Connect with us

News

The death of Queen Elizabeth II: Live updates 

Published

on

The death of Queen Elizabeth II: Live updates 
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and Caroline Garcia of France stand on court docket for a second of silence for Queen Elizabeth previous to their Girls’s Singles Semifinal match of the 2022 US Open in New York on September 08, 2022. (Julian Finney/Getty Pictures)

America turned its eyes to the outdated nation on Thursday, after the demise of Queen Elizabeth II. When information of her sudden decline broke, tv networks broke into programing — virtually as if a US President had died. In New York, the US Open tennis event and the United Nations held moments of silence to honor her passing. In Washington, flags on official buildings had been lowered to half-staff.  

Throughout a reign that lasted seven a long time, the Queen and the royal household conjured fascination, affection and even some jealousy in a nation that broke away from the throne virtually 250 years in the past. 

She met 13 US Presidents, beginning with a go to to Washington to see Harry Truman earlier than she grew to become Queen. (Her first official head-of-state assembly with a US commander-in-chief was with Dwight Eisenhower). President Joe Biden, who stopped by the British embassy in Washington on Thursday to signal a e book of condolences, was the final President to carry official talks with the Queen.

In an announcement, Biden despatched “our deepest condolences to the Royal Household, who will not be solely mourning their Queen, however their pricey mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her legacy will loom massive within the pages of British historical past, and within the story of our world.”

And amid the official rituals of remembrance, there have been some smaller, however poignant gestures. In Santa Monica, California, patrons confirmed up at “Ye Olde King’s Head” a restaurant and reward store, to purchase memorabilia and share recollections of the Queen.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Trump picks Musk ally David Sacks as crypto and AI tsar

Published

on

Trump picks Musk ally David Sacks as crypto and AI tsar

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

President-elect Donald Trump has named venture capitalist David Sacks as the White House’s artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency tsar, the latest confidant of Elon Musk to receive a top appointment in the new government.

Sacks, who was an early employee alongside Musk at PayPal, is a co-host of the All-In podcast and emerged as one of the earliest and most vocal Silicon Valley supporters of Trump, hosting a fundraiser for the candidate in San Francisco in June.

“David has the knowledge, business experience, intelligence and pragmatism to MAKE AMERICA GREAT in these two critical technologies,” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Advertisement

“He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the US,” he added.

AI and crypto regulation are two of the incoming administration’s most pressing priorities.

Crypto investors and founders hope Trump will take a more favourable approach to the sector than Joe Biden’s administration, after the president-elect offered vocal support for digital currencies during his campaign.

This week Trump nominated Paul Atkins, who is sympathetic to the sector, to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. The price of bitcoin, which has soared since the election, climbed past $100,000 for the first time on Thursday after Atkins’ selection.

Trump’s position on AI is less clear, but in his first term he issued an executive order “committed to strengthening American leadership in AI” and many in the sector anticipate lighter regulation.

Advertisement

Sacks threw his weight behind the candidate on social media and via his podcast during the campaign. His support earned him a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in July.

He has been vocal on foreign policy issues as well as tech concerns, including repeatedly criticising President Biden’s approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sacks has argued instead for Kyiv to “cut a deal” to ensure a swift ceasefire with Moscow.

His appointment creates another bond between Trump’s Republican party and Silicon Valley, which has historically been a Democratic stronghold.

Musk is the most prominent member of the tech elite to have taken a role in the incoming administration, but other high-profile figures such as venture capital Marc Andreessen have played informal roles such as helping to find candidates for the ‘department of government efficiency’.

Sacks is part of a so-called PayPal mafia, a group of founders and early employees at the payments company that includes Musk, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Sequoia managing partner Roelof Botha.

Advertisement

He has deepened his connection to Musk by backing a number of the entrepreneur’s companies, including xAI, X and SpaceX, through his venture capital firm Craft Ventures.

Sacks in May launched his own AI chat platform called Glue.

Sacks’s firm said his new position will not conflict with his existing positions.

“The tsar is an advisory role and has the same government classification as ‘doge’, which does not require David to leave Craft,” the firm said.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Some rural Nevadans want Trump to stop the state's solar energy boom

Published

on

Some rural Nevadans want Trump to stop the state's solar energy boom

Panels in MGM Resorts’ Mega Solar Array are shown after it was launched on June 28, 2021 in Dry Lake Valley, Nevada. The project sits on 640 acres of desert about 30 miles north of the Las Vegas Strip in the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Ethan Miller/Getty Images/Getty Images North America


hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

Ethan Miller/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

DYER, Nev. – Leaving Las Vegas, where the sprawl once gave way to scrub land and Joshua trees, the desert in many places is being transformed.

New industrial scale solar farms go for miles, their neat rows of millions of panels glaring in the sun. And there are a lot more planned, such as the “Esmeralda Seven,” projects near the southwest corner of the state bordering California that would provide enough power for an estimated three million homes.

“It’s being pushed down our throats,” says Mary Jane Zakas, who lives near the 100 square mile stretch of high desert where the seven are proposed.

Advertisement

Esmeralda County, population 736, is one of the most remote and poorest parts of the country. Zakas sees little benefit from the solar boom other than a few construction jobs. The power, she says, will just get exported to cities at the expense of local viewsheds and wildlife.

“Imagine, looking out your window any way and only seeing solar,” Zakas says. “It’s the Biden administration at the moment that has told the state of Nevada we have to comply.”

Aerial view of a Solar Farm near Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24, 2018. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo credit should read DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Aerial view of a Solar Farm near Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24, 2018. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo credit should read DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images/AFP


hide caption

Advertisement

toggle caption

DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

The 2024 Election marked the first time Nevada has backed a Republican for president in twenty years. President-elect Donald Trump’s win may in part be due to rural backlash against these new, industrial scale solar energy projects. But it’s also not a given that Trump will stop or even slow the solar boom.

Biden’s carbon-free pledge

The controversy in rural Nevada comes after the Biden administration’s goal to get the U.S. to 100% renewable power sources by 2035. A big part of that initiative includes the Department of Interior’s new Western Solar Plan. It’s on track to be finalized in the coming weeks and could possibly open up tens of millions more acres of federal land across eleven western states.

Advertisement

Almost a third of the plan involves Nevada, which is roughly 85% federal land. But it’s also remote, sparsely populated and often sunny. Federal land managers say their plan identifies the least disruptive locations that are near transmission lines or new planned transmission corridors.

But in rural Nevada, mistrust of federal agencies goes back generations. It’s been estimated that close to half of Esmeralda County could be open to new solar development under the plan. Mark Hartman, a farmer near the tiny town of Dyer, thinks there’s been too much emphasis on green energy during the last four years.

What we do know is that the Trump administration wants energy independence,” Hartman says. “And that is through multiple means, not just solar or wind.”

Whether Trump’s energy policy will be “all of the above,” or just “drill baby drill” is the source of tremendous speculation across the West right now.

Trump’s appetite for solar in question

Ben Norris, vice president of regulatory affairs at the Solar Energy Industries Association, says many companies are expecting a similar situation to what occurred in 2017. Federal offices set up to fast track renewable energy permitting were dismantled or applications for new projects weren’t seen as a priority by federal land regulators.

Advertisement

We are concerned that this type of administrative slow walking could be something that the industry has to deal with again,” Norris says.

But on the other hand Norris says Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Interior, Doug Burgum, has a pro-green energy track record. Burgum, who’s also been tapped to head a new National Energy Council, will have a lot of say over energy development on federal land. As North Dakota Governor, he set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. He also presided over a significant expansion of wind power.

“He appears to have a sensible all of the above approach to energy issues generally in his state,” Norris says.

Norris generally supports the overall Western Solar Plan because it would increase the amount of federal land available to the industry by close to tenfold. Though that’s still far less than what’s open to oil and gas companies.

In Nevada, about a quarter of the state’s electricity comes from solar. But it’s forecast to soon double as its population keeps booming.

Advertisement

Strange bedfellows

Meanwhile, opposition to industrial scale solar isn’t just coming from conservatives here. Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director for the Center for Biological Diversity says some projects will directly threaten wildlife and important watersheds.

Donnelly doesn’t think Trump will slow down all the capital that’s flooding into Nevada for solar projects either.

“There are companies that want to exploit public lands for financial gain and Trump’s all about that, and whether it’s lithium or whether it’s gold, solar or oil, they approve it,” Donnelly says.

Still, some of Trump’s most staunch supporters seem to have faith that he will intervene and slow down the solar boom. High rural turnout in statewide elections in Nevada can overpower more Democratic leaning Las Vegas. Esmeralda County went 82% for Trump. Mary Jane Zakas was also elected to the local county commission.

Trump has never had limited thinking,” Zakas says. “He is very good at bringing all of the net together for the best of America’s needs.”

Advertisement

Zakas says Trump will give rural people a voice again.

Continue Reading

News

Map: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Northern California

Published

on

Map: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Northern California

Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times

A major, 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 10:44 a.m. Pacific time about 40 miles southwest of Ferndale, Calif., data from the agency shows.

U.S.G.S. data earlier reported that the magnitude was 6.6.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

Advertisement

Aftershocks in the region

An aftershock is usually a smaller earthquake that follows a larger one in the same general area. Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.

Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles

Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

Advertisement

Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Thursday, Dec. 5 at 10:55 a.m. Pacific time. Aftershocks data is as of Thursday, Dec. 5 at 2:14 p.m. Pacific time.

Continue Reading

Trending