By MARC LEVY

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — As outrage spreads over energy-hungry data centers, politicians from President Donald Trump to local lawmakers have found rare bipartisan agreement over insisting that tech companies — and not regular people — must foot the bill for the exorbitant amount of electricity required for artificial intelligence.

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But that might be where the agreement ends.

The price of powering data centers has become deeply intertwined with concerns over the cost of living, a dominant issue in the upcoming midterm elections that will determine control of Congress and governors’ offices.

Some efforts to address the challenge may be coming too late, with energy costs on the rise. And even though tech giants are pledging to pay their “fair share,” there’s little consensus on what that means.

“‘Fair share’ is a pretty squishy term, and so it’s something that the industry likes to say because ‘fair’ can mean different things to different people,” said Ari Peskoe, who directs the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard University.

It’s a shift from last year, when states worked to woo massive data center projects and Trump directed his administration to do everything it could to get them electricity. Now there’s a backlash as towns fight data center projects and some utilities’ electricity bills have risen quickly.

Anger over the issue has already had electoral consequences, with Democrats ousting two Republicans from Georgia’s utility regulatory commission in November.

“Voters are already connecting the experience of these facilities with their electricity costs and they’re going to increasingly want to know how government is going to navigate that,” said Christopher Borick, a pollster and director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.

Energy race stokes concerns

Data centers are sprouting across the U.S., as tech giants scramble to meet worldwide demand for chatbots and other generative AI products that require large amounts of computing power to train and operate.

The buildings look like giant warehouses, some dwarfing the footprints of factories and stadiums. Some need more power than a small city, more than any utility has ever supplied to a single user, setting off a race to build more power plants.

The demand for electricity can have a ripple effect that raises prices for everyone else. For example, if utilities build more power plants or transmission lines to serve them, the cost can be spread across all ratepayers.

Concerns have dovetailed with broader questions about the cost of living, as well as fears about the powerful influence of tech companies and the impact of artificial intelligence.

Trump continues to embrace artificial intelligence as a top economic and national security priority, although he seemed to acknowledge the backlash last month by posting on social media that data centers “must ‘pay their own way.’”

At other times, he has brushed concerns aside, declaring that tech giants are building their own power plants, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright contends that data centers don’t inflate electricity bills — disputing what consumer advocates and independent analysts say.

States moving to regulate

Some states and utilities have started to identify ways to get data centers to pay for their costs.

They’ve required tech companies to buy electricity in long-term contracts, pay for the power plants and transmission upgrades they need and make big down payments in case they go belly-up or decide later they don’t need as much electricity.

FILE – High-voltage transmission lines provide electricity to data centers in Ashburn in Loudon County, Virginia, on July 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

But it might be more complicated than that. Those rules can’t fix the short-term problem of ravenous demand for electricity that is outpacing the speed of power plant construction, analysts say.

“What do you do when Big Tech, because of the very profitable nature of these data centers, can simply outbid grandma for power in the short run?” Abe Silverman, a former utility regulatory lawyer and an energy researcher at Johns Hopkins University. “That is, I think, going to be the real challenge.”

Some consumer advocates say tech companies’ fair share should also include the rising cost of electricity, grid equipment or natural gas that’s driven by their demand.

In Oregon, which passed a law to protect smaller ratepayers from data centers’ power costs, a consumer advocacy group is jousting with the state’s largest utility, Portland General Electric, over its plan on how to do that.

Meanwhile, consumer advocates in various states — including Indiana, Georgia and Missouri — are warning that utilities could foist the cost of data center-driven buildouts onto regular ratepayers there.

Pushback from lawmakers, governors

Utilities have pledged to ensure electric rates are fair. But in some places it may be too late.

For instance, in the mid-Atlantic grid territory from New Jersey to Illinois, consumer advocates and analysts have pegged billions of dollars in rate increases hitting the bills of regular Americans on data center demand.

Legislation, meanwhile, is flooding into Congress and statehouses to regulate data centers.

Democrats’ bills in Congress await Republican cosponsors, while lawmakers in a number of states are floating moratoriums on new data centers, drafting rules for regulators to shield regular ratepayers and targeting data center tax breaks and utility profits.

Governors — including some who worked to recruit data centers to their states — are increasingly talking tough.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat running for reelection this year, wants to impose a penny-a-gallon water fee on data centers and get rid of the sales tax exemption there that most states offer data centers. She called it a $38 million “corporate handout.”

“It’s time we make the booming data center industry work for the people of our state, rather than the other way around,” she said in her state-of-the-state address.

FILE – People opposed to a data center proposal at the former Pennhurst state hospital grounds talk during a break in an East Vincent Township supervisors meeting, Dec. 17, 2025, in Spring City, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy, file)

Blame for rising energy costs

Energy costs are projected to keep rising in 2026.

Republicans in Washington are pointing the finger at liberal state energy policies that favor renewable energy, suggesting they have driven up transmission costs and frayed supply by blocking fossil fuels.

“Americans are not paying higher prices because of data centers. There’s a perception there, and I get the perception, but it’s not actually true,” said Wright, Trump’s energy secretary, at a news conference earlier this month.

The struggle to assign blame was on display last week at a four-hour U.S. House subcommittee hearing with members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Republicans encouraged FERC members to speed up natural gas pipeline construction while Democrats defended renewable energy and urged FERC to limit utility profits and protect residential ratepayers from data center costs.

FERC’s chair, Laura Swett, told Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, that she believes data center operators are willing to cover their costs and understand that it’s important to have community support.

“That’s not been our experience,” Landsman responded, saying projects in his district are getting tax breaks, sidestepping community opposition and costing people money. “Ultimately, I think we have to get to a place where they pay everything.”

Follow Marc Levy on X at: https://x.com/timelywriter

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Business Writer

Wendy’s is closing several hundred U.S. restaurants and increasing its focus on value after a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter.

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The Dublin, Ohio-based company said Friday that its global same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 10% in the October-December period. That was worse than the 8.5% drop expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

U.S. same-store sales fell even further in the fourth quarter. Wendy’s said late last year that it planned to close underperforming U.S. restaurants, but it gave more details about those closures Friday.

Wendy’s said it already closed 28 restaurants in the fourth quarter and ended 2025 with 5,969 U.S. locations. It expects to close between 5% and 6% of its U.S. restaurants – or 298 to 358 locations – in the first half of this year.

Those actions come on top of the closure of 240 U.S. Wendy’s locations in 2024. At the time, the 57-year-old chain said many of its locations are simply out of date.

Like McDonald’s, Taco Bell and other rivals, Wendy’s also plans to emphasize value as it tries to win back inflation-weary customers.

“One learning from 2025 around value, we swung the pendulum too far towards limited-time price promotions instead of everyday value,” said Ken Cook, Wendy’s interim CEO and chief financial officer, in a conference call with investors.

In January, Wendy’s introduced a permanent “Biggie Deals” value menu with three price tiers: $4 Biggie Bites, $6 Biggie Bags and an $8 Biggie Bundle. Cook said Wendy’s also has new products coming this year, including a new chicken sandwich.

Wendy’s said its revenue fell 5.5% in the fourth quarter to $543 million. That was higher than the $537 million analysts had forecast.

Wendy’s expressed confidence that its U.S. turnaround plans and international growth will help arrest its sales slide this year. The company said it expects global systemwide sales — which includes sales at both company-owned and franchised restaurants — will be flat this year. Systemwide sales fell 3.5% last year.

Wendy’s shares rose nearly 5% in mid-day trading Friday.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

WASHINGTON (AP) — Colorectal cancer is a threat not just to older adults but increasingly to young men and women, too. It’s now the top cancer killer of Americans younger than 50.

The deaths of “Dawson’s Creek” actor James Van Der Beek at 48 this week, and a few years ago “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman at 43, highlight the risk for younger adults.

FILE – Actor Chadwick Boseman appears at an interview for the film, “Marshall,” in Washington on Sept. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

“We’re now starting to see more and more people in the 20-, 30- and 40-year-old range developing colon cancer. At the beginning of my career, nobody that age had colorectal cancer,” said Dr. John Marshall of Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, who has been a cancer doctor for more than three decades.

That trend “is shaking us all, to be blunt,” said Marshall, who is also medical consultant to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.

Here’s what to know about colorectal cancer — at any age — and how to protect yourself.

How common is colorectal cancer?

More than 158,000 cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Among all ages, it’s the nation’s second leading cancer killer, behind lung cancer — expected to claim more than 55,000 lives this year.

For the population overall, cases and deaths have inched down in recent years. That’s thanks in part to screening tests that can spot tumors early, when they’re easier to treat — or even prevent them if precancerous growths are found and removed.

Who’s most at risk?

The vast majority of colorectal cancer cases and deaths still are in people 50 and older. That older age group has seen the most progress, with deaths dropping by about 1.5% a year over the past decade, according to cancer society statistics.

But while it’s still relatively rare in the under-50 crowd, their colorectal cancer diagnoses have been rising since the early 2000s.

And last month, cancer society researchers reported that colorectal cancer mortality in Americans under 50 had increased by 1.1% a year since 2005, becoming the deadliest cancer in that age group. This year, the society estimates 3,890 people under age 50 will die of it.

Risk factors at any age include obesity, lack of physical activity, a diet high in red or processed meat and low in fruits and vegetables, smoking, heavy alcohol use, having inflammatory bowel disease or a family history of colorectal cancer.

Marshall advises everyone to eat lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. “Meat’s not evil” but eat less of it, he said.

And a recent study found that a three-year exercise program improved survival in colon cancer patients and reduced cancer recurrence.

What are the symptoms of colorectal cancer?

Symptoms include blood in stool or rectal bleeding; changes in bowel habits such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of stool that lasts more than a few days; unintended weight loss; and cramps or abdominal pain.

“Don’t ignore symptoms. Get it checked,” Marshall stressed. Survival is far more likely when colorectal cancer is diagnosed early, before it spreads.

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When to get screened for colorectal cancer

Medical guidelines say the average person should start getting screened at age 45 — too late for some young adults.

People known to be at higher risk are supposed to talk with their doctors about whether to start screening even earlier.

How often people need to get checked depends on the type of screening they choose. There are a variety of options, including yearly stool-based tests or colonoscopies that may be done every 10 years as long as no problems were found. There’s also a newer blood test for adults 45 or older.

What’s causing the colorectal cancer rise in younger adults?

No one knows what’s causing the rise in cases in younger adults. But Georgetown’s Marshall said many young patients lack common risk factors. He wonders if changes in young people’s gut bacteria — the microbiome — might play a role.

Also, where cancer occurs along the question mark-shaped colon — it starts on one side of the abdomen and swoops to the other before ending with the rectum — influences how aggressive it is and how it’s treated. Marshall said there’s a marked difference in where younger and older people’s tumors tend to strike, another clue being explored.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By MORIAH BALINGIT

In one testimonial after another, teachers detailed all the ways President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has shaped their work and the lives of their students.

In a court filing Thursday, educators around the country described rumors of immigration raids that scared away students, immigrant parents who stopped sending their children to school altogether, and stories of parents and students — including one middle schooler — being picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at school bus stops.

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The stories were shared as part of a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy that opened up schools, houses of worship and medical facilities to immigration enforcement. The lawsuit was filed last year by an Oregon farmworkers union and a group of churches that argued the policy change was “arbitrary and capricious.” The American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and three preschool employees joined the suit in September.

As the impacts of immigration enforcement on schools and health care facilities grew, the plaintiffs filed a petition asking a judge to halt the Trump administration policy as the lawsuit proceeds.

“In recent months — and escalating in the past several weeks — immigration enforcement agents have made startling incursions into cities and towns around the country, including unprecedented and unrestrained surges in and around vital community institutions such as schools and healthcare facilities,” attorneys wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Administration officials have defended the policy in the past, saying that making schools, churches and other spaces off-limits to immigration enforcement could make them refuges for criminals.

Officials have said Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not target schools for enforcement operations, but there have been several instances in recent months where immigration authorities have pursued or detained people on or near school property.

A new policy opened the door to arrests at schools

The government for more than three decades had barred immigration authorities from making arrests in schools and houses of worship. That policy was updated over the years to include other “protected areas,” such as hospitals and homeless shelters, to prevent enforcement actions that would restrict access to essential services and activities.

Shortly after Trump took office, his administration rescinded that policy, instead issuing a four-paragraph memo that advised officers to use “a healthy dose of common sense” when deciding whether to make arrests near “protected areas.”

As Trump has ramped up his efforts to deport millions of people, some of the arrests have been made near schools during pick-up and drop-off hours. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include a trio of educators from an Oregon preschool, where ICE agents attempted to arrest a man in the parking lot after he dropped off his infant son.

In Chelsea, Massachusetts, teachers union president Kathryn Anderson said immigration enforcement has been more disruptive to learning than the COVID pandemic, which moved school online for months. The school system lost a significant number of students this year and absenteeism is higher than usual.

“Right now, kids of all backgrounds are being prevented from going to school because of the extremely real fear that either they or their family members will be separated,” said Anderson, who is not part of the lawsuit. “As an educator … having to help kids move through and exist in that fear (has) been a near impossible task.”

During a Chicago operation in October, agents released tear gas that engulfed a school playground. They later arrested a teacher inside of her preschool during morning drop-off. DHS said agents had attempted to pull over the car she was riding in before she got to school and said she barricaded herself inside, forcing agents to enter. The woman, who has work authorization, was eventually released.

In Minneapolis, agents scuffled with bystanders after pursuing a man onto a high school campus as school was ending for the day.

Teachers describe fear trickling into classrooms

The court filing included testimony from 60 teachers and health care workers from 18 states who described how immigration enforcement near their schools and medical facilities has challenged their work. All submitted their testimony anonymously.

One middle school teacher said half of students stayed home amidst a rumor about immigration enforcement nearby. The following month, a student at the school was detained while at a bus stop.

Elsewhere, a speech pathologist described tearful meetings with immigrant parents fearful that signing documents to get their child special education services would draw the attention of immigration enforcement.

A high school teacher said many students, including immigrants still learning English, switched to virtual learning after a parent was arrested by ICE at a school bus stop. But the virtual option is only offered in English, and the teacher said they feared the students are falling behind.

A teacher at a another school said a student was detained by ICE at a school bus stop and never returned to class after being released. Now, when students ask whether they can be arrested at school, “I can no longer reassure them that campus is safe from ICE.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.