HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A Minnesota horticulture teacher set a world record in California on Monday for the heaviest pumpkin after growing a giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms). Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, won the 50th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California, with an enormous, lumpy, orange pumpkin that could produce at…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday confirmed that U.S. citizens are among the hostages captured by Hamas as he condemned the militant group for the “sheer evil” of its shocking weekend assault on Israel. “Our hearts may be broken but our resolve is clear,” said Biden, who compared the brutality of the Hamas militants to that of the…
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military says it has regained effective control over its south and the border with the Gaza Strip four days after Hamas fighters stormed into the country and brought gunbattles to its streets for the first time in decades. The declaration on Tuesday came as the Israeli Defense Forces sought to make good on the government’s vow…
DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union said Friday it will not expand its strikes against Detroit’s three automakers after General Motors made a breakthrough concession on unionizing electric vehicle battery plants. Union President Shawn Fain told workers in a video appearance that additional plants could be added to the strikes later. The announcement of the pause in expanding…
Uber is adding a new task to its list of services: mailing consumers’ return packages. The ride-hailing and delivery company said Wednesday that its drivers will collect up to five prepaid and sealed packages and drop them off at a local post office or at UPS or FedEx stores. Uber will charge a flat fee of $5 for the service…
A $1.2 billion Powerball jackpot will again be up for grabs Wednesday night after an 11-week stretch without a big winner, but no matter how large the prize grows the odds stay the same — and they’re terrible. It’s those odds of 1 in 292.2 million that make the jackpot so hard to win and that result in such giant…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown — a first in U.S. history, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throwing the House and its Republican leadership into chaos. It’s the end of the political line for McCarthy, who has said repeatedly that he never gives up, but found…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear unveiled a portion of his state budget proposal Tuesday that deals with infrastructure, including funding requests for improving drinking water, affordable housing and road and bridge improvements. Beshear, who is running for reelection against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, said the state’s economy is “red-hot” and should use a historic budget surplus…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown, a first in U.S. history, The 216-210 vote, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives, throws the House and its Republican leadership into chaos. McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, brought forward the “motion to vacate” drawing together more than a…
WASHINGTON (AP) — “How would you be different as speaker, compared to Mr. Boehner?” a reporter asked then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in September 2015 as the California Republican pursued, and eventually gave up, his first attempt at the speakership. McCarthy laughed while standing next to outgoing Speaker John Boehner — who had just stepped down after facing a threat…
