Category Archives: WPTF News

Nationals’ bat-retrieving dog Bruce gets call up to majors from Triple-A, set for MLB debut Saturday

Nationals’ bat-retrieving dog Bruce gets call up to majors from Triple-A, set for MLB debut Saturday

A ballpark-tested Golden Retriever named Bruce is going to the major leagues to scoop up bats on baseball’s biggest stage for the Washington Nationals after the team said he worked his tail off in the minors. Yes, Bruce is the team’s “Top Paw-spect.” The Nationals shared the wonderful news that Bruce the Bat Dog has been called up, set to make his major league debut Saturday at home against the Miami Marlins — his promotion perfectly timed for Pups in the Park day at Nationals Park.… Continue Reading

Brian Wilson, Beach Boys visionary leader and summer’s poet laureate, dies at 82

Brian Wilson, Beach Boys visionary leader and summer’s poet laureate, dies at 82

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys has died at 82. One of the world’s most beloved and influential musicians, his family posted news of his death to his website Wednesday. The Beach Boys’ many hits include “Good Vibrations,” “California Girls” and “Surfin’ USA.” The eldest and last surviving of three musical brothers, he and his fellow Beach Boys rose from local California act to national hitmakers to international ambassadors of the American dream. Wilson himself was celebrated for his beautiful music and agonizing perfectionism and pitied for the demons that plagued him.… Continue Reading

Chris Pollard hired as Virginia’s baseball coach after 13 seasons at Duke

Chris Pollard hired as Virginia’s baseball coach after 13 seasons at Duke

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Chris Pollard has been hired as Virginia’s baseball coach after spending the past 13 seasons at Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke. Pollard succeeds Brian O’Connor, who left June 1 for Mississippi State. Pollard was 420-296 and led the Blue Devils to seven NCAA regionals, four super regionals and two ACC Tournament championships. Duke hosted a super regional this season, losing in three games to Murray State. Pollard takes over a Virginia program that went to 18 NCAA regionals, nine super regionals and seven College World Series in 22 years under O’Connor. The 2015 team won the national championship.… Continue Reading

Judge denies NC State cornerback Corey Coley Jr.’s request for fifth year of eligibility

Judge denies NC State cornerback Corey Coley Jr.’s request for fifth year of eligibility

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled against cornerback Corey Coley Jr.’s request that he be granted a fifth year of eligibility to play football at N.C. State and earn name, image and likeness money. Coley is one of several players suing the NCAA over its rule that college athletes may play only four seasons within a five-year period. He sought an injunction that would allow him to play this fall, but U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III denied the request. Coley played three seasons at Maryland before transferring to N.C. State, where he played six games in 2024 before suffering a season-ending injury.… Continue Reading

Tar Heels players embrace new world as part of coach Bill Belichick’s first college team

Tar Heels players embrace new world as part of coach Bill Belichick’s first college team

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s football players are working in a new world since the arrival of NFL coaching great Bill Belichick to take over the Tar Heels program. Belichick won six Super Bowls as coach of the New England Patriots. UNC receiver Jordan Shipp described his first reaction to Belichick’s hiring as realizing the man he called the “greatest coach of all time” was about to be his coach. Shipp and defensive back Will Hardy said Belichick’s sense of humor caught them off guard amid his all-business demeanor.… Continue Reading

Southern Baptist delegates at national meeting overwhelmingly call for banning same-sex marriage

Southern Baptist delegates at national meeting overwhelmingly call for banning same-sex marriage

DALLAS (AP) — Southern Baptist delegates at their national meeting overwhelmingly endorsed banning same-sex marriage — including a call for a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 10-year-old precedent legalizing it nationwide. They also called for legislators to curtail sports betting and to support policies that promote childbearing. The votes came at the gathering of more than 10,000 church representatives at the annual meeting of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. A proposed resolution says legislators have a duty to “pass laws that reflect the truth of creation and natural law — about marriage, sex, human life, and family” and to oppose laws contradicting “what God has made plain through nature and Scripture.”… Continue Reading

Bills sign former Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson, coming off 2 injury-shortened seasons

Bills sign former Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson, coming off 2 injury-shortened seasons

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills signed Shaq Thompson to a one-year contract in providing the veteran linebacker an opportunity to continue his career after two injury-shortened seasons. Thompson was not re-signed by Carolina in March after spending his first 10 seasons with the Panthers. He joins the Bills, where he’s reunited with coach Sean McDermott, who was Carolina’s defensive coordinator during Thompson’s first two seasons with the team. Thompson was a first-round draft pick in 2015 and a starter in Carolina from his rookie season, before being slowed by injuries. He appeared in just six games over the past two years after breaking his ankle in 2023 and then tearing his Achilles tendon the following year.… Continue Reading

Trump says he will ‘liberate’ Los Angeles in speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army

Trump says he will ‘liberate’ Los Angeles in speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump called protesters in Los Angeles “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a speech at Fort Bragg as he defended deploying the military on those protesting his immigration enforcement. Trump on Tuesday used a speech ostensibly supposed to be used to recognize the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army to denounce the protesters in Los Angeles while repeating his false statements about the 2020 election being rigged and attacking the previous commander-in-chief, former President Joe Biden. Trump has used the recent protests in Los Angeles as an opportunity to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines over the objections of California’s governor.… Continue Reading

Poll shows broad support for vaccines, rising concern over decline in childhood immunizations

Poll shows broad support for vaccines, rising concern over decline in childhood immunizations

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – A new national poll from the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease reveals strong bipartisan support for FDA-approved vaccines, even as concerns grow over declining childhood immunization rates. Despite lingering mistrust fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, most Americans still trust their personal healthcare providers and back continued vaccine development. Experts like Candace DeMatteis say states like North Carolina play a key role in medical innovation—and maintaining public trust and access is essential to protecting public health.
… Continue Reading

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