OUR PICKSBoosting U.S. Power Grid | U.C.L.A. Can’t Let Protesters Block Jewish Students from Campus | MI6 Tunnels That Inspired Ian Fleming Will Open to the Public, and more
· Biden Admin Announces $2.2B in Grants to Boost U.S. Power Grid
The grid is overburdened, under-resourced — and vital to the energy transition. New federal funding aims to increase capacity and get more clean energy built
· U.C.L.A. Can’t Let Protesters Block Jewish Students from Campus, Judge Says
The judge’s temporary ruling came after protests over the war in Gaza in the spring led to over 200 arrests on campus
· F.B.I. Investigating Efforts to Infiltrate Presidential Campaigns, Possibly by Iran
The bureau has repeatedly warned about foreign countries meddling in the upcoming election, including using artificial intelligence to spread misinformation
· Doctors Accused of Spreading Misinformation Lose Certifications
The doctors continued to promote ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medication, as a treatment for covid long after the medical community found it to be ineffective
· MI6 Tunnels That Inspired Ian Fleming Will Open to the Public
The site beneath High Holborn — officially known as the Kingsway ¬Exchange Tunnels — will also have UK’s deepest licensed bar
Biden Admin Announces $2.2B in Grants to Boost U.S. Power Grid (Jeff St. John, Canary Media)
The U.S. power grid is overburdened and under-resourced — and the Biden administration just announced a major investment aimed at helping solve those problems.
The Department of Energy has offered $2.2 billion to eight projects across 18 states that could expand and strengthen the grid. The projects range from deploying grid-enhancing technologies that boost the capacity of existing power lines to building brand-new high-voltage transmission cables that will enable wind farms in the Great Plains and off the coast of New England to plug into the grid.
Tuesday’s announcement represents another significant federal investment in the U.S. transmission grid, which isn’t growing fast enough to allow clean energy to come online at the pace needed to combat climate change. Energy experts warn that without a doubling or tripling of existing grid capacity, the country will fail to hit the Biden administration’s goal of halving carbon emissions by 2030.
The $2.2 billion in federal grants, to be matched by nearly $10 billion in private-sector and local government investments, will help the country take a small step toward that goal. The new projects will enable 13 gigawatts of new clean energy resources to be connected to the grid, DOE says, including 4.8 GW of offshore wind. The awards are conditional for now — all projects must still commit matching funds and meet certain milestones to receive the federal money.
The grants mark the second round of funding under the DOE’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program, created by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In October 2023, the GRIP Program chose 58 projects across 44 states to receive a collective $3.5 billion. Those projects are expected to allow 35 gigawatts of new clean energy capacity to come online.
U.C.L.A. Can’t Let Protesters Block Jewish Students from Campus, Judge Says (Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times)
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily barred the University of California, Los Angeles, from allowing protesters to block Jewish students from having access to the campus and facilities such as libraries, classrooms and gathering places.
Judge Mark C. Scarsi’s preliminary injunction order came after three Jewish students sued the university over protests in the spring concerning Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The demonstrations roiled the campus, and more than 200 people were arrested after pro-Palestinian protests and pro-Israel counterprotests turned violent. (Cont.)
