North Carolina is part of Apple’s $500 billion U.S. expansion plans. Apple will expand facilities in nine states over the next four years and create 20,000 jobs, the tech giant said in a news release Monday. With the company’s largest ever financial commitment, it is focusing on artificial intelligence, silicon engineering and skills development.

Apple plans to expand operations in Maiden, North Carolina — roughly 45 minutes from Charlotte — as part of its $500 billion, four-year U.S. expansion, the company announced Monday morning. Why it matters: This is Apple's largest financial commitment to date,

Another $500 million would be spent toward Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in North Carolina in legislation approved unanimously by the state House

It will cost $60 billion for North Carolina to recover from Hurricane Helene, according to the latest state estimate. “The challenges in relation to this are so enormous,” Thomas Chandler, deputy director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University,

North Carolina continues to make progress with disaster recovery, as lawmakers in the state House moved forward funding for Hurricane Helene relief Tuesday,