Grocery Tech & Competition: Kroger agreed to buy Giant Eagle for $1.65B, paying $1.25B cash and assuming about $400M in liabilities, adding roughly 200 stores across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic—an expansion that leans on Kroger’s ecommerce and personalized shopping tech. Environmental Protection: Pennsylvania DEP proposed updates to PFAS “forever chemical” safeguards for biosolids land application, adding PFOS/PFOA monitoring and reduction plans, and allowing food waste in digesters. AI & Public Safety: A DHS inspector general report says the Secret Service missed multiple chances to stop the 2024 Butler, Pa. assassination attempt, including failures to act on more than 100 radio warnings and a counter-drone system malfunction. Tech Policy & Privacy: Police AI use is accelerating while rules lag, raising concerns about surveillance, bias, and courtroom challenges. STEM Education: Penn State DuBois and the North Central Pennsylvania LaunchBox ran a Summer Tech Camp for grades 6–12, pairing cybersecurity and additive manufacturing with 3D printing. Climate & Health: A heat wave study says extreme conditions would be “virtually impossible” without fossil-fuel pollution, as heat strains grids and outdoor plans. Local Tech Governance: Greenwood County revised its data center ordinance ahead of a final vote, tightening rules on setbacks, noise, generators, and expansion.