Category Archives: WPTF News

Oscar winners — and losers — laugh, drink and dance together at after-parties

Oscar winners — and losers — laugh, drink and dance together at after-parties

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Oscar winners and losers partied together at post-show galas across the Los Angeles area. The big winners from the night’s undisputed champion “Anora” were among those getting their Oscar statuettes engraved at the Governors Ball. They included director Sean Baker, who won a record-tying four. At the Vanity Fair party in Beverly Hills, Timothée Chalamet and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, were surrounded by people coming to hug him after he lost best actor to Adrien Brody. And show host Conan O’Brien accepted compliments and congratulations. And singer Chappell Roan duetted with the host at Elton John’s annual Oscar party.… Continue Reading

FedEx cargo plane makes emergency landing following bird strike and engine fire

FedEx cargo plane makes emergency landing following bird strike and engine fire

A FedEx cargo plane had to make an emergency landing at a busy New Jersey airport after a bird strike caused an engine fire that could be seen in the morning sky. A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport just after 8 a.m. on Saturday during the emergency. There were no reported injuries. The spokesperson says the emergency landing caused air traffic to be briefly halted as a precaution, and operations resumed shortly after.… Continue Reading

Lubin leads UNC’s balanced scoring in 92-73 win over Miami for Tar Heels’ 5th straight victory

Lubin leads UNC’s balanced scoring in 92-73 win over Miami for Tar Heels’ 5th straight victory

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Ven-Allen Lubin scored 19 points, Jae’Lyn Withers had 11 points and 10 rebounds and North Carolina beat Miami 92-73 on Saturday for its fifth straight victory, the Tar Heels’ longest win streak this season. Lubin was 9-of-10 from the floor and Withers collected his third double-double this season. Drake Powell added 16 points, RJ Davis 13, Ian Jackson 11 and Seth Trimble 10 for the Tar Heels (19-11, 12-6 ACC), who shot 59%, made 10 of 18 3-pointers and outrebounded the Hurricanes 38-26. Matthew Cleveland was 12-of-21 shooting to finish with 25 points for Miami (6-23, 2-16), which lost its fifth straight. Brandon Johnson added 20 points.… Continue Reading

Zelenskyy leaves White House without signing minerals deal after Oval Office blowup

Zelenskyy leaves White House without signing minerals deal after Oval Office blowup

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump berated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” in an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on Friday, then abruptly called off signing a deal with the U.S. that he said would have moved that country closer to ending its war with Russia. The astonishing turn of events has the potential to potentially scramble international affairs in Europe and around the globe. During his visit with Trump, Zelenskyy had planned to attend sign a deal allowing the U.S. greater access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, then hold a joint news conference. Instead, Ukraine’s leader left the White House shortly after Trump shouted at him, showing open disdain.… Continue Reading

To her, Hurricane Helene debris isn’t trash. It is full of memories — and she’s returning them

To her, Hurricane Helene debris isn’t trash. It is full of memories — and she’s returning them

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — U.S. National Guard Capt. Jill Holtz spends much of her free time in Swannanoa, North Carolina, searching for items lost from Hurricane Helene’s severe flooding a few months ago. She hopes to reunite storm victims with their cherished possessions after they lost hope that they’d ever find them again. Holtz finds a variety of items such as photos, family heirlooms and antiques. She keeps them in her trailer and posts her finds to Facebook in hopes that the items’ owners will see. Holtz says hurricane debris isn’t “just trash” and is instead people’s “hearts, their homes, the generations of history.”… Continue Reading

A stretch of a North Carolina highway that collapsed during Helene is about to reopen

A stretch of a North Carolina highway that collapsed during Helene is about to reopen

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A stretch of Interstate 40 through the western North Carolina mountains is reopening to traffic this weekend, months after Hurricane Helene’s historic flooding collapsed portions of the road. The state Department of Transportation said the 20-mile section on the North Carolina side of the border will officially reopen on Saturday and partially restore a major travel connection with eastern Tennessee. Large portions will now have one narrowed lane in each direction and a reduced speed limit, so delays are expected, especially during weekends. The section won’t resume fully to four lanes until late next year at the earliest.… Continue Reading

Actor Gene Hackman, prolific Oscar winner, found dead at home at 95 years old

Actor Gene Hackman, prolific Oscar winner, found dead at home at 95 years old

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman has been found dead at his home. He was 95. Hackman starred in “The French Connection,” “Unforgiven” and dozens of other films. He was known for his studied portraits of reluctant heroes and conniving villains and won two Academy Awards. He was an early retiree and a late bloomer. Hackman was in his mid-30s when cast for “Bonnie and Clyde” and past 40 when he won his first Oscar, as the rules-bending New York detective “Popeye” Doyle in the 1971 thriller about tracking down Manhattan drug smugglers, “The French Connection.”… Continue Reading

Trump administration says it’s cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts

Trump administration says it’s cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration says it is eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world. That’s according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press as well as court filings Wednesday. They detail the outcome of a 90-day review ordered by President Donald Trump of all the money provided by USAID and the State Department for development and aid work overseas. The move leaves few surviving USAID projects for advocates to try to save in what are ongoing court battles. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court late Wednesday temporarily blocked a court order requiring the administration to release billions of dollars in foreign aid.… Continue Reading

Egg prices could jump another 41% this year, USDA says, as Trump’s bird flu plan unveiled

Egg prices could jump another 41% this year, USDA says, as Trump’s bird flu plan unveiled

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration believes a renewed emphasis on biosecurity can help in the battle against bird flu and ease egg prices, but the Agriculture Department predicts the current record prices are going to get much worse this year. It’s also not clear how much more farmers can do to keep the virus out. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins offered the first new details about her bird flu plan Wednesday. But USDA predicted this week that egg prices will soar more than 41 percent this year on top of the record average price of $4.95 per dozen.… Continue Reading

Rare video captures super pod of 2,000 dolphins breaching and playing off California coast

Rare video captures super pod of 2,000 dolphins breaching and playing off California coast

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California boat captain has captured rare video of a super pod of more than 2,000 dolphins off the coast of Monterey Bay. They include the more elusive northern right whale dolphin, which are often spotted farther from shore in deeper waters. Evan Brodsky was about a dozen miles from Monterey Harbor when the crew encountered a mass of northern right whale dolphins and their babies mixing with Pacific white-sided dolphins. Monterey has deep underwater canyons, making it ideal for whale and dolphin watching. Northern right whale dolphins live in pods of 100 to 200 and do not have a dorsal fin.… Continue Reading

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