U.S. Briefs: Water contamination linked to data center

Wyoming

Contamination of the state capital’s water treatment program has fomented public outcry against AI data centers. The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities announced July 2 it had identified the source of a rare bacterium, Cupriavidus gilardii, that officials discovered lurking in the city’s wastewater treatment plant during routine testing for fecal contamination. Officials traced the bacteria back to a Meta-affiliated AI data center and company, Goat Systems LLC, and its fill-and-flush process, a technique that involves flushing a data center’s closed-loop coolant system with purified water to remove construction debris and residue. The city then barred data centers from dumping closed-loop discharge water into Cheyenne’s sanitary sewer. Frank Strong, a water resource engineer with the city’s water board, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle the bacteria did not enter Cheyenne’s drinking water. Still, the board temporarily shut down the water treatment program, worried residents might become exposed to the bacteria in public green spaces irrigated with treated wastewater. Officials have not identified any remaining bacteria during follow-up testing and said the water treatment program is back in operation. —Addie Offereins

Texas

The Texas Stock Exchange launched July 6 in Dallas as stockbrokers, trading firms, and banks began trading test stocks on the nation’s newest national securities exchange. The founders of the new exchange touted it as an answer to activist-driven governance such as the Nasdaq Stock Market that, prior to losing a legal challenge in December 2024, required com­panies to meet board diversity quotas in order to be listed. Texas political and business leaders have long advocated for Dallas to be a national financial center to challenge the duopoly of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, the world’s largest exchanges, both based in New York City. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved TXSE’s application on Sept. 30, 2025, and public trading should begin by August. —Todd Vician

Idaho

Starting July 1, the state has officially designated firing squads as its primary method of execution. South Carolina, Mississippi, Utah, and Oklahoma use firing squads in special circumstances. Most states still conduct executions by lethal injections, but the drugs have become difficult to obtain. Pfizer effectively closed the last open market source in 2016, saying it would no longer allow states to use its drugs for executions. In Idaho, a three-person team will simultaneously shoot through a one-foot opening behind a protective wall roughly 10 feet away from the condemned person. The inmate will be given a mild sedative before a target is placed over his or her heart. The Gem State conducted its last execution in 2012 by lethal injection. —Addie Offereins

North Carolina

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against FedEx Corporation for failing to provide four blind employees at a North Carolina facility with reasonable accommodations in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The employees could perform “the essential functions of the package handler position” despite their eyesight. Since 2021, the disabled employees requested workplace accommodations including tactile tape for navigation guidance. Facility officials allegedly ignored the requests but allowed the workers to seek navigation assistance from co-workers. At times, no one was available to help, leaving the workers unable to even use the restroom. After the EEOC visited the facility in 2024, facility officials installed tactile tape but failed to maintain it. The company claims it did provide various accommodations, but the lawsuit calls those efforts “illusory, ad hoc, or sporadic.” The EEOC also accused the facility of failing to maintain accommodation records requests and filed the lawsuit after an unsuccessful settlement attempt. —Bekah Bernhardt

Pennsylvania

Nearly 100,000 fewer residents receive food benefits due to new work requirements and state efforts to reduce payment error rates. The policy changes are part of a federal overhaul of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program included in H.R. 1, the “big, beautiful” tax bill President Donald Trump signed in July 2025 requiring states with too many administrative errors to cover part of the spending. Ranked among the highest in nationwide SNAP users, Pennsylvania reported a 9.21% error rate in 2025, down from the previous year’s 10.76%. Pennsylvania could be required to pay more than $400 million in program costs when H.R. 1 penalties take effect in October 2027. The state introduced new tools in December 2025 to track SNAP applicants’ eligibility documents. It also instituted new work-reporting guidelines, including requiring some SNAP beneficiaries to document at least 20 hours a week working, volunteering, or participating in educational or training programs. —Mary Jackson

Illinois

Seven counties approved ballot measures that will ask voters this fall whether Illinois should separate from Chicago’s Cook County. Between 2020 and 2024, 33 counties approved similar measures. The Illinois Separation Referendum argues the Chicago-dominated legislature does not represent the “values and morals” of many citizens in the state. Although Illinois voted predominantly for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, 88 of the state’s 102 counties voted Republican. Nearly half of the votes for Harris came from within Cook County, home to about 41% of Illinois residents. Passing a measure to consider leaving Cook County won’t automatically lead to the formation of a new state. “It just signals your county wants in on the discussions about MAYBE becoming a state,” Illinois Separation Referendum said on social media. Although there have been states that formed through seceding, like West Virginia, forming a state apart from Cook County is a long shot. Per the Constitution, forming a new state would require the approval of the current state’s legislature, Congress, and eventually, the president. —Bekah Bernhardt