Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 27.

China is currently planning to build a gigantic solar power station in space. To get parts of the array out of our atmosphere, scientists are working on a reusable heavy lift rocket called the Long March-9.The solar array project is just one small part of Chinas larger space mission. The Three Gorges Damlocated on the Yangtze River in Chinais the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Though there is discourse over whether the dam has negative ecological effects, it is an impressive hydropower project, with over 20 times the energy-generating capacity of the Hoover Dam. Now, China wants to build another revolutionary energy source: a solar array in space. It is as significant as moving the Three Gorges Dam to a geostationary orbit 36,000km (22,370 miles) above the Earth, Long Lehao, a rocket scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), said in a lecture reported by the South China Morning Post. This is an incredible project to look forward to.Related StorySpace-based solar power (SBSP) stations work by using a system of mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto panels, which then generate electricity. The electricity is then converted to microwave radiation and beamed to a fixed antenna on Earth. SBSP panels are more reliable than the solar panels on your roof because they arent affected by seasonal weather or nights. They can generate much more electricity than terrestrial panels, as sunlight is exponentially more intense in space than on Earths surface. A recent NASA study even predicted that one model of space-based solar power could generate power for a full 99% of the year. As Long said in his lecture: The energy collected in one year would be equivalent to the total amount of oil that can be extracted from the Earth.Sounds like the perfect solution to our non-renewable energy crisis, right? Well, there are a few drawbacks holding space companies backnamely, the sheer size of the project. The solar array is predicted to be a kilometer wide once fully assembled. According to the South China Morning Post, many are calling space-based solar power stations the Manhattan Project of the energy world. And yet, China seems set on succeeding in this endeavor. Related StoryThe European Space Agency explains that it took dozens of launches to construct the International Space Station in low-orbit, and would likely take many more to assemble a SBSP station (though, the cost of launches worldwide continues to decline). To get their array into space, Long and his team are working on developing the Long March-9 (or CZ-9)a reusable heavy-lift rocket with a lifting capacity of at least 150 tons. Thats like lifting a full-grown blue whale into space. The solar array isnt the only plan China has for space researchit also plans to reach the Moon and build an International Lunar Research station in partnership with Russia by 2035. Japan is also on track to beam space-based solar power to Earth in the next year. SBSP stations, it seems, might just be the next challenge in the space race. Emma FredericksonEditorial InternEmma Frederickson is a Pace University student by day, journalist by night. She enjoys covering anything from pop culture to science to food. Her work appears in several publications including Biography.com and Popular Mechanics. When shes not writing, Emma can be found hopping between coffee shops on the hunt for the worlds best oat milk cappuccino.

Pre-orders are "coming soon".Sega surprised fans in February with the official reveal of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance for the Switch and multiple other platforms. It's already locked in a release date of 29th August 2025 and in an update today we've now got news of a physical release.This hard copy version will be distributed by Limited Run Games. Pre-orders for this physical release are "coming soon" with a collector's edition also confirmed. Here's a look:Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Enterprise browser startup Island just raised a sizable funding round one that bumps up its valuation significantly, and less than one year after its last fundraise.Dallas-based Island raised $250 million in a Series E round led by Coatue that valued the company at $4.85 billion, the startup announced today. This brings the companys total funding to $730 million. Other backers in the round include Insight Partners, Sequoia, and Canapi Ventures, among others.Island builds online browsers that are designed for enterprises and are meant to be more secure than traditional commercial search engines. They also have universal application access control, device visibility and management, and application automation, among other features.This Series E round marks a notable step up for the nearly 5-year-old company. It raised $175 million in a Series D round that valued the company at $2.9 billion just 11 months ago, co-led by Sequoia and Coatue.At the time, Sequoia partner Doug Leone told TechCrunch that he was attracted to the company right off the bat due to Islands team and unique value proposition.The two founders, one of whom was a technical founder out of Israel Dan Amiga and one who was a very senior security executive out of the U.S. Mike Fey had a vision that if you could produce a browser based on Chromium that looks like a standard browser to the consumer employee in a corporation but was secure, it would stop bad guys from doing a whole bunch of things, Leone told TechCrunch at the time.Enterprises are clearly buying into the mission, too, as the company now counts 450 customers, among them Mattress Firm, Swiss Life, and Fiverr.TechCrunch reached out to Island for more information.

Yet another shockwave just hit the visual effects industry as Jellyfish Pictures ceased global operations, on the heels of Scanline VFX shutting down its German facilities and Technicolor shuttering its global operations and entering bankruptcy proceedings. Not surprised by this economic turmoil is Scott Ross, who experienced firsthand the inequity of the Hollywood studio system as the general manager of Industrial Light & Magic from 1988-1992 and co-founder of Digital Domain, where he worked from 1993-2006.The lessons he learned provide the narrative spine for Upstart: The Digital Film Revolution Managing the Unmanageable, written by Ross and Joanne OBrien-Levin and published by Native Book Publishing. In thinking about writing a book, Ross considered the memoir Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide and assistant to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. I found that I was more interested in how Cassidy Hutchison became a Trump supporter than her personal story, states Ross, who decided to seek out a ghostwriter. It was going to take a lot of time and energy to actually write the book, so I looked at Ed Catmulls book Creativity, Inc.which did quite well, and he had a ghostwriter. I asked a friend in Arizona if he knew anybody who was a good ghostwriter. I ended up having a conversation with Joanne OBrien-Levin and we clicked.Originally, Ross looked for a traditional publisher but found he needed an agent. All of the agents came back with the same comment, which was memoirs dont sell unless your last name is Obama or Trump, he remarks. It needs to be rewritten as a business book. I hired an editor who told me, You need to have 15 principles that are business oriented that resonate with all kinds of business people. Each one of those principles becomes a chapter and you write to that. After thinking about it a lot, I revisited why I should write the book and said, If the journey has lessons to be taught that are business, creative, and entrepreneurial, while at the same time is wrapped around things of interest and famous like Titanic and Lucasfilm, thats the story which needs to be told. I fired the editor and realized that I would never be accepted by a traditional publisher. I pinged about 15 self-publishing organizations and ultimately decided on Native Book Publishing.The books title dates back to 1994 when questions arose as to whether Digital Domain would go out of business. Employees were given T-shirts with the word upstart on the front. Ross laughs, What a perfect name for the book because it describes me as a person as well as the company and the attitude we had.Watch AWN / VFXWorld's 2-part interview with Ross at FMX 2015:Ross research involved talking to numerous people as well as referencing a personal blog that essentially served as a journal. There are things that I spoke to people about and they would say, I dont remember it happening that way, states Ross. And we would talk about it. The book didnt change my opinion of what happened; I put down on paper how I viewed things now that Im an old guy. At the time I was fighting wars, not battles. There was a lot of anger, and I was hurt. That pain of being written out of history and pushed out of the way has subsided. Now in my 70s, I can look back and say, Im grateful for some of the things that happened. In fact, I would not be where I am in my life had not those things happened. Ross anger and hurt stem from his feelings he was not properly acknowledged in the Lucasfilm and Imagine Entertainment documentary miniseries, Light & Magic, for his contributions in transforming ILM, with praise instead focused on his protg, Jim Morris. It has also been painful to him that James Cameron and Stan Winston took full credit for the establishment of Digital Domain while Ross hardly gets mentioned, despite being the primary force behind the VFX companys founding as well as running day-to-day operations. A constant joy throughout the emotional rollercoaster has been music. The saxophone is Ross instrument of choice. Its still a big part of my life, not only playing and practicing, but listening. The lesson I learned from music is that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Thats the same for a career business. Ross goes on to share that advertising executive Jay Chiat was a mentor. An important part of being a leader is not going in front of your team and talk about things in a corp speak way thats not transparent, he says. You need to tell the truth, be open about it all, and instill courage, excitement and a larger mission than what your employees might think that theyre on. Thats what I learned from Jay Chiat.He then notes that the three pillars for a business are finance, technology and culture, adding, Finance people are generally brake pedals. Theyll tell you, Theres not enough money. Come back with a better budget. Creative people are generally gas pedals. They want to go faster, have better software, and more time. If its not good enough theyll continue to work on it. You need a leader who understands how to use the brake, step on the gas, and drive the car. When theres an accident up ahead, he or she knows to slow the car down. But when theres an open road, put the pedal to the metal. Those kinds of people are generally rare.Core principles Ross believes in include looking for opportunities in problems, allowing for mistakes, and giving power away. Theres that scene in Apollo 13 when Gene Kranz, played by Ed Harris, realizes that there is a severe problem with the capsule in space, throws a box on table, tosses stuff into it, and states, This is what youve got to work with. Now fix it, Ross states. Often times, when people are faced with critical decisions and the sky seems like its falling, they dont look for possible solutions let alone a new way of doing things. You have to recognize that the sky is falling, be honest with your people, and say, Lets all get together and figure out how were going to fix this. The tolerance for mistakes, however, depends on the financial state of the company. Apple can make big mistakes and not suffer from it. But if youre Digital Domain, where your revenue is $65 million a year and your profit margin is three percent, you cant afford big mistakes. Adding that micromanagement is counterproductive, Ross shares, Giving power away is the most important one. Youve heard it hundreds of times from people in business, which is, I hire people who are smarter than I am and let them run with it because theyre better at it than I could ever be. Even if youre the smartest visual effects producer in the world you cant manage six shows and do them well.As Ross sees it, the billion-dollar question is how to unite the fractured visual effects industry to achieve a financially sustainable business partnership with Hollywood studios. Unfortunately, I tried for 25 to 30 years [to establish a trade association] and was not successful at it, he says. In the mid to late 1980s, there were only four or five shops that were doing cinematic visual effects and the shop that I was running [ILM] probably had 75 percent market share. We had profit margins anywhere between three to seven percent, which is not enough to do much of anything. The reason it was never a really profitable business was there were only five or six clients; they talked to each other and had a trade association. The studios understood that the business model that was in place at that point and until this day was beneficial to them. As there were more visual effects companies coming online, there was a studio executive who was quoted as saying, I dont feel like Im doing my job unless I put a visual effects company out of business.Visual effects companies bear the entire responsibility for delivering final sequences on projects where determining every element needed on-screen is often a moving target throughout the production. Ive never heard a movie director say, I want my visual effects to look exactly like that last movie you did, remarks Ross. No. Every film is a new invention. And they want it faster. Even precise instructions change. When I started Digital Domain and was working with James Cameron, we realized that one of the biggest problems in the visual effects pipeline was that the director never had any relationship with the men and women actually creating the effects. Its an impossibility. We tried it. The reason why its impossible is the director is a general out in the field fighting this war on the Eastern Front and your troops are sequestered underground. The only time that he has to go see them is when theyre delivering shots and says, That sucks. [That happens] even if the directions are precise. Ive always felt that an international trade association was the only way to address the business model, notes Ross. It has nothing to do with price fixing. Its to do with how businesses charge [for their services]. Diversity makes visual effects companies less financially vulnerable. Commercials divisions were established at ILM and Digital Domain where we were doing adverts around the world. We started location-based entertainment activities where we would do theme park rides. Had we not looked at those opportunities and figured out a way to utilize the skills of the men and women already in the studio, and bolted on a marketing and client service team that had expertise in a specific area, we probably would have been out of business.Ross also says that fiscal sustainability can be achieved through owning intellectual property. If we look at any of the visual effects/CGI companies that actually made it and had value, almost every single one produced their own IP in the animation world, whether it was Blue Sky Studios, Pixar or Pacific Data Images. They were similar in many ways to Digital Domain and ILM but decided to become animation studios. Then they wound-up, and this is the magic, having a distribution deal or being acquired by a major studio. With the financing and distribution, they transitioned from being a service company into creating their own IP. In the beginning Hollywood studios had their own effects departments. As recently as 2022, Netflix purchased Scanline VFX while Sony Pictures Entertainment bought Pixomondo. Were still in the cycle of studios acquiring visual effects companies, but we might have seen the first crack in the wall where Netflix closed Scanline VFX in Germany, observes Ross. A studio realizes how important visual effects and animation are and ends up acquiring or starting its own effort. The studio runs it for a couple of years and discovers, There is no money in this. Let the outside guys lose the money. Then video game technology comes around, like Unity and Epic Games; those companies think, Maybe our big area of growth is in the movie business. Unity spent ridiculous amounts of money on acquiring Wts software group only to find out, What the hell are we going to do with it? This cycle keeps on going. Of course, compounding recent VFX industry upheavals has been the expansive growth of AI, which Ross acknowledges will fundamentally change society for better and worse. AI is going to do incredible things in lots of different areas that will help humanity, he believes. But if we limit the scope to media and entertainment, its going to have a major impact. Look at the reactions, where unions are stipulating that you cant recreate the voices of actors. Look at the guardrails theyre trying to put in place.As the studios continue applying pressure to produce good work done faster and cheaper, the use of AI will significantly eliminate visual effects jobs, which Ross says are 80 percent of the overhead. The majority of visual effects workers are not visual effects artists, he explains. Theyre at best putting the arms on the Venus de Milo. Theyre not creating the Venus do Milo out of pure granite. The faster and cheaper mode has forced people to do things that arent always feasible [such as setting up facilities in countries with a lower cost of living], and with the new technology of AI and machine learning, then generative AI and agent AI, most of those tasks [roto, paint and compositing] in my opinion will become obsolete.However, according to Ross, AI will not democratize filmmaking in that there is one fundamental element that will remain elusive. I have not yet seen an example of an AI film where I went, Wow. I care about these characters and want to learn more about them, he concludes. Its pulling my heartstrings, making me laugh and cry. What I have seen is amazing production value, and production value is a whole lot easier, particularly with the toolsets that are available today, than actually creating great stories.You can purchase Upstart: The Digital Film Revolution Managing the Unmanageable at Amazon.com. Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer best known for composing in-depth filmmaker and movie profiles for VFX Voice, Animation Magazine, and British Cinematographer.

Acoustic Pod | Source: hushoffice.comFeeling anxious at the thought of returning to in-person work? Youre not the only one! Many people experience fear of working from the office again. There is already a name for this: Fear of Returning to the Office. More and more organizations are encouraging or requiring their employees to return to their regular workplaces, which raises new challenges and concerns. How can a company alleviate such fear and facilitate stress-free employee return to the office? This article will look at practices and strategies that can help employees and managers cope with this challenging transition.Where does the fear of returning to office work come from?The Fear of Returning to the Office is a phenomenon that causes significant psychological discomfort in employees.Being afraid of diving back into the office has several causes. First of all, employees fear losing the autonomy and comfort they enjoyed in the home office. They associate office work with having less freedom to manage their space and time, which can cause stress. Additionally, sharing a space with others and the need for social interaction, which were limited when working remotely, can now seem challenging. Moreover, being at the office in person means a return to a strict daily schedule, and a limited capability to respond flexibly to personal and domestic responsibilities. It all makes many employees anxious about returning to those old days of the working world.How do you help employees overcome the fear of returning to in-person work?Fear, as a feeling, is a reaction to a perceived threat that triggers an impulse to protect oneself. In the context of the return to in-person work, organizations can alleviate anxiety by sending clear messages, offering flexibility, and suitable office space layouts.Recognizing differences among employees, or office design with an eye for neurodiversityAcoustic Pod | Source: hushoffice.comThe concepts of neuroatypicality, neurodiversity, and inclusiveness are all HRM terms used today. Different people work in shared office space and need the right solutions to allow them to focus fully, analyze information easily, and feel at ease in the office.When rearranging your office, planning out different sensory zones is best.Hushofficeacoustic office podsmeet the needs of neuroatypical and neurotypical people alike. These help them organize their work, customize their space, collaborate and perceive in better ways. Adjustable ventilation and lighting, as well as the reduction of visual distractions, give employees a place to work in which they feel truly comfortable.Identify Specific Employee ConcernsIt is best to ask about their concerns and fears to find out why employees are not eager to return to working in the office. Unless an employer devotes time and effort to show interest in the well-being of their staff, it will be difficult to make people feel comfortable in the office. One problem might be the noise filling the open-plan office, which makes it more challenging to think clearly, focus on things that need to be done, or communicate easily. In this case, installing acoustic partitions, panels, or furniture is enough.Placing hushFree s acoustic pods around the office is another good idea, as they offer a balance between a refuge from the busy office and monitoring the immediate surroundings. These pods ensure personal space when doing conceptual work, just for a moment to unwind, and privacy for video conferencing, business, or personal phone calls. They boost focus before pressing deadlines, cutting off any flurry of sounds and excess stimuli unrelated to the job at hand.Rebuilding communitiesAcoustic Pod | Source: hushoffice.comPeople are social beings whose jobs are essential parts of their lives, as they come with numerous opportunities for interpersonal contact. Employees need a feeling of community and belonging, which can be restored by providing a comfortable environment for interaction.Leaders can have team meetings regularly or foster dynamic teamwork to rebuild openness and trust among team members.The hushFree.L acoustic office pods support informal conversations and arranged brainstorming sessions with up to 6 people. Numerous furnishing options are provided for you to turn them into relaxed areas that offer a brief escape from tight deadlines and technology, when fostering positive and lasting relationships in the workplace.Workplace design with employee well-being in mindLosing freedom is a significant element of FRTO: many employees who had previously worked from home are worried about being unable to make decisions about the ergonomics of their surroundings and how they work. This is why designing an office that is flexible in its layout, furnishings, and the arrangement of separate areas is so important. Solutions like height-adjustable desks, whiteboards on casters, mobile acoustic walls, modular furniture, collaborative work zones, and focus areas supply options to adapt the spaces to the activities and needs at hand. It is also a way of investing in the psychological health and quality team performance for the long-term.Office by ArchEyes TeamLeave a comment

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Bear Creek in Garrett County, MarylandgettyControversial legislation is moving through the Maryland General Assembly to approve building overhead transmission lines in three wildland areas to power several states and may jeopardize 28 endangered species and millions in federal funds for wildlife protection.A pair of mirror proposed laws House Bill 1270 and Senate Bill 399 are passing various legislative stages in both chambers despite overwhelming local opposition. The legislation seeks to construct part of a large-scale, 105-mile, 500 kilovolt transmission line from Virginia to Pennsylvania through three untouched and protected Maryland wildlands.The legislation is called Natural Resources - Wildland Areas - Overhead Transmission Lines. HB 1270 is sponsored by Delegate Jim Hinebaugh Jr. (R), a retired U.S. Army colonel, while SB 399 is spearheaded by Sen. Mike McKay (R), a business owner.Many opponents to the legislation have submitted testimony about a lack of public hearings and participation prior to the bills being introduced in the General Assembly.The bills seek to exempt parts of three protected areas in the Big Savage Mountain Wildland, Bear Pen Wildland and Dans Mountain Wildland from being designated as a wildland area and instead be given approval to build the transmission line. The bills would mandate the state Public Service Commission to require the project company (NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Inc.) to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity to build the overhead transmission line and provide wildland impact mitigation guarantees.In Jan. 31, 2025, submitted written testimony to Senate Bill 399, Maryland General AssemblyPatti HankinsCurrently Protected, Untouched Lands and ForestsAt issue are the protected lands and the species that live there which would be forever disrupted in Maryland for a project that would also provide electricity to consumers in other states as well as corporate financial benefits.The state has been protecting the three areasBig Savage Mountain Wildland (2,879 acres), Bear Pen Wildland (1,517 acres) and Dans Mountain Wildland (4,047 acres)as its highest classification of wildlands. These are defined as primitive areas untouched by urban civilization that can offer the experience of solitude and self-reliance. These wildlands are usually lands located at higher elevations that protect watersheds and are ecologically vulnerable to human interferences, according to a Maryland General Assembly 2025 Fiscal Policy Note about the impact of HB 1270.The fiscal policy note underscored that commercial enterprises and permanent roads, operating motorized equipment/vehicles and installed structures are prohibited in the wildland areas.If approved, construction of the overhead transmission lines could disallow Pittman-Robertson Act federal funding, from which Maryland received $9.2 million in fiscal year 2024.The protected wildlands also provide a habitat for two endangered bat species, a rare Appalachian cottontail rabbit and 25 other known rare, threatened, or endangered species.Mixed Support: 21 BackersSupporting the legislation were 14 testimonies, including one from T.R. Robinette, president of the Allegany County Farm Bureau Inc.: After the transmission is completed that habitat which is currently wildland will go back to wildland habitat. To go around the wildlands would take more personal property including farmland and residential areas.Another proponent was Billy Bishoff of the Garrett County Farm Bureau. Our reasoning is that our agricultural lands are equally important as wildlands. We are not advocating for the construction of a transmission line. We just believe that if it is built that it should follow a path that minimizes the impact on all lands. Our concern is that efforts to avoid wildlands will impact more of our land.Also representing other agriculture interests was Tyler Hough, government relations director of Maryland Farm Bureau, who submitted support for the legislation as having less of an impact on farms. However, Hough stressed: Maryland Farm Bureaus support of HB1270 is in no way in support of the construction of the NextEra Energy proposed transmission line through Garrett and Allegany County.Lobbyist Jamie DeMarco, representing the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, encouraged passage of the legislation and noted that NextEra has the project contract. When compared to other potential alternative transmission routes the proposed Wildlands route would have less impacts to residents, farms, and businesses. In addition, the Wildlands route would affect less forest clearing, wetlands, and trout streams. It would also cost less for Marylanders as it is a much shorter route, DeMarco stated in written testimony.In the Senate, there were seven testimonies submitted favoring SB 399, including a letter from NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic in support of is project to build the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link transmission line. The project would create a 105-mile, 500 kilovolt transmission line from Fredrick County, Va., to Greene County, Penn. Within the section is the proposed Maryland portion with the protected wildland sites in Allegany and Garrett counties.Kaley Bangston, NextEra Energy regulatory and political affairs director, submitted written testimony backing the bill. She said it would exempt a small portion of land to allow for the MARL line to route adjacent to an existing transmission line owned and operated by FirstEnergy which also routes through Wildlands. While we believe this routing option provides the least impact to the region, we are actively performing a routing study and taking feedback from local stakeholders as we make these routing decisions.Massive Opposition: 76 Unfavorable TestimoniesKurt R. Schwarz, conservation chair emeritus of the Maryland Ornithological Society, urged legislators in written testimony not to pass the legislation since building the electric transmission lines there would destroy these ecosystems, habitats, or rare plants. ..Our members visit these Wildlands to admire the birds that live there. Big Savage Mountain, Bear Pen, and Dans Mountain Wildlands all provide valuable habitat for our declining bird populations. North America has lost almost 30% of its birds since 1970. Loss of habitat is one on the major causes of these declines.Schwarz explained many reasons why the Maryland Ornithological Society is strongly against the legislation. He predicted placing the overhead transmission lines will fragment unbroken forests in the wildlands for already declining bird species living inside forest interiors. Trees are felled along the line, and vegetation below the lines is permanently suppressed. Support roads destroy and fragment additional forest, he noted. Also the forests are vital for the other creatures living therenative brook trout and a rare mammal called a fisher, which is related to weasels and otters.A fisher in a tree.USDA Forest ServiceThe proposed transmission line corridor through Western Maryland is part of a larger project to meet the exclusive demands of data centers in Northern Virginia, Garrett County Forestry Board Chair Will Williams stated in testimony. The board promotes stewardship of Maryland forests. There is no map of the exempted transmission line routes being proposed by the bill. There has been no determination that these high-voltage electric lines will serve the interests of the State and its people when there are other forms of energy to be considered that are less intrusive, Williams added.Brent Walls, riverkeeper at the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, sent a two-page letter objecting to the legislation that would enable NextEra to cut a 200 foot path through Maryland wildlands, "fracturing the vitality. Furthermore, he contended that passing the legislation would undermine the integrity of legislation that has been in place for 52 years and set a precedent that any for profit company can legislate a taking of Wildlands.Another opponent was Dawn Beitzel, from Engage Mountain Maryland, who echoed concern about the infrastructure project causing irreversible impacts on wildlife habitats, water quality, and the natural beauty that defines these areas as well as disrupting migrating species, forever changing landscapes and introducing invasive species. Additionally, there are alternative routes and technologies available to deliver necessary energy infrastructure without compromising protected wildlands. Advancing such options would align with Maryland's commitment to conservation and sustainability while still meeting the state's energy needs, Beitzel added.Opposing the Senate bill was Emily Tarsell, president of Health Choice Maryland: Our protected wild lands are protected for a reason. Invasions into these publicly held lands would set a bad precedent for the ability of public-private partnerships to engage in land grabs. The public would lose access to these protected sites while gaining nothing. Development of wild lands would be costly for electric consumers and a gift to private developers and corporate data centers.David Mosher, of the Maryland chapter of Sierra Club, submitted detailed testimony outlining a series of negative outcomes if the legislation is enacted. One of his points stated: Our Wild Lands are a significant source of revenue to the State. Wildlife are critical to Marylands tourism industry. Wildlife watching in Maryland generates over $450 million in economic activity annually in the State each year. This proposal could lead to revenue losses to local businesses and municipalities of millions of dollars.Delegates gather on the floor in the House Chamber for a session of the Maryland General AssemblyCopyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.Legislation So Far Not Encountering Significant HurdlesAs of March 26, the bills continued to move and gain steam as they winded through both chambers. HB1270 was in its 3rd reading. The Senate version (SB 399) had sailed through to the 1st reading in the opposite chamber.If passed by the legislature and enacted by Gov. Wes Moore, either bill would become law Oct. 1.

ToplineTwo NASA rockets launched from Alaska on March 25, 2025, lit up the night sky with strange blue lights and white vapor trails to the backdrop of the Northern Lights. The spectacular display was visible across central and northern Alaska.Vaper tracers light up the atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean as seen from Utqiagvik, Alaska, early on ... More March 25, 2025.AWESOME missionKey FactsTwo of three planned sounding rockets launched from the Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks, Alaska, in the pre-dawn hours to study a sudden auroral substorm. It came days after NASA announced that scientists were on standby.The results could help scientists figure out what happens to Earths upper atmosphere during auroral substorms and improve the forecasting of space weather.The first to launch was a 42-foot Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket launching late in the daily window, which released a payload about 50 and 110 miles up and measured magnetic perturbations caused by the aurora. It also measured pressure fluctuations, as reported by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.Shortly after, a 70-foot, four-stage Black Brant XII rocket launched to release a payload of pink, blue and white vapor tracers at four different heights over central Alaska. UAF student and staff researchers were at ground stations in Utqiagvik, Kaktovik, Toolik Lake, Eagle, Venetie, and Poker Flat in Alaska.How Earths Atmosphere Reacts To AuroraIt was part of an experiment, dubbed Auroral Waves Excited by Substorm Onset Magnetic Events, or AWESOME, to help scientists figure out how they affect Earths thermosphere an upper layer of its atmosphere close to where it ceases to be. The thermosphere is between 50-350 miles (80-560 kilometers) above Earths surface.The experiment was an attempt to reveal whether the energy and momentum injected into the middle and lower thermosphere by auroral substorms may upset its stability. Change in composition of the atmosphere has consequences for communication, navigation and spacecraft operations, said Mark Conde at the Geophysical Institute and UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics before the launch. Our experiment will allow forecasters to use simpler and potentially more accurate methods of space weather prediction.Tracers can be seen overhead at Poker Flat Research Range following the launch of the first rocket ... More of the AWESOME sounding rocket mission on March 25, 2025.UAF photo by Bryan WhittenThird Rocket FailsThe experiment was supposed to have all three rockets launch within about a three-hour window. NASAs Wallops Flight Facility team reported a successful launch of the first two rockets on March 25, 2025, read NASAs update. An issue with the Malemute motor on the third rocket was identified and will continue to be assessed for repair. Poker Flat, 20 miles north of Fairbanks, is operated under a contract with NASAs Wallops Flight Facility, part of the Goddard Space Flight Center.Key BackgroundThe timing of the experiment is no accident. Although scientists were on standby to launch the rockets when an auroral substorm erupted, they were confident that would happen. Thats because in the few weeks after an equinox which occured last week Earth's magnetic field is favorably aligned to the solar wind. The sun is also at solar maximum, the peak of the roughly 11 years Solar Cycle, during whihc magnetic activity is at its most intense, and aurora at its most frequent.The colors of the aurora depends on the altitude. At 50 and 110 miles, the most common aurora color is green, which occurs at altitudes of around 60 to 190 miles (100 to 300 kilometers). Red auroras are more common, above 150 miles (240 kilometers). Both are produced by oxygen molecules.Further Reading

Googles new AI Mode for search may soon get an update to make the feature easier to navigate after users input a query.The Gemini 2.0-powered AI-search function is an elevated search experience, providing a mix of contextual AI Overviews and relevant search links. Currently, Google has made AI Mode available to its Google One AI Premium subscribers as a preview. However, the brand may soon expand availability to free users, while also making it easier to reset an AI Mode conversation and remain on the same page.Android AuthorityRecently, Android Authority shared details from an APK teardown revealing a potential new feature that might come to Googles AI Mode. The function is a shortcut that would allow you to refresh your conversation without having to navigate away from the AI Mode page.Recommended VideosCurrently, accessing AI Mode via Google Search requires a few steps. You can select the feature through the AI Mode shortcut on the home screen on the Google app. Alternatively, you can convert your desktop Google search results by enabling the AI Mode filter. After an initial query, you can ask follow-up questions on the same topic. However, if you want to start a new topic, you will have to navigate back to the app or desktop homepage and then go back into AI Mode once more to get a fresh conversation. The shortcut Google is testing in its app beta release (version 16.11.32.sa.arm64) could negate the need to go back and forth between the primary Google Search and the AI mode apps to refresh the conversations. The icon, located in the top left of the results page, is shaped like a paper and pencil. When selected, it will refresh the page without having to leave AI Mode.The feature has only been seen within Googles app beta release and has not yet made it to the public version of AI Mode. However, the feature may become available in a future update.Meanwhile, as Google One AI Premium subscribers have been enjoying early access to AI Mode, some users who joined the waitlist with a free Google account are now getting a notice that they have gained access to the feature, according to 9to5Google.These users will now be able to see the AI Mode filter on the Google app home screen or the Google search results page.Editors Recommendations