Energy & Grid: The U.S. Department of Energy and AEP Texas secured up to a $3.26B loan to upgrade roughly 2,800 miles of transmission across Texas, aiming to cut outages and support surging demand from data centers and industry. Power Real Estate: Grid Connected Infrastructure executed a 20-year lease for the 100MW Megamouth Energy Storage project in Houston’s congested load zone, betting on long-term monetization of grid-ready sites. Business & Tech Funding: Hephae Energy Technology raised $17.8M in Series A funding to commercialize ultra-hot geothermal drilling tech. Cybersecurity: A Longview provider warns Texas businesses that antivirus and backups aren’t enough under the state’s cybersecurity Safe Harbor framework—training, risk management, and documentation matter. Healthcare Innovation: Austin’s ClearCam won an AFWERX SBIR Phase I contract to advance AI surgical visualization for the Department of the Air Force. Local Economy & Housing: A Houston-area survey estimates 141,000 adults faced temporary homelessness in 2025, far above the number served by the region’s response system. Workforce: Baker Hughes plans to close a Houston facility, with 174 layoffs starting this month into 2027. Capital Markets: The Texas Stock Exchange opened in Dallas with limited public trading starting Thursday. Immigration & Public Safety: ICE’s fatal Houston shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is escalating into diplomatic and legal fallout as Mexico prepares action and families demand an independent probe. Drone Delivery: Irish startup Manna is launching in Oklahoma with plans to scale into Texas and nearby states.