Train Street, USA? ‘True’ high-speed rail breaks ground

In late April, construction officially begun on Brightline West, a $12 billion train that will transport passengers between Las Vegas and greater Los Angeles in less than two hours.

Ballyhooed by its backers as America's first true high-speed rail – take that, Acela – it is expected to be completed by the end of the decade and will shorten travel times for passengers and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating the need for the same number of vehicles and flights making the journey.

Developed by Brightline, the only privately-owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the U.S., the 218-mile system is also being funded by the federal government, which kicked in $3 billion as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure bill of 2021.  

Brightline West will run zero-emission, fully electric trains capable of speeds just under 200 mph, comparable to Japan’s famous bullet trains. While Brightline's speed is considered a milestone in most countries, the world's fastest trains remain in Shanghai, where speeds have reached nearly 300 mph.

“Today is long overdue, but the blueprint we’ve created with Brightline will allow us to repeat this model in other city pairs around the country,” said Brightline founder Wes Edens in a statement. Recognized by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies of 2024, the company also runs biodiesel-electric train service between Miami and Orlando with stops in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.

The benefits of Brightline West are expected to be massive, creating more than 35,000 jobs between construction and permanent operations and maintenance positions. It will also support Nevada and California's climate goals by providing a zero-emission mode of transportation that will reportedly cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 400,000 tons of CO2 annually, which equates to cutting more than 700 million car miles traveled annually or 16,000 short-haul flights.

12345? Try again

Any internet-connected device, from baby monitors to medical devices to routers and printers, can be turned against its user by hackers. The first line of defense is a strong password — and that’s the problem. “Password” is one of the most commonly used passwords in the world.

But the U.K. is making it harder for hackers with what believed to be the world’s-first ban on weak passwords like “password,” “12345” or “admin” for smart devices. Under a new law that took effect this week, manufacturers of smart devices are now legally obligated to secure their products against hackers and will be required by law to meet minimum-security standards. Brands must be open about the timing of security upgrades and provide contact information so that problems and defects may be reported.

"Today marks a new era where consumers can have greater confidence that their smart devices, such as phones and broadband routers, are shielded from cyber threats, and the integrity of personal privacy, data and finances better protected," said U.K. Data and Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez in a statement. "Our pledge to establish the U.K. as the global standard for online safety takes a big step forward with these regulations, moving us closer to our goal of a digitally secure future.”

The U.K. consumer group Which? has played a significant role in advocating for the new legislation. According to one of its studies, a smart device-filled home can be vulnerable to over 12,000 global hacking attempts in a single week, with 2,684 attempts to guess weak default passwords on just five gadgets. The Mirai attack of 2016 rendered most of the U.S. East Coast offline after 300,000 smart devices were infiltrated.

The blue gives a clue

A new lithium coin battery from Energizer produces a blue dye as soon as it comes into contact with moisture, like … saliva? With the help of the marker, parents can now instantly see if their kids have inadvertently choked on one.

This is noteworthy because so-called "button" batteries have been integrated into everything from culinary thermometers and smart watches to key fobs and remote controls. Unfortunately, their widespread use has been linked to a significant increase in the number of children swallowing the tiny batteries. Between 2010 and 2019, there were almost 70,300 emergency medical visits for battery-related incidents among youngsters. Approximately 85% of them were due to button batteries.

After an 18-month-old Texas toddler named Reese Hamsmith died after ingesting a button battery in 2020, her mother started a crusade that resulted in the passage of Reese’s Law in 2022, which strengthens safeguards around the batteries.

While Duracell has pioneered a transparent, non-toxic, bitter-tasting coating designed to help discourage swallowing, Energizer recently collaborated with the children's safety group Reese's Purpose to produce the safer lithium battery and even tougher childproof packaging.

The last line of defense in the new Energizer battery is its dotted, negative underside, which is referred to as "color alert technology." It releases a food-grade blue dye that is safe to eat when it comes into contact with moisture and has as much dye as an ounce of flavored sports drink.