Google DeepMind and OpenAI each achieved a gold medal performance in this year's International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) challenges, Axios' Megan Morrone reports.

• Google's results were officially certified. But OpenAI released its results first — highlighting the speed and urgency in the race to build the best AI models.

🏅Both Google and OpenAI said their models solved five out of the six IMO problems perfectly, earning 35 total points — a gold medal score.

• OpenAI didn't actually enter the competition, but self-evaluated its model based on the contest's challenges.
• 🆚 The IMO is an elite high school math competition, drawing participants from over 100 countries.

The results from both companies show how far general-purpose AI models have progressed in solving advanced math problems and delivering the answers in natural language.

• ♣️ Models that previously beat humans in Go, poker and other competitions were trained specifically for those games.
• But these are high-performing, general-purpose models meant for language, coding and science.

What's next: Both companies used experimental versions of their models in the contest, but may eventually release them for public use.

• 🧮 "We hope that this will empower mathematicians so they can crack harder and harder problems," Google DeepMind senior staff research scientist Thang Luong tells Axios.

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Southwest Airlines passengers can start buying assigned seats next week for flights in January and beyond, Axios' Jason Lalljee reports.

• The airline's signature boarding process will be replaced by a system more like those of other airlines.
• 8️⃣ There will be eight boarding groups based on seat selection and loyalty status, among other factors.

💬 "Assigned seating unlocks new opportunities for our customers ... and removes the uncertainty of not knowing where they will sit in the cabin," Tony Roach, Southwest's executive vice president customer & brand, said in a statement.

💺 It's a big change from Southwest's trademark open-seating system.

• The shift — plus the end of free checked bags for all passengers — leaves little to distinguish Southwest from higher-end or truly budget airlines.

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1. 🔥 Central Oregon's Cram Fire is now the country's largest active wildfire, burning nearly 100,000 acres as the Pacific Northwest sees a particularly active start to fire season. Go deeper.
2. 🪖 Justin Fulcher, a top adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left the Pentagon, marking the sixth recent major departure following a series of scandals and leaks. Go deeper.
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The unofficial start of fall has a date: Aug. 26, when Starbucks will resurrect the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports.

• This year's launch date is four days later than last year's, and marks the latest release since 2022.

The PSL's return comes as the "Summerween" trend has retailers stocking Halloween candy and decorations on their shelves earlier and earlier in the year.

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