This summer’s punishing heat waves have forced many people to run their air conditioners more frequently, causing utility bills to climb. U.S. residential energy costs have risen by 30 percent in the last five years as energy-hungry technology like AI and aging infrastructure add stress to an over-worked electric grid. The problem is particularly bad in Alabama, a state with high poverty rates and a utility with the highest average residential bills in the country.

Lawmakers were determined to address the consumer impacts by overhauling the state’s public utility commission, but last-minute changes to the legislation handed more power to the governor to control how rates are set. It’s all happening at a time when data centers are coming to the state, with promises but little clarity about who will pay the bill for their enormous energy use.

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Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, commonly referred to as CAFOs, are the backbone of America’s livestock industry. The majority of the beef, pork and chicken products Americans buy are raised and fattened at these facilities. Billions of animals are housed at these operations, which generate well over a billion tons of manure each year. These factory farms foul water, wreck the lives of neighbors and are a significant source of planet-warming emissions. Despite these challenges, CAFOs are loosely regulated, meaning people have few tools to reign in a powerful industry that continues to expand.

Inside Climate co-host Jake Bolster talks to agriculture reporter Georgina Gustin, who recently traveled to Nebraska to investigate the largest cattle CAFO in the country, which will house as many as 200,000 livestock once completed. He also speaks to North Carolina reporter Lisa Sorg about hog CAFOs and the legal effort some have brought against the industry in that state.

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Sloth World imported more than 60 wild sloths from the tropical forests of South America and was due to open in Orlando, Florida, sometime in 2026. The company billed itself as the world’s “only slotharium” that was “dedicated to sloth education.” It had already begun selling tickets, but before it opened, Inside Climate News discovered dozens of sloths were dying under its care. The reaction was swift: The public was outraged and authorities stepped in to investigate, eventually opening a criminal probe. The surviving sloths were transferred to a local zoo. Sloth World closed before it ever opened, but many are asking why it was able to legally import wild sloths at all.

Out West, a different animal story is playing out as ranchers worry newly released gray wolves could prey on their livestock. The reintroduction of gray wolves is a conservation success story, but ranchers are struggling to accept the apex predator at a time when it’s already economically challenging to raise cattle. A new technique aims to help ranchers protect their herd and improve their business, but its effectiveness and wider adoption remain unsettled.

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