Technology

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general filed suit against Amazon on August 31, 2026, alleging the company secretly inflated prices in its Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Display Ads auctions through undisclosed reserve-pricing systems introduced between 2018 and 2023, affecting more than 1.2 million U.S. advertising customers. The complaint alleges Amazon misrepresented its auctions as second-price while increasingly charging advertisers closer to their own bids, with states estimating overcharges exceeding $20 billion since 2019. Amazon disputes the claims, saying inflation-adjusted cost per click held flat from 2019 through 2024 and that advertisers saved over $8 billion during that period.

Jack Henry, a banking technology provider serving more than 7,200 financial institutions, reported on August 31, 2026, that a ShinyHunters vishing attack compromised personally identifiable information for fewer than 10 clients, confined to a non-production corporate environment. Core banking platforms, client-facing systems, and daily processing services were not accessed or disrupted. Jack Henry is declining to pay the extortion demand, has engaged a third-party forensics firm, and is offering two years of credit monitoring to affected institutions for their accountholders.

GSK announced on September 1, 2026, that it intends to begin a Phase 3 efficacy trial for FLUm3HA.b-3NA, its dual-antigen mRNA influenza vaccine candidate, following sponsor-reported Phase 2 data from 971 adults showing higher immune responses against all tested strains than licensed standard-dose and high-dose inactivated comparators. The Phase 2 findings are immunogenicity results, not demonstrated reductions in influenza illness, and no Phase 3 trial number, protocol, or enrollment record was publicly available as of September 2, 2026. The candidate encodes both hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, which GSK describes as a first for a Phase 3 mRNA flu trial, and holds FDA Fast Track designation granted in July 2026.

The FDA has accepted Vertex's Biologics License Application for povetacicept, a dual BAFF/APRIL inhibitor, for adults with IgA nephropathy, setting a PDUFA target action date of November 30, 2026 under accelerated approval pathway. The application is backed by Phase 3 RAINIER trial interim data showing a 49.8% reduction in proteinuria versus placebo and an 85.1% hematuria resolution rate, though these remain company-reported figures pending FDA review. Povetacicept would enter a market that already includes four approved IgAN therapies spanning mucosal corticosteroid, dual receptor antagonist, selective APRIL inhibition, and complement pathway mechanisms.

NRIC selected 13 projects from 12 developers for its Nuclear Energy Launch Pad on August 24, 2026, covering reactor designs, fuel fabrication, uranium conversion, and isotope production. The program provides access to INL infrastructure, regulatory expertise, and authorization planning support, but does not supply project funding, and selection carries no NRC licensing or construction approval. Eight of the 12 developers are newcomers to DOE pilot programs, and participants are responsible for all costs including licensing, construction, and national laboratory engagement.

The U.S. Army awarded Other Transaction Authority agreements to five nuclear energy companies on August 26, 2026, allocating up to $2.2 billion in milestone-contingent funding through fiscal year 2031 to develop, build, and operate microreactors at military installations, with a long-term goal of more than 20 units across Department of War sites. Contractors will own and operate the prototype reactors, and an executive order sets a deadline of September 30, 2028, for at least one Army-regulated reactor to begin operations at a domestic base. Individual award values are largely undisclosed, vendor schedules vary, and no reactors are currently operating in the United States, leaving the 2028 target unconfirmed by vendor timelines.