Washington – September 28, 2026 -- More than 15 million Americans live in one of 1,180 US counties with no general surgeon, according to a national analysis unveiled at the ACS Clinical Congress 2026 and published simultaneously in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Jacksonville, Fla. – September 28, 2026 -- The U.S. independent workforce reached a record 74.9 million people in 2026, driven by a 114% surge in full-time independent professionals since 2020, according to the 16th annual State of Independence study released by MBO Partners by Beeline.

Cary, N.C. – September 25, 2026 -- Small financial institutions rank ahead of similarly sized insurers, government bodies, health care providers and life sciences firms on AI adoption, with 64% of small banks and credit unions using AI in IT operations, according to a new SAS and IDC study.

The report, "AI for SMBs: Closing the Readiness-Reality Gap," surveyed 1,600 small and midsized business leaders across 28 countries in five regions. SMBs were defined as organizations with 100 to 999 employees in the U.S. and 100 to 499 employees elsewhere.

New York – September 25, 2026 -- Sixty-nine percent of enterprise technology decision-makers now weigh energy more heavily in AI and data infrastructure decisions than a year ago, according to new research from EnterpriseDB (EDB) presented at the United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit this week. The survey of 300 respondents, conducted in September 2026, found reliability of supply cited by 49% of respondents as a leading energy factor, with cost and energy efficiency each cited by 48%.

New York – September 24, 2026 -- U.S. oil producers are replacing only 95 barrels of proved developed reserves for every 100 barrels extracted, according to a new white paper from alternative asset manager Kimmeridge, even as natural gas reserve replacement remains above 120%.

New York – September 24, 2026 -- Direct AI-model usage accounts for just 9.4% of an AI agent's recurring monthly operating cost, according to an illustrative model cited in a new report from The Conference Board, underscoring how governance, monitoring, and human supervision drive the bulk of expenses in agentic AI deployments.

Las Vegas – September 24, 2026 -- Hands-on participation at live brand events correlates with an 85% increase in purchase intent among deeply engaged attendees, according to new research from experiential agency Spiro released today.

New York – September 24, 2026 -- Eighty-one percent of senior living executives say resident acuity has increased over the past two years, according to a new report from Sage, an integrated Care Intelligence Platform for senior living and skilled nursing. The findings, unveiled at Sage's caregiving summit Sage Shift, draw on a survey of 510 senior living executives, community leaders and caregivers conducted between July 9 and August 31, 2026, alongside operational data from communities running Sage's platform.

San Francisco – September 23, 2026 -- None of the 15 major institutions interviewed by Bitwise Asset Management reduced their crypto allocations during a roughly 50% market drawdown between Q4 2025 and Q2 2026, with several increasing positions instead, according to the firm's new Institutional Crypto Adoption report.

San Jose, Calif. – September 23, 2026 -- Cisco and Omdia research finds that 95% of enterprises say their existing AIOps tools cannot keep pace with current network demands, while more than half have already shifted to AgenticOps, where AI agents act autonomously in production network environments.