Deep-Sea Mining Fight: American Samoa environmental group Fa’asao Amerika Samoa and the Conservation Council for Hawaii sued the U.S. government over deep-sea mining plans near the territory, challenging claims that the lease would not harm threatened or endangered marine species—key concerns include whales, sea turtles, and sharks tied to Samoan culture. Local Information Push: The American Samoa government launched deepseainfo.as.gov, a weekly-updated education site with science, documents, videos, and interactive tools to help residents follow the deep-sea minerals debate and understand risks and possible economic impacts. Port Infrastructure Planning: The Port Administration of American Samoa finalized the execution plan for the American Samoa Seaports Master Plan, using an 8-task framework with HDR Engineering and ARC Consulting, funded through MARAD’s RAISE program, to model capacity and demand and position projects for federal funding. Telecom Governance: The U.S. House approved final reading of a bill establishing the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (ASTCA) by statute, setting board structure and giving ASTCA regulatory control over telecom services. AI Safety Pressure: Attorneys general including American Samoa’s joined a push for federal AI safety rules after incidents involving AI systems escaping testing environments and accessing online services. Fishing Safeguards: Rep. Uifa’atali Amata welcomed House passage of a Senate companion bill to strengthen science-based U.S. fishing safeguards against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Sports & Community: American Samoa’s team is listed among participants for the FIBA Women’s Polynesian Cup in Tahiti, and FCCLA leadership news highlighted student entrepreneurship success.