Today’s News
States and grid operators consider bumping data centers offline during energy emergencies
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — With the explosive growth of Big Tech’s data centers threatening to overload the nation’s electricity grids, policymakers are taking a hard look at a tough-love solution: bumping the energy-hungry data centers off grids during power emergencies. Texas moved first, as state lawmakers try to protect residents in the data-center hotspot from another deadly blackout, such as the one that occurred during the winter storm in 2021 during which dozens of people [...]
Job market, inflation weigh on Fed board
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sign of how unusual this week’s Federal Reserve meeting is, the decision it will make on interest rates — usually the main event — is just one of the key unknowns to be resolved when officials gather. Economists say the nation’s economy is mired in uncertainty. Hiring has slowed, while inflation remains elevated. A key question for the Fed is: Do they worry more about people who are out of [...]
EPA wants to end gas emissions reporting requirement
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency last week proposed doing away with a program that has required large, mostly industrial companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the government. The program requires refineries, power plants, oil wells and landfills to report their emissions without risk of penalty as officials seek to identify high-polluting facilities and develop policies to lower emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. Analysts say the reporting held the companies [...]
Federal Aviation Administration fines Boeing $3.1 million for safety violations
The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking $3.1 million in fines from Boeing over safety violations, including ones related to an Alaska Airlines jetliner losing a door plug panel on its fuselage in midflight. The proposed penalty is for safety violations that occurred from September 2023 through February 2024, the FAA said last week. That period includes the January 2024 blowout of a paneled-over exit door — called a door plug — on an Alaska Airlines [...]
Ford moving world HQ to new campus 3 miles away
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is taking a drive down the road in a couple of months. The venerable carmaker is moving its headquarters for the first time in seven decades, relocating to a newly constructed building three miles away in its longtime home of Dearborn, Mich. The new 2.1-million-square-foot structure formally will be called “Ford World Headquarters” when it opens in November. It is part of a larger campus that will take [...]
OpenAI reaches new agreement with Microsoft
OpenAI has reached a new tentative agreement with Microsoft and said its nonprofit, which technically controls its business, will now be given a $100 billion equity stake in its for-profit corporation. The maker of ChatGPT said it had reached a new nonbinding agreement with Microsoft, its longtime partner, “for the next phase of our partnership.” The announcements included a few details about the new arrangements. OpenAI’s proposed changes to its corporate structure have drawn the [...]
Nvidia violated antimonopoly laws, China says
LONDON (AP) — China has accused Nvidia of violating the country’s antimonopoly laws and said it would step up scrutiny of the world’s leading chipmaker, escalating tensions with Washington as the two countries hold trade talks this week. Chinese regulators said a preliminary investigation found that Nvidia didn’t comply with conditions imposed when it purchased Mellanox Technologies, a network and data transmission company. The one-sentence statement from the State Administration for Market Regulation statement did [...]
Feds sue Uber over alleged discrimination
The federal government last week said it is suing Uber for allegedly discriminating against passengers with disabilities. The Department of Justice said Uber drivers routinely refuse to serve individuals with disabilities, including those with service dogs. Uber is the largest ride-hailing company in the United States. The lawsuit alleges that Uber drivers have charged illegal cleaning fees for service animal shedding and imposed cancellation fees after denying service. The lawsuit also alleges that drivers have [...]
U.S. says deal reached on TikTok, but details are few
WASHINGTON (AP) — A framework deal has been reached for the ownership of the popular social video platform TikTok, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after weekend trade talks between the United States and China in Spain. Bessent said in a press conference after the latest round of trade talks between the world’s top two economies concluded in Madrid that President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would speak on Friday to possibly finalize the [...]
Mortgage rate declines to 6.35%, the lowest level in nearly a year
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage last week fell to its lowest level in nearly a year, reflecting a pullback in Treasury yields ahead of an expected interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve this week. The long-term rate last week eased to 6.35 percent from 6.5 percent the previous week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.2 percent. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners [...]
Legal News
Agents seize hundreds of thousands of illegal vapes
BENSENVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Federal agents seized hundreds of thousands of illegal vaping products in raids across the country last week as the Trump administration [...]
Judge skewers $1.5B Anthropic settlement
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge this week skewered a $1.5 billion settlement between artificial intelligence company Anthropic and authors who allege nearly half [...]
Anthropic to pay authors $1.5B settlement
NEW YORK (AP) — Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by book authors who say [...]
Business News
Inflation rate at 2.9 percent in August
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation rose last month as the prices of gas, groceries and air fares jumped, according to a new federal government report. Consumer [...]
Southern convenience store chain RaceTrac to purchase Potbelly for $566 million
Sandwich maker Potbelly is being acquired by the gas station and convenience store chain RaceTrac for $566 million. Potbelly, which was founded in Chicago in [...]
Applications for jobless benefits hit 4-year high
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years, the latest sign that the labor market is softening. The [...]
Real Estate
Metropolitan Library to sell vacant land to affordable-housing developer
The Columbus Metropolitan Library has announced plans to sell a parcel of vacant land just north of its Shepard Branch at 850 N. Nelson Road [...]
$2.4 million in funding proposed for local projects
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization have proposed a list of transportation projects to receive a total of $2,447,376 [...]
Number of new apartments in central Ohio expected to fall next year
The number of new apartments available for rent in central Ohio next year is expected to fall by nearly half compared to this year, according [...]
Politics
Tighter enforcement of drug advertising rules could take years
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other administration officials are vowing a crackdown on deceptive drug ads, but the effort is [...]
Democratic senator voices concern about SCORE Act
Sen. Maria Cantwell warned her colleagues last week that a bill heading to the House floor that would regulate college sports would solidify an unsustainable [...]
Trump administration wants to cancel Biden-era leasing rule for public land
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum earlier this week proposed canceling a public-land management rule that allows for the leasing of public land [...]