Category Archives: WPTF News

Trump announces 30% tariffs against EU, Mexico to begin Aug. 1, rattling major US trading partners

Trump announces 30% tariffs against EU, Mexico to begin Aug. 1, rattling major US trading partners

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced he’s levying tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico starting Aug. 1. Trump detailed the planned tariffs Saturday in letters posted to his social media account. It’s a move that could cause massive upheaval between the U.S. and two of its biggest trade partners. European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU may adopt “proportionate countermeasures” if Trump moves ahead with the tariffs. Mexico’s government in a statement described the proposed move by Trump as “unfair treatment.” The letters are part of an announcement blitz by Trump of new tariffs with allies and foes alike, a bedrock of his 2024 campaign that he said would set the foundation for reviving a U.S. economy.… Continue Reading

Furor over Epstein files sparks clash between Bondi and Bongino at the Justice Department

Furor over Epstein files sparks clash between Bondi and Bongino at the Justice Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files flap is cascading, further roiling a Justice Department and FBI that have struggled for months to appease the demands of far-right conservative personalities and influential members of President Donald Trump’s base. In a sign of continued tumult, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino were revealed to have had a contentious conversation at the White House earlier in the week over the Epstein documents and a recent story that described divisions between the FBI and Justice Department. The turmoil arising from the Epstein investigation lays bare the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they had stoked.… Continue Reading

Trump tours Texas flood sites and defends officials as questions mount about response

Trump tours Texas flood sites and defends officials as questions mount about response

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump is visiting Texas to assess catastrophic flooding that has killed at least 120 people. Despite his past calls to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Republican president has praised the federal response to the disaster. Trump plans to tour affected areas by air, meet first responders and speak with victims’ families. Top members of Trump’s administration have also shifted focus from reducing federal disaster management efforts to addressing the tragedy’s human impact. Before Trump left on Friday, his director of the Office of Management and Budget suggested FEMA needs reform but didn’t answer questions about whether the agency should be shuttered.… Continue Reading

S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite pull back from their all-time highs

S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite pull back from their all-time highs

Stocks closed lower on Wall Street, pulling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite below the records they set a day earlier. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%. Levi Strauss jumped 11% after the jeans maker easily beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets and raised its full-year forecast, despite expecting higher costs from tariffs. European markets closed broadly lower, and Asian markets closed mixed. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 4.42%.… Continue Reading

Justin Bieber releases ‘Swag,’ his long-awaited seventh album: Hear the best songs

Justin Bieber releases ‘Swag,’ his long-awaited seventh album: Hear the best songs

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Bieber has released “Swag,” his long-awaited seventh studio album. The 21-track release arrived Friday, hours after Bieber teased it was coming through a series of billboards and social media posts. The album’s tracklist includes songs named “All I Can Take,” “Walking Away,” “Dadz Love” and “Forgiveness.” Def Jam Recordings says the album was inspired by Bieber’s “devotion as a husband and father” and that’s led to a “a deeper perspective and more reflective sound, resulting in some of his most personal music yet.” In August, Bieber and his wife Hailey announced the birth of their first child, Jack Blues Bieber.… Continue Reading

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Sadness is settling in across Texas where at least 120 people have died from flash floods and more are missing. A growing memorial wall in the Hill Country includes photos of those have died. The search for more victims moved slowly Thursday as stifling heat and mounds of trees, hunks of lumber and trash made the task more difficult. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state lawmakers to approve funding for new warning systems and emergency communications in flood prone areas. The devastation stretches from the Hill Country all the way to just outside the state’s capital city. President Donald Trump plans to visit on Friday.… Continue Reading

Stocks close higher, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to more highs

Stocks close higher, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to more highs

Stocks are off to a sluggish start on Wall Street, while Delta Air Lines led a rally in airline stocks after releasing a solid outlook for the rest of 2025. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 55 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%. The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with big technology companies, set an all-time high the day before. Cereal maker WK Kellogg soared after agreeing to be acquired by Nutella maker Ferrero Group. Copper prices rose.… Continue Reading

North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital set to bring 8,000 jobs to Apex

North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital set to bring 8,000 jobs to Apex

APEX, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital will be built in a bedroom community of Raleigh. UNC Health and Duke Health announced the Apex location on Thursday. The announcement follows their January agreement to jointly develop the 500-bed pediatric hospital. The campus will also include outpatient care, over 100 behavioral health beds, and a research and education center. The project is expected to bring 8,000 jobs to the area and will be incorporated into a mixed-use development location. A campus construction groundbreaking is set to begin in 2027, with an estimated cost of $2 billion to $3 billion.… Continue Reading

Joe Coleman, No. 3 pick in the first MLB draft who pitched for Senators and Tigers, dies at 78

Joe Coleman, No. 3 pick in the first MLB draft who pitched for Senators and Tigers, dies at 78

Joe Coleman, a lanky right-hander who won 142 games in 15 major league seasons and was an All-Star in 1972 with Detroit, has died. He was 78. Casey Coleman said his father died in his sleep Wednesday morning in Jamestown, Tennessee. Coleman became the No. 3 pick in baseball’s inaugural amateur draft in 1965 when he was selected by the Washington Senators. He enjoyed his greatest individual success with the Tigers, going 88-73 with a 3.82 ERA from 1971-76. Coleman’s father, also named Joe, pitched in the majors from 1942-55. Casey Coleman pitched in the majors from 2010-14.… Continue Reading

Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren recovering from double lung transplant

Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren recovering from double lung transplant

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Olympic wrestler and former UFC fighter Ben Askren has undergone a double lung transplant after battling severe pneumonia. In a social media post Wednesday, Askren shared that he is now recovering. He revealed he remembers little from a 45-day ordeal between late May and early July, during which he was on a ventilator and his heart stopped four times. Askren lost 50 pounds during the experience but expressed gratitude for the love and support he received. Known for his amateur wrestling and MMA career, Askren retired in 2019 and briefly returned for a boxing match in 2021.… Continue Reading

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