English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Abilene, TX

OpenAI and compute partner Oracle have reportedly abandoned a planned expansion of their flagship Stargate datacenter, after negotiations were stalled by financing and Sam Altman's apparent fear of commitment.

This scuttlebutt comes courtesy of Bloomberg, which cites sources familiar with the matter who claim Oracle and OpenAI had planned to grow the Abilene, Texas, facility to as much as 2 gigawatts of capacity, up from the 1.2 gigawatt campus currently under development.

The cavitations responsible for derailing the plan were attributed to a combination of financing and OpenAI's inability to forecast demand effectively.

Now, Meta is reportedly in the running to lease the untapped and unbuilt capacity from the site's developer Crusoe after Nvidia stepped in to broker a deal.

According to Bloomberg, Nvidia put down a $150 million deposit on the future capacity before approaching Zuckercorp about maybe moving in together.

Naturally, El Reg reached out to all parties involved to find out what's really going on. Crusoe declined to comment; we'll let you know if we hear back from anyone else.

Since announcing the $500 billion Stargate initiative just over a year ago, OpenAI has tapped Oracle to deploy 4.5 gigawatts of compute capacity to fuel model development and services. That contract, which Oracle values at $300 billion over its lifetime, is apparently still on track.

Making good on that commitment will require taking on a lot of debt. This week Oracle announced plans to raise an additional 50 billion in debt and equity to finance its datacenter aspirations.

However, it seems the financing won't arrive in time to save Oracle and OpenAI's expansion plans.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg meanwhile is happy to burn capital to secure as much datacenter capacity as he can lay his eyes on.

During the Social Network's Q4 earnings call in January, it announced its intention to plow up to $135 billion, roughly equivalent of Kenya's gross domestic product, into capital expenditures with an eye for GPU compute capacity.

Meta isn't alone. Combined, the eight largest hyperscalers that's – Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu — are expected to spend a collective $710 billion, much of it on bit barns and the GPUs and other trappings that go into them in 2026 alone.

While Oracle and OpenAI may not be moving forward with the Abilene expansion, Altman and crew are going to need to find somewhere to perk 5 gigawatts worth of GPUs to claim the $30 billion carrot Nvidia has offered it as part of the $110 billion funding round announced last week in collaboration with SoftBank and Amazon. ®

The UT Arlington Mavericks and Abilene Christian Wildcats meet Saturday in college basketball action at the Moody Coliseum. Here’s a UT Arlington vs. Abilene Christian prediction. This article will include a UT Arlington vs. Abilene Christian pick.

UT Arlington Mavericks Betting Preview

The UT Arlington Mavericks lost to Cal Baptist and beat Tarleton State. UT Arlington has lost 7 of its last 9 games.

The UT Arlington Mavericks are averaging 72.9 points on 44.2 percent shooting and allowing 69.6 points on 42.2 percent shooting. Marcell McCreary is averaging 12.9 points and 5.1 rebounds, while Raysean Seamster is averaging 12.3 points and 6.5 rebounds. Cash Chavis is the third double-digit scorer and Bahsil Laster is grabbing 2.5 rebounds. The UT Arlington Mavericks are shooting 29 percent from beyond the arc and 71.3 percent from the free throw line. The UT Arlington Mavericks are allowing 27.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35 rebounds per game.

Abilene Christian Wildcats Betting Preview

The Abilene Christian Wildcats lost to Utah Valley and California Baptist. Abilene Christian has lost 4 of its last 5 games.

The Abilene Christian Wildcats are averaging 72.6 points on 43.6 percent shooting and allowing 74.7 points on 49.4 percent shooting. Bradyn Hubbard is averaging 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds, while Cbo Newton is averaging 10.1 points and 2.1 rebounds. Yaniel Rivera is dishing out 2.3 assists and Rich Smith is grabbing 3.9 rebounds. The Abilene Christian Wildcats are shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc and 70.3 percent from the free throw line. The Abilene Christian Wildcats are allowing 38.9 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 29.4 rebounds per game.

UT Arlington vs Abilene Christian Prediction

I’m not excited to get behind either of these teams as they’re both in shaky form. The difference is UT Arlington is the better defensive side and has shown us more flashes over the course of the season. Abilene Christian hasn’t been able to step up in competition at all and doesn’t play a lick of defense. Teams get whatever they want against Abilene Christian. While not playing well at the moment, it does feel like we’re getting the free bucket with the better team. Give me UT Arlington.

March 6 (Reuters) - Oracle and OpenAI have abandoned plans to expand a flagship artificial intelligence data center in Texas after ​negotiations dragged over financing and OpenAI's changing needs, Bloomberg News reported ‌on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The plan is part of the Stargate initiative, a project of up to $500 billion and 10 gigawatts that includes SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab, OpenAI ​and Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab. It was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in January ​2025.

In September, the companies had announced plans for an additional ⁠potential expansion of 600 megawatts near the flagship Stargate site in Abilene, ​Texas.

That capacity will now be fulfilled at one of the other data center ​campuses being built, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The Abilene site has eight buildings, which will be operated by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and two of them ​are already up and running, the source added. OpenAI and Oracle's plan ​to develop another 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity remains on track.

Technology companies have been pouring ‌billions ⁠of dollars into data centers to power generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Copilot, which require huge amounts of computing power.

The collapsed talks between Oracle and OpenAI created an opening for Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab to step in and consider ​leasing the planned ​expansion site in ⁠Abilene, Texas, from developer Crusoe, according to the Bloomberg News report. Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab helped facilitate the discussions.

Oracle and OpenAI are ​using Nvidia's AI semiconductors at the Stargate site, and the ​chip designer ⁠stepped in to make sure its products, rather than those of competitor Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab, would be used to power the expanded data center, the report ⁠said.

The Rehab is on the move.

West Texas Rehabilitation Center Board members, employees, clients and fans broke ground Thursday on a new 133,000-square-foot home in South Abilene.

“It'll be about 53,000 square feet bigger than what we're in now,” said Steve Martin, the Rehab’s president and CEO.

He went on to precisely detail how long the facility had been at 4601 Hartford St., saying “71 of the 73 years we've been in existence."

Martin added, “We started in a one room classroom in Bonham Elementary in 1953 as the Taylor County Society for Crippled Children. In 1955 as the West Texas Rehab, we moved to our Hartford Street location.”

The Rehab in that time has expanded into assisting clients of all ages with a wide range of ailments. Orthotics, prosthetics, pediatric and adult physical therapy, speech and occupational therapy and audiology, and the facility even offers end-of-life hospice.

None of that care is tied to a person’s ability to pay.

“The first thing we ask when you walk in the doors, ‘Are you going to need help paying your bill?’” Martin said. “If they need that help, we want to take that financial burden off of them.”

Donors provide that support, attracted to the Rehab through its annual telethon and other events.

“We see 850 patients a day in our three locations in Abilene, San Angelo and Ozona,” Martin said. “One-third of those patients get all or part of their care taken care of by our donors. So that's an incredible mission, and it's why we have so much community support for this organization."

Planning for the new location began in 2020 with Rehab trustees purchasing the property two years later and fundraising kicking in after that in 2023.

How much will it eventually cost?

“A little over $87 million, but I’m proud to say today that through foundations, private donors and individuals, we're only $200,000 away from that number,” Martin said. “It's awesome.”

The 16 acres of the new Rehab will allow for the installation of more equipment and facilities, including an outdoor walking track and a state-of-the-art swimming pool.

Located on Covenant Drive opposite Sam’s Club, the remaining 18 acres of the property Martin said will be commercially developed.

“There'll be restaurants, hotels, entertainment, retail, professional offices, all those things down here,” he said. “So it's really going to be a blessing not only to the Rehab but to the Abilene community.”

Martin said Rehab workers plan to move into their new building between October 2027 and April 2028.

Katie M. Gore is no stranger to making judgment calls. It’s something she’s done for years on the football field as an official and is now doing as Abilene’s newest municipal court judge.

Gore said she was drawn to the legal profession as a way to help others, taking cues from her parents’ careers as nurses.

She recalled that friends and neighbors would show up at all hours with questions or concerns, trusting her parents to help them navigate moments of fear or uncertainty.

“I was always interested in a profession where I felt like I could really help people – I just can’t do blood,” she said with a laugh.

There were no attorneys in her family, she said, and her attraction to the idea was cemented by the time she went to high school.

Personal Planning

Born and raised in Abilene, Gore graduated from Abilene High School in 2006 before heading to Texas Tech University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications in 2010.

Law school followed at Texas Tech University School of Law, and she has been licensed to practice law in Texas since November 2013.

While at Tech, a deeply personal experience helped clarify her professional path. Gore’s grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and her family suddenly found itself navigating complex legal territory without the benefit of estate planning documents or a clear roadmap.

“We really didn’t know what to do,” she said. “That’s when I realized how much good could be done in estate planning and probate. You’re helping families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.”

After law school, Gore began her legal career in Austin, working in the Estate Planning Department at Wells Fargo Bank, where she administered estates and trusts across jurisdictions nationwide.

In March 2014, she returned home to Abilene to work for First Financial Trust and Asset Management Company, managing investment, retirement, trust, and estate accounts for individuals, corporations, and nonprofit organizations. Her legal background also led her to specialize in Special Needs Trust administration.

By 2016, Gore had transitioned into private practice as an associate attorney with The Whitten Law Firm, P.C., with the bulk of her work focused on estate planning, probate, estate and trust administration, elder law, guardianship, and estate litigation.

She also gained experience in real estate, business formation, civil litigation, and the eviction process, including appeals.

Her work, she said, was deeply rewarding.

“People come to you during very sensitive times, whether it’s after a death, during incapacity, or when they’re finally confronting things they’ve been putting off,” Gore said. “… I always told my clients that I couldn’t take away the emotions, but I could take away the legal burden, so they had one less thing to carry. That was very rewarding to me.”

In January 2019, Gore opened her private practice when she was three months pregnant, a decision that marked a major change in her life’s direction in multiple ways.

“Most of my years in private practice have been by myself,” she said. “Doing that was a very big accomplishment for me.”

Gore admits it was “terrifying" starting her own business while pregnant.

“But it was the best decision I could have made for myself, both professionally and personally,” she said.

Here Comes the Judge

After nearly seven years in private practice, Gore began thinking about what might come next, again taking cues from her family.

While her mom had long term careers as an OB GYN nurse and working for the Abilene Independent School District, her dad was more exploratory, taking on many different careers within the field.

“That’s one of the areas my dad and I have always been alike,” she said. “We like to see what else is out there.”

Last summer, an Abilene City Council member mentioned an opening she hadn’t previously considered: Municipal Court judge.

“I thought, ‘What does the municipal court judge even do?’” she said.

After researching the role, she saw an opportunity to learn entirely new areas of law and continue serving the community in a different way.

“It’s exciting to learn something completely new,” she said. “I love learning, and this keeps my mind active.”

Gore applied for the position in July and was hired in November.

The Municipal Court handles Class C misdemeanor cases where the punishment is fine-only, along with ordinance violations, public nuisance cases, and certain real property and animal-related matters.

Tackles and Touchdowns

Outside the courtroom, Gore’s life is busy.

She is married to her husband, Zach, the chief misdemeanor prosecutor at the Taylor County District Attorney’s Office. They have a six-and-a-half-year-old daughter who, Gore noted, is “very serious about that half.”

The family also includes a dog named Elvis.

In addition to her desire to help others and yen to explore career options, Gore inherited another passion from her dad.

She is a football official, now entering her 10th year officiating games from youth leagues through high school and occasionally at the collegiate level.

Her father officiated football for decades, and the two spent eight years calling games together before his retirement.

“Now he comes and watches me on Friday nights, which is fun for him,” she said. “I love it, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”

When she’s not on the field or on the bench, Gore enjoys embroidery, traveling, cheering on the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and spending time with friends, many of whom she’s known since kindergarten.

“We all went off to school in different cities, and now we’re all back,” she said. “Abilene was a really great place to grow up and make friends, and now it’s a great place to raise a family.”

Looking back, Gore says it’s been meaningful to watch Abilene grow alongside her.

“The Abilene I graduated from isn’t the Abilene we have now,” she said. “Downtown has evolved so much, and we have so many things to do for kids and adults. It’s been really exciting to see that evolution happen in my lifetime.”