“Utah Datacenter Could Dump 23 Atomic Bombs Worth of Energy Per Day” [???]
May 20th, 2026Via: The Register:
A proposed mega-scale datacenter in the US state of Utah has caused controversy after a physics professor estimated that the facility and its associated power generation could dump 23 atomic bombs’ worth of energy per day. But the real question is whether it will actually ever get built.
The datacenter is part of the Stratos Project Area in Box Elder County, Utah, overseen by the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), a state agency straddling the military, local government, and private developers.
Creation of the Stratos Project Area, covering about 40,000 acres of land, was given the go-ahead in a May 4 announcement from the Box Elder County Commission, after delaying a vote amid residents’ concerns.
At full buildout, the proposed Stratos campus could require up to 9 GW of power, making it one of the largest datacenter developments in the world. Meta’s planned Hyperion cluster is aiming for 5 GW, for example, while the first facilities hitting 1 GW are only expected to come online this year.
For comparison, 9 GW is roughly comparable to New York City’s average electricity demand.
Utah State University physics professor Dr Rob Davies estimated that the proposed Stratos campus and its associated natural gas power plant could dump energy equivalent to 23 atomic bombs per day into the surrounding Hansel Valley. Davies’ preliminary analysis said this could raise daytime temperatures by 2°F to 5°F (1°C to 3°C) and nighttime temperatures by 8°F to 12°F (4°C to 6°C), potentially causing serious ecological impacts in the high-desert valley.
Not surprisingly, many have questioned Davies’ figures, especially as he doesn’t publish his math, with the topic debated on forums such as Reddit.
However, even skeptics such as Andy Masley, a writer and researcher who claims to have taught high school physics, find that the math broadly checks out, so long as the bomb you measure it by is the one dropped on Hiroshima, which at about 15 kilotons, was much smaller than modern weapons.
The key thing to bear in mind, however, is that an atomic bomb releases its energy all at once in the blink of an eye, whereas in the datacenter’s case, the release of the heat will be spread across 24 hours.
Trump Wants $1B to Protect White House Ballroom from Drones and Other Threats
May 20th, 2026Via: Ars Technica:
President Donald Trump’s latest pitch for using taxpayer dollars to secure his White House ballroom featured a militarized building—including a rooftop hardened against drone strikes and a “drone port” that could potentially house military drones.
The remarks came on May 19 as Trump gave reporters a personal tour of the ballroom project that has already involved the demolition of the White House mansion’s East Wing. The president spoke of installing a rooftop drone base “for unlimited numbers of drones” operated by the US military as a “drone port that would protect all of Washington,” according to Reuters. He also highlighted a ballroom roof made from “impenetrable steel” that would supposedly be “drone-proof” against potential drone strikes.
To pay for such measures, Trump has been urging Republican lawmakers in the US Congress to approve $1 billion in taxpayer funding to provide a wide variety of “security adjustments and upgrades” for his ballroom project. The taxpayer-backed security enhancements would be separate from the $400 million construction cost for the ballroom project that has been funded by private donors, including companies such as Amazon, Apple, Coinbase, Comcast, Google, HP Inc., Lockheed Martin, Meta, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Palantir, Ripple, and T-Mobile.
FBI Seeks US-Wide Access to License Plate Cameras, Wants “Data in Near Real Time”
May 20th, 2026Via: Ars Technica:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced plans to buy nationwide access to a network of license plate readers, saying it will award contracts to one or more vendors that can offer “near real time” information from cameras across the US. The proposed contract is for the FBI Directorate of Intelligence.
“To evaluate and manage threats to personal safety, property, and law enforcement, the FBI requires professional service firms that can provide License Plate Readers (LPRs) for tracking subjects on roads and highways over the US and its territories,” the FBI said in a Request for Proposals (RFP) published on May 14. The FBI said the winning bidder or bidders “must provide law enforcement and/or commercial license plate reader data provided through the Contractor’s existing platform.” The system must cover 75 percent of locations, the FBI said.
The system must offer the ability to search for license plate information “and other descriptive data such as vehicle description information, time/date criteria, and geo-location criteria,” the FBI said. “Additionally, the system must provide search result notifications. The Contractor system must have the ability to access and/or query cameras across the United States and its territories. The Contractor system must be capable of providing this data in near real time.”
Trump: Maybe I’ll Go To Israel And Run For Prime Minister
May 20th, 2026NOW – Trump says Netanyahu "will do whatever I want him to do. He's a great guy," adding, "I'm right now, at 99% in Israel. I could run for Prime Minister. So, maybe after I do this I'll go to Israel run for Prime Minister." pic.twitter.com/Pi1eFBufJL
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) May 20, 2026
Trump Proposes Partial Rollback of ‘Forever Chemical’ Drinking Water Protections
May 20th, 2026Via: The Hill:
The Trump administration on Monday moved to partially roll back drinking water protections from toxic “forever chemicals.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to allow some delays for water systems to regulate these chemicals.
It also said it would rescind four of the six types of forever chemicals covered under a Biden-era rule.
Under that Biden-era regulation, water systems are required to filter out at least some of these toxic substances by a 2029 deadline.
Now, the administration is proposing to allow companies to apply for extensions to push that deadline back to 2031, meaning some communities could end up drinking contaminated water for up to two extra years.
Meanwhile, on Fox News: “Greys, Nordics, Insectoids and Reptilians”
May 19th, 2026Via: Fox News:
“I Think The Choice Is Clear”
May 19th, 2026(X is preventing embeds of this post.)
More from Awaken with JP:
Trump Administration Backs Nuclear Fusion – As Company Tied To Trump Invests In It
May 18th, 2026Pump and dump shitcoin scams played out?
Golden Trump phones?
How about fusion energy???
Via: MarketWatch:
In October, the Trump administration released a “Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap” to support the construction of commercial fusion power plants as soon as the 2030s. It may not exactly resemble a Manhattan Project for nuclear fusion, but the road map indicated the federal government would support a constellation of American fusion companies and no longer treat them like an academic project.
Among several approaches, the road map pointed to a unique reactor concept — field-reversed configurations, “which could significantly reduce the cost of fusion power.” It also referenced aneutronic fuels as being a potential source of “perhaps the greatest cost savings.”
Two months later, in December, Trump Media & Technology Group – the publicly traded company behind President Donald Trump’s Truth Social online platform – announced a merger agreement with TAE Technologies, an American fusion company that has helped pioneer field-reserved configurations and been a leader in the commercial development of aneutronic fuels.
The deal, which has not yet closed, represented an abrupt change of course for TMTG. Its stock soared two years ago as it became a popular way to bet on Trump’s 2024 election win, but it has seen its shares drop by around 80% since that victory. The Florida-based company’s moves to diversify by holding bitcoin and launching exchange-traded funds haven’t come close to lifting its stock back to its prior heights.
Now, TMTG is pivoting toward nuclear fusion, a corner of the energy industry that has the Trump administration’s support as it aims to start providing actual commercial power to the country’s grid in a matter of years, after decades of experimentation. Nuclear fusion, which joins atoms, is the reaction that powers the sun; the technology remains unproven. Existing U.S. nuclear plants, which provide an estimated 18% of the country’s electricity, rely on fission, which splits atoms.
Atlas, Can You Bring Me a Drink?
May 18th, 2026Via: Boston Dynamics:
Pro-Israel Forces Throw Kitchen Sink At Massie Ahead Of Tuesday Primary
May 18th, 2026Via: ZeroHedge:
Eleven months after President Trump launched an all-out political war on Rep. Thomas Massie, the Tuesday, May 19 Kentucky GOP primary is almost here. With polls showing the race going down to the wire, the anti-Massie forces — whose animus is largely driven by Massie’s refusal to vote in accordance with the Israel lobby’s wishes — have been throwing everything they can at him, from vague 11th-hour allegations of inappropriate conduct with a woman, to AI ads showing Massie entering a hotel room with progressive congresswomen, to a new round of Trump social media rants and enough money to make the contest the most expensive House primary in US history. Massie’s challenger is former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.
In just the past few days, various anti-Massie PACs have filed disclosures indicating another huge load of cash showering down on the race. The Republican Jewish Coalition is spending another $470,000. The misleadingly-named United Democracy Project, which is a PAC affiliated with the formidable American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), revealed more than $950,000 in additional spending. The MAGA Kentucky PAC — which was created solely to oust Massie and funded by non-Kentuckian Jewish billionaires Miriam Adelson, Paul Singer and John Paulsen — disclosed more than $1.6 million since May 7.
As large as those sums sound, they’re just a fresh coating atop a mountain of money: The race has now seen more than $20 million dollars in “outside spending” — that is, money spent by PACs and other entities that are not part of the candidates’ campaigns or political parties. Not coincidentally, the next two most-expensive-ever primary races also featured quests by pro-Israel PACs and individuals to oust incumbents who failed to heed the Israel lobby’s voting directives. In 2024, AIPAC alone spent $14.5 million and $9 million, respectively, to successfully dislodge New York Democrat Jamaal Bowman and Missouri Democrat Cori Bush.
