DENVER — Federal and state health officials are warning the public about a new and dangerous synthetic opioid called cychlorphine, following a social media post that began circulating among students at Colorado State University alerting them to the drug’s presence in the illicit supply.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Division, which has spent years warning the public about the dangers of fentanyl, confirmed that cychlorphine is making its way into the illicit drug supply and reaching unsuspecting users. DEA Associate Administrator Gary Owen addressed the broader trend of increasingly dangerous synthetic substances entering the drug supply in a statement posted to the agency’s social media. “Illicit fentanyl is being mixed with new, deadly and more synthetic drugs like xylazine, nitazenes, cychlorphine and medetomidine. These names may be unfamiliar, but the impact is devastating,” Owen said.

Former Acting DEA Administrator Derek Maltz addressed the specific danger cychlorphine poses in an interview with Fox News, emphasizing that existing overdose-prevention tools are not equipped to detect it. “Cyclorphine is 10x more potent than fentanyl. The fentanyl test strips that are out there. These single drug test strips are not going to detect it,” Maltz said.

One drug researcher told FOX31 that a central concern surrounding cychlorphine is that it has not been studied in humans, leaving significant uncertainty about how much of the substance could constitute a dangerous or fatal dose given its potency.

Despite that uncertainty, health officials have confirmed that existing overdose-reversal medication remains effective against the drug. A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment addressed this directly. “As an opioid antagonist, naloxone remains effective in reversing overdoses caused by synthetic opioids like cychlorphine,” the CDPHE spokesperson said. Naloxone, commonly sold under the brand name Narcan, works by rapidly blocking opioid receptors in the brain, reversing the effects of an opioid overdose, including dangerously slowed or stopped breathing, and has become an increasingly widely distributed harm-reduction tool amid the broader synthetic opioid crisis.

The Stout Street Foundation, a Denver-area substance use treatment center, said opioids like cychlorphine can be crushed into powder form and either injected or snorted. Counselors at the center expressed concern about the drug’s growing and largely undetected presence in the illicit supply. Stout Street Foundation Chief Operating Officer Joseph Ellis explained why awareness efforts around the drug remain limited so far. “It’s new enough that there’s no street name for it,” Ellis said. “People aren’t aware how prominent it is in the fake pills that are on the streets.”

The DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division told FOX31 it has not yet identified cychlorphine within its own jurisdiction, which spans Colorado and several neighboring states, noting that the closest confirmed cases identified so far have been reported in Texas and Oklahoma. The agency said it currently classifies cychlorphine as an emerging threat, reflecting its limited but growing documented presence within the broader illicit drug supply.

The CDPHE spokesperson noted that, as of the most recent data, Colorado has not recorded any confirmed overdose deaths specifically involving cychlorphine. The spokesperson explained that this absence of confirmed cases may partly reflect testing limitations rather than the drug’s true prevalence, since cychlorphine, as a novel synthetic opioid, is not included in standard post-mortem toxicology panels and may only be identified if specifically requested by investigating coroners during an autopsy.

One drug expert cited in the report said cychlorphine has been found appearing in drugs where users did not expect to encounter it, a pattern consistent with the broader trend of synthetic opioids being mixed into counterfeit pills and other illicit substances without users’ knowledge. That unpredictability is part of what has prompted students at Colorado State University to begin spreading warnings about the drug across campus on their own, independent of the more formal warnings issued by the DEA and state health officials.

Officials emphasized that the absence of a reliable test strip for cychlorphine represents a significant gap in the tools currently available to drug users seeking to reduce their personal risk, given that standard fentanyl test strips are not designed to detect this newer synthetic compound. That gap, combined with the drug’s reported potency, has driven officials to urge heightened vigilance among anyone who may come into contact with counterfeit pills or other illicit substances circulating within the current drug supply.

For anyone concerned about a possible opioid overdose, whether involving cychlorphine, fentanyl or another substance, officials continue to emphasize that naloxone remains an effective emergency response tool and that anyone witnessing signs of an overdose, including slowed or stopped breathing, unresponsiveness or blue-tinted lips or fingertips, should administer naloxone if available and call 911 immediately.

With cychlorphine now formally classified as an emerging threat by federal officials and confirmed cases so far concentrated in Texas and Oklahoma, health authorities in Colorado and neighboring states are likely to continue monitoring for the drug’s spread, while urging both the public and coroners investigating unexplained deaths to remain alert to a substance that current standard toxicology screening may otherwise fail to detect.

In February 2023, City were charged with more than 100 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules following a four-year investigation.

The club was referred to an independent commission over allegations it breached financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

The hearing began in September 2024 behind closed doors and concluded that December after around 12 weeks.

The Premier League claimed City breached rules requiring the club to provide “accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”.

City strongly denied all charges and have said their case is supported by a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence”.

The club won eight trophies in the period covered by the case, including three Premier League titles, three League Cups, one Community Shield and one FA Cup.

The charges cover the mangerial tenures of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, and the first two years under Pep Guardiola, who left the club after 10 seasons at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

A separate case between City and the Premier League was also heard last year.

In 2024, an independent arbitration panel found against aspects of the league’s Associated Party Transaction regulations (APTs) after City launched an arbitration challenge.

A tribunal held in February 2025 found the Premier League’s rules governing sponsorship deals from the period between 2021 and 2024 are “void and unenforceable”.

City and the Premier League reached a settlement in September 2025, with the club accepting the APT rules are valid and binding and both parties agreeing to terminate legal proceedings.

The rules were formed by the Premier League to prevent clubs from profiting from commercial deals with companies linked to their owners that are deemed above “fair market value”.

By Adriaan du Toit | Elizabeth Bakarich, CFA | Christian DiClementi

The rise of artificial intelligence could redefine leaders and laggards in emerging markets.

Artificial intelligence (AI) leadership is no longer a developed-market monopoly. Emerging markets (EM) now have their

A delivery service offering meals to people in need has spoken about the challenges of recruiting new volunteers due to rising fuel costs.

Maureen Bougeard said Meals on Wheels Jersey had received £38,000 from the Jersey Community Foundation to fund work supplying hot meals to islanders who are unable to prepare meals themselves.

She said the service packed and delivered meals to about 100 people, four days a week – but added fuel costs were having an impact.

“Very often volunteers say, you know, ‘the petrol’s getting expensive’,” she said. “We’re looking for new volunteers and I send the information out which says ‘you drive your car at your own expense’ and I don’t hear from them again.”

The secretary said the organisation had more than 200 volunteers.

“Our complete organisation is run by volunteers,” Bougeard said. “We don’t have any paid staff at all.”

Bougeard said some of the voluntary meal delivery drivers drove the length of the island twice in a day, adding most volunteers were retired people.

“I’m not saying everyone has a poor pension, not everyone is on the basic pension, but some are and they still manage to come and volunteer, which is absolutely fabulous,” she said.

The operator of a Village Inn restaurant in Oldsmar, Florida, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after reporting more than $554,000 in liabilities, according to court filings obtained by FOX Business.

VI Oldsmar LLC filed its Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida on Sept. 18, electing to proceed under Subchapter V, which is a streamlined bankruptcy process for qualifying small businesses.

Court filings show the company listed about $72,335 in assets and $554,076 in liabilities, with between one and 49 creditors.

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A Village Inn restaurant is shown in this Google Maps image. (Google Maps)

Its assets included about $5,235 in cash, $15,000 in food and paper inventory, $50,000 in kitchen equipment and roughly $2,100 in office furniture and equipment.

The company’s largest creditors include 3682 JAGS LLC, which is owed $250,000, the Florida Department of Revenue at $120,400, the Internal Revenue Service at $78,500, US Foods at roughly $40,301 and Sysco at $30,000, according to court filings.

According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the franchisee has struggled with the lingering effects of the 2024 hurricanes that struck the Tampa Bay region, along with declining restaurant sales and rising operating costs.

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A Village Inn sign is shown here. (Google Maps)

The Oldsmar restaurant remains open and has no plans to close, an employee at the location told The Street on Tuesday.

The Oldsmar filing marks the fifth Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Village Inn franchisees operated by managing member Lloyd D. Lehan IV since June, according to The Street.

The latest filing follows Bay Pines Group LLC’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition last month, court filings show. 

Bay Pines Group, which also is owned by Lehan, operates the Village Inn on Bay Pines Boulevard in Seminole, Florida, The Street reported.

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The Oldsmar filing reportedly marks the fifth Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Village Inn franchisees operated by managing member Lloyd D. Lehan IV since June. (iStock)

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Village Inn, which was founded in Denver in 1958 as Village Inn Pancake House, now operates more than 100 company-owned and franchised restaurants across several states, including Colorado, Florida, Texas and Arizona, according to its website.

Village Inn, franchise operator Lloyd D. Lehan IV and the Oldsmar restaurant could not immediately be reached by FOX Business for comment.

Quantum computing could give the U.S. and its allies a new tool in their effort to reduce reliance on China for critical rare earth elements, with one technology company betting the emerging technology can make extracting and processing limited Western supplies more efficient.

Pasqal is partnering with USA Rare Earth and Riven Systems to explore how quantum computing, artificial intelligence and rapid chemical testing can improve the separation and processing of rare earth elements.

Pasqal CEO Wasiq Bokhari told FOX Business that the goal is essentially to get more usable rare earth material out of the resources already available outside China.

China, Bokhari explained, has significant control over global rare-earth supply and processing, while the U.S. and its allies are seeking to develop alternative supply chains for materials used in magnets, electronics, defense systems and advanced manufacturing.

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Pasqal is partnering with USA Rare Earth and Riven Systems to explore how quantum computing, artificial intelligence and chemical testing could improve rare-earth separation and processing. (Victor Moriyama/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“When we have smaller reserves, then it becomes even more important to be more efficient at finding that element,” he said.

Because rare earth elements generally aren’t sitting underground by themselves, and are mixed with other minerals, chemically separating them can be a complicated process.

Bokhari said quantum computing can model the molecules and compounds containing rare earths at a deeper level, potentially helping researchers identify properties that can be exploited to separate the valuable material more efficiently.

“What we can do is we can create models of the molecules or the compounds that these rare earth elements occur in… be able to identify their specific properties that we can exploit to then separate them more effectively from other things that are not so rare,” he said.

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Pasqal CEO Wasiq Bokhari told FOX Business that quantum computing could help make the extraction and processing of limited rare-earth supplies more efficient. (FOX Business / Fox News)

Pasqal is partnering with USA Rare Earth, which brings rare-earth resources and processing expertise to the project, and Riven Systems, which specializes in rapid chemical experimentation and testing.

Bokhari said the effort highlights how the U.S. and its allies can combine advanced technologies to reduce their dependence on foreign-controlled critical supply chains.

The implications could extend well beyond mines and processing facilities, Bokhari said, because rare earths are used in critical technologies ranging from defense systems to advanced electronics.

“There are these elements, these specific materials, and currently we have to buy them from China. Now suppose if we get into a sensitive situation in which we still need those materials, but now somebody else has control over them,” he said.

“They can constrict supply, which means we will not have access to those materials for our defense-related or non-defense-related applications,” he continued.

“During the COVID era, we saw what collapse of a supply chain could do globally. This is even more important because these are highly leveraged supply chains and going into very high-value components.”

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China controls significant portions of the global rare-earth supply and processing chain, while the U.S. and its allies are working to develop alternative sources. (Bert van Dijk/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Even relatively small improvements at individual stages of the separation process could compound into significantly greater yields, Bokhari said.

“For every ton of rock that I put in, I want to get certain amounts of rare earth elements. And if I can improve that by a factor of two, factor of three, factor of 10, that matters a lot.”

While traditional computers are superb at many tasks, Bokhari said quantum systems can have advantages when modeling materials, chemicals and molecules or searching through enormous numbers of possible solutions.

Bokhari compared quantum computing today to artificial intelligence (AI) before ChatGPT and other generative AI tools pushed the technology into mainstream consciousness.

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Rare-earth elements are used in technologies ranging from advanced electronics and manufacturing to U.S. defense systems. (iStock)

“It was working under the radar for the longest time,” he explained. “And then suddenly, there’s this aha moment, ‘Oh, this has something that I can relate to.’”

“I would say as a comparison, quantum computing is only a few years behind,” he added. “I think we will see in terms of the kind of impact we can generate from quantum computing, it is the same size of impact that you will see from Gen AI. We’re just a few years behind.”

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Bokhari pushed back on the perception that practical quantum computing remains the stuff of science fiction.

“Please don’t think of quantum computing as something that might be in the future. For Pasqal, it is here today,” Bokhari said. “In the end, it’s solving real business problems today.”

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BUENOS AIRES — Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni revealed he personally pushed to bring Lionel Messi back for one final appearance with the national team, arranging a farewell match against Benin at Monumental Stadium on October 6, despite Messi having already announced his international retirement following this summer’s World Cup.

Messi announced his retirement from international football after Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain in the World Cup final, closing out a career with the national team that stands as one of the most decorated in the sport’s history. He retires as Argentina’s all-time leading appearance-maker with 207 caps and its all-time leading scorer with 125 goals, while having captained the team to the 2022 World Cup title and two Copa America championships.

Messi’s World Cup record stands alone across several statistical categories. The 39-year-old has played more World Cup games, 34, and registered more World Cup goal involvements, 33, including 12 assists, than any other player in the tournament’s history. Only Kylian Mbappe, with 22 goals, has scored more World Cup goals than Messi’s own tally of 21. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also leads the all-time World Cup charts in shots, with 140, shots on target, with 64, chances created, with 99, and dribbles completed, with 250.

Despite his retirement announcement, Messi was called up to Scaloni’s most recent Argentina squad and will make one final appearance for his country against Benin. Scaloni explained the reasoning behind bringing Messi back for the occasion. “I believe that a player like him deserves this. Personally, I did my part because I wanted to be at his farewell,” Scaloni told reporters.

Scaloni acknowledged uncertainty about his own future with the national team factored into the urgency of arranging the match now rather than waiting. “Since I don’t know if I would be here later, we pushed hard so that he could be in this match,” Scaloni said. He described Messi’s willingness to participate despite the demands already placed on him this year. “We knew everything he was going through and even so, he put in the desire and effort to want to come and be able to say goodbye to the people who love him so much.”

Scaloni framed the timing of the tribute as essential, given the uncertainty of arranging a similar occasion in the future. “If we have to pay tribute, we have to do it at this moment,” he said. “With him, it will never stop, but later, the magic might not be the same.”

Messi’s on-field legacy with Argentina includes delivering the country’s first World Cup title since 1986, scoring twice in the penalty shootout that decided the 2022 final against France following a 3-3 draw after extra time. He followed that triumph with what Scaloni and others have described as a similarly sensational performance at this summer’s tournament, scoring eight goals, including his first-ever World Cup hat-trick, which came against Algeria.

Reflecting on the experience of coaching Messi throughout his tenure, Scaloni offered an emotional assessment of what the partnership had meant to him personally. “For me, getting to coach him was the ultimate experience. It was a dream. I told him so, and I’ll say it for the rest of my life. There will never be anyone like him,” Scaloni said. He went on to describe what he sees as the rarity of a talent like Messi’s. “It’s very rare for a player like that to come along, not just because of what he does on the pitch, but because of everything he conveys off it. Let’s enjoy this.”

Scaloni also weighed in on Messi’s case for individual recognition following this summer’s tournament, suggesting the statistical record speaks for itself. “After the World Cup he just played, there isn’t much more to add. If the award is for the best player, there’s no doubt. It’s already spoken for, the statistics prove it,” Scaloni said. “As long as he’s on a football pitch, it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve it.”

While Messi’s international future is now settled with the announced farewell match, the same cannot be said for Scaloni himself, whose contract as Argentina’s head coach is set to expire this December. Asked whether he had received any update on his own future with the federation, Scaloni said he planned to meet with Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia in the coming days to discuss the matter. “It is a dream come true, but that doesn’t mean I have to cling to the job forever,” Scaloni said. “There are certain conditions we need to discuss with the president, and we’ll see if we can reach an agreement.”

With Messi’s farewell match now set for October 6 at Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentine football fans will have one final opportunity to see the sport’s most decorated World Cup performer represent the national team, closing out a international career that Scaloni and others have suggested may never be matched by another player in the sport’s history.