Exton, Pennsylvania – October 12, 2026 -- Hunt Auctions has brokered a private treaty sale of a Michael Jordan 1998 NBA Finals Game Two road jersey for $14,000,000, a world record for any piece of basketball memorabilia and the second-highest price paid for a game-used jersey in any sport.

The price tops the $12,260,000 realized by Jordan's home jersey from Game Three of the same Finals. That jersey sold at auction on September 29, 2026, so the record has moved up by $1,740,000 within roughly two weeks.

Red road jerseys from Games 1, 2 and 6 drive collector demand

Jordan wore his red mesh road jersey in Games 1, 2 and 6 of the 1998 Finals. Only one of those jerseys had previously sold at public auction. Game 6 produced the image of his last shot as a Chicago Bull, which has made the red jerseys the "holy grails" of his Finals pieces.

Chicago – October 12, 2026 -- The American Osteopathic Foundation (AOF) has named Peter B. Ajluni, DO, an orthopedic surgeon with more than 50 years of practice, as recipient of its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the foundation's highest honors.

The award will be presented on Friday, Oct. 23, at the AOF Honors Gala, held in conjunction with the American Osteopathic Association's (AOA) annual OMED conference. The foundation established the award in 2006 to recognize leaders whose service embodies the values of the osteopathic profession.

Los Angeles – October 12, 2026 -- TED patients with pre-existing hearing loss were more than 60% less likely to suffer a further hearing decline when teprotumumab (TEPEZZA) infusions were spaced six weeks apart instead of the standard three, according to a retrospective study presented at the ASOPRS 57th Annual Fall Scientific Symposium.

Hearing decline hit 45% of patients on the standard schedule at 24 weeks

Nine of 20 patients (45%) on the standard three-week schedule showed a clinically significant decline on formal audiometry at 24 weeks. On the six-week schedule, the rate was about one in six. Clinical significance was defined using American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) criteria.

The symposium ran October 8-9, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Shoaib Ugradar, MD, was the presenting author. The study was led by Raymond Douglas, MD, PhD.

Fort Fairfield – October 12, 2026 -- Commercial property sellers in Aroostook County, Maine, face longer listing periods because the rural buyer pool is smaller, according to a new HelloNation feature featuring Fort Fairfield real estate expert Stephanie Fields Beaulieu of Fields Realty, LLC.

Small buyer pool in Caribou, Fort Fairfield and Houlton extends time on market

Towns such as Caribou, Fort Fairfield and Houlton can see steady local activity, but the number of qualified prospects remains limited. Many commercial purchasers are local businesses, regional investors or owners relocating operations. The article describes buyers in these markets as careful and selective, evaluating financials, location fit and long-term plans before committing. It presents a slower pace as normal rather than a sign of weak property value.

Newington, N.H. – October 12, 2026 -- SIG SAUER will begin fielding the XM8 carbine to the U.S. Army's Close Combat Force in December, after ramping up production to meet the Army's schedule, the company said as it prepares to exhibit at the AUSA trade show in Washington, D.C., October 12-14.

The company is also doubling the square footage and workforce at its North Carolina facility through a multi-million-dollar expansion covering R&D, engineering, manufacturing and training. The source does not disclose the investment figure or a completion date.

Chicago – – October 12, 2026 -- LEAD TECH (Zhuhai) Electronic Co., Ltd. will run its continuous inkjet (CIJ) printers and an integrated UV laser marking machine on a live conveyor at Pack Expo International 2026, Oct. 18–21 at McCormick Place. The company claims 70,000 coding machines installed across five continents.

LEAD TECH mounts UV laser above a moving conveyor at Booth LU-8931

The laser marks products in real time as they travel along the belt, at the pace of a production line. The unit combines laser, controller and power supply in one body, so it can be added to an existing line without extra wiring or external hardware, the company says.

It comes in 5W and 10W configurations and marks date codes, batch codes and traceability data. Target substrates include pharmaceutical packaging, food flexible film, PVC tubing and electronic components. It needs no consumables or ink.

Cary, N.C. – October 12, 2026 -- Subeca has raised approximately $3M in a Series A-2 round to expand its smart water metering hardware and software for utilities, adding to the $6M Series A it closed in 2024.

Burnt Island Ventures, described in the release as the most active venture investor in the global water industry, led the round. Cycle H2O, a water technology venture fund, joined as a new investor. SUEZ, which led the 2024 Series A, also participated, along with several additional investors.

Subeca is live in 23 communities with a bundled meter-and-software package

Burnt Island General Partner Christine Boyle said the firm sees a billion-dollar opportunity in unmet demand for affordable smart meter infrastructure and AI-native software. Subeca currently offers its bundled smart meter plus software package in 23 communities.

Fort Lauderdale – October 12, 2026 -- A Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture team has won the £10,000 2026 GROHE Water Prize for terracotta facade tiles that capture fog up to 400% more efficiently than standard flat surfaces.

The award, presented by GROHE for the World Architecture Festival (WAF), went to the project "Bio-inspired Architectural Terracotta for Sustainable Water Harvesting." The team is led by Associate Professor and Lead Researcher Laura Garófalo. WAF is scheduled for November 18-20 in Fort Lauderdale.

Modular terracotta tiles pair water-attracting peaks with water-repelling channels

The system combines ceramic craftsmanship with digital fabrication and surface physics. Its design draws on leaf venation and the Namib Desert beetle. Each tile combines hydrophilic clay peaks with hydrophobic glazed channels. The project targets community water self-sufficiency in arid, fog-prone regions.

Cleveland – October 12, 2026 -- Encore Funding, a family-owned funding partner for staffing entrepreneurs, has launched a refreshed brand and website as U.S. staffing industry revenue grew 3.3% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, according to the American Staffing Association.

The association also reported gains in staffing employment. Growth, however, sharpens a cash-flow squeeze for agencies: employees are paid weekly or biweekly, while customers may take 30, 60 or 90 days to settle invoices.

Encore bundles payroll funding with back-office support and guidance

Encore says its offering combines payroll funding, back-office support and strategic guidance, and that it acts as an extension of client businesses. The company describes its approach as built on personal relationships, reduced operational complexity and decades of staffing experience across three generations.

Atlanta – October 12, 2026 -- Scientific Games has won a 2026 Communitas Award for Excellence in Corporate Responsibility. The award, in the Ethical and Environmental Responsibility: Green Initiatives category, recognizes a project that recycles wooden shipping pallets in Germany with the v. Bodelschwingh Foundations Bethel, one of the country's largest social service organizations.

Scientific Games donated hundreds of lottery pallets to the Bethel project

The pallets were used to ship lottery scratchcards to German lotteries. Because the untreated wood no longer goes to landfill, it is turned into birdhouses and toys. Members of the disabled community make the items by hand at Bethel's Kracks Workshop.

Bethel sells the finished items in its retail shop. The revenue supports the organization's programs, workshop operations and future initiatives for people with disabilities.