Hurricane Response & Safety: Hurricane Lala skirted Hawaii’s Big Island without landfall but still brought hurricane-force winds, near-1-meter rainfall in spots, widespread flooding risk, and power outages; tropical storm warnings remain for the rest of the island chain as crews and emergency teams ramp up. Local Tech & Connectivity: T-Mobile activated satellite backup via T-Satellite with Starlink and pre-positioned power banks and field crews to keep residents and first responders connected as Lala approaches. STEM & Ocean Cleanup: A Hawaii high schooler, Vera Wang, used coconut-husk fungi to help break down microplastics and sunscreen compounds, turning a school project into a potential natural water-cleaning approach. Space Research: UH-affiliated astrophysicist Rohan Naidu helped identify a “black hole star” seen in early-universe data from the James Webb Space Telescope, a find that could explain mysterious “little red dots.” NASA Concepts: NASA is funding spherical “Aerobots” to explore Titan’s caves, with UH Mānoa researchers leading early work. Energy & Environment: A new UH Mānoa project is testing whether Hawaii’s managed eucalyptus plantations can produce construction-grade lumber, aiming to cut reliance on imported wood. Science Policy Watch: Hawaii’s hemp crackdown faces a federal court fight over whether the state improperly recriminalized federally legal products.