San Antonio City Councilmember Ric Galvan remembers when data centers first arrived in his city in the 2000s, looking like relatively unassuming office buildings. But that's changed in recent years, as data centers have grown into massive "hyperscale" facilities spanning millions of square feet and housing the physical infrastructure for AI.

There are now more than a dozen data centers in Galvan's roughly 55-square-mile district, and he expects that number to grow to around 20 over the next few years if proposed projects are completed. They're clustered along two main roads, concentrating nuisances in the same neighborhoods: traffic and tr …

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This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.

"I will explode your butthole with this poopmaxxer pesto," a calm Gen Z voice announced from my phone's speakers. "And don't worry, it doesn't taste like poop, unless that's what you're into … I don't know if Italians will approve of this, but it's for my … a-butt-a-hole-a!"

What followed in that video was actually a pretty good recipe. Two cups of blanched peas mixed into a fairly standard pesto recipe for a yield of 18 grams …

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The US Department of Transportation finalized its plans today to weaken fuel efficiency standards, calling it "among the largest deregulatory actions under the second Trump Administration."

It's a nail in the coffin for Biden-era standards that would have required fleet average fuel economy to reach 50.4 miles per gallon by model year 2031. President Donald Trump's plan requires 34.9 miles per gallon, not much higher than the 30.1-mile-per-gallon target previously set for model year 2024.

The Trump administration claims its plan would shave $1,300 off the average cost of a n …

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First announced in July with an expected limited launch later this year, the Philips Sonicare Next-Generation DiamondClean 9900 Prestige smart toothbrush is now available in Europe and the US, with a broader global rollout expected in 2027. While the previous iteration is still available and discounted from $429.99, the new "Next-Gen DiamondClean" version is debuting for $379.99 even with its added capabilities. It doesn't floss for you, but it's cheaper than Dyson's $499 CameraJet smart toothbrush that some early adopters are having issues with.

The Next-Generation DiamondClean 9900 joins a growing list of devices with built-in displays t …

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SpaceX is gearing up for a monumental flight today that's sure to be closely watched by Amazon. If successful, SpaceX will deploy its first Starlink V3 satellites, which tout meaningful upgrades to the ever-expanding Starlink constellation. The 26 satellites will be riding atop Starship, which SpaceX will also attempt to deploy into Earth orbit for the first time. The mission arrives amid Amazon's ongoing setbacks with launch partners that are keeping its own Leo satellites grounded, and falling further behind its plan to offer a meaningful rival to Elon Musk's space internet service.

It's been 12 weeks since Amazon's last successful Leo de …

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