CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2023--

A UK startup is close to full-scale commercial production of solar trees that serve as clean energy charging stations for electric cars, according to the company’s chief executive. SolarBotanic Trees, which was founded last year, is developing two different sized versions of the tree, one 5.5 metres tall tree and another 3.5 metres tall, with the first installations planned for early next year in Oxford. “The idea is to put solar panels on a domed surface like the canopy of a tree, and then place a battery storage system into the trunk,” Chris Shelley, CEO of SolarBotanic, told The Independent. “Putting solar cells and batteries into the same structure is very practical, as it allows them to store excess energy without having to solely rely on its backup grid supply.” The number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the UK has risen by more than a third over the last year in an effort to keep up with growing demand. There are now more than 25,000 locations as of May 2023, according to EV mapping service Zapmap, though this is still well short of the 325,000 charging points that the UK’s Climate Change Committee claims will be necessary by 2032. SolarBotanic already has deals in place with EV infrastructure suppliers to build trees for several sites in the UK, Mr Shelley said, including an order of 200 trees from the Raw Charging Group. The initial idea was to create a structure capable of harvesting both solar and wind energy, using photovoltaic leaves that flutter in the wind to generate additional power. Preliminary research found that wind harvesting via this method is not sufficiently advanced at present to be commercially viable in the near term, however it remains a prospect fot the future. For now, SolarBotanic’s focus is on entering production later this year in order to deliver the solar trees to UK customers at the start of 2024. From there, the company plans to enter other markets, including Europe and the US, as well as develop customisable structures to suit other applications. These include large trees with integrated seating underneath to be used in town squares or pub gardens, with people able to charge their phones or even warm themselves up from inbuilt infrared heating fixtures. “There are quite alot of variations on the core theme,” Mr Shelley said. “Offgrid versions that don’t need to meet the electricity demands of an electric vehicle could serve as work or social areas in town squares with telephone and laptop charging, seating and shelter. “Beyond commercial and municipal uses, the trees could go in people’s gardens to supplement rooftop solar panel setups, or several of them could even meet the annual electrical requirement of a medium-sized house.” Read More Scientists figure out how to turn rocks into batteries Japan aims to beam solar power from space by 2025 Scientists break world record for solar power window material Electric cars could save more than 100,000 lives, study claims Scientists smash world record for solar power window material Instagram has stopped working properly

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 20, 2023--

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Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes may have again stalled the date by which she must report to prison by filing another appeal of her fraud conviction. Holmes was convicted by a federal jury of defrauding Theranos investors last year and was sentenced in November to just more than 11 years in prison. Holmes’s attorneys asked that she be allowed to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction, but a judge declined that request and ordered her to report to prison on April 27. Now, though, it seems the disgraced tech star might not have to begin her prison sentence until June at the earliest. On Monday, her attorney filed a new motion of appeal of her conviction — after which Holmes was granted an immediate stay of her prison-report date, according to NBC Bay Area. The state has 21 days to respond to the appeal, after which Holmes’s defence team will have a further three weeks to file a final motion. After the final motion is filed, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will consider her legal fate. The appeal filed this week is considered a longshot, but while that process is ongoing it is believed that Ms Holmes will remain free unless a judge orders her to report to prison. Holmes was back in the news last week after The New York Times published a long-form profile of her that was panned by a number of readers for its tone and credulity. Some critics, including the poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib, noted that Black people convicted of felonies are rarely given the same space to pitch their reformations to the media that the profile gave Holmes. Much of the article focused in part on Holmes as a mother. The former CEO gave birth to her first child in 2021 and her second child sometime around the beginning of 2023. Holmes’s former romantic partner and business partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was sentenced to just under 13 years in prison on conspiracy and fraud counts for his role in the Theranos situation. He began serving his prison sentence last month. Read More Elizabeth Holmes says actors are playing a ‘character I created’ in dramatisations of her downfall Elizabeth Holmes says she’s working on new inventions but admits ‘mistakes’ in first interview post trial OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI can go ‘quite wrong’ Regulation ‘critical’ to curb risk posed by AI, boss of ChatGPT tells Congress Sam Altman testifies before Congress saying there is ‘urgent’ need for regulation

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2023--

A teenager has gone viral on TikTok after leaving a heartwarming message on a stranger’s doorbell camera. Jacksen was walking around the neighbourhood with some friends who were playing ‘ding-dong ditch’, he walked ahead of his friends and went up to Ashley Mann’s house, looking into the camera and leaving an inspiring message. “If you can see me, then you matter, alright?” Jacksen said, “There’s always gonna be somebody that cares about you and you’re a good person no matter what people say, you matter.” One of the boys then runs up and rings the doorbell before running away, but Jacksen carries on with his message: “Ignore them, they’re losers. They’re ‘ding-dong ditching’ you, I’m just trying to say something nice. Like I don’t know what they’re doing, they’re running away and stuff. I’m just trying to say that you matter man, or girl, whoever you are you matter to someone. Just keep that in mind, don’t forget that.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Ashley posted the video to TikTok, which has now been reposted numerous times, with the original racking up over 5 million views. Ashley called the video a “random act of kindness”, and viewers agreed. The comment section was full of people applauding Jacksen’s kind words, and saying how well he has been raised. @ashleyfayeann Random acts of kindness ❤️ “That child has been raised right,” one user commented. Another agreed writing, “that’s so sweet! And from a teenager! He’s obviously been taught well!” “His words could’ve saved someone’s life,” a touched viewer pointed out. And they weren’t the only one to think so: “Messages like this often find the right person at the right time. Kid may not realise now but I hope one day it comes back to him when he needs it.” “Wow! This kid’s got more heart and soul than most adults I come across today and I’m in my 40s,” read another comment. In response to the outpour of love on social media, Ashley, Jacksen and his family have set up a mental health fundraiser on GoFundMe to encourage people to support those in need. “Hey everyone, My name is Ashley back on July 12th I uploaded a video from my doorbell camera to TikTok,” Ashley wrote on the fundraiser’s page. “Jacksen had decided to leave a very positive and uplifting message. I decided to share it to everyone because more people needed to see and hear it especially those who could be struggling. Little did I know it was going to go viral! “Jacksen’s family and I decided to do something with this and create this fundraiser to hopefully raise some money to donate to a local Mental Health resource in our community. Anything is welcomed and if you don’t want to donate please make sure to spread positivity anywhere you go.” She added. They have currently managed to raise over $400. Speaking to CBS News Minnesota, 13-year-old Jacksen said “I just saw the doorbell camera when we were walking to the gas station and I just thought maybe I should say something nice to it.” “Cause my friends were ‘ding-dong ditching’ those cameras, and I was like, you know what? How about I go say something nice? Maybe they need to hear it.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

SAG-AFTRA said they would blacklist those influencers who continued to work for organizations against which they were protesting