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☆ Nuclear Power Is Hard. A Climate-Minded Billionaire Wants to Make It Easier.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Brad Plumer | Benjamin Rasmussen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Outside a small coal town in southwest Wyoming, a multibillion-dollar effort to build the first in a new generation of American nuclear power plants is underway. Workers began construction on Tuesday on a novel type of nuclear reactor meant to be smaller and cheaper than the hulking reactors of old and designed to produce electricity without the carbon dioxide that is rapidly heating the planet. The reactor being built by TerraPower, a start-up, won’t be finished until 2030 at the earliest and faces daunting obstacles. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission hasn’t yet approved the design, and the company will have to overcome the inevitable delays and cost overruns that have doomed countless nuclear projects before. Bill Gates, currently ranked as the seventh-richest person in the world, has poured more than $1 billion of his fortune into TerraPower, an amount that he expects to increase.

Persons: won’t, Bill Gates Organizations: Workers, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Locations: Wyoming

☆ Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders who took iconic ‘Earthrise’ photo dies in plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Joe Sutton | Ashley R. Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —William Anders, a NASA astronaut who was part of the 1968 Apollo 8 crew who were the first three people to orbit the moon, has died in a plane crash in Washington state, according to his son, Gregory Anders. Anders served as a fighter pilot in all-weather interception squadrons of the Air Defense Command in California and Iceland, according to NASA and the US Naval Academy. Taken aboard Apollo 8 by William Anders, this iconic picture shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the first crewed spacecraft circumnavigated the Moon, with astronauts Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell aboard. Anders served as the lunar module pilot for the historic flight. Anders served as Executive Secretary for the National Aeronautics and Space Council from 1969 to 1973, according to NASA.

Persons: William Anders, Gregory Anders, ” Anders, Anders, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, ”, Lovell, Borman, Gerald Ford, Bill Nelson, “ Bill Anders, ” Nelson, Valerie, CNN’s Ashley Strickland Organizations: CNN, NASA, San Juan County Sheriff’s, United States Coast Guard, United States Naval Academy, US Air Force, US Naval, Air Defense Command, US Naval Academy, Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Apollo, Time Magazine, National Aeronautics, Space Council, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Locations: Washington, San Juan Islands, San Juan County, Jones, Seattle, Hong Kong, California, Iceland, New Mexico

☆ The data center boom is leading to a power crunch. These stocks are ahead of the curve, TD Cowen analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Several stocks are well-positioned to benefit from any power supply bottlenecks resulting from rapid growth in data centers, according to 11 analysts at TD Cowen who compiled a 169-page report. As a result, they're building data centers where power is available, investing in transmission lines and exploring the use of nuclear energy . Brookfield Renewable Partners , an international renewable power producer and developer, is another beneficiary of the data center boom. "The recently signed framework agreement... is a clear example of BEP's exposure to corporate [power purchase agreement] momentum associated with data center demand. That will contribute to the energy supply needed to power data centers.

Persons: Cowen, Michael Elias, Elias, FactSet, TD Cowen, Sean Steuart, it's, Cowen's David Deckelbaum, Coterra Organizations: Amazon, Oracle, Digital Realty Trust, Digital Realty, Digital, Brookfield Renewable Partners, Microsoft, Brookfield, NuScale Power Corp, Reactor, Regulatory, Energy, Coterra Energy Locations: Northern Virginia, Silicon, Tuesday's, U.S, Europe, Brookfield, Appalachia

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. On Friday, advanced nuclear fission company Oklo, for which Sam Altman serves as chairman, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Oklo's business model is based on commercializing nuclear fission, the reaction that fuels all nuclear power plants. "I don't see a way for us to get there without nuclear," Altman told CNBC in 2023. It's not Altman's only foray into nuclear energy or other infrastructure that could power large-scale AI growth.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Oklo, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Jacob DeWitte, hasn't, we've, DeWitte, It's, Helion, OpenAI Organizations: Economic, New York Stock Exchange, AltC, U.S . Air Force, Microsoft, Amazon, CNBC, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, DeWitte, Nvidia Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Idaho, OpenAI's San Francisco, U.S, Saudi Aramco, Rain

Tech firms and Silicon Valley billionaires have been pouring money into nuclear energy for years, pitching the sustainable power source as crucial to the green transition. While generative AI has grown at lightning speed, nuclear power projects are heavily regulated and usually advance at a plodding pace. That's raising questions about whether advances in nuclear energy can cut emissions as swiftly as energy-guzzling AI and other fast-growing technologies are adding to them. The nuclear power industry hasn't meaningfully expanded its share of the U.S. energy mix for decades. By one estimate, up to 800 gigawatts of new nuclear power will be needed by 2050 to meet current green energy targets.

Persons: Sarah Myers West, Myers, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, Jacob DeWitte, Oklo, hadn't, You've, DeWitte, Oklo's Organizations: Silicon, CNBC, Helion Energy, Microsoft, federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Air Force, NRC, Idaho National Laboratory, Energy Department, Pew Research Locations: Idaho, Ohio, United States, Alaska, U.S, Ukraine, Fukushima, Japan

☆ Support for Nuclear Energy Grows in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Brad Plumer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The House this week overwhelmingly passed legislation meant to speed up the development of a new generation of nuclear power plants, the latest sign that a once-contentious source of energy is now attracting broad political support in Washington. It received backing from Democrats who support nuclear power because it does not emit greenhouse gases and can generate electricity 24 hours a day to supplement solar and wind power. It also received support from Republicans who have downplayed the risks of climate change but who say that nuclear power could bolster the nation’s economy and energy security. “It’s been fascinating to see how bipartisan advanced nuclear power has become,” said Joshua Freed, who leads the climate and energy program at Third Way, a center-left think tank. “This is not an issue where there’s some big partisan or ideological divide.”The bill would direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees the nation’s nuclear power plants, to streamline its processes for approving new reactor designs.

Persons: “, ”, Joshua Freed Organizations: Atomic Energy Advancement, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Locations: Washington

☆ Berkshire Hathaway is one of the most overbought stocks on Wall Street. Here are the others
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The S & P 500 broke the 5,100 for the first time on Friday, and ended the week 1.7% higher. Stocks with a 14-day RSI greater than 70 are considered overbought, meaning they could be at risk of a pullback. General Electric is one of the most overbought names in the S & P 500, with a 14-day RSI of 87.3. Other overbought names include Leidos Holdings and Juniper Networks . Here are the S & P 500's most overbought stocks: Software company Palo Alto Networks has had a difficult week.

Persons: Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Ralph Lauren Organizations: Berkshire, Nvidia, Wednesday, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, CNBC, Stock, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, GE, Leidos Holdings, Juniper Networks, Software, Palo Alto Networks, billings, Paramount, Akamai Technologies, Deere, Co

☆ Jim Cramer praises GE following U.S. regulatory approval to develop nuclear fuel
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

GE's Verona Nuclear Fuel business said Wednesday it received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to manufacture, ship, and analyze the performance of higher enrichment fuel. GE YTD mountain GE stock performance year to date. "[General Electric] just keeps going higher," Cramer said Wednesday. While that's mainly due to demand for its aircraft engines, Cramer added that investors "love any way to be able to make nuclear fuel work." GEHC shares have gained 7% year to date compared to an S & P 500 gain of 4.5% in 2024.

Persons: CNBC's Jim Cramer, Cramer, GEHC Organizations: Verona Nuclear, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, GE, GE Healthcare, CNBC, GE Aerospace, Club Locations: Verona, GEHC

☆ The US, Russia and China are in a race to dominate new-wave nuclear energy — and win global influence
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Angela Dewan | Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Russia's floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov, leaving the service base Rosatomflot on August 23, 2019. For some experts, nuclear energy — in all forms, large or small — has an important role to play in that transition. Globally, the construction of conventional nuclear power plants dipped following the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986. Russia has already built or designed nuclear plants — the traditional type — for China, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Slovakia, Egypt and Iran. “It certainly dampens the excitement abroad,” said John Parsons, a senior lecturer at MIT and a financial economist focused on nuclear energy.

Persons: Akademik Lomonosov, Biden, Lomonosov, Maxim Shemetov, “ There’s, ”, Josh Freed, China —, Vladimir Putin’s, Bill Gates ’, Luo Yunfei, Kirsten Cutler, they’re, Cutler, ” Cutler, They’re, John Parsons, John Kerry, Thomas Mukoya, Way’s Freed, “, ” Parsons, Mohammed Hamdaoui, ” Hamdaoui, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Reuters, European Union, International Energy Agency, Energy, World Nuclear, IEA, US, SMR, US Export, Import Bank, International Development Finance Corporation, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, China, Changjiang, China News Service, Nuclear Energy, US State Department, “, MIT, InfluenceMap, The State Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, Rystad Energy Locations: Alaska, Russian, Russia, China, European, Japan, India, South Korea, Europe, Dubai, America, Poland, North Carolina, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Slovakia, Egypt, Iran, Lomonosov, Siberia, Russia’s, Washington, Bill Gates ’ TerraPower, Wyoming, Changjiang Li Autonomous County, Hainan province, United States, Oregon, Idaho, United Arab Emirates

Steam feeding into the Unit 3 turbine generator of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Ga. “The United States is now committed to trying to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy,” John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy, said in September. One recent Pew survey found that 57 percent of Americans favor more nuclear plants, up from 43 percent in 2016. A NuScale engineer gave a tour of a control room simulator, modeling the company’s plans for new nuclear reactors, in 2013. “The demand for clean energy is almost unprecedented,” said Maria Korsnick, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group.

Persons: Biden, ” John Kerry, Biden’s, “, ”, Jacopo Buongiorno, Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, Bruce Springsteen, Dan Reicher, Gavin Newsom, Reicher, Clinton, Jeffrey Collins, Arnie Gundersen, John Williams, “ It’s, Patty Durand, Julie Kozeracki, Kendrick Brinson, Jay Wileman, Bill Gates, Dow, Roger Blomquist, NuScale Power, Jose Reyes, Adam Stein, it’s, they’re, Ahmed Abdulla, Robert Taylor, Leah Nash, NuScale, David Schlissel, Joshua Freed, didn’t, Maria Korsnick Organizations: Unit, Republicans, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Associated Press, Madison, Natural Resources Defense, California Gov, Democrat, Associated, Fairewinds Associates, Components, Workers, Georgia, Southern Company, Georgia Power, Georgia Public Service Commission, Energy Department, The New York Times, GE, Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Vogtle . Ontario, Tennessee Valley Authority, Argonne, National Laboratory, Energy, Nuclear Regulatory, NuScale, ”, Breakthrough Institute, Carleton University, Soaring, Institute for Energy Economics, United, Nuclear Energy Institute Locations: U.S, Waynesboro, Ga, Savannah, Georgia, United States, ”, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Jenkinsville, Vogtle, South Carolina, South, Canada, Tennessee, Argonne, Chicago, Idaho, Wyoming, California, Alaska, Maryland, Pueblo County, Colo

WASHINGTON (AP) — A project to build a first-of-a-kind small modular nuclear reactor power plant was terminated Wednesday, another blow to the Biden administration's clean energy agenda following cancellations last week of two major offshore wind projects. Oregon-based NuScale Power has the only small modular nuclear reactor design certified for use in the United States. “We absolutely need advanced nuclear energy technology to meet (the Biden administration’s) ambitious clean energy goals,'' spokeswoman Charisma Troiano said. In 2020, the Trump administration approved up to $1.4 billion for the project, known as the Carbon Free Power Project. Most prospective subscribers were unwilling to take on the risks associated with developing a first-of-a-kind nuclear project, the Utah group said.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, Charisma Troiano, “, Timothy Fox, Fox, Trump, Obama, John Hopkins, NuScale, Ken Cook, ” Cook, ___ McDermott Organizations: WASHINGTON, Biden, Idaho National Laboratory, Energy Department, DOE, ClearView Energy Partners, The Energy Department, Energy Department's, Energy Department's Idaho National Laboratory, Carbon, Power, Congress, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, Nuclear Energy Institute, Environmental, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, AP Locations: Oregon, United States, Utah, Idaho, New Jersey, U.S, Washington, Idaho Falls , Idaho, Energy Department's Idaho, California, Providence , Rhode Island

Nov 8 (Reuters) - NuScale Power (SMR.N) said on Wednesday it has agreed with a power group in Utah to terminate the company's small modular reactor project, dealing a blow to U.S. ambitions for a wave of nuclear energy to fight climate change and sending NuScale's shares down 20%. In 2020, the Department of Energy approved $1.35 billion over 10 years for the plant, known as the Carbon Free Power Project, subject to congressional appropriations. NuScale's Utah plant was expected to be the first SMR to win a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for construction. An Energy Department spokesperson said it was unfortunate news, but added, "We believe the work accomplished to date on CFPP will be valuable for future nuclear energy projects. So far, only NuScale's SMR design has been approved by the NRC.

Persons: NuScale, John Hopkins, Critics, Biden, Manas Mishra, Timothy Gardner, Shounak Dasgupta, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Leslie Adler Organizations: Department of Energy, Carbon, Power, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, SMR, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Energy Department, DOE, NRC, Thomson Locations: Utah, Romania, Kazakhstan, Poland, Ukraine, NuScale's Utah, U.S, Bengaluru, Washington

☆ Where are the 12 US gov't funding bills to avert shutdown?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But first, the House and Senate would have to agree upon the overall dollar amount of spending for the 12 bills combined. The Senate passed its version as part of a three-bill package on Nov. 1 with strong bipartisan support. DEFENSEOne of the largest of the 12 bills funds the Department of Defense - the Army, Navy, Air Force and the CIA. The Senate's version passed out of committee on July 27. The Senate's version passed out of committee on July 27.

Persons: Jon Cherry, shutdowns, Joe Biden, Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Moira Warburton, Aurora Ellis Organizations: U.S . Capitol, REUTERS, Rights, Democratic, Republican, Senate, of Veterans Affairs, Army, Navy, Air Force, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Housing, Urban, House Republicans, Amtrak, Department of Defense, CIA, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory, of, of Indian Affairs, Land Management, Environmental Protection Agency, The, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of State, Agency for International Development, Peace Corps, Congress, Capitol Police, of Congress, Office, Treasury, of Columbia, Federal Trade Commission, COMMERCE, of Commerce, U.S . Census, U.S . Patent, Department of Justice, Republicans, HUMAN, of Education, Department of Health, Human Services, Department of Labor, Social Security Administration, National Labor Relations Board, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, United States, New York, U.S, Washington

But a person who worked closely with Ramaswamy said, "He thinks people are put on this earth to serve him." Roivant attracted investors including Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Vision Fund, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, and the hedge fund Viking Global Investors. Former Roivant employees said Ramaswamy worked hard and expected the same of others. McLaughlin called the employee's recollection "inaccurate," adding that Ramaswamy "has never once raised his voice or used bad language with employees." At Roivant, Ramaswamy kept his politics largely to himself, former employees said.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, He's, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Trump, George Soros, didn't, Taco Bell, he's, —, Vivek, Tricia McLaughlin, he'd, McLaughlin, takeout, Forbes, Vivek doesn't, they've, Roivant, Masayoshi, Peter Thiel's, Thiel, JD Vance, Bill Ackman, who'd, . Ramaswamy, Erik Gordon, Vance, John Phillips, Joyce Rosely, Phillips, Anson Frericks, they'd, Rosely, Frericks, They're, they're, Eric Balchunas, Todd Rosenbluth, Rosenbluth, Christopher Lenzo, Brandon Bell, Vivek Ramaswamy's, Katherine Long, Jack Newsham, Meghan Morris Organizations: pharma, Army Rangers, Biotech, Republican, nab, GOP, of Education, FBI, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Reserve, Florida, Roivant Sciences, General Electric, Yale Law School, Army, Rangers, Harvard, Yale, Fund, Viking Global, Leerink Partners, GlaxoSmithKline, Forbes, Big Pharma, Japan's Sumitomo Pharma Co, ., University of Michigan, FDA, US, Yale Law, ESG, The, Texas, Indiana, BlackRock, Vanguard, Bloomberg Intelligence, Fair, SEC Locations: Mexico, FiveThirtyEight, Roivant, Patagonia, Iowa, New York, Ohio, The Lever

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Environmental groups called on federal regulators Thursday to immediately shut down one of two reactors at California’s last nuclear power plant until tests can be conducted on critical machinery they believe could fail and cause a catastrophe. “We will not sit idly by while PG&E cuts corners on Unit 1’s safety,” Hallie Templeton, legal director for Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. Friends of the Earth, a longtime critic of plant safety, was a central player in negotiating the 2016 closing agreement. He noted that unlike most other reactor safety components, the pressure vessel has no independent backup system that can be called upon if it should crack or fracture and lose essential cooling water. According to the NRC, embrittlement occurs as a result of reactor operation when neutrons from the nuclear fuel irradiate the steel plates and welds used to construct the reactor vessel.

Persons: Peace, “, ” Hallie Templeton, Suzanne Hosn, ” Hosn, Gavin Newsom, Digby Macdonald, ”, Macdonald, ” Macdonald, Critics, Newsom, it’s Organizations: ANGELES, —, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Pacific Gas &, Democratic, University of California, NRC Locations: Los Angeles, San Francisco, California, Washington, Berkeley

He wants to shut down five federal agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Education. Even as he runs against Trump, Ramaswamy has repeatedly praised him as the most effective president this century. Ramaswamy is not the only Republican candidate to suggest slashing the federal workforce. They have been working on drafting a plan for when Trump returns to the White House to oust federal employees and replace them with like-minded officials. Regarding the plan for the FBI, Ramaswamy said he would fire 20,000 employees deemed to be in non-essential roles and send 15,000 to the U.S.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Donald Trump, headcount, ” Ramaswamy, Trump, Ramaswamy, Matt Gaetz, Trump’s, Ron DeSantis, ”, “ Organizations: FBI, Trump, America, Policy Institute, Department of Education, Regulatory Commission, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S, Rep, Republican, Florida Gov, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, U.S . Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S . Department of, Treasury Locations: Washington, Florida

Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican presidential candidate whose strident and sometimes unrealistic proposals have helped him stand out in the crowded primary field, said in a policy speech on Wednesday that he would fire more than 75 percent of the federal work force and shutter several major agencies. Among the government organizations that Mr. Ramaswamy vowed to disband are the Department of Education, the F.B.I., the Food and Nutrition Service, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Mr. Ramaswamy, 38, also claimed he could make the changes unilaterally if he were to be elected president, putting forward a sweeping theory that the executive wields the power to restructure the federal government on his own and does not need to submit such proposals to Congress for approval. His pitch was another echo of former President Donald J. Trump, whom he has modeled himself after and who sought to expand political control over the federal work force near the end of his term. Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Ramaswamy has also attacked parts of the federal government as a “deep state.”

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Donald J, Trump, ” Organizations: Republican, Department of Education, Food and Nutrition Service, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives

Summary U.S. regulators are ready to review and license the next generation of nuclear reactors while staying committed to safety, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says. The NRC is under pressure to show it can move fast on a new generation of nuclear technology, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and other previously untested designs, as many in the industry call for deep reforms at the regulator. NuScale’s VOYGR 50-MW SMR power plant became the first SMR design certified by the NRC in January. Earlier this month, the NRC accepted NuScale's uprated VOYGR-6 plant design for a Standard Design Approval (SDA) application. “We are yielding timelier and more cost-effective reviews without compromising on safety,” Taylor says.

Persons: ”, Judi Greenwald, “, Steven Arndt, NRC Robert Taylor, NuScale’s VOYGR, ” Taylor, “ We're, Taylor, Kairos, they're, it's, –, bro, Allison Macfarlane, Macfarlane skewered, ” Macfarlane Organizations: Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Department of Energy, DOE, American Nuclear Society, New Reactors, ” Tech bros, Institute of Art, Thomson Locations: United States

Circuit Court of Appeals found that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission lacked the authority under federal law to issue permits for private, temporary nuclear waste storage sites. Circuit Judge James Ho, writing for the court, agreed with Texas that the Atomic Energy Act does not give the agency the broad authority "to license a private, away-from-reactor storage facility for spent nuclear fuel." Abbott opposed the plan, saying he would not let Texas become "America's nuclear waste dumping ground." The plan for a temporary facility was devised in order to address a growing nuclear waste problem in the United States. The Andrews County site was chosen after efforts to build a permanent storage facility in Nevada fell apart amid fierce local opposition.

Persons: James Ho, William F, Buckley, Jr, Michelle McLoughlin, Ho, Donald Trump, Greg Abbott's, Abbott, Clark Mindock, Will Dunham Organizations: Yale University, REUTERS, Republican, Circuit, Appeals, U.S . Nuclear, Commission, Partners, Atomic Energy, Waste, NRC, Thomson Locations: New Haven , Connecticut, U.S, Texas, New Orleans, Andrews County , Texas, United States, Andrews, Nevada, New York

[1/3] Supermarket owner Takashi Nakajima, 67, prepares sashimi, or raw fish, to sell at his store, near the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Soma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, August 9, 2023. It's been a long battle to get radiation-wary customers back to the seafood from waters near the Fukushima nuclear power plant that was wrecked in the 2011 tsunami, Nakajima says. Now, with the imminent release of treated radioactive water from the plant into the Pacific, he fears a return to square one. "This can't be happening," the 67-year-old said in the backyard kitchen of his supermarket in Soma city, just 45 km (28 miles) north of the stricken power plant. The problem is, this water release will go on for at least 30 years."

Persons: Takashi Nakajima, Akiko Okamoto, It's, Nakajima, Yasutaka Shishido, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Tom Bateman, Chang, Ran Kim, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Tokyo Electric Power, Thomson Locations: Soma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, China

WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has tightened controls on the export of materials and components for nuclear power plants to China, saying it would ensure the items were used only for peaceful purposes and not the proliferation of atomic weapons. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal agency responsible for nuclear energy safety, also requires exporters to get specific licenses to export special nuclear material and source material. That includes different types of uranium as well as deuterium, a hydrogen isotope that, in large amounts, could be used in reactors to make tritium, a nuclear weapons component. China opposes "putting geopolitical interests above nuclear non-proliferation efforts," he said. Two exports to China of the regulated nuclear materials occurred under a general license in the last year.

Persons: Biden, Liu Pengyu, Edwin Lyman, Henry Sokolski, Donald Trump's, Timothy Gardner, Michael Martina, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Industry and Security, Commerce Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, U.S, Nuclear Weapons, Union of, Pentagon, Nonproliferation, Education Center . U.S, Westinghouse, Thomson Locations: China, Washington, Beijing, U.S, United States

Now, two prominent senators are pushing to create a new federal agency to rein in the power of Big Tech. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, plan to introduce the Digital Consumer Protection Commission Act, which they say would restrain tech titans while letting them continue to innovate. But these companies have fought hard against increased oversight, and it’s unclear how a new agency will fit into a Washington already full of regulators. The bill is in the vein of legislation that established agencies to oversee fast-growing industries, much like how Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “For too long, giant tech companies have exploited consumers’ data, invaded Americans’ privacy, threatened our national security and stomped out competition in our economy,” Ms. Warren told DealBook’s Ephrat Livni.

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Lindsey Graham, Ms, Warren, DealBook’s Ephrat Livni Organizations: Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Big Tech, Republican, Digital Consumer Protection, Interstate Commerce Commission, Federal Communications Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Locations: Massachusetts, South Carolina, Washington

☆ Elizabeth Warren and Lindsey Graham want a new agency to regulate tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Two US senators are calling for the creation of a new federal agency to regulate tech companies such as Amazon, Google and Meta, in the latest push by members of Congress to clamp down on Big Tech. The bill targets tech platforms including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and Twitter, which now officially known as X, a Senate aide told CNN, though the companies aren’t directly named in the legislation. “For too long, giant tech companies have exploited consumers’ data, invaded Americans’ privacy, threatened our national security, and stomped out competition in our economy,” Warren said in a statement. Thursday’s proposal differs from Bennet’s bill, the aide said, in that it is in some ways more specific in its restrictions on the tech industry. It’s time to rein in Big Tech,” Graham and Warren wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times Thursday.

Persons: Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Lindsey Graham, ” Warren, Warren, Michael Bennet, ” Graham Organizations: Washington CNN, Google, Big Tech, Massachusetts Democrat, South Carolina Republican, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Twitter, CNN, Digital Consumer Protection, Colorado Democrat, Big, New York Times, Federal Communications Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, FTC, DOJ Locations: Massachusetts, Big Tech, Colorado, United States

☆ Lindsey Graham and Elizabeth Warren: We Must Regulate Big Tech - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Lindsey Graham | Elizabeth Warren | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Big Tech companies also prey on ordinary users. It’s time to rein in Big Tech. In 1975 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission took on nuclear power, and in 1977 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission took on electric generation and transmission. We need a nimble, adaptable, new agency with expertise, resources and authority to do the same for Big Tech. Our legislation would guarantee common-sense safeguards for everyone who uses tech platforms.

Organizations: Big Tech, Big, Interstate Commerce, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, Regulatory, Energy Regulatory, Consumer Protection, Google Locations: China, Big Tech

CLAREMONT, N.H. — Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is laying out plans to shut down a number of federal government agencies if elected, starting with the FBI, Department of Education and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Ramaswamy says his plan does not require rebuilding anything, but rather reorganizing. “In many cases, these agencies are redundant relative to functions that are already performed elsewhere in the federal government,” Ramaswamy said in an interview with NBC News. Eliminating federal agencies has become a recurring talking point in Republican primaries for years — most famously when then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in a 2011 GOP debate that he would eliminate three agencies but couldn’t remember one of them.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, ” Ramaswamy, ”, Rick Perry Organizations: CLAREMONT, N.H, Republican, FBI, Department of Education, Nuclear Regulatory, “, NBC News, Secret Service, Defense Intelligence Agency, Texas Gov, GOP

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