The elusive planet Mercury rises in the east at about 6am local time, in the constellations of Libra. Mercury reaches its greatest elongation from the Sun on the 20th, but
The post The November 2026 Night Sky appeared first on Portugal Resident.
With the midterm elections approaching, data centers have become an increasingly popular political target. Politicians are raising alarms about their impact on communities, with some calling for construction moratoriums or outright bans.
There's been plenty of fearmongering. But the more Americans learn about data centers, and the more communities experience their benefits firsthand, the stronger the case for continued development becomes.
Data centers have existed for decades, but the rapid growth of artificial intelligence has dramatically increased the demand for computing power. Americans understandably have questions about what this development means for electricity prices, water supplies, and their quality of life. Newer facilities are increasingly being designed with technologies that can address these concerns, including closed-loop cooling systems and quieter operations.
DATA CENTERS COULD BE THE SLEEPER ISSUE OF THE 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Yet much of the national debate overlooks what data centers are already delivering to communities across America.
Take Ellendale, North Dakota, a town of 1,100 people. Before Applied Digital's new $11 billion data center development, the town collected roughly $400,000 annually in sales taxes. In the first seven months of 2026 alone, that figure jumped to $3.5 million.
THIS TINY FARMING TOWN YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF IS HELPING MICROSOFT SELL AMERICA ON DATA CENTERS
That revenue is helping the city repave its roads and renovate its senior center. A historic opera house is being restored. For a small town, this kind of investment can transform the community for generations.
And Ellendale is far from alone.
Schools across America are seeing enormous benefits from the data center boom.
In Richland Parish, Louisiana, Meta's massive investment has helped fund an increase in annual teacher bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.
Think about what that means for a working family. Teachers who have dedicated their careers to educating children are receiving a life-changing financial benefit, while the school district becomes an attractive destination for talented educators.
It's hard to imagine a politician campaigning against higher teacher pay or better schools. Yet those are precisely the kinds of benefits communities stand to lose when development gets blocked.
PROPOSAL WOULD PAY HOMEOWNERS 'DATA CENTER DIVIDENDS' TO COUNTER GROWING BACKLASH
The benefits extend to homeowners struggling with the rising cost of living.
In Loudoun County, Virginia, data centers generate 45% of county revenue. That enormous tax base has allowed local officials to cut homeowner property tax rates every year for a decade.
TO BEAT CHINA IN AI, AMERICA MUST WORK WITH COMMUNITIES — NOT AROUND THEM
In neighboring Henrico County, local leaders used data center revenue to fund a $60 million Affordable Housing Trust Fund, helping young families and first-time buyers purchase homes.
At a time when housing affordability is dominating political conversations, building data centers is helping some communities make the American Dream a little easier to achieve.
Electricity prices are another major concern, and understandably so. Families are already struggling with higher utility bills, and the arrival of a major new industrial customer can raise legitimate questions about who pays for new infrastructure.
But the enormous, predictable electricity demand from data centers also creates opportunities to finance new generation and grid investments, spreading infrastructure costs across a larger customer base.
In Georgia, agreements involving new large electricity customers, including OpenAI, are projected to lower residential power bills by $180 annually by 2029.
With the right arrangements in place, the arrival of data centers can mean lower costs for the families already living in these communities.
And the benefits extend well beyond tax revenue and household expenses.
Trade unions have been among the most vocal supporters of data centers because of the good-paying jobs they create. Building these facilities requires years of work for skilled tradesmen, with new projects creating opportunities for the next generation of American workers.
In Baltimore, Maryland, IBEW Local 24 expanded its membership by 50% alongside data center construction. In Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, IBEW Local 163 doubled its ranks following construction of an Amazon data center.
Politicians have spent decades promising to bring back good-paying blue-collar jobs. Here is an industry creating enormous demand for exactly those workers.
Of course, developers have a responsibility to work with residents and local governments to address legitimate concerns. Communities deserve clear answers about electricity costs and water use. They should also understand how the investments taking place in their backyards will benefit local families.
But when data centers are developed responsibly, the economic benefits can be enormous. Communities are rebuilding roads and improving schools. Homeowners are seeing lower tax burdens, and skilled workers are finding new opportunities.
For decades, politicians have campaigned on championing the Forgotten Man and bringing economic opportunity back to communities that have struggled to attract investment.
Now, data centers are delivering billions of dollars in private investment to many of those very places.
We're watching a new industrial boom take shape across America, creating jobs and revitalizing communities that Washington has spent decades promising to help. Before politicians rush to stop it, they ought to take a serious look at what those communities are gaining.
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And they should consider what their constituents stand to lose.
Brussels, 30 October, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European and United Nations institutions are examining growing concerns about AI and human thinking as new research raises questions about the technology’s influence on critical reasoning, education and independent decision-making.
Recent … Read more
It’s almost hard to remember, but just a few years ago, a lot of very smart people thought that science was in terminal decline. Respected researchers were writing papers with titles like “Are Ideas Getting Harder to Find?”, “Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time”, and “Slowed canonical progress in large fields of […]
The post Love it or loathe it, AI is birthing a golden age of science appeared first on Asia Times.
As thousands of datacentres are constructed across Europe, the Guardian and Investigate Europe have uncovered disturbing evidence that some workers building them are exposed to dangerous conditions and living in fear of speaking out
Sandu* checked his watch. He was winding down the last 15 minutes of his shift at a vast Google datacentre site in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, in March, when the call came in. The 34-year-old electrical tester had already worked almost 10 hours, but says such last-minute jobs were normal: “I had no choice. People have been fired after saying no.”
The task was one Sandu had done many times before and involved a series of tests measuring the safety and integrity of the electrical wiring. A protective suit was locked away in an equipment room. The round trip would have added another 15 minutes to the job, he says, and people were waiting, so he decided not to retrieve the suit.
Continue reading...
© Illustration: Alamy/Mei-Ling McNamara
© Illustration: Alamy/Mei-Ling McNamara
© Illustration: Alamy/Mei-Ling McNamara
As thousands of datacentres are constructed across Europe, the Guardian and Investigate Europe have uncovered disturbing evidence that some workers building them are exposed to dangerous conditions and living in fear of speaking out
Sandu* checked his watch. He was winding down the last 15 minutes of his shift at a vast Google datacentre site in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, in March, when the call came in. The 34-year-old electrical tester had already worked almost 10 hours, but says such last-minute jobs were normal: “I had no choice. People have been fired after saying no.”
The task was one Sandu had done many times before and involved a series of tests measuring the safety and integrity of the electrical wiring. A protective suit was locked away in an equipment room. The round trip would have added another 15 minutes to the job, he says, and people were waiting, so he decided not to retrieve the suit.
Continue reading...
© Illustration: Alamy/Mei-Ling McNamara
© Illustration: Alamy/Mei-Ling McNamara
© Illustration: Alamy/Mei-Ling McNamara
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has been hit by a major cyberattack in which hackers reportedly transferred cryptocurrency worth $5.7 billion, raising concerns about what could become the biggest heist in crypto history.
According to international media reports, the incident prompted Binance to freeze approximately $3 billion in assets linked to the suspected breach as its security teams launched an investigation.
The estimated value of assets affected by the cyberattack has reached around $6.3 billion, although the full extent of the incident remains under investigation.
Despite the scale of the reported breach, Binance has assured customers that their funds remain safe. The exchange has also acknowledged technical difficulties affecting cryptocurrency withdrawals following the incident.
In response to the security concerns, Binance temporarily suspended its Alpha trading service while its teams worked to address the situation.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency issuers Tether and Circle reportedly froze assets worth approximately $2.38 billion linked to the suspected hack, as efforts to contain the incident continued.
The identities of those responsible for the attack remain unknown, and no further details about the perpetrators have been disclosed.
The incident has also triggered concerns across cryptocurrency markets, with Bitcoin and several other digital currencies reportedly experiencing sharp price declines following news of the breach.
The potential $6.3 billion impact has placed the incident among the largest reported security breaches in cryptocurrency history, while investigations continue to establish the full circumstances and financial consequences.
The post Binance hit by $6.3b hack in potentially biggest crypto heist in history appeared first on Daily Pakistan English News.
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