WPTF News

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence. The vote Wednesday came after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination. Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies. She had made past comments sympathetic to Russia, she once met with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad and had expressed previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden. Gabbard is a military veteran and a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii. She has no formal intelligence experience and has never run a government agency or department.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed an order restoring the name of a storied special operations forces base back to Fort Bragg. The North Carolina base was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023 as part of a national effort under the Biden administration to remove names that honored Confederate leaders. The base’s original namesake, Gen. Braxton Bragg, was a Confederate general. But a Pentagon spokesman said Monday that Hegseth was renaming the base to honor World War II hero Pfc. Roland L. Bragg. Hegseth says in a video he posted on X announcing the renaming, “Bragg is back!”

MIAMI (AP) — If any husbands or boyfriends mess up Valentine’s Day this week, it’s not because of a shortage of flowers. In the run up to Feb. 14, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says agricultural specialists at Miami International Airport have processed about 940 million stems of cut flowers. Around 90% of the fresh cut flowers being sold for Valentine’s Day in the United States come through Miami, while the other 10% pass through Los Angeles. Roses, carnations, pompons, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums and gypsophila arrive on hundreds of flights, mostly from Colombia and Ecuador, into Miami on their journey to florists and supermarkets across the U.S. and Canada.

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A section of Interstate 40 in western North Carolina that collapsed during Hurricane Helene’s historic flooding will reopen to traffic by March 1. Gov. Josh Stein made the announcement Monday while visiting the roadway’s shuttered portion and meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The primary road connection between North Carolina and eastern Tennessee was severed in late September as flooding in the Pigeon River gorge washed away eastbound lanes. An effort to get it open in early January got pushed back. One lane in each direction will reopen to traffic at a reduced speed.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has asked state legislators to double their spending to date on Hurricane Helene recovery and approve it now. The new Democratic governor unveiled his nearly $1.1 billion request Monday. He’s seeking bipartisan support from the Republican-controlled General Assembly. The proposals in part would provide grants to struggling businesses, help repair and rebuild homes, clean up farm debris and replace revenues spent or lost by local governments. Stein says waiting too long would cause more business closings, housing construction delays and students falling behind. This package could bring an early test for how the Democratic governor and GOP legislative leaders work together.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that after a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump that the planned tariffs are on hold for a month, a statement confirmed by the White House. Sheinbaum says on X, “Mexico will reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard immediately, to stop drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, in particular fentanyl.” She says the U.S. committed to stopping high powered weapons from reaching Mexico. The pause added to the drama as Trump’s tariffs against Canada and China are still slated to go into effect on Tuesday.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump says Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China. He’s also claiming that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States. The trade penalties that Trump signed Saturday at his Florida resort are causing a mix of panic, anger and uncertainty. And they’re threatening to rupture a decades-old partnership on trade in North America while further straining relations with China. But by following through on a campaign pledge, Trump may have simultaneously broken his promise to voters in last year’s election that his administration could quickly reduce inflation. The tariffs are set to launch on Tuesday.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, fulfilling a campaign promise but raising the prospect of trade conflict and increased prices for American consumers. Trump is declaring an economic emergency to put duties of 10% on all imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada — America’s largest trading partners — except for a 10% rate on Canadian oil. The White House said Trump’s order also includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if the countries retaliate against the U.S., as they have threatened. Trump says the tariffs are to force the countries to do more to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials charged with leading recovery efforts in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene have told state lawmakers that they need more money. And they need it soon. Officials leading the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina called on the federal government Wednesday to provide more funds to the state’s recovery in a future funding bill meant to address wildfires in southern California. Funds from the state legislature were also requested. Another recovery official asked for millions of dollars from the state legislature Thursday to complete construction on houses in parts of eastern North Carolina damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.

SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He made the remark Friday during a trip to two disaster zones, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization for responding to disasters. Instead of having federal financial assistance flow through FEMA, the Republican president said Washington could provide money directly to the states. He spoke while visiting North Carolina, which is still recovering months after Hurricane Helene, on the first trip of his second term. He planned to visit wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles later in the day.