Category Archives: WPTF News

Permitless concealed carry in North Carolina faces uphill battle after some GOP pushback

Permitless concealed carry in North Carolina faces uphill battle after some GOP pushback

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators have given final approval to a bill allowing eligible adults to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. However, the legislation faces a handful of challenges before it can become law. A likely veto from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein is the first. Republicans also lack a supermajority in the House that allows them to override the governor’s vetoes. A few Republican House members also joined in with Democrats to vote against the bill Wednesday. If passed, North Carolina would become the 30th state in the country to allow the concealed carry of a handgun without a permit.… Continue Reading

Female athletes appeal landmark NCAA settlement, saying it violates federal antidiscrimination law

Female athletes appeal landmark NCAA settlement, saying it violates federal antidiscrimination law

Eight female athletes have filed an appeal of a landmark NCAA antitrust settlement. They argue that women would not receive their fair share of $2.7 billion in back pay for athletes who were barred from making money off their name, image and likeness. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement last week. The athletes who appealed the settlement Wednesday competed in soccer, volleyball and track. An attorney representing the women says the settlement violates Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education. The attorney says female athletes are being deprived of $1.1 billion.… Continue Reading

Jury convicts Harvey Weinstein of top charge in the retrial of his landmark #MeToo sex crimes case

Jury convicts Harvey Weinstein of top charge in the retrial of his landmark #MeToo sex crimes case

NEW YORK (AP) — Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of one of the top charges in his sex crimes retrial. But the former movie mogul was also acquitted Wednesday of another charge, and jurors were as yet unable to reach a verdict on a third charge. The split verdict meted out a measure of vindication to his accusers and prosecutors. It was also to Weinstein after the landmark case was thrown into limbo. Weinstein was initially convicted five years ago. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and told the court before the partial verdict was read Wednesday that the trial was not fair.… Continue Reading

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

Recent News

Powered By SoCast