AGP Executive Report

Biotech Deal: McKesson is buying Bethesda-based Precision Medicine Group for about $2.25 billion, aiming to boost oncology and clinical research services. AI & Energy: Tech investor James Altucher argues AI is being held back by power availability, not chips, and points to moving AI operations into orbit as a potential fix. Space Tech: NASA’s Maryland-built Roman Space Telescope has launched to explore the hidden universe, continuing the state’s space hardware footprint. Chesapeake Bay Tech: Maryland is testing an algae-based river-cleaning system that grows algae to capture pollution, then removes the trapped waste to help reduce oxygen-depleting impacts. Public Safety Tech: Charles County is weighing speed cameras on U.S. 301 and other corridors under Maryland’s new automated enforcement law, with privacy and ordinance changes in focus. STEM in Maryland: A Homewood student earned a spot in the U.S. Naval Academy’s elite Summer STEM Program, working on engineering, robotics, and coding projects. Health Testing: New endometriosis tests offer hope but still face hurdles in the U.S., where diagnosis delays remain common. Local Science Spotlight: A documentary event, “The Last Osprey,” will highlight Chesapeake Bay osprey reproductive failures and the science behind the decline.

AI in Schools: New U.S. rules are banning or limiting student use of generative AI, creating a patchwork of guidance as districts struggle to balance tutoring benefits with classroom risks. Public Safety Tech: Charles County commissioners weigh automated speed cameras on U.S. 301 and MD 228, including how license-plate data would be handled and how state and local camera plans might overlap. Chesapeake Bay Tech for Water: Maryland park tests an algae-based river-cleaning system that aims to remove pollution without triggering oxygen-sapping algal blooms. Space Science: NASA’s Maryland-built Roman Space Telescope is in the spotlight after launch, continuing the push to map the hidden universe. Health & Research: A Baltimore VA Medical Center earns primary stroke center status, while new research highlights faster endometriosis diagnosis efforts and a landmark pig-kidney transplant case that could ease organ shortages. Local Education & STEM: College of Southern Maryland ranks among the top community colleges for return on investment, and CSM’s momentum comes as STEM pathways expand.

Space Science in Maryland: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Aug. 30, with Goddard in Greenbelt building and integrating the observatory for a mission to map dark matter, dark energy, and exoplanets. Health Tech & Care Access: Baltimore VA earned primary stroke center status, aiming to speed treatment under the “time is brain” mantra. Medical Breakthrough: A patient survived nine months on a genetically edited pig kidney before receiving a human kidney transplant, highlighting a potential path for the organ shortage. Regulation Watch (Auto Tech): NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla’s Cybercab after the company self-certified the robotaxi despite federal safety rules. Local Governance & Environment: Baltimore replaced the Bradford pear with the Tuliptree as its official city tree after a public vote. Public Health & Policy: Doctors are pushing faster ways to diagnose endometriosis as patients often wait years for answers, while new tests used abroad aren’t yet available in the U.S. Elections: Maryland certified a handful of third-party candidates for the Nov. 3 ballot, including a Green Party bid for Congress.

Space Science (Maryland-built): NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Aug. 30 on a million-mile journey to L2, with the observatory built, assembled, integrated and tested at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt—aimed at mapping dark matter, dark energy, and exoplanets. Public Health (Women’s health): A new look at endometriosis highlights how people can wait a decade or more for diagnosis, and notes promising tests used abroad that still aren’t available in the U.S. Local Tech & Infrastructure (Data centers): Chesapeake Bay region communities are increasingly pausing or banning data center development amid concerns over water use, diesel pollution, and strain on the energy grid. Healthcare IT (AI outcomes): CMS says it’s shifting AI strategy from tracking usage to measuring results, with CIO Patrick Newbold describing the change at a Bethesda conference. Maryland Policy (Workplace recovery): Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order making Maryland a “Recovery-Friendly Workplace,” updating state employment policies for workers in substance use recovery. STEM/Research (Cardio imaging review): A systematic review examines pericoronary adipose tissue radiomics models and their performance for predicting cardiovascular events. Baltimore Economy (Business corridor): WNADA named Raenika Crew as its new Economic and Business Development Officer for the West North Avenue corridor. Regenerative Agriculture (Chesapeake Bay): Maryland DNR opened 111 acres for lease to farmers using regenerative practices, aiming to improve soil and water outcomes. Cyber/Operations (Resilience): A report on legacy IT resilience stresses that older systems can slow recovery and increase risk, pushing organizations toward better automation and visibility. Education/Safety (Schools): Talbot County Public Schools debuted weapons detection systems for home football games as a safety pilot.

Recovery-Friendly Workplaces: Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order making Maryland a recovery-friendly workplace, requiring state agencies to train staff on substance use disorders, treatment, and overdose response. Public Health Data Fight: The CDC’s latest measles update again omitted two Pennsylvania deaths, after a dispute involving HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CDC leadership over how the cases should be counted. Animal Cruelty Case: Hurlock horse farmers accused of neglect and cruelty have had their case moved to Dorchester County Circuit Court. Legacy IT Resilience: A new piece looks at how organizations can improve resiliency in aging IT environments as cyberattacks and outages stress recovery plans. Healthcare & Community Support: Partners In Care Maryland added four community leaders to its advisory board to support older adults aging in place. AI in Government: CMS is shifting its AI strategy from tracking usage to measuring outcomes. IRS Tech Funding: A watchdog report says the IRS has spent about two-thirds of its Inflation Reduction Act tech and operations money, with billions still available. Regenerative Farming in Maryland: DNR opened 111 acres for regenerative farming leases, marking the first such lease on state-owned land. Baltimore Public Safety Training: Baltimore police officers graduated from a new Basic Investigators course focused on crime scene work, interviews, and courtroom testimony. Navy AI Maritime Monitoring: Vantor will help the U.S. Navy “fingerprint” dark fleets in the Pacific using AI-enabled maritime monitoring. Mail Voting Block Extended: AG Rob Bonta secured longer-term relief blocking USPS changes to mail voting through the November elections. Local Tech/Privacy: Verizon privacy counsel discussed how privacy assessments and children’s privacy DPIAs are operationalized alongside AI and consent design.

Maternal Health Playbook: Milwaukee is borrowing Baltimore’s “B’More for Healthy Babies” approach to cut Black infant mortality, aiming to fold key elements into a new maternal and child health plan. Energy Efficiency Watch: Maryland regulators are weighing how much to shrink EmPOWER Maryland, with utilities proposing deeper cuts that could lower bills but may raise future grid costs. Cybersecurity in Healthcare: Anne Arundel Medical Center and other hospitals in the region faced disruptions tied to cyberattacks, highlighting ongoing risks to patient care systems. Space Science: Maryland-linked researchers say the “no-heat” logic that constrained dark photon searches was flawed, reopening parts of the dark matter parameter space. Wearable Health Tech: A University of Maryland-linked smart underwear concept tracks flatulence to help study how diet and gut microbes affect digestive health. Climate Impacts: Maryland reported 59 heat deaths so far this summer, the deadliest on record, as officials and researchers look for why the spike hit so hard. Privacy & Policing: A Virginia case challenges “reverse-keyword” Google warrants, raising Fourth Amendment concerns about searching people via search data. STEM & Education: NPR is running a public radio immersion day for HBCU students, bringing hands-on media experience to Bowie State, Howard, and Morgan State.

Maryland AI for development: Gov. Wes Moore’s administration launched the expanded Maryland Community Compass, now powered with Anthropic, giving developers a free way to explore neighborhood funding options and parcel-level zoning/build potential. Transportation planning: MDOT released a $21.9B draft transportation plan (FY27-32) that keeps the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild and Martin State Airport improvements front and center. Power and data centers: NextEra made the case for the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL), a proposed 500-kV line aimed at supporting reliability as data centers and AI drive faster electricity demand. Cyber policy: The Assistant Secretary of War for Cyber Policy visited Marines at Fort Meade to discuss CYBERCOM 2.0 and cyber-force priorities. STEM education: Montgomery College added an animation A.F.A. and a career-focused animation certificate to feed Maryland’s digital media and creative tech workforce. Space science: NASA confirmed a new Saturn south-pole atmospheric decagon, with a principal investigator at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt. Regional rail: Delaware is studying a passenger rail “Diamond State Line” that could connect to Maryland communities.

Space & Research: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy toward the Sun-Earth L2 point, beginning a three-month, million-mile journey to map the universe’s deepest mysteries. Biotech & Business: Clene will present at major September investor conferences, highlighting its late-stage mitochondrial-focused neurodegenerative pipeline. Health Policy: A Reuters report says U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked the CDC to remove references to two Pennsylvania measles deaths from the agency’s online tally, after a dispute over whether measles contributed to the fatalities. Cyber & Security: A Maryland neurotechnology firm, Evon Medics, is relaunching its MemoryDriver navigation app with a national “Beat the Clock” challenge. Energy & Regulation: Maryland regulators are weighing how much to cut EmPOWER Maryland, the state’s energy-efficiency program, as utilities propose changes that could affect bills starting in January. Public Safety Tech: Montgomery County officials defended automated license plate readers as a key police tool while addressing privacy concerns. AI Backlash: Across the U.S., Republicans are increasingly challenging data-center expansion amid local opposition, while a new pro-AI advertising push tries to blunt the backlash.

Cybersecurity in Maryland Health Care: Luminis Health says a cyberattack disrupted systems at Anne Arundel Medical Center and Doctors Community Medical Center, forcing rerouted ambulances and delayed care. Local Tech Governance: Baltimore County Council members want to extend the county’s data center pause to Dec. 2027, arguing residents need more time to weigh land-use and utility impacts. Maryland Research & Infrastructure: Maryland DNR contracted Lyman-Morse Workboats for a 59-foot aluminum research vessel to support year-round Chesapeake Bay and near-coastal Atlantic field work. STEM & Innovation: UMD researchers turned crab-shell-derived chitosan into a zinc battery electrolyte, reporting 1,000 cycles with near-total energy efficiency in lab tests. Space Science: NASA’s Hubble spotted a new, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave around Saturn’s south pole, offering a rare look at a developing jet pattern. Energy Policy Debate: A U.S. House hearing focused on how state and local natural gas bans raise costs and strain electric grids. Education & Tech Outreach: Rep. Jamie Raskin promoted Maryland students’ participation in the Congressional App Challenge.

Federal Funding: The U.S. House passed a stopgap spending bill extending funding through Dec. 11, averting a shutdown and kicking the can to full-year budget talks. AI & Security: The NSA says it wants access to all commercial AI models, while the Philippines is already using AI to strengthen anti–money laundering work. Biotech/Health: United Therapeutics said the FDA accepted its supplemental application for nebulized Tyvaso to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, with review expected by late April 2027. Cancer Tech: QUB researchers reported a dissolvable, 3D-printed microneedle patch delivering two drugs for localized skin cancer. Maryland Education: Towson University tuition rose for 2026-27 as the University System of Maryland works to offset reduced state funding. Maryland Industry/Defense: General Dynamics delivered the Wolf XM30 prototype to the U.S. Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with design details still concealed. Maryland Environment: A look back at a 1991 Conowingo Dam fish lift shows how hard it is to hit restoration targets. Local Business/Community: Charles County Charitable Trust awarded $1.5M across 57 nonprofits supporting residents.

Workforce & SkillsUSA: Catoctin High School student Tanner Shorb won a Silver Medal in welding at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, after taking gold at Maryland states. Health Systems: UPMC Western Maryland Center for Breast Care earned American College of Surgeons accreditation, meeting standards across clinical care, research, outreach, education and quality improvement. Brain Health Research: A new study links optimal midlife vascular health (no diabetes, hypertension, or smoking) to up to ~12.6 extra years of dementia-free survival, using data from adults followed for decades across several states including Maryland. Public Health & Newborn Care: Reuters reports vitamin K shot refusals for newborns jumped more than 57% from January through June, raising risk of severe bleeding. Maryland Tech & Tax: Maryland’s new IT services tax is bringing in far less than expected; one Frederick firm says it’s adding about $15,000 a month in costs and cutting some cybersecurity services. Defense Tech: The Army moved its TITAN targeting platform into production, awarding $192M to Palantir and Anduril for delivery orders. Energy Resilience: The Army’s Janus program selected vendors and sites for nuclear microreactors on bases to reduce dependence on vulnerable grids. Space: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched from Florida, built to map dark energy/dark matter and survey the universe. Local Safety: Columbia Association’s aqua mower capsized at Lake Kittamaqundi; staff are safe and an investigation is underway.

Biotech & Health Equity: GeneDx CEO Katherine Stueland was named a 2026 Fierce 50 honoree for Health Equity, highlighting how genomic diagnosis is moving into mainstream care. AI in Medicine: A study finds an AI tool detects hepatic steatosis on routine noncontrast CT scans far more often than what radiology reports document—suggesting “no mention” shouldn’t be read as “no condition.” Healthcare Access Gap: New research says nearly 1 in 3 young women (21–29) in 2023 have never had cervical cancer screening, up sharply from 2005. Maryland Tech & Security Updates: UMD is rolling out device and account changes tied to multi-factor authentication, campus Wi‑Fi reconnecting, and Zoom updates. Defense Tech: The U.S. Navy awarded Textron Systems $15.47M for sea-based unmanned aircraft intelligence missions, with work managed through Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River. Climate & Weather Tech: KBR won NOAA’s National Mesonet Program contract to expand extreme-storm and severe-weather forecasting data, with program management in Greenbelt. Energy & Data Centers: Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel challenges PJM’s plan to buy extra capacity tied to projected data center growth, warning of major ratepayer cost risk. Space Tech (Maryland-built): NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched from Florida after being assembled in Maryland, aiming to map dark energy and dark matter. Environment & Biosecurity: Beech leaf disease is spreading across Maryland, threatening beech trees over the next decade.

NASA & Maryland Industry: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, with major assembly work tied to Maryland and science operations led through Caltech/JPL—aimed at mapping dark energy, dark matter, and exoplanets. Space Policy: Trump signed an executive order creating a U.S. Space Academy, setting up a commission to shape training for astronauts and space-focused careers. AI & Energy Costs: A new report contrasts New Jersey’s data-center rate protections (to keep grid upgrade costs off other customers) with broader “AI power” pressure on utilities. Local Tech vs Data Centers: Maryland tech leaders warn county bans and delays could throttle compute availability as demand grows. Cyber/Defense GenAI: The Pentagon’s GenAI.mil portal now lets approved users access multiple commercial models, including OpenAI and Grok, for mission use. Public Health Research: Two USDA Cyclospora projects are being shut down or relocated as cases surge past 17,000, raising concerns about future outbreak tracking. Consumer/Data Privacy: The FTC and 22 states sued Amazon over alleged hidden ad surcharges; Consumer Reports backs California’s move to curb sale of sensitive personal data. Community Solar: Somerset County’s proposed 2.25-megawatt solar project draws mixed neighbor reactions during a Maryland PSC review. Surveillance Backlash: More jurisdictions are ending contracts with Flock Safety cameras after public pushback.

Space Science: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy and begun a three-month, million-mile trip to its final orbit, with ground controllers at NASA’s Goddard in Greenbelt receiving telemetry soon after liftoff; the mission will use wide-field infrared vision to probe dark matter, dark energy, and exoplanets. Maryland Tech & Policy: A Patuxent Partnership speaker series from the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland will tackle how businesses can adapt to rapidly changing government procurement and technology practices. Local Infrastructure: Emmitsburg won a $2.779 million USDA loan to replace a critical Main Street water line, part of broader rural water and wastewater upgrades. Labor & Public Services: Charles County library workers ratified their first collective bargaining agreement with a 90% yes vote, aiming for better wages, conditions, and protections. Education & Skills: Cursive is returning to all second- and third-grade classrooms in Baltimore and Harford counties, as districts expand handwriting instruction. Health Research: Politico reports USDA is shelving cyclospora research projects amid funding cuts and relocations, raising concerns for parasite science continuity. Tech & Industry: Samsung Biologics published the tender offer prospectus for PolyPeptide, setting up a major biotech deal with a stated cash price and timeline.

Space Science: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, heading to Lagrange Point 2 to map the cosmos and probe dark energy, dark matter, gravity, and exoplanets, with first images expected in early 2027. Maryland Tech & Research: A NASA–University of Maryland study suggests some Earth microbes could survive in permanently shaded lunar south-pole regions, raising contamination concerns as Artemis missions plan longer stays. Food Safety & Federal Science Funding: The Trump administration is shuttering two of three USDA cyclospora research projects; the remaining effort is set to move from Maryland to Iowa, but scientists reportedly won’t relocate, even as outbreaks sickened thousands. AI in Schools (Local): Virginia Beach schools signed a deal with OpenAI for a more secure, staff-only ChatGPT version, joining other districts including Baltimore in using AI under tighter controls. STEM Policy & Access: A federal court ruling lets an Asian-American college admissions lawsuit proceed into discovery, potentially opening the door to internal admissions data. Community & Culture: A new Gloucester mural exhibit, “Six Scenes, One Place,” uses art and artifacts to tell local history, including Native American, Revolutionary War, and plantation-era stories.

Space & Astronomy: NASA launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, aiming to map dark energy/dark matter, test gravity, and hunt exoplanets; mission leaders say Roman will survey the sky far faster than Hubble and push data delivery into a cloud-based workflow. Maryland Research & Health Tech: UMD researchers developed a diabetes complications risk calculator that updates predictions month-by-month using routine clinical data, aiming to flag likely heart, kidney, nerve, and vision problems earlier. Biodefense Docs: New documents describe an interagency CIA–NIH/NIAID arrangement during Fauci’s tenure focused on “forensic microbiology” for bioterrorism threats, raising fresh questions about intelligence links to civilian research. STEM Education in Southern Maryland: College of Southern Maryland’s Early College program is helping Charles and Calvert County high school students earn credits and associate degrees while still in school. Local Tech & Infrastructure: Woodsboro approved hiring a leak-detection firm to find issues in town water lines, tied to meeting state water capacity requirements.