Category Archives: WPTF News

Family of 4, including 2 children, killed in North Carolina plane crash

Family of 4, including 2 children, killed in North Carolina plane crash

SANFORD, N.C. (AP) — A family of four from North Carolina has died in a small plane crash as they flew back from Florida. Officials say the crash happened Monday afternoon, just miles from the plane’s base in Sanford, which is southwest of Raleigh. The victims were 35-year-old Travis and Candace Buchanan as well as their children, 10-year-old Aubrey Buchanan and 9-year-old Walker Buchanan. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Local community members say the family owned a farm in Sanford and an employee says the family was heading back from the beach.… Continue Reading

Swain County sheriff steps down after sexual misconduct charges

Swain County sheriff steps down after sexual misconduct charges

BRYSON CITY, N.C. (AP) — The longtime sheriff of a western North Carolina county who was suspended following allegations of sexual misconduct has retired. Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran was first elected in 2006. He stepped down effective July 1. He faces multiple state charges, including sexual battery and felonious restraint, as well as tribal charges from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Two women say Cochran made unwanted sexual advances toward them last month. The local district attorney filed papers seeking to have him permanently removed from office.… Continue Reading

Hope of finding Texas flood survivors dims as search efforts go on

Hope of finding Texas flood survivors dims as search efforts go on

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Hope of finding survivors of the catastrophic flooding in Texas is dimming a day after the death toll surpassed 100. But crews have kept up the search for people missing in the aftermath. The search efforts benefited Tuesday from improving weather. The storms that battered the Hill Country for the past four days began to lighten up, although isolated pockets of heavy rain were still possible. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott planned to make another visit Tuesday to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died during the flash floods. Officials said Monday that 10 campers and one counselor have still not been found.… Continue Reading

Travelers may no longer be required to remove shoes before boarding a plane

Travelers may no longer be required to remove shoes before boarding a plane

For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer have to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain U.S. airports. The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the requirement, according to media reports. If implemented, it would put an end to a security screening mandate put in place almost 20 years ago, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001. Travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change is coming, with ABC News citing an internal memo sent to TSA officers last week that states the new policy lets travelers keep their shoes on during screenings at many U.S. airports beginning on Sunday.… Continue Reading

Yemen’s Houthi rebels attack a ship in the Red Sea, killing 3, after claiming they sank another

Yemen’s Houthi rebels attack a ship in the Red Sea, killing 3, after claiming they sank another

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, raising fears of renewed conflict in the vital shipping corridor. On Tuesday, authorities reported an ongoing assault on the Liberian-flagged ship Eternity C. A European Union naval force later said three mariners were killed and two injured. On Sunday, the rebels attacked another vessel, Magic Seas, forcing its crew to abandon ship. It later sank. These incidents mark a return to Houthi aggression against shipping after a pause since March. The attacks threaten trade routes and could escalate tensions involving U.S. and Western forces in the region.… Continue Reading

Death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend surpasses 100

Death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend surpasses 100

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend has surpassed 100 as the massive search continues for missing people. In hard-hit Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, Kerr County officials said. Meanwhile, search-and-rescue teams carried on with the search for the dead, using heavy equipment to untangle trees and wading into swollen rivers. Volunteers covered in mud sorted through chunks of debris, piece by piece, in an increasingly bleak task.… Continue Reading

Troops and federal agents briefly descend on LA’s MacArthur Park in largely immigrant neighborhood

Troops and federal agents briefly descend on LA’s MacArthur Park in largely immigrant neighborhood

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dozens of federal officers in tactical gear roamed a mostly empty park in a Los Angeles neighborhood with a large immigrant population for about an hour before clearing out. It wasn’t immediately known if any arrests were made Monday. Defense officials had said about 90 members of the California National Guard and over a dozen military vehicles would help protect immigration officers as they carried out a raid in MacArthur Park. Mayor Karen Bass called it a “political stunt,” and said: “What I saw in the park today looked like a city under siege, under armed occupation.”… Continue Reading

Wall Street falls as Trump pressures trading partners with new tariffs

Wall Street falls as Trump pressures trading partners with new tariffs

Stocks fell on Wall Street as the Trump administration stepped up pressure on trading partners to make deals before punishing tariffs imposed by the U.S. take effect. The S&P 500 lost 0.8% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%. Tesla tumbled as the feud between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump reignited over the weekend. Musk, once a top donor and ally of Trump, said he would form a third political party in protest over the Republican spending bill that passed last week.… Continue Reading

Twisting the truth: study finds fake news often rides on real headlines

Twisting the truth: study finds fake news often rides on real headlines

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – A new study published in Nature reveals that fake news doesn’t always come from fake sources. Researchers found that social media users often share reputable headlines in misleading ways—using real facts to back false claims. Duke University’s Jon Green says it’s not just about who publishes the information, but how it’s framed and shared online.… Continue Reading

Nine months after Helene: The Southeast still reels from rare hurricane damage

Nine months after Helene: The Southeast still reels from rare hurricane damage

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – It’s been nine months since Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast, leaving behind deadly floods, unprecedented wind damage, and a recovery process still far from over. While originally classified as a rain event, experts now say Helene’s wind damage—especially in North Carolina’s mountains—was far worse than initially thought. New research using satellite imagery is shedding light on just how intense and unusual the storm’s impact truly was.
… Continue Reading

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