Welcome to the Tech Brew Ride Home for Wednesday, July 15th, 2026. I'm Brian McCullough today. New York has become the first date to pause new data center permits worrying the AI industry.

Stripe and Advent offered more than $53 billion for PayPal. OpenAI's first device leaked as a screen-free speaker,

and PrismML shrank a model to run on iPhones.

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eaton.com slash ace. New York Governor Kathy Hochel has signed a moratorium blocking new

environmental permits for data centers over 50 megawatts for up to one year, making New York the first state to do so,

and AI advocates fear this moratorium could emboldened Democrats, especially across the country,

to seize on a hot-button populist issue to enact more such state restrictions in the midterms.

Quoting Politico, the executive order that Democratic Governor Kathy Hocchel signed Tuesday

marks the first state-level pause on data center construction following dozens of municipalities

in red and blue states that have passed similar moratoriums.

But industry supporters and detractors alike say it's unlikely to be the last amid poll numbers showing growing public skepticism toward AI.

The moratorium also serves as a bridge of sorts between moderate Democrats such as Hocel and progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont,

who have clamored for more restrictions on data centers and artificial intelligence.

The party as a whole remains torn on

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