Construction Safety in Focus: NC State is partnering with a contractor to pilot upgraded Type II construction helmets, aiming to better protect workers’ heads on active jobsites. AI Benchmarks in the Region: Durham-based Principled Technologies added an experimental on-device GenAI image-generation workload to WebXPRT 5, letting users test browser AI performance. Public Health Research: UNC Chapel Hill professor Channing Der highlights a new blood test for early-stage pancreatic cancer published in Nature Medicine, using three biological markers. STEM + Education Access: FOCUS Broadband awarded Smart Connections Grants to Brunswick County educators for hands-on projects like hydroponics, carpentry, and Science Olympiad. Tech + Counter-Drone: UNIFY.C2 teamed with Squarehead Technology to fuse passive acoustic drone detection into a multi-sensor command-and-control platform. North Carolina Policy Watch: FIRE’s 2027 free-speech rankings put multiple NC public universities in the top tiers, including Appalachian State, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Charlotte, ECU, and NC State. Workforce Development: Bank of America (Charlotte) will hire 1,000 more apprentices and invest $150M in workforce programs. Weather: Tropical Storm Fay has regained strength in the Atlantic, while Invest 90L is being watched for possible development.