Category Archives: WPTF News

North Carolina lawmakers focus on guns, immigration and parental rights ahead of a key deadline

North Carolina lawmakers focus on guns, immigration and parental rights ahead of a key deadline

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gun access, parental rights and responses to illegal immigration proved recurring topics in legislation approved by at least one North Carolina General Assembly chamber before a key deadline during the two-year session. Policy bills that didn’t pass one chamber by Thursday are considered dead through 2026 — or at least face long odds to advance. In contrast to chaotic activity before past “crossover deadlines,” the House and Senate managed to wrap up work this week on Wednesday. Next up at the General Assembly is passage of a budget package by the state House.… Continue Reading

Panthers release veteran Jadeveon Clowney after selecting two edge rushers in the NFL draft

Panthers release veteran Jadeveon Clowney after selecting two edge rushers in the NFL draft

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have released veteran Jadeveon Clowney after selecting two edge rushers in the NFL draft. Clowney, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft, had 5 1/2 sacks last season for the Panthers. He had one year left on his contract. The Panthers drafted Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton in the second round and Mississippi’s Princely Umanmielen in the third round in the NFL draft with an eye towards getting younger at the position.… Continue Reading

Trump says he’ll pull the nomination of Ed Martin, who defended Jan. 6 rioters, for DC US Attorney

Trump says he’ll pull the nomination of Ed Martin, who defended Jan. 6 rioters, for DC US Attorney

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said that he will pull the nomination of conservative activist Ed Martin Jr. to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital, after a key Republican senator said he could not support him for the job due to his defense of Jan. 6 rioters. “We have somebody else that will be great,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday when asked about the status of Martin’s confirmation. He said it was disappointing, but “that’s the way it works sometime.” Martin stirred up a chorus of critics during his brief but tumultuous tenure leading the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office. He fired and demoted subordinates who worked on politically sensitive cases.… Continue Reading

More than 100 vultures die in a mass poisoning in South Africa’s flagship national park

More than 100 vultures die in a mass poisoning in South Africa’s flagship national park

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — At least 123 vultures have died in South Africa’s flagship national park after eating the carcass of an elephant that was poisoned by poachers with agricultural pesticides. Park authorities and an animal conservation group say Thursday that another 83 vultures that were rescued from the site and transported for treatment by helicopter or a special vulture ambulance were recovering. National Parks agency SANParks says the mass poisoning was one of the worst seen in the famous Kruger National Park in northern South Africa. Many of Africa’s vulture species are listed as endangered or critically endangered, with poisoning one of the biggest threats to them.… Continue Reading

ACC cuts 20-game men’s basketball slate to make room for nonconference games in bid to boost sport

ACC cuts 20-game men’s basketball slate to make room for nonconference games in bid to boost sport

The Atlantic Coast Conference is reducing its 20-game men’s basketball schedule to 18. That will give teams two more spots for marquee nonconference games in a bid to boost a league getting a dwindling haul of NCAA Tournament bids. That’s according to a person familiar with the decision. That person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league hasn’t formally announced the move. It comes after the league has spent the past two seasons examining how to improve its bid chances. The league had four this season for its lowest haul since 2013.… Continue Reading

The election director in North Carolina, a key swing state, is ousted after a Republican power play

The election director in North Carolina, a key swing state, is ousted after a Republican power play

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s elections board has ousted the agency’s executive director after Republicans gained control. The State Board of Elections on Wednesday replaced executive director Karen Brinson Bell with Sam Hayes, the top lawyer for the GOP’s House speaker. Brinson Bell has been widely praised in election circles nationwide for her performance as executive director for nearly six years. The board’s composition got altered just last week through a state law enacted late last year by Republican lawmakers that stripped the Democratic governor of his appointment power and gave it to the Republican state auditor. The law got implemented even though trial judges struck it down as unconstitutional just two weeks ago.… Continue Reading

Federal Reserve leaves key rate unchanged as it sees risk of higher prices and higher unemployment

Federal Reserve leaves key rate unchanged as it sees risk of higher prices and higher unemployment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday, brushing off President Donald Trump’s demands to lower borrowing costs, and said that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen. The Fed kept its rate at 4.3% for the third straight meeting, after cutting it three times in a row at the end of last year. Many economists and Wall Street investors still expect the Fed will reduce rates two or three times this year, but the sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump have injected a tremendous amount of uncertainty into the U.S. economy and the Fed’s policies.… Continue Reading

Republican concedes long-unsettled North Carolina court election to Democratic incumbent

Republican concedes long-unsettled North Carolina court election to Democratic incumbent

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Republican challenger for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat has conceded last November’s election to the Democratic incumbent. Jefferson Griffin said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday that he would not appeal a federal judge’s decision favoring Associate Justice Allison Riggs. Griffin’s decision sets the stage for Riggs to be officially elected to an eight-year term as an associate justice. It would end the nation’s last undecided race from the 2024 general election. The federal judge said disputed ballots challenged by Griffin must remain in the final tally and ordered results to be certified to show Riggs is the winner by 734 votes.… Continue Reading

Key Republican says he won’t back Trump’s pick for top DC prosecutor because of Jan. 6 ties

Key Republican says he won’t back Trump’s pick for top DC prosecutor because of Jan. 6 ties

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed. The high court acted Tuesday in the dispute over a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service. The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold. Just after beginning his second term in January, Trump moved aggressively to roll back the rights of transgender people. Among the Republican president’s actions was an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.… Continue Reading

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