Category Archives: WPTF News

Why are clocks set forward in the spring? Thank wars, confusion and a hunger for sunlight

Why are clocks set forward in the spring? Thank wars, confusion and a hunger for sunlight

DALLAS (AP) — Once again, most Americans will set their clocks forward by one hour this weekend, losing perhaps a bit of sleep but gaining more glorious sunlight in the evenings as the days warm into summer. How we came to move the clock forward in the spring, and then push it back in the fall, is a tale that spans over more than a century and is one that’s driven by two world wars, mass confusion at times and a human desire to bask in the sun. There’s been plenty of debate over the practice but about 70 countries currently use what Americans call daylight saving time.… Continue Reading

Bragg to Liberty and back again: Ceremony to rechristen Army post once named for a Confederate

Bragg to Liberty and back again: Ceremony to rechristen Army post once named for a Confederate

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — First it was Fort Bragg, named in honor of a Confederate general. Then it was Fort Liberty. Now, the North Carolina Army installation is officially Fort Bragg again, only this time in honor of a World War II paratrooper and Silver Star recipient from Maine. A ceremony Friday celebrated the post’s new namesake, Pfc. Roland L. Bragg. President Donald Trump made restoring Confederate names a part of his reelection campaign. While some call it a cynical dodge, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the rededication honors an American hero and restores a name that soldiers knew and revered for over a century.… Continue Reading

Angry Birds, Frogger and others are finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame

Angry Birds, Frogger and others are finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — The World Video Game Hall of Fame has revealed its 12 finalists for 2025. Members of the public have a week to vote for their favorites online. The finalists are: Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Defender, Frogger, Golden Eye, Golden Tee, Harvest Moon, Mattel Football, Quake, NBA 2K and Tamagotchi. The World Video Game Hall of Fame honors games that have achieved longevity, geographical reach and have influenced game design and pop culture. The Class of 2025 will be enshrined May 8 at the Hall of Fame’s new space inside The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.… Continue Reading

Judge orders Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in USAID and State Dept. debts

Judge orders Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in USAID and State Dept. debts

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has given the Trump administration until Monday to pay nearly $2 billion owed to partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development and State Department. Thursday’s decision thaws the administration’s six-week funding freeze on all foreign assistance. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled in favor of nonprofit groups and businesses that sued over the funding freeze, which has forced organizations around the world to slash services and lay off thousands of workers. Ali issued his order a day after a divided Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s bid to freeze funding that flowed through USAID.… Continue Reading

Trump reaches 36.6 million television viewers for first address to Congress in second term

Trump reaches 36.6 million television viewers for first address to Congress in second term

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump reached an estimated 36.6 million television viewers for his address to Congress, the Nielsen company said. That’s up from former President Joe Biden’s 32.2 million in 2024, and the most since Biden reached 38.2 million in 2022. It was a smaller audience than Trump reached for his annual address in any of the four years of his first term, Nielsen said. Fox News Channel, the most popular network for Trump fans, dominated viewing, reaching 10.7 million people. Nielsen said 71% of Trump’s television viewers were 55 and older.… Continue Reading

NFL legend Bill Belichick is coaching practices again. Only now he’s a college rookie at UNC

NFL legend Bill Belichick is coaching practices again. Only now he’s a college rookie at UNC

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Bill Belichick is back on the practice sidelines again, though now in college at North Carolina. The 72-year-old coach who won six Super Bowls with the NFL’s New England Patriots opened spring practices at UNC this week. He also held his first news conference on campus since his introductory one after his hiring in December. Belichick told reporters that players have responded well to the new staff. That comes as Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi have talked about building what amounts to a mini-NFL model in a college program. UNC’s spring practices run through April 12.… Continue Reading

Trump takes credit for ‘swift and unrelenting’ action in speech to Congress

Trump takes credit for ‘swift and unrelenting’ action in speech to Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking credit for “swift and unrelenting action” in reorienting the nation’s economy, immigration and foreign policy as he updates Congress and the American people on his turbulent first few weeks in office. Democratic legislators have immediately registered their dissent with stone faces, placards calling out ’lies,” and one legislator’s ejection. The Republican-led House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake America’s place in the world. Trump says he is working to “reclaim democracy from this unaccountable bureaucracy” and has threatened federal workers anew with firings if they resist his agenda.… Continue Reading

North Carolina rolls to season-high 6th straight win, beats Virginia Tech behind season-high 15 3s

North Carolina rolls to season-high 6th straight win, beats Virginia Tech behind season-high 15 3s

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ven-Allen Lubin collected his first double-double as a Tar Heel and Ian Jackson hit five of North Carolina’s season-high 15 3-pointers while scoring 19 points in a 91-59 victory over Virginia Tech on Tuesday night. The Tar Heels (20-11, 13-6 ACC) extended their season-high win streak to six as they prepare to end the regular season at home against No. 2 Duke on Saturday. North Carolina won 20 games in a season for the 65th time. Lubin, whose previous stops were at Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jaydon Young and Ben Burnham scored 12 points each for the Hokies.… Continue Reading

James Harrison, Australian blood donor whose ‘golden arm’ helped save 2.4 million babies, dies at 88

James Harrison, Australian blood donor whose ‘golden arm’ helped save 2.4 million babies, dies at 88

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — James Harrison, who was credited with saving 2.4 million babies through blood plasma donations over six decades, has died at 88. Harrison’s plasma contained an antibody that helped protect fetuses and newborns from a rare disease. Harrison made 1,173 donations from age 18 until he was forced to retire at age 81. His record was recognized by Guinness World Records in 2005 and stood until 2022. His grandson said Harrison died in a nursing home in Australia’s New South Wales state on Feb. 17. The Australian Red Cross Blood Service said Harrison was known as the “Man with the Golden Arm.”… Continue Reading

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