General News

Hong Kong – September 30, 2026 -- City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has risen to 70th place globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, its best-ever result, advancing three places from the previous year.

CityUHK retains world No. 1 in Industry pillar for fourth straight year

The university scored a perfect 100 in the "Industry" pillar, securing the top global position for the fourth consecutive year. The metric evaluates patent development, technology commercialisation and the strength of institutional innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Fontana, Calif. – September 30, 2026 -- FlexScreen / RiteScreen will host a ribbon-cutting for its new manufacturing facility in Fontana, California, on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, marking the launch of Southern California's first fully operational FlexScreen production line.

New Fontana facility expands window and door screen capacity for the Southwest

The plant, located at 13611 Santa Ana Ave, will host current and prospective customers, business partners, community leaders, and media for leadership remarks, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, catered lunch, and guided plant tours. Guests will see the manufacturing processes behind the company's window and door screen products firsthand.

Madison, Wisconsin – September 30, 2026 -- Focus on Energy, Wisconsin's statewide energy efficiency program, marked its 25th anniversary by recognizing four Energy Efficiency Champions at an award ceremony held at the Wisconsin State Capitol, with honorees crediting sustained operational commitments over one-time projects for their results.

Governor Evers Receives Champion Award for Program Support

Public Service Commission Chairperson Summer Strand presented Gov. Tony Evers with an Energy Efficiency Champion Award for his backing of the Focus on Energy program, including annual Energy Efficiency Day proclamations and a Clean Energy Plan that calls for expanding the program's reach across the state.

Richmond, Va. – September 30, 2026 -- Activation Capital, the operating name of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority, has elected Paul Nolde as chair of its Authority Board, succeeding Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, Ph.D., who held the role since 2009. Rao will remain an active board member.

Nolde takes over after serving as vice chair since January 2025

Nolde is President and CEO of 757 Collab and Executive Director of 757 Angels, a venture platform funding high-growth startups in Hampton Roads and across Virginia from post-ideation through seed stage. He previously served as Executive Managing Director of Richmond-based accelerator Lighthouse Labs, Fund Manager and Managing Director of Riverflow Growth Fund, a healthcare-focused seed fund, and as a director at early-stage venture firm NRV.

Rock Tavern, N.Y. – September 30, 2026 -- Amazon warehouse workers at the SWF1 facility in Rock Tavern, New York, launched an unfair labor practice strike, escalating a monthslong dispute over workplace safety that management has failed to resolve.

Workers cite dangerous conveyor speeds and untrained reassignments

Employees say Amazon's conveyor belt speeds create hazardous conditions, forcing staff to sort items amid aisles cluttered with packages and dodge falling parcels. The company's labor sharing policy reclassifies workers into new departments without adequate training, according to strikers, while unfair productivity write-ups compound the pressure on the floor.

Bridgeport, W. Va. – September 30, 2026 -- Pressley Ridge convened more than 50 community partners, advocates, and child welfare experts at the Bridgeport Conference Center from September 15 to 18 for the B~Hope Conference and Summit, focused on advancing kinship care and family-centered support across West Virginia.

Conference spotlights two family-support frameworks

Sessions centered on the Family Centered Treatment Foundation® (FCT) model alongside the newly introduced Pressley Ridge B~Hope Embracing Kinship Caregivers curriculum, both aimed at equipping caregivers and families with practical resources to sustain kinship placements.

Pittsburgh – September 30, 2026 -- Wesco International (NYSE: WCC) has secured the #24 spot on Fortune Magazine's AIQ 75, a ranking of the top 75 Fortune 500 companies for their readiness and ability to deploy AI at scale.

Fortune ranks Wesco among top 75 companies for enterprise AI maturity

The AIQ 75 ranking combines measures of enterprise AI maturity with real-world evidence of AI investment and application. Evaluations were conducted by Fortune in partnership with Enterprise Technology Research (ETR), leveraging ServiceNow's Enterprise AI Maturity Index to assess AI investments, outcomes and industry reputation.

Governance and agent control determine competitive positioning on the list

Fortune stated that companies on the AIQ 75 list place governance and visibility at the center of their AI strategy, using context and control of their AI agents to deliver measurable results.

Englewood, Colo. – – September 30, 2026 -- Footprints Floors founder and CEO Bryan Park has been named one of the Denver Business Journal's Most Admired CEOs of 2026, marking a milestone for the flooring franchise he built from a single Colorado operation into a national network of more than 150 territories.

Air Force veteran built franchise from 2008 financial crisis into 150-territory network

Park founded Footprints Floors in 2008 during the financial crisis, spotting a gap for greater transparency and reliability in flooring installation. He structured the business around a lower-overhead model in which customers buy materials directly from vendors of their choice while the company manages professional installation, avoiding traditional showroom and inventory costs.

Nashville – September 30, 2026 -- Innocan Pharma Corporation (CSE: INNO) (OTCQB: INNPF) will showcase its VALITIC skincare brand at Shoptalk Fall 2026, a retail industry event running September 29 through October 1 at Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Shoptalk Fall draws more than 3,500 retail executives to Nashville

The 2026 edition brings together over 3,500 industry leaders, including 1,300-plus retailer and consumer brand executives, under the theme "Retail Unplugged." Sessions center on strategies, technologies and consumer trends shaping the retail sector heading into 2027, spanning verticals from beauty and apparel to electronics and automotive.

Chicago – September 30, 2026 -- EcoShield Pest Solutions will launch its annual Exterminate Hunger food drive nationwide on Oct. 1, 2026, aiming to surpass last year's total of 27,166 donated nonperishable food items.

EcoShield branches nationwide will collect food for local pantries starting Oct. 1

Every EcoShield branch across the United States will collect nonperishable items in offices and surrounding communities, partnering directly with local food banks and pantries. The company structured the initiative so that donations remain within the neighborhoods where EcoShield employees live and work, rather than routing through a centralized distribution channel.