Washington – September 22, 2026 -- Internet2 has added Cisco AI PODs at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Sacramento State to expand shared GPU capacity on the National Research Platform (NRP), a federally backed computing network supporting thousands of researchers nationwide.

New AI PODs let researchers burst into shared GPU capacity when local resources fall short

The Cisco AI PODs are pre-validated, full-stack infrastructure units built on Cisco Validated Designs, combining UCS servers and GPU nodes, Nexus networking, and Cisco Intersight management. Deployed as a single unit, they reduce the engineering and integration work institutions face when adding new GPU nodes to the NRP's distributed Kubernetes-based fabric, known as Nautilus.

Bozeman – – September 22, 2026 -- REAL Shows Network (RSN) has added Life Montana Style, a locally hosted 30-minute real estate and lifestyle series covering Bozeman, Montana, and the surrounding region, to its national television lineup.

Local real estate leader Laura Sacchi hosts new 30-minute series

The series is produced by RSN's Emmy-nominated, Telly Award-winning production team and hosted by local real estate leader Laura Sacchi. Each episode highlights notable neighborhoods and distinctive properties throughout the Bozeman area, celebrates local businesses, nonprofits and community organizations, and spotlights people and stories shaping everyday life in the region.

New York – September 22, 2026 -- Métaphores, the French textile Maison within Hermès' textile division, will launch its first U.S. designer-led showroom partnership on October 7, 2026, debuting a furniture textile capsule called Fragments at Lemieux et Cie in SoHo.

Métaphores enters U.S. furniture market through New York showroom deal

The collaboration marks Métaphores' first partnership with a U.S. designer-led showroom and the American debut of Fragments applied to furniture. The Maison, which draws on the century-old expertise of Verel de Belval in furnishing silks and Le Crin in handwoven horsehair, will place fabrics on sofas, accent chairs, benches, Pierre Jeanneret dining chairs, pillows and full-height drapery throughout the SoHo space.

Boston – September 22, 2026 -- Viva-Thera has nominated a preclinical candidate targeting the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of HIV-1 gp41, completing discovery and optimization in seven months through a partnership with AI drug-design firm XtalPi (HKEX: 2228). The biotech, incubated and backed by XtalPi as a strategic shareholder, made its public debut disclosing progress across four HIV modalities: vaccines, long-acting small molecules, gene therapy and cell therapy.

XtalPi's AI screened 10 million compounds to isolate five validated hits

Using generative AI, XtalPi navigated a chemical space of approximately 10 million compounds to identify five hits with strong antiviral activity and favorable drug properties. Continuous optimization of these leads drove the program to preclinical candidate nomination within seven months, according to the companies.

Brookfield, Conn. – September 22, 2026 -- ROM Technologies Inc. (ROMTech) said its PortableConnect Rehab System can address two structural barriers facing Department of Veterans Affairs knee-replacement patients: distance from rehabilitation sites and fractured coordination between VA and Community Care providers.

Rural Veterans face outsized travel burdens for post-surgical rehabilitation

Approximately 3 million rural Veterans are enrolled in VA health care, and 54% are age 65 or older. A national VA knee-replacement study found 40.8% of patients lived in rural areas, making repeated long-distance travel a barrier to consistent rehabilitation. The VA's 2026 revised budget request includes roughly $2.29 billion for Beneficiary Travel, though the agency does not break out spending attributable to rehabilitation or rural Veterans specifically.

Elizabeth, N.J. – September 22, 2026 -- New Jersey fast-casual chain Salad House catered a free, full-day youth basketball camp in Elizabeth as part of a growing NIL partnership with local high school standout Jayden Johnson.

Salad House delivers signature wraps to fuel young athletes at Elizabeth camp

The brand supplied platters of its Buffalo Chicken Wrap and Crispy Mutha Clucka Wrap during a lunch break at the Fred Erxleben Recreation Center, feeding campers between morning and afternoon basketball sessions. The camp offered free skill development, competition, and mentorship for local boys and girls.

Charlotte, N.C. – September 22, 2026 -- A newly announced security agreement among the United States, Denmark and Greenland would give Washington veto power over sensitive investment on an island holding some of the largest undeveloped rare earth deposits in the Western world, intensifying a supply race already projected to push the global rare earth market from $3.95 billion in 2024 to $6.28 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

Potsdam, N.Y. – September 22, 2026 -- Clarkson University has become one of only 14 institutions nationwide to earn the newly created Carnegie Elective Classification for Sustainability, following its participation in the 2025 pilot program that shaped the classification's framework.

Fourteen institutions defined the pilot cohort nationwide

Clarkson helped design the review process used to evaluate the classification, which assesses sustainability integration across research, education, community engagement and campus operations. The 14 pilot institutions will form the inaugural classified cohort, to be formally announced in June 2027, with the designation valid through 2033.

Pune – September 22, 2026 -- Bitwise has earned more than 130 Databricks Delivery Expert badges, securing recognition among the top partners in a credentialing program that launched in May 2026 to identify firms with deep migration and modernization expertise across the Databricks ecosystem.

Bitwise Certifications Surpass 330 Across Its Engineering Organization

The Chicago-headquartered engineering firm, which operates delivery centers in Pune, India, has accumulated over 330 Databricks certifications organization-wide. The company also holds Databricks Silver Partner status and was previously named a Databricks Genie GTM Partner for conversational, AI-powered enterprise data access.

Indianapolis – – September 22, 2026 -- CMIT Solutions marked its 30th year in business at CMIT Connect Live! 2026, a multi-day convention in Indianapolis that brought together franchise owners, technicians and technology partners from its national managed IT services and cybersecurity network.

Dayal Bhagat wins top franchise honor for growth across three regions

The Franchise of the Year Award, the event's highest honor, went to Dayal Bhagat, who operates CMIT Solutions locations serving Roanoke, Virginia, and North Charlotte and Statesville, North Carolina. The award recognized sustained business growth, service delivery and alignment with CMIT's core values. Other nominees included Matt McCracken, Mike Minkler, Tom Shirey, Cheryl Nelan and Evan Stein, and Marty and Leslie Wood.