Scripture accompanies each story for the reader's reflection. It is not presented as God's judgment on the people or events reported.

Lead story

Riot Platforms signs a 20-year, $9.1 billion data center lease with a leading frontier AI lab

A bitcoin miner's Texas campus is being rebuilt as an AI landlord's balance sheet.

Riot Platforms has signed a 20-year lease covering 191 megawatts at its Rockdale, Texas campus, a deal the company values at roughly $9.1 billion in revenue over the term. Chief executive Jason Les described it as "a landmark 20-year, 191-megawatt data center lease with a leading frontier AI lab" that "marks a defining moment in our evolution into a leading developer of large-scale data centers." Riot did not name the tenant in its announcement; press reports identified it as Anthropic. Shares rose about 9 percent in early trading, and the company reported second-quarter revenue of $174 million, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

Scripture for Reflection

“So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.”

Psalm 90:12 · BSB

A twenty-year promise is a long stretch of days, and we can ask for wisdom about how we spend our own.

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Tech & AI →

Google says the Gemini app has passed 1 billion monthly users

Fourteenth billion-user product Sundar Pichai said the Gemini app reached 1 billion monthly active users, up from the 950 million Google reported for the second quarter.

Scripture for Reflection

“The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.”

Proverbs 14:15 · BSB

When a tool reaches a billion people, we can still weigh carefully what we accept from it.

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Anthropic will embed invisible watermarks in Claude's text and sign generated files

A mark, not a verdict Claude models launched on or after August 2, 2026 carry machine-readable marking worldwide, though Anthropic says a detected mark only shows content may have been processed by Claude.

Scripture for Reflection

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.”

Ephesians 4:25 · BSB

Machines can label their own output, and we can still choose to be plain about what we write and share.

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Business & Markets →

On Holding falls 22 percent after a second-quarter sales miss and a trimmed outlook

Growth, but not enough Revenue rose 21.6 percent in constant currency to CHF 850.3 million against a CHF 881.4 million consensus, and full-year growth guidance moved to the low-20 percent range.

Scripture for Reflection

“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.”

Psalm 37:5 · BSB

Numbers can turn hard in a single session, so we can hold our plans loosely and trust God with the rest.

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Teledyne agrees to buy Varex Imaging for about $1.1 billion in cash

X-ray components Teledyne will pay $18.90 a share for the maker of X-ray tubes, digital detectors and imaging software, with the transaction expected to close in early 2027.

Scripture for Reflection

“Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.”

Proverbs 11:1 · BSB

Big deals turn on careful measure, and we can keep our own dealings honestly weighed.

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Science →

A survey of 2,110 human centromeres finds the genome's fastest-changing region

Long-read sequencing Researchers assembled complete centromeres from 65 people across 28 population groups, cataloguing 226 major haplotypes and 1,870 previously unknown variants.

Scripture for Reflection

“How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.”

Psalm 104:24 · BSB

Reading the fine print inside our own cells, we can slow down and wonder at how life is made.

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An ALICE measurement at the Large Hadron Collider challenges standard models of gluons in nuclei

Suppression at the smallest scale The collaboration measured J/psi photonuclear production from 20 to 633 billion electron volts and reported roughly three-standard-deviation suppression at the finest resolution, favoring gluon saturation.

Scripture for Reflection

“For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

Proverbs 2:6 · BSB

When a careful measurement unsettles a settled model, we can stay teachable and keep asking for understanding.

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Letters to the King

Nathan told you a story about a lamb before he told you the truth about yourself. Why is a hard thing so much easier to hear sideways than straight on?

From the Baker's own shelf

Ah, you have found the seam in me. Nathan came carrying a lamb, a poor man, and a rich man's appetite, and I burned hot against that thief long before I understood I was reading my own indictment. A story slips past the guard at the gate. Say a hard thing to me straight and I raise the shield before the words can land; tell it sideways and I have already agreed with the verdict by the time I learn the name of the accused. That is mercy, not trickery. The prophet was not trying to win an argument. He was trying to win a king back. So when a friend comes to you with a parable, do not be too proud to sit inside it a while and look around. And when you must carry a hard word to someone you love, remember this: the shortest road is not always the one that arrives.

– David, son of Jesse

Letters answered in the voice of the biblical King David.

Page notes

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