WPTF News Archives - Page 23 of 92

A hurricane’s historic destruction hasn’t stopped North Carolina election workers and voters

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 23, 2024, 2:28 pm

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. (AP) — Elections officials, poll workers and voters in western North Carolina have been adapting in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s destruction. The storm destroyed roads, bridges and homes, and left communities without power and water. Despite the widespread destruction, election workers have rallied to set up polling sites and help voters cast ballots during the early voting period in the crucial presidential battleground. Turnout during last week’s first day of early in-person voting set a record, and more than 1.3 million people have cast ballots since then. Many election workers and voters in a hard-hit Democratic-leaning county and others in a Republican-leaning one expressed a gritty determination to make sure voters’ voices are heard.… Read More

Efforts by Russia, Iran and China to sway US voters may escalate, new Microsoft report says

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 23, 2024, 12:44 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — A new threat intelligence report from Microsoft says foreign adversaries have showed continued determination to influence the U.S. election and there are signs their activity will intensify as Election Day nears. The company said Wednesday that Russian operatives are doubling down on fake videos to smear Kamala Harris’ campaign, while Chinese-linked social media campaigns are maligning down-ballot candidates who are critical of China. Microsoft says Iranian actors who allegedly sent emails aimed at intimidating U.S. voters in 2020 have been surveying election-related websites and major media outlets. Russia, China and Iran have all rejected claims that they are seeking to meddle with the U.S. election.… Read More

Rapper Eminem and Obama rally voters for Kamala Harris in Detroit

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 23, 2024, 12:12 pm

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit rapper Eminem has spoken in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in his hometown before introducing former President Barack Obama at a rally. Eminem on Tuesday encouraged the crowd to “get out and vote” while saying that Harris “supports a future for this country where these freedoms and many others will be protected and upheld.” The Detroit rapper’s appearance was part of a tour Obama is making in battleground states to encourage early voting. Turnout in Detroit is expected to be crucial in deciding which presidential candidate takes the key swing state of Michigan. Trump has made his own play for Detroit alongside a hometown rapper, Trick Trick, who appeared with Trump at a rally in the city last week.… Read More

Fernando Valenzuela, Mexican-born pitcher whose feats for Dodgers fueled ‘Fernandomania,’ dies at 63

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 23, 2024, 12:10 pm

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fernando Valenzuela, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching ace who inspired “Fernandomania” in the early 1980s, has died. He was 63. The Mexican-born phenom won the National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, when he helped the Dodgers win the World Series. His death comes as the Dodgers are preparing to open the World Series on Friday night at home against the New York Yankees. Valenzuela had left his job on the Dodgers’ Spanish-language television broadcast in September without explanation. He was reported to have been hospitalized earlier this month. He was one of the most dominant players of his era and a wildly popular sports figure in the 1980s… Read More

They made 36 million Corn Poppers. Here’s how they pick the right ones for the Toy Hall of Fame

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 23, 2024, 11:12 am

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Before the National Toy Hall of Fame inducts a new class each fall, curators at the upstate New York attraction have to figure out how to showcase the honorees. It’s not always easy. The hall aims to show how its toys have endured and evolved over the years, so it often displays older versions alongside newer ones. If they’re lucky, curators might find vintage versions in the archives at the Strong National Museum of Play, which houses the hall. But for other toys, the search takes them to auctions, the internet and garage sales.… Read More

Panthers’ Andy Dalton, family involved in car crash. QB being evaluated by team doctors

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 22, 2024, 11:44 pm

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton and his family were involved in a car crash on Tuesday. A Panthers spokesman says Dalton is being evaluated by team medical personnel. No one from Dalton’s family needed to be taken to a hospital. The team says the 36-year-old Dalton, his wife, three children and the family dog were traveling near downtown Charlotte when the crash occurred. The team would not say if there was another car involved. Dalton has made five starts for the Panthers this season after replacing Bryce Young.… Read More

Trump hurls a string of insults at Harris and repeats criticism of federal response to Helene

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 22, 2024, 11:23 pm

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday hurled a series of personal attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her “lazy” — a word long used to demean Black people in racist terms — and repeatedly questioning her intelligence and stamina. At an event in Miami, he said Harris was “lazy as hell” for not holding a campaign event. Harris spent her day in meetings in Washington and recording interviews with Telemundo and NBC. Later in the day during a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, Trump called Harris a “stupid person” and went on to ask: “Does she drink? Is she on drugs?”… Read More

LeBron and Bronny James make history as the NBA’s first father-son duo to play together

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 22, 2024, 11:22 pm

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father and son to play in the NBA together when they checked into the game together in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener. LeBron James is the 39-year-old top scorer in NBA history, while his 20-year-old namesake son was a second-round pick by the Lakers last summer. They are the first father and son to play in the world’s top basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team. Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. were in attendance at the Lakers’ downtown arena to witness the same history they made in baseball.… Read More

Israel says it killed a Hezbollah official expected to be the group’s next leader

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 22, 2024, 11:13 pm

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military says a top Hezbollah official who had been widely expected to be the group’s next leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut in early October. Earlier on Tuesday the Israeli military leveled a building in a suburb of Beirut that it said housed Hezbollah “facilities,” sending smoke and debris into the air a few hundred meters from where a spokesperson for the militant group had just briefed journalists about a weekend drone attack that damaged the Israeli prime minister’s house. Also on Tuesday U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken aims to revive cease-fire efforts after last week’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.… Read More

ABBA, Radiohead and The Cure musicians sign AI protest letter against ‘unlicensed use’ of works

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 22, 2024, 8:30 pm

LONDON (AP) — Musicians from ABBA, Radiohead and The Cure have joined actors and authors in signing a protest letter against the mining of their artistry to build artificial intelligence tools. Thousands of artists signed the letter released Tuesday — the latest public warning about AI tools that can spit out synthetic images, music and writings after being trained on huge troves of human-made works. Among the signatories are Björn Ulvaeus of the Swedish supergroup ABBA, The Cure’s Robert Smith and Thom Yorke and his Radiohead bandmates. Also signing were writers including Nobel-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro and actors Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon and Rosario Dawson.… Read More

Stock market today: Wall Street barely budges as GM’s best day in years offsets GE Aerospace tumble

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 22, 2024, 4:50 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes barely budged after a quiet day of mixed trading. The S&P 500 edged down by less than 0.1% Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 6 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. The best day for General Motors stock since 2020 helped to offset a sharp drop for GE Aerospace, which was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after its revenue for the latest quarter fell short of forecasts. Stocks have slowed their record-breaking momentum this week under increasing pressure from rising Treasury yields in the bond market.… Read More

North Carolina county surrounding Asheville overcounted Helene deaths by as many as 30, sheriff says

Author: The Associated Press | Date: October 22, 2024, 4:27 pm

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A sheriff’s office statement and data from the state show that the North Carolina county that is home to Asheville overcounted deaths caused by Helene by as many as 30. The information in the statement on Tuesday significantly reduces the death toll from the historic storm. Buncombe County officials had previously reported 72 deaths and are now deferring to a state tally of 42 deaths for the county. The county’s number dates back to an Oct. 3 news release and briefing by Sheriff Quentin Miller. But state officials, relying on reviews by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, have consistently reported a number lower than that for the county.… Read More