News
Xcel proposes new rate scale for data centers to shield consumers from added power costs
2+ hour, 55+ min ago (896+ words) Xcel Energy on Thursday unveiled a special tariff for new, power-hungry data center customers aimed at ensuring centers pay their way and that other utility customers don't get hit with the costs. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission ordered Xcel Energy,…...
Tech companies vie for influence over Kansas app store age verification legislation
1+ mon, 1+ day ago (950+ words) TOPEKA " A brigade of tech sector lobbyists flooded a Kansas committee with information and advocacy before legislators weighed a bill that would require age verification in app stores. Apple and Google "heavily lobbied" committee members ahead of a two-part hearing…...
Texans are demanding their local governments push pause on data centers. Can they?
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (1717+ words) From the Texas Tribune: From Amarillo to Waco, College Station to Harlingen, Texans are raising concerns over the proliferation of data centers " and the tremendous amounts of water and energy they are poised to suck up. Seemingly overnight, these sprawling…...
Banning phones in Kansas schools has bipartisan support. So why is a proposed law stalling?
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (1281+ words) At the start of the year, a proposal to ban cell phones in K-12 Kansas schools seemed to enjoy the same kind of bipartisan support as legislation that brought the Kansas City Chiefs to Kansas and nixed the state sales tax…...
Researchers say no evidence of TikTok censorship, but they remain wary
2+ mon, 2+ day ago (687+ words) As a consortium of investors led by Oracle's Larry Ellison took control of TikTok's U.S. business, users accused the app of throttling videos about Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and posts related to the fatal…...
Federal judge blocks Texas app store age verification law from taking effect in the new year | HPPR
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (292+ words) A Texas federal judge temporarily blocked a new state law requiring adults and minors to verify their age before downloading apps or making in-app purchases Tuesday. Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, or SEAT, and two high school students under 18 sued…...
Texas is getting far less in federal money for broadband expansion than expected
4+ mon, 5+ day ago (775+ words) When the state announced that it's set to receive $1.3 billion of federal funds to improve broadband access, rural Texans who have been waiting years for the money were disappointed. They were expecting three times the amount. Two years ago, $3.3 billion…...
Inside the Facebook groups changing dating in Oklahoma
6+ mon, 1+ week ago (903+ words) Three years ago, an Oklahoma group was created on Facebook that eventually attracted more than 128,000 women, resulting in thousands of posts per month. The topic was simple: men. The purpose of "Are we dating the same guy? OKC/Tulsa" is…...
Oklahoma officials push for federal rule change to jam cell signals in prisons
6+ mon, 2+ week ago (425+ words) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on whether to ease its longstanding ban on cellphone jamming technology in correctional facilities at the end of this month. Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma Department of Corrections interim director Justin Farris say…...
The Justice Department and Google battle over how to fix a search engine monopoly
11+ mon, 2+ week ago (1120+ words) After a federal judge ruled that Google had a monopoly on the search market, the tech giant and the government are in court to debate penalties. One possible result: forcing Google to spin off Chrome. Nearly a year ago, U.S. District…...