WPTF News Archives - Page 4 of 213

Conan Gray, Lainey Wilson and ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. What to know

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 24, 2025, 12:49 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade features Labubu and “KPop Demon Hunters” this year, filling New York’s sky and streets. The parade starts on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and ends at Macy’s Herald Square. It includes 32 balloons, 27 floats, and 11 marching bands, all leading to Santa Claus. It airs on NBC and streams on Peacock and Telemundo. Performers include Conan Gray, Lainey Wilson, Ciara and Busta Rhymes. New balloons feature Buzz Lightyear and Pac-Man, while new floats include Labubu and “Stranger Things.” Marching bands come from various states and Panama.… Read More

MrBeast and the Rockefeller Foundation team up to spark youth philanthropy and fight child labor

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 24, 2025, 11:06 am

NEW YORK (AP) — Beast Philanthropy, the charitable organization started by MrBeast founder Jimmy Donaldson, and the Rockefeller Foundation are announcing a strategic partnership. The idea is to pair Donaldson’s unique ability to capture youth attention spans with the foundation’s 112-year history of using its resources and technology to tackle global problems. The exact issues they plan to tackle together are still being hammered out and there is no shared grantmaking to announce yet. Dr. Rajiv Shah, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, says MrBeast can help them engage young people, inspire hope and communicate their work more accessibly. Donaldson hopes the Rockefeller Foundation can help him be more efficient and make “real, lasting change.”… Read More

Beck Malenstyn’s spectacular goal helps Sabres beat East-leading Hurricanes 4-1

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 23, 2025, 5:55 pm

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Beck Malenstyn scored a spectacular goal, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Eastern Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. Malenstyn took a touch pass from Tyson Kozak, made a sweet move to his right to slip past Sebastian Aho and easily beat Frederik Andersen to make it 3-1 with 1:24 left in the second period. Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson also scored for the Sabres, who have won four of five. Shayne Gostisbehere scored and Andersen made 17 saves for the Hurricanes, who lost in regulation for the first time since Nov. 11.… Read More

US signals broader efforts to protect Nigeria’s Christians following Trump’s military threat

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 23, 2025, 11:52 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is promoting efforts to work with Nigeria’s government to counter violence against Christians. The plans signal a broader strategy since Trump ordered the Pentagon to prepare for possible military action. He had warned the U.S. would go after Islamic militants with “guns-a-blazing.” A State Department official said this past week that plans include potential sanctions as well as assistance programs and intelligence sharing. The efforts may support Trump’s pledge to avoid more involvement in foreign conflicts. And they come as the U.S. security footprint has diminished in Africa. Military partnerships there have either been scaled down or canceled.… Read More

50 schoolchildren escape captivity in Nigeria, 253 students and 12 teachers still being held

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 23, 2025, 9:16 am

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria’s Niger state have escaped and are now with their families. The school authority said this on Sunday. The children, aged 10 to 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday. The Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state, confirmed the news. A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still held by the kidnappers. Gunmen attacked the St. Mary’s School in the remote Papiri community on Friday. No group has claimed responsibility, and authorities are working to rescue the children.… Read More

Rodney Rogers, the ‘Durham Bull’ who starred at Wake Forest before a 12-year NBA career, dies at 54

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 23, 2025, 6:35 am

Former Wake Forest star and 12-year NBA player Rodney Rogers has died at the age of 54. The school announced Saturday that Rogers died the previous day. Rogers had been paralyzed from the shoulders down since a 2008 accident. Rogers died from natural causes tied to the spinal-cord injury he suffered. That’s according to a National Basketball Players Association statement on behalf of Rogers’ family. Rogers was the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year in 1993. The “Durham Bull” went on to score nearly 9,500 points in the NBA while being named league sixth man of the year in 2000.… Read More

Fake FG call, Castle’s 3 rushing scores help Duke hold off rival UNC 32-25 and become bowl eligible

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 22, 2025, 7:20 pm

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Anderson Castle punched in the go-ahead 1-yard touchdown with 2:18 left set up by an audacious fake field-goal call and Duke followed with a late stop to hold off rival North Carolina 32-25. The win made the Blue Devils bowl eligible. It also ensured they could keep the rivalry’s Victory Bell. Castle ran for three 1-yard touchdowns for Duke. Todd Pelino also had a 26-yard run on a fake field goal to set up Castle’s last score. Gio Lopez ran and threw for TDs for UNC. The Tar Heels can’t reach six wins for bowl eligibility under first-year coach Bill Belichick.… Read More

NC State tops Florida State 21-11 behind Joly’s TD, 2 late special-teams turnovers by Seminoles

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 22, 2025, 12:08 am

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Justin Joly had a clinching fourth-down touchdown catch with 1:47 left as N.C. State beat Florida State 21-11 to become bowl eligible. Will Wilson scored on a short keeper while C.J. Bailey had two TD throws for N.C. State. The Wolfpack also benefited from the Seminoles committing turnovers on back-to-back punt returns when getting the ball back late down just 14-11. Duce Robinson had a 9-yard TD catch from Tommy Castellanos for FSU’s lone touchdown.… Read More

Trump and Mamdani go from adversaries to allies after White House meeting

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 21, 2025, 7:21 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has met the man who had proudly proclaimed himself “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,” but he seemed to find the opposite. The Republican president and New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani were warm and friendly Friday, speaking repeatedly of their shared goals to help Trump’s hometown rather than their combustible differences. Trump, who had in the past called Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and a “total nut job,” spoke openly of how impressed he was with the man who had called his administration “authoritarian.” Trump said he was surprised by their “great” meeting and said of the democratic socialist, “I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”… Read More

Motorist in North Carolina tells 911: ‘I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield’

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 21, 2025, 5:45 pm

A motorist in western North Carolina escaped injury when a cat carcass crashed into her windshield. The incident happened along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The driver, on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, told a 911 dispatcher that a bald eagle dropped the cat. The windshield shattered, but the driver was unharmed. The dispatcher responded calmly, saying she believed the story. Another witness also saw the cat fall. The dispatcher assured the driver that crazier things have happened and sent the Highway Patrol to make a report. A state wildlife program supervisor says the cat dropped on the car could have been roadkill scavenged by the eagle.… Read More

Charlotte immigration crackdown goes on, Homeland Security says, despite sheriff saying it ended

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 21, 2025, 12:14 am

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Law enforcement leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, say a federal immigration crackdown centered around the city appears to be tapering off Thursday. But a Homeland Security official insists the operation will continue. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin says the operation is not over and not ending anytime soon. That comes after both the local sheriff and police department said earlier in the day that the crackdown appeared to be over less than a week after it began. Homeland Security officials say about 370 people have been arrested over the past five days since the North Carolina enforcement began.… Read More

Respect and remembrance for Cheney from Bush, Biden and past vice presidents as Trump is excluded

Author: The Associated Press | Date: November 20, 2025, 2:50 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington National Cathedral hosted a bipartisan show of respect and remembrance for Dick Cheney, the consequential and polarizing vice president who became an acidic scold of fellow Republican President Donald Trump. Trump has been publicly silent about Cheney’s Nov. 3 death and was not invited to the funeral Thursday. Two ex-presidents came. Republican George W. Bush eulogized the man who served him as vice president, calling Cheney “smart and polished, without airs.” Democrat Joe Biden sat in a row with Bush and their wives. Among the eulogists, Liz Cheney, the eldest daughter, only obliquely addressed what amounted to a father-daughter feud with the president — a man her dad had called a “coward” for trying to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.… Read More