ID ); $exclude_types = array( '' ); $exclude_types = apply_filters( 'eat_exclude_types', $exclude_types ); // do nothing if the post has already a featured image set if ( $already_has_thumb ) { return; } // do the job if the post is not from an excluded type if ( ! in_array( $post_type, $exclude_types ) ) { // get first attached image $img = rv_auto_featured_image_catch_that_image( $post ); $attachment_id = attachment_url_to_postid( $img ); if ( $attachment_id ) { // add attachment ID add_post_meta( $post->ID, '_thumbnail_id', $attachment_id, true ); } } } // set featured image before post is displayed (for old posts) add_action( 'the_post', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); // hooks added to set the thumbnail when publishing too add_action( 'new_to_publish', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); add_action( 'draft_to_publish', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); add_action( 'pending_to_publish', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); add_action( 'future_to_publish', 'rv_auto_featured_image_add_thumbnail' ); function rv_auto_featured_image_catch_that_image( $post ) { // Find the images in the post_content. $output = preg_match_all( '//i', $post->post_content, $matches ); $first_img = isset( $matches[1][0] ) ? $matches[1][0]:''; // if no images found, do nothing if ( empty ( $first_img ) ) { return false; } return $first_img; } } Senator Warns That US, a Regulatory ‘Dinosaur,’ Losing Edge in Nuclear Innovation – BCI 24 News Network
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Senator Warns That US, a Regulatory ‘Dinosaur,’ Losing Edge in Nuclear Innovation

26 February 2025 12:06 PM
BCI 24 News Network

WASHINGTON—Americans invented nuclear power, were the first to commercialize it for electric generation, and are spearheading global innovation in small modular reactors and other emerging technologies that will revolutionize 21st century energy and economies.
But the United States is a regulatory “dinosaur” and without dramatic revisions in licensing and permitting—and federal subsidies for pioneering “first movers”—Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) fears the nation will “surrender this leadership” in nuclear energy development to Russia and China within a decade and never regain its edge.
Since 2017, “Russian and Chinese reactor designs have accounted for 87 percent of new installed nuclear reactors worldwide,” he told public utility commissioners, state regulators, and electric grid operators attending the National Association of Regional Utility Commissioners (NARUC) at The Westin DC Downtown on Feb. 25….