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Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
What happens to Europe's space ambitions if NASA cuts joint missions
While the European Space Agency (ESA) waits to see whether the United States will cut 19 of their joint programmes, experts say the relationship between the two governments will likely not go back to the way it was. NASA's 2026 technical budget request, which was released earlier this month, details possible cuts to programmes such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a space probe that measures gravitational waves, Envision, ESA's first mission to Venus to measure its different atmospheres, and NewAthena, the world's largest X-ray observatory. The budget also cuts funding to certain components of Moon missions after Artemis III, a mission that would bring humans back to its surface in 2027. The cancellations are in the name of finding a more 'sustainable and cost-effective' lunar exploration strategy. The bill still needs to be approved by Congress, which could likely be in the autumn. Alberto Rueda Carazo, research fellow with the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) think tank, said he has never seen any NASA budget like it. 'Whether or not Congress restores the money, the message is clear: Washington's science commitments can vanish overnight,' he told Euronews Next. ESA said at a press conference last week that 19 of its research projects might be impacted by the proposed NASA budget cuts. The ones where mitigation would be needed are the LISA, Envision and NewAthena. Without NASA contributions to these projects, Carazo said the missions might 'slip years,' possibly pushed back 'well into the 2030s,' and risk cancellation. The questions that these three missions address, like the mergers of black holes, hot-plasma physics and the history of Earth-size planets, would 'remain unanswered for at least a decade,' he said. Ludwig Moeller, ESPI's director, believes that the LISA programme will continue in the future with or without NASA. 'I think the objective of what LISA wants to do is perfectly understood,' he said. 'I don't think we will lose the discovery in the medium term'. Carazo said it could also affect Europe's leadership in fundamental astrophysics, the branch of astronomy that studies the physical structure of stars and other celestial bodies. The hardest hit of the research programmes, according to Carazo, is the ExoMars mission carrying the Rosalind Franklin rover. NASA provides the launch and descent hardware for the craft to fly so the programme cannot continue unless Europe is able to find and build a heavy-lift alternative. Josef Aschbacher, ESA's director general, said in a recent press conference that no cuts or cancellations were coming until the US 'finalises' its position, but that no matter the decision made by Congress, ESA would be 'ready' and 'well-prepared' to react. There are also possible impacts for Europe's Moon mission aspirations, because if the NASA cuts are approved, Carazo said Europe's 'two principal avenues into the Artemis architecture would disappear'. The ESA builds European Space Modules (ESMs) that provide electricity and oxygen to Orion, the spacecraft picked by NASA for the Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. The NASA cuts would mean that the assembly line in Bremen, Germany, would finish the hardware for the flights but would have nothing scheduled after 2028. That could mean an 'early shut down' of the production line and the associated supply chain, Carazo added. The ESA also contributes three key elements for Gateway, the first international space station to be built around the Moon. Like the ESM parts, the Gateway hardware that's been built 'would have nowhere to go,' and Europe would lose a 'guaranteed, sustained presence in cislunar space'. There are other knock-off effects to consider regarding Europe's aspirations to study the Moon, he added. 'European astronaut seats after Artemis III would vanish, and key technologies that ESA is counting on for a later lunar-surface architecture—closed-loop life support, high-power solar-electric propulsion—would be delayed, widening the capability gap Europe had hoped to close in the 2030s,' he added. It is quite easy for NASA to get out of deals with the ESA or other partners, even if a contract has been signed, Carazo said. NASA contracts fall under the US Federal Acquisition Regulation, where the government has a 'termination for convenience' clause that lets them cancel any contract they want so long as they pay for costs already incurred. 'If Congress deletes the line item, NASA is legally obliged to stop spending, give ESA formal notice and negotiate a settlement; there is no binding dispute-resolution clause that could force the United States back in,' Carazo said. 'A pull-out would be diplomatically and politically messy but completely lawful'. The US has done this before by exiting its ExoMars programme obligations in 2012 under the Obama administration, Carazo added. Withdrawing from this project, in particular for a second time, 'would cement the perception that US commitments last no longer than a presidential term'. Europe's best bet while waiting for the American position to become clear is to offer to absorb a bigger share of the mission and ground costs while also investing in homegrown hardware to supply ESA's future missions, Carazo added. The most immediate consequence of the NASA cuts would be a 'permanent dent in Washington's reputational capital,' Carazo said. A 'diversification' of partners to assist with the ESA missions would follow so that 'no single foreign veto can stall an ESA flagship [programme] again.' ESA is looking to broaden relationships with Canada, Japan and India and while no deals are actively being pursued with China, it remains an option that could be explored, Carazo added. 'All of this reshapes the diplomatic map of space science, diluting US soft power,' Carazo said, adding that projects like China's International Lunar Research Station could start to 'woo European participation'. This is not the first time that Europe has discussed its sovereignty in space, according to Ludwig Moeller, ESPI's director. In 2023, an expert group released a report that noted Europe has 'no independent human launch capacity' and 'relies on non-European partners to send humans to space,' according to a press release about the report. The NASA budget cuts are bringing up this discussion again, Moeller added, along with questions of how much Europe should be investing in security and defence. 'The two points, security, defence and exploration are both on the agenda to an extent that I don't think in the history of Europe has ever existed,' he said. 'This … disruption is unique.' Part of the sovereignty discussion is how Europe is developing domestic supply chains to build the necessary hardware for NASA-vulnerable missions like the ExoMars, according to Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA's director of human and robotic exploration in last weeks media briefing. For example, Neuenschwander said that critical parts for the ExoMars rover, like an americium radioisotope heater unit (RHU) could be built in Europe to sustain future Moon missions. Yet, Moeller said Europe is not ready to give up on a transatlantic relationship that is built on shared values. '[Space exploration] really takes a village and the USA is still part of that village… in a different size, maybe in a different shape,' he said. '[But] Space exploration is a decadal task, it's not a transaction of the day'. National data protection authorities should see easier cooperation in cross-border privacy cases under updated rules that were rubber stamped by the EU institutions on Monday evening. The European Commission planned to fix shortcomings in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – which entered into force in 2018 – by introducing an update in 2023 that was aimed at accelerating decisions and harmonizing procedural rules. Under the GDPR, national regulators must transfer cases to watchdogs based in other member states when the company is headquartered in another country. But this cross-border system has been panned by privacy advocates as complaints can take years to resolve. In Monday's trilogue – the inter-institutional negotiations between the Commission, the European Parliament and the member states – the parties agreed on a mechanism to resolve complaints more swiftly through measures to facilitate consensus-building. In addition, the rules introduce a 15-month deadline in which an investigation must be completed. It can be extended by 12 months in the most complex cases. Poland's Minister for Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski, called the deal 'a big step towards improving cooperation' between the data protection authorities. Agustín Reyna, Director General of Consumer group BEUC said in a response that 'the agreement marks some progress for those like us, who have been frustrated to see the GDPR's enforcement as its Achilles heel.' Reyna added that it is 'important given the power of multinationals and the snail pace of GDPR enforcement for the last years.' NOYB's Max Schrems, a privacy lawyer and activist, told Euronews that while there are some benefits, like deadlines, "the overall result will be less rights and less enforcement for citizens." "This law is a disgrace as it allows authorities to even enforce less and cut out citizens from procedures about their own rights. The procedure is also needlessly complex and will generate much more work for authorities," he said, adding that this may be subject to annulment by the Courts, because "it ignores basic procedural principles and logic." The provisional agreement will need a formal confirmation by the member states and the Parliament. Last month, the Commission presented a simplification package to offer relief to small mid-cap companies burdened by the current scope of the GDPR. Currently, companies with fewer than 250 employees are exempt from the data privacy rules to reduce their administrative costs, the Commission now proposes to extend this derogation to the so-called small mid-cap companies of up to 500 staff members.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
EU clinches deal to ease cross-border data protection cooperation
While the European Space Agency (ESA) waits to see whether the United States will cut 19 of their joint programmes, experts say the relationship between the two governments will likely not go back to the way it was. NASA's 2026 technical budget request, which was released earlier this month, details possible cuts to programmes such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a space probe that measures gravitational waves, Envision, ESA's first mission to Venus to measure its different atmospheres, and NewAthena, the world's largest X-ray observatory. The budget also cuts funding to certain components of Moon missions after Artemis III, a mission that would bring humans back to its surface in 2027. The cancellations are in the name of finding a more 'sustainable and cost-effective' lunar exploration strategy. The bill still needs to be approved by Congress, which could likely be in the autumn. Alberto Rueda Carazo, research fellow with the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) think tank, said he has never seen any NASA budget like it. 'Whether or not Congress restores the money, the message is clear: Washington's science commitments can vanish overnight,' he told Euronews Next. ESA said at a press conference last week that 19 of its research projects might be impacted by the proposed NASA budget cuts. The ones where mitigation would be needed are the LISA, Envision and NewAthena. Without NASA contributions to these projects, Carazo said the missions might 'slip years,' possibly pushed back 'well into the 2030s,' and risk cancellation. The questions that these three missions address, like the mergers of black holes, hot-plasma physics and the history of Earth-size planets, would 'remain unanswered for at least a decade,' he said. Ludwig Moeller, ESPI's director, believes that the LISA programme will continue in the future with or without NASA. 'I think the objective of what LISA wants to do is perfectly understood,' he said. 'I don't think we will lose the discovery in the medium term'. Carazo said it could also affect Europe's leadership in fundamental astrophysics, the branch of astronomy that studies the physical structure of stars and other celestial bodies. The hardest hit of the research programmes, according to Carazo, is the ExoMars mission carrying the Rosalind Franklin rover. NASA provides the launch and descent hardware for the craft to fly so the programme cannot continue unless Europe is able to find and build a heavy-lift alternative. Josef Aschbacher, ESA's director general, said in a recent press conference that no cuts or cancellations were coming until the US 'finalises' its position, but that no matter the decision made by Congress, ESA would be 'ready' and 'well-prepared' to react. There are also possible impacts for Europe's Moon mission aspirations, because if the NASA cuts are approved, Carazo said Europe's 'two principal avenues into the Artemis architecture would disappear'. The ESA builds European Space Modules (ESMs) that provide electricity and oxygen to Orion, the spacecraft picked by NASA for the Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. The NASA cuts would mean that the assembly line in Bremen, Germany, would finish the hardware for the flights but would have nothing scheduled after 2028. That could mean an 'early shut down' of the production line and the associated supply chain, Carazo added. The ESA also contributes three key elements for Gateway, the first international space station to be built around the Moon. Like the ESM parts, the Gateway hardware that's been built 'would have nowhere to go,' and Europe would lose a 'guaranteed, sustained presence in cislunar space'. There are other knock-off effects to consider regarding Europe's aspirations to study the Moon, he added. 'European astronaut seats after Artemis III would vanish, and key technologies that ESA is counting on for a later lunar-surface architecture—closed-loop life support, high-power solar-electric propulsion—would be delayed, widening the capability gap Europe had hoped to close in the 2030s,' he added. It is quite easy for NASA to get out of deals with the ESA or other partners, even if a contract has been signed, Carazo said. NASA contracts fall under the US Federal Acquisition Regulation, where the government has a 'termination for convenience' clause that lets them cancel any contract they want so long as they pay for costs already incurred. 'If Congress deletes the line item, NASA is legally obliged to stop spending, give ESA formal notice and negotiate a settlement; there is no binding dispute-resolution clause that could force the United States back in,' Carazo said. 'A pull-out would be diplomatically and politically messy but completely lawful'. The US has done this before by exiting its ExoMars programme obligations in 2012 under the Obama administration, Carazo added. Withdrawing from this project, in particular for a second time, 'would cement the perception that US commitments last no longer than a presidential term'. Europe's best bet while waiting for the American position to become clear is to offer to absorb a bigger share of the mission and ground costs while also investing in homegrown hardware to supply ESA's future missions, Carazo added. The most immediate consequence of the NASA cuts would be a 'permanent dent in Washington's reputational capital,' Carazo said. A 'diversification' of partners to assist with the ESA missions would follow so that 'no single foreign veto can stall an ESA flagship [programme] again.' ESA is looking to broaden relationships with Canada, Japan and India and while no deals are actively being pursued with China, it remains an option that could be explored, Carazo added. 'All of this reshapes the diplomatic map of space science, diluting US soft power,' Carazo said, adding that projects like China's International Lunar Research Station could start to 'woo European participation'. This is not the first time that Europe has discussed its sovereignty in space, according to Ludwig Moeller, ESPI's director. In 2023, an expert group released a report that noted Europe has 'no independent human launch capacity' and 'relies on non-European partners to send humans to space,' according to a press release about the report. The NASA budget cuts are bringing up this discussion again, Moeller added, along with questions of how much Europe should be investing in security and defence. 'The two points, security, defence and exploration are both on the agenda to an extent that I don't think in the history of Europe has ever existed,' he said. 'This … disruption is unique.' Part of the sovereignty discussion is how Europe is developing domestic supply chains to build the necessary hardware for NASA-vulnerable missions like the ExoMars, according to Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA's director of human and robotic exploration in last weeks media briefing. For example, Neuenschwander said that critical parts for the ExoMars rover, like an americium radioisotope heater unit (RHU) could be built in Europe to sustain future Moon missions. Yet, Moeller said Europe is not ready to give up on a transatlantic relationship that is built on shared values. '[Space exploration] really takes a village and the USA is still part of that village… in a different size, maybe in a different shape,' he said. '[But] Space exploration is a decadal task, it's not a transaction of the day'. National data protection authorities should see easier cooperation in cross-border privacy cases under updated rules that were rubber stamped by the EU institutions on Monday evening. The European Commission planned to fix shortcomings in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – which entered into force in 2018 – by introducing an update in 2023 that was aimed at accelerating decisions and harmonizing procedural rules. Under the GDPR, national regulators must transfer cases to watchdogs based in other member states when the company is headquartered in another country. But this cross-border system has been panned by privacy advocates as complaints can take years to resolve. In Monday's trilogue – the inter-institutional negotiations between the Commission, the European Parliament and the member states – the parties agreed on a mechanism to resolve complaints more swiftly through measures to facilitate consensus-building. In addition, the rules introduce a 15-month deadline in which an investigation must be completed. It can be extended by 12 months in the most complex cases. Poland's Minister for Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski, calledthe deal 'a big step towards improving cooperation' between the data protection authorities. Agustín Reyna, Director General of Consumer group BEUC said in a response that 'the agreement marks some progress for those like us, who have been frustrated to see the GDPR's enforcement as its Achilles heel.' Reyna added that it is 'important given the power of multinationals and the snail pace of GDPR enforcement for the last years.' NOYB's Max Schrems, a privacy lawyer and activist, told Euronews that while there are some benefits, like deadlines, "the overall result will be less rights and less enforcement for citizens." "This law is a disgrace as it allows authorities to even enforce less and cut out citizens from procedures about their own rights. The procedure is also needlessly complex and will generate much more work for authorities," he said, adding that this may be subject to annulment by the Courts, because "it ignores basic procedural principles and logic." The provisional agreement will need a formal confirmation by the member states and the Parliament. Last month, the Commission presented a simplification package to offer relief to small mid-cap companies burdened by the current scope of the GDPR. Currently, companies with fewer than 250 employees are exempt from the data privacy rules to reduce their administrative costs, the Commission now proposes to extend this derogation to the so-called small mid-cap companies of up to 500 staff members. WhatsApp said that users will start seeing adverts in parts of the app, as owner Meta Platforms moves to cultivate a new revenue stream by tapping the billions of people who use the messaging service. Advertisements will be shown only in the app's Updates tab, which is used by as many as 1.5 billion people each day. However, they will not appear where personal chats are located, developers said. 'The personal messaging experience on WhatsApp isn't changing, and personal messages, calls and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be used to show ads,' WhatsApp said in a blog post on Monday. It is a big change for the company, whose founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton vowed to keep the platform free of ads when they created it in 2009. Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014 and the pair left a few years later. Parent company Meta Platforms Inc. has long been trying to generate revenue from WhatsApp. WhatsApp said ads will be targeted to users based on information like their age, the country or city where they're located, the language they're using, the channels they're following in the app, and how they're interacting with the ads they see. WhatsApp said it will not use personal messages, calls and groups that a user is a member of to target ads to the user. Meta said that any data sharing on WhatsApp and any of its other apps for ad targeting was optional. Last year, the European Commission signalled that without ads being optional, the move fails to comply with its Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The European Centre for Digital Rights (noyb), led by privacy activist Max Schrems said that Meta's 'Pay or Okay' approach effectively forces users to choose between privacy and affordability. "Meta is doing exactly the opposite of what EU law requires," Schrems said in a statement. "The data of its various platforms gets linked, and users are tracked for advertising without any genuine choice. Without freely given consent, linking data and showing personalised advertising is clearly illegal," he added. Noyb said it would examine Meta's actions and "initiate procedures against the company "if necessary". The details depend on Meta's practical implementation and therefore cannot yet be assessed conclusively. Schrems said he expected a WhatsApp exodus to the messaging app Signal. 'Signal works just as well as WhatsApp, but is non-profit and donation-funded," he said. WhatsApp unveiled three advertising features on Monday as it tries to monetise the app's user base. Channels will also be able to charge users a monthly fee for subscriptions so they can get exclusive updates. Business owners will also be able to pay to promote their channel's visibility to new users. Most of Meta's revenue comes from ads. In 2025, the Menlo Park, California-based company's revenue totalled $164.5 billion (€142 billion) and $160.6 billion (€138 billion) of it came from advertising.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Personal touches, secret messages: Behind the scenes of making Caitlin Clark's new Wilson basketballs
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change. INDIANAPOLIS – Caitlin Clark's favorite color is blue. Outside of the gym, she's happiest being on the water or a golf course. She says the same thing to teammate Aliyah Boston before every Indiana Fever game. When you buy one of the basketballs in Clark's new line from Wilson, you're not just getting a ball. You're getting a glimpse of Clark herself. Advertisement The colors, the patterns, the detailing — all are the result of months-long conversations between Clark and Wilson's design team about who she is, what she likes and what messages she wants to send to young fans. 'It was a really fun process for me to go through,' Clark told USA TODAY Sports. 'It's things that are super important to me and all very different things, too, throughout my life. So hopefully they can make an impact on whoever's going to pick the ball up.' Clark joined Michael Jordan as the only athletes with full basketball collections for Wilson, signing a multiyear sponsorship deal in May 2024 with the official manufacturer of basketballs for the WNBA, NBA and NCAA. In part because of the short turnaround time before the release of her first signature ball last October, Clark's first line leaned heavily into history. The records she broke at Iowa. Her historic rookie season with the Fever. But Clark and Wilson knew they wanted future lines to be more personal, reflecting who Clark is as a person as much as a player. Advertisement 'She's actually influencing this. It's not just people at Wilson picking the design,' said Hudson Vantrease, director of product design at Wilson. 'We never wanted to just put her name on a ball and call it a day,' he added. 'We want to tell the most compelling story, and having her as part of that is a positive to it.' Wilson invited USA TODAY Sports to attend the design team meeting in April where Clark saw the finished basketballs for the first time. The design team also gave USA TODAY Sports a behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration process with Clark for the latest collection, which will be released June 23. There are four balls in the collection, and they differ in both purpose (one is an indoor-only ball, one is outdoor-only and two can be used either indoors or outdoors) and price point. One, the Embrace, is an Evo NXT basketball, meaning it has the same construction as a regulation W ball and could be used in official games. Advertisement 'Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome,' Clark said when she walked into the Fever's practice gym and saw the four new basketballs. 'You guys killed it.' Caitlin Clark poses with basketballs from the second edition of her signature collection with Wilson Sporting Goods. The new line of four basketballs -- the Aspire, the Embrace, the Envision and the Oasis -- will be available June 23. The team responsible for developing Clark's line has about a dozen core members. They met with Clark at last year's All-Star Game and got her initial thoughts about the collection, including what a young Caitlin Clark would have wanted. 'I think she said a blue ball,' said Haley Reines, the product line manager at Wilson. Afterward, Reines and product designer Julia Muscarello sent Clark a detailed questionnaire, asking her everything from her favorite color to her hobbies outside of basketball to what she'd be if she wasn't a basketball player (chef). They also monitored social media, taking note of Clark's clothes — there's an Instagram account devoted to her fits — and what she does off the court. Advertisement 'I don't want to say borderline stalking, but yeah,' Muscarello said with a laugh. 'I was trying to stay on the Caitlin pulse.' Those answers and details drove the design process, which involved 'hundreds' of hours. Christopher Rickert, the senior director of global production at Wilson, said the team began with 50 design ideas and whittled them down. Sometimes the color wasn't right. Sometimes the pattern didn't work. Sometimes what seemed like a great idea on paper didn't quite translate into reality. When the team had 10 ideas, they sent the designs to Clark for her thoughts. There were further tweaks, and prototypes were made to make sure the designs looked the same on an actual basketball as they did in drawings. Advertisement The four designs ultimately chosen for this year's line all have very different looks, but there's a commonality to all of them. Clark. 'Whenever I do something, I want to make it the best product possible for people. But also I feel like this is an easy way for me to connect with my fans,' Clark said of being so involved in the design process. 'I want it to feel very personal for them, too. They can connect with me, not just by watching me on TV or coming and buying a ticket to a game.' Take the Oasis ball, which can be used indoors and outdoors. Clark told Reines and Muscarello her favorite color is blue, she likes pastels and her happy places are the water and golf course. So the panels of the Oasis ball are white and light blue, and the light blue panels have what looks like pink and green splashes of paint but is actually an abstract drawing of a golf course. Advertisement Clark picked up on it right away when she saw the ball. 'That looks like a hole on a golf course!' she exclaimed. Light blue is also the shade used for the pattern on the Envision, an outdoor ball. At first glance, it looks like a maze, but it's really the words 'DREAM BIG.' That phrase is also on the Aspire, an indoor/outdoor ball that at first appears to be white or grey. Put it in the sunlight, however, and the phrases 'Dream Big,' 'Keep Going' and 'You're Going to Be Amazing Because You Are Amazing' emerge in bold, Fever-red letters. That last phrase is what Clark says to Boston before every game. Advertisement 'See, she loves it!' Clark said, pointing to a picture of her and Boston on the bench that was on the design team's planning whiteboard. 'We'll get her a free basketball. She'll love it. I'm going to put it in her locker.' The second edition of Caitlin Clark's signature basketball line with Wilson Sporting Goods launches June 23. Clark was personally involved in choosing the designs of the (shown left to right) Envision, Embrace, Oasis and Aspire balls. Because the Embrace is an official basketball, it cannot have any obvious detailing. Look closely, though, and you can see a pattern — again, light blue — within the Wilson logo and in what looks like a sunburst around the airhole. Both are the visual representation of the decibel level at a Fever game; the Wilson team took an audio file of the sound and made a graphic out of it. 'Fans really admire how she just plays so well under pressure,' Muscarello said. 'Sometimes it's OK to embrace the noise.' Advertisement Though Clark had been involved in every step of the design process, seeing the basketballs on a computer screen is very different than holding the finished product. Clark picked up each of the basketballs and examined it, taking note of the different details. She spun each ball and shifted it from one hand to the other. She also studied the design team's whiteboards, pointing to some of the notes and photos. Though she initially seemed most taken by the Oasis ball, she was fascinated with the Envision's UV technology and said she'd have loved to have had a basketball that revealed 'secret' messages when she was a kid. She also was impressed that Wilson's design team was able to turn a decibel meter reading into a design. Advertisement 'They're all unique in their own way. They all have different things I love about them,' Clark said. 'I think they each serve their own purpose and are different. Caitlin Clark takes a shot with the Embrace basketball from her latest collection with Wilson Sporting Goods. The ball features a graphic of the decibel level at an Indiana Fever game last season. 'So I guess you have to buy 'em all!' she added, laughing. While there will be some fans who buy the whole collection, whether to use or keep as memorabilia, Clark was conscious of not pricing any fans out of the new line. Two of the balls are less than $50, with the outdoor Envision ball costing $27.95 and the Oasis indoor ball priced at $49.95, while the Aspire outdoor ball is $54.95. The Embrace, which is Wilson's premium Evo NXT basketball, costs $124.95. Advertisement All the balls will be available on Wilson's website and at retail sporting goods stores. Last year's collection sold out almost immediately and, given the appetite for all things Clark, it's a good bet this one will, too. 'It's kind of cool to see how the balls came back and they feel very 'me,'' Clark told USA TODAY Sports. 'That's what I love about it. I feel like I'm sharing part of my life and my journey with people. "I could have never dreamed (as a child) to have something like this," she added. "It's pretty special." Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark's new line of Wilson basketball has personal touches, secret messages
Business Wire
12-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Balfour Beatty-led JV Achieves Prestigious Platinum Envision Certification for RDU's Park Economy 3 Expansion
RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Balfour Beatty, in joint venture with Metcon, proudly announces that the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority's Park Economy 3 Expansion project has earned Platinum Envision verification from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, the highest level of recognition for sustainable infrastructure development. The collaboration between our team (Balfour Beatty-Metcon), the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and our project partners exemplifies how innovation and creativity can create infrastructure that balances operational needs with environmental responsibility. Share As the construction partner on this groundbreaking project, the Balfour Beatty and Metcon joint venture team collaborated with RS&H, North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to implement innovative sustainability practices throughout the 7,000-space parking expansion. "This prestigious certification represents our unwavering commitment to sustainable construction practices," said Trent Johnson, Balfour Beatty operations director in the Carolinas. "The collaboration between our team, the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and our project partners exemplifies how innovation and creativity can create infrastructure that balances operational needs with environmental responsibility." Key sustainable elements of the project include: State-of-the-art solar panels and electric vehicle charging infrastructure Carefully designed site plans to minimize environmental impacts on surrounding land North Carolina's first submerged gravel wetland stormwater management system The Park Economy 3 project marks the third infrastructure development in North Carolina to receive Envision verification and the first to achieve Platinum status. It also represents the first airport project in the state to earn this distinguished certification. "We're incredibly proud of this achievement and the innovative approach the entire team took toward incorporating sustainable practices into the project," said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. "This Platinum certification demonstrates RDU's commitment to growing responsibly while minimizing the impact on the environment. The Park Economy 3 Expansion will not only meet our travelers' needs, it also serves as a model for sustainable airport development across the country." About Balfour Beatty US Balfour Beatty is an industry-leading provider of general contracting, at-risk construction management and design-build services for public and private sector clients across the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company performs heavy civil, rail and a broad variety of vertical construction in select local geographies. The company is held by Balfour Beatty plc (LSE: BBY), who is a global leader in international infrastructure with interests in Hong Kong, UK and US. Balfour Beatty US is ranked among the top domestic building contractors in the United States by Engineering News-Record. To learn more, visit
Euronews
12-06-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Multi-million pilot project leads Uzbekistan's digital transformation
At the Tashkent International Investment Forum 2025 (TIFF 2025), green tech and AI-ready infrastructure dominated the conversation, and few projects generated as much buzz as Data Volt's push to build the region's first fully sustainable, high-density data centres. 'We're bringing in the latest technology, especially in cooling', said Rajit Nanda, CEO of Data Volt, outlining how the company is rethinking the fundamentals of digital infrastructure. 'These facilities aren't just built for today – they're built for where AI is heading'. Data Volt's model is deceptively simple: use solar by day, wind by night, and store the rest in powerful battery systems that keep operations running around the clock. What makes it revolutionary is the scale and the context. In a world where data centres already account for around 3% of global emissions, and AI could triple energy demand, this model is a direct response to a growing crisis. 'If we don't start building sustainable data centers now, the industry's carbon footprint could rival that of aviation within a decade', warned Nanda. Data Volt isn't waiting. It has already launched a pilot project worth €185 million in Tashkent's IT Park. Larger facilities are in the pipeline, including a new site in the ancient city of Bukhara expected to attract €2.8 billion, and a third project in New Tashkent, a futuristic smart city being built from the ground up. Altogether, the company plans to invest over €4.6 billion in Uzbekistan over the next five years. What sets Data Volt apart is not just its green credentials, it's how the company is preparing for the next wave of AI. Traditional data centres in the region operate at roughly 10 kilowatts per rack. Data Volt's current designs push that to 100 kilowatts, and upcoming projects aim to reach densities of 1,000 kilowatts per rack – capable of supporting the heaviest AI workloads. This level of performance requires more than just power. It also demands sophisticated cooling both air and liquid, to keep high-density servers operating efficiently and sustainably. 'The world is running out of computer power,' said Nanda. 'As AI becomes part of everyday life, we want to make sure people don't experience buffering or lag like we did in the early days of the internet'. Uzbekistan's digital transformation continues to surprise many investors. With an action plan full of reforms, a young and tech-savvy population, and increasing openness to foreign investment, the country is fast becoming a testbed for innovation. 'Uzbekistan is transforming', Nanda admitted. 'The local talent pool, especially in energy and digital, makes it a natural candidate to lead the region's digital revolution'. And while the projects are rooted in Central Asia, the vision is global. Data Volt's infrastructure is being designed to meet the world's growing demand for real-time AI, green computing, and scalable, sustainable tech solutions. The digital future is coming faster than expected. The challenge is building the infrastructure to support it without breaking the planet. At TIIF 2025, one thing was clear: that work has already begun.
