Good news: Google’s data center, tariff rulings, Trump targets a director, and farmer says no

Written By Matt Moscardi

The Good?

  1. Google to build data center in Minnesota with new solar, wind power and battery storage

    1. The tech company will also bring 1,900 megawatts of new renewable energy to the state under an agreement with utility Xcel.

    2. 1,900 MW is enough to provide electricity for roughly 1.5 million average homes: enough to power every household in a city roughly the size of Chicago

  1. UK fines Reddit for not checking user ages aggressively enough

    1. $19.6 million

    2. “Our investigation found that Reddit failed to apply any robust age assurance mechanism and therefore did not have a lawful basis for processing the personal information of children under the age of 13… These failures meant Reddit was using children’s data unlawfully, potentially exposing them to inappropriate and harmful content”

 

  1. Microsoft Signs 1.8 Million Ton Carbon Removal Deal to Restore African Rainforest

    1. 1.8 million tons is equivalent to taking approximately 428,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road for an entire year.

    2. or the annual energy use of about 235,000 average American homes

  1. Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs, rebuking president's signature economic policy

  1. FedEx sues for refund of Trump tariffs, days after Supreme Court ruling

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  1. Ted Sarandos Pushes Back On Trump’s Call For Netflix To Fire Board Member Susan Rice

    1. "This is a business deal, not a political deal"

    2. “He Likes To Do A Lot Of Things On Social Media”

  1. Farmer turns down $15.7 million offer from data center developers: ‘It breaks my heart … the rest of every square inch is going to get built on’

    1. After farming for more than six decades in Pennsylvania, 86-year-old Mervin Raudabaugh was offered $60,000 per acre by the developers for his 261 acres—amounting to $15.7 million.

    2. But in December, the Lancaster Farmland Trust bought the development rights for just under $2 million, guaranteeing that Raudabaugh’s land will only be used for farming.

  1. Revenge of the English majors: The age of AI is driving new respect for humanities skills

  1. Trump team livid about Dario Amodei’s principled stand to keep the Defense Department from using his AI tools for warlike purposes

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  1. New York nurses union wins 12% raise, AI safeguards in a tentative deal to end monthlong strike

  1. Meta and YouTube are now facing a legal reckoning that harkens back to cases against big tobacco

  1. New Mexico’s historic move to give universal child care to parents in the state is paid for by an oil and gas windfall

    1. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

  1. Trump Notwithstanding, America’s Unions Actually Grew Last Year

    1. A 16-Year High: In 2025, the total number of workers represented by a union reached 16.5 million.

    2. That is a net increase of 463,000 workers in a single year, the highest volume of unionized labor in the U.S. since 2009.

    3. The Youth Surge: Growth wasn't driven by "old-school" labor alone. Workers under the age of 45 accounted for a staggering 92% of the growth (428,000 of the 463,000 new members). This highlights a generational shift where younger workers are viewing unions as a primary shield against AI and job instability.

  1. Walmart exec says it’s ‘unfortunate’ that other companies are slashing workforces in the name of AI—it’s offering training to 1.6 million workers instead

    1. The retail giant has just announced that its 1.6 million workforce will be provided free AI training.

    2. Both frontline and corporate staff in the U.S. and Canada will have access to an eight-hour course on the fundamentals of AI, as part of its partnership with Google’s new AI Professional Certification.

    3. Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief people officer

The Stupid?

  1. Skin-Crawlingly Awkward Video Shows Sam Altman and Dario Amodei Refusing to Hold Hands

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  1. Sam Altman gets defensive about AI’s massive electricity usage: ‘It also takes a lot of energy to train a human’

  1. Uber employees have an AI clone of CEO Dara Khosrowshahi — and use 'Dara AI' before talking to the big boss himself

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  1. Pope Implores Priests to Stop Writing Sermons Using ChatGPT

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  1. Tech CEOs Confused by Why Everybody Hates AI So Much

  1. McDonald’s CEO is a ‘supersubscriber’ of AI tools—and even used it to photoshop all his kids into a Christmas card

Matt Moscardi
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