No ICE at the Super Bowl? Bay Area communities aren't buying it.

SAN FRANCISCO – Despite repeated assurances from the NFL and federal, and local leaders that there will be no ICE presence in and around theSuper Bowl, Gabby Chavez-Lopez simply isn't buying it.

"Can you really blame us?" saidChavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, a nonprofit based in San Jose, California, a city that has seen its share of immigration enforcement operations. She won't take them at their word, she said: "Not with this presidential administration, and not with ICE in particular."

Neither willMusa Tariq, a policy coordinator for the San Francisco Bay Area Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Oh, there's definitely some anxiety and uneasiness. We don't trust any federal agency that doesn't respect its own country's Constitution and the laws that come with it."

ICE protestors in Los Angeles marched from city hall to the federal detention center before clashing with agents in the evening on Jan. 30, 2026, forcing LAPD to issue a dispersal order. The rally was part of the "ICE Out of Everywhere" movement and a nationwide Jan. 30 shutdown in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Protesters rally against ICE in Los Angeles, clash with federal agents

ICE protestors in Los Angelesmarched from city hall to the federal detention center before clashing with agents in the evening on Jan. 30, 2026, forcing LAPD to issue a dispersal order. The rally was part of the "ICE Out of Everywhere" movement and a nationwide Jan. 30 shutdown in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

Their concerns come as a coalition of community organizations across the Bay Area holdsrallies, marches, and protestsduring Super Bowl week, fearing that the Big Game's heavy security presence andprevious mixed messagingfrom federal officials could also bring heightened enforcement by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security while the sports world is watching.

Both Chavez-Lopez and Tariq attended a vibrant noontime rally and march at San Jose's Cesar Chavez Plaza on Feb 2, with the city's downtown convention center, the site of Super Bowl LX's opening night festivities, in the backdrop. They saw speaker after speaker send a declarative message: "ICE out of the Bay."

"I think we have to be ready for all scenarios," said Chavez-Lopez, about ICE's presence. "I hope they don't come, because we'll show them that we're not the communities to really mess with. We've demonstrated that time and time again, and this time won't be any different."

No ICE at Super Bowl:NFL says no ICE operations planned for Super Bowl 60

'Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst'

Officials nevertheless appeared resolute in their commitment. During a Feb. 3 press conference in San Francisco, NFL Chief Security Officer Cathy Lanier repeatedly uttered various versions of the same message when peppered with questions.

"There are no planned ICE or immigration enforcement operations that are scheduled around the Super Bowl or any of the Super Bowl-related events," Lanier said, adding that Homeland Security, which consists of more than 20 different departments, plans to have security officials from numerous agencies at the Super Bowl, but she stressed theU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, more commonly known as ICE, would not be among them.

Department of Homeland Security agent Jeffrey Brannigan, who is coordinating security efforts among the various law enforcement agencies, reinforced Lanier's statements in response to similar ICE-related questions from reporters.

The questions come amid the ongoing aggressive immigration enforcement and civilunrest in Minneapolis, which led to the fatal shooting last month of two U.S. citizens,Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, by federal immigration officers. Their killings contributed to apartial government shutdownas some lawmakers want more accountability for the actions of ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents. Community members are also wary after seeingPresident Donald Trump's contentious deportation campaigns inLos Angelesand Chicago.

Advertisement

Homeland Securitytraditionally oversees securityfor major sporting events, including theSuper Bowl. But some community activists said that many details about the agency's participation weren't clear or consistent about whether its role would include immigration enforcement during Super Bowl week.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie andSan Jose Mayor Matt Mahanalso stated there would be no immigration enforcement last week, and Otto Lee, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, made a strong, emotional declaration there would be no enforcement actions during aJan. 27 board meeting.

"Let me be absolutely clear: No one is above the law, there is no such thing as absolute immunity, and there is no license to kill," said Lee during the meeting about ICE. "If anyone comes into our county masked, spreading terror, breaking laws, or threatening our residents, they will be arrested by our sheriff deputies and police officers."

Two days later, Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen said during anews conferencealso attended by House Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Sam Liccardo, that there still had been no communication to local authorities about whether there would be immigration enforcement, causing some anxiety within local communities.

Now, nearly a week later, diverse, immigrant-rich cities, including San Francisco and Silicon Valley hotspots San Jose and Santa Clara, the site of the Super Bowl, are still on edge, prompting weeklong demonstrations, according to Tariq, from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Some of our concerns involve whether federal agents will seize this moment to do expanded raids, militarize their presence, use intimidation and enact violence, at our workplaces, in our schools," Tariq said. "That's why we're hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst."

Many community members would like to participate in Super Bowl-related activities but are too scared to do so, and their fears may continue when World Cup matches also come to the Bay Area in June, said Mariam Arif, spokesperson for theServices, Immigrant Rights and Education Network(SIREN) of Santa Clara County.

"It's hard for some people to take that risk, especially those with families and children," Arif said. "That's what we've been seeing and hearing."

Chavez-Lopez said the Santa Clara CountyRapid Response Network, a collective of 10 nonprofits that documents ICE activity, sends alerts to the community and provides free emergency legal support for immigrants, has been training dozens of new volunteers in preparation for anticipated enforcement for the Super Bowl.

"Everyone is just banding together, doing their parts, and making sure they are represented and have our voices heard," Chavez-Lopez said. "We won't be silenced.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'No ICE at Super Bowl' promise isn't convincing Bay Area locals

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 04, 2026

No ICE at the Super Bowl? Bay Area communities aren't buying it.

SAN FRANCISCO – Despite repeated assurances from the NFL and federal, and local leaders that there will be no ICE presenc...

Read More

Daily Briefing: The race to reform ICE

Travis don't make Taylor mad! Welcome to the Daily Briefing. Here's what's breaking this morning:

• Renee Good's siblings testified before Congress about her fatal shooting by an ICE agent.

• Melinda French Gates says Bill Gates must "answer to" Epstein file claims.

• Lindsey Vonn won't let a torn ACL stop her Olympic comeback.

Nicole Fallerthere, bringing you the news to know on Wednesday, from lawmakers' rifts over ICE reforms to an ongoing search for Savannah Guthrie's mother. Plus: A pretty Penny.

The shutdown is over. Now a race is on to reform Trump's ICE.

After a partial government shutdownendedTuesday,lawmakers now face a Feb. 13 deadlineto come up with a compromise to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. If they don't, the Coast Guard and TSA will see disruptions.

But Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) won't. That's because Congress approved $75 billion for ICE over the next several years under the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that President Donald Trump signed into law last summer.

But ICE is still a sticking point as lawmakers stare down the deadline. Senate Democratshave a list of three main demands for reforming immigration enforcement. Among their asks is an end tosweeping immigration checksknown as "roving patrols." They also want moreaccountabilityfor ICE and Border Patrol, including independent investigations and stricter use-of-force standards. And they're imploring federal agents to be prohibited from wearing masks and for body camera requirements.

Some Senate Republicans have said they're amenable to some of those requests.

Advertisement

More news to know now

• Savannah Guthrie exits hosting NBC Olympics. The "Today" anchor stepped away from hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Italy as authorities continue to investigate her 84-year-old mother Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. Guthrie's neighbors told USA TODAY they fear for her safety.

• Trump again called for federal intervention in elections. The president's talk of nationalizing the voting process generated bipartisan pushback and alarms critics worried about the fairness of future races.

• People trying to melt snow keep setting homes ablaze. Homeowners may want to expedite snow and ice removal from their roofs to prevent collapse. But don't use an open flame to melt ice on your home.

A lucky Penny

ADoberman named Pennywon "Best in Show" at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday in New York City. Penny beatthousands of other pupsin the competition.

A nana fights in court

Texas child welfare workers removed a 16-month-old and her brother from their parents' home in January 2025. Their grandmother, Rochelle, cared for them for months until, one day last September, a state official took the children from daycare without notice or explanation. The kids were driven 170 miles to live with strangers. Afraid she'd never see them again again,Rochelle decided to fight to bring them home.

Before you go

• Maybe I do want a checked bag?!

• How does Olympic curling work exactly?

• Cracker Barrel clarified a viral employee dining rule.

Have feedback on the Daily Briefing? Shoot Nicole an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:ICE, Epstein, Savannah Guthrie, Olympics, Lindsey Vonn: Daily Briefing

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 04, 2026

Daily Briefing: The race to reform ICE

Travis don't make Taylor mad! Welcome to the Daily Briefing. Here's what's breaking this morning: R...

Read More

Philippine lawmakers find bid to impeach Marcos to be 'insufficient in substance'

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine legislators dismissed two impeachment complaints Wednesday againstPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr.that accused him of an array of crimes, including involvement in largescale corruption, that were all declared "insufficient in substance."

Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte were separately facing impeachment complaints before the House of Representatives, which is dominated by the president's allies. At least two impeachment complaints have been filed against Duterte mainly for alleged corruption but it's unclear when they would be tackled.

The two leaders were former allies that later became embroiled inbruising political disputes, deepening divisions in one of Asia'smost unwieldy democracies.

After days of deliberations, the House justice committee voted to dismiss the impeachment complaints filed by left-wing activists and a lawyer against Marcos. A majority of its 46 members argued that most of the allegations would either be difficult to validate, did not directly implicate the president or did not fall squarely under the constitutional grounds for impeachment and threw them out "for insufficiency in substance."

One of the allegations cited a former House lawmaker, Zaldy Co, who accused the president of receivinghuge kickbacksfrom flood control projects in videos he posted on Facebook. Co, who has been implicated in the corruption scandal, could not be located. He has denied any wrongdoing but has been hunted by the police in the country and abroad after an anti-corruption court issued a warrant for his arrest last year.

Marcos welcomed the decision. "We're happy that the process was followed and that the lawmakers recognized the real truth," Communications undersecretary Claire Castro said.

Renato Reyes, one of the complainants from the left-wing political alliance Bayan, said the House decision "derailed accountability."

"We were prepared to present evidence at the next stage," Reyes said. "What was only required at the current stage was a recital of the offenses that constitute betrayal of public trust."

Under Philippine law, opponents seeking to impeach any top official would have to wait for a year before being allowed to seek another impeachment attempt.

Last year, the Housevoted to impeachthe vice president and sent the case to the Senate for trial.

TheSupreme Court, however, later ruled that the House violated a constitutional rule that only one impeachment case could be processed by it in a single year.

Duterte survived last year's impeachment attempt over the legal technicality. Two groups of opponents then re-filed separateimpeachment complaintsagainst her on Monday after the one-year prohibition period lapsed.

The complaints centered on her alleged illegal use and mishandling of 612.5 million pesos ($10.3 million) in confidential funds from the vice president's office, and also from her time as education secretary under Marcos. She has generally denied any wrongdoing but has refused to provide detailed explanations in past congressional inquiries.

Duterte's threat in an online news conference in November 2024 to have the president, his wife and House of Representatives speaker killed by an assassin if she were killed amid their disputes was also cited in the one of the impeachment complaints.

The vice president is the daughter of ex- President Rodrigo Duterte, who oversaw bloody anti-drug crackdowns while in office from 2016 to 2022. He was arrested and detained in the Netherlands by the International Criminal Court last year for alleged crimes against humanity.

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 04, 2026

Philippine lawmakers find bid to impeach Marcos to be 'insufficient in substance'

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine legislators dismissed two impeachment complaints Wednesday againstPresident Ferdina...

Read More

Edmunds puts sedans Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla to the test

There is a lot of talk about affordability in 2026, and it can certainly apply to new vehicles. Many of the latest SUVs and electric vehicles are simply too expensive for people. Buying used is an option, but that means you'll lose out on getting a full warranty and, of course, that new-car smell. Thankfully, a few automakers still offer inexpensive new sedans priced under $25,000.

Nissan has redesigned its2026 Sentra, which is the smallest and least expensive sedan in the brand's lineup. Nissan has given the car a new look and an interior makeover, featuring improved materials and a large digital display atop the dashboard. It's a prime competitor to the venerableToyota Corolla. The latest Corolla generation has been around for a while, but Toyota has spruced up the 2026 version with a few more standard features. Which of these small sedans is the better buy? Edmunds' auto experts have tested both to find out.

Power and mpg

The Corolla and Sentra come with four-cylinder engines, but the Corolla's makes more power. Rated at 169 horsepower, the Corolla hustled from zero to 60 mph in 8.8 seconds in Edmunds' testing. That's a bit leisurely but still nearly 1 second quicker than the 149-horsepower Sentra, which requires a heavy foot to keep up with highway traffic. The slower Sentra is also less efficient than its Toyota rival. It gets up to an EPA-estimated 33 mpg in combined city/highway driving. The Corolla gets up to 35 mpg combined and delivered even better results in Edmunds' real-world driving.

The Corolla has other advantages, too. It's also available as the Corolla Hybrid, which gets up to an EPA-estimated 50 mpg combined. All-wheel drive is also available. It's only offered with the Corolla Hybrid, but it may appeal to you if you have to frequently drive in wintry conditions. The Sentra doesn't offer a hybrid powertrain or all-wheel drive.

Winner: Corolla

For 2026, Nissan overhauled the Sentra's interior, adding dual 12.3-inch displays for digital gauges and infotainment spanning half the dashboard. The wide-screen array comes standard on all but the base trim. By comparison, the Corolla feels years behind with its standard 8-inch display or optional 10.5-inch touchscreen. Both models come with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Autosmartphoneintegration and optional wireless phone charging and upgraded audio systems.

These sedans are similar in the standard advanced driver assist features they offer. These include blind-spot warning and adaptive cruise control with lane centering that can apply light steering corrections to help you keep the car centered in its lane. However, the Sentra takes it further with available features that include enhanced functionality for adaptive cruise control in stop-and-go traffic, rear parking sensors and a high-definition surround-view camera system. It's an impressive bundle of features for the money.

Winner: Sentra

Interior space and conveniences

Advertisement

Compact cars are tight and tidy by definition, but the Toyota and Nissan are roomier than they look. The Sentra has the edge with more elbow room and front legroom thanks to a slightly longer, wider body, but its sleek roof pinches rear headroom, which taller passengers will notice. Both models come with cloth upholstery to start and synthetic leather on higher trims, but the Sentra's cabin looks and feels fresher from its recent redesign. The Nissan's front seats are also among the best in any compact car for keeping you comfortable on long drives.

The Sentra's 14.3-cubic-foot trunk is large enough for a couple of suitcases and carry-ons. The Corolla's smaller 13.1 cubic-foot trunk might force you to abandon one of those bags, but you can always opt for the Corolla Hatchback, which beats both with nearly 18 cubic feet of cargo space.

Winner: Sentra

Price and value

The Nissan Sentra starts at $23,845, including the destination fee. The Corolla starts at $24,120 with destination; getting the Corolla Hatchback or Corolla Hybrid will cost approximately $1,500 to $1,900 more. Not only is the Sentra slightly more affordable, it also comes with the larger touchscreen, enhanced cruise control and more trunk space. Moving up to the Sentra SV trim — about $500 more than the base Corolla — adds a few more features, including the larger digital gauge cluster.

But when it comes to performance and efficiency, the Corolla is king. Its stronger engine makes a difference in traffic, and its superior fuel economy can help with saving on gas in the long term.

Winner: tie

Edmunds says

Edmunds officially scores the Sentra slightly higher than the Corolla. But your decision might come down to what you want most. If fuel economy and power are priorities, the Corolla is worth paying a little extra for. But the Sentra otherwise edges it out with superior roominess, utility and technology.

____________

This story was provided toThe Associated Pressby the automotive websiteEdmunds.

Dan Frio is a contributor at Edmunds.

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 04, 2026

Edmunds puts sedans Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla to the test

There is a lot of talk about affordability in 2026, and it can certainly apply to new vehicles. Many of the latest SUVs a...

Read More

Exclusive-State prisons grew deadlier and more violent amid guard shortage, review finds

By Brad Heath

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - State prisons in the United States became more violent and nearly 50% deadlier over the past five years as authorities struggled to keep enough guards on the job, according to a government-funded report to be released on Wednesday.

The United States locks away ​more people than any other nation, including about 1 million people in state-run prisons. The previously unreported evaluation, paid for by the U.S. Department of Justice ‌and conducted by an initiative called Safe Inside, found that those systems are under increasing strain, even as many states sharply reduced the number of people they locked up.

"We have less staff and they're asked to ‌do more," said John Wetzel, a former head of Pennsylvania's prison system and the chairman of Safe Inside, a nonpartisan research effort focused on improving state prisons. "We're seeing the increased deaths, increase of assaults and there's no argument that these are going up."

The staff shortages mean prisons have fewer people on duty to protect inmates, and fewer who can take them to medical appointments, Wetzel said.

The rising death rate came as the number of assaults on inmates increased 54% over the same period, and the number of assaults on prison staff rose ⁠77%, the review found. The report did not include details about ‌the raw numbers of assaults.

The death rate among state prisoners increased 47% between 2019 and 2024, the most recent years for which the organization could gather data. The deaths include homicides, suicides and violence, and the report concluded that understaffing and high turnover "likely contribute" to the ‍increase, though researchers said they lacked enough data to prove causation.

The review based that report on conditions in 12 state prison systems; most of the rest, it said, did not report adequate information on the number of people who died in their custody. It found that the death rate was 2.8 for every 100,000 prisoners in 2019; by 2024 it had risen to 4.1.

"There is ​not enough personnel to provide the attention that is needed to people in state custody," said Maria Goellner, vice president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, which advocates reducing ‌the number of people in prison. "So you do see increased neglect, abuse and violence, and horrendous prison conditions."

Advertisement

She added part of the problem is that states are imprisoning people "who don't need to be there."

The increase in deaths was particularly sharp in some states. In Alabama, researchers documented 337 inmates who died in 2024, compared to 99 in 2019. In California, which operates one of the nation's largest prison systems, deaths among inmates were largely unchanged even though the state cut its prison population by nearly a quarter.

Spokesmen for the Alabama and California prisons did not respond to questions about the deaths.

The researchers chose those years so that they would not capture deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, which wreaked ⁠havoc in some jails and prisons and also pushed state and local governments to free thousands ​of people to slow the virus's spread. Michael Thompson, the director of Safe Inside, said the death rate ​has increased faster than could be explained by prisoners getting older or sicker.

Prisons throughout the United States have struggled for years to hire enough guards and other staff, and to keep the ones they have. New York and Florida have sent thousands of National Guard soldiers to ‍fill gaps in understaffed prisons.

The Safe Inside review ⁠found understaffing cost states more than $2 billion in overtime in 2024, 80% more than five years earlier. Some prison workers told researchers that they worked multiple 18-hour shifts in a row and that some facilities were so shorthanded that it was common for guards to be unable to take a bathroom break because ⁠there was no one to fill in for them while they were gone. That pressure, in turn, makes it harder to keep workers from quitting.

In Michigan, for example, the report found that one of every ‌six prison jobs was unfilled last year. At some prisons, almost a third of jobs were vacant.

A spokeswoman for Michigan's Department of Corrections, Jenni ‌Riehle, said the rate of unfilled jobs had fallen slightly since then.

(Editing by Craig Timburg)

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 04, 2026

Exclusive-State prisons grew deadlier and more violent amid guard shortage, review finds

By Brad Heath WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - State prisons in the United States became more violent and nearly ...

Read More

Musk's mega-merger of SpaceX and xAI bets on sci-fi future of data centers in space

By Akash Sriram and Joey Roulette

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Seventy-five years ago, the idea of harnessing the power of the skies was little more than fantasy spun by futurists like Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. Elon Musk's mega-merger of his companies xAI and SpaceX this week brings this sci-fi dream a step closer.

NASA engineers and technologists have speculated for nearly ​two decades about moving energy‑hungry computing off the planet. More recently, the idea has captured the attention of Big Tech including Alphabet andJeff Bezos' Blue Origin. The physics made sense, the ‌solar energy was abundant. Still, the challenges seemed insurmountable.

Musk, though, known for betting on seemingly far-out theories and getting them to work, may finally be laying the groundwork to make data centers in space a reality. He is armed with the world's busiest satellite launch ‌fleet, an AI startup, and an appetite for infrastructure that stretches from Earth to vacuum.

"In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale," Musk said on Monday. "To harness even a millionth of our Sun's energy would require over a million times more energy than our civilization currently uses! The only logical solution therefore is to transport these resource-intensive efforts to a location with vast power and space."

The merger sharpens investor focus on how he might overcome big hurdles through a tightly woven ecosystem of rockets, satellites andAI systems, to take AI infrastructure beyond Earth. It comes just as SpaceX is preparing for a potential $1.5 trillion IPO.

SpaceX has sought permission to launch ⁠up to 1 million solar‑powered satellites engineered as orbital data centers, far beyond ‌anything currently deployed or proposed. In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX describes a solar‑powered, optical‑link‑driven "orbital data-center system," though it did not say how many Starship launches would be required to scale the space data-center network to an operational degree.

"Compute in space isn't sci-fi anymore," said David Ariosto, author and founder of space intelligence firm ‍The Space Agency. "And Elon Musk has already proven himself capable across multiple domains."

OLD IDEA MEETS NEW ECONOMICS

Advocates argue space-based data centers would be a cheaper alternative to data centers on Earth, thanks to constant solar energy and the ability to dump heat directly into space. But some experts have warned that big commercial gains are years from reality as the concept faces daunting challenges and is fraught with technical risks: radiation, debris, heat management, latency, and formidable economics that include high maintenance costs.

"There's ​some real challenges here, and how do you then make that cost-effective?" said Armand Musey, founder of Summit Ridge Group, who said the financial details of a project such as this was hard to ‌model because the "technical unknowns haven't been clarified."

"But never say never," said Musey, who called Musk's track record "unbelievable." "I think a large part of it is, it's a bet on Elon. His success is really hard for people to ignore."

Even with Musk's ambitions, data centers in space may not be achievable for another decade, some experts have said.

The underlying physics behind space-based infrastructure is not new. Harnessing solar power in orbit dates back to Cold War-era research, when the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA studied space-based solar power concepts in the 1970s, ultimately concluding that launch and materials costs made them impractical.

What makes Musk's efforts different is that his companies have more direct control over key elements of the system - from the rockets that will carry the hardware, to the links to beam data back to Earth, to a Musk-owned social network to generate demand for cheap AI ⁠computing.

"SpaceX has structural advantages that few others can match. It controls the world's most active launch fleet, has demonstrated mass ​production of spacecraft through Starlink, and has access to substantial private capital," said Kathleen Curlee, a research analyst at Georgetown University.

BOMBARDING CHIPS ​WITH RADIATION

Among the biggest challenges facing space data centers are radiation and cooling.

Data-center hardware will be bombarded by cosmic rays from the sun. In the past, chips designed for space were specially "hardened" for such radiation but were rarely as fast as today's flagship AI chips.

Cooling AI chips, which generate immense heat during computations, is the other hurdle. While ‍space is cold, it is also a near vacuum, so ⁠heat cannot be carried away the way it is on Earth. Powerful chips must instead move heat into large radiators that shed it as infrared energy, adding significant size, weight, and therefore cost.

SpaceX's filing with the FCC describes cooling via "passive heat dissipation into the vacuum of space" and outlines how satellites that suffer operational failures rapidly de-orbit.

More recently, Alphabet's Google bombarded one of its AI chips ⁠with radiation at a university lab in California to see how it would endure a five- or six-year mission in space for a research effort to network solar-powered satellites into an orbital AI cloud called Project Suncatcher.

"They held up quite well against that," said ‌Travis Beals, a senior executive at Google and lead of the project, which is set for a prototype launch to space in 2027.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Joey ‌Roulette in Washington; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Matthew Lewis)

byVincento Seyarto

in

February 04, 2026

Musk's mega-merger of SpaceX and xAI bets on sci-fi future of data centers in space

By Akash Sriram and Joey Roulette Feb 4 (Reuters) - Seventy-five years ago, the idea of harnessing the power of ...

Read More