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Oct. 31 (UPI) — Ohio’s representatives approved a bi-partisan redistricting map that might help Republicans gain more seats, but Democrats OK’d the plan because the others offered were worse for them.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission approved the measure unanimously Friday.

“Coming to an agreement that is in the best interest of the state, not just the most vocal elements of either party, I think is some of the toughest things that we can do as elected leaders in 2025,” said state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

But Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio said it was the best option among bad ones.

“Facing this impossible challenge with no certain path to preserve a fair map, we worked toward compromise,” said Antonio, D-Lakewood.

Democrats faced a Friday deadline because the Ohio constitution allows Republicans to create a map without Democrats in November. They were also concerned about a case before the U.S. Supreme Court on the Voting Rights Act.

Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron will get a slightly more favorable northeast Ohio district, but it will still be very competitive, Punchbowl News reported.

Toledo Rep. Marcy Kaptur‘s district will be more difficult to win, but not impossible. She’s the longest-serving representative in the United States, and she won a close race in 2024. Her district chose President Donald Trump by seven points.

“Let the Columbus politicians make their self-serving maps and play musical chairs, I will fight on for the people and ask the voters for their support next year,” she wrote on X.

Cincinnati Rep. Greg Landsman also saw his chances at re-election diminished.

Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, said all of Ohio’s Democratic congresspeople could still win.

“This is a district Greg Landsman can and will win in, and that’s what the people of Cincinnati deserve,” Isaacsohn said.

Ohio had a failed ballot measure in 2024 that would have put residents in charge of making district maps.

“There’s a lot of anger and frustration in this room, and it’s not just the result of this most recent betrayal. The anger and frustration has been years in the making,” said Mia Lewis, associate director at Common Cause Ohio, the Dispatch reported.

“You have shown all of us, all of Ohio, that politicians cannot be involved in drawing district lines.”

Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said the people were denied being part of the process. “Republican and Democratic voters feel like their parties sold them out — and they’re both right.”

The report says 10 small, ocean-dependent nations will experience the biggest increase in dangerous heat days, despite collectively producing only 1 percent of global heat-trapping gases.

A new study by World Weather Attribution and United States-based Climate Central has calculated the increase in dangerous “superhot days” – defined as warmer than 90 percent of comparable days between 1991 and 2020 – due to climate change.

The report, which is not yet peer-reviewed but uses established techniques for climate attribution, was released on Thursday. It highlights the significant effect of the Paris Climate Agreement.

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Before the 2015 accord, the world was on track for a catastrophic 4C (7.2F) of warming by the end of the century, which would have resulted in an additional 114 superhot days per year.

By fulfilling current commitments to curb emissions, the world is now heading towards 2.6C (4.7F) of warming. Under this scenario, the Earth will still add 57 superhot days annually by 2100 – nearly two months of dangerously high temperatures – but this is half the increase of the worst-case scenario. Since 2015, the world has already added 11 superhot days on average.

Potsdam Climate Institute Director Johan Rockstrom, who was not part of the research team, said people should not be relieved that we are no longer on the 4-degree warming pre-Paris trajectory because the current track “would still imply a disastrous future for billions of humans on Earth”.

The report does not say how many people will be affected by the additional dangerously hot days, but coauthor Friederike Otto of Imperial College London said “it will definitely be tens of thousands or millions, not less”. She noted that thousands die in heatwaves each year already.

The study also underscores the profound unfairness of the impact of climate change across the world, showing a massive disconnect between carbon pollution and expected heat exposure.

The 10 countries that will experience the biggest increase in dangerous heat days are almost all small, ocean-dependent nations like Panama, the Solomon Islands, and Samoa. These countries are expected to see the largest spikes, with Panama projected to face 149 extra superhot days a year. These 10 nations collectively produce only 1 percent of global heat-trapping gases.

In stark contrast, the top carbon-polluting countries – the United States, China, and India – are predicted to get only between 23 and 30 extra superhot days. Despite being responsible for 42 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide, they will face less than 1 percent of the additional superhot days.

University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who was not part of the study team, said this heat inequality drives “yet another wedge between have and have-not nations”, potentially sowing seeds of geopolitical instability.

Google announced it will invest $15 billion to build a new AI hub in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, in southeastern India. Pictured from left are: Bikash Koley, vice president of Global Infrastructure and Capacity at Google Cloud; Ashwini Vaishnaw, IT minister; Nirmala Sitharaman, India minister of Finance and
Corporate Affairs; Nara Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh; Nara Lokesh, minister for Information Technology for Andhra Pradesh; and Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. Photo courtesy of Google.

Oct. 14 (UPI) — Google announced it will invest $15 billion to build an AI hub in India, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian announced Tuesday.

The hub will be in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, in southeastern India, and will reportedly be a 1-gigawatt facility.

The investment is Google’s largest Indian investment to date and will create Google’s largest AI hub in the world outside of the United States, Kurian said.

On Monday, Lokesh Nara, Andhra Pradesh’s minister of Human Resources, posted on X about the investment.

“After a year of intense discussions and relentless effort, tomorrow we make history. Google will sign an MOU with the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh for a 1GW project with an investment of $10 billion USD. It is a massive leap for our state’s digital future, innovation, and global standing. This is just the beginning,” he wrote.

The Indian Economic Times reported on Saturday that the investment would come from Google’s Indian subsidiary Raiden Infotech, which will also develop three campuses in Visakhapatnam.

According to an analysis commissioned by Google by Access Partnership, the AI hub is expected to generate at least $15 billion over five years in American gross domestic product because of new economic activity from increased cloud and AI adoption, as well as the American talent and resources involved in developing and operating the AI hub, the Google press release said.

“The Google AI hub in Visakhapatnam represents a landmark investment in India’s digital future,” Kurian said in a statement. “By delivering industry-leading AI infrastructure at scale, we are enabling businesses to innovate faster and creating meaningful opportunities for inclusive growth. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to the Indian and U.S. governments to harness AI responsibly and drive transformative impact for society.”

Part of the investment will be the construction of a new international subsea gateway, including multiple international subsea cables to land in Visakhapatnam, which is on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. This will help India meet its increasing digital demands, giving route diversity to complement subsea cable landings in Mumbai and Chennai and securing India’s digital backbone.

“This significant investment in Andhra Pradesh marks a new chapter in India’s digital transformation journey,” said N. Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, in a statement. “We are proud to host India’s first truly gigawatt-scale data center and Google’s first AI hub in India, which is a testament to our shared commitment to innovation, AI adoption, and long-term support for businesses and startups in the state.”