SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Crest Data, an AI-first product engineering provider specializing in Observability and Cybersecurity for enterprises and technology innovators, today announced 15 new commercial plugins for Grafana, more than doubling its portfolio in the Grafana Marketplace to 25. The release coincides with Grafana Labs moving the Marketplace to general availability at ObservabilityCON 2026. The new plugins span cloud security, virtualization and data protection platforms, so IT, platform and security teams can monitor those systems in Grafana alongside the telemetry they already have, instead of switching between separate vendor consoles.

The Grafana Marketplace gives enterprises a trusted, commercial channel to discover, license and install production-grade plugins directly from the Grafana catalog.

As a founding Marketplace partner, Crest Data arrives at general availability with a broad portfolio of 25 native, agentless data source plugins that query their source systems through their APIs, with no exporters, no extra collection layer and no data ingestion costs. Built in partnership with Grafana Labs, every plugin ships with pre-built dashboards, so teams can unify security, network, virtualization, SaaS and storage monitoring in a single view.

"Crest Data has been developing integrations used by Fortune 100 customers for years, giving us a deep understanding of what enterprises need to meet their operational, security and compliance requirements," said Malhar Shah, co-founder and CEO at Crest Data. "Our plugins bring this experience to the community by unifying IT, platform and security monitoring in Grafana with coverage across the security, network, virtualization, SaaS and storage domains."

"Crest Data brings extensive experience across observability, security and compliance integrations, and we're delighted to have them as part of the Grafana Marketplace," said Ash Mazhari, VP of Corporate Development, Grafana Labs. "Crest Data is a leading contributor to the ecosystem, and we're already seeing strong traction for their plugins from organizations around the world. We look forward to seeing how Crest Data continues to expand what enterprises can achieve with Grafana."

Crest Data's full Grafana plugin portfolio includes:

- Security: FortiGate, Proofpoint Email Security, Zscaler ZIA, Zscaler ZPA, Cisco ASA, Cisco ISE, Tanium, Wiz, Qualys, Prisma Cloud, Tenable

- Network: Cisco Meraki, Akamai, Zscaler ZDX, Infoblox Universal DDI

- Virtualization: VMware vSphere, Citrix Cloud, Citrix DaaS

- SaaS: Tableau, Zoom, SharePoint, Conviva

- Storage and Data Protection: NetApp ONTAP, Dell PowerScale, Rubrik

To learn more about Crest Data's Grafana services, including Marketplace plugins, migrations, implementations, customizations and managed services, visit https://www.crestdata.ai/solutions/grafana/

About ObservabilityCON 2026

ObservabilityCON is Grafana Labs' flagship observability event, bringing together practitioners, experts and leaders to explore the latest innovations in observability and the fast-moving AI era. ObservabilityCON 2026 takes place at Pier 27 in San Francisco from Oct. 19–21, featuring three days of technical sessions, hands-on workshops, live demos, user success stories and opportunities to connect with the Grafana observability community.

About Crest Data

Crest Data is an AI-first product engineering provider specializing in Observability and Cybersecurity for enterprises and technology innovators. We design, build and operate intelligent platforms across security, observability, AI, cloud and data. Through deep engineering expertise and AI-led integrations and migrations, Crest Data helps organizations improve visibility, modernize technology platforms and build resilient, future-ready operations. Learn more at https://www.crestdata.ai/

SOURCE Crest Data

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Dean Tucci Appeals $43 Million CFPB Judgment: "A Dramatic Example of CFPB Over-Reaching"

PALATINE, Ill., Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Businessman Dean Tucci is challenging a $43.24 million federal judgment in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, calling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) case an extraordinary example of government overreach.

The judgment includes $2.1 million in consumer restitution and a staggering $41.1 million civil penalty.

"This is beyond ridiculous," said Tucci. "The CFPB sued a tax prep and accounting firm that was no longer in business that when operating employed tax attorneys, tax accountants, and IRS Enrolled Agents. When there was no one to legally defend the firm in court, they obtained a default judgment against the company – without ever having to prove any of their allegations and then pursued me personally for more than 5 years for a self-calculated ridiculous fine of $43 million on a business that did $2 million in sales over 3 years."

FDATR, was an acronym for Federal Debt and Tax Relief and provided tax prep and resolution services and also did a small portion of the business helping students prepare docs to get their student loans out of default.

"The company worked hand in hand with the Department of Education," Tucci said, "and provided students with help getting out of default and also assisted with wage garnishments and getting tax refunds released."

Tucci sold the company in 2017 to Kenneth Halverson. FDATR closed in May of 2019 and then dissolved in September 2020, before the CFPB filed suit.

"When I owned the company, the student loan doc prep portion of FDATR was never a money maker – the fees ranged from $99 to $600, Tucci stated, "but I decided to keep providing these services because it was helping students get their life back in order – plus it returned money to the Federal Government when they started to make payments again."

In November of 2020, the CFPB sued the closed FDATR, Inc.; Ken Halverson and Dean Tucci personally for alleged violations of the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule banning advance fees put in place in 2010 for credit card debt settlement firms. However, the Rule specifically stated that Tax Prep firms were exempt – which FDATR was. The suit also alleged that FDATR was providing credit repair services because of one line on its website that stated you could improve your credit score if your student loan was moved out of default.

On November 20, 2020, the CFPB served the last owner of FDATR, Ken Halverson, at his home. 62 minutes after he was served he tragically died by suicide. In addition, when the CFPB served him, he was no longer an officer of the company as it was dissolved 2 months prior and Illinois law clearly states that you have to serve an officer or a registered agent of a dissolved company of which Halverson was neither.

"The CFPB then dropped the case against the now deceased Halverson and continued the lawsuit against the defunct company, but it had no one defending it, and I was told by the courts I couldn't represent the company because I no longer owned it. The CFPB also made claim that I ignored the matter, however, I was not legally able to do anything on the matter," Tucci stated.

The CFPB then obtained a default judgement against FDATR, again without ever proving any of its allegations of violating the TSR Advance Fee law and then spent the next 5 years looking to move the default judgement over to Tucci personally.

Tucci also challenges in his appeal the CFPB's reliance on customer database records to support its extraordinary monetary fine calculations.

Tucci stated, "Half of the $41 million fine was calculated for allegedly taking advance fees and the other half was for allegedly acting as a credit repair agency, however, each client signed a limited power of attorney for us to begin work and the first paragraph of that agreement clearly stated in writing the company did not provide debt relief services and would not correct entries on client credit reports."

According to the appellate arguments, the CFPB identified approximately 6,046 paying customers in the FDATR database, however, Tucci maintains that in his Appeal that they failed to establish what each customer actually purchased nor did they match it against any bank records.

"We sold tax prep and resolution services along with student loan doc prep services," Tucci stated, "in addition, the student loan doc prep clients made small monthly payments like $99 a month and most of the work was completed in 1-2 months but they calculated payments made after the services were completed as advance fees. In addition, every customer who paid for services received what they purchased and for the small amount that could not be helped, we refunded."

The CFPB did identify 20 complaints in the database of 6046 records – which amounted to 1/3 of 1 percent of its customers, however, not one FDATR client ever filed a complaint with the CFPB.

"This case has dragged on for almost 6 years, Tucci stated, and has cost enormous legal expenses and devastating reputational damage, and while the CFPB dropped cases against major banks like Chase, Bank of America and Capital One in the last year, they have still relentlessly gone after me."

"Forty-three million dollars. No trial. A dissolved company. A dead business partner. And they then put out a press release calling my appeal frivolous," Tucci stated.

Case: CFPB v. FDATR, Inc. and Dean Tucci, Seventh Circuit No. 25-2607.

For More Information on this case, contact [email protected]

Contact: News Releases 1

[email protected]

SOURCE Dean Tucci

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The new Rewards add-on brings churn prediction, industry benchmarking and next purchase prediction together, so brands can aim each campaign at the members who need it.

SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- TrueLoyal today launched Advanced Analytics, an add-on to TrueLoyal Rewards that helps loyalty teams decide where to focus. It shows which members are going quiet, which are likely to buy again, and how a brand's program compares with other loyalty programs in its industry.

Most loyalty teams can report what their program did last quarter. What they can't easily do is see which members need an offer and which ones are coming back anyway. Offers go to the whole list, and part of that spend lands on members who were going to buy anyway. Advanced Analytics puts a prediction on every member profile, and those predictions show up as conditions in the campaign builder, so a team can turn a score into a campaign audience in the same place the program runs.

Advanced Analytics includes AI Churn Prediction, which labels each buying member by how likely they are to drift away, and Benchmarking, which gives each program a Loyalty Health Score compared to loyalty programs in the same industry based on publicly available data. Next purchase prediction estimates when each member is likely to buy again.

"A prediction is only useful if a team knows what to do with it, so we built Advanced Analytics around the campaigns a loyalty team already runs," said Caleb Fox, VP of Product at TrueLoyal. "The predictions sit on the member profile and go straight into the campaign builder, so the team can act on them right away."

"Mid-market brands can't afford to spread their loyalty budget evenly and hope," said Jacek Materna, CEO of TrueLoyal. "Advanced Analytics shows a team who to reach and when to reach them, and the team still decides the play."

Advanced Analytics is available now to TrueLoyal Rewards customers. To learn more, contact a TrueLoyal account representative or visit https://www.trueloyal.com/advanced-analytics.

About TrueLoyal

TrueLoyal is loyalty software for mid-market consumer brands that sell both online and in stores. TrueLoyal Rewards gives shoppers a reason to identify themselves when they buy and a reason to come back, and TrueLoyal Fan Club™ gives a brand's best customers a place to gather, create content and bring their friends. Learn more at trueloyal.com.

SOURCE TrueLoyal

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Experience Halloween Where It Began: Ireland Invites you to Celebrate the Season of Samhain

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As autumn descends across the island, Ireland invites the world to experience Halloween at its source. More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain marked the transition from summer to winter and laid the foundations for the Halloween traditions celebrated around the world today.

Púca Festival in Meath and Derry Halloween in Northern Ireland are the two main festivals, forming the core of Ireland's Halloween celebrations.

Other Halloween events run from late October into November. From Limerick and Galway on the Wild Atlantic Way to counties Longford and Westmeath in the Hidden Heartlands and medieval Kilkenny in the Ancient East.

A notable Halloween celebration can be found in Galway, where the celebrated Macnas Halloween Parade captivates audiences with giant mythical figures, dazzling visual effects, live performance, and a uniquely Irish interpretation of Halloween tradition.

The Dublin City Bram Stoker Festival celebrates the world's most famous vampire, Dracula, and his Dublin-born creator. One of Dublin's biggest arts festivals, it delves into the city's Gothic history and heritage.

Ireland's Halloween celebrations blend ancient heritage with contemporary creativity, creating unique experiences that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. From family-friendly festivals to immersive cultural experiences, the season offers something for everyone seeking a memorable autumn escape.

The deep-rooted mythology lives on through these world-class festivals, torchlit traditions, storytelling, and spectacular seasonal experiences across the island.

From atmospheric forests and ancient passage tombs to vibrant towns and cities alive with music, folklore, and fire, visitors can immerse themselves in the rich heritage of the birthplace of Halloween.

When it comes to culinary experiences Halloween in Ireland is a feast for the senses, where ancient Samhain traditions are celebrated through seasonal flavors, harvest ingredients, and cherished food customs passed down through generations.

Experience the wonder of autumn in Ireland through landscapes, cultural traditions, and the unmistakable spirit of Halloween in its ancestral home.

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New service to Atlanta and Chicago will provide convenient connections to destinations across the country

SMYRNA, Tenn., Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Contour Airlines is pleased to announce new nonstop jet service from DuBois Regional Airport (DUJ), beginning February 1, 2027, expanding travel options for the DuBois community and surrounding region. The new service will connect travelers to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) daily and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) five days per week.

The new routes will provide residents, business travelers, and visitors with convenient access to two major airport hubs, offering connections to destinations across the United States and around the world. With jet service available locally, travelers throughout the region will have greater access to business and leisure travel without the added drive to a larger airport.

"Contour Airlines is proud to bring new travel opportunities to DuBois and the surrounding communities," said Ben Munson, President of Contour Airlines. "We understand how important reliable air service is to a region, whether it's helping local businesses connect with customers, making travel easier for residents, or welcoming visitors to the area. We look forward to serving the community and providing a comfortable, convenient travel experience."

Contour will operate the new routes with its fleet of 30-seat regional jet aircraft, featuring extra legroom, complimentary snacks, and inflight service. The aircraft provide a comfortable travel experience while connecting smaller communities with major destinations.

The addition of service to Atlanta and Chicago will strengthen the region's air travel options, making it easier for residents to reach destinations farther afield while supporting business travel and tourism. By connecting DuBois to two major hubs, Contour will help travelers begin their journeys closer to home while accessing a broader network of destinations.

"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Contour Airlines to our community," said Kathy Blake, Assistant Manager of DuBois Regional Airport. "Introducing nonstop jet service to both Atlanta and Chicago is a true game-changer, giving local travelers seamless, direct access to two of the world's most connected aviation hubs. This service will provide the perfect combination of close-to-home convenience and global flexibility, making it easier than ever to start your journey locally and connect to hundreds of destinations worldwide."

Flight Schedule:

DuBois Regional Airport (DUJ) – Atlanta (ATL)

DuBois Regional Airport (DUJ) – Chicago O'Hare (ORD)

For further details, please visit www.contourairlines.com or contact Customer Service at (888) 332-6686.

About Contour:

Contour Airlines offers a premium airline product that includes a complimentary snack and beverage service on all flights. Contour operates a growing fleet of regional jets featuring leather seating with expanded legroom in every row. Tickets are available for purchase on Contour's website at contourairlines.com, by calling the Contour call center at (888) 332-6686, and through local and online travel agencies. Travelers can also book seamless connections with Contour's interline partners; Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, and United.

SOURCE Contour Airlines

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Fulcrum and Slalom work together to empower electrical, gas, and water utilities businesses to prioritize and realize the full potential of their AI investments

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Fulcrum, the Field Operations Management (FOM) platform for utilities and the service providers who serve them, today announced that it is working with Slalom, the fiercely human business and technology company. Together, the companies will help develop and deliver AI transformation solutions for field operations and business initiatives that require high-quality field data for analysis, process automation, and digital transformation.

"Utility leaders are being asked to invest in AI and to prove it pays off, and in field operations the payoff happens in the field," said Jim Grady, CEO of Fulcrum. "Slalom helps utilities decide where AI will make the biggest difference and measure what it delivers. Fulcrum replaces the many narrowly scoped field apps and all the pen and paper with a single platform for field operations, so AI gets the whole job to work on, not one slice of it."

AI investments can't improve utility business outcomes when operational field data remains fragmented across single-purpose mobile apps, spreadsheets, and paper forms. From routine inspections to storm restoration, unreliable frontline data undermines enterprise AI initiatives, while traditional office-based tools fail to solve the operational realities of field work.

Fulcrum replaces fragmented field tools with a single platform for running, recording, and closing out work. Slalom adds the strategy, tools, and services to help utilities scale AI transformation, process redesign, and adoption. Their AI Value Platform helps clients prioritize where to deploy AI, quantify value before investing, and measure realized outcomes. Together, Fulcrum and Slalom put AI to work in three areas.

AI for field operations. Fulcrum puts AI where fieldwork happens: Audio FastFill turns a crew member's spoken observations into structured form entries, hands-free. Fulcrum Insights improves office-based decision-making by answering plain-language questions against the complete field record. Finally, teams also use AI to build on Fulcrum: they describe the workflow they need and get back a working tool that inherits Fulcrum's security model, permissions, GIS and offline sync. Slalom helps organizations identify where these AI capabilities can make a practical difference and integrate them into field and office workflows. By enabling field teams to self-serve using a governed system, Fulcrum increases flexibility without encouraging shadow IT.

A data foundation for enterprise AI. Fulcrum validates every record at capture and ties it to a location, a time and a person, giving enterprise AI high-quality, defensible data it can put to work immediately. Teams can track where materials are installed for warranty work, how quickly inventory is used and where loss and breakage occur, then compare those patterns across projects. Slalom helps clients connect this trusted field data to enterprise priorities, so teams can build a path from better records to useful analytics and AI. As records accumulate and a reliable historical record develops, the same data supports periodic anomaly detection across projects. It also powers predictive models that guide asset maintenance and the vegetation work that reduces wildfire risk.

Quantifying the return on AI. Slalom's 2026 Global AI Insights Survey found that 91% of organizations plan to increase AI investment in 2026, yet only 39% track ROI. Slalom's AI Value Platform helps utilities assess and prioritize AI use cases based on business value and impact. As part of this collaboration, the platform can quantify benefits such as defensible records and decision-grade data, identify high-impact use cases, and track realized value against forecasts after go-live. It's proving the business case rather than simply promising it.

"Utilities are increasingly investing in AI as they respond to rising energy demand and prepare for more frequent extreme weather events and emergencies," said Tim Stafford, Global Lead for Energy & Natural Resources at Slalom. "Slalom brings the industry perspective and transformation experience to help utilities turn trusted field data into AI-powered operations, integrated with existing enterprise systems they rely on. Together with Fulcrum, we enable utilities to provide crews and leaders with defensible information to act with confidence and deliver critical work safely and reliably."

Utilities should visit fulcrumapp.com to contact their Fulcrum team to assess how Fulcrum and Slalom's joint capabilities can improve their business.

About Fulcrum

Fulcrum is the AI-native field operations management platform: the platform field organizations use to run, record, and close out their work. Almost 3,000 companies, across electric, gas, water and wastewater utilities and the service providers who serve them, use Fulcrum for asset management, vegetation management, linear construction, and disaster recovery and emergency response. Learn more at fulcrumapp.com.

About Slalom

Slalom is a fiercely human business and technology consulting company that leads with outcomes and champions leaders to dream big and build now. From strategy through delivery, our agile teams across 54 offices in 12 countries collaborate with clients to bring powerful customer experiences, innovative ways of working, and new products and services to life. We are trusted by leaders across the Global 1000, many successful enterprise and mid-market companies, and 500+ public sector organizations to improve operations, drive growth, and create value. At Slalom, we believe that together, we can move faster, dream bigger, and build better tomorrows for all.

SOURCE Fulcrum

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Moises and SoundCloud Partner to Bring AI-Supported Creation, Collaboration and Distribution Together for 150+ Million Artists

New integration enables artists to bring their SoundCloud tracks into Moises, utilize the first of its kind agentic creator suite, and publish directly back to SoundCloud to reach fans and unlock monetization opportunities.

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Moises, the ethically trained AI-powered creative suite used by 80 million musicians, and SoundCloud, the global music platform connecting artists and fans, today announced a new partnership that introduces a new generation of creative tools and distribution to artists worldwide, designed to make it easier for artists to create, collaborate, and share their music.

The integration connects SoundCloud's global artist and fan community with Moises' suite of AI-powered creative tools, enabling musicians to seamlessly bring their existing SoundCloud tracks into Moises to practice, produce, collaborate, and reimagine their work before publishing finished music directly back to SoundCloud.

Moises is redefining how musicians create, practice, and produce music through an AI-supported creative suite designed to enhance, rather than replace, human creativity. The platform brings professional-grade capabilities like stem separation, chord and lyric detection, AI-assisted mixing and mastering, and real-time collaboration into one accessible creative environment. With the introduction of Moi, its agentic production assistant, Moises is making sophisticated music production more intuitive, helping artists of all skill levels experiment with new sounds, refine their work, and bring their creative visions to life.

For nearly 20 years, SoundCloud has been a launchpad for music discovery and artist development, giving creators a place to experiment, share works-in-progress, connect with fans, and build careers on their own terms. This partnership builds on that foundation, connecting more of the creative process with the communities and audiences artists are building on SoundCloud.

Together, SoundCloud and Moises are helping lower the barriers between an artist's initial idea and its release, putting powerful creative technology within reach while keeping artists at the center of the process. By making it easier to move between creation and distribution, the partnership gives musicians more freedom to experiment, develop their sound, and bring their work to audiences around the world.

With the new integration, artists can:

- Import their own music: Connect their SoundCloud account and bring eligible tracks directly into Moises; via mobile or web.

- Practice and learn: Utilize Moises' industry-leading stem separation, chord detection, and lyric detection.

- Produce and collaborate: Open any track in Moises Studio (Moises' web-based audio studio) to mix it, master it, or reimagine the track with contextual stem generation. Artists can also invite producers and other artists to collaborate on their tracks in real-time.

- Just ask Moi: Moi is the first of its kind agentic production assistant designed specifically for audio workstations. Let Moi set up sessions, mix and master to your requirements, and teach musicians of all levels how to expand their creativity and achieve their sound.

- Release and monetize: Publish finished tracks directly back to SoundCloud, where eligible artists can reach listeners and monetize qualifying music.

"The goal continues to be the democratization of professional-grade tools for musicians," said Geraldo Ramos, founder and CEO of Moises. "SoundCloud has always led the way in supporting independent musicians and we couldn't be more proud to bring the first-ever agentic creative suite to their artists."

"SoundCloud has always been a place where artists experiment, push boundaries, and turn creative ideas into something bigger," said Eliah, CEO of SoundCloud. "Our partnership with Moises builds on that foundation by giving artists powerful new ways to develop their music, collaborate, and bring their work directly back to the communities they're building on SoundCloud. We believe the future of AI in music should be artist-first and human-first, with technology expanding creative possibilities while keeping artists in control. This integration is another step toward making that future a reality."

Advancing an artist-first approach to AI

The partnership reflects a shared belief that AI should serve as a tool for human creativity, helping musicians explore new possibilities while preserving their creative agency and control.

SoundCloud's approach to AI is grounded in the principles of consent, attribution, transparency, and creator control, supporting responsible innovation that expands opportunities for artists while protecting their rights and creative work. SoundCloud does not use artists' music to train generative AI models without their explicit consent.

Moises shares this commitment to responsible AI development. Its models are trained exclusively on licensed and authorized music, not on content that users upload or create within the platform. Rather than generating complete songs, Moises' tools are designed to support musicians as they practice, produce, and build upon their own creative ideas.

Together, the companies are demonstrating how AI-powered creative tools can complement human artistry while connecting musicians with the distribution, discovery, and monetization opportunities needed to grow their careers.

Exclusive benefits for SoundCloud and Moises subscribers

To make it easier for artists to explore both platforms, Moises Pro subscribers will receive a 2-month trial to SoundCloud Artist Pro, while SoundCloud Artist Pro members will similarly receive 2 month trials to Moises Pro.

About SoundCloud

SoundCloud empowers artists, tastemakers and fans to connect and share through music. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud is a creator-first platform helping artists build and grow their careers by providing them with the most advanced tools, services, and resources. With 500+ million tracks from 40+ million artists across 193 countries, SoundCloud is where emerging artists find their sound, hidden gems are discovered, and music culture is shaped in real time.

About Moises

Moises is the creative suite used by 80 million musicians worldwide, giving everyone from hobbyists to world-class artists studio-level tools to practice, perform, create, and collaborate across mobile, desktop, and web. Powered by more than 50 proprietary AI models, the platform processes nearly six years' worth of audio every day. Built by a global team with experience at Spotify, Pandora, and TikTok, Moises was named Apple's 2024 iPad App of the Year and is available worldwide in 33 languages.

SOURCE Moises

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AWS is investing in 3M's Expanded Beam Optical technology for its data center infrastructure

SAINT PAUL, Minn., Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 3M (NYSE: MMM) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) today announced an expanded strategic collaboration. AWS plans to deploy and scale 3M's Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) platform for its data center infrastructure. Together, the two leading American companies will advance co-innovation and investment in optical connectivity and the critical infrastructure needed for next-generation super intelligence (SI), also known as artificial intelligence (AI).

"AWS's adoption of 3M's EBO platform demonstrates the potential of our optical connectivity technology to meet the performance demands of next-generation data center infrastructure," said Wendy Bauer, Group President of 3M's Transportation and Electronics Business Group. "By combining AWS's infrastructure expertise and scale with 3M's innovation and materials science capabilities, we can accelerate EBO deployment, advance our transformation and strengthen U.S. innovation and investment."

"Our work with 3M reinforces our commitment to supporting good jobs here in the U.S.," said Jens Gruenkemeir, Vice President of Supply Chain & Procurement at Amazon. "Beyond powering the services people use every day, from online banking and hospital data records to streaming entertainment and retail purchases, our data center investments are unlocking economic opportunities in the communities where we invest and across the supply chain, including the hundreds of jobs being supported by 3M as a result of its collaboration with Amazon."

The collaboration and related investments are expected to strengthen the U.S. economy by supporting more than 500 jobs directly and indirectly, including the creation of more than 100 new roles through 2027 across Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin. These planned roles will support customer co-innovation, technology advancement and supply chain development across 3M's optical networking portfolio and help accelerate industrywide adoption through collaboration with partners.

3M expects to contribute nearly $0.5 billion to the U.S. economy through its optical connectivity business. This investment will accelerate innovation in optical networking and fiber termination, enable commercialization at scale and drive adoption across the data center industry.

The collaboration builds on 3M's announcement earlier this year that it will double production capacity at its Menomonie, Wisconsin, manufacturing facility, and is expected to support U.S. manufacturing partners involved in equipment and production scale-up throughout the supply chain.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release are considered "forward-looking statements" under the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and are intended to enjoy the protection of those laws. Forward-looking statements may appear throughout this release and are typically identified by the words "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "can," "continue," "could," "estimate," "evaluate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "goal," "guidance," "impact," "initial," "intend," "likely," "may," "outlook," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "probable," "project," "seek," "should," "strategy," "target," "will," "would," and other words that are similar to, or have the opposite meanings of, those words. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, 3M assumes no duty to update those statements, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of those statements. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events and trends that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those described in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of 3M's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

About 3M

3M (NYSE: MMM) is focused on transforming industries around the world by applying science and creating innovative, customer-focused solutions. Our multidisciplinary team is working to solve tough customer problems by leveraging diverse technology platforms, differentiated capabilities, global footprint and operational excellence. Discover how 3M is shaping the future at 3M.com/news.

Contacts

3M Investor Contact:

Diane Farrow, 612-202-2449

3M Media Contact:

[email protected] 

SOURCE 3M Company

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Thirty new grants will enable park partners and parks to implement new approaches to natural resource management, public safety, interpretation, and more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Park Foundation (NPF) has awarded $12 million in grants to support a second cohort of 30 new, innovative projects across the National Park System. This investment will benefit more than 40 national parks and enable collaboration between parks, park partners, and others to test new ideas and scalable technologies that will strengthen parks, expand what is possible, and ensure these extraordinary places endure for generations.

This second cohort builds on the inaugural launch of NPF's innovation grants earlier this year, bringing NPF's total investment in innovation in 2026 to nearly $25 million and expanding into new focus areas like interpretation and natural resource management. Grantees will experiment with ideas that can improve how parks manage natural, cultural, and historic resources; strengthen public safety; make visitor information more accessible; and deepen partnerships.

Like the first round of grants, these projects are designed to solve site-specific challenges while producing models and tools other parks can use. Parks and partners will participate in learning groups, working with NPF and the National Park Service (NPS) to replicate what works, address barriers to scale, and share relevant lessons with other parks. Every project was developed by parks and their partners, reflecting NPF's commitment to empower those closest to the work.

A few highlights include:

- Washington's National Park Fund will partner with NPS' North Coast and Cascades Network and scientists at Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks to develop an AI-enabled hazard forecasting system that turns weather, hydrologic, snowpack, vegetation, and lightning-strike data into actionable information for park management to make earlier and more precise decisions about closures, staffing, emergency response, infrastructure protection, and visitor safety.

- Lincoln Presidential Foundation will connect six NPS sites in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky that tell the story of Abraham Lincoln's life and legacy, supporting a shared network of virtual tours, 3D documentation, and multilingual, accessible self-guided experiences that expand access onsite and online, support newer park units with limited visitor facilities, and offer a model for other parks seeking to link sites in different places into one story.

- Rocky Mountain Conservancy will develop protocols for and conduct thermal infrared aerial surveys at Rocky Mountain National Park to improve monitoring of moose populations, inform adaptive wildlife management and wetland restoration, and establish methods other parks can adapt for wildlife population monitoring.

- Chalon Indian Council of Bakersfield will strengthen tribal co-stewardship at Pinnacles National Park by training Chalon Indian Nation tribal members in low-impact archeological sensing technologies, cultural monitoring, and approaches that integrate Indigenous values into cultural resource management.

- Independence Historical Trust will launch a drone program at Independence National Historical Park to support the park during large events and emergencies and enable staff to more easily inspect roofs and hard-to-reach features of the park's aging historic buildings.

View the full list of grants included in the second cohort here.

"National parks have always represented a bold idea, and their future depends on continued innovation," said NPF Chief Program Officer Mike Reynolds. "The National Park Foundation was inspired by the overwhelming interest from parks and park partners, and we are proud to double down on our support for their new ideas that can make their parks safer, more resilient, and more enjoyable and meaningful for the millions of people who experience them each year."

These grants are made possible with the support of NPF's donors and partners, including Lilly Endowment Inc., Peter and Betsy Chung, Robert and Kitty Brunswick, Cody J Smith, The Ball Foundation, and Arconic Foundation.

The response from parks and park partners has been overwhelmingly positive, with more than 200 unique proposals received in 2026. NPF plans to open a call for 2027 projects in the coming months.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION

The National Park Foundation is the nation's most trusted way for people to support America's national parks. We work with the National Park Service and partners across the country to fund priority projects that keep parks strong, relevant, and accessible. This work helps ensure parks continue to inspire pride across the country and offer experiences that create meaningful connection. In 2025, NPF funded $100 million in on-the-ground priority projects nationwide, made possible through the generosity of donors, to advance critical work, including infrastructure, restoration, education, and access, ensuring parks continue to endure for generations to come. Learn more at nationalparks.org and follow NPF on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

SOURCE National Park Foundation

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New partnership will support student athletics, outdoor spaces, and families across Williamson County, Tennessee

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- TruGreen, America's No. 1 lawn care company, today announced a new partnership with Williamson County School District, becoming an Official Partner of the Williamson County School District & Athletics. The partnership brings together two organizations with strong ties to the local community and creates new opportunities to support students, athletes, and families across Williamson County.

TruGreen is a Tennessee-based company with a support center located in Williamson County; the partnership provides an opportunity for the company and its local team to deepen its involvement in a community where many TruGreen employees live and work.

"Williamson County is an important community for TruGreen, not only because we operate here, but because many of our employees and their families live, work, and spend time here," said Kurt Kane, President & Chief Executive Officer at TruGreen. "We're proud to partner with Williamson County Schools and bring our expertise to the outdoor spaces that play such an important role in bringing students, athletes, and families together."

As part of the partnership, TruGreen's local team will work with Williamson County School District & Athletics to identify opportunities to support the district's grounds care needs through tailored commercial services, including fertilization, weed control, aeration, tree & shrub care, mosquito and tick treatment solutions. TruGreen will also serve as a resource to the coaches and field crews, bringing local expertise and customized solutions to help address the unique lawn care needs of the sports fields around the county.

TruGreen will also serve as an official sponsor of the 2027 WILLCO Awards in Spring 2027, an annual celebration recognizing local athletes, coaches, and their families.

Throughout the partnership, TruGreen will have a presence at various Williamson County Schools athletic events, creating opportunities to engage with students, families, and fans through interactive game-day experiences and activities. The company will also extend a special friends-and-family offer on residential lawn care services to the Williamson County Schools community. Additionally, TruGreen flags and banners will be displayed at home field stands and athletic facilities across the county reflecting the company's commitment to helping people enjoy the outdoor spaces where they live, work and play.

"We're grateful to welcome TruGreen as a partner and appreciate their investment in Williamson County Schools and our community," said Patrick Whitlock, Williamson County Athletics Director, at Williamson County School District. "This partnership gives our schools and athletic teams access to TruGreen's local expertise and commercial lawn care solutions while creating new opportunities to engage and celebrate our students, athletes and families throughout the year."

This partnership builds on TruGreen's broader commitment to supporting the communities where its employees and customers live and work while helping create outdoor spaces people can enjoy.

To learn more about the partnership & request services, visit our website here.

About TruGreen

Founded in 1973, TruGreen is the nation's leading lawn care provider, providing lawn, tree and shrub, and pest services focused on exceeding its customers' needs. The company operates more than 290 locations across the United States and Canada, with more than 14,000 employees. TruGreen is the partner with the local, tailored solutions and science-driven expertise needed to help each outdoor living space look and feel its very best. For more than 50 years, TruGreen has stayed committed to making its customers' outdoor living space a place they can be proud of. For more information about TruGreen, visit TruGreen.com and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

SOURCE TruGreen

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