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The NAACP alleged that xAI and a subsidiary company built and operated 27 natural gas-fired turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, without the required Clean Air Act permits. The turbines generated electricity to power xAI’s nearby Colossus 2 data center. The NAACP alleged that the gas plant released harmful pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde, which can increase rates of asthma, respiratory diseases, heart problems, and certain cancers. Had xAI applied for a permit to operate the turbines under the Clean Air Act, the EPA would have required xAI to use the best available technology to reduce those emissions. But xAI…

The Conservatives have called for the greater use of facial recognition technology to investigate crimes. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp wants to make it a requirement for officers to run images of suspects through facial recognition software, where they have been captured on CCTV, mobile phones or camera doorbells.He also wants officers to follow up when geo-tagged items – including phones, laptops, tablets, bikes and cars – are pinging their location at a suspect’s address, as well as tackling stolen goods being sold in plain sight.A Home Office spokesperson said the government was investing heavily in facial recognition technology.”This government…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Geopolitics myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.When Belgium beat the US at the recent World Cup, the Belgian players celebrated by mockingly imitating Donald Trump’s dad dancing. It was a pointed rebuke to the US president — who had boasted about persuading Fifa, the world football authority, to lift the suspension of America’s star striker so that he could play against Belgium.European football is now doing another victory dance. Uefa, the continent’s football federation, has just forced Fifa’s boss, Gianni Infantino, to withdraw a plan to sell a stake…

As for maintenance, most cars, especially earlier halogen models, would require bulb changes. Depending on the vehicle, this was generally as simple as popping the hood, removing a cap from the back of the headlight, and changing the bulb. Now, if an LED cluster malfunctions, the entire unit must be swapped out for another, due to much tighter tolerances in LED sources compared to halogen counterparts. As for headlight alignment, the higher intensities and contrasts of LED lights mean greater sensitivity to misalignment than halogen lights. And there you have it: an unromantic explanation for why night driving now feels…

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is seen before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for his nomination to be Attorney General, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC on July 15, 2026. Nathan Posner | Anadolu | Getty ImagesThe Senate appears ready to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche to be the next attorney general after Sen. John Cornyn struck a deal to formally end the “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate President Donald Trump’s political allies.A spokeswoman for Cornyn, R-Texas, confirmed the deal Monday in a statement to CNBC. “Sen. Cornyn has reached an agreement with the Department of…

Firefighters and Hellenic Civil Protection personnel battle advancing flames during a wildfire near Agios Nektarios in Western Attica, Greece, as firefighting operations continue under difficult conditions. Nick Paleologos | Afp | Getty ImagesGreece is entering its second week of wildfires spread by extreme winds as more countries in Southern Europe battle with heatwaves. The wildfire, which broke out in Western Attica near the Greek capital Athens, has been worsened by Greece’s gusty, dry winds known as Meltemi, which affects the country during July and August. In some areas, the winds have reached speeds of 80 to 100 km per hour,…

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice is being investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog over an allegation he failed to declare an interest. The investigation was opened on Tuesday 28 July and was published on the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner website on Monday.Tice, the MP for Boston and Skegness, said the complaint related to a Commons debate about Israeli influence and whether he should have referenced his register of interests. Reform said Tice did not mention in his 22 June speech that he had been on a trip to Israel last September, funded by a pro-Israel lobbying group.The trip has been…

The European Union gained new powers to inspect AI models, restrict EU market access and fine model providers, raising the stakes for U.S. companies like Anthropic and OpenAI and Google.Under the powers that came into effect on Sunday, the Commission, the EU’s executive arm, can demand to evaluate models before public release in the region, restrict EU market access and fine a provider up to 15 million euros or 3% of its annual turnover, whichever is higher.The new powers could mean further flashpoints between the U.S. and European Commission, with the two sparring over Europe’s push for tech sovereignty and…

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks with reporters following meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington, June 3, 2026.Evelyn Hockstein | ReutersOpenAI is dominating the first visible wave of artificial intelligence spending inside Congress.The maker of ChatGPT accounted for roughly $9 out of every $10 spent on identifiable AI tools by House offices, committees and institutional accounts during the year ending March 31, according to a CNBC analysis of House disbursement records. The records offer only a partial view of Congress’ AI adoption because they exclude free accounts, AI bundled into broader software contracts and most Senate use. Even so, they show…

Alibaba debuts Qwen3-Max, its trillion-parameter AI model trained on 36T tokens. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesAlibaba unveiled its latest and “most powerful” AI model Qwen3.8-Max on Monday as Chinese companies race to close the AI gap with the U.S. Qwen3.8-Max, which is scheduled for release next week, boasts 2.4 trillion parameters, making it one of the “most powerful” AI models in the Chinese tech giant’s Qwen family of AI models to date, Alibaba said. Parameters refer to the numerical settings that shape how AI processes information and generates responses. The model also supports…