In this edition: The first case of alleged NFT insider-trading fraud, China gains important online real estate, cryptocurrency crashes encourage lawsuits |
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| Electric Vehicles Hit Funding Snag for Chargers |
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| PHOTO: MARK FELIX FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
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Sales of electric vehicles and hybrid plug-ins doubled to more than 600,000 last year, but outside of California, the network of chargers needed to service the millions of anticipated EVs doesn’t exist yet. The Biden administration is preparing to give states $7.5 billion for new charging stations, but a similar recent effort showed slow progress, with only 48% of allocated dollars being used over more than four years. One problem states are grappling with is that providing public funding for EV charging inherently helps shape early winners and losers in a new market. 🤔 How would you fix the lack of charging facilities and consequent funding issues facing electric vehicles? Send me your thoughts, questions and predictions by hitting "reply" to this email. |
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| PHOTO: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/SHUTTERSTOCK |
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China's campaign to expand the reach of its political positions has helped it secure an important piece of online real estate: first-page search results on Google and other Western platforms. Content reflecting Beijing's views on its human-rights record and Covid-19 origins now regularly appears near the top of search results on Google, Bing and YouTube, according to researchers. |
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👩💻 Love Tech? Sign up here for Tech Things With Joanna Stern, one of our newest weekly newsletters. WSJ Columnist Joanna Stern is your guide, providing analysis and answering your questions about our always-on, hyper-connected world. |
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| PHOTO: CINDY SCHULTZ FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
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Lawsuits over cryptocurrency losses are increasing across the country as investing in digital tokens has gone mainstream. Many cases are from investors who allege some digital coins have been hyped and sold under false pretenses, while others allege pump-and-dump schemes involving celebrity promoters. |
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📰 Enjoying this newsletter? Get more from WSJ and support our journalism by subscribing today with this special offer. |
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| PHOTO: BIANCA DE MARCHI/SHUTTERSTOCK |
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Australia's biggest polluter was dealt a blow as a tech billionaire forced the company to halt its plan of spinning off its coal-fired plants into a new company. Mike Cannon-Brookes believes AGL could close its coal-powered units around a decade ahead of its 2045 target and replace them with clean energy and storage. |
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Waste Not, Want Not: A Future Without Food Waste | Every year, about a third of all the food produced for humans in the world is thrown away. The food, rotting in landfills, emits methane gas linked to climate change. Attorney Emily Broad Leib, the director and founder of the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, has dedicated her career to researching ways to end food waste. In this episode, she explains why food waste is such an issue, how regulations inadvertently lead to more food being wasted and the simple changes she says will make for a less wasteful future. | |
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ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL HERTZBERG |
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Solace for Tech Workers. The tech industry has been hit by tumbling stock prices and recalibrated financial projections. Now, despite layoffs and slowdowns in hiring, big tech companies offer workers shelter from the gathering storm. |
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PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES |
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Return to the Office. Elon Musk has said he wants his employees back in the office for at least 40 hours a week. The Tesla CEO's position stands in contrast to much of Silicon Valley, where flexible work practices have become more commonplace since the pandemic. |
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PHOTO: JEFF KOWALSKY/BLOOMBERG NEWS |
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An Electra Comeback. General Motors is planning to convert Buick's vehicle lineup to all-electric in North America by the end of the decade, with the introduction of a new electric sport-utility vehicle in 2024. To make the switch, the company is resurrecting a name from its past: the Electra. |
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PHOTO: MIKE SEGAR/REUTERS |
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Last week, we reported on the biggest problem facing flying cars. Readers shared their thoughts: "In my humble opinion I don't think flying cab services will ever be viable. The U.S. air traffic volume is huge and to add untold numbers of flying cabs will overwhelm the air traffic control system." —Dick Baumgartel, Florida "Never say never. There will be air-traffic controllers to monitor traffic and of course taxes, fees up the kazoo." —Jas Contreras, California "While all of the space cadets might enjoy dreaming of the possibilities, large-scale use of air taxis or drone deliveries is far away. At least I hope it stays far away from my town and friends."—Stephen Balint, Virginia "The only way that air taxis will work is if they are all completely controlled by an AI entity that will ensure there is separation both vertically and staying within certain pathways—essentially freeways in the sky, but also with 'smart' air-taxis." —R. Richard Hayes, Michigan (Responses have been condensed and edited.) |
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The New Frontier of Prosthetics? Tech for Independent Living (Wired) Doctors Transplant Ear of Human Cells, Made by 3-D Printer (The New York Times) Starlink Is Coming to Africa, but Who Will Use it? (Quartz) |
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Thanks for reading. I'm Soph Warnes, Audience Editor for Health & Science and The Future of Everything. Get in touch with me at Soph.Warnes@wsj.com. See more from The Future of Everything at wsj.com/foe. |
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