However, Troels Lund Poulsen, the head of the Liberals, which is the largest party in the blue bloc, has categorically dismissed the prospect of again forming a government with the Social Democrats, calling on Rasmussen to align with him on the right. “A new direction for Denmark is achievable,” he stated.
At that time, Phillips was a fashion model and also shared insights regarding Epstein’s ties to Mountbatten-Windsor, recounting a tale involving her friend, who prefers to stay anonymous and has not spoken out publicly, allegedly being directed to engage in sexual activities with Mountbatten-Windsor.
Many of these problems can be tackled with a mix of software updates and policy changes, and the report proposes several measures along those lines.
Inertia from generators with large rotating masses—think hydro or natural gas turbines—is usually credited with enhancing grid stability, but this analysis indicates that even tripling inertia would have reduced the system’s oscillations by only about 3 percent. So it’s unclear that running more conventional plants would have helped much.
That said, the report does point to one clear concern tied to a single type of renewable: rooftop solar. The issue is less that equipment ignored rules and more that effective rules are lacking. Red Eléctrica, Spain’s grid operator, estimates roughly 6.5 GW of small-scale (< 1 MW) solar on the system, with 75 percent (4.9 GW) on low-voltage, consumer-level networks. The committee obtained data from two inverter manufacturers that together monitor about 15 percent of that capacity.
Those data show that a sizeable share (over 12 percent) of one manufacturer’s devices dropped off the grid during the initial oscillations and reconnected a few minutes later. Shortly after, more than 20 percent disconnected again during a voltage peak about two minutes before the blackout. By contrast, the fraction of the second manufacturer’s devices that went offline never exceeded 10 percent.
Taken together, this suggests small-scale generation may have seen hundreds of megawatts of output drop off and return in the minutes before the blackout, with exact amounts strongly dependent on inverter vendors—and that the grid operator has limited visibility into their behavior. This is a situation where tighter regulation is likely needed.
The report is encouraging because it identifies several fixes that should be relatively easy to implement, including greater automation of shunt reactors, wider safety margins between alarms and disconnection, and better alignment between grid policies and hardware behavior. It also does not appear to uncover any critical issues that would force a rethink of Spain’s plan to decarbonize its grid.
Economics will probably help as well. Spain currently has little battery capacity, which can serve multiple roles in stabilizing the grid. Continued growth in renewables will increasingly create surplus generation that makes batteries economically attractive.
The key question is how quickly Spain can put some of the report’s recommendations into effect.
This week’s news indicates Walmart is moving to fold Vizio more tightly into its operations and to exploit Vizio OS’s advertising and tracking tools more aggressively to grow its $6.4 billion ads business. In Vizio’s final quarter as an independent company, its ad division reported a gross profit of $115.8 million while its hardware arm lost $6.7 million. Walmart doesn’t separately disclose Vizio’s results, but on a February investor call John David Rainey, CFO and EVP of Walmart, noted that Vizio “saw triple-digit growth in advertising” during Walmart’s fiscal Q4 2026.
Although Vizio OS has required a Vizio account since mid-2024 (before Walmart’s purchase), having an account linked to a retail conglomerate brings clearer and broader implications for TVs being used to nudge viewers toward purchases—especially those sold by Walmart. People who tolerated creating an account with an ad-focused TV maker may balk at signing up through Walmart.
Walmart’s announcement said the new, streamlined login makes setup easier while creating a secure identity framework across devices, tying streaming engagement directly to retail interaction.
As part of turning Vizio sets further into a Walmart advertising channel, the company said this week that Vizio OS will run ads for beauty giant L’Oréal that lead to Walmart’s and other retailers’ product pages.
For years, Vizio has shifted from a competitively priced TV maker into a business centered on advertising. More than a year after acquiring Vizio, Walmart appears ready to push the brand fully over that line, if it hasn’t already.
Ads and tracking are now nearly ubiquitous on budget TVs and are increasingly showing up in higher-end models, making the hard-to-find dumb TV and other non-tracked alternatives more appealing.
Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday morning, recovering from significant losses after a steep decline in the previous session, as energy market players evaluated the situation regarding the Iran conflict.
The international benchmark Brent crude futures for May delivery rose by 2.4% to $102.31 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for May increased nearly 3.6% to $91.27 per barrel.
This increase follows a substantial sell-off on Monday, when Brent crude dropped approximately 11% to around $99 per barrel after surging past $112 on Friday.
“I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE NATION OF IRAN HAVE ENGAGED IN VERY PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSIONS OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” U.S. President Donald Trump stated Monday in a Truth Social post.
“I HAVE DIRECTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO DELAY ANY AND ALL MILITARY ACTIONS AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE-DAY TIME FRAME,” Trump indicated.
Trump’s announcement caused a drop in oil prices, while stock markets surged. Nonetheless, the rebound on Tuesday reflects ongoing skepticism regarding Trump’s assertions, which were also denied by Iran.
“Despite the enthusiasm on Wall Street, ladies and gentlemen, oil prices remain significantly above their lows after Tehran rejected allegations of weekend negotiations with Washington,” noted José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, who emphasized that the risk of a prolonged conflict remains a major concern for the market.
Torres pointed out that continuous assaults on essential energy infrastructure in the Middle East have heightened fears about possible production and transportation disruptions.
“Moreover, considering the extensive range of attacks impacting critical energy in the Middle East… there’s apprehension that capacity and transportation interruptions could keep costs elevated compared to the start of the year, even if an agreement is reached,” he stated in a note published on Tuesday.
The Strait of Hormuz was responsible for approximately 20% of global maritime oil shipments prior to the outbreak of the conflict when Iran effectively halted flows through this vital passage.
Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran would allow safe passage through the strait, except for vessels linked to its “enemies.”
The White House has consented to provide TotalEnergies $1 billion to halt East Coast wind farm initiatives that it deemed “expensive,” as the French energy corporation’s funding will now be redirected to U.S. LNG production.
The U.S.’ Department of the Interior (DOI) declared on Monday what it referred to as “a significant agreement” with TotalEnergies for the firm “to shift resources from costly, unreliable offshore wind leases to affordable, dependable natural gas projects that will deliver secure energy for diligent Americans.”
TotalEnergies has pledged to allocate around $1 billion — the worth of its canceled offshore wind leases — towards oil and natural gas and LNG production within the U.S., as per the DOI stated in an announcement.
After the new investment, the department indicated that the U.S. will reimburse the corporation dollar-for-dollar, up to the costs incurred for leasing offshore wind.
The arrangement will entail TotalEnergies shelving its offshore wind projects in New York and Carolina. Instead, it will invest in the construction of four trains at the Rio Grande LNG facility in Texas, as well as upstream conventional oil in the U.S. Gulf and shale gas production.
U.S. President Donald Trump has openly expressed his disdain for offshore wind initiatives, often criticizing such ventures as costly and unattractive.
This announcement arrives as the Iran situation continues to impact global oil and gas supplies, positioning the U.S. — the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter globally — as an increasingly vital supplier for markets in Asia and Europe.
The DOI conveyed on Monday that, “due to national security issues,” TotalEnergies has committed to refraining from developing any new offshore wind projects in the U.S. CNBC has reached out to TotalEnergies for a statement and is awaiting a reply.
Patrick Pouyanné, chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of TotalEnergies, was cited in the DOI’s announcement as expressing satisfaction to have signed the settlement agreement “and to endorse the Administration’s Energy Policy.“
“Given that pursuing offshore wind projects is not in the country’s best interest, we have opted to abandon offshore wind development in the United States, in return for the reimbursement of lease costs,” he reportedly stated.
Pouyanné mentioned that the agreement will enable the organization to “foster the growth of U.S. gas production and export.”
“These investments will help supply Europe with essential LNG from the U.S. and provide gas for U.S. data center development. We see this as a more optimal deployment of capital in the United States,” he added.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum referred to the agreement with the French energy giant as “another triumph for President Trump’s dedication to affordable and reliable energy for all Americans.”
“Offshore wind is among the most pricey, unreliable, environmentally intrusive, and subsidy-dependent ventures ever imposed on American ratepayers and taxpayers. We appreciate TotalEnergies’ commitment to pursuing projects that deliver consistent, economical power to reduce the bills of Americans,” he concluded.
During 12 flybys, Juno recorded 613 microwave pulses from lightning, with energies ranging from roughly comparable to an Earth lightning bolt up to at least a hundred times stronger. Because of uncertainties in cross-planet comparisons, Jupiter’s flashes could potentially have been up to a million times more powerful than those on Earth.
Lightning on Jupiter likely originates from a process similar to Earth’s: ice particles within clouds gain electrical charges, and resulting voltage differences trigger lightning between clouds or between clouds and lower atmospheric layers.
There are important differences between the two planets. Jupiter has no solid surface, and its cloud ice contains both water and ammonia, whereas Earth’s ice is only water. Convection also behaves differently: on Jupiter moist air tends to sink because it is denser than the surrounding hydrogen-rich atmosphere, while on Earth—whose atmosphere is dominated by nitrogen, which is heavier than water—moist air tends to rise.
So Jupiter’s enormous storms aren’t explained solely by its size. Moving moist air upward requires much more energy, producing stronger winds and more powerful cloud-to-cloud lightning. Exactly what makes lightning so extreme on Jupiter remains unclear.
“Could the key difference be hydrogen versus nitrogen atmospheres, or could it be that the storms are taller on Jupiter and so there’s greater distances involved?” said Michael Wong, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory. Wong is the lead author on the Jupiter lightning study.
“Or might more energy be available because moist convection on Jupiter demands a larger buildup of heat before a storm — and lightning — can form?” Wong said in a press release. “It’s an active area of research.”
The US asserts that routers produced abroad present national security threats.
The US asserts that routers produced abroad present national security threats.
In December, the Federal Communications Commission prohibited the importation of all drones manufactured in foreign nations into the United States, pending an exemption for the manufacturer. The FCC has now applied the same rule to consumer networking devices, stating there is “an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety of U.S. individuals.”
If you currently have a Wi-Fi or wired router, you are permitted to continue using it — and firms that have previously received FCC radio approvals for specific foreign products are allowed to keep importing those items.
However, given that the vast majority — if not all — consumer routers are produced outside the U.S., most future consumer routers are now banned. By including all foreign-manufactured consumer routers in its Covered List, the FCC indicates it will no longer authorize their radios, effectively stopping new devices from being imported into the nation.
Now, router manufacturers are required to A) obtain a “conditional approval” that allows them to continue getting new products cleared for entry into the US while they attempt to persuade the government to restart manufacturing on American soil, or B) opt not to sell future products in the US, as drone manufacturer DJI has already done.
Similar to the ban on foreign drones, the FCC has a National Security Determination that it says supports these actions, asserting that “Allowing routers manufactured abroad to prevail in the U.S. marketplace leads to unacceptable economic, national security, and cybersecurity threats,” and claiming that “routers produced abroad were directly involved in the Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon cyberattacks which targeted key American communications, energy, transportation, and water infrastructure.”
“Considering the importance of routers to the effective operation of our nation’s economy and military defense, the United States can no longer rely on foreign countries for router production,” states another section.
It is a fact that numerous router vulnerabilities have been revealed over time, making them a prime target for cybercriminals and botnet attacks. Additionally, it is true that one China-origin company, TP-Link, leads the consumer market in the US; US officials previously contemplated a specific ban on TP-Link due to its market dominance and associated national security issues. (TP-Link has been working to separate its image from China, distancing itself from the Chinese entity in 2022, establishing a global headquarters in California in 2024, and suing Netgear in 2025 for suggesting that TP-Link had been compromised by the Chinese government.)
It remains unclear how simply relocating router production within the US would enhance their safety. In the Volt Typhoon incident, hackers sponsored by the Chinese state primarily targeted Cisco and Netgear routers, designed by American firms, according to the Department of Justice. They were at risk because those American corporations had ceased providing security updates for the particular routers targeted, which had been phased out by those companies.
While the FCC’s Covered List implies that the US is banning all “routers produced in a foreign country,” it’s actually defined more specifically. It is distinctly prohibiting “consumer-grade routers” as described in NIST Internal Report 8425A, referring to devices “meant for household use and can be installed by the consumer.”
“Nearly all routers are produced outside the United States, including those made by U.S.-based firms such as TP-Link, which manufactures its products in Vietnam,” states part of a response from TP-Link through third-party representative Ricca Silverio. “It seems that the total router industry will be affected by the FCC’s announcement regarding new devices not previously authorized by the FCC.”
Update, March 23rd: Clarified TP-Link’s distancing from China, and appended company statement.
President Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means, faces trouble after at least four Republican senators raised doubts about her medical credentials, vaccine positions, and questionable guidance she’s offered as a wellness influencer, according to reporting from The Washington Post.
Senators Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) all voiced concerns about her suitability during a confirmation hearing last month and appear to remain unconvinced. The opposition of a single one of those senators could be sufficient to prevent her nomination from moving past the Senate Health Committee.
Means, nominated more than 10 months ago, is a well-known wellness influencer tied to the Make America Health Again movement and a close ally of anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., its founder. During the hearing, senators questioned Means about her stance on vaccines — including influenza and measles shots and the hepatitis B vaccine given to newborns. She largely sidestepped the queries, declined to clearly endorse those life-saving vaccinations, and stopped short of directly contradicting Kennedy’s anti-vaccine assertions and misinformation.
After the hearing, Senators Collins and Murkowski said they still had outstanding questions. Murkowski additionally expressed “strong reservations” about Means’s nomination and, as of last week, said that view had not shifted, the Post reported.
Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health Committee and is a vocal proponent of immunization, repeatedly pressed Means on vaccine issues during the hearing. He also cast a pivotal vote to confirm Kennedy as health secretary after Kennedy vowed not to enact certain anti-vaccine policies—promises that Kennedy has largely failed to keep. While Cassidy has not revealed how he will vote on Means’s nomination, those in MAHA attribute the delay to him. When the Post inquired about the nomination’s status, Cassidy replied simply, “no change.”
Kalshi states that the system is designed to ‘hinder insider trading and manipulation.’
Kalshi states that the system is designed to ‘hinder insider trading and manipulation.’
The prediction market platform Kalshi announces it’s implementing new safeguards to “preemptively prevent” political candidates and athletes from trading in their own markets, as previously reported by Axios. Beyond restricting political candidates from trading in their campaigns, Kalshi asserts that its infrastructure will also stop both professional and collegiate athletes, referees, and staff from trading in sports they are directly involved with:
The safeguards we developed utilize cutting-edge technology and screening lists, though no screening process is flawless, and determined wrongdoers continuously seek means to exploit it. To that effect, we are also incorporating a whistleblower option directly on our market page, facilitating our community to report possible infractions as they navigate our public trading data.
Kalshi states that this initiative will “actively respond to the CFTC’s [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] recommendations and Congressional legislative efforts to deter insider trading.”
