Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been collecting DNA from U.S. citizens, including minors, and feeding it into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), according to newly analyzed government data reviewed by WIRED. Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology found that between 2020 and 2024, CBP submitted nearly 2,000 citizen profiles, including 95 minors as young as 14, often without criminal charges. “Those spreadsheets tell a chilling story,” said Stevie Glaberson, the center’s research director, who argued CBP “flagrantly violated the law by taking DNA from citizens without justification.” Since 2020, DHS has contributed 2.6 million profiles to CODIS, with 97 percent collected under civil, not criminal, authority. Critics warn this expansion risks turning CODIS into a broad surveillance archive. Lawmakers and rights groups are pressing for oversight as DHS expands Rapid DNA technology nationwide.
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Fusion power remains unproven, but investors and energy giants are betting big. MIT Technology Review’s Casey Crownhart reports that Commonwealth Fusion Systems has signed a $1 billion deal with Italian oil major Eni for electricity from a Virginia plant that does not yet exist, mirroring earlier speculative contracts across the sector. While the 2022 National Ignition Facility experiment showed net energy was possible, commercial-scale fusion requires reliable, economical output. “They don’t have a reactor,” said Berkeley professor Ed Morse, highlighting the gap between scientific breakthroughs and industrial viability. Still, firms like Helion and Zap Energy are advancing magnets, continuous plasma tests, and pilot plant construction. Supporters argue such deals provide crucial capital and confidence, though critics warn against overhyping. With U.S. policy favoring fusion while cutting wind and solar, the industry faces pressure to prove its promise amid rising electricity demand.
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At Imagine IF, Matt Odell hosted Derek Ross and Shawn Yeager for a wide-ranging conversation on digital identity, censorship, and open communities. Yeager argued the crisis begins with “broken money,” leading to broken incentives and platforms that monetize attention while eroding trust in institutions. Ross underscored the dangers of centralized platforms: “You built your entire digital life on somebody else’s foundation…and it’s disappearing overnight.” The panel highlighted threats from deepfakes and algorithmic control, but also pointed to solutions in open protocols like Nostr, which give users sovereignty over identity and content. Yeager likened public-private key cryptography to a medieval signet ring for authenticating media, while Ross emphasized tools that let parents and communities set their own rules without top-down controls. Optimistically, projects combining Nostr, Bitcoin, and AI could empower creators to own their social graphs, payments, and digital spaces—all without permission.
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Cipher Mining (NASDAQ: CIFR) announced a landmark agreement with AI cloud platform Fluidstack to deliver 168 MW of critical IT load at its Barber Lake data center in Colorado City, Texas by September 2026. The 10-year high-performance computing (HPC) colocation contract is valued at roughly $3 billion, with two optional five-year extensions that could bring the total to $7 billion. Supported by 244 MW of gross capacity and potential expansion to 500 MW across 587 acres, Barber Lake positions Cipher as a leading AI data center developer with a broader 2.4 GW HPC pipeline. Google will backstop $1.4 billion of Fluidstack’s lease obligations to facilitate financing and will receive warrants for about 24 million shares, equal to a 5.4% stake in Cipher. CEO Tyler Page called the deal “transformative,” illuminating Cipher’s shift into AI hosting while retaining 100% project ownership.
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