Tech Turns Nuclear, Egyptian Museum, and Astronauts in Prada

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Big Tech Goes Nuclear

Amazon is investing $500M toward nuclear power to meet the rising energy demands of its data centers and artificial intelligence initiatives. Yesterday's announcement comes two days after Google unveiled plans to purchase nuclear power and less than a month after Microsoft said it would reopen the Three Mile Island plant—home to the worst nuclear accident in US history—to fuel its AI efforts.

Nuclear power accounts for 19% of US electricity generation and comes from energy released when the nucleus of a heavy atom splits into lighter atoms. While expensive and potentially hazardous, proponents pitch nuclear power (see 101) as a clean alternative to greenhouse gas-emitting energy sources like coal, oil, and gas. Energy-intensive generative AI applications and data centers are expected to account for roughly 9% of total US power consumption by 2030. 

Amazon and Google are investing in small modular reactors, which are cheaper and easier to build than traditional nuclear reactors and generate up to 300 megawatts of power or about one-third the amount of power of a traditional reactor. Only two SMRs currently operate in the world, in China and Russia.

Egyptian Museum Tests Opening

A portion of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, opened to visitors yesterday—part of the initial unveiling of an over $1B project designed to be the largest museum devoted to a single civilization.

The museum—spanning over 5 million square feet or roughly the size of 80 football fields—will cover 700,000 years' worth of artifacts. The trial run, designed to test visitor flow and operations, includes 12 galleries devoted to four eras of Egyptian history dating as far back as 2649 BCE. Among the displays are the gold mask of Tutankhamun, the boy-king who ruled Egypt about 3,350 years ago; an 83-ton statue of legendary pharaoh Ramses the Great; and the world's first hanging obelisk, suspended to allow a view of hidden carvings beneath. See more here (w/video).

Over 100,000 artifacts will be stored when the museum opens fully to visitors, a date not yet determined. Learn more about ancient Egypt here (w/video).

Menendez Family Convenes

Nearly two dozen family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez gathered outside a Los Angeles courthouse yesterday, calling for their early release from prison. District Attorney George Gascón (D), who is up for reelection, has indicated openness to pursuing their resentencing ahead of a November court deadline.

In 1996, the brothers from Beverly Hills, California, were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez. The sons, 18 and 21 years old at the time of the killings, inherited $14M—which prosecutors said served as the motive. This year, Netflix sparked renewed public interest in the case with the releases of a miniseries and documentary. See trailers here and here.

The projects highlight the boys' allegations of sexual abuse by their father, some details of which were not permitted at trial. Last year, the brothers petitioned for early release, attaching a letter they say Erik wrote to his cousin before the killings. The brothers maintain they acted out of self-defense. 

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