News Updates

What’s Happening, and Where to Read It Yourself

Current coverage of data center siting fights, ratepayer proceedings, surveillance technology, and nonprofit funding disclosure. Every factual claim on these pages links to a news report, a court filing, or an official government record.

Analysis  ·  July 31, 2026

The Rising Cost of Fighting Data Centers

Texts, mailers, yard signs, legal appeals, and television buys have turned local data center fights into six- and seven-figure contests. We priced the tools, traced the money through four live disputes, and weighed what communities give up when they win — labeling every figure by who produced it.

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Advocacy Networks  ·  July 29, 2026

Opposition Groups More Than Doubled in Six Months, Tracker Reports — While the Tracker Itself Does Not Disclose Its Funders

A widely cited tracker says organized opposition to data centers more than doubled since December 2025, disrupting roughly $130 billion in projects. Reporting confirms the tracker is run by an AI intelligence firm that does not disclose who pays for it.

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Government Action  ·  July 28, 2026

From Albany to Bessemer: Governments Are Pausing Data Center Approvals, and the Record Is Public

New York issued the first statewide moratorium, Montgomery County adopted an 18-month pause, and roughly a third of Indiana counties have moved to restrict. A roundup of the official record, with links to the orders and votes.

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Disclosure Policy  ·  July 27, 2026

Congress Advances Nonprofit Disclosure Bills on Party-Line Votes — A Transparency Group’s Honest Reading

Four tax-exempt transparency bills cleared the House Ways and Means Committee on July 24, 2026, all on near-party-line votes. We support the disclosure principle and say plainly why the vote margins are a problem for it.

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Surveillance & Civil Liberties  ·  July 24, 2026

The Camera on the Corner: How Resistance to Flock Safety’s License Plate Readers Got Organized

Dozens of cities have cancelled or deactivated automated license plate reader contracts. A state audit found violations, two members of Congress asked the FTC to investigate, one state passed the strongest ALPR law in the country, and the courts are split.

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Ratepayers  ·  July 21, 2026

Who Pays for the Grid: Regulators, Not Zoning Boards, Are Deciding the Real Data Center Question

FERC opened dockets across six grid regions, five state consumer advocates filed jointly, and Wisconsin, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas moved on large-load tariffs. The cost-allocation fight is where this is actually being settled.

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Public Records  ·  July 16, 2026

A Non-Disclosure Agreement Told Public Officials to Destroy Public Records. That Is the Story.

A document obtained by Inside Climate News shows the NDA around a Bessemer, Alabama data center project required city officials to destroy records. We publish this even though it cuts against the industry, because that is what a watchdog does.

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Advocacy Networks  ·  July 15, 2026

520 Organizations Sign a National Moratorium Letter. We Are Asking All of Them the Same Question.

A coalition of more than 520 organizations across 48 states called for a nationwide moratorium on AI data centers. We link the letter in full and ask every signatory to disclose its major funders — a question we also put to the industry and to ourselves.

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Land Use  ·  July 10, 2026

In Virginia, Two Data Center Decisions Turned on Process — Not on Whether Data Centers Are Good

A Virginia appeals court blocked the Prince William Digital Gateway over defective public notice, and supervisors rejected a 2,000-acre proposal 8-0. Both outcomes are procedural, and that is the lesson.

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Reposted · Company Statements  ·  July 7, 2026

What the Operators Have Promised, in Their Own Words — So Communities Can Hold Them to It

A reposted roundup of public commitments from the White House ratepayer pledge, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, OpenAI, and Entergy. Reposting is not endorsement; it is a record for residents to measure performance against.

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Litigation  ·  July 2, 2026

The Legal Front: When Permitting Fails to Settle It, the Dispute Moves to Court

The NAACP and Earthjustice sued xAI over gas turbines powering a data center near Memphis, and the Justice Department later moved against the suit. A summary of the litigation record, with every allegation identified as an allegation.

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How we write these. These are news summaries compiled from public reporting, official government records, court filings, and organizations’ own published statements, each linked in full. We do not allege that any specific person or organization has engaged in unlawful conduct. Allegations described in lawsuits, letters, or audits are allegations only, and all parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise. Where material is reposted from another organization, it is identified as that organization’s statement and reproduction does not constitute endorsement. Corrections are welcome and will be posted — tell us if we got something wrong.