BLOGONITY

LOS ANGELES — The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades, in what an attorney said was the largest single child sex abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese, it was announced Wednesday. After the announcement of the agreement in principle, Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement, “I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart.” “My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered,” the archbishop added. “I believe that we have come to a resolution of these claims that will provide just compensation to the survivor-victims of these past abuses.” Attorneys for 1,353 people who allege that they suffered horrific abuse at the hands of local Catholic priests reached the settlement after months of negotiations with the archdiocese, the Los Angeles Times reported. The agreement caps a quarter-century of litigation against the most populous archdiocese in the United States. Attorneys in the Plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee said in a joint statement, “While there is no amount of money that can replace what was taken from these 1,353 brave individuals who have suffered in silence for decades, there is justice in accountability.” Under the settlement, the plaintiffs will engage in a process— that will not involve the archdiocese — to allocate the settlement amount among the participants. The archdiocese has previously paid $740 million to victims in various settlements and had pledged to better protect its church members, so this settlement would put the total payout at more than $1.5 billion, the Times said. Attorney Morgan Stewart, who led the negotiations, said in a statement that the settlement is the largest single child sex abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese. “These survivors have suffered for decades in the aftermath of the abuse. Dozens of the survivors have died. They are aging, and many of those with knowledge of the abuse within the church are too. It was time to get this resolved,” Stewart told the Times. The settlement will be funded by archdiocese investments, accumulated reserves, bank financing, and other assets. According to the archdiocese, certain religious orders and others named in the litigation will also cover some of the cost of the settlement, the Times said. …

U.S. forces carried out airstrikes Wednesday against Houthi militant weapons storage sites in Yemen, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. The strikes, conducted by B-2 bombers, targeted weapons the Houthis have used in a yearlong campaign of attacks against ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that have disrupted major sea shipping routes. “This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified,” Austin said. The Iran-backed Houthis have said their campaign of using boats, missiles and drones to target vessels is being done in solidarity with the Palestinians amid the war in Gaza. The United States and Britain have conducted multiple strikes against the Houthis to try to protect the shipping lanes, while commercial companies have rerouted many ships to use the longer and more expensive route of going around the African continent. “The Houthis’ illegal attacks continue to disrupt the free flow of international commerce, threaten environmental catastrophe, and put innocent civilian lives and U.S. and partner forces’ lives at risk,” Austin said. …

NEW YORK — The man once heralded as the architect of Mexico’s war on drug cartels was sentenced to more than 38 years in a U.S. prison Wednesday for taking massive bribes to aid drug traffickers. Genaro García Luna, Mexico’s former secretary of public security, was convicted by a New York jury in 2023 of taking millions of dollars in bribes to protect the violent Sinaloa cartel that he was supposedly combating. He is the highest-level Mexican government official to be convicted in the United States. At his sentencing hearing before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Wednesday, García Luna continued to maintain his innocence and said the case against him was based on false information from criminals and the Mexican government. “I have a firm respect for the law,” he said in Spanish. “I have not committed these crimes.” García Luna, 56, led Mexico’s federal police before he served in a Cabinet-level position as the top security official from 2006-12 under then-President Felipe Calderón. At the time, García Luna was hailed as an ally by the U.S. in its fight on drug trafficking. But U.S. prosecutors said that in return for millions of dollars, he provided intelligence about investigations against the cartel, information about rival gangs and the safe passage of massive quantities of drugs. Prosecutors had asked for a life sentence. García Luna’s lawyers had argued that he should get no more than 20 years. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan said he wasn’t moved by past accolades that García Luna received for his work in the war on drugs. “That was your cover,” Cogan said before imposing the sentence. “You are guilty of these crimes, sir. You can’t parade these words and say, ‘I’m police officer of the year.’” Besides the sentence of 38 years and four months, the judge imposed a $2 million fine. During the trial, photos were shown of García Luna shaking hands with former President Barack Obama and speaking with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John McCain. But prosecutors said García Luna secretly advanced a drug trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the deaths of thousands of American and Mexican citizens. He ensured that drug traffickers were notified in advance of raids and sabotaged legitimate police operations aimed at apprehending cartel leaders, they said. Drug traffickers were able to ship more than 1 million kilograms of cocaine through Mexico and into the … “Mexican official sentenced to 38-plus years in US for taking cartel bribes” →

washington — Recent arrests in the United States and in Europe have law enforcement and intelligence agencies on alert, bolstering concerns about a reinvigorated Islamic State terror group bent on lashing out against the West. FBI officials Wednesday confirmed the bureau shared information with French authorities following last week’s arrest of 27-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan national in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on charges connected to a mass shooting plot in the name of the Islamic State group, to coincide with the U.S. election in November. That information led to the arrest of a 22-year-old Afghan national in the Haute-Garonne region of France, who French officials say is linked to Tawhedi. That arrest followed the arrests of three other men in the same region, again carried out in coordination with the U.S. French anti-terrorism prosecutors said Saturday that the suspects, all of whom are said to be followers of the Islamic State, appear to have been involved in a plan to carry out an attack on a football stadium or a shopping center. “The recent arrests in France and by the FBI’s Oklahoma City field office demonstrate the importance of partnerships to detect and disrupt potential terrorist attacks,” the FBI said in a statement. “The FBI’s top priority is preventing acts of terrorism, and we are committed to working with our partners both overseas and in the United States to uncover any plots and protect our communities from violence,” it said. The arrests follow repeated warnings from Western counterterrorism officials that the Islamic State, also known as IS or ISIS, has set its sights on launching attacks against the U.S. and Europe. And many have raised specific concerns about the group’s Afghan affiliate, known as IS-Khorasan or ISIS-K. IS-Khorasan “does have the intention to carry out external attacks, including external attacks inside the United States,” said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, speaking during a Washington Post webcast last month. “We are very concerned about the capacity of ISIS-K to potentially move operatives into the United States,” he added. Others have warned that IS, and IS-Khorasan, have each sought to expand recruiting efforts around the globe. Some Western officials and regional observers have told VOA that as far back as 2021, the IS Afghan affiliate was seeking to seed Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with small but highly capable cells and networks that could serve as the … “FBI, French authorities coordinate on Islamic State arrests” →

las vegas — A former Las Vegas-area Democratic elected official was sentenced Wednesday to serve at least 28 years in Nevada state prison for killing an investigative journalist who wrote articles critical of his conduct in office two years ago and exposed an intimate relationship with a female coworker. A judge invoked sentencing enhancements for use of a deadly weapon and the age of the reporter to add eight years to the minimum 20-years-to-life sentence that a jury set in August after finding Robert Telles guilty of first-degree murder. “The judge couldn’t sentence him to any more time,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said after telling reporters the sentence represented justice for the community. “She gave him the maximum.” Telles, 47, testified in his defense at trial, denying he stabbed Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German to death in September 2022. But evidence against him was strong — including his DNA beneath German’s fingernails. Telles was the administrator of a county office that handles unclaimed estate and probate cases when he was arrested and jailed without bail several days after German’s murder. He was stripped of his elected position weeks later. Standing in shackles before the judge on Wednesday, Telles offered “deepest condolences” to German’s family but again denied responsibility for the reporter’s death. “I understand the desire to seek justice and hold somebody accountable for this,” he said. “But I did not kill Mr. German.” Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly told the judge that evidence showed Telles killed German because “he didn’t like what Mr. German had written about him. He felt that Mr. German had cost him an elected position.” “This type of violence, this sort of political violence,” the prosecutor said, “is unacceptable and dangerous for a community as a whole.” Telles’ defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, asked for leniency for Telles and told the judge that Telles intends to appeal his conviction. After sentence was pronounced, Draskovich withdrew as Telles’ defense lawyer. “The sentence was not surprising,” Draskovich said outside court. “We fulfilled our defense obligation. We parted on good terms. [Telles] preserved all his rights for appeal.” German was 69. He was a respected reporter who spent 44 years covering crime, courts and corruption in Las Vegas. Telles lost his primary for a second term in office after German’s stories in May and June 2022 described turmoil and bullying at the Clark County Public Administrator/Guardian office and a … “Ex-Las Vegas-area official gets at least 28 years in prison for killing reporter” →

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to put on hold a new federal rule targeting carbon pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants at the request of numerous states and industry groups in another major challenge to President Joe Biden’s efforts to combat climate change. The justices denied emergency requests by West Virginia, Indiana and 25 other states — most of them Republican led — as well as power companies and industry associations, to halt the Environmental Protection Agency rule while litigation continues in a lower court. The regulation, aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, took effect July 8. The rule would require existing coal and new natural gas-fired plants eventually to reduce emissions including by capturing and storing carbon dioxide. The EPA’s new rule, issued under the landmark Clean Air Act anti-pollution law, was issued two years after a major ruling by the Supreme Court in 2022 undercut the agency’s power to issue sweeping regulations to force an electricity-generation shift from coal to cleaner energy sources. The EPA has said efforts to address climate change and its impacts such as extreme weather and rising sea levels must include the power sector because fossil fuel-fired plants make up 25% of overall domestic greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, the rule mandates that coal plants operating past 2038 and certain new gas plants reduce emissions by 90% by 2032 including by using carbon capture and storage systems that extract carbon dioxide from plant exhaust and sequester it underground. The EPA has called the technology proven and technically feasible. The rule’s challengers have said it has not been shown effective at the scale predicted by the EPA. The rule’s requirements are “really a backdoor avenue to forcing coal plants out of existence,” West Virginia, a major coal producer, and other state challengers said in a written filing. The Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling was based on what is called the “major questions” legal doctrine embraced by its conservative justices that requires explicit congressional authorization for action on issues of broad importance and societal impact. The states and certain other challengers contend that the EPA’s new rule likewise implicates a major question and exceeds the agency’s authority. Numerous states and industry players filed multiple lawsuits challenging the rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which on July 19 denied requests to pause the regulation pending … “US Supreme Court declines to pause EPA power plant emissions rule” →

washington — Fifteen days after turning 100, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter cast his ballot in the U.S. election on Wednesday, fulfilling an earlier declared wish to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris. The former Democratic leader “voted by mail,” according to the Carter Center, the nonprofit he founded after he left the White House in 1981 to pursue his vision of world diplomacy. The centenarian — who left office under a cloud of unpopularity, but has seen his star rise ever since — took advantage of early voting in his home state of Georgia, where he is receiving hospice care. Carter had told his family earlier this year that living long enough to vote for Harris and help defeat her Republican rival, Donald Trump, was more important to him than his centennial, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. He reached both milestones. More than 420,000 people have cast their ballot since early voting began Tuesday in Georgia, according to Gabriel Sterling, a state election official who posted the figures at midday. Election Day is November 5. Carter, a one-term president, has been receiving end-of-life care in his hometown of Plains in Georgia since February last year. He is the first former U.S. president to reach the century mark, another extraordinary milestone for the one-time peanut farmer who worked his way to the White House. …

OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska’s top election official had no authority to declare unconstitutional a state law that restored the voting rights of those who have been convicted of a felony, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a decision with implications for the approaching election. In July, Secretary of State Bob Evnen ordered county election officials to reject the voter registrations of those with felony convictions, citing an opinion issued by Attorney General Mike Hilgers. That opinion, which Evnen had requested, deemed as unconstitutional a law passed this year by the Legislature immediately restoring the voting rights of people who have completed the terms of their felony sentences. Evnen’s order could have kept 7,000 or more Nebraska residents from voting in the upcoming election, the American Civil Liberties Union said. Many of them reside in Nebraska’s Omaha-centered 2nd Congressional District, where both the race for president and Congress could be in play. In an otherwise reliably Republican state that, unlike most others, splits its electoral votes, the district has twice awarded an electoral vote to Democratic presidential candidates — once to Barack Obama in 2008 and again to Joe Biden in 2020. In a presidential race shown by polling to be a dead heat, a single electoral vote could determine who wins. Given the Omaha district’s history, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Democratic groups have spent millions in the district in the hopes of securing the electoral vote — far more than former President Donald Trump and Republican groups. The last day to register to vote for the 2024 general election in Nebraska is Oct. 25 and must be done in person at a voter’s county election commission office. Election Day is Nov. 5. Hilgers’ opinion had said the new law violates the state constitution’s separation of powers, saying only the state Board of Pardons under the control of the executive branch can restore voting rights through pardons. Pardons are exceedingly rare in Nebraska. Evnen, Hilgers and Gov. Jim Pillen make up the three-member Board of Pardons. All three are Republicans. The opinion also found unconstitutional a 2005 state law that restored the voting rights of people with felony convictions two years after they complete the terms of their sentences.  The ACLU is representing advocacy group Civic Nebraska and two Nebraska residents, a Republican and an independent, who would be denied the right to vote under Evnen’s directive. Because Evnen’s … “Nebraska’s high court says people with felony records can register to vote” →

Since the U.S. Supreme Court sent the issue of abortion back to the states in 2022, Democrats have mobilized to protect abortion rights while Republicans have worked to restrict the procedure on religious and moral grounds. The issue is motivating voters to go to the polls this election year. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from Nevada. Videographer: Mary Cieslak …

The U.S. agency charged with protecting the life of the president of the United States and other high-ranking officials wants state and local law enforcement to do more to stop potential threats from escalating into violence. And it is trying to show police agencies across the country exactly how to do it. The U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) on Wednesday issued a new guide, encouraging law enforcement agencies to create specific units to address threatening behavior in cases where there are significant concerns, even though no laws have been broken. The guide specifically calls for police agencies to set up what NTAC calls behavioral threat assessment units that can assess potential dangers and then provide resources to make sure individuals get help before they resort to violence. “What our research has continuously found is that in many cases of mass violence or other forms of targeted violence, the attacker’s behavior was witnessed by community bystanders, some of whom sought to report their concerns to public safety officials,” said Lina Alathari, NTAC director, briefing reporters ahead of the guide’s release. “Unfortunately, many communities lack the structured systems to receive, evaluate and respond to these reports in a way that would reduce the likelihood of a violent or tragic outcome,” she said. NTAC’s plea for law enforcement agencies to find ways to be more proactive is not new. A January 2023 report that analyzed 173 mass attacks carried out over a five-year period urged communities to make it easier for witnesses to report concerns and allow for earlier intervention from crisis counselors and social services. But the latest guidance comes as national security officials are bracing for potential violence. The Department of Homeland Security’s 2025 annual threat assessment, issued last month, warned, “The terrorism threat environment in the United States over the next year will remain high. “The threat will continue to be characterized primarily by lone offenders or small cells motivated to violence by a combination of racial, religious, gender, or anti-government grievances; conspiracy theories; and personalized factors,” it added. The Secret Service has itself responded to two unrelated attempts to assassinate former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, coming under criticism for its failure to prevent one of the would-be assassins from firing eight shots and injuring Trump before he was stopped.  Investigators in that case have said the now dead 20-year-old gunman had spent months … “US police urged to embrace prevention to head off mass shootings, attacks “ →

BEIJING — Intel products sold in China should be subject to a security review, the Cybersecurity Association of China (CSAC) said on Wednesday, alleging the U.S. chipmaker has “constantly harmed” the country’s national security and interests.  While CSAC is an industry group rather than a government body, it has close ties to the Chinese state and the raft of accusations against Intel, published in a long post on its official WeChat group, could trigger a security review from China’s powerful cyberspace regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).  “It is recommended that a network security review is initiated on the products Intel sells in China, so as to effectively safeguard China’s national security and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese consumers,” CSAC said.  Last year, the CAC barred domestic operators of key infrastructure from buying products made by U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc after deeming the company’s products had failed its network security review.  Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s shares were down 2.7% in U.S. premarket trading.     …

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping said a successful partnership between China and the United States is an opportunity for the two countries to be enablers for each other’s development rather than an obstacle, according to state media on Wednesday. “China is willing to be a partner and friend with the United States. This will benefit not only the two countries, but the world,” Xi said in remarks from a letter to the 2024 annual awards dinner of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, according to a CCTV news report. Xi pointed out that China-U.S. relations are among the most important bilateral relations in the world, which have a bearing on the future and destiny of mankind, according to the letter. The two countries have been at odds over national security concerns, ongoing trade spats as well as China’s actions in the South China Sea and intensified military drills around Taiwan. Trade relations soured over the past year and have centered around issues including restrictions on electric vehicles and advanced semiconductors. “China has always handled China-U.S. relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and has always believed that the success of China and the United States is an opportunity for each other,” Xi said. …

ATLANTA — A judge has blocked a new rule that requires Georgia Election Day ballots to be counted by hand after the close of voting. The ruling came a day after the same judge ruled that county election officials must certify election results by the deadline set in law. The State Election Board last month passed the rule requiring that three poll workers each count the paper ballots — not votes — by hand after the polls close. The county election board in Cobb County, in Atlanta’s suburbs, had filed a lawsuit seeking to have a judge declare that rule and five others recently passed by the state board invalid, saying they exceed the state board’s authority, weren’t adopted in compliance with the law and are unreasonable. In a ruling late Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote, that the so-called hand count rule “is too much, too late” and blocked its enforcement while he considers the merits of the case. McBurney on Monday had ruled in a separate case that “no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.” While they are entitled to inspect the conduct of an election and to review related documents, he wrote, “any delay in receiving such information is not a basis for refusing to certify the election results or abstaining from doing so.” Georgia law says county election superintendents — generally multimember boards — “shall” certify election results by 5 p.m. on the Monday after an election, or the Tuesday if Monday is a holiday as it is this year. The two rulings came as early in-person voting began Tuesday in Georgia. They are victories for Democrats, liberal voting rights groups and some legal experts who have raised concerns that Donald Trump’s allies could refuse to certify the results if the former president loses to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in next month’s presidential election. They have also argued that new rules enacted by the Trump-endorsed majority on the State Election Board could be used to stop or delay certification and to undermine public confidence in the results. In blocking the hand count rule, McBurney noted that there are no guidelines or training tools for its implementation and that the secretary of state had said the rule was passed too late for his office to provide … “Georgia judge blocks ballot counting rule and says county officials must certify election results” →

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced Tuesday that more than 800 military personnel have seen their service records upgraded to honorable discharges after previously being kicked out of the military under its former “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. It is the latest development over the decades to undo past discrimination against LGBTQ service members. The 1951 Uniform Code of Military Justice’s Article 125 had criminalized consensual gay sex. In 1993, former President Bill Clinton modified the military’s policy to “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which allowed LGBTQ troops to serve in the armed forces if they did not disclose their sexual orientation. That policy was repealed in 2011, when Congress allowed for their open service in the military. The 1951 UCMJ code was modified in 2013 to be limited to nonconsensual gay sex. President Joe Biden in June announced he was issuing pardons to service members convicted under repealed military policies. Under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” thousands of service members still saw their military service ended without an honorable discharge, meaning they did not receive the military benefits they would have otherwise, such as education benefits, and it also could have affected their ability to apply for jobs or loans. Last year, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a review of cases of former service members who might have been affected by the policy. The Pentagon estimates about 13,500 service members were released from military service under “don’t ask, don’t tell.” With the review and upgrades of the more than 800 troops announced Tuesday, the Pentagon said that about 96% of the 13,500 personnel affected by the policy had received an honorable discharge. Not every case of the 13,500 needed review. Some of those personnel did not serve long enough to qualify for benefits, were released with an honorable discharge at the time, already had their discharges upgraded through other means, or did not qualify for an upgrade due to other violations. “We will continue to honor the service and the sacrifice of all our troops — including the brave Americans who raised their hands to serve but were turned away because of whom they love. We will continue to strive to do right by every American patriot who has honorably served their country,” Austin said in a statement. …

madison, wisconsin — Voting rights advocates on Tuesday asked state and federal authorities to investigate anonymous text messages apparently targeting young Wisconsin voters, warning them not to vote in a state where they are ineligible. Free Speech for People, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, made the request to the U.S. Department of Justice as well as the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The letter says that “thousands of young voters across Wisconsin” received the text message last week, including staff members at the League of Women Voters and students at the University of Wisconsin. The text in question cites Wisconsin state law prohibiting voting in more than one place and says that violating the law can result in fines of up to $10,000 and 3.5 years in prison. “Don’t vote in a state where you’re not eligible,” the text said. Wisconsin is known for having razor-thin presidential elections. Four of the last six were decided by less than a percentage point. President Joe Biden won in 2020 by less than 21,000 votes. At least one person who received the text posted it on the social media platform X. The League of Women Voters, in its request for investigation, said that without prompt action “the sender may continue its efforts to frighten eligible young voters into not voting.” Students attending college in Wisconsin can register to vote either at their home address or their one at school. “But now, many students and other young voters are fearful that they will face criminal prosecution if they register and exercise their right to vote — because of a malicious, inaccurate text sent by an anonymous party,” the letter said. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment. Wisconsin Department of Justice spokesperson Gillian Drummond said the department takes allegations of potential violations of election law seriously. She said the agency was reviewing the information in the request for an investigation and would assess “what, if any, follow-up is appropriate based on the facts and the law.” University of Wisconsin System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said in an email that system officials were unaware of any security breach that may have resulted in leaked student contact information. He added that nothing has been reported to system officials about the text, and there was no indication how many students may have received it. Riley Vetterkind, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said … “Voting rights groups seek investigation into Wisconsin text messages” →

As energy-hungry computer data centers and artificial intelligence programs place ever greater demands on the U.S. power grid, tech companies are looking to a technology that just a few years ago appeared ready to be phased out: nuclear energy.  After several decades in which investment in new nuclear facilities in the U.S. had slowed to a crawl, tech giants Microsoft and Google have recently announced investments in the technology, aimed at securing a reliable source of emissions-free power for years into the future.   Earlier this year, online retailer Amazon, which has an expansive cloud computing business, announced it had reached an agreement to purchase a nuclear energy-fueled data center in Pennsylvania and that it had plans to buy more in the future.  However, the three companies’ strategies rely on somewhat different approaches to the problem of harnessing nuclear energy, and it remains unclear which, if any, will be successful.  Energy demand  Data centers, which concentrate thousands of powerful computers in one location, consume prodigious amounts of power, both to run the computers themselves and to operate the elaborate systems put in place to dissipate the large amount of heat they generate.   A recent study by Goldman Sachs estimated that data centers currently consume between 1% and 2% of all available power generation. That percentage is expected to at least double by the end of the decade, even accounting for new power sources coming online. The study projected a 160% increase in data center power consumption by 2030.  The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that the largest data centers can consume more than 100 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 80,000 homes.  Small, modular reactors  Google’s plan is, in some ways, the most radical departure — both from the current structure of the energy grid and from traditional means of generating nuclear power. The internet search giant announced on Monday that it has partnered with Kairos Power to fund the construction of up to seven small-scale nuclear reactors that, across several locations, would combine to generate 500 megawatts of power.  The small modular reactors (SMRs) are a new, and largely untested, technology. Unlike sprawling nuclear plants, SMRs are compact, requiring much less infrastructure to keep them operational and safe.  “The smaller size and modular design can reduce construction timelines, allow deployment in more places, and make the final project delivery more predictable,” Google and Kairos said … “Tech firms increasingly look to nuclear power for data center” →

The 2024 U.S. election allows Americans to have their voices heard. But what if they can’t reach the polls on November 5? Luckily, there’s more than one way to vote — here are all the options. Written and produced by  Yass Monem and Tamara Davison. …

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — While there’s still more work to do, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday praised Hurricane Milton recovery efforts, saying power has never been restored to so many so quickly after a major storm.  “President (Ronald) Reagan used to say the most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’ There’s a lot of wisdom in that, but I don’t think The Gipper ever saw Florida respond to a natural disaster, because we get after it and we do make a difference,” DeSantis said at a news conference in front of a flooded road in Zephyrhills.  There were still about 170,000 customers without electricity, rivers continued to rise in some flooded areas and the state was still providing free gas to residents struggling to top of their tanks. But DeSantis pointed out that more than 4 million customers had power restored less than a week after the Category 3 storm.  At least 11 people died less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene inflicted major damage in Florida and other Southeastern states. The death toll from Helene is more than 240. While most gas stations were back up and running, the state still has 10 active fuel distribution centers providing free gas to residents. DeSantis said more than 2 million gallons had been distributed so far.  As happened two years ago during Hurricane Ian, parts of central Florida on Tuesday were flooding almost a week after Milton made landfall due to the rising St. Johns River.  In Seminole County, north of Orlando, crews closed roads along the shores of Lake Harney and Lake Jesup after several homes were flooded by the river. Since last Thursday, at least 15 people have been evacuated from homes in nearby Geneva and a neighborhood in Altamonte Springs located in a crook of the Little Wekiva River.  Water levels along the St. Johns River were expected to crest later in the week.  In Sumter County, home to the sprawling retirement community, The Villages, residents along the Little Withlacoochee River were being encouraged to evacuate as river levels rose. Residents who decided to evacuate were offered shelter at the Sumter County Fairgrounds. …