Singapore-based solar panel manufacturer Bila Solar is suspending plans to double capacity at its new factory in Indianapolis. Canadian rival Helienes plans for a solar cell facility in Minnesota are under review. Norwegian solar wafer maker NorSun is evaluating whether to move forward with a planned factory in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And two fully permitted offshore wind farms in the U.S. Northeast may never get built.
These are among the major clean energy investments now in question after Republicans agreed earlier this month to quickly end U.S. subsidies for solar and wind power as part of their budget megabill, and as the White House directed agencies to tighten the rules on who can claim the incentives that remain.
This marks a policy U-turn since President Donald Trumps return to office that project developers, manufacturers and analysts say will slash installations of renewable energy over the coming decade, kill investment and jobs in the clean energy manufacturing sector supporting them, and worsen a looming U.S. power supply crunch as energy-hungry AI infrastructure expands.
Solar and wind installations could be 17% and 20% lower than previously forecast over the next decade because of the moves, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie, which warned that a dearth of new supplies could slow the expansion of data centers needed to support AI technology.
Energy researcher Rhodium, meanwhile, said the law puts at risk $263 billion of wind, solar, and storage facilities and $110 billion of announced manufacturing investment supporting them. It will also increase industrial energy costs by up to $11 billion in 2035, it said.
“One of the administrations stated goals was to bring costs down, and as we demonstrated, this bill doesn’t do that,” said Ben King, a director in Rhodium’s energy and climate practice. He added the policy “is not a recipe for continued dominance of the U.S. AI industry.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration has defended its moves to end support for clean energy by arguing the rapid adoption of solar and wind power has created instability in the grid and raised consumer prices assertions that are contested by the industry and which do not bear out in renewables-heavy power grids, like Texas’ ERCOT.
Power industry representatives, however, have said all new generation projects need to be encouraged to meet rising U.S. demand, including both those driven by renewables and fossil fuels.
Consulting firm ICF projects that U.S. electricity demand will grow by 25% by 2030, driven by increased AI and cloud computing a major challenge for the power industry after decades of stagnation. The REPEAT Project, a collaboration between Princeton University and Evolved Energy Research, projects a 2% annual increase in electricity demand.
With a restricted pipeline of renewables, tighter electricity supplies stemming from the policy shift could increase household electricity costs by $280 a year in 2035, according to the REPEAT Project.
The key provision in the new law is the accelerated phase-out of 30% tax credits for wind and solar projects: it requires projects to begin construction within a year or enter service by the end of 2027 to qualify for the credits. Previously the credits were available through 2032.
Now some project developers are scrambling to get projects done while the U.S. incentives are still accessible. But even that strategy has become risky, developers said.
Days after signing the law, Trump directed the Treasury Department to review the definition of beginning of construction. A revision to those rules could overturn a long-standing practice giving developers four years to claim tax credits after spending just 5% of project costs. Treasury was given 45 days to draft new rules.
“With so many moving parts, financing of projects, financing of manufacturing is difficult, if not impossible,” said Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of Heliene. “You are looking to see what is the next baseball bat that’s going to hit you on the head.”
About face
Heliene’s planned cell factory, which could cost as much as $350 million, depending on the capacity, and employ more than 600 workers, is also in limbo, Pochtaruk said in an interview earlier this month.
The company needs more clarity on both what the new law will mean for U.S. demand, and how Trump’s trade policy will impact the solar industry.
“We have a building that is anxiously waiting for us to make a decision,” Pochtaruk said.
Similarly, Mick McDaniel, general manager of Bila Solar, said “a troubling level of uncertainty” has put on hold its $20 million expansion at an Indianapolis factory it opened this year that would create an additional 75 jobs.
“NorSun is still digesting the new legislation and recent executive order to determine the impact to the overall domestic solar manufacturing landscape,” said Todd Templeton, director of the company’s U.S. division that is reviewing plans for its $620 million solar wafer facility in Tulsa.
Five solar manufacturing companies – T1 Energy, Imperial Star Solar, SEG Solar, Solx and ES Foundry – said they are also concerned about the new law’s impact on future demand, but that they have not changed their investment plans.
The policy changes have also injected fresh doubt about the fate of the nation’s pipeline of offshore wind projects, which depend heavily on tax credits to bring down costs. According to Wood Mackenzie, projects that have yet to start construction or make final investment decisions are unlikely to proceed.
Two such projects, which are fully permitted, include a 300-megawatt project by developer US Wind off the coast of Maryland and Iberdrolas 791 MW New England Wind off the coast of Massachusetts.
Neither company responded to requests for comment.
“They are effectively ready to begin construction and are now trapped in a timeline that will make it that much harder to be able to take advantage of the remaining days of the tax credits,” said Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward.
Nichola Groom, Reuters
IBM announced strong second quarter 2025 earnings that beat expectations on many points, helped in part by response to its new AI-focused mainframe computer. So why is the stock sliding today? First, a look at the results.
IBM Q2 2025 earnings results
Shares in the stock (NYSE: IBM) were down over 8% on Thursday in midday trading, after the tech giant beat expectations for “revenue, profit, and free cash flow” this quarter. The company reported revenue of $16.98 billion, topping expectations of $16.59 billion, with earnings-per-share (EPS) of $2.80, beating expectations of $2.64. It also raised its full year forecast.
“With our strong first-half performance, we are raising our full-year outlook for free cash flow, which we expect to exceed $13.5 billion,” IBM chief executive Arvind Krishna said in a statement. “IBM remains highly differentiated in the market because of our deep innovation and domain expertise, both crucial in helping clients deploy and scale AI. Our generative AI book of business continues to accelerate and now stands at more than $7.5 billion.”
That’s all good news for investors. In fact, IBMs revenue increased nearly 8% year-over-year in the quarter, according to its earnings statement. So why the stock dive?
IBM stock price slides as earnings miss on software revenue
The answer: software revenue.
While revenue from software rose about 10% to $7.39 billion, it fell short of analyst expectations of $7.43 billion, CNBC reported.
“You’re seeing the stock pull back, because there’s just not a lot of room to miss,” Dan Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust, told Reuters. “This would be more evidence that software is not growing at the pace that the Street was expecting.”
At the time of this writing, the company had a market capitalization of $239.39 billion.
China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during an otherwise tense bilateral summit in Beijing on Thursday riven with major disagreements over trade and the war in Ukraine.
The two economic juggernauts issued a joint statement on climate change, urging more emission cuts and greater use of green technology and affirming their support for the Paris Climate Agreement as well as calling for strong action at the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
In the fluid and turbulent international situation today, it is crucial that all countries, notably the major economies, maintain policy continuity and stability and step up efforts to address climate change, the joint statement said.
Their climate agreement was a silver lining on a stormy day where European leaders demanded a more balanced relationship with China in talks with President Xi Jinping.
They highlighted trade in their opening remarks, calling for concrete progress to address Europe’s yawning trade deficit with China.
As our cooperation has deepened, so have the imbalances, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. We have reached an inflection point. Rebalancing our bilateral relation is essential. Because to be sustainable, relations need to be mutually beneficial.
Little movement expected
Expectations were low ahead of the talks, initially supposed to last two days but scaled back to one. They come amid financial uncertainty around the world, wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the threat of U.S. tariffs. Neither the EU nor China is likely to budge on key issues.
European Council President António Costa called on China to use its influence over Russia to bring an end to the war in Ukraine a long-running plea from European leaders that is likely to fall again on deaf ears.
Xi called for deeper cooperation between China and Europe to provide stability in an increasingly complex world. Both sides should set aside differences and seek common ground, he said, a phrase he often uses in relationships like the one with the EU.
China is willing to strengthen coordination on climate and make greater contributions to addressing climate change, he said, but he pushed back against EU restrictions on Chinese exports.
We hope the EU will keep its trade and investment markets open, refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools and provide a good business environment for Chinese companies to invest and develop in Europe, he said, according to a readout posted online by state broadcaster CCTV.
US tariff threats weigh on EU-China cooperation
Besides trade and the Ukraine war, von der Leyen and Costa were expected to raise concerns about Chinese cyberattacks and espionage, its restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals and its human rights record in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
The EU, meanwhile, has concerns about a looming trade battle with the United States.
Europe is being very careful not to antagonize President Trump even further by looking maybe too close to China, so all of that doesnt make this summit easier, said Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist of the European Policy Center. “It will be very hard to achieve something concrete.
China’s stance has hardened on the EU, despite a few olive branches, like the suspension of sanctions on European lawmakers who criticized Beijing’s human rights record in Xinjiang province, where it is accused of a widespread campaign of repression against the Uyghurs.
The summit ended with almost no movement on the major issues of trade, electric vehicles, or Russia, said Noah Barkin, an analyst at the Rhodium Group think tank. Rather, frustration from the EU was glaringly obvious after years in which its concerns have been largely ignored by Beijing.
He said the Europeans will likely use more “trade defense tools in the months ahead, including a debate over expanding safeguards and new cases under the blocs foreign subsidies regulation.
Trade disputes range from rare earths to EVs
Like the U.S., the 27-nation EU bloc runs a massive trade deficit with China around 300 billion euros ($350 billion) last year. It relies heavily on China for critical minerals and the magnets made from them for cars and appliances. When China curtailed the export of those products in response to Trump’s tariffs, European automakers cried foul.
China agreed during the summit to to start an upgraded export supply mechanism to fast-track exports of critical minerals, von der Leyen said. Details of the arrangement were not immediately made public. Barkin said he doubted the mechanism would be a miracle solution for what may become a go-to coercion tool for Beijing in the years ahead.
The EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to support its carmakers by balancing out Beijing’s heavy auto subsidies. China would like those tariffs revoked.
The rapid growth in Chinas market share in Europe has sparked concern that Chinese cars will eventually threaten the EUs ability to produce its own green technology to combat climate change. Business groups and unions also fear that the jobs of 2.5 million auto industry workers could be put in jeopardy, as well those of 10.3 million more people whose employment depends indirectly on EV production.
China has launched investigations into European pork and dairy products, and placed tariffs on French cognac and armagnac. It has criticized new EU regulations of medical equipment sales and fears upcoming legislation that could further target Chinese industries, said Alicia García-Herrero, a China analyst at the Bruegel think tank.
The EU has leverage because China needs to sell goods to the bloc, García-Herrero said. The EU remains Chinas largest export market, so China has every intention to keep it this way, especially given the pressure coming from the U.S., she said.
China bristles at EU sanctions over Russia’s war against Ukraine. The latest package included two Chinese banks that the EU accused of links to Russias war industry.
Chinas Commerce Ministry protested the listing and vowed to respond with necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and financial institutions.
The EU looks beyond Beijing and Washington
Buffeted between a combative Washington and a hardline Beijing, the EU has more publicly sought new alliances elsewhere, inking a trade pact with Indonesia and drafting trade deals with South America and Mexico.
Costa and von der Leyen visited Tokyo the day before their meetings in Beijing, launching an alliance with Japan to boost economic cooperation, defend free trade and counter unfair trade practices.
Both Europe and Japan see a world around us where protectionist instincts grow, weaknesses get weaponized, and every dependency exploited,” von der Leyen said. So it is normal that two like-minded partners come together to make each other stronger.
Sam McNeil and Ken Moritsugu, Associated Press
Mark Carlson contributed to this report.
General Motors, the largest automaker in the U.S., announced its second-quarter financial results on July 22. The report was, overall, a gloomy tale of the impact of President Trumps tariffs, which, the company said, cost it more than a billion dollars this past quarter. But while GMs total profits fell by more than a third in Q2, the company did point out one bright spot: a major spike in EV sales, launching it closer to true competition with Tesla.
In its investor relations call, GMwhich operates the subsidiary brands Buick, GMC, Chevrolet, and Cadillacsaid its EV sales more than doubled from April to June. Meanwhile, early this month, Tesla reported a 13% decline in vehicle deliveries for its second quarter, one of the largest quarterly declines in the companys history and its second quarterly decline in a row. In its earnings call on July 24, the company reported its revenue was down more than $3 billion year-over-year (though the company also claimed a newer, cheaper version of the Model Y would soon be available).
An analysis by the data collection firm Cox Automotive published on July 14 found that while Tesla still solidly holds the title of the U.S. EV markets largest mover, GM has charged past Ford and Hyundai to snag the No. 2 spot. With models like the Chevy Blazer and Chevy Equinox, the automaker is quietly encroaching on Teslas dominant market spot.
2025 Blazer EV [Photo: Chevrolet]
A tale of Teslas (declining) dominance
Tesla has long outpaced its competitors in the American EV market, but the gulf that once separated the brand from all others has been slowly closing over the past several years.
In 2020, Tesla controlled nearly 80% of the U.S. market, based on data from Experian. By 2022, that was down to 65.4%, followed by 55% in 2023. This year, per Cox Automotive, that share continues to decline, hovering around 45% as of July 11.
In a press release, Cox Automotive stated, Teslas many issues do not require a full rehashing here: Suffice it to say, the hyper-competitive EV market is providing the troubled automaker no relief.
Part of Teslas market share decline can certainly be attributed to the brands laundry list of reputational blows this year, namely concerning CEO Elon Musks ongoing feud with Trump. But as Cox Automotive hints, another factor is broadening competition: Since 2020, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, and other automakers have introduced countless new EV models.
GM, in particular, has been dedicating greater resources to its fleet of electric vehicles. The company now sells 12 different EV models across its four brands, which accounted for about 15% of the U.S. EV market in the second quarter of 2025triple the share of both Ford and Hyundai. Of GMs EVs, its top-selling models were the Chevy Equinox and Chevy Blazer, which sold 17,420 units and 6,549 units, respectively. The Equinox has gained significant traction for its relatively low cost, which starts at around $35,000.
These numbers are far behind those of Teslas ultra-popular Model Y, which shipped 86,120 units in the second quarter. Still, Chevrolets EV sales alone have shown 130%-plus year-over-year growthsignaling that GM may be on an upward trajectory compared to Teslas current slump.
GM CEO Mary Barra reinforced that trajectory on a July 22 earnings call, sharing that profitable EV sales are now the companys North Star.
We are growing in EVs because we have a strategic portfolio of vehicles that people love for their design, performance, range, and value, she said.
[Photo: Chevrolet]
An uncertain path ahead
Despite GMs major EV success of late, the new EV market saw an overall year-over-year decline. Stephanie Valdez Streaty, senior analyst at Cox Automotive, said in its press release that the lower sales underscore the markets ongoing challenges, as growth in the auto business ebbs and flows on consumer demand, and are a sign of a more mature EV market.
Used EV sales, on the other hand, quietly flourished, surpassing a record-breaking 100,000 units in the second quarter. With availability growing and incentives for new EVs expected to fall, the used EV market maygrow faster in the quarters ahead, Cox Automotive reported.
For market analysts, the elephant in the room is Congresss recent approval of new spending legislation that will end tax credits on new or used EVs beginning September 30. In light of this change, several experts have predicted that EV sales are likely to see a spike in the interim, followed by a noticeable decline starting in October.
Cox Automotive takes a slightly more conservative stance, predicting that new EV sales will continue to expand in the U.S. compared to last year, but at a much reduced pace.
With government-backed incentives set to end in September and economic pressures mounting, the second half of the year will be a critical test of EV demand, Valdez Streaty said. Q3 will likely be a record, followed by a collapse in Q4, as the electric vehicle market adjusts to its new reality.
Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Companys weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here.
With the AI Action Plan Trump pays back his Silicon Valley allies
The Trump administration on Wednesday released its AI Action Plana 28-page blueprint designed to accelerate Americas AI industry and extend its global influence. Authored by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, AI Czar David Sacks, and science and technology adviser Michael Kratsios, the document outlines a suite of tech-friendly directives, ranging from discouraging state-level AI regulation to opening public lands for new data center construction.
That hands-off approach reflects the Trump administrations broader stance toward tech: minimal regulation in exchange for political support. To that end, the action plan directs all federal agencies to delete regulations from earlier administrations that could unnecessarily hinder AI development or deployment.
Fighting state AI laws
The plan doesnt reprise the ban on state AI regulation that was struck from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as some had feared. But it tries to frustrate state AI regulation by instructing federal agencies to condition funding on how friendly the states regulatory environment is to AI R&D. The plan also issues a vague threat against states by asking the FCC to look at how state AI regulations might interfere with the agencys ability to carry out its obligations and authorities under the Communications Act of 1934. (That Act established the FCC and gave it control of broadcast licenses, wireless spectrum, and compliance enforcement.)
The Trump administration also wants to shrink the role of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in protecting consumers from the excesses of the tech industry. The AI plan asks the FTC to modify or set-aside any final orders, consent decrees, and injunctions against tech companies that might unduly burden AI innovation. Further, it asks the FTC to review all investigations begun during the Biden years to ensure that they do not advance theories of liability that unduly burden AI innovation.
Readying the grid for AI
Anthropic estimates the U.S. power grid will need an additional 50 gigawattsroughly the output of 50 Hoover Dams, or enough to power 40 million homesby 2027 to meet the energy demands of new data centers. The Trump administration appears keenly aware of this challenge.
The new plan renews a Biden-era initiative asking agencies that manage federal lands to identify sites suited to large-scale development of data centers. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has been promoting this idea for months, noting that his agency controls around 500 million acres of public lands and estimates $8 trillion in coal reserves beneath them.
Could the U.S. decide to expand production of dirty fuels like coal in the interest of powering new AI data centers? The plan doesnt specify, saying only that the U.S. must prevent the premature decommissioning of critical power generation resources and explore innovative ways to harness existing capacity. It also advocates for investment in alternative power sources like geothermal, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion.
It wasnt too long ago that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was urging the Senate to regulate AI. Now, most in the AI space warn that any binding regulations on how companies develop AI are premature and likely to nip innovation in the bud. Some even argue that it would be immoral to slow down AI R&D because the technology might soon help cure cancer or eliminate poverty. Trumps AI plan is clearly an expression of that world view, and the fulfillment of a promise he made to the tech industry when campaigning for a second term.
The GOPs One Big Beautiful Bill Act will make big tech companies flush with cash
Analysts from Morgan Stanley predicted on Monday that the GOPs One Big Beautiful Bill Act could have some magical effects on the balance sheets of the biggest tech (read: AI) companies. The bill, which was signed into law by the president on July 4, contains a number of tax breaks that will considerably increase the free cash flow of tech companies, the analysts say, especially those that spend heavily on R&D and new infrastructure. For many tech companies, that means AI research and building data centers.
Under the revised tax code, tech companies can now apply retroactive write-offs for past R&D spending, recovering billions in taxes. The bill also allows for full, upfront deductions on infrastructure investmentsprovisions clearly designed with big tech in mind. Meanwhile, the corporate tax rate remains steady at 21%.
These incentives could be worth tens of billions to leading firms, Morgan Stanley estimates. Analysts expect Google, Microsoft, and Apple to benefit most in the short term by accelerating R&D deductions. For Meta and Amazon, the gains may be more evenly distributed over the next two to three years.
Pew: Googles AI search results yield far fewer click-throughs, ad views
New research from the Pew Research Center suggests trouble ahead for Googles core business. After tracking real-time user behavior, Pew found that users shown an AI-generated AI Overview were less likely to click links to external websites than users shown traditional search results. That finding supports concerns among publishers that AI-enhanced search results are reducing site traffic.
It could spell bad news for Google, too. The company earns the bulk of its ad revenue from search, especially when users are looking to buy products like shoes or cars. Google profits most when it drives users to merchant websites. But when users enter more complex queriessuch as what are the best noise cancelling headphones for less than $100they often receive an AI-generated summary. If Pews findings hold, they may be less likely to click a link to a specific brand.
During its research (conducted in March), Pew found that one in five Gogle searches displayed an AI Overview. It also revealed that users were more likely to end their session entirely after seeing such a summary: that happened on 26% of AI-result pages, compared to just 16% of pages with standard results.
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Tens of thousands of fans many in costumes will descend Thursday on Comic-Con International, the four day pop culture spectacle that will feature updates on the new “Predator” movie, “Alien” series and a special appearance by George Lucas.Just don’t expect major news about the future of Marvel’s movie slate or what’s next for the hit relaunch of DC’s high-flying “Superman” franchise. Both studios are sitting out Comic-Con 2025, as far as their film slates go.An estimated 135,000 people will attend the convention, which will greet Lucas on Sunday for his first Comic-Con appearance. The “Star Wars” creator will discuss his new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art that will open next year in Los Angeles.Fans of the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises will have plenty to cheer. Elle Fanning, star of “Predator: Badlands,” will discuss the film at Comic-Con’s massive Hall H this week. FX will also bring the stars and creators of “Alien: Earth,” a series that will unleash the Xenomorph species on Earth next month.“Alien: Earth” will be one of the projects that brings a massive interactive experience to San Diego, with a replica of spacecraft from the series. The attraction will feature what’s described as a terrifying mission at night.Marvel may not be presenting new movies, but it will have a “Fantastic Four: First Steps” attraction near the convention, a tie-in to Friday’s release of the latest attempt to successfully launch its “first family” in theaters.Thousands of fans got a sneak peek at the convention’s 460,000 square foot (42,700 square meter) exhibitor section, which features exclusive merchandise, comic book art and exhibits from brands like Star Wars, Lego, Nickelodeon, Paramount and more.
Associated Press
The data nerds are fighting back.After watching data sets be altered or disappear from U.S. government websites in unprecedented ways after President Donald Trump began his second term, an army of outside statisticians, demographers and computer scientists have joined forces to capture, preserve and share data sets, sometimes clandestinely.Their goal is to make sure they are available in the future, believing that democracy suffers when policymakers don’t have reliable data and that national statistics should be above partisan politics.“There are such smart, passionate people who care deeply about not only the Census Bureau, but all the statistical agencies, and ensuring the integrity of the statistical system. And that gives me hope, even during these challenging times,” Mary Jo Mitchell, director of government and public affairs for the research nonprofit the Population Association of America, said this week during an online public data-users conference.The threats to the U.S. data infrastructure since January have come not only from the disappearance or modification of data related to gender, sexual orientation, health, climate change and diversity, among other topics, but also from job cuts of workers and contractors who had been guardians of restricted-access data at statistical agencies, the data experts said.“There are trillions of bytes of data files, and I can’t even imagine how many public dollars were spent to collect those data. But right now, they’re sitting someplace that is inaccessible because there are no staff to appropriately manage those data,” Jennifer Park, a study director for the Committee on National Statistics, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, said during the conference hosted by the Association of Public Data Users (APDU).
‘Gender’ switched to ‘sex’
In February, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s official public portal for health data, data.cdc.gov, was taken down entirely but subsequently went back up. Around the same time, when a query was made to access certain public data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most comprehensive survey of American life, users for several days got a response that said the area was “unavailable due to maintenance” before access was restored.Researchers Janet Freilich and Aaron Kesselheim examined 232 federal public health data sets that had been modified in the first quarter of this year and found that almost half had been “substantially altered,” with the majority having the word “gender” switched to “sex,” they wrote this month in The Lancet medical journal.One of the most difficult tasks has been figuring out what’s been changed since many of the alterations weren’t recorded in documentation.Beth Jarosz, senior program director at the Population Reference Bureau, thought she was in good shape since she had previously downloaded data she needed from the National Survey of Children’s Health for a February conference where she was speaking, even though the data had become unavailable. But then she realized she had failed to download the questionnaire and later discovered that a question about discrimination based on gender or sexual identity had been removed.“It’s the one thing my team didn’t have,” Jarosz said at this week’s APDU conference. “And they edited the questionnaire document, which should have been a historical record.”Among the groups that have formed this year to collect and preserve the federal data are the Federation of American Scientists’ dataindex.com, which monitors changes to federal data sets; the University of Chicago Library’s Data Mirror website, which backs up and hosts at-risk data sets; the Data Rescue Project, which serves as a clearinghouse for data rescue-related efforts; and the Federal Data Forum, which shares information about what federal statistics have gone missing or been modified a job also being done by the American Statistical Association.The outside data warriors also are quietly reaching out to workers at statistical agencies and urging them to back up any data that is restricted from the public.“You can’t trust that this data is going to be here tomorrow,” said Lena Bohman, a founding member of the Data Rescue Project.
Experts’ committee unofficially revived
Separately, a group of outside experts has unofficially revived a long-running U.S. Census Bureau advisory committee that was killed by the Trump administration in March.Census Bureau officials won’t be attending the Census Scientific Advisory Committee meeting in September, since the Commerce Department, which oversees the agency, eliminated it. But the advisory committee will forward its recommendations to the bureau, and demographer Allison Plyer said she has heard that some agency officials are excited by the committee’s re-emergence, even if it’s outside official channels.“We will send them recommendations but we don’t expect them to respond since that would be frowned upon,” said Plyer, chief demographer at The Data Center in New Orleans. “They just aren’t getting any outside expertise and they want expertise, which is understandable from nerds.”
Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social
Mike Schneider, Associated Press
Motorbike helmets can protect your head against fatal injury, but they leave you to breathe the noxious fumes of traffic. A Spanish startup called Zyon claims that its helmet addresses this problem by combining medical grade filtration with the most advanced shock-protection technology available, transforming every breath into clean air while keeping your coconut in one piece.
Premium helmet models like the $900 Shoei Neotec 3 look cool and offer ECE 22.06 P/J certificationthe latest European standard for motorcycle helmet safety, which includes more stringent testing procedures and impact points than any other certification in the worldbut leave riders completely exposed to pollutants.
One budget optionthe $56 Indian Shellios Purosprovides basic HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filtration for but fails both European and U.S. safety standards. Only the $850 Zyonavailable now for preorder and delivery later in the yearoffers both medical grade air purification and top-tier impact protection in a single system.
[Image: Zyon Helmets]
“There is currently no approved helmet on the market that includes an integrated filtration system,” Tanguy Uzel, founder of the Madrid-based Zyon Helmets, tells me via email. “The only exception is a model developed by an Indian brand, which does not have homologation or European and American safety standards.”
The core of the Zyon is its Breath Safe System, which the company claims processes every molecule of air before it enters your body. How much do you need this? Motorcyclists suffer PM2.5 exposures of 75 micrograms per cubic meter, 5 times more than pedestrians and 15 times more than car occupants. This pollution penetrates lung alveoli and enters the bloodstream, causing chronic inflammation that has been linked to cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
HEPA filters have demonstrated 48% to 60% reductions in allergic symptoms, outperforming many pharmaceutical treatments. Activated carbon neutralizes gases like carbon monoxide, whose exposure above 9 parts per million significantly reduces lung function in commercial drivers. While no portable system completely eliminates gas exposure, partial reduction provides significant health benefits during chronic urban exposure.
[Image: Zyon Helmets]
Multilayer filtering
The Zyon has three layers located inside the chin guard, where you can see its honeycomb openings and a mechanism to change the air-intake according to your speed.
The first hydrophobic barrier blocks water and insects. The second layer employs H13 HEPA filters that capture 99.95% of particles down to 0.3 microns, including the dangerous PM2.5 particles that penetrate deep into the respiratory system and enter the bloodstream, causing chronic inflammation.
A third layer uses activated carbon to absorb poisonous gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides that escape from exhaust pipes, the company says. A final layer protects the assembly and maintains filter integrity for one to three months of use, depending on the quality of the air during easy rides. This multi-layer filter design eliminates 99% of the pollution that motorcyclists would normally inhale in a city, where concentrations of toxic particles reach levels that would trigger health warnings if they occurred indoors.
Thats for your lungs. For your cranium, the helmet uses the Swedish multidirectional impact protection system (MIPS), which reduces rotational forces during a crash. A low-friction layer allows the helmet to move 10 to 15 millimeters relative to the head during impact, deflecting energy that could damage the brain. This technology functions without interfering with the filtration system or the neck sealing necessary to maintain clean air, the company points out.
The ECE 22.06 P/J certification (introduced in the EU in 2022) triples the number of impact points tested compared to previous regulations and includes oblique impacts that simulate real accidents. The U.S. uses the Department of Transportations FMVSS 218 standard, which is legally required but is considered a Mickey Mouse-level protection that provides minimum helmet performance rather than optimal protection.
[Image: Zyon Helmets]
Three-mode ventilation
The company claims its helmet maintains effective ventilation, even when stopped at traffic lights, through three modes without the need for electric fans. It offers Urban for slow traffic, Road for medium speeds, and Touring for highway use. A single mechanism switches between modes according to riding conditions.
The company says that air enters through the front intake, filters through the four layers, circulates through internal channels, and exits through rear vents. This continuous current maintains positive pressure inside the helmet, preventing dirty air from entering through small leaks in the sealinga critical detail that makes the filtration effective.
“Our filter acts by electrostatic attraction to capture fne particles and by chemical reaction with a layer of active carbon to neutralize toxic gases. Unlike mechanical filters (such as those of masks), this system allows better breathability, but also requires regular replacement,” Uzel tells me.
The Zyons shell combines fiberglass with organic materials in an integrated matrix. The materials are chemically bonded together during manufacturing to create a single, unified composite material rather than separate layers glued together. The glass fibers provide strength and prevent cracking, while the organic resin allows controlled flexibility that absorbs crash energy by deforming slightly instead of transmitting all the impact force directly to your head, which your brain will be happy about.
The helmet is loaded with some clever electronics too, including integrated air quality sensors that can talk to a mobile app that monitors what goes through the filtering system and warns when the filter needs changing.
“The duration of the filter depends on the environment, but it is recommended to change it every one to three months. Once opened, even without use, it begins to lose properties due to exposure to air,” Uzel says. “The helmet detects flights and air conditions in real time. From that data, the app generates custom statistics on the filtered contamination level and filter performance, and notifies the user when to replace it.”
The helmet also has aviation-class accelerometers, which will identify accident patterns and automatically alert emergency services in your phonea potentially lifesaving technology for riders who crash in remote areas.
The rear light activates when braking through the same motion sensors whenever they detect deceleration, improving visibility especially in low-light conditions or high pollution. The battery provides 18 hours of autonomy and charges via USB-C.
It looks like a great design, if it works like they say. The combination of medical filtration, MIPS protection, and smart electronics should protect you against the two main threats that motorcyclists face: accidents and pollution. For riders who spend hours daily breathing toxic urban air, this could be the solution.
The fertility rate in the U.S. dropped to an all-time low in 2024 with less than 1.6 kids per woman, new federal data released Thursday shows.The U.S. was once among only a few developed countries with a rate that ensured each generation had enough children to replace itself about 2.1 kids per woman. But it has been sliding in America for close to two decades as more women are waiting longer to have children or never taking that step at all.The new statistic is on par with fertility rates in western European countries, according to World Bank data.Alarmed by recent drops, the Trump administration has taken steps to increase falling birth rates, like issuing an executive order meant to expand access to and reduce costs of in vitro fertilization and backing the idea of “baby bonuses” that might encourage more couples to have kids.But there’s no reason to be alarmed, according to Leslie Root, a University of Colorado Boulder researcher focused on fertility and population policy.“We’re seeing this as part of an ongoing process of fertility delay. We know that the U.S. population is still growing, and we still have a natural increase more births than deaths,” she said.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the statistic for the total fertility rate with updated birth data for 2024.In the early 1960s, the U.S. total fertility rate was around 3.5, but plummeted to 1.7 by 1976 after the Baby Boom ended. It gradually rose to 2.1 in 2007 before falling again, aside from a 2014 uptick. The rate in 2023 was 1.621, and inched down in 2024 to 1.599, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.Birth rates are generally declining for women in most age groups and that doesn’t seem likely to change in the near future, said Karen Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.People are marrying later and also worried about their ability to have the money, health insurance and other resources needed to raise children in a stable environment.“Worry is not a good moment to have kids,” and that’s why birth rates in most age groups are not improving, she said.Asked about birth-promoting measures outlined by the Trump administration, Guzzo said they don’t tackle larger needs like parental leave and affordable child care.“The things that they are doing are really symbolic and not likely to budge things for real Americans,” she said.
Increase in births in new data
The CDC’s new report, which is based on a more complete review of birth certificates than provisional data released earlier this year, also showed a 1% increase in births about 33,000 more last year compared to the prior year.That brought the yearly national total to just over 3.6 million babies born.But this is different: The provisional data indicated birth rate increases last year for women in their late 20s and 30s. However, the new report found birth rate declines for women in their 20s and early 30s, and no change for women in their late 30s.What happened? CDC officials said it was due to recalculations stemming from a change in the U.S. Census population estimates used to compute the birth rate.That’s plausible, Root said. As the total population of women of childbearing age grew due to immigration, it offset small increases in births to women in those age groups, she said.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer
After you wear it enough, Nike’s latest Air Jordan 1 eventually becomes a one-of-one sneaker in a colorful, custom colorway just for you.
The Air Jordan 1 High OG Self-Expression,” which will be released July 31 and retail for $185, comes in a shoebox that looks as if it was made from sanded down rainbow scratch paper, and it’s a preview of what happens when you wear the shoes inside. At first the sneaker is black, but its finish is designed to flake off with time, revealing blue, green, and yellow panels underneath. It give each pair a unique pattern that’s special to the wearer. Think of it as a data visualization of your walking patterns.
[Photo: Nike]
AJ purists may be used to leaving their purchase in the box to keep it in mint condition, but the concept of scratch-off shoes flips scuff marks from a negative to a plus. The Air Jordan 1 High OG Self-Expression gives scuff marks value: wearing in the shoe so it doesn’t look the same as when you bought it is intrinsic to the design. It’s an innovative alternative to typical product customization.
[Photo: Nike]
Nike has previously put out rub away Air Max 1s and Nike SB x Air Jordan 1s with wear-away uppers, while their Air Force 1 Low Dirty Triple White ages backwards to reveal a brighter, whiter, cleaner layer underneath an outer layer that already looks worn. Dr. Martens got in on the trend last year with color-changing shoes with brown and black topcoats that wore off to reveal bright green and blue as part of a collaboration with Supreme.
[Photo: Nike]
For Nike, bringing the effect to the Air Jordan adds a fun new way to experience one of the company’s signature shoes. “The Air Jordan 1 transcended its basketball origins to become a cultural phenomenon in the 1980s, influencing diverse subcultures such as hip-hop, rock, skateboarding, and youth culture,” Air Jordan’s Kenlyn Tyree tells Fast Company. “Its blend of style, comfort, and performance made it a symbol of self-expression and status for a generation of young people.”
Typically, apparel made from materials like raw denim or leather are thought to get better with wear, but with rub-away shoes, that idea is taken to another level. The imperfections are the point, and with Nike’s color-changing Air Jordan 1s, the bold, bright colors draw attention to them even more.
