US

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A California engineer and gardening enthusiast won the top prize at an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California after growing a giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,346 pounds (1,064 kilograms). Brandon Dawson, of Santa Rosa, California, clinched the victory Monday at the 52nd World Championship … Read more

OpenAI said Monday it is working with chipmaker Broadcom to design its own artificial intelligence computer chips. The two California companies didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal but said they will start deploying the new racks of customized “AI accelerators” late next year. It’s the latest big deal between OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, … Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than 2.5 million North Carolina residents are getting over $6.5 billion in medical debt eliminated through a state government effort that offered hospitals extra Medicaid funds from Washington if they gave patients the financial relief and implemented policies to discourage future liabilities. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, the … Read more

MIAMI — The Miami Seaquarium, an old-Florida style tourist attraction that gained international attention as the filming location for the 1960s television series “Flipper” and thrilled generations of tourists with trained dolphin and orca shows, has closed its doors. Sunday’s closure of the park that opened in 1955 was celebrated by animal rights activists who … Read more

NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — LendingTree CEO and founder Doug Lebda died in an an all-terrain vehicle accident over the weekend, the online loaning platform said Monday. In a company announcement, LendingTree confirmed that Lebda unexpectedly died on Sunday and that its leadership “deeply mourns his passing” while extending condolences to the executive’s … Read more

NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Armed with hundreds of thousands of dollars from Newman’s Own Foundation and Ozempic creator Novo Nordisk, young Native Americans are leading the fight against persistently high rates of food insecurity in tribal communities. In a rare example of agency for a beneficiary community, 21 emerging Indigenous leaders recently … Read more

JPMorgan Chase will directly invest up to $10 billion in U.S. companies with crucial ties to national security. The investment plan revealed Monday will focus on four areas: supply chain and advanced manufacturing in critical minerals, pharmaceutical precursors and robotics; defense and aerospace; energy independence, with investments in battery storage and grid resilience; and strategic … Read more

DARTMOUTH, Mass. — DARTMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — A plane crashed along a highway in Massachusetts early Monday, sending a plume of smoke into the air and forcing the closure of the major highway, the Massachusetts State Police said in a statement. It was unclear whether there were injuries in the crash in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. In … Read more

More than 30 people were rescued and three people remain unaccounted for in western Alaska after the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and flooding strong enough to sweep away entire homes in coastal communities, authorities said. Rescue aircraft were sent to the tiny Alaskan villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, where there were reports … Read more

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican attack on a core provision of the Voting Rights Act that is designed to protect racial minorities comes to the Supreme Court this week, more than a decade after the justices knocked out another pillar of the 60-year-old law. In arguments Wednesday, lawyers for Louisiana and the Trump … Read more