Category Archives: WPTF News

The scars from Hurricane Helene are healing slowly in this Appalachian tourist town

The scars from Hurricane Helene are healing slowly in this Appalachian tourist town

CHIMNEY ROCK VILLAGE, N.C. (AP) — Despite being nearly wiped off the map by the remnants of Hurricane Helene, tiny Chimney Rock Village in North Carolina had optimistically predicted it would be open for business by Memorial Day. But in the days leading up to the holiday, a security guard at the town’s entrance still turns away all but locals and construction workers. Mayor Peter O’Leary admits Main Street likely won’t reopen until summer sometime. He said nearly a third of businesses were destroyed by last September’s flooding. While some are likely gone forever, there are signs of progress. Amish volunteers from Pennsylvania are rebuilding wrecked shops and inns. The state is close to finishing a temporary bridge for Chimney Rock State Park to reopen. O’Leary says the long rebuild will be worth it.… Continue Reading

King Charles to outline Canada’s priorities in Parliament amid Trump annexation threat

King Charles to outline Canada’s priorities in Parliament amid Trump annexation threat

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — King Charles III will outline new Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government priorities in a speech in Parliament in what’s viewed as a show of support in the face of annexation threats by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump’s repeated suggestion that the U.S. annex Canada prompted Prime Minister Carney to invite Charles to give the speech Tuesday from the throne. The king is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies. Carney says the visit speaks to the “vitality of our constitutional monarchy and our distinct identity.”… Continue Reading

Hurricanes’ 15-loss streak in East finals games is over. And Rod Brind’Amour is thrilled by that

Hurricanes’ 15-loss streak in East finals games is over. And Rod Brind’Amour is thrilled by that

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Go back to June 1, 2006. Rod Brind’Amour was a captain then; he’s a coach now. Logan Stankoven was 3 years old then; he’s a budding star now. And in those days, when people talked about Cam Ward, they meant the goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes, not the quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes. That was also the last day on which Carolina won an Eastern Conference finals game. Until Monday, that is. It’s over. Not the season. The streak. Carolina’s 15-game streak of consecutive losses in the East finals ended Monday night, with the Hurricanes beating the Florida Panthers 3-0 in Game 4 of their matchup.… Continue Reading

Meet Hercules and Ned, the border collies fending off wildlife at West Virginia’s busiest airport

Meet Hercules and Ned, the border collies fending off wildlife at West Virginia’s busiest airport

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two border collies have a full-time job keeping birds and other wildlife off the runway at West Virginia’s busiest airport. Hercules and Ned make daily patrols with their handler to keep planes and passengers safe along the milelong airfield at West Virginia International Yeager Airport. Hercules is 8 years old and has been on the job at the mountaintop airport in Charleston since 2018. Ned is 3 and was brought in last year. Hercules is also the airport’s chief ambassador, soaking in affection from passengers inside the terminal while providing calm for some nervously waiting to board a flight.… Continue Reading

North Carolina’s high court says elections board shift can continue while appeals carry on

North Carolina’s high court says elections board shift can continue while appeals carry on

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Supreme Court has confirmed it was OK for a new law that shifted the power to appoint State Board of Elections members away from the Democratic governor to start being enforced earlier this month. The court’s Republican majority declined or dismissed requests Friday that Gov. Josh Stein made three weeks ago to block for now the enforcement of the Republican law shifting authority to State Auditor Dave Boliek while Stein seeks to overturn it. But the court didn’t immediately act, so Boliek made his appointments May 1. The old Democratic-majority board now has a Republican majority. Appeals over the law’s constitutionality can continue.… Continue Reading

Kyle Larson to start on front row at Coca-Cola 600 alongside pole sitter Chase Briscoe

Kyle Larson to start on front row at Coca-Cola 600 alongside pole sitter Chase Briscoe

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Chase Briscoe won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 and will start on the front row for NASCAR’s longest and most grueling race alongside Kyle Larson. Briscoe, driving the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, turned a lap of 182.852 mph on the 1 1/2-mile oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway to edge out Larson, who plans to arrive at the track about an hour before the race Sunday night after completing the Indianapolis 500. William Byron starts third, followed by Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger. Rounding out the top 10 will be John Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman and defending race champion Christopher Bell.… Continue Reading

Panthers score 5 in the 3rd period, roll past Hurricanes 6-2 and move a win away from Cup final

Panthers score 5 in the 3rd period, roll past Hurricanes 6-2 and move a win away from Cup final

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Niko Mikkola and Aleksander Barkov each scored twice, and the Florida Panthers scored five goals in a nine-minute span of the third period to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 on Saturday night and move one win from a third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Jesper Boqvist — playing for the injured Sam Reinhart — scored the go-ahead goal early in the third for Florida, which now leads the Eastern Conference finals 3-0. Brad Marchand also scored for the Panthers and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots. Logan Stankoven and Seth Jarvis scored for Carolina, which has now dropped 15 consecutive East finals games… Continue Reading

Federal judge blocks Trump administration decision to bar foreign student enrollment at Harvard

Federal judge blocks Trump administration decision to bar foreign student enrollment at Harvard

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a Trump administration decision to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students. The temporary restraining order stops the government from pulling Harvard’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allows the school to sponsor international students as they obtain visas to study in the U.S. Harvard filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts earlier Friday.… Continue Reading

Bennett, Verhaeghe help Panthers roll past Hurricanes 5-0, take 2-0 lead in Eastern final

Bennett, Verhaeghe help Panthers roll past Hurricanes 5-0, take 2-0 lead in Eastern final

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sam Bennett scored one of his two goals in Florida’s three-goal first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves and the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final. Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk also scored in another tone-setting opening 20 minutes for the reigning Stanley Cup champions, while Carter Verhaeghe had three assists. Bennett scored a second time by skating in to clean up an attempt at the right post in the final minute of the second period to make it 4-0, ending a long shift in Carolina’s end prolonged by Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns being stuck on the ice after breaking his stick. Aleksander Barkov scored midway through the third as punctuation.… Continue Reading

Recent News

Powered By SoCast