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Investors are increasingly questioning whether the wave of spending on AI data centers can pay off, as major projects head to market through IPOs and debt deals. The New York Times reports rising doubt on Wall Street about valuations, financing risks and whether demand for computing power justifies the enormous capital being committed to new facilities.

Russia launched a barrage of strikes targeting data centers in Ukraine, killing six people. The attack hit critical digital infrastructure, disrupting services and highlighting Russia's continued focus on Ukraine's communications and data networks. The strikes come amid ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy and infrastructure, drawing renewed condemnation and concern over the mounting civilian toll.

A data hack linked to the Pentagon has exposed the personal information of around 3 million people, according to reports. The news comes as the FBI investigates a separate data leak, adding to a string of major cybersecurity incidents affecting US government-related systems and raising fresh concerns about the security of sensitive personal data.

Ukraine's electricity consumption has dropped 9% year-on-year to an all-time low of 5.6 TWh, according to the Centre for Economic Strategy. The decline is attributed to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, widespread destruction, and the shutdown of businesses across the country. The figures underline the mounting economic toll of the war on Ukraine's power system and industrial activity.

Financial markets are under pressure from mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, elevated oil prices and US Treasury yields at levels last seen in 2007. Traders say the combination is hitting risk assets, including stocks and crypto. Attention now turns to upcoming US economic data, particularly PCE inflation figures and labour market numbers, which could decide the Federal Reserve's next policy move and market direction.

A breach involving the Pentagon exposed unencrypted Social Security numbers and military job data belonging to more than 3 million people. The revelation has raised concerns about how the department stores and protects sensitive personal information of service members and staff, with questions mounting over oversight and the potential risk of identity theft for those affected.

Alberta is facing growing scrutiny over its rapid expansion of data centres, driven largely by demand from the artificial intelligence industry. Reports highlight the strain on local water supplies, electricity grids and natural gas resources, with rural communities and utilities caught up in the push. Critics frame it as an environmental reckoning, raising questions about whether the economic benefits outweigh the costs to land, water and climate commitments in the province.

A jury has found that Meta deceived Facebook users about the privacy protections offered, handing the company a second major legal loss to New Mexico this year. The verdict adds to Meta's mounting privacy-related legal troubles, and commenters online are highlighting it as further evidence that the company's promises about safeguarding user data have not held up in court.

The FBI is confronting an alleged breach by the hacking group ShinyHunters that reportedly exposed personal data of agents, including home addresses. The revelation has raised alarms inside the bureau about the physical safety of FBI personnel, who fear criminals or retaliators could use the leaked information to target them and their families at home. It also adds to mounting scrutiny of the bureau's data security practices.

The US economy added a disappointing 29,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, according to new labor figures. Commenters are linking the weak hiring data to the Trump administration's policies, including tariffs, and warning of mounting pressure on affordability, cost of living and recession risks.

Reports claim OpenAI's AI agents have leaked user images, raising fresh concerns about security flaws in agentic AI systems. The allegations point to breaches that could expose private data processed by OpenAI's tools. Security experts and users are discussing what this means for trust in AI agents and whether companies deploying them face greater data-protection risks.

A new AP-NORC poll shows most Americans hold President Trump responsible for high prices, and his economic approval rating has fallen to a new low. The findings, reported by AP and PBS, point to mounting public frustration with the cost of living and suggest the economy has become a significant political liability for the administration.

Criticism is mounting that major technology companies, including Amazon, are walking back their climate commitments to meet the enormous energy demands of AI. The industry, once promoted as aspirationally green, is reportedly adding heavily polluting power sources such as smoking chimneys and fossil fuel plants to its data center facilities to churn out more computing power for AI workloads.

A Florida county has discovered a set of Flock surveillance cameras that nobody appears to own, and questions are mounting over who installed them and what is being done with the footage they collect. The case, reported by the Washington Post, is drawing attention to how easily surveillance networks can operate without public oversight, and it has renewed criticism of the lack of transparency around automated license plate reader data.

Criticism is mounting against data analytics firm Palantir, which supplies technology to the Israeli military during the war in Gaza and provides ICE in the United States with tools to track and surveil migrants. Critics also point to its expanding role in public services, including an NHS England contract awarded in 2023 worth up to hundreds of millions, raising concerns about its handling of personal data.

Australian home prices dropped for a sixth consecutive month in September, with property sales tumbling as well. The sustained decline points to mounting pressure on the housing market, with buyers pulling back and values slipping nationwide. The figures come as higher borrowing costs weigh on affordability, raising questions about how far prices will fall and what it means for homeowners.

A data center in Kyiv, Ukraine, has gone offline after sustaining critical damage in a Russian bomb attack. The strike adds to the mounting toll on Ukraine's infrastructure, raising concerns about the resilience of the country's digital and communications systems as the war continues.

AI coding agents reportedly exposed roughly 13,000 internal images on GitHub, including sensitive billing records. The incident highlights growing concerns that autonomous coding tools can leak private company data into public repositories, raising questions about how organisations scope permissions and monitor what agents commit to shared codebases.