Including 2026's best colleges, a new AI-powered platform from PR Newswire, and a new collection from Urban Outfitters and Dunkin'.

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists and consumers stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. U.S. News Announces 2026 Best Colleges Rankings
   Serving as a guide for prospective students and their families, the national and regional rankings evaluate nearly 1,700 colleges and universities using up to 17 measures of academic quality. In a show of continued excellence, eight of the top-ranked schools in the ten ranking categories retained their No. 1 position, with the remaining two finishing a strong second.
2. PR Newswire Launches Amplify: AI Platform to Accelerate Modern PR and Communications Capabilities
   A new platform gives communicators the tools to transform a single press release into a full-scale campaign, ensuring their message breaks through to global audiences and AI alike.
3. Compass Announces Combination with Anywhere Real Estate in All-Stock Transaction
   The combined company is expected to have an enterprise value of approximately $10 billion, including the assumption of debt. This transaction pairs Compass' years of investment in technology, innovative marketing offerings, and real estate professionals with Anywhere's leading brands, broader and complementary businesses, and global reach.
4. Urban Outfitters and Dunkin' Celebrate the Fall Equinox with a Campus-Ready Collaboration
   The capsule, ranging from $29-$75, features best-selling silhouettes from UO, including a Graphic Tee, Hoodie, Boatneck Tee, Bubble Hoodie, and sweatshort. Each piece reimagines Dunkin's iconic colors and beloved treats—frosted donuts, hot and iced coffee, and Refreshers—into playful graphics that turn everyday Dunkin' runs into style statements.
5. GE Aerospace Successfully Completes Supersonic Flight Tests of a Solid-Fueled Ramjet at Kennedy Space Center
   This phase of ATLAS is designed to showcase and validate the key performance capabilities of solid fuel ramjets during flight, offering essential insights for future systems requiring enhanced speed, range, and responsiveness. 
6. From Austin, With Spirit: Tito's Handmade Vodka Welcomes LALO Tequila to the Fifth Generation, Inc. Family
   Using only three ingredients – fully mature Highland agave, deep well water from Jalisco's mineral-rich soil, and champagne yeast selected for its harmonious flavor profile – LALO has crafted a blanco tequila with a clean, distinctive flavor that's quickly winning fans across the country.
7. From Check-In to Championship: Marriott Bonvoy Debuts Keysakes to Give Fans the Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience of Waking Up at Super Bowl LX
   To kick off the latest season of its NFL partnership, Marriott Bonvoy has teamed up with 2025 NFL "Fanbassador" Adam Devine and six global artists to debut Marriott Bonvoy Keysakes: art-driven, NFL-themed keycards that can also unlock sports' ultimate prize: waking up inside Levi's Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday in the Marriott Bonvoy Super Bowl Sleepover Suite.
8. Instacart Launches Consumer Insights Portal to Power Faster, Smarter Decisions for Brands
   The offering gives brands a faster, clearer picture of what's driving trial, loyalty, and basket-building across channels, and helps marketers refine promotions, product placement, and media strategies week to week.
9. Axon to acquire AI-powered 911 communications company Prepared, strengthening the public safety ecosystem from call to closure
   Prepared's technology synthesizes call audio, text, video, GPS and real-time translation into a single view, supporting more than 1,000 agencies across 49 states. 
10. Ariana Grande Debuts Two Wicked-Inspired Fragrances Ahead of the Release of "Wicked: For Good," In Partnership with Luxe Brands and Universal Pictures
    "I wanted to find a way to pay tribute this chapter and honor these amazing, once-in-a-lifetime, characters and really capture what they represent through fragrance – the light, the complexity, the beauty of both Glinda and Elphaba," says Grande.
11. Water Environment Federation, Amazon, The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and Leading Utilities of the World Launch Groundbreaking Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence
    The groundbreaking collaboration will develop sustainable water practices for AI infrastructure while also using AI to solve global water challenges. This knowledge hub at the confluence of water and AI brings together water utilities, technology companies, and researchers to address the complex relationship between digital infrastructure and water sustainability.
12. Sherwin-Williams and HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams Unite to Name Universal Khaki as their 2026 Color of the Year
    The 2026 Color of the Year is a warm, grounded neutral that captures the essence of life's bare essentials, offering a calming simplicity and timeless appeal. With its understated elegance and everyday versatility, Universal Khaki encourages slowing down, resetting and designing with purpose.

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