New World Screwworm Response: The IAEA and FAO launched a $1M, five-year research push to expand sterile-insect control for the New World screwworm as detections—including reported Texas cases—signal the pest’s return after decades. Public Health & Food Safety: A long-running study in Circulation links childhood intake of fructose drinks (soda, sports drinks, fruit juice) to higher later-life hypertension risk, with daily sugar-sweetened drinkers showing notably elevated odds. Texas Tech & Networks: Mavenir unveiled an agentic service assurance framework to automate multi-vendor network monitoring and operations, aiming to speed fault diagnosis and move toward autonomous network management. Geothermal Digital Twins: Fervo, NVIDIA, and PNNL announced an AI-powered geothermal digital twin platform to model subsurface behavior in real time and improve enhanced geothermal operations. Data Centers & Policy: Texas lawmakers face renewed pressure as cities and states loosen building rules to cut housing costs—while safety experts warn some changes could raise risk; meanwhile, data center backlash remains a bipartisan flashpoint. Automated Driving Safety: A Tesla crash in Katy killed a 76-year-old woman; investigators say the car was in automated driver-assistance mode, reigniting debate over driver tech.