All posts tagged: Ports

Drone Ports and Funding Mayhem: Trump’s Ballroom Has Turned Toxic

Drone Ports and Funding Mayhem: Trump’s Ballroom Has Turned Toxic

Published by skeptic

President Donald Trump is squeezing Republicans to do his bidding on the ballroom. White House officials are pushing Republicans in Congress to approve $1 billion in security enhancements for Trump’s ballroom on grounds that it would be bad optics for private donors to pay for the presidential bunker underneath, according to two people familiar with the matter. The White House has said the ballroom itself has been paid for by donors like tech giants Apple, Meta, and Amazon, but there has been concern about these companies or rich donors effectively sponsoring a bunker. The proposed security measures for the East Wing broadly fall into two buckets, the people say: the below-ground bunker and above-ground elements that plan to include bulletproof glass and a roof that hides a counteroffensive drone port and rocket launchers. The bunker is under construction for now with money Congress appropriated last year for White House security, the people say, but that funding from last year is not expected to cover all of the proposed security measures that Trump wants for the …

Philadelphia just announced 435 more EV charging ports

Philadelphia just announced 435 more EV charging ports

Published by skeptic

Photo by Trev W. Adams on Pexels.com Philadelphia is expanding its public EV charging network again, adding around 435 new DC fast-charging and Level 2 charging ports across the city. EV charging company PositivEnergy announced today that it’s working with the City of Philadelphia to add more public chargers for residents, commuters, and visitors. “Philadelphia’s goal is to make EV charging more accessible, reliable, and equitable for residents in neighborhoods across the city,” said Anna Kelly, senior policy adviser for EV and parking in Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems. “We are grateful to our partners at PositivEnergy for sharing this vision, and for bringing their expertise to the implementation and deployment of our EV network.” PositivEnergy says the project is focused heavily on charger reliability. This issue has frustrated EV drivers for years as some charging networks expanded quickly but struggled with broken chargers, poor maintenance, and inconsistent performance. Advertisement – scroll for more content “Drivers should not have to wonder whether a charger will work when they arrive,” said PositivEnergy CEO Ed …

French poll sees far-right Bardella winning, far-left Mélenchon surging in 2027 election – POLITICO

French poll sees far-right Bardella winning, far-left Mélenchon surging in 2027 election – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Mélenchon qualifying for the two-candidate runoff next year is seen as a nightmare scenario by most of France’s political center-right and center-left, because polling predicts he would lose heavily to the far right. The Odoxa poll showed the leader of France Unbowed winning 16 percent of the vote in the first round, up from 12 percent in a similar poll conducted last month. The poll placed him virtually level with Philippe, who slipped to 17 percent from 21 percent. Mélenchon was also the most popular left-wing politician among left-wing voters, ahead of rivals such as former President François Hollande and MEP Raphaël Glucksmann. Some 49 percent of left-wing voters supported Mélenchon, compared to 43 percent for Hollande and 36 percent for Glucksmann, the poll said. “For Édouard Philippe, this poll in May is sounding alarm bells, with a double hit … that shows him dropping behind Bardella in the second round and within range of Mélenchon,” wrote Odoxa head Gaël Sliman. An Odoxa poll published in November projected that the National Rally leader would beat …

Traffic jams, rail disruption and busy ports expected as bank holiday getaway begins | UK News

Traffic jams, rail disruption and busy ports expected as bank holiday getaway begins | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

Drivers hoping to get to the continent via the port of Dover in Kent are facing delays of up to three hours as the bank holiday getaway begins. In an early afternoon post on X, port officials, which have warned of delays with 18,000 travellers expected between Friday and Sunday, said there was “a 150-180 minute processing time for tourist traffic in the Buffer Zone” [French border and security checks]. While check-in was described as “free-flowing”, it warned of “significant congestion” on approach roads. UK weather latest – health alerts issued Image: Pic: PA Image: Pic: PA Part of the reason for the delays is that it’s the first holiday period under the EU’s entry-exit system (EES), wherein people from countries such as the UK have their fingerprints registered and photograph taken before entering the 29 European countries in the Schengen Area. But the Port of Dover said the full system was not running for cars yet, forcing French border police to manually create traveller records at the eastern docks. As well as taking the …

ChargePoint is bringing 2,500 EV charging ports to apartments

ChargePoint is bringing 2,500 EV charging ports to apartments

Published by skeptic

Photo: ChargePoint Apartment and condo residents are still one of the biggest missing pieces in the US EV charging buildout, and ChargePoint says it will work with OBE Power to help close that gap. ChargePoint and OBE Power today announced a new partnership to deploy EV charging at multifamily housing properties, with plans to roll out around 2,500 charging ports beginning in 2026. The companies say OBE Power, which runs Charging-as-a-Service programs, will use ChargePoint’s chargers, software, and services as its exclusive EV charging technology platform for the multifamily sector. Apartment residents often have far fewer charging options than homeowners in single-family homes. According to the US Department of Energy, around 80% of EV charging happens at home. Advertisement – scroll for more content A turnkey model for landlords Under the partnership, OBE Power will install and operate the charging infrastructure at multifamily properties using its owned-and-operated model. The company will also handle ongoing management, maintenance, repairs, insurance, driver support, and energy cost reimbursement. The companies say landlords won’t have to pay for the charging …

Ireland’s president ‘proud’ of sister detained by Israel en route to Gaza – POLITICO

Ireland’s president ‘proud’ of sister detained by Israel en route to Gaza – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Earlier, the Israeli Foreign Ministry dismissed the flotilla as “a provocation for the sake of provocation” that had set sail “to serve Hamas, to divert attention from Hamas’ refusal to disarm, and to obstruct progress on President Trump’s peace plan.” Israel’s foreign press department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In Dublin, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement it was “actively monitoring” what was happening to the flotilla, which activists were live-streaming Monday as Israeli vessels intercepted and boarded their ships at sea. Most of the flotilla had departed Sunday from the Turkish port of Marmaris, some after sailing from Italy. Flotilla activists issued a pre-recorded message from Margaret Connolly in conjunction with their announcement of her detention by Israel. “If you are watching this video, it means I have been kidnapped from my boat in the flotilla by the Israeli occupying forces and am now being held illegally in an Israeli prison,” she said, holding her Irish passport in her right hand and wearing a T-shirt bearing an outline …

UK faces multi-billion pound bill for nationalizing British Steel – POLITICO

UK faces multi-billion pound bill for nationalizing British Steel – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Ultimately, we have to find a way to do that transformation in Scunthorpe,” Industry Minister Chris McDonald told POLITICO in an interview last December, explaining British Steel “needs to be decarbonized.” McDonald said he’s “been clear that we expect that transformation to be a partnership between government and the private sector.”  Merger push The government is now left holding an asset long past its end of life with little to whet the appetites of potential buyers. With the EU’s carbon border tax and new steel quotas in Brussels factoring into its future commercial appeal, “everything has to align policy-wise to make investment attractive,” said a second steel industry figure.  Many in the steel industry see a way forward to appeal to investors if the government shoulders British Steel’s liabilities and merges the firm with Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), which has arc furnaces, after the government took control of the former Liberty Steel Group as it entered liquidation last year.  “Liberty has got the biggest electric arc furnace at the moment. The aerospace, defense and oil …

Passengers begin to leave hantavirus ship at Tenerife – POLITICO

Passengers begin to leave hantavirus ship at Tenerife – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said the disembarkation was “proceeding normally” and that all passengers on board the MS Hondius were still asymptomatic. The passengers are being brought ashore by nationality via small boats, according to tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions. Their luggage will remain aboard the ship, which will continue on to the Port of Rotterdam with the remaining crew. It is expected to take five days for the ship to reach the Netherlands. The MV Hondius anchored early Sunday at the Port of Granadilla in the Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities set up large reception tents and restricted access to the waterfront. France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands sent planes to repatriate their citizens, while the European Union sent two additional planes for the remaining EU nationals, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told a press conference on Saturday in Madrid. The United States and Britain are coordinating planes for non-EU citizens from countries that were unable to send transport. All of the more than 100 passengers are being tested for the hantavirus, which …