Ukrainian Drone Attack on Russia’s Belgorod Region Kills at Least Six

Spain-Style Blackout Risk Rises As ERCOT Flags Boston-Sized Data Center Loads Tripping Offline The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) gave the market another concrete reason to stop pretending the grid can absorb unlimited hyperscale load growth on top of an already strained generation mix.  In a May 21st report, ERCOT disclosed that multiple clusters of proposed data centers and crypto facilities failed voltage ride-through testing. When subjected to simulated routine voltage disturbances, such as the kind caused by transmission faults, capacitor switching, or equipment issues, four groups of these large...

Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza on Monday, according to reports from the Strip, as the IDF continues its relentless attacks and constant violations of the US-backed ceasefire deal. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that on Monday morning, a man, identified as 42-year-old Mousa al-Abyad, was killed by an Israeli attack […]

Visualizing Europe's Birth-Rate Collapse Europe’s population is no longer replacing itself. Across the continent, fertility rates have fallen below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain stable population levels, with no country meeting that threshold as of 2024. The map below, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, shows the number of live births per woman across Europe using the most recent data from Eurostat, FRED, and the UK’s Office for National Statistics. From Ukraine (0.99) to Spain (1.1), some of Europe’s largest countries now rank among those with the lowest birth rates, highlighting how widespread the decline has...