Learners Live

Did you Know?
Menu

President Signs AI Executive Order

William Attardi on June 19, 2026

President Trump signed an executive order on June 2 establishing a voluntary federal framework to address cybersecurity risks posed by advanced artificial intelligence systems. The final order asks developers of the most advanced AI models to voluntarily submit their systems for government review 30 days before public release, down from a previously proposed 90-day review period. The goal is to give federal agencies time to assess potential threats to financial systems, critical infrastructure, and national security networks. As AI-driven technologies are adopted across the economy, cybersecurity requirements throughout the electrical supply chain are likely to expand. The order signals growing federal attention to AI-related cyber risks, which could lead to new security expectations for distributors supporting energy infrastructure, industrial automation, smart buildings, data centers, and grid modernization projects. Washington Wire: Trade, Energy, Labor, and AI Policy Updates – tEDmag

Jeff Bezos Just Raised $12 Billion by Eric Bleeker

William Attardi on June 17, 2026

Jeff Bezos is back in an operating seat for the first time since stepping down from Amazon, pointing a $12 billion war chest at what he calls the engine of civilizational wealth: invention itself. The thesis is direct. Compress the loop from idea to manufactured product, and you mint the next Henry Ford or Elon Musk on a repeatable basis. Prometheus is a startup using AI to accelerate engineering and invention across the physical economy, with a roughly 150-person team based in San Francisco, London, and Zurich. The product description is ambitious: tools that function as “artificial general engineers,” treating design, simulation, and production as end-to-end machine learning problems. The marquee example Bezos used is jet engines. “What if instead of a team of 1000 people working for ten plus years to build a next generation of jet engine, what if they could do that in five years or two years or one year. Bezos summarized the underlying philosophy bluntly: “What drives civilizational wealth? And the answer is invention. Somebody invented the plow and we all got wealthier. Somebody invented the steam engine and we all got wealthier. Our goal at Prometheus is building a set of tools that accelerate that invention loop.” Jeff Bezos just raised $12 billion. He’s betting his newest business will create the next Elon Musk or Henry Ford

EV Adoption Accelerates In New Regions, Expanding Opportunities For Electrical Contractors

William Attardi on June 16, 2026

Electric vehicle adoption continues to gain momentum across the United States, but the latest data shows that the market is no longer driven solely by traditional EV strongholds on the West Coast. According to a recent analysis from StorageCafe, western states still dominate overall EV readiness and ownership, yet emerging markets in the South and Midwest are rapidly closing the gap. For electrical contractors, the findings highlight a continuing expansion of opportunities beyond established EV markets. As adoption spreads into new regions, demand is increasing for residential Level 2 charger installations, commercial charging projects, fleet electrification infrastructure, and utility upgrades.  EV Adoption Accelerates in New Regions, Expanding Opportunities for Electrical Contractors | EC&M

NEMA Celebrates Make It American™ Program’s First Anniversary with Landmark Schneider Electric Certification Milestone

William Attardi on June 16, 2026

In a first for American manufacturing, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) today announced that Schneider Electric has earned Make It AmericanTM certification for each of its 20-plus U.S. manufacturing facilities – the first company in the program’s history to certify its entire domestic manufacturing footprint. The milestone coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Make It American program’s launch and underscores the growing momentum among American manufacturers to demonstrate and validate their commitment to domestic production. NEMA Celebrates Make It American™ Program’s First Anniversary with Landmark Schneider Electric Certification Milestone – NEMA

Amazon Announces Agreement with Corning to Boost U.S. Fiber Optics Manufacturing

William Attardi on June 11, 2026

Amazon announced a multibillion-dollar agreement with Corning Incorporated, a leading manufacturer of advanced glass and fiber optic technology, to supply the optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions that power Amazon’s expanding data center infrastructure across the United States. The investment will create 1,000 new, highly skilled jobs at Corning’s manufacturing facilities across North Carolina, and support hundreds of additional construction jobs to expand Corning’s facilities. Through the agreement, Amazon will work with Corning on a new program that will expand its Fiber Optic Technician Training Program with Catawba Valley Community College to train students for careers in fiber optic manufacturing and related technical roles. https://www.ledinside.com/news/2026/6/2026_06_10_03

Report: Global Data Center Capex Projection Passes $1 Trillion

William Attardi on June 11, 2026

According to a recently published report by Dell’Oro Group, the worldwide data center capex outlook for 2026 was raised as hyperscale AI deployments accelerated, complemented by continued investments in general-purpose infrastructure and rising component costs. Dell’Oro Group’s Data Center IT Capex Quarterly Report details the data center infrastructure capital expenditures of each of the ten largest Cloud service providers Additional highlights from the 1Q 2026 Data Center IT Capex Quarterly Report:

  • The global data center capex outlook was raised to more than $1 trillion for 2026.
  • The Top 4 US cloud providers—Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft—increased data center capex by 78 percent.
  • Dell led server OEM revenue in the quarter, followed by Supermicro and Lenovo, while white-box vendors serving the hyperscale market accounted for the majority of server revenue. Nearly all server vendors benefited from higher memory-driven system pricing.

Report: Global Data Center Capex Projection Passes $1 Trillion

TSMC Says It Can’t Meet Chip Demand

William Attardi on June 4, 2026

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing company, says it will take “a very long time” to meet the current computer chip demand due to AI. CEO C.C. Wei says the ongoing demand for advanced computing and cutting-edge semiconductors will not slow down due to the growth of AI. TSMC recently invested nearly $165 billion to increase manufacturing at it’s U.S. location in Arizona. The investment is expected to play a significant role in supporting U.S. customers over the long term. But, Wei admitted that fully meeting domestic demand through American production alone will take a “very long time.” Business News Today – tEDmag

 

Electrical Wholesaling’s 2026 Top 100 Ranking

William Attardi on June 4, 2026

This year’s listing of the largest electrical distributors in North America is sponsored by LEDVANCE. Electrical Wholesaling’s2026 Top 100 electrical distributors remain quite bullish on their 2026 sales prospects despite economic uncertainty in the overall economy because of the war in Iran, the related spike in inflation, a still-slumbering residential market and sluggish new office construction in many metros. Despite these concerns, the average 2025 revenue increase for the 70-plus distributors who provided sales data was +9.3%. Data centers were by far the most common large construction projects mentioned by Top 100 execs. Leon Mowadia, COO, Facility Solutions Group (FSG) , Austin, TX, said FSG has also worked on several large Manhattan office buildings, as well as Netflix’s studio being built in Fort Monmouth, NJ, and other large commercial projects in Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles.  Electrical Wholesaling’s 2026 Top 100 Ranking | Electrical Wholesaling

Successfully Incorporating AI Into Building by Gretchen Catlin

William Attardi on June 4, 2026

Operations Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as one of the most practical tools: not as a replacement for skilled staff, but as a workforce multiplier that captures knowledge, sharpens decisions and extends the capacity of the teams we have. Key Takeaways:

  • With a large portion of the facilities workforce nearing retirement, AI can help preserve critical institutional knowledge before it is lost.
  • AI can improve facility operations by supporting predictive maintenance, analyzing data and streamlining everyday tasks such as communications, documentation and capital planning.
  • Organizations can successfully adopt AI by starting with small, practical applications while addressing cybersecurity, cost and workforce training considerations.

Successfully Incorporating AI Into Building Operations – Facilities Management Insights

Walmart Enters the Facility Services Industry by Elaina Myers

William Attardi on June 3, 2026

Walmart is stepping into the facility services arena. Known for running one of the largest retail operations in the world, the company is turning the maintenance experience behind its thousands of stores into a commercial service for businesses nationwide. Upstream Facility Serviceswas launched in April 2026 and will use the same systems and technician network Walmart uses to maintain its stores and Sam’s Club locations. Upstream will offer HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing, electrical and general maintenance services combined with urgent repair responses and preventive and predictive strategies. The goal is to reduce downtime, extend asset life and improve operational consistency, according to the company. Because of the high volume of Walmart locations, they will be able to deploy technicians close to customer locations nationwide. This density could offer faster response times than other regional vendors.  Walmart Enters the Facility Services Industry – Facility Management Maintenance & Operations Quick Read

Remembering the Solemn Purpose of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday in May to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. The holiday traces its roots to the years immediately following the American Civil War (1861–1865), which caused massive casualties—roughly 620,000 soldiers dead, about 2% of the U.S. population at the time. Communities across the North and South began spontaneously decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, wreaths, and flags, a practice that gave rise to the original name: Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—a powerful Union veterans’ organization—issued General Order No. 11. This proclaimed May 30, 1868, as a nationwide “Decoration Day” to honor those who died in the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday expanded to honor all American service members who died in any war, not just the Civil War.  In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create more three-day weekends for federal employees. This moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, effective in 1971, when it was also officially named “Memorial Day.” As one 1868 quote put it: “That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself.”