US States

Northern Lights Tonight: Possible Visibility in 18 US States

Northern lights may be visible in eighteen US states tonight, which is pretty exciting, and the news has got me thinking. We’re talking about a potential celestial show for folks in states like Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Washington, South Dakota, Michigan, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Idaho, Alaska, Oregon, New York, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, Wyoming, and Wisconsin. That’s a pretty impressive list, a wide swath across the country! The excitement is palpable, even though, as someone pointed out, the aurora map they checked earlier seemed to shrink back a bit, making it a bit of a tease.

The whole thing is apparently due to a “symmetric full-halo Coronal Mass Ejection,” a fancy way of saying the sun is throwing a tantrum and ejecting a bunch of solar material and magnetic fields our way, according to NOAA.… Continue reading

Senate Votes 99-1 to Remove AI Regulation Ban from Tax Bill

The Senate voted to remove a provision that would have prevented US states from regulating artificial intelligence, dealing a blow to Silicon Valley and White House officials who backed the measure. During an overnight voting session, senators overwhelmingly opposed the language, with a vote of 99-1. This rejection occurred despite support for the pause on state AI legislation from GOP allies in the tech industry and White House technology advisors.

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