TIME is reporting that more than a third of U.S. counties have no general surgeons, according to a new analysis published Sept. 28 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. It said 38% of counties, home to roughly 15 million Americans, have no general surgeons, and 30% have no surgeon across 12 different specialties. Dr. Thomas Tsai, medical director for health policy research at the American College of Surgeons and a co-author of the study, said access to surgeons is the keystone for the broader rural health care ecosystem. TIME said the study provides another data point that rural health care is in trouble in the United States.
TIME is reporting that a months-long breach in the Defense Department's human resources database exposed the personal information of millions of military personnel and those related to them, including Social Security numbers and job details. It said a Pentagon official confirmed Tuesday that some 2.76 million living individuals and 294,000 deceased individuals were affected by the breach at the Defense Manpower Data Center. The breach was first reported by Military Times. TIME said it remains unclear what files were accessed and who was behind the incident, and that affected individuals were notified by mail.
TIME is reporting that Sen. John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has spent much of the past two years antagonizing his own party, is now asking Republicans for campaign cash. It said Fetterman has sent fundraising appeals through email addresses associated with Republican candidates, including one message vowing he would always reject socialism and the anti-American way of life. TIME said it is unclear who owns the lists or what arrangement Fetterman's campaign has with them. It said the effort is the latest sign of Fetterman's rightward turn since entering the Senate in 2023, and that the shift has coincided with a collapse in his fundraising. Fetterman raised roughly $76 million before winning his Senate seat, but took in about $7.4 million during his first two years in office and less than $2 million since the start of 2025, TIME said. It said he has not said whether he will seek reelection in 2028.
TIME is reporting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will announce plans to cut the number of positions reserved for generals and admirals by 20% during a speech to service members on Wednesday, citing Pentagon officials and the Wall Street Journal.
TIME is reporting that Google's aggressive push of artificial intelligence into its dominant search engine has quietly turned millions of people into AI users. It said Google's AI Mode has racked up more than 1 billion monthly users, a figure rivaling the estimated 1 billion monthly active users of ChatGPT in May, according to Sensor Tower.
TIME is reporting that reviews for Tom Cruise's latest movie, Digger, have been mixed at best. It said TIME film critic Stephanie Zacharek described the film as reverse-engineered awards bait and pure, empty-headed trickery.