Hannah Beckler
@hannahbeckler.bsky.social
Investigative journalist. Correspondent @businessinsider.com.
New! From @rosemarieho.bsky.social, Ellen Thomas, Daniel Geiger, and me: We found that tax breaks given to developers can amount over time to more than $2 million for every permanent, full-time job at an operational data center. www.businessinsider.com/data-centers...
Massive subsidies, minimal jobs: The math behind America's data center boom
Some city governments give data center companies big tax breaks to revitalize local economies. The math might not make sense, Business Insider found.
www.businessinsider.com
June 20, 2025 at 4:28 PM
New! From @rosemarieho.bsky.social, Ellen Thomas, Daniel Geiger, and me: We found that tax breaks given to developers can amount over time to more than $2 million for every permanent, full-time job at an operational data center. www.businessinsider.com/data-centers...
These stories have lots of cool data! Read about how @rosemarieho.bsky.social, Narimes Parakul, and I + so many others spent months painstakingly piecing together all sorts of records to build this project. www.businessinsider.com/how-calculat...
Data centers' environmental impact is hard to quantify. Here's how we did it.
How Business Insider calculated data centers' true cost, from their electricity and water use to their impact on the environment and public health.
www.businessinsider.com
June 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
These stories have lots of cool data! Read about how @rosemarieho.bsky.social, Narimes Parakul, and I + so many others spent months painstakingly piecing together all sorts of records to build this project. www.businessinsider.com/how-calculat...
From @rosemarieho.bsky.social +Ellen Thomas + me: spiking data center electricity demand is driving utilities to torpedo renewable energy goals and rely on fossil fuels. www.businessinsider.com/ai-runs-dirt...
AI runs on dirty power and the public pays the price
Data centers are setting back sustainable energy goals across the country. They also contribute to air and water pollution, Business Insider found.
www.businessinsider.com
June 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
From @rosemarieho.bsky.social +Ellen Thomas + me: spiking data center electricity demand is driving utilities to torpedo renewable energy goals and rely on fossil fuels. www.businessinsider.com/ai-runs-dirt...
And Dakin Campbell dug into what it means for people living among these massive (and loud!) data centers built cheek by jowl with residential neighborhoods. www.businessinsider.com/data-centers...
The 'AI boom' pits neighbor against neighbor
As data centers crop up across Northern Virginia's sleepy suburbs, residents are divided over whether the noise and fumes outweigh the benefits.
www.businessinsider.com
June 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
And Dakin Campbell dug into what it means for people living among these massive (and loud!) data centers built cheek by jowl with residential neighborhoods. www.businessinsider.com/data-centers...
We estimate that US data centers could soon consume more electricity than what Poland, with a population of 36.6 million, used in 2023. Federal estimates expect that demand to as much as triple over the next three years. www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-cent...
AI's promise is still taking shape. The costs of its data centers are already here.
Data center costs in electricity and water have been hard to pin down. We dug up documents to figure out the impact of AI infrastructure.
www.businessinsider.com
June 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
We estimate that US data centers could soon consume more electricity than what Poland, with a population of 36.6 million, used in 2023. Federal estimates expect that demand to as much as triple over the next three years. www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-cent...
In analyzing nearly 1,500 Eighth Amendment cases, we found that plaintiffs won only 1% of the time. Only a handful more reached substantial settlements.
Half of the time they involve prisoner deaths.
www.businessinsider.com/prisoner-law...
Half of the time they involve prisoner deaths.
www.businessinsider.com/prisoner-law...
It's extremely rare for prisoners to win lawsuits on Eighth Amendment claims.
Most civil suits settle in the outside world. But among prisoner Eighth Amendment lawsuits, only 14% settle, and less than 1% win in court.
www.businessinsider.com
January 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
In analyzing nearly 1,500 Eighth Amendment cases, we found that plaintiffs won only 1% of the time. Only a handful more reached substantial settlements.
Half of the time they involve prisoner deaths.
www.businessinsider.com/prisoner-law...
Half of the time they involve prisoner deaths.
www.businessinsider.com/prisoner-law...
The most frequent repeat defendants in BI’s sample were for-profit companies. These contractors almost never lost.
The low risk of liability, one law review article argued, "leads to dangerous, ineffective healthcare that is shielded from constitutional challenge."
The low risk of liability, one law review article argued, "leads to dangerous, ineffective healthcare that is shielded from constitutional challenge."
January 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
The most frequent repeat defendants in BI’s sample were for-profit companies. These contractors almost never lost.
The low risk of liability, one law review article argued, "leads to dangerous, ineffective healthcare that is shielded from constitutional challenge."
The low risk of liability, one law review article argued, "leads to dangerous, ineffective healthcare that is shielded from constitutional challenge."
Hundreds of prisoners in BI's sample complained of inadequately treated illnesses, injuries, and pain. Dozens more said their mental-health crises were met with violence.
Together, the claims describe a US prison medical culture defined by a gross disregard for human life.
Together, the claims describe a US prison medical culture defined by a gross disregard for human life.
January 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Hundreds of prisoners in BI's sample complained of inadequately treated illnesses, injuries, and pain. Dozens more said their mental-health crises were met with violence.
Together, the claims describe a US prison medical culture defined by a gross disregard for human life.
Together, the claims describe a US prison medical culture defined by a gross disregard for human life.
Christopher Cox was declared dead in a Florida prison cell after a minimally trained licensed practical nurse denied him CPR.
Cox’s case is one of hundreds of cases in BIs sample that claimed severe medical neglect. Nearly all of those cases lost.
www.businessinsider.com/prison-medic...
Cox’s case is one of hundreds of cases in BIs sample that claimed severe medical neglect. Nearly all of those cases lost.
www.businessinsider.com/prison-medic...
Federal courts have allowed prisons and private medical contractors to neglect prisoner health
Federal courts have rarely upheld claims of medical neglect in US prisons, even when healthcare providers failed to diagnose cancer or treat heart disease.
www.businessinsider.com
January 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Christopher Cox was declared dead in a Florida prison cell after a minimally trained licensed practical nurse denied him CPR.
Cox’s case is one of hundreds of cases in BIs sample that claimed severe medical neglect. Nearly all of those cases lost.
www.businessinsider.com/prison-medic...
Cox’s case is one of hundreds of cases in BIs sample that claimed severe medical neglect. Nearly all of those cases lost.
www.businessinsider.com/prison-medic...
"We are to accord prison officials 'wide-ranging deference,'" Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, a 5th Circuit judge wrote in a majority opinion, quoting case precedent.
"The Supreme Court has told judges not to micro-manage the force necessary to quell such volatile situations."
"The Supreme Court has told judges not to micro-manage the force necessary to quell such volatile situations."
January 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
"We are to accord prison officials 'wide-ranging deference,'" Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, a 5th Circuit judge wrote in a majority opinion, quoting case precedent.
"The Supreme Court has told judges not to micro-manage the force necessary to quell such volatile situations."
"The Supreme Court has told judges not to micro-manage the force necessary to quell such volatile situations."