Google’s New 1.9GW Clean Energy Deal Features Epic 100-Hour Battery

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Google’s New 1.9GW Clean Energy Deal Features Epic 100-Hour Battery (Maria)

The author writes, “Google announced Tuesday that it will build a data center in Minnesota that’s backed by 1.9 gigawatts of clean power, including a massive 300-megawatt battery made by startup Form Energy. … At 30 gigawatt-hours, it will be the largest battery in the world, helping the data center operate on clean energy for longer.”

FBI’s ‘Stand Down’ Directive to NYPD on Jeffrey Epstein Investigations, and More (DonkeyHotey)

From Just Security: “Just five days after Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest in the summer of 2019, federal authorities ‘directed’ the New York Police Department to ‘stand down’ its investigations related to Epstein, new documents released by the Department of Justice show. … At the time, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (DANY) had an ongoing investigation involving Epstein’s victims, the documents reveal, but the FBI assumed that would come to a halt as well following the Bureau’s directive. These revelations are just part of the chronology below, which spans 1996-2025. The timeline amounts to the most comprehensive record to date of the publicly available information on New York law enforcement authorities’ action and inaction with regard to Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and other potential co-conspirators.”

Cops Are Buying ‘GeoSpy,’ an AI That Geolocates Photos in Seconds (Sean)

From 404 Media: “The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO) and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) have bought access to GeoSpy, an AI tool that can near instantly geolocate a photo using clues in the image such as architecture and vegetation, with plans to use it in criminal investigations, according to a cache of internal police emails obtained by 404 Media.”

Why Are Senate Democrats Still Voting to Confirm Trump’s Judicial Nominees? (Dana)

From Balls and Strikes: “Democrats on the Judiciary Committee keep decrying nominees as unqualified extremists. They also keep voting to turn those nominees into life-tenured federal judges.”

Despite Trump, Renewable Energy Keeps Surging (Laura)

The author writes, “A funny thing happened on the way to President Donald Trump’s mission to obliterate renewable energy. Solar and wind energy use is surging, especially globally, but even in the United States. Solar and wind electricity generation grew so much last year that they met 109% of new electricity demand worldwide, pushing these renewable sources past coal for the first time as a global energy supplier, according to an analysis by Ember Energy Research.”

AI Doesn’t Reduce Work — It Intensifies It (Bethany)

From Harvard Business Review: “Right now, many companies are worried about how to get more employees to use AI. After all, the promise of AI reducing the burden of some work — drafting routine documents, summarizing information, and debugging code — and allowing workers more time for high-value tasks is tantalizing. But are they ready for what might happen if they succeed? While leaders are focused on promised productivity gains, they may find themselves surprised by the complex reality, and may not see what these gains are costing them until it’s too late.”

Rescue Group in Las Vegas Tries To Catch a Toucan That Escaped Its Owner (Reader Steve)

The author writes, “Katherine Eddington was driving in North Las Vegas last week when she thought she saw a big black bird carrying a banana fly across the intersection. But after a closer look, she realized it was a toucan — a tropical bird native to rainforests in Central and South America known for their large, colorful bills. … That toucan is named Sam, and he has been living in the area since November, when a resident posted online that he’d escaped from his cage. After surviving the Las Vegas desert for months, Sam has captivated community birding groups, with people posting occasional sightings around town.”