We’re coming up on state fair season, and that means some of the top destination festivals are previewing the unique foods that will be on offer this year. Iowa has 80 new treats on the horizon, including a peanut butter and jelly corndog, chicken nuggets with caviar, and — taking point from a popular East Coast grocery chain — a butter-dipped ice cream cone. Minnesota’s upcoming fair, meanwhile, seems to be going more international with its 2026 offerings: Check out a ranked list of its new foods.
New York Becomes First State to Impose a Data Center Moratorium
Danielle Parhizkaran—The Boston Globe/Getty Images
This week, New York became the first U.S. state to halt the construction of new “hyperscaler” data centers, imposing a one-year building pause on AI facilities that use 50 megawatts or more of power. The decision comes amid rising concerns over data centers’ impact on water, noise pollution, utility grids, and community health, as well as their costs to consumers.
“As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press release announcing the new legislation, which took effect Tuesday. “New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development, ensuring that when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too.”
The moratorium will be reconsidered in one year to give the state time to establish regulatory frameworks regarding the centers’ impacts, so any potential risks can be minimized as much as possible. State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez added: “By giving our state time to plan, we can ensure that development and innovation do not come at the expense of all of us.”
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485-Mile Trail Will Unite Vermont and All Its Mountain Bikers
Vermont Mountain Bike Association
Slowly but surely, a 485-mile mountain bike trail called the Velomont is coming to fruition in Vermont. When the trail is complete, mountain bikers will be able to ride across the Green Mountain State from Massachusetts to the Canadian border and stop along the way at backcountry huts and small-town hostels.
The statewide trail has been in the works for nearly a decade, but NPR reports that construction has recently gained momentum, with an emphasis on ensuring it will be accessible to all riders, including disabled athletes who ride on specially designed equipment.
“For us, it’s not a huge lift to just be mindful when we’re trying to build trail or improve trail to think about the adaptive rider,” Angus McCusker, the Velomont trail director with the nonprofit Vermont Huts and Trails, told the outlet. Some of the accessibility updates include adding adaptive rigs, rounding out trail corners, widening driveways, and reducing barriers at the trail’s overnight accommodations.
While often subtle, these updates go a long way to ensure the adaptive community can safely explore the terrain. As Jeff Alexander, with the nonprofit Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, added: “We just need to level the playing field so that everyone can play together.” Check out a map of the Velomont vision.
Science
Bumblebees Lick Their Chops After a Sweet Snack, Study Finds
Cavan Images/Getty Images
It seems a bee’s version of “compliments to the chef” looks a lot like a dog’s or cat’s (or ours): a licking of the lips. In a recent study, researchers presented buff-tailed bumblebees from 18 colonies with plain, sweet, salty, and bitter-flavored water and found the bugs extended and retracted their tongues after sipping something sweet.
Even more relatable? The insects shook their heads, wiped their mouths, and backed away after consuming unpleasant mixtures. If you have to see it to believe it, good news — the scenes were documented in fascinating slow-motion footage.
These facial expressions and reactions suggest that bumblebees, like other animals, have preferences rather than solely distinguishing between what is useful and what is harmful. And it could indicate that although their brains are about the size of sesame seeds, that doesn’t mean a lot isn’t happening in their interior worlds.
“What this is showing us is that even from an animal like a bee, there is some sort of inner life for that insect,” study co-author Andrew Barron told New Scientist. “There’s something going on. It’s evaluating its world. It’s experiencing its world, and it’s not a robotic entity running on a program.”
In Other News
A noninvasive therapy is showing promise at improving depression in less than two weeks (read more)
The title of most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold went to Gus the T. rex this week (read more)
United Airlines is offering a new row type with extra elbow room instead of a middle seat (read more)
Air pollution is steadily improving across Europe thanks to decades of environmental policy (read more)
Cheers! A “Grandparents’ Happy Hour” bill will take effect next month in Minnesota (read more)
Inspiring Story
“Grey Beard” at it again
At age 91, Dale Sanders is on a quest to reclaim his record as the oldest person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. The nonagenarian, known as “Grey Beard,” has been chipping away at the 2,190-mile trail since last September, trekking about 12 miles a day (with one day off a week) so he can finish within a year. Watch him hike.
Photo of the Day
Detroit Zoo
New baby bliss at its best! A female western lowland gorilla was born at the Detroit Zoo over the weekend, only the second gorilla birth in the Michigan zoo’s history. Both baby and first-time mom Tulivu are doing well, according to the zoo, and Tulivu is “already showing incredible maternal care,” as you can likely tell from this photo. See more darling pics of the pair bonding.
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