WPTF News Archives - Page 6 of 104

Stock market today: Wall Street gets back to climbing, and the Nasdaq tops 20,000

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 11, 2024, 4:21 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street got back to climbing after the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% Wednesday to break a two-day losing streak and finished just short of its all-time high. Big Tech stocks led the way, which drove the Nasdaq composite up 1.8% to top the 20,000 level for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged with a dip of 0.2%. Stocks got a boost as expectations built that the Fed will deliver another cut to interest rates at its meeting next week.… Read More

Gun found on suspect in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO matches shell casings at scene, police say

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 11, 2024, 3:39 pm

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — New York City’s police commissioner says the gun found on the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO matches shell casings found at the crime scene. Commissioner Jessica Tisch also said Wednesday that lab results matched suspect Luigi Mangione’s prints to a water bottle and a snack bar wrapper found near the scene of the killing. Police had said earlier that they believed the gunman bought the items at a nearby coffee shop while awaiting his target. Mangione is jailed in Pennsylvania on weapon and forgery charges, but he also has been charged in New York with murder in Brian Thompson’s death. His lawyer has noted that Mangione is presumed innocent.… Read More

FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign at end of Biden’s term in January

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 11, 2024, 2:57 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray says he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January. The announcement Wednesday comes a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the position. At a town hall meeting with the bureau workforce, Wray said he would be stepping down “after weeks of careful thought.” Wray had previously been named by Trump and began the 10-year term. a length meant to insulate the agency from the political influence of changing administrations — in 2017, after Trump fired then-FBI Director, James Comey.… Read More

The Trump and Biden teams insist they’re working hand in glove on foreign crises

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 11, 2024, 1:35 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t think much of Joe Biden’s foreign policy record. He frequently casts the outgoing Democratic president as a feckless leader who shredded American credibility around the world during his four-year term. But the Trump and Biden national security teams have come to an understanding that they have no choice but to work together as conflicts in Gaza, Syria and Ukraine have left a significant swath of the world on a knife’s edge. It’s fuzzy how much common ground Biden and Trump’s teams have found as they navigate crises that threaten to cause more global upheaval as Trump prepares to settle back into the White House.… Read More

Google forges ahead with its next generation of AI technology while fending off a breakup threat

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 11, 2024, 11:22 am

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google on Wednesday unleashed another wave of artificial intelligence designed to tackle more of the work and thinking done by humans as it tries to stay on technology’s cutting edge while also trying to fend off regulatory threats to it internet empire. The next generation of Google’s AI is being packaged under the Gemini umbrella unveiled a year ago. Google is framing its release of Gemini 2.0 as a springboard for AI agent built to interpret images shown through a smartphone, perform a variety of tedious chores, remember the conversations they have with people, help video game players plot strategy and even tackle the task of doing online searches.… Read More

George Kresge Jr., who wowed talk show audiences as the The Amazing Kreskin, dies at age 89

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

NEW YORK (AP) — George Joseph Kresge Jr., otherwise known to TV watchers as the mesmerizing entertainer and mentalist The Amazing Kreskin, has died at age 89. Kreskin’s friend and former road manager, Ryan Galway, told news outlets that he died Tuesday at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey. Kreskin launched his television career in the 1960s and remained popular for decades, appearing with everyone from Merv Griffin to Johnny Carson to Jimmy Fallon. Fans would welcome, if not entirely figure out, his favorite mind tricks — whether correctly guessing a playing card chosen at random, or, most famously, divining where his paycheck had been planted among the audience. He also hosted a show in the 1970s, gave live performances and wrote numerous books.… Read More

Another recount won’t be ordered in a North Carolina court race, but protests are ahead

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 10, 2024, 5:05 pm

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Another recount won’t be ordered by North Carolina election officials in a close state Supreme Court race after a partial hand recount failed to suggest the trailing Republican candidate could overtake the Democratic incumbent. Associate Justice Allison Riggs maintained a 734-vote lead over Jefferson Griffin following a machine recount completed last week. Griffin then asked for partial hand recount. That wrapped up Tuesday and actually had Riggs picking up more votes than Griffin. So the State Board of Elections won’t order a complete hand recount. The election hasn’t been resolved. The state board is scheduled on Wednesday to hear arguments on protests filed by Griffin and GOP legislative candidates.… Read More

Stock market today: Wall Street slips to a rare back-to-back loss

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 10, 2024, 4:19 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted lower in the runup to the highlight of the week for the market, the latest update on inflation. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% Tuesday for its first back-to-back losses in nearly a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite also fell 0.3%. Oracle dragged on the market after reporting weaker growth than analysts expected. Treasury yields rose in the bond market ahead of Wednesday’s inflation report, which will be among the final big pieces of data before the Federal Reserve’s meeting on interest rates next week.… Read More

Suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggles, shouts while entering courthouse

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 10, 2024, 3:06 pm

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — Court records show New York prosecutors have charged a man with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO. Luigi Nicholas Mangione is being held without bail Tuesday in Pennsylvania after he was arrested and arraigned on gun, forgery and other charges the day before. He is expected to be extradited to New York eventually. It’s unclear whether the 26-year-old Mangione has an attorney who can comment on his behalf. Authorities say he was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a McDonald’s customer noticed another patron who resembled the man in security-camera photos that New York police had publicized.… Read More

Olivia Thomas scores on a free kick to secure UNC’s first women’s soccer championship since 2012

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 9, 2024, 11:07 pm

CARY, N.C. (AP) — Olivia Thomas scored on a free kick in the 62nd minute for her fourth goal of the NCAA Tournament and North Carolina beat Wake Forest 1-0 on Monday night for the program’s first national championship since 2012. North Carolina (22-5-0) has won 22 of the 43 NCAA women’s soccer titles. The Tar Heels also won the 1981 AIAW title to total 23 national championships. No other women’s soccer team owns more than four. Wake Forest (16-4-4) was playing in the championship game for the first time in program history. The Demon Deacons were seeking just the 11th national championship in school history. UNC has 51 NCAA team championships across eight different sports.… Read More

Stock market today: Nvidia drags Wall Street lower as oil and gold rise

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 9, 2024, 4:21 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — A slide for market superstar Nvidia helped pull U.S. stock indexes down from their records. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% Monday, coming off its 57th all-time high of the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6% from its own record. Nvidia was the market’s heaviest weight after China said it’s probing the chip giant for potential antitrust violations. Stocks in Hong Kong jumped after top Chinese leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy. Prices for oil and gold rose following the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar Assad.… Read More

Man in custody had a gun, mask and writings tying him to killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO, police say

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 9, 2024, 4:05 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s police commissioner says police have arrested a 26-year-old with a weapon “consistent with” the gun used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Thompson died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference from his hotel to the company’s annual investor conference across the street. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Luigi Nicholas Mangione was taken into custody Monday. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said said at a news conference that Mangione was taken into custody after police got a tip that he had been spotted at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.… Read More