WPTF News

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House national security adviser Mike Waltz is leaving the Trump administration just weeks after it was revealed he added a journalist to a Signal chat being used to discuss military plans. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter. Thursday’s development marks the first major staff shake-up of President Donald Trump’s second term. Waltz came under scrutiny in March after revelations he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on the encrypted messaging app Signal, which was used to discuss planning for a March 15 military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen. Waltz served in the House representing Florida for three terms before his elevation to the White House.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — U.S. health officials are pushing to get artificial colors out of the nation’s food supply. Sensient Technologies Corp. is one of the world’s largest dyemakers. The company has seen a surge in businesses rushing to covert their products from synthetic to natural colors. The process to change from petroleum-based dyes to colors made from vegetables, fruits, flowers and even insects won’t be cheap or easy. Health advocates have long called for the removal of the dyes. They cite mixed evidence that the colors are linked to behavior problems and obesity in kids.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he won’t back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the U.S. He’s digging in on his plans to implement the taxes that have sent financial markets reeling, raised fears of a recession and upended the global trading system. Speaking to reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One, Trump said he didn’t want global markets to fall, but also that he wasn’t concerned about the massive sell-off either, adding, “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” His comments came after Trump’s aides sought to soothe market concerns by saying more than 50 nations had reached out about launching negotiations to lift the tariffs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is imposing a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and even higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States. It threatens to upend much of the architecture of the global economy and trigger broader trade wars. Trump is declaring a national economic emergency to launch the tariffs, which are expected to produce hundreds of billions in annual revenues. He has promised that factory jobs will return back to the United States as a result of the taxes, but his policies risk a sudden economic slowdown as consumers and businesses could face sharp price hikes on autos, clothes and other goods.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks swerved through another shaky day of trading, with uncertainty still high about just what President Donald Trump will announce about tariffs on his “Liberation Day.” The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Tuesday after roaring back from an early drop of 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by less than 0.1% after likewise pinging between gains and losses, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.9%. Treasury yields dropped in the bond market after a report said U.S. manufacturing contracted last month. Markets have been shaky in the run-up to Wednesday, when Trump will announce a sweeping set of tariffs.

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Around the world, plastics are finding their way into farm fields. Some farmers say agricultural plastic, already a necessity for many crops, is becoming even more necessary as climate change fuels extreme weather. And plastics from other industries end up in fields, too, and eventually the food grown there as well as waterways. Scientists, farmers and consumers all worry about how the plastics that enter the food supply affect health, and research is continuing to show that it’s ending up in human bodies. Researchers are looking for solutions, but industry experts say despite attempts to tackle the plastic problem, it’s difficult to know where plastic ends up or get rid of it completely, even with the best intentions of improving reuse and recycling programs.

At least a half-dozen large wildfires continue to burn in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina. Nicole Taylor had to leave her home with the porch that overlooks Table Rock Mountain in South Carolina. She took video of the smoke pouring off the ridge until an evacuation order came Tuesday. She says she doesn’t know when she can go home. So far no one has been hurt in the fires that have burned more than 20 square miles of mostly rugged remote forests. The firefighting is slow. Water sources are scarce, so crews depend on building fire breaks.

More people have been asked to leave their homes in the North Carolina and South Carolina mountains as wildfires spread and the forecast for the rest of the week isn’t encouraging. A half-dozen large fires are burning in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Millions of fallen trees from September’s Hurricane Helene are both providing fuel for the wildfires and blocking the logging roads and paths firefighters use to fight the blazes and create fire breaks. The forecast for this week is dry and windy. There’s a chance of rain over the weekend, but forecasters say it isn’t likely to be the kind of downpour that can knock a fire out on its own.

Dry conditions, wind and trees downed by Hurricane Helene are fueling wildfires in North and South Carolina. Officials say evacuation orders are in effect Tuesday in some parts of the states while they continue to monitor the blazes. Three fires are burning in a rural North Carolina county about 80 miles west of Charlotte. At least one of the fires was caused by a downed power line. In South Carolina, two fires are burning in a mountainous region and both have no containment so far. A forestry professor says trees downed during last year’s Hurricane Helene dropped tons of fuel on the ground for the fires.

Firefighters in North and South Carolina are battling multiple wind-driven wildfires. The fires are burning in rugged terrain that is complicating efforts to contain them. North Carolina State University forestry professor Robert Scheller says millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last fall have dried out and are helping fuel the blazes. Burn bans remain in effect in both Carolinas and mandatory evacuations continue in parts of North Carolina’s Polk County. Hundreds of miles north in New Jersey, the state Forest Fire Service says a wildfire in the Pinelands region was 100% contained on Monday morning.