Poll: 69% nationwide believe data center costs outweigh benefits

(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. David Scott, a Democrat from Georgia's 13th Congressional District, has died.

He was 80.

Scott, fifth member of Congress to die in office since January 2025, was first elected to Congress in 2002 after serving in the Georgia General Assembly. He was in the state House from 1975-82 and the state Senate from 1983 until his election to Congress. 

In 2020, Scott was named chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. 

He had qualified to seek his 13th term and was facing six opponents from his party in the May 19 primary, including state Rep. Jasmine Clark and state Sen. Emanuel D. Jones. 

Hernan Sarmiento nearly went out of business in the Colombian city of Santa Marta due to his astronomical electricity costs.

But a flagship solar project introduced by the country's first left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, allowed him to keep his grocery store and even pass on some of the savings to his customers in the form of lower prices.

Petro came to power in 2022 with the most ambitious energy transition plan of all Latin America. 

He vowed to halt all new oil and gas exploration, end fracking, and to make one of the world's most biodiverse countries carbon neutral by 2050.

Three-quarters of Colombia's electricity comes from renewable sources, mostly hydroelectric plants, with fossils fuels making up the rest.

The share of solar and wind rose from two percent in 2022 to 17 percent now, according to the energy ministry.

But with just four months left before Petro leaves office, Colombia's energy transition "still lags far behind its ambition," the Climate Action Tracker, which monitors countries' progress towards their climate commitments, said. It rated Colombia's policies as "insufficient."

- Savings from solar -

Central to Colombia's climate ambitions is "Colombia Solar" -- a $2-billion plan to equip over a million citizens with solar panels by 2030.

Colombia's Caribbean coast, which will host the first international conference on phasing out fossil fuels starting Friday in the city of Santa Marta, was first in line for the rollout.

The region of white-sand beaches is soaked in sun for most of the year but pays a premium for electricity because it is generated using natural gas and coal, not water as in much of the country.

Sarmiento's electricity bill fell from around $650 to $200 after solar panels were installed for free on the roof of his store and his wife's sewing workshop. 

"I feel more relieved," the 64-year-old told AFP.

Across the country in the southwestern city of Cali, then sun also powers some 2,000 low-income households.

Panels glint on the rooftops of small brick houses in a neighborhood mainly inhabited by families displaced by conflict. 

Andrea Mina, 32, runs a community kitchen that provides food to more than a hundred people.

Solar energy has helped her cut costs by nearly 10 percent, allowing her to serve up more food, she related.

- 'Green colonialism' - 

Representatives of around 50 countries will gather in Santa Marta, one of Colombia's largest coal-exporting ports, at the weekend to discuss the difficulty of weaning the world off fossil fuels.

Colombia is Latin America's fourth-biggest oil producer. Oil and gas account for 30 percent of its exports.

Despite being an energy power, many families have to choose "between paying the (electricity) bill or eating," Mines and Energy Minister Edwin Palma told AFP.

By doubling the amount of solar power in the energy mix in four years, the government has helped solve the dilemma, he said.

"There has been progress," Oscar Vanegas, an economics professor at the Industrial University of Santander in northern Colombia acknowledged, while arguing it did not amount to "a real energy transition." 

Some renewable energy programs, such as the installation of wind turbines in wind-swept northern Guajira peninsula, have foundered on resistance from Indigenous communities, who complain of "green colonialism."

Weaning Colombia off fossil fuels will take decades, renewables expert Ismael Suescun warned.

"It's not just about stopping hydrocarbon exploration and extraction" Suescun said, calling for a "gradual" energy transition that does not leave a huge hole in Colombia's wallet.

It's an argument often heard in neighboring Brazil, including from its left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has backed a major oil project near the mouth of the Amazon River.

Defending the project in February 2025 Lula said the revenues were necessary "to finance the energy transition, which will be very expensive."

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Iranian officials have kept a united front in the Middle East war and there appears for now to be no major split within the leadership, even though factional disagreements exist and the complete absence from public view of key decision makers creates confusion, analysts said.

Announcing an extension of the ceasefire in the war against the Islamic republic, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the move was partly "based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so".

Iran's leadership has undergone immense upheaval since US and Israeli forces began striking the Islamic republic on February 28. Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Pakpour were killed on the first day of the conflict and top security official Ali Larijani in March.

Yet their successors have remained largely invisible.

Ali Khamenei's son and successor Mojtaba is yet to appear in public after being named, and both new Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi and new security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr have restricted themselves to written condolence messages for colleagues killed in the war.

But high profile figures who have survived the war in their posts -- notably parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian -- have largely backed a unified policy of pursuing diplomacy with the US to end the war without offering concessions.

- 'Not aired publicly -

"I imagine there are some differences between major power centres and political currents," said Farzan Sabet, a managing researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

"But it's not clear that these differences and internal debates mean there is a major conflict happening within the Iranian leadership or that they are seriously fractured. They appear to maintain their overall cohesion and ability to make decisions and act on them," he added.

In the absence of Mojtaba Khamenei, Vahidi and Zolghadr, the frontman of both the war effort and diplomacy has been Ghalibaf, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards and national police chief who has also held civilian posts such as Tehran mayor and now parliament speaker.

Ghalibaf earlier this month led the Iranian delegation for talks with the US in Islamabad, meeting Vice President JD Vance in the highest level Iran-US encounter since before the Islamic revolution. On April 16 he also met Asim Munir -- the army chief of key mediator Pakistan -- in Tehran.

Despite prolific posting on X in English and Persian, Ghalibaf has rarely been seen in public in Iran during the war. Late last week, however, he gave a lengthy interview to state TV where he defended pursuing diplomacy in what may have been a response to hardline criticism.

"This system does have factional divisions that are reflected in tactics against the Trump administration and negotiations, but these are not generally aired publicly," said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House in London. 

"There's no solid public evidence confirming a major internal split at the top of Iran's leadership right now, so the claim should be treated cautiously," she told AFP.

"It makes sense that Vahidi and Mojtaba Khamenei have not been seen because Tehran is still worried about Israeli assassinations."

- 'Important and difficult debates' -

But politics in the Islamic republic -- a theocracy with a supreme leader appointed for life but also a directly elected parliament and president -- has never been entirely monolithic, with hardliners and more moderate forces vying for position since the ousting of the shah in 1979.

Thomas Juneau, professor at the University of Ottawa, said there is "no public evidence that the Iranian leadership is seriously fractured" but added: "I have no doubt that behind the scenes, there are important and difficult debates within the Iranian leadership both on next steps and on succession issues."

He emphasised that it is "the norm, not exception" that there is closed-door debate within the top echelons of the Islamic republic, especially at a time of such stress.

"There is most likely a high degree of paranoia as a result of the heavy Israeli intelligence penetration," which had led to the killing of its leaders, he said.

The situation has been more confused since the killing of Ali Khamenei, who was leader since 1989 and had the final say on all major issues, making his stance clear in regular televised speeches.

"Mojtaba Khamenei appears to maintain broad oversight of decision-making, but nowhere near the same level of day-to-day management as his father, probably due to a combination of security concerns and physical incapacitation," said Sabet.

This means the Revolutionary Guards ideological army under Vahidi "now more nakedly exercises power", he added.

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The United States does not get to dictate the terms of upcoming trade talks, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, when asked about reports that Washington wanted an "entry fee" before starting negotiations.

The United States and Canada are set to hold talks on revising a North American free trade agreement, a pact President Donald Trump signed and praised during his first term but now dismisses as "irrelevant." 

Quoting multiple Canadian sources, Canada's public broadcaster CBC reported Wednesday that Trump's team wants an "entry fee," or concessions, from Canada before starting talks on revising the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Prominent Canadian politician and former Quebec premier Jean Charest, now a member of Carney's advisory council on US trade, told French public broadcaster Radio-Canada that Trump is demanding "concessions before we sit down at the table."

Asked about those reports in Ottawa, and whether Canada should offer concessions in order to persuade the US to talk, Carney said "no."

"It's not a case of the US dictating the terms...It's not a case of (one country) demanding and the other begging," he said in French. "It's a negotiation."

The offices of US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the CBC's report.

Since taking office just over one year ago, Carney has maintained a defiant tone in response to Trump's threats, insisting Canada will not buckle when faced with unreasonable trade demands.

He has also said Canada needs to dramatically reduce its economic and security reliance on the United States.

In an address to the nation on Sunday, he said: "Many of our former strengths based on our close ties to America have become our weaknesses, weaknesses that we must correct."

Trump has imposed punishing tariffs on key Canadian sectors but has so far adhered to most of the USMCA, meaning more than 85 percent of US-Canada trade has remained tariff-free.

His administration has said it wants major changes to the USMCA in revision talks said to intensify after July 1. 

Trump's auto and steel tariffs have hit particularly hard in Canada's largest province, Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford has retaliated by blocking the sale of all US liquor and wine.

Lutnick called that ban "outrageous" in congressional testimony on Wednesday.

But Ford has said he will not waver until all US tariffs are removed.

"I don't trust President Trump," Ford said Wednesday.

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Greece's parliament on Wednesday lifted the immunity of 13 lawmakers, as demanded by European and Greek prosecutors investigating the alleged theft of millions of euros in EU farm subsidies.

According to Greek authorities, the network defrauded at least 23 million euros ($27 million) after it started around 2018. 

Parliament Vice President Georgios Georgantas said lawmakers had overwhelmingly voted to lift the immunity of 13 lawmakers from the ruling conservative New Democracy party of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which has been ensnared in the scandal.

The politicians had  requested that their immunity be waived to clear their name.

The EU's European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has announced probes into 20 New Democracy members, including active and former lawmakers.

Those under investigation are reportedly cited in legal wiretaps, allegedly discussing the cases of specific farmers and frequently attempting to intervene on their behalf.

All those involved deny improper acts.

Many say their involvement in the cases of constituents is part of their duties as lawmakers.

"The role of a member of parliament is to take an interest in the citizen and, of course, to intervene in matters that cannot be resolved under the existing legislation," former agriculture minister Costas Tsiaras, who was among those to resign in April, told state TV ERT on Tuesday.

Several senior politicians have resigned, including two ministers and two deputy ministers this month, prompting a government reshuffle.

The EPPO has said the investigation concerns "instigation of breach of trust, computer fraud and false attestation with the intent to obtain for another an unlawful benefit".

- Dozens of arrests -

Ministers cannot be independently prosecuted by Greek courts. Any probe must first pass through parliament in a cumbersome process that is frequently blocked by the government's majority lawmakers.

Greek police last year made dozens of arrests over the scandal, though the suspects were not politicians. 

Some government members have said the investigation is politically motivated and criticised frequent leaks in the media.

Mitsotakis weighed in on Sunday, saying on Facebook that the EPPO must "prove its objectivity".

EPPO first detailed the scam last May, accusing subsidy beneficiaries of making claims for land that they did not own and exaggerating the number of animals on farms. Some people receiving payments had no link to agriculture.

The scheme started after the EU's Common Agricultural Policy began calculating subsidies based on land instead of livestock in 2014.

The incomplete land registry at the time made ownership across much of Greece unclear. Farmers were therefore allowed to declare land owned elsewhere in the country to claim subsidies.

Mitsotakis, who notes the fraud began before he came to power in 2019, has vowed to imprison the "thieves" responsible and to reclaim the funds.

Elections are scheduled in Greece next year and Mitsotakis's party leads in opinion polls, but is not expected to secure an absolute majority.

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Reckitt Benckiser, the British supplier of health and hygiene products including Durex condoms, said Wednesday that soaring oil prices caused by the Middle East war could cost it up to £150 million ($203 million).

Reckitt, whose brands also include Dettol surface cleaner and Nurofen painkillers, revealed the fallout in a first-quarter trading update.

"Modelling a scenario of oil at $110 a barrel for the remainder of 2026 indicates a £130 million to £150 million gross impact on our input cost base... which we see as a manageable level," it said.

Petrochemical-linked materials including ammonia, ethanol and silicone oil are used in the making and packaging of condoms, according to Bloomberg News.

The financial newswire added in a report Wednesday that the Malaysian company Karex, which makes 20 percent of the world's condoms, including for Durex, is preparing to raise its prices by up to 30 percent because of the war's impact. 

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The United States has vowed to blockade Iran's ships until the country makes a deal to end their war. But is the blockade working?

Analysts and ship-tracking data paint a complicated picture. Shifting objectives and shadowy activity by vessels making the success of the US operation hard to measure.

"There's been confusion over the scope and the parameters of the blockade because of conflicting information given by the US administration and some delays in when information has been released," Bridget Diakun, an analyst at shipping journal Lloyd's List Intelligence, told AFP.

Here are facts about the military standoff over shipping access to the Strait of Hormuz, based on data from tracking sources including Kpler and its MarineTraffic platform, and Bloomberg.

- Where is the blockade? -

After the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, Iranian forces effectively closed the strait by targeting vessels trying to cross between its southeastern coast and the northern tip of Oman.

After later peace talks failed during a ceasefire, US forces launched a counter-blockade on April 13. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, said the US blockade would be enforced further east, at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman.

- What are its terms? -

Launching the operation, US Central Command said its blockade applied to ships of all nations going to or from Iranian ports.

The US Navy later said it would also block ships suspected of carrying "contraband" including oil, weapons and nuclear material linked to Iran -- regardless of their location.

Lloyd's List Intelligence on Wednesday quoted an unnamed US defence official as saying that the force was now gauging the blockade's success on how badly it damaged Iran's trade, not on how many rogue vessels crossed the line.

- Has it been breached? -

Tracking data and satellite images analysed by maritime firms show that dozens of ships that potentially fall under these terms have crossed the line, including Iranian-flagged vessels under US sanctions and vessels going to and from Iranian ports.

US Central Command says similar numbers have turned around under US orders. It issues daily updates on its operation, and up until April 17 said that "zero" vessels had evaded the blockade.

On April 18, it said the blockade had "completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea". But since then it has only listed the number of vessels turned around -- currently standing at 28.

- Can ships dodge it? -

Counting the number of rogue vessels that may have skirted the blockade is difficult, due to the conflicting definitions and other factors.

Some sanctioned vessels have sailed west into the Gulf beyond Hormuz, but flagged their destination as Iraq or other non-Iranian destinations.

Once inside the Gulf, Diakun said, vessels can "spoof" their transponders to hide their positions and even perform ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil, testing the terms of the US blockade.

Several Iranian-linked vessels also appear to have turned off their transponders while sailing out of the Gulf before reappearing in the Arabian Sea, satellite imagery seen by maritime firms apparently confirming their route.

- Are there exemptions? -

US officials suggested early in the blockade that certain vessels would be granted exemptions on humanitarian grounds, but did not specify the exact conditions.

Tracking data showed that at least two vessels travelled in and out of the Gulf unimpeded having either dropped off or picked up food at Iranian ports.

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Frankfurt airport opened a new terminal on Wednesday, just a few years late and a billion euros over budget, with officials hailing a success in a country notorious for troubled infrastructure projects. 

Terminal 3 at Germany's biggest airport, which has an 18-metre (60-foot) high ceiling and vast glass facade, is designed to handle around an additional 20 million passengers a year. 

The privately financed project took around 10 years to complete, and was supposed to open in 2022 but was delayed due to problems linked to the Covid pandemic. 

It cost four billion euros ($4.7 billion) to build, higher than an original estimated cost of 2.5 to three billion euros. 

Still, those attending the terminal's inauguration ceremony simply seemed relieved it had been finished at all.

"The clear message from Terminal 3 is 'yes, we can carry out major projects in Germany,'" said Stefan Schulte, CEO of airport operator Fraport, speaking from the site's duty-free area.

In total, 57 airlines will move into the terminal, with German carrier Condor set to be the main user of the site. 

It is a contrast to the chaotic construction of Berlin's international airport -- a catalogue of problems meant it took 14 years to build the site, which finally opened in 2020. 

Other infrastructure projects have also fared poorly, with critics complaining of onerous permit procedures and strict rules around all aspects of construction. 

A mammoth new rail hub, "Stuttgart 21", was supposed to open in 2019 but has been indefinitely delayed, leaving a vast area in the centre of the southwestern city looking like a building site.

Not everyone is happy with the addition of a new terminal in Frankfurt, however.

The timing has raised eyebrows, with global aviation in crisis due to the Middle East war, while critics also note passenger numbers at the airport have fallen due to competition from other hubs.

Green groups have been angered, with the Initiative for Climate Protection, the Environment and Against Noise in Air Transport slamming the new terminal.

It will lead to greater "destruction of the environment, as well as the health and quality of life of airport residents through aircraft noise, (carbon dioxide) and pollutants," said the group.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday defended the Trump administration's recent about-face to temporarily extend a sanctions waiver that allowed the sale of Russian oil already at sea.

The month-long relief announced last Friday was meant to cool soaring energy prices. But it came just two days after Bessent told reporters that Washington would not renew the waiver.

The latest move allowed for purchases of oil and petroleum products that had been loaded onto vessels as of Friday, through 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on May 16.

It prolongs an earlier easing of sanctions that expired on April 11.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned sanctions relief on Russian oil over the weekend, saying that this provides money for Moscow's war on Ukraine.

Asked about the US administration's change of tack during a hearing, Bessent said Wednesday that the shift came after he was "approached by more than 10 of the most vulnerable and poorest countries in terms of energy."

This happened on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings, which brought finance ministers, central bankers and other leaders to Washington.

"They asked us to extend that sanction (relief), and it's only for 30 days," Bessent told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.

He rejected criticism that temporary waivers on purchases of Russian and Iranian oil served to enrich Tehran, saying the aim was to lower energy costs.

After US-Israeli strikes targeting Iran since February 28, Tehran retaliated by effectively closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy shipments.

Oil prices surged, squeezing countries, especially those dependent on energy exports from the region.

US gasoline prices jumped as well, putting pressure on American households ahead of key midterm elections in November.

But such waivers could complicate efforts to deprive Russia of oil revenue needed for its war on Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Bessent added that many US allies in the Gulf, as well as some Asian countries, have requested foreign exchange swap lines.

"Swap lines, whether it's from the Federal Reserve or the Treasury, are to maintain order in the dollar-funding markets and to prevent the sale of the US assets in a disorderly way," the Treasury chief told lawmakers.

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(The Center Square) – The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical on Wednesday about expanding admissibility standards for immigrants under suspicion of a crime.

The high court justices heard arguments in Blanche v. Lau, a case that focuses on a Chinese national who was convicted of trademark counterfeiting. In 2012, Muk Choi Lau was charged with trademark counterfeiting in New Jersey and fled the country.

When Lau returned, an immigration officer admitted him on parole, due to the pending criminal charge on his record. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, an immigrant who is admitted on parole must provide clear and convincing evidence they are admissible into the United States.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials began removal proceedings for Lau based on his charges. He was eventually convicted of trademark counterfeiting.

The justices debated the meaning of clear and convincing evidence in the immigration statutes and how it would apply to this case.

Justice Samuel Alito posed a hypothetical where an immigrant entering the United States was under suspicion by the French government for killing someone in France. He asked whether the individual could move forward in removal proceedings.

Shay Dvortetzky, a lawyer for Lau, said the immigrant could be admitted into the country, even under that circumstance because there was not a clear conviction that they engaged in the alleged murder.

“The charge does not show that the person has actually committed the offense,” Dvoretzky said.

Chief Justice John Roberts sharply criticized Dvoretsky’s response and said it was “bizarre” that the immigrant would not be detained.

Sopan Joshi, a lawyer arguing for the Trump administration, said a mere charge in a criminal case is enough evidence to suggest the crime was committed and the individual is removable.

“When prosecutors file charges or seek indictments, the prosecutor thinks you did it and can prove to the jury that you did it,” Joshi said.

Dvoretsky warned that a ruling in favor of the Trump administration could expand the government’s authority to parole or detain individuals based on little evidence. He pointed to increased immigration enforcement action over the past year.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson appeared to agree with Dvoretsky’s explanation. She said presidential administrations that are more strict on immigration could use a ruling in the case to restrict access.

“You could imagine a world in which a government is not really interested in immigration could use this kind of thing to inappropriately parole people so that it depressed immigration,” Jackson said.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh hit back at Jackson’s assertion, calling it a “conspiracy theory.” He said the court’s decision should not be based on potential outcomes from a presidential administration.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that the government did not have adequate proof to determine that Lau committed the crime.

“You didn’t have proof at the moment that he presented himself that he committed a crime of moral turpitude,” Sotomayor said.

Joshi said uncovering solid proof would require a hearing with an immigration judge, which would not be feasible to conduct at a port of entry.

“The government is not challenging the clear and convincing evidence standard,” Alito said. “The question is whether the government must prove if it took clear and convincing evidence.”

The justices debate privately and vote on a ruling in the case. The high court is expected to release a decision in the case by July.