Zanskar uses AI to identify hidden geothermal systems--and claims it has found one that could fuel a power plant, the first such discovery by industry in decades. A geothermal startup said Thursday that it has hit gold in Nevada--metaphorically speaking. Zanskar, which uses AI to find hidden geothermal resources deep underground, says that it has identified a new commercially viable site for a potential power plant. The discovery, the company claims, is the first of its kind made by the industry in decades. The find is the culmination of years of research on how to find these resources--and points to the growing promise of geothermal energy .

In the high desert east of Reno, Nevada, construction crews are flattening the golden foothills of the Virginia Range, laying the foundations of a data center city. Google, Tract, Switch, EdgeCore, Novva, Vantage, and PowerHouse are all operating, building, or expanding huge facilities nearby. Meanwhile, Microsoft has acquired more than 225 acres of undeveloped property, and Apple is expanding its existing data center just across the Truckee River from the industrial park. The corporate race to amass computing resources to train and run artificial intelligence models and store information in the cloud has sparked a data center boom in the desert--and it's just far enough away from Nevada's communities to elude wide notice and, some fear, adequate scrutiny. This story is part of Power Hungry: AI and our energy future--our new series shining a light on the energy demands and carbon costs of the artificial intelligence revolution.

Yes, it's time to dive back into that glitzy, chaotic showcase where thousands of startups, companies, and general technology weirdos gather to show off all the new tech and futuristic devices that will give us a glimpse of the year in tech to come. AI is in everything, we're getting ChatGPT in our flying cars, and TVs are getting so big and bright you need sunglasses to watch them. This week on Gadget Lab, we come to you straight from lovely Las Vegas, Nevada, where CES is in full swing. Follow CES on our liveblog and check out many, many bizarre and wonderful things we saw at CES this year. Check out wehead.com, if you dare.

The California department of motor vehicles has approved Mercedes-Benz's automated driving system on designated highways under certain conditions without the active control of a driver. California is one of Tesla's largest markets, accounting for 16% of the carmaker's global deliveries last year, according to Reuters calculations. But the German carmaker beat Tesla to become the first carmaker to receive authorization to sell or lease cars with an automated driving system to the public in California. The approval was granted to Level 3 Mercedes-Benz "Drive Pilot" system that allows a driver to legally take their eyes off the wheel but must be available to resume control in need. The "Drive Pilot" system can only operate on highways during daylight at speeds not exceeding 40mph, the DMV said.

Elon Musk has created a new artificial intelligence company called X.AI that is incorporated in Nevada, according to a state filing. Mr. Musk is the only listed director of the company, and Jared Birchall, the director of Mr. Musk's family office, is its secretary, according to the filing made last month. X.AI has authorized the sale of 100 million shares for the privately held company.

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Texas authorities claim Nevada law enforcement failed to inform them when a woman accused of stabbing a man inside a Las Vegas-area hotel room in an apparent act of revenge relocated to Dallas. Nika Nikoubin, 22, has been on house arrest in Texas since at least June 2022 after posting bond and being released from a Las Vegas jail, court records show. She has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and battery in connection with the March 5, 2022, stabbing at a casino-hotel southeast of Las Vegas.

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz has been certified for level 3 autonomous driving system in Nevada, marking a first for any automaker in the country. This essentially allows the manufacturer to produce cars in which drivers can legally take their eyes off the wheel and do secondary tasks, but still requires drivers to be prepared to take back control should the situation require their attention. However, earlier in March, Mercedes-Benz boldly claimed responsibility for crashes that would come after a driver engages the car's advanced driver assistance system. Once it's turned on, the driver is no longer legally liable, but Mercedes-Benz is. "By the end of last year (2021), we were the first [automaker] to get international certification for a Level 3 system," said Gregor Kugelmann, senior development manager at Drive Pilot, the automated driving system employed by Mercedes-Benz.

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. The National Park Service (NPS) said Wednesday that a body had been recovered near Lake Mead's Boulder Islands. An adult woman had gone missing in Nevada's Lake Mead National Recreation Area on June 30, 2022. Park rangers located and recovered the body with the use of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).

If you spend time around transgender people, you may notice, on badges and buttons, on sewn patches, or even as a tattoo, the sigil "T4T," or "t4t." The characters stand for "trans for trans," and the usage began as shorthand on dating sites. Imogen Binnie's "Nevada" might be, in that extended, contentious sense, the first t4t novel. Published in 2013 by the trans-focussed (and now defunct) Topside Press, and just reissued by the mainstream trade publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux, "Nevada" is hardly the first novel about trans characters, or the first by a trans author for the queer community--Leslie Feinberg got there in 1993, with "Stone Butch Blues." Still, "Nevada" seemed to be the first book-length realist novel about trans women, in American English, with an ISBN on it, that was not only written by one of us but written for us.

Is anyone going to CES this year? A long-simmering question in the tech world will finally get its answer as the influential gadget show returns to the Las Vegas Strip after a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We know it will be a smaller show this year, for obvious reasons," said Jean Foster, senior vice president at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the event's organiser. Several huge tech companies have abandoned plans to attend in person. The latest sign of its dwindling size was Friday's announcement that CES will run one day shorter than originally planned.