Author: potus

(The Center Square) – The week begins with a historic first, the largest capital investment in Pennsylvania history. Amazon’s commitment of $20 billion for data centers promises to change the state’s landscape for years to come.The first of the two centers will be built in Luzerne County and Bucks County where the projects promised to deliver at least 1,250 jobs.“Amazon’s multi-billion-dollar investment in Pennsylvania reinforces our dedication to advancing AI innovation while creating lasting economic opportunities in the state,” said David Zapolsky, Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer. “We look forward to helping drive the next generation of technology…

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined the Line 5 tunnel project would have a “beneficial cumulative effect” on Michigan and its environment by reducing the risk of an oil leak.This is according to a recently-released draft environmental impact statement, which examined the pipeline proposal for Line 5. The transmission line owned by Enbridge goes 645 miles from Superior, Wis., through the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario.It moves more than 500,000 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids daily.While the report found there might be some “direct, short-term, detrimental impacts” during construction on…

(The Center Square) – The summer vacation season usually means higher gas prices, but Georgia drivers are paying 2 cents less at the pump this week, according to AAA.The average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel is $2.86, 4 cents lower than a month ago and 43 cents less than last year.“Georgia pump prices keep on giving, which is great news for drivers heading into the summer driving season,” said Montrae Waiters, AAA-The Auto Club Group spokeswoman. “Remember, we’re still at the front end of hurricane season, and a sudden storm could bump up oil prices, causing gas prices…

U.S. data center operator Vantage has raised 720 million euros ($821.4 million) — the first of its kind deal in Europe.The asset-backed securitization (ABS) deal, the first ever euro-denominated with data center assets on the continent, involves four data centers in Germany.The company said it will be paying on average a 4.3% coupon on the bonds issued through the process.In an ABS deal, a company raises money by using its data center infrastructure and future revenues from the facilities as collateral.Vantage said it will use the funds primarily to pay off existing construction loans previously secured for the facilities.”We believe…

IonQ is buying United Kingdom-based quantum computing startup Oxford Ionics in a deal valued at nearly $1.1 billion.Shares gained about 3%.The companies said in a release that the deal will combine IonQ’s quantum computing hardware and software knowledge with Oxford Ionics’ semiconductor chip technologies. The company aims to deliver breakthroughs in the field and capitalize on growing revenue opportunities.”We believe the advantages of our combined technologies will set a new standard within quantum computing and deliver superior value for our customers through market-leading enterprise applications,” said IonQ CEO Niccolo De Masi in a release.The deal, which is expected to close…

(The Center Square) – In today’s edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square Associate Editor Greg Bishop talks live with Dr. Pamela Denise Long who is running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to fill the seat being vacated by Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield.Long discusses the latest in the debate around immigration enforcement and use of the National Guard in California, Illinois’ migrant sanctuary status and President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”  Bishop also shares recent comments from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker about last week’s protests in Chicago of federal immigration enforcement actions. Pritzker also previews…

Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia, at the London Tech Week exposition in London, UK, on Monday, June 9, 2025.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesLONDON — Wherever Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang goes, excitement follows — this time, all the way to London Tech Week.The Nvidia boss — whom Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives dubs the “godfather of AI” — is more like a rockstar these days, given his wide-spanning effect on the AI industry.”The amount of infrastructure required for AI wouldn’t be possible without that man,” one attendee at London Tech Week said.”He’s like Iron Man,” the attendee…

A row of Waymo vehicles burn on a street during an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025. Benjamin Hanson | Afp | Getty ImagesSeveral Waymo autonomous vehicles were set ablaze in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday amid widespread protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.A spokesperson for the Alphabet-owned company confirmed there were multiple Waymo vehicles in the vicinity of protests that were unable to be retrieved. Waymo is suspending service in the protest area until it is deemed safe, the spokesperson added. Waymo responded with guidance from the Los Angeles Police Department, the spokesperson…

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says artificial intelligence is the “great equalizer” because it lets anyone program using everyday language.Speaking at London Tech Week on Monday, Huang said that, historically, computing was hard and not available to everyone. “We had to learn programming languages. We had to architect it. We had to design these computers that are very complicated,” he said on stage alongside U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer.”Now, all of a sudden … there’s a new programming language. This new programming language is called ‘human.'”Conversational AI models were thrown into the spotlight in 2022 when OpenAI’s ChatGPT exploded onto the…

Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia Corp., speaks during a news conference in Taipei on May 21, 2025.I-hwa Cheng | Afp | Getty ImagesLONDON — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang poured praise on the U.K. on Monday, promising to boost investment in the country’s artificial intelligence sector with his multitrillion-dollar semiconductor company.”The U.K. is in a Goldilocks circumstance,” Huang said, speaking on a panel with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson. “You can’t do machine learning without a machine — and so the ability to build these AI supercomputers here in the U.K. will naturally attract…