Triangle/Local
Find zen in your garden with zinnias
By MIKE RALEY WPTF Weekend Gardener My mother-in-law, Jean Reeves, was smart, hard-working, industrious, caring and pretty. She loved gardening, and taught her equally pretty daughters about vegetables and flowers and how they co-exist in nature. When I fell in love with Melissa, I also…
Hurricane Erin still stirring up dangerous waves while it moves away from the East Coast
By ALLEN G. BREED and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin kicked up big waves Thursday along the mid-Atlantic coast and began a slow march out to sea after pelting North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and swells that flooded a few…
Hurricane Erin picking up steam as it edges along the East Coast
By ALLEN G. BREED and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin began strengthening again Wednesday while creeping closer to the mid-Atlantic coast and churning up menacing waves that have closed beaches from the Carolinas to New York City. Forecasters expect the storm to…
Summer celebrations meet closed beaches and warnings on US East Coast due to Hurricane Erin
By ALLEN G. BREED and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — From Florida to New England, people trying to enjoy the last hurrahs of summer along the coast were met with rip current warnings, closed beaches and in some cases already treacherous waves…
Hurricane Erin’s massive waves threaten to isolate North Carolina’s Outer Banks
By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press There’s a popular T-shirt on Hatteras Island along the North Carolina Outer Banks that says: “One road on. One road off (sometimes)” — poking fun at the constant battle between Mother Nature and a thin ribbon of pavement connecting the narrow barrier…
State/Regional
Hurricane Erin never hit land or caused major damage, but threatened turtle nests weren’t so lucky
By HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press As Hurricane Erin pelted North Carolina’s barrier islands with strong winds and waves this week, it destroyed many nests of threatened sea turtles, burying the eggs deep in sand or washing them out to sea. On Topsail Island more than half the…
North Carolina Supreme Court says bars’ COVID-19 lawsuits can continue
By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Supreme Court issued favorable rulings Friday for bars and their operators in litigation seeking monetary compensation from the state for COVID-19 restrictions first issued by then-Gov. Roy Cooper that shuttered their doors…
North Carolina updates more than 20,000 voter records, seeks more ID numbers
By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Voter registration records for more than 20,000 people in North Carolina have been successfully amended thus far in an effort by election officials to add missing identification numbers. In mid-July, the State Board of Elections began formally…
Hurricane Erin forecast to churn up dangerous swells and winds from Florida to New England
By ALLEN G. BREED and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin chugged slowly toward the eastern U.S. coast Tuesday, stirring up treacherous waves that already have forced dozens of beach rescues days before the biggest storm surges are expected. While forecasters remain confident…
Hurricane Erin forecast to create dangerous surf, winds along North Carolina’s Outer Banks
MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Erin began pelting part of the Caribbean with rain and wind Monday before it’s expected to churn up dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week. Evacuations were being ordered on a few islands along North Carolina’s Outer Banks…
World/National
Fed Chair Powell faces fresh challenges to Fed independence amid potential rate cuts
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has signaled that the central bank could soon cut its key interest rate, he faces a new challenge: how to do it without seeming to cave to the White House’s demands. For…
Federal officials to take over inspections when troubled Boar’s Head plant reopens
By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer Federal inspectors will assume direct oversight of a troubled Boar’s Head deli meat plant when it reopens after last year’s deadly listeria outbreak, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said. The Jarratt, Virginia, factory is set to resume operations in the coming months. It…
Powell signals Fed may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened the door ever so slightly to lowering a key interest rate in the coming months but gave no hint on the timing of a move and…
Tariffs aren’t keeping Walmart from attracting shoppers and outpacing Target
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart Inc. powered through an uncertain economic environment and tariff concerns to deliver solid second-quarter financial results Thursday, showing it keeps pulling in shoppers and outpacing peers like Target. The nation’s largest retailer reported a 4.6% quarterly increase in comparable sales…
Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump
By JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Thursday threw out the massive financial penalty a state judge imposed on President Donald Trump, while narrowly upholding a finding he engaged in fraud by exaggerating his…
Entertainment
‘Sopranos’ star Jerry Adler, Broadway backstage vet turned late-in-life actor, dies at 96
By MALLIKA SEN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Jerry Adler, who spent decades behind-the-scenes of storied Broadway productions before pivoting to acting in his 60s, has died at 96. Adler died Saturday, according to a brief family announcement confirmed by the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New…
Don’t fret: Air guitar world title returns home to Finland after 25 years
OULU, Finland (AP) — Finnish air guitarist Aapo “The Angus” Rautio plucked victory from thin air on Friday night, grabbing the world championship title for his homeland for the first time since 2000. This year’s Air Guitar World Championships reached the climax with a final Friday…
Trump says he’ll keep extending TikTok shutdown deadline
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is calling national security and privacy concerns related to TikTok and its Chinese parent company “highly overrated” and said Friday he’ll keep extending the deadline for the popular video-sharing platform until there’s a buyer. Congress approved a U.S. ban…
Cambridge Dictionary adds ‘skibidi’ and ‘tradwife’ among 6,000 new words
By LYDIA DOYE Associated Press LONDON (AP) — What the skibidi is happening to the English language? “Skibidi” is one of the slang terms popularized by social media that are among more than 6,000 additions this year to the Cambridge Dictionary. “Internet culture is changing…
Androids dance, rock, shimmy and sway at opening of World Humanoid Robot Games
By FU TING Associated Press Humanoid robots danced hip-hop, performed martial arts and played keyboard, guitar and drums at the opening ceremony of the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Thursday evening. The competition begins Friday with more than 500 humanoid robots in…
Sports
Trump says he’ll be at Ryder Cup and he thinks captain Keegan Bradley should play
By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will be at the opening round of the high-charged Ryder Cup next month in New York, and he thinks U.S. captain Keegan Bradley should be playing. Trump posted on his social media site Saturday…
Ryan Blaney’s last-second surge at Daytona denies underdogs a Cinderella moment
By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — NASCAR’s playoff system is designed to give a long shot a chance to race for the championship. As a pack of underdogs hurtled toward the finish line at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday…
Panthers re-sign longtime RT Taylor Moton to a 2-year, $44M extension, AP sources says
By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE N.C. (AP) — Taylor Moton is staying in Carolina. The Panthers announced Friday they’ve given their durable longtime right tackle a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2027 season. Moton will make…
Managers miffed at offshore sports betting on Little League World Series
By AMANDA VOGT Associated Press SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — This week, as usual, sports bettors can get action on MLB games from U.S.-based gambling sites. Meanwhile, at least a couple of offshore bookmakers are offering odds on games at the Little League World Series.…
Steelers beat Panthers 19-10 in preseason finale, but lose 1st-round pick Harmon to knee injury
By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Skylar Thompson completed 11 of 13 passes for 152 yards including a 24-yard touchdown strike to Lance McCutcheon, rookie Ben Sauls kicked four field goals and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Carolina Panthers 19-10 on…