Wildfire Health: New research and reporting highlight how wildfire smoke is especially dangerous for pregnancy, with toxins linked to worse birth outcomes—an urgent issue as Oregon and the Northwest keep seeing unhealthy air. Firefighting & Climate Risk: Crews around Spokane are making progress against major blazes, but containment isn’t complete and hotter, drier weather could worsen conditions, keeping smoke impacts widespread. Wildlife Safety Tech: Oregon and Utah are expanding wildlife crossings—over 130 so far—to cut deadly animal-vehicle crashes, using fencing plus underpasses/overpasses to guide animals safely. AI Infrastructure: A new explainer on hyperscalers shows how major AI data-center operators are driving massive computing spend, with real consequences for power grids and local economies. Health Startup: SkinBit raised $6M pre-seed to bring full-body skin scanning to clinics, aiming to reduce barriers to early skin cancer detection. Public Safety Surveillance Debate: Idaho and other places are wrestling with Flock-style license plate reader programs, as privacy and oversight concerns collide with policing needs. Policy & Ethics: Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden is among lawmakers criticizing Trump’s limited AI response after high-profile AI agent hacks. Local Tech in Oregon: GoWest Solutions is partnering with Rippleshot to help credit unions detect fraud earlier using shared intelligence tools.