WPTF News Archives - Page 8 of 105

No. 18 Clemson beats No. 8 SMU 34-31 on last-second field goal for ACC title, berth in the CFP

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 8, 2024, 5:53 am

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cade Klubnik threw for 262 yards and four touchdowns, Nolan Hauser kicked 56-yard field goal as time expired and the No. 18 Clemson beat No. 8 SMU 34-31 on Saturday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff and position itself for a first-round bye. Bryant Wesco had eight catches for 143 yards and two first-quarter touchdowns for the Tigers, who needed a win to get into the expanded 12-team playoffs. Jake Briningstool added two short TD receptions as Clemson improved to 9-1 in ACC championship games under coach Dabo Swinney. Kevin Jennings was 32 of 51 for 310 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score for SMU.… Read More

Trimble helps No. 20 North Carolina top Georgia Tech, 68-65

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 7, 2024, 6:27 pm

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Seth Trimble scored 19 points and No. 20 North Carolina held off upset-minded Georgia Tech for a 68-65 victory in the ACC opener for both teams Saturday. Trimble was 5 for 6 from the field and 8 for 9 on free throws for the Tar Heels (5-4, 1-0 ACC). RJ Davis added 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Ian Jackson chipped in 15 points off the bench. Lance Terry scored 22 points for Georgia Tech (4-5, 0-1). Baye Ndongo had 19 points and 12 rebounds. UNC played without graduate transfer Ty Claude, who spent last season at Georgia Tech, because of an injury to his right eye.… Read More

Trump names former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 7, 2024, 6:21 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is naming former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be his ambassador to China. Trump says that as a former CEO, Perdue will bring “valuable expertise” to the U.S. relationship with China. Perdue pushed Trump’s debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor. Economic tensions are sure to be a big part of the U.S.-China picture for the new administration. Trump has threatened to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.… Read More

Vance tells North Carolina residents rebuilding after the hurricane that they haven’t been forgotten

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 6, 2024, 4:01 pm

FAIRVIEW, N.C. (AP) — Vice President-elect JD Vance is surveying hurricane damage in western North Carolina in one of his first public appearances since the November election. Vance and his wife, Usha, visited the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department, which was flooded with 4 to 6 inches of water in the storm. They heard that roughly a dozen people got walking pneumonia while responding to the hurricane’s destruction and that power outages prevented some first responders from talking with their families. Vance said, “At the height of it, I imagine y’all were working nonstop.” Vance has largely stayed out of the public eye since the election aside from shepherding Trump’s Cabinet nominees around Capitol Hill.… Read More

Police believe gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO has left New York City

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 6, 2024, 3:56 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — Police officials believe the gunman who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer may have fled the city on a bus. Video of the suspected shooter leaving the scene of Wednesday’s shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson showed him riding a bicycle to Central Park and later taking a taxi cab to a bus depot, the chief of detectives told CNN on Friday. The police commissioner said investigators believe he left New York City. The gunman made sure to conceal his identity with a mask during the shooting yet left a trail of evidence in view of the nation’s biggest city and its network of security cameras. The reason for the killing remains unknown.… Read More

NASA pushes back astronaut flights to the moon again

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 5, 2024, 10:56 pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA has announced more delays in sending astronauts back to the moon more than 50 years after Apollo. Administrator Bill Nelson said Thursday that the next mission in the Artemis program is now targeted for April 2026. The lunar fly-around with four astronauts had been planned for September 2025. Officials said the investigation into heat shield damage from the capsule’s initial test flight two years ago took time and other spacecraft improvements are still needed. This means a moon landing by two other astronauts is off until at least 2027. Astronauts last walked on the moon in December 1972 during Apollo 17.… Read More

Stock market today: Wall Street hangs around its records as bitcoin briefly pops above $100,000

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 5, 2024, 5:52 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slipped below their records in the runup to a big jobs report due on Friday. The S&P 500 edged down 0.2% Thursday after setting an all-time high for the 56th time this year the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%. The crypto market had much more action, and bitcoin briefly burst to a record above $103,000 before falling back toward $99,000. It’s climbed dramatically since Election Day on hopes President-elect Donald Trump will be more friendly to crypto. Airline stocks were strong, while Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market.… Read More

Yvonne Johnson, the first Black mayor of North Carolina’s third-largest city, has died

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 5, 2024, 1:24 pm

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The first Black mayor of North Carolina’s third largest city has died. Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan announced that Yvonne Johnson died Wednesday at age 82. Johnson served on the city council for nearly 30 years in two stints, the last of which ended at her death. She was elected mayor in 2007 and served one term. Gov. Roy Cooper said Johnson “was a dedicated public servant and friend who led Greensboro with courage, passion and a sense of justice.” A cause of death wasn’t released. But Vaughan had said Tuesday that Johnson was absent from that evening’s council meeting because of illness.… Read More

Ammunition used in CEO’s killing had ‘Deny,’ ‘defend’ and ‘depose’ written on it, AP source says

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 5, 2024, 12:19 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — A law enforcement official says a masked gunman who stalked and killed the leader of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies on a Manhattan sidewalk used ammunition emblazoned with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose.” The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke Thursday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The words on the ammunition may have been a reference to strategies insurance companies use to try to avoid paying claims. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference.… Read More

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights up in New York City

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 5, 2024, 10:02 am

NEW YORK (AP) — Fifty-thousand multi-colored lights are shining on Rockefeller Center’s iconic Christmas tree, with crowds gathering to witness the annual New York City tradition. The giant Norway spruce, which this year hails from a tiny Massachusetts town, is also topped with a Swarovski star crown featuring 3 million crystals. The annual ceremony, held Wednesday night, came hours after a gunman killed the CEO of United Healthcare about five blocks away. Security was tight at the tree-lighting ceremony and on the subway. The 74-foot-high tree was cut down last month in West Stockbridge and trucked to Center Plaza last month. It was originally spotted by the Rockefeller Center’s head gardener in 2020. Now lighted, it will be on display until mid-January.… Read More

Bitcoin tops $100,000 as big rally sparked by Trump election win rolls on

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 4, 2024, 10:22 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin has topped the $100,000 mark as a massive rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump rolls on. The milestone comes just hours after the President-elect signaled a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry with his choice of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bitcoin has soared to unprecedented heights since Trump won the election Nov. 5. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from $69,374 on Election Day and rose as high as $101,512 Wednesday.… Read More

No. 10 Alabama beats No. 20 North Carolina 94-79 in the ACC-SEC Challenge

Author: The Associated Press | Date: December 4, 2024, 9:50 pm

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 20 points, Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon each had 15 points and No. 10 Alabama beat No. 20 North Carolina 94-79 on Wednesday night in the ACC-SEC Challenge. Clifford Omoruyi and Derrion Reid each scored 11 points and Grant Nelson had 10 points to help the Crimson Tide (6-2) beat three straight Top 25 opponents for the first time in three seasons. The rematch of Alabama’s Sweet 16 victory last season wasn’t close. Freshman Ian Jackson scored a season-high 23 points, RJ Davis had 18 and Seth Trimble added 12 points for the Tar Heels (4-4). They’ve lost three in a row.… Read More