
The comet was first visible starting on Sept. 27 and will continue until shortly before sunrise on Oct. 2. It is expected to appear like a fuzzy ball with a tail stretching across the sky.
“C/2023 A3 has an orbital period of approximately 80,000 years, classifying it as a long-period comet. This means its behavior and appearance can be unpredictable, with potential changes in brightness and tail development as it approaches the sun,” Minjae Kim, a space expert in the University of Warwick’s astronomy department, told earth.com.
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Comet C2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas is seen over the hills near the village of Aguas Blancas, Lavalleja Department, Uruguay, at dawn on September 28, 2024.(Getty Images)
“If predictions hold, it could be visible to the naked eye, appearing as a fuzzy star with a tail stretching across the sky. Otherwise, binoculars or a small telescope may reveal more detail in the comet’s structure and tail,” Kim added.
Sept. 27th also marked perihelion, or closet point to the sun, after which the comet will begin its trip back to the outer solar system, according to WKMG.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) appears in the sky over Molfetta, Italy, on September 28, 2024.(Getty Images)
Another viewing opportunity, which is expected to have better visibility, will be in the middle of October if the comet survives the trip around the sun, as comets will often break apart as they move closer to the sun.
If the comet survives the trip around the sun, the comet could be visible with the naked eye as it becomes its closest to Earth, with its best visibility expected from Oct. 12 until Oct. 20.
GEOMAGNETIC STORM EXPECTED TO HIT EARTH FOLLOWING AUTUMNAL EQUINOX
Comet C2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas can be observed over the hills near the village of Aguas Blancas, Lavalleja Department, Uruguay, at dawn on September 28, 2024.(Getty Images)
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The comet will move higher in the sky each night until it disappears for the next 80,000 years.
Starwalk, an astronomical app for stargazers, said this comet is the “most anticipated comet of the year.”
International Day of Education is observed on January 24 in several countries around the world. The international day is celebrated with an aim to highlight the crucial role of education in maintaining peace, development, and equality worldwide. The day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2018. It highlights the need for inclusive and equitable quality education as a fundamental human right and a driver of sustainable development. We all know that education empowers individuals to break the cycle of poverty, achieve gender equality, and build a better future. In this article, let’s know more about International Day of Education 2025 date, theme, history and the significance of the annual global event. January 2025 Holidays and Festivals Calendar.
International Day of Education 2025 Date
International Day of Education 2025 falls on Friday, January 24.
International Day of Education 2025 Theme
The theme for International Day of Education 2025 is “AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation.”
International Day of Education History
On December 3, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming January 24 as the International Day of Education. The day celebrates the role of education for bringing global peace and sustainable development. The first International Day of Education was celebrated on January 24, 2019. The efforts of the UNGA worldwide have shown promising results in the betterment of an educated individual that constitutes a cultured society, which is supported with optimism and opportunities.
International Day of Education Significance
International Day of Education is an important event that emphasises the role of education in making the world a better place to live in. The global event is a call to action for governments, educators, communities, and individuals to unite in prioritising education and ensuring it reaches every corner of the world. The day calls for global efforts by governments, organisations, and communities to improve education worldwide.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 23, 2025 07:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
President Donald Trump is quickly showcasing his accessibility to reporters days after returning to the White House, a stark contrast to his Democratic predecessor who frequently ducked questions and took scripted questions from reporters.
“We’ll take a few questions,” the president said on Tuesday, after announcing what’s said to be a half-trillion dollar investment by top tech companies to vastly expand the nation’s artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Trump then took questions for half an hour from reporters gathered at the White House.
It was the second straight day the new president held an informal, off-the-cuff and freewheeling news conference with reporters.
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President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
On Monday, hours after he was inaugurated at the U.S. Capitol, Trump took questions for 45 minutes as he sat in the Oval Office and simultaneously signed an avalanche of executive orders and actions. The back and forth with reporters was carried live by Fox News and CNN.
Trump on Wednesday is taking questions from Fox News’ Sean Hannity, for his first Oval Office interview since returning to the White House.
The sit-down will run at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News’ “Hannity.”
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“The president is the tip of the spear and he’s been active in wanting to go out and communicate both his successes and the challenges that we have, and he’s been active in wanting to solve those,” deputy White House chief of staff for communications Taylor Budowich told Fox News.
President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025.(Reuters/Carlos Barria)
The accessibility with reporters showcases Trump’s unscripted nature, and it stands in stark contrast with former President Joe Biden, whose interactions with reporters were more limited and at times tightly stage-managed.
“Did Biden ever do news conferences like this?” Trump asked on Monday, as he appeared to take a jab at the former president.
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Julie Mason, the host of a national radio program, veteran White House reporter and former elected board member of the White House Correspondents Association, told Fox News “it is completely refreshing to have a president who is accessible, available.”
“He’ll answer any question you throw at him. He’s not always happy with the questions he gets, but he engages with journalists. That’s the most important thing. Their job is to inform the public about what is going on at the White House and having direct access to the president is essential to that,” Mason emphasized.
She added that “Biden was kept very much under wraps. Reporters rarely got a chance to ask him anything. It was a huge frustration in the press corps. This is completely different.”
President Biden listens to a question during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 19, 2022.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Trump is known for his extended interactions with reporters. He held two unconstrained news conferences at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, during his transition back to the presidency.
And while for years he has accused reporters of being “fake news” and “the enemy of the people,” and while his answers to their questions keep fact-checkers busy, his exchanges with the media are often free-flowing, without any aides selecting reporters to ask questions.
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Budowich says Trump’s accessibility and off-the-cuff style are contributing factors to his political success.
“The reason we won this election is because of Donald Trump. The reason why we are going to succeed in executing his agenda is because of Donald Trump,” he argued.
And he touted that Trump “in the first two and a half days, has accomplished what most presidents fail to accomplish in their first two years.”
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.
Recent photos taken by India’s Space Research Organization moon orbiter, known as Chandrayaan 2, clearly show the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 landing sites more than 50 years later.
The photos were taken by the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter in April 2021 and were reshared on Curiosity’s X page – which posts about space exploration – on Wednesday.
“Image of Apollo 11 and 12 taken by India’s Moon orbiter. Disapproving Moon landing deniers,” Curiosity wrote on X, along with the overhead photos that show the landing vehicles on the surface of the moon.
Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, making Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin the first men to walk on its surface.
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Recent photos taken by India’s Space Research Organization moon orbiter, known as Chandrayaan 2, clearly show the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 landing sites more than 50 years later. (India Space Research Organization )
Astronaut Michael Collins, the third man on the Apollo 11 mission, remained in orbit while Aldrin and Armstrong walked on the moon.
The lunar module, known as Eagle, was left in lunar orbit after it rendezvoused with the command module Collins was in the next day and Eagle eventually landed back on the moon’s surface.
Apollo 12 was NASA’s second crewed mission to land on the moon on Nov. 19, 1969, in which Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan Bean became the third and fourth men to walk on its surface.
Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin deploys a scientific experiment package on the surface of the moon. In the background is the Lunar Module, as is a flag of the United States. (Photo by Neil Armstrong/NASA/Getty Images)(Neil Armstrong/NASA/Getty Images)
The Apollo missions continued until December 1972, when the program was shut down and astronaut Eugene Cernan became the last man to walk on the moon.
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The Chandrayaan-2 mission launched on July 22, 2019, exactly 50 years after the Apollo 11 mission and two years before it captured images of the 1969 lunar landers.
Beside NASA’s Apollo 12 ‘Intrepid’ Lunar Module, American astronaut Alan Bean unloads equipment from the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) on the surface of the moon, November 19, 1969. (NASA/Interim Archives/Getty Images)
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India also launched Chandrayaan-3 last year, which became the first mission to successfully land neat the moon’s south pole.
