Saturday's roundup covers a health emergency in the Pacific, a record cloud computing contract, a new dinosaur expansion, a missionary milestone, a disaster season scam warning, and fresh developments in science, space, business and consumer technology.
1. Current Affairs: Fiji Declares National Emergency as Meth Fuels the World's Fastest Growing HIV Epidemic
Fiji's government has declared a national emergency after health officials confirmed that roughly 1 in 60 adults in the Pacific island nation is now living with HIV, with infections having risen twelvefold since 2010. Public health specialists described the outbreak at the July AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro as the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world, with an estimated 9,000 cases and about two thirds of those infected between the ages of 20 and 34. Officials point to a parallel surge in crystal methamphetamine use, often injected, as a central driver of transmission. Fiji has long served as a transit point for methamphetamine moving between South America and eventual markets in Australia and New Zealand, and health experts say rising unemployment combined with wider drug availability since the COVID pandemic has accelerated the crisis. The government's emergency declaration is expected to expand needle exchange programs and HIV testing access nationwide. Source: NPR
2. AI: Akamai Signs Record $11.6 Billion Cloud Deal With Anthropic
Akamai announced a multi-year agreement worth $11.6 billion in contractual commitments from Anthropic, more than six times the size of a $1.8 billion deal between the two companies reported in May, making it the largest contract in Akamai's history. The expanded partnership will support Anthropic's growing computing demands using Akamai's distributed cloud infrastructure. As part of the arrangement, Akamai issued Anthropic a warrant for nonvoting preferred stock convertible into roughly 7.7 million shares, or up to about 5 percent of the company, with additional vesting tied to further spending that could push the deal's total value toward $20 billion. Akamai shares surged as much as 15 percent following the announcement, with shares of rival cloud providers CoreWeave and Cloudflare also ticking higher. The agreement underscores the scale of infrastructure investment now flowing into frontier AI developers as demand for computing capacity continues to outpace supply. Source: TechCrunch
3. Gaming: Frontier Developments Announces Prehistoric East Expansion for Jurassic World Evolution 3
Frontier Developments revealed that Jurassic World Evolution 3 will receive its sixth paid expansion, Prehistoric East, on September 29, arriving alongside a free 1.5 update for all players. The DLC introduces three new species, Gobisaurus, Yangchuanosaurus and a returning Tarbosaurus, the roughly ten meter, five tonne cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex that first appeared in Jurassic World Evolution 2, along with the feathered Sinosauropteryx as a full family unit. Park builders will also gain access to more than 230 new Chinese themed modular building pieces, including bilingual English and Mandarin signage options, plus thirteen new holograms and blueprints. The expansion continues Frontier's steady post-launch content strategy for its dinosaur park management franchise, which has relied on themed regional DLC packs to keep its builder community engaged between major releases. Source: Jurassic World Evolution
4. Faith: Latter-day Saint Missionary Force Tops 90,000 for the First Time in Church History
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that more than 90,000 missionaries are now serving worldwide, a record that breaks the previous high of 88,500 set in July and marks the first time the church's missionary force has crossed the threshold. Church officials attributed much of the surge to a November 2025 First Presidency policy change that lowered the minimum age for young women to serve from 19 to 18 following high school graduation, resulting in more than 30,000 women now serving, the largest cohort of sister missionaries in the faith's history. To accommodate the growth, the church opened 55 new missions in July, bringing the worldwide total to 506. Church leaders said the expansion reflects sustained growth in young adult participation even as the faith continues a period of rapid temple construction across multiple continents. Source: Church Newsroom
5. Scam Alert: FTC Warns of Post-Disaster Scams as Storm and Wildfire Season Continues
The Federal Trade Commission issued a National Preparedness Month advisory warning that scammers routinely follow severe storms, wildfires, heat waves and flooding by posing as government officials, charities or contractors offering cleanup and repair services. The agency said fraudsters often demand upfront payment for repairs that are never completed, solicit donations for disaster relief that never reach victims, or impersonate federal emergency officials to collect personal and financial information under the guise of processing aid applications. The FTC recommended verifying any contractor's license and insurance before signing an agreement or paying a deposit, confirming that a charity is registered before donating, and remembering that legitimate government disaster assistance never requires an upfront fee. Officials urged consumers to research contractors and charities independently rather than relying on unsolicited door to door or phone offers made in the aftermath of a disaster. Source: FTC Consumer Advice
6. Tech Tip: Switch to Passkeys Wherever a Service Offers Them
Cybersecurity officials continue to encourage consumers to replace traditional passwords with passkeys, a phishing resistant login method built on device based cryptography and biometrics rather than a typed credential that can be stolen or reused. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency counts passkeys among the strongest available forms of multi-factor authentication because the credential never crosses the network and is bound to the legitimate website, making it far harder for attackers to intercept or replicate compared with a password or a text message code. To set one up, users should check the security or sign-in settings of major accounts, including email, banking and cloud storage providers, most of which now support passkeys through Google, Microsoft, Apple or similar platforms, and follow the prompts to register a device's fingerprint, face scan or PIN in place of a password. Enabling passkeys on even a handful of high value accounts meaningfully reduces exposure to phishing and credential theft. Source: CISA
7. Science: Scented Cleaning Products Found to Flood Homes With Lung Penetrating Nanoparticles
Researchers presenting findings from a tiny home experiment reported that scent compounds in both conventional and botanical, essential oil based cleaning products react rapidly with ozone in the air to form nanoparticles small enough to lodge deep in the lungs. The team, led by Purdue University's Brandon Boor, found that mopping floors or spraying scented cleaner on countertops generated billions to trillions of particles, most between 1 and 30 nanometers wide, within minutes of use. The reaction is driven by terpenes, common scent compounds such as pinene and limonene, and researchers noted the effect intensifies when scented cleaning is combined with germicidal far-UV disinfection lamps that also generate ozone. Scientists said the resulting respiratory exposure can rival or exceed standing near a busy road and recommended switching to unscented products, running exhaust fans while cleaning and avoiding ozone generating devices to reduce indoor exposure. Source: ScienceDaily
8. Space: Artemis II Astronauts Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman Move to NASA Emeritus Status
NASA has named Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover to its emeritus program, a transition finalized this month at Johnson Space Center that allows the pair to continue mentoring current astronauts and mission teams in a part-time advisory capacity. Wiseman commanded the Artemis II mission around the moon earlier this year after previously spending 165 days aboard the International Space Station, while Glover, a former Navy test pilot and Crew-1 astronaut, served as pilot. Both are expected to advise NASA teams as preparations accelerate for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts near the lunar south pole. Glover has also taken on a new role at California Polytechnic State University focused on science and engineering education, which he began the same day he retired from the Navy. NASA said the emeritus designation lets the agency retain the astronauts' specialized expertise while giving them flexibility to pursue other opportunities. Source: NASA
9. Business and Finance: Genius Sports Shares Jump After JPMorgan Initiates Coverage at Overweight
Shares of sports data company Genius Sports rose roughly 10 to 13 percent after JPMorgan began coverage of the stock with an overweight rating and a December 2027 price target of $8, implying nearly 40 percent upside from recent levels near $5.80. Analyst Michael Hirsh cited a "scarce mix" of above market revenue growth, earnings visibility and improving profitability, projecting pro forma revenue growth of 18 percent annually through fiscal 2028 with roughly 42 percent of that growth flowing through to earnings. JPMorgan also pointed to Genius Sports' expanding footprint in prediction markets, including a data partnership with Kalshi and the recent launch of its Prediction.com platform, as a source of additional upside the bank called "optionality." The stock had lost nearly half its value this year amid a broader slowdown in online sports betting growth and scrutiny of the company's $1.2 billion acquisition of Legend Sports Media. Source: The Motley Fool
10. Consumer Tech: Google Lets Gemini Make Phone Calls on Your Behalf With New Pixel 11 Feature
Google has begun testing "Call for Me," a feature that allows Gemini to place phone calls to businesses on behalf of Pixel 11 owners enrolled in the Phone by Google public beta with a paid Gemini subscription. Once activated, users can ask Gemini to book a reservation, confirm an appointment, request an item be held at a store or make a similar routine request, and the assistant places the call using the owner's own phone number rather than a synthetic one. Users can listen in as the call happens and take over at any point, and Gemini sends a notification summarizing the outcome once the call ends. The feature, currently limited to the United States, echoes Google's earlier Duplex technology and reflects a broader industry push to let AI assistants complete real world tasks rather than simply answering questions. Source: TechCrunch
Written by Lonnon Jensen. Read more about the author.