The backlash against AI data centers is becoming a key issue in midterm races. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia strike sites in Iraq. And the whey protein craze is creating a cheese surplus.

Here’s what to know today.

How the backlash to AI data centers is shaping midterm elections

Opposition to data centers is spilling into midterm primary and general election contests, with the fight intensifying quickly. President Donald Trump’s economic speech in Michigan on Monday was interrupted by protesters opposed to the developments, while state and federal candidates are releasing ads highlighting their positions on data centers.

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Polling shows Americans broadly oppose data centers being built near their homes, while research suggests groups fighting the developments are gaining momentum.

The swelling opposition has even crossed partisan lines.

For Democrats, concerns over the environmental impact of data centers, potential job losses and broader skepticism of AI and corporate America have created an opening for progressive messaging. But a divide is emerging within the party between those who want to slow development and those who support allowing growth with conditions.

Republicans, too, have shifted their stance, with more now seeking to ensure data centers don’t drive up voters’ power bills. Trump is among them.

More politics news:

  • Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has given Mitch McConnell an ultimatum: prove you’re still capable of serving as senator — or resign.

  • The Senate approved Jay Claytonto be the next director of national intelligence, though he’ll be taking over a much smaller agency than his predecessors after hundreds of firings.

  • Five Democratic candidates for governor in Wisconsin almost entirely refrained from lobbing attacksat each other during a debate despite some concerns about the frontrunner, Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist.

  • South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden won the Republican primary runoffin his bid for a full term in office.

  • The Georgia special election in the race to serve the rest of late Democratic Rep. David Scott’s term advanced to a runoff.

  • For subscribers:ICE plans to- sign contracts for new detention facilitiesin Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami and Denver amid the agency’s push to boost immigration arrests.

New attacks shatter brief pause in fighting between U.S. and Iran

Iran attacked U.S. forces in the Middle East overnight, prompting Saudi Arabia and the United States to strike a Tehran-backed militia in Iraq and ending several days of relative calm. The exchange has raised fears of a wider escalation in the conflict.

Iran had paused its attacks amid renewed efforts to reach a deal with the U.S., but warned earlier this week that it would not allow Washington to dictate the “timing of war and peace” while insisting the Strait of Hormuz remained “closed.”

The renewed hostilities ended a brief period of calm after the U.S. suspended daily strikes on Iran to allow space for diplomatic talks.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it targeted a U.S. air base and military command center in Jordan, state-run Nour News reported early Wednesday local time. Iran’s navy also struck three oil tankers it said were “in violation” of its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, according to state-run news agency IRNA.

Fed considers interest rates as inflation persists

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at about 3.6% when it concludes its Federal Open Market Committee meeting today. The decision will be announced this afternoon.

The move comes as inflation continues to fuel an affordability crunch, driven by the Trump administration’s tariffs and higher energy prices linked to the war with Iran. With inflation remaining above the Fed’s 2% target for more than five years, traders expect policymakers to raise rates before the end of the year. But Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh has given little indication of the central bank’s next move.

An inside look at where the pope goes to recharge

About an hour outside Rome lies 135 acres of gardens dotted with vineyards, olive groves, ancient ruins and even an observatory. Together with the nearby Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, the estate has served as the popes’ summer retreat for centuries — a tradition Pope Leo XIV is continuing.

“This has been in the history of the popes a place where they have chosen over time to be able to come and rest, to get away from all the busyness of Rome and to recharge,” Rev. Manuel “Manny” Dorantes told “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas during a tour of the historic Borgo Laudato Si’ gardens. Pope Leo will lead a “Concert for Peace” there today, featuring an international choir joined by Italian opera legend Andrea Bocelli.

Staff Pick: The whey protein obsession has a delicious consequence

“Little Miss Muffet, she sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey.” It’s a classic nursery rhyme, but it’s surprisingly timely. You can’t make whey without making cheese.

America’s protein obsession is driving demand for whey, prompting dairy processors to produce record amounts of cheese. But Americans aren’t eating much more cheddar — so where does all the extra go? I spoke with dairy experts to find out. The answer lies with our neighbors abroad. — Grace Thomas, business and economy intern

Read All About It

  • At least 13 people have been killedafter a magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Japan, as rescuers search for survivors of collapses at a shopping mall and a paper mill.

  • Colt Gray, 16, was sentenced to life in prisonin the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School that left two students and two teachers dead.

  • For subscribers:A woman survived after a destructive Wisconsin tornado sent her truck flipping through the air.- Her husband recounted the story, saying, “thank God she’s alive.”

  • A cyclosporiasis outbreak may have peaked in Michiganafter Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled its iceberg lettuce, state health officials said.

  • For subscribers:Before a Michigan woman and her six kids were killed by her husband in a murder-suicide, she showcased her happy family on TikTok —- and wrote about the darker aspects of her marriageon a Reddit account.

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