Category Archives: WPTF News

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Sadness is settling in across Texas where at least 120 people have died from flash floods and more are missing. A growing memorial wall in the Hill Country includes photos of those have died. The search for more victims moved slowly Thursday as stifling heat and mounds of trees, hunks of lumber and trash made the task more difficult. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state lawmakers to approve funding for new warning systems and emergency communications in flood prone areas. The devastation stretches from the Hill Country all the way to just outside the state’s capital city. President Donald Trump plans to visit on Friday.… Continue Reading

Stocks close higher, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to more highs

Stocks close higher, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to more highs

Stocks are off to a sluggish start on Wall Street, while Delta Air Lines led a rally in airline stocks after releasing a solid outlook for the rest of 2025. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 55 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with big technology companies, set an all-time high the day before. Cereal maker WK Kellogg soared after agreeing to be acquired by Nutella maker Ferrero Group. Copper prices rose.… Continue Reading

North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital set to bring 8,000 jobs to Apex

North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital set to bring 8,000 jobs to Apex

APEX, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital will be built in a bedroom community of Raleigh. UNC Health and Duke Health announced the Apex location on Thursday. The announcement follows their January agreement to jointly develop the 500-bed pediatric hospital. The campus will also include outpatient care, over 100 behavioral health beds, and a research and education center. The project is expected to bring 8,000 jobs to the area and will be incorporated into a mixed-use development location. A campus construction groundbreaking is set to begin in 2027, with an estimated cost of $2 billion to $3 billion.… Continue Reading

Joe Coleman, No. 3 pick in the first MLB draft who pitched for Senators and Tigers, dies at 78

Joe Coleman, No. 3 pick in the first MLB draft who pitched for Senators and Tigers, dies at 78

Joe Coleman, a lanky right-hander who won 142 games in 15 major league seasons and was an All-Star in 1972 with Detroit, has died. He was 78. Casey Coleman said his father died in his sleep Wednesday morning in Jamestown, Tennessee. Coleman became the No. 3 pick in baseball’s inaugural amateur draft in 1965 when he was selected by the Washington Senators. He enjoyed his greatest individual success with the Tigers, going 88-73 with a 3.82 ERA from 1971-76. Coleman’s father, also named Joe, pitched in the majors from 1942-55. Casey Coleman pitched in the majors from 2010-14.… Continue Reading

Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren recovering from double lung transplant

Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren recovering from double lung transplant

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Olympic wrestler and former UFC fighter Ben Askren has undergone a double lung transplant after battling severe pneumonia. In a social media post Wednesday, Askren shared that he is now recovering. He revealed he remembers little from a 45-day ordeal between late May and early July, during which he was on a ventilator and his heart stopped four times. Askren lost 50 pounds during the experience but expressed gratitude for the love and support he received. Known for his amateur wrestling and MMA career, Askren retired in 2019 and briefly returned for a boxing match in 2021.… Continue Reading

Flamingos are stirring up trouble and ravaging rice for risotto in Italy’s northeast

Flamingos are stirring up trouble and ravaging rice for risotto in Italy’s northeast

JOLANDA DI SAVOIA, Italy (AP) — Farmers in Italy’s northeastern Po Delta region are battling an unusual pest: flamingos. These birds have been invading rice paddies and damaging crops while searching for food like mollusks and insects. Farmers are using noisy tactics such as gas cannons and banging barrels to scare them off, but the birds often move to nearby fields. Some farmers report losing up to 90% of their crops. There have been no studies to determine why flamingos seek food inland where farmers flood fields from late spring to early summer. Ornithologists suggest humane solutions like planting hedges or lowering water levels in paddies to deter the birds while protecting the rice.… Continue Reading

Nutella maker Ferrero plans to buy century-old cereal maker WK Kellogg for $3.1 billion

Nutella maker Ferrero plans to buy century-old cereal maker WK Kellogg for $3.1 billion

Italian confectioner Ferrero, known for brands like Nutella and Kinder, is buying the century-old U.S. cereal company WK Kellogg in a deal valued at approximately $3.1 billion. The Ferrero Group said Thursday it will pay $23 for each Kellogg share. The transaction includes the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of WK Kellogg Co.’s portfolio of breakfast cereals across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Kellogg was founded in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1906. It makes Fruit Loops, Special K, Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies. The deal still needs the approval of WK Kellogg’s shareholders.… Continue Reading

Harrowing stories of rescue emerge from Texas floods as crews search for over 160 reported missing

Harrowing stories of rescue emerge from Texas floods as crews search for over 160 reported missing

HUNT, Texas (AP) — Texas police described some of the harrowing rescues they conducted after flash floods engulfed camps and homes in the state’s Hill Country. An officer who was trapped himself spotted dozens of people stranded on roofs and waded out to bring them to safety. That’s according to a fellow officer who spoke Wednesday to a news conference. Another off-duty officer tied a garden hose around his waist so he could reach two people clinging to a tree above swirling floodwaters. More than 160 people still are believed to be missing and at least 118 have died in the floods. The floods are now the deadliest from inland flooding in the U.S. since 1976.… Continue Reading

North Carolina governor vetoes another set of bills, including one on guns in private schools

North Carolina governor vetoes another set of bills, including one on guns in private schools

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has cleared his desk of the last of the legislation passed to him from the North Carolina General Assembly this legislative session. The governor vetoed three of the bills Wednesday. One of the vetoed bills would allow certain people to carry firearms on private school property with permission from certain school administrators. Stein says the bill would make children less safe. Republican proponents say the bill would help private schools in rural areas. The two other vetoes deal with nonprofit donor information and removing unauthorized people from residential property. Possible veto override attempts could occur starting later this month.… Continue Reading

Gains for tech stocks push Nasdaq to another record

Gains for tech stocks push Nasdaq to another record

A rally in big tech stocks led Wall Street to a higher close, lifting the Nasdaq to another all-time high. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%. Nvidia became the first public company to top $4 trillion in value. Merck rose after announcing it would buy Verona Pharma, a U.K. company that focuses on respiratory diseases. Copper prices eased after spiking a day earlier as President Donald Trump said he would impose 50% tariffs on imports of the metal. Treasury yields slipped in the bond market.… Continue Reading

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