Data center dollars: The town of Boyce will receive a one-time $4 million payment from Applied Digital tied to its $3.6 billion Delta Forge 1 AI data center, exceeding the town’s roughly $3 million in annual revenue. Officials have recommended using the money to repair aging water and sewer systems and support economic development. Separately, a proposed 25-year agreement could generate $572 million for regional taxing authorities, while the data center is expected to create 200 permanent jobs and more than 1,000 construction jobs at peak. The Center Square has the full story.
$25B reckoning: A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for misleading users about its data privacy practices, following a jury finding that the company committed 43 million violations of state consumer protection laws tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The ruling adds to Meta’s mounting legal challenges over privacy and social media harms, including separate New Mexico penalties and a multistate settlement of up to $17.1 billion. The case could encourage other states to use consumer protection laws to hold technology companies accountable for privacy violations. The New York Times has the full story.
Supply tightens: U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 16, marking a third consecutive weekly decline and coming in well below analyst expectations. U.S. oil production dropped by 410,000 barrels per day to 13.3 million barrels, partly reflecting hurricane-related offshore disruptions, while crude imports and exports also declined. Gasoline inventories fell by 3 million barrels as demand increased, while distillate stocks rose by 1.7 million barrels despite remaining below their five-year average. The Wall Street Journal has the full story.
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