Category Archives: WPTF News

Titan submersible disaster that killed 5 on way to Titanic ruins was preventable, Coast Guard says

Titan submersible disaster that killed 5 on way to Titanic ruins was preventable, Coast Guard says

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Coast Guard’s report on the Titan submersible disaster that killed five on the way to the Titanic says the implosion was “preventable.” The Coast Guard released the findings Tuesday from its highest level of investigation. The disappearance of the Titan in 2023 off Canada led to a search that grabbed worldwide attention. The Titan was owned by OceanGate, a private company based in Washington state. The operator of the submersible, OceanGate head Stockton Rush, was among the five on board who died. The submersible disaster has led to lawsuits and calls for tighter regulation of the developing private deep sea expedition industry.… Continue Reading

North Carolina DMV audit recommends reforms to reverse customer wait times, worker morale

North Carolina DMV audit recommends reforms to reverse customer wait times, worker morale

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles is the subject of two new audits looking to address long wait times for customers and low morale for workers. Republican Auditor Dave Boliek released them on Monday. The DMV struggles to keep up with the state’s growing population, leading to customer frustrations. It’s not unusual for customers to camp outside driver’s license offices in the wee hours. Boliek recommends making the DMV an autonomous agency separate from the Department of Transportation for better control over budget and operations. Other suggestions include using outside instructors for driving tests and creating “pop-up” license offices.… Continue Reading

Trump says he doesn’t trust the jobs data, but Wall Street and economists do

Trump says he doesn’t trust the jobs data, but Wall Street and economists do

WASHINGTON (AP) — The monthly jobs report is already closely-watched on Wall Street and in Washington but has taken on a new importance after President Donald Trump on Friday fired the official who oversees it. Trump claimed that June’s employment figures were “RIGGED” to make him and other Republicans “look bad” yet provided no evidence. The firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics director followed Friday’s jobs report that showed hiring was weak in July and had come to nearly a standstill in May and June. Economists and Wall Street investors have long considered the job figures reliable. Friday’s revisions were unusually large, and the surveys used to compile the report are facing challenges from declining response rates. But that hasn’t led most economists to doubt them.… Continue Reading

Judge says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs must stay in jail until he is sentenced

Judge says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs must stay in jail until he is sentenced

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge says Sean “Diddy” Combs can’t go home from jail to await sentencing on his prostitution-related conviction. The judge issued a decision Monday to deny the rap and style mogul’s latest bid for bail. Combs has been behind bars since his arrest in September. He faced federal charges of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fueled sex marathons with other men. He was acquitted last month of the top charges, which were racketeering and sex trafficking. Combs was convicted of two counts of a prostitution-related offense. He denied all the charges.… Continue Reading

Dow leaps 585 points as US stocks win back most of Friday’s wipeout

Dow leaps 585 points as US stocks win back most of Friday’s wipeout

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied and won back most of their sharp loss from last week. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% Monday to follow up its worst day since May with its best since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 585 points, or 1.3%, and the Nasdaq composite leaped 2%. Gains for Tyson Foods and other companies following their better-than-expected profit reports helped offset a drop for Berkshire Hathaway. This upcoming week may have fewer fireworks on Wall Street than last week, which was punctuated by a disappointingly weak report on the U.S. job market.… Continue Reading

College isn’t in the plans for many rural students despite stepped-up recruiting efforts

College isn’t in the plans for many rural students despite stepped-up recruiting efforts

PERRY, N.Y. (AP) — America’s rural high school students are less likely to go to college than their urban and suburban peers. Students in the most sparsely populated regions often face obstacles to attending college, including having to travel far to get to campus, a lack of public transportation, and inconsistent broadband access that limits access to online courses and financial aid. Family dynamics also often factor in, including a lack of exposure to college because parents didn’t attend and an underlying doubt about the value of a college degree and curriculum. Some colleges have stepped up efforts to recruit rural students.… Continue Reading

Popular 1980s actor Loni Anderson of the hit TV series ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ has died

Popular 1980s actor Loni Anderson of the hit TV series ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ has died

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Loni Anderson, who played a struggling radio station’s empowered receptionist Jennifer on the hit TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has died. It was just days before her 80th birthday. Her longtime publicist says Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness. “WKRP in Cincinnati” aired from 1978 through 1982 and was set in a lagging Ohio radio station trying to reinvent itself with rock music. As the station’s receptionist, Jennifer’s efficiency often kept the station running in the face of others’ incompetence.… Continue Reading

Cameron Young wins first PGA Tour title by demolishing field at Wyndham Championship

Cameron Young wins first PGA Tour title by demolishing field at Wyndham Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Cameron Young is finally a PGA Tour winner and there was no stopping him in at the Wyndham Championship. Young took any drama out of the final round when he made five straight birdies led by nine shots. He coasted home from there and shot 68 to win by six. The victory follows seven runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour. He becomes the 1,000th player to win a PGA Tour-recognized event. Matti Schmid got the 70th and final spot for the postseason by closing with three straight birdies. Davis Thompson three-putted the final hole to miss out.… Continue Reading

The Justice Department seeks voter and election information from at least 19 states, AP finds

The Justice Department seeks voter and election information from at least 19 states, AP finds

NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department is ramping up an effort to get election data from the states. According to an Associated Press tally, the department’s voting section has requested copies of voter registration lists from state election administrators in at least 15 states. And department lawyers have contacted officials in at least seven states to propose a meeting about forging an information-sharing agreement related to instances of voting or election fraud. The unusually expansive outreach has raised alarm among some election officials. That’s because states have the constitutional authority to run elections and because federal law protects the sharing of individual data with the government.… Continue Reading

Americans finish strong with a relay world record in the swim worlds to top medal tables

Americans finish strong with a relay world record in the swim worlds to top medal tables

SINGAPORE (AP) — The United States, which had a frustrating swim world championships, ended on a high note Sunday with a world record in the women’s 4×100 medley in the last event of the eight-day championships. The Americans swam a record time of 3 minutes, 49.34 seconds. The Americans had the old record of 3:49.63. The United States finished with nine gold medals — one more than Australia — but has battled a case of “acute gastroenteritis” picked up at a training camp in Thailand.… Continue Reading

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