Category Archives: WPTF News

Firefighters in the Carolinas battle multiple wildfires as New Jersey crews contain a forest blaze

Firefighters in the Carolinas battle multiple wildfires as New Jersey crews contain a forest blaze

Firefighters in North and South Carolina are battling multiple wind-driven wildfires. The fires are burning in rugged terrain that is complicating efforts to contain them. North Carolina State University forestry professor Robert Scheller says millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last fall have dried out and are helping fuel the blazes. Burn bans remain in effect in both Carolinas and mandatory evacuations continue in parts of North Carolina’s Polk County. Hundreds of miles north in New Jersey, the state Forest Fire Service says a wildfire in the Pinelands region was 100% contained on Monday morning.… Continue Reading

Proctor, Flagg help No. 1 seed Duke roll past Baylor 89-66 to reach Sweet 16 of March Madness

Proctor, Flagg help No. 1 seed Duke roll past Baylor 89-66 to reach Sweet 16 of March Madness

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tyrese Proctor had career highs of seven 3-pointers and 25 points to continue his recent tear, helping No. 1 seed Duke beat Baylor 89-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Blue Devils, the headliner in the East Region and one of the favorites to win it all. They will face either Oregon or Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey. Proctor made 7 of 8 3-pointers — his third straight game with at least six 3s. Freshman V.J. Edgecombe scored 16 points for Baylor.… Continue Reading

A new museum in Texas tells the life stories of Medal of Honor recipients

A new museum in Texas tells the life stories of Medal of Honor recipients

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A new museum is opening in Texas highlighting the lives and service of Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War to the global war on terrorism. The National Medal of Honor Museum opens Tuesday in Arlington. Over 3,500 people have received the Medal of Honor, which is awarded by Congress for risking one’s life in combat beyond the call of duty. Retired U.S. Army colonel and Medal of Honor recipient Jack Jacobs says he wants museum visitors to realize the recipients aren’t “spectacular supermen,” but regular people who embody important values.… Continue Reading

Education secretary says Columbia University’s changes put it on track to recover funding

Education secretary says Columbia University’s changes put it on track to recover funding

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon says Columbia University is “on the right track” to recover federal funding frozen by the Trump administration. McMahon’s comments on CNN’s “State of the Union” follow Columbia agreeing to a host of policy changes demanded by the administration. Earlier this month, the Trump administration pulled $400 million in federal funding over how the university handled protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Federal officials demanded the university make nine changes to its academic and security policies before the administration would consider restoring the money. The university said Friday it would agree to nearly all of the demands.… Continue Reading

NC State officially announces hiring of McNeese’s Will Wade as new Wolfpack men’s basketball coach

NC State officially announces hiring of McNeese’s Will Wade as new Wolfpack men’s basketball coach

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State has announced the hiring of McNeese’s Will Wade as the Wolfpack’s new men’s basketball coach. The school announced the hiring Sunday. That came a day after Wade’s McNeese team lost to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. An introductory news conference for Wade is scheduled for Tuesday. It caps a week in which Wade was unusually open about his conversations with N.C. State. Wade had won 58 games the past two seasons at McNeese. That marked a climb back to prominence after he was fired at LSU in 2022 amid allegations of recruiting violations.… Continue Reading

Wildfires prompt evacuations and an emergency declaration in the Carolinas

Wildfires prompt evacuations and an emergency declaration in the Carolinas

Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation in one North Carolina county as emergency crews fought separate fires in an area of the state still recovering from Hurricane Helene, while South Carolina’s governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety issued a mandatory evacuation Saturday night for parts of Polk County in western North Carolina. The agency warns residents could be trapped, injured, or killed if they remain in the impacted areas. In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster has declared a state of emergency as part of an effort to stop a blaze in Pickens County called the Table Rock Fire that started Friday in the Blue Ridge Mountains.… Continue Reading

Ole Miss holds off frantic UNC comeback to beat Tar Heels 71-64 in NCAA Tournament

Ole Miss holds off frantic UNC comeback to beat Tar Heels 71-64 in NCAA Tournament

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sean Pedulla made a critical 3-pointer with 52.8 seconds left, and Mississippi topped North Carolina 71-64 in the NCAA Tournament after the Rebels squandered most of a 22-point lead in the second half. Ole Miss, the No. 6 seed in the South Region, will chase its first Sweet 16 berth since 2001 when it faces No. 3 seed Iowa State on Sunday. The Rebels are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. They hadn’t won an NCAA tourney game since beating BYU 94-90 in the First Four in 2015, and they hadn’t advanced beyond the round of 64 since 2013.… Continue Reading

North Carolina justices decide family can sue over unwanted COVID-19 shot

North Carolina justices decide family can sue over unwanted COVID-19 shot

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s highest court says a mother and son can sue a school system and a doctors’ group on allegations they gave the boy a COVID-19 vaccine without consent in 2021. The state Supreme Court on Friday reversed a lower-court decision that declared a federal health emergency law blocked the litigation. The Supreme Court has ruled the law did not prevent lawsuits alleging violations under the state constitution. According to the litigation, Tanner Smith was 14 when he received the vaccination against his will at a Guilford County school clinic. Smith and his mother, Emily Happel, filed a lawsuit alleging claims of battery and that their constitutional rights were violated.… Continue Reading

Tobacco Road is front and center of March Madness with 3 women’s sites and men’s site in area

Tobacco Road is front and center of March Madness with 3 women’s sites and men’s site in area

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Tobacco Road is the center of the NCAA Tournament this week with three women’s first-round sites at Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State. There’s also the men’s first-round games being played at N.C. State as well. In all, there’s 21 men’s and women’s teams in the area for the games. No city comes close to that, including Los Angeles which has both UCLA and Southern Cal hosting first-round women’s sites. It’s the first time that there’s been so much basketball in one area at four different venues. The “Triangle” as its known, hosted three women’s first-round sites in 1998, but there was no men’s games in the area that year.… Continue Reading

Trump orders a plan to dismantle the Education Department while keeping some core functions

Trump orders a plan to dismantle the Education Department while keeping some core functions

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the Education Department. The Republican president announced his plan Thursday. Trump has derided the Education Department as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, completing its dismantling is most likely impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in 1979. And the White House says the department would not close completely right now. It is to retain certain critical functions, like managing federal student loans and Pell grants.… Continue Reading

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