Mental

• Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation Wednesday to pause new data centers in the United States until national safeguards are established for worker protection, consumer safety, and environmental impact. • A typical AI-focused data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households, contributing to record U.S. electricity consumption hit in 2024 that is expected to continue rising as data centers expand. • The bill is unlikely to advance in either chamber but signals deep progressive concerns about AI infrastructure's rapid expansion and its effects on working families, democracy, and technology equity.

Christian Democrat Päivi Räsänen, who was fined €1,800, was supported by conservative US group Alliance Defending FreedomA Finnish member of parliament has been found guilty by the supreme court of inciting hatred after claiming that homosexuality is a “developmental disorder”, in a conviction that prompted criticism from far-right government ministers.Päivi Räsänen, of the Christian Democrats, made the claims in a pamphlet first published in 2004 and reproduced on the website of the Luther Foundation Finland and the Finnish Evangelical Mission Diocese in 2007. Continue reading...

• Elemental Royalty (ELE) reported a 128% revenue increase for 2025, significantly exceeding previous guidance and providing strong signals for royalty sector growth into 2026. • piHarrow (HROW) launched a $50 million senior unsecured notes offering to fund expansion, demonstrating continued corporate access to debt markets despite broader market uncertainty. • RenX (RENX) announced a reverse stock split as a remedial measure to regain Nasdaq compliance, with implications for share float and liquidity dynamics.

Exclusive: Pacific island’s new leader Lord Fakafānua discusses ‘exciting’ US partnership as critics fear impacts of seabed explorationThe recently elected leader of Tonga has described a deal to partner with the US on deep-sea mineral exploration as an “exciting development” amid concern in the small Pacific nation over the practice of seabed mining and the potential environmental impact.Tonga is located in the South Pacific Ocean, a region attracting growing interest over whether critical minerals buried in the seabed could be extracted to help power industries and green technologies. Continue reading...

Government’s first published land use framework maps how land is used and how it can be adapted to meet changing needsAbout 7% of England’s land – an area roughly two-and-a-half times the size of Cornwall – will need to be given over to nature, forests and renewable energy, to meet the UK’s environmental targets, new data shows.But there will still be enough land to grow the food needed, and to house a growing population, according to the government’s first “land use framework”, published on Wednesday.Placing a high priority on restoring peatland, all but 13% of which is degraded across England, but this will not include an outright ban on development such as wind or solar farms.Encouraging the “multi use” of land, for instance with livestock grazing alongside wind and solar farms, and wildlife protection and nature restoration on arable land.Encouraging local authorities to put nature reserves in urban areas as well as in the countryside.Grouse moors to come under closer scrutiny and tighter regulation, which will go further than EU rules.No new “right to roam” is included in the framework, but there will be a consultation on “making landowner liability more proportionate”, which could open up areas for public access.A national soil map will be published.A new “land use unit” will be established.Government planning for changes to the UK’s landscape under global heating of 2C above preindustrial levels, and of much higher heating of 4C. Continue reading...

• The House scheduled multiple environmental and natural resource bills for floor consideration under suspension of the rules during the week of March 16, 2026, including forest restoration and park management legislation. • Bills on the schedule include the Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act of 2025, Save Our Sequoias, the Chiricahua National Park Act, and the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Amendment Act. • The legislation also includes the DIGITAL Applications Act, the Small Cemetery Conveyance Act, and the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act, reflecting bipartisan work on diverse policy issues.

International researchers find ‘very little evidence’ medical form of the drug can treat anxiety, anorexia and other disordersCannabis is not an effective treatment for common mental health conditions despite the global surge in patients using it for that purpose, a review has found.Researchers concluded there was “very little evidence for its efficacy” in treating anxiety, anorexia nervosa, psychotic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder or opioid use disorder. Continue reading...