Lantana: The sun-loving, pollinator-friendly powerhouse

By MIKE RALEY WPTF Weekend Gardener

I have grown to love lantana. I never really had anything against it. It’s just the fact I haven’t had a lot of sun areas in my landscape and lantana can take up a fair amount of room if it is happy. Most of North Carolina is hot throughout the summer and we certainly have drought periods. Lantana is made to order for these conditions.

Lantana is in the verbena family and is sometimes called “shrub verbena.” It comes in various sizes from 1 to 6 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide according to my friends at the Cooperative Extension Service. It loves full sun, moist, but well-drained soil to fully perform. Lantana grows particularly well in the piedmont and thrives on the coastal plain and coast of North Carolina. It is even salt tolerant.

There are several varieties of lantana sold in North Carolina. “Miss Huff” is by far the most popular. That cultivar is all I have ever planted. It is a perennial in much of North Carolina and has splendid flowers of an orange, yellow, pink mix. “Miss Huff actually comes from cuttings from a plant found in Athens, Georgia. “Ham and Eggs” is similar with dark pink and yellow bloom clusters that appear for many as plates of ham and eggs. It always makes me hungry to talk about this one. It is also a cultivar you should have success in perennializing. “Chapel Hill Yellow” and “Chapel Hill Gold” are also popular. They do not produce light blue flowers, but I’m sure someone is working on that. Neither are quite as hardy as “Miss Huff” or “Ham and Eggs”. There are varieties with white, lavender, red and other colors too. There are many new varieties that you may find in the spring and early summer at your local nursery. There is also a groundcover lantana known as lantana “Montevidensis” or trailing lantana. It can be used in a large container to trail over the side. It will also hold soil on a bank. This definitely needs full sun. You can find this in lavender, purple and white. This variety like the rest we have mentioned are root hardy in zone 8 areas.

Lantana, as noted in the title, is a pollinator magnet! Butterflies, bees of all kinds and hummingbirds love this plant, the bright colors and lots of nectar. Pollinators also enjoy the mild, sweet fragrance and long growing season of lantana. The leaves kind of have a herbal or pungent fragrance.

I don’t use a lot of fertilizer around my landscape, especially with blooming plants which are deterred from producing flowers if they receive a lot of nitrogen. The nitrogen will instead give you abundant green foliage instead. That is, if you don’t burn the plant with too much nitrogen. The Espoma’s products are well suited for shrubs and flowers with their low nitrogen analysis.

Most of the folks on the crew on the “Weekend Gardener” agree that you will be safer Prune lantana’s dead stems in the spring. As for the dead stems this plant produces, I usually wait until the new green foliage sprouts from the ground before I get rid of the stems. Erv Evans always recommended we consider the appearance of a perennial in the winter before we plant in a show place area in the landscape. For the same reason it is not a good idea to plant a deciduous shrub along the foundation of a house. It doesn’t look good in the winter. You may trim your lantana during the growing season to produce more blooms. Another reason to prune is to prevent seeding. Lantana is considered invasive in places like Florida and Hawaii. But I have never experienced this in my landscape, nor has anyone on the show mentioned this as a problem for North Carolina. The folks at NC State do say lantana leaves can be poisonous to animals and an irritant to human skin.

As for pests, I have never noticed any insect problems with my lantana. If you have a thriving garden you may also be lucky enough to have predators like ladybugs, dragonflies, lacewings, spiders and praying mantis to help control the “bad” bugs.

There you have lantana in a nutshell. I like them. No, I love them in a sunny landscape with pollinators flying all around. If lantana is in a full sun location, has plenty of room to grow and is not overfertilized, this plant will give years of pleasure.

Easy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Serving Size: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 Irish potatoes
2 tbsp. avocado oil or cooking oil of choice
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried parsley

Directions

Clean and cube potatoes, leaving the skin on.
In a bowl, coat potatoes with cooking oil and spices.
Line or grease a baking pan and spread potatoes on it evenly.
Sprinkle shredded parmesan on top.
Bake at 400 degrees f for 40 minutes or until golden and crispy.

8.8-magnitude earthquake sends small tsunami into coasts of Russia, Japan and Alaska

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — One of the world’s strongest earthquakes struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, an 8.8-magnitude temblor that caused small tsunami waves in Japan and Alaska and prompted warnings for Hawaii, North and Central America and Pacific islands south toward New Zealand.

People were advised to move to higher ground in multiple locations and that the potential danger may last for more than a day, but places where tsunami waves have already washed ashore have reported no significant damage so far.

Waves less than a foot (under 30 centimeters) above tide levels were observed in the Alaskan communities of Amchitka and Adak, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska.

White waves washed up to the shoreline on Japan’s Hokkaido in the north and Ibaraki and Chiba, just east of Tokyo, in footage aired on Japan’s NHK public television.

A tsunami of 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) was detected at the Ishinomaki port in northern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

That was the highest measurement so far among several locations around northern Japan. But higher waves were still arriving, said Shiji Kiyomoto, an earthquake and tsunami response official at JMA.

The Russian areas nearest the quake’s epicenter on the Kamchatka Peninsula reported damage from the earthquake and evacuations from the tsunami, but no serious injuries.

Cars jammed streets and highways in Honolulu as the tsunami alerts coincided with the Tuesday afternoon rush-hour. Warning sirens blared as people moved to higher ground. Hawaii schools canceled after-school and evening activities.

Hawaii and Oregon warn residents of potential damage

The impact of the tsunami could last for hours — such as in Adak, a community of about 70 people in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands — or perhaps more than a day, Snider said.

“A tsunami is not just one wave,” he said. “It’s a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour — as fast as a jet airplane — in deep water. But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that’s where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there.”

“In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they’re going to be moving back and forth for quite a while,” which is why some communities may feel effects longer, he said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said the tsunami generated by the quake could cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands.

“Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property,” the warning stated. The first waves were expected around 7 p.m. Tuesday local time.

The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said on Facebook that small tsunami waves were expected along the coast starting around 11:40 p.m. local time, with wave heights between 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters). It urged people to stay away from beaches, harbors and marinas and to remain in a safe location away from the coast until the advisory is lifted.

“This is not a major tsunami, but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a risk to those near the water,” the department said.

Much of the West Coast spanning Canada’s British Columbia province, Washington state and California were also under a tsunami advisory.

A tsunami of less than 30 centimeters (under 1 foot) was forecast to hit parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The province’s emergency preparedness agency said waves were expected to reach remote Langara Island around 10:05 p.m. Tuesday and Tofino around 11:30 p.m. The agency said “multiple waves over time” were expected.

Russian regions report quake damage

The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japan and U.S. seismologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey later updated its measurement to 8.8 magnitude and the USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 20.7 kilometers (13 miles).

The quake was centered about 119 kilometers (74 miles) east-southeast from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude were recorded.

The first tsunami wave hit the coastal area of Severo-Kurilsk, the main settlement on Russia’s Kuril Islands in the Pacific, according to the local governor Valery Limarenko. He said residents were safe and staying on high ground until the threat of a repeat wave was gone.

The quake caused damage to buildings and cars swayed in the streets in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which also had power outages and mobile phone service failures. Russian news agencies quoting the regional Health Ministry saying several people sought medical help in Kamchatka after the earthquake, but no serious injuries were reported.

Among the world’s strongest recorded quakes

The earthquake appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the March 2011 earthquake off northeast Japan that was 9.0 magnitude and caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.

The tsunami alert disrupted transportation in Japan. Ferries connecting Hokkaido and Aomori on the northern tip of Japan’s Honshu island were suspended, as well as those connecting Tokyo and nearby islands, and some local train operations were suspended or delayed, according to operators. Sendai airport temporarily closed its runway.

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said so far no injuries or damages have been reported. The agency, in response to the tsunami alert, issued an evacuation advisory to more than 900,000 residents in 133 municipalities along Japan’s Pacific coast, from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

Japanese nuclear power plants reported no abnormalities. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said about 4,000 workers are taking shelter on higher ground at the plant complex while monitoring remotely to ensure plant safety.

Philippine authorities warned provinces and towns along the eastern coast facing the Pacific of possible tsunami waves of less than 1 meter (3 feet) and advised people to stay away from the beach and coastal areas. “It may not be the largest of waves, but these can continue for hours and expose people swimming in the waters to danger,” Teresito Bacolcol of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told The Associated Press.

Mexico’s navy warned that tsunami waves will start reaching the northern coast in Ensenada, near California, at around 02:22 a.m. Wednesday local time, and waves could progress along the Pacific coast to Chiapas state, around 07:15 a.m. local time. The navy recommended people stay away from beaches until it suspended the alert.

New Zealand authorities issued warnings of “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges” along all coastlines of the South Pacific island nation. The government emergency management agency said people should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas, and away from harbors, marinas, rivers and estuaries. The waves would start arriving late Wednesday local time.

New Zealand is about 6,000 miles (9,600 kilometers) from the epicenter.

The quake was the strongest to hit this area in the Kamchatka Peninsula since 1952, according to the local branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

They said that while the situation “was under control” there are risks of aftershocks, which could last for up to a month and warned against visiting certain coastal areas.

Earlier in July, five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and was 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

On Nov. 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.

___

This story has corrected the wave height forecast in Oregon to between 1 and 2 feet, not 1 and 3 feet.

July 30th 2025

Thought of the Day

One small positive thought in the morning can change your entire day.

Some North Carolina Democratic lawmakers break from party to pass Republican priorities

By MAKIYA SEMINERA and GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Tuesday overrode several vetoes by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, getting just enough votes from Stein’s own party to enact some laws while falling short on others.

The votes were key tests for Republican General Assembly leaders since they narrowly lost their veto-proof majority following last fall’s elections.

Both chambers enacted eight of 14 vetoed measures to further their conservative agenda, including laws that target transgender rights, allow firearms on private school property and eliminate an interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate.

The GOP is one seat shy in the House of overcoming vetoes at will. Lawmakers were able to convince anywhere from one to three House Democrats to override on some measures.

“It depends on what the issue is, but on most issues, we’re going to have a working supermajority,” House Speaker Destin Hall told reporters after session.

Democratic leaders managed to keep intact other vetoes issued by Stein, meaning GOP goals to let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit and eliminate DEI initiatives are derailed for now.

Republicans “didn’t override them all. I mean, we might come back and override them if they have the numbers,” Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison said after Tuesday’s session. “It’s a heck of a way to do policy.”

Possible Democratic victory on transgender bill ends in defeat

House Democrats weren’t able to uphold the governor’s veto on a bill targeting transgender people when one of their party members broke ranks.

The legislation initially ran as a bipartisan measure curbing sexual exploitation of women and minors on pornography websites. But several contentious provisions were tacked on later, such as recognizing only two sexes and preventing state-funded gender transition procedures for prisoners.

Freshman Democratic Rep. Dante Pittman voted for the measure in June but on Tuesday sided with Stein’s veto instead. Another Democrat, Rep. Nasif Majeed, sided with Republicans to override Stein’s veto.

“I had some moral issues about that and I had to lean on my values,” Majeed told reporters of the bill after the vote.

DEI bills blocked for now

In one of their biggest victories, Democrats blocked three bills that would have restricted diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the state by staying unified in their opposition.

Two of the bills would bar certain “divisive concepts” and “discriminatory practices” related to race and identity in K-12 schools, public universities and community colleges. The third bill would ban state agencies from implementing diversity, equity and inclusion programs or utilizing DEI in hiring practices.

Hall told reporters he expects the chamber will overcome the remaining vetoes, such as the DEI bills, at some point.

“If people are out and the numbers are there, we’re going to vote to override,” Hall said.

Mixed results on guns and immigration

Republican lawmakers fervently prioritized legislation on guns and immigration this session, but in some cases, they couldn’t complete that agenda Tuesday.

A vetoed bill allowing permitless concealed carry for eligible people over the age of 18 wasn’t heard in the House. That bill already faced an uphill battle after two Republicans voted against it with Democrats last month.

House Republicans also failed to call a vote on vetoed legislation that would require several state law enforcement agencies to engage in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown by formally cooperating with federal agents.

Other legislation on guns and immigration followed the pathway to becoming law.

A bill that allows certain people to carry firearms onto private school property with administrative permission passed with support of a Democrat. Another Democrat’s support also pushed through a separate immigration measure expanding the offenses that would require a local sheriff to check a detained person’s legal status in the country.

Interim greenhouse gas mandate gets repealed

Enough Democrats joined Republicans in overriding Stein’s veto of legislation that largely addressed activities of Duke Energy, the state’s dominant electric utility.

The new law in part repeals a portion of a bipartisan 2021 law that told electric regulators to work toward reducing carbon dioxide output 70% from 2005 levels by 2030. A directive in the 2021 law to meet a carbon neutrality standard by 2050 is still in place.

Republicans said the 70% reduction mandate was unnecessary and if eliminated would moderate electricity rate increases required to meet the 2050 standard by allowing use of less expensive power sources.

Stein and environmental groups opposed the measure, saying that eliminating the 2030 standard and other provisions will result in higher consumer rates by having utilities rely more more on natural gas to generate electricity.

Record-breaking heat wave scorches Southeast US

By RUSS BYNUM and MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Residents in the Southeast U.S. are no strangers to heat in the summertime, but this week’s sweltering hot weather set at least one record and has forecasters urging residents to limit time outside on Tuesday if possible — and stay hydrated.

The all-time high temperature at Tampa International Airport was broken on Sunday when the thermometer hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius). The previous record had been 99 F (37.2 C) in June 2020.

The National Weather Service said Tuesday the prolonged heat is expected to peak in the Southeast at mid-week. A strong upper ridge also was generating a “dangerous and prolonged” heat wave in the central and eastern sections of the country.

No relief in the shade

In Savannah, Georgia, landscaper Darius Cowherd took a break Tuesday in the cab of his work truck after spending the morning mowing grass, trimming bushes and blowing leaves in Forsyth Park in the coastal city’s downtown historic district.

Sipping from a giant water bottle almost the size of a gallon jug, he said, “I filled it with ice at 7 this morning and it’s all melted by 10:30.”

A canopy of live oak trees in much of the park provided little relief.

“It’s hot even when you’re working in the shade,” said Cowherd, who wore a wide-brimmed hat to shield his face and neck.

The National Weather Service predicted temperatures in Savannah would reach 97 F (36 C) Tuesday, with heat index values — what the temperature feels like — approaching a broiling 110 F (43 C).

Breaking records

The heat wave was expected to set new records across Florida on Tuesday, with highs around 100 F. Heat index values in the Tampa Bay area were expected to range from 113 to 118 F (45 to 47.7 C).

“We have extreme heat warnings in Georgia, down through northern Florida that would also include places like the Tampa Bay and Orlando metro areas,” said Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “We’re going to see today more opportunities for temperatures to be near 100 again.”

However, rain is in the forecast for Wednesday, which will likely cool things off a bit.

Extreme heat warnings also were issued in the country’s center from New Orleans up to St. Louis, the meteorologist said. The heat index value on Tuesday was expected to reach as high as 110 F around the St. Louis area and in southwest Illinois.

‘Too much’ heat

In downtown Savannah, scattered tourists trudged along the sidewalks despite the heat. A few carried umbrellas to keep the sun at bay.

A block away, Luis Hernandez was working in direct sun on a ladder painting second-floor windows on a 19th century home. He wore long sleeves to protect against sunburn.

Hernandez said a co-worker made sure he and his fellow house painters had a cooler filled with drinking water. About every two hours, they would go inside to take breaks in the air-conditioning.

“Sure, it’s hot,” Hernandez said — almost “too much.”

With temperatures climbing Tuesday afternoon in Tallahassee, Willie Gaines and his workers took a break from painting white traffic lines on a newly paved road near the All Saints neighborhood. As they sat in the shade of tree, heat radiated off the blacktop. The air was thick with the fumes of fresh asphalt.

“Everybody’s complaining they ain’t never seen it this hot,” Gaines said.

___

Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, and Mike Hempen in College Park, Maryland, contributed to this report.

PGA Tour ends regular season in Carolina. LPGA wraps up major season with Women’s British Open

The PGA Tour wraps up its regular season at the Wyndham Championship. At stake is the top 70 advancing to the FedEx Cup playoffs. Jordan Spieth is back in the field trying to fortify his position in the FedEx Cup. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley also is playing. This also is the week for the final major of the year. The Women’s British Open is at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Nelly Korda is still searching for her first win this year. The attention shifts to Lottie Woad. She won the Women’s Scottish Open last week in her professional debut.

—

PGA Tour

WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Greensboro, North Carolina.

Course: Sedgefield CC. Yardage: 7,131. Par: 70.

Prize money: $8.2 million. Winner’s share: $1.476 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Aaron Rai.

FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.

Last week: Kurt Kitayama won the 3M Open.

Notes: This is the final tournament of the regular season that decides which 70 players advance to the FedEx Cup playoffs. … Scottie Scheffler already has clinched the $10 million bonus for leading the regular season in points. … Jordan Spieth has added this tournament to his schedule to boost his FedEx Cup standing and help his Ryder Cup cause. … Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is the only player from the top 10 in the field. But this week is more about the FedEx Cup. Only seven players between No. 31 and No. 70 are skipping the event. The top 50 after the first playoff event get into all the signature events. Wyndham Clark (No. 48) and Min Woo Lee (No. 49) are among those not playing. … Last year Aaron Rai went from No. 53 to No. 25 by winning the Wyndham Championship. He made it to the Tour Championship for the first time. … Robert MacIntyre of Scotland, at No. 15, can earn Ryder Cup points this week.

Next week: FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

___

LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour

AIG WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN

Site: Porthcawl, Wales.

Course: Royal Porthcawl GC. Yardage: 6,580. Par: 72.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. (USA Network); Saturday-Sunday, 7 a.m. to noon (USA Network), noon to 2 p.m. (NBC).

Prize money: $9.5 million. Winner’s share: $1.425 million.

Defending champion: Lydia Ko.

Race to CME Globe leader: Jeeno Thitikul.

LET Order of Merit: Mimi Rhodes.

Last week: Lottie Woad won the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.

Notes: This is the fifth and final major of the year on the LPGA. … The LPGA has played 19 tournaments with a different winner, the longest it has gone without a multiple winner in its 75-year history. … Royal Porthcawl has hosted the Senior British Open three times and the British Amateur seven times. It also is where Great Britain & Ireland defeated a U.S. team with Tiger Woods in the 1995 Walker Cup. … Lottie Woad has won twice and missed a playoff by one shot in a major in her last three tournaments, two of them as an amateur. … Nelly Korda has gone 12 tournaments this year without a win. She is still No. 1 in the women’s world ranking and No. 6 in the Race to CME Globe. … The LPGA has gone 13 consecutive majors with different winners. … This is the 25th year the Women’s British Open has been a major on the LPGA. It replaced the du Maurier Classic in Canada in 2001.

Next week on the LET: PIF London Championship.

Next LPGA tournament: The Standard Portland Classic on Aug. 14-17.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/ and https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

___

Korn Ferry Tour

UTAH CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Ogden, Utah.

Course: Ogden Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,045. Par: 71.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner’s share: $180,000.

Television: Thursday-Saturday, 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 7-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: Karl Vilips.

Points leader: Johnny Keefer.

Last week: Johnny Keefer won the NV5 Invitational.

Next week: Pinnacle Bank Championship.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

___

European Tour

Last tournament: Scottie Scheffler won the British Open.

Next week: Nexo Championship.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

___

LIV Golf League

Last week: Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf UK.

Next week: LIV Golf Chicago.

Points leader: Joaquin Niemann.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

___

PGA Tour Champions

Last week: Padraig Harrington won the Senior British Open.

Next week: Boeing Classic.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

___

Other tours

Epson Tour: Four Winds Invitational, South Bend CC, South Bend, Indiana. Previous winner: Yahui Zhang. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

Japan Golf Tour: Richard Mille Charity Tournament, Noto CC, Ishikawa, Japan. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/

Challenge Tour: Farmfoods Scottish Challenge, Schloss Roxburghe, Heiton, Scotland. Previous winner: Brandon Robinson Thompson. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/hotelplanner-tour/

PGA Tour Americas: Osprey Valley Open, TPC Toronto (Heathlands), Caledon, Ontario. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/americas

Legends Tour: Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, Trump International GL, Aberdeen, Scotland. Defending champion: Robert Coles. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/

Korea LPGA: Aurora World Ladies Championship, Aurora Golf Resort, Wonju, South Korea. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/web/

Wiley Nickel exits North Carolina Senate race the day after Roy Cooper announces candidacy

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

CARY, N.C. (AP) — A former congressman will no longer seek an open U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina next year now that fellow Democrat Roy Cooper is running for the post.

Tuesday’s announcement by ex-U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel came the day after Cooper, a former two-term governor, kicked off his own campaign to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis with a video message. Cooper’s past popularity, name recognition and fundraising ability made him the party’s front-runner overnight.

“I’ve seen firsthand his steady, bipartisan leadership. He listens, he shows up, and he gets things done,” Nickel said while endorsing Cooper and revealing plans to suspend his own Senate campaign. “And for so many of us, including me, he’s been an inspiration to step up and serve.”

Nickel had signaled interest in a 2026 U.S. Senate bid nearly two years ago, when the Raleigh-area congressman decided against seeking a second U.S. House term because he said district lines redrawn by the General Assembly made it essentially impossible to win again.

Nickel formally launched a Senate campaign in April, focusing on unseating Tillis. But his activities were always overshadowed by what Cooper, who wrapped up eight years as governor last December, decided to do next. Well before Tillis announced June 29 that he would not seek a third term, many state and national Democrats hoped Cooper would join the race.

“We started this campaign to send Thom Tillis packing. Well, mission accomplished I guess!” Nickel quipped.

Cooper’s nearly 40 years in state electoral politics, including time as a state legislator and attorney general, made him a top-tier option for what’s expected to be one of the most competitive 2026 Senate contests. While Cooper could still face intraparty opposition, Nickel’s departure could clear the field of significant challengers heading to his party’s primary in early March.

On the GOP side, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley plans to run for the nomination, with President Donald Trump ’s blessing, according to two people familiar with his thinking who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly before an official announcement. Whatley, the former North Carolina GOP chairman, received Trump’s endorsement after Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and a North Carolina native, passed on the seat. Another potential candidate, first-term U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan, said over the weekend he would seek reelection instead.

Nickel, 49, is a lawyer and former state senator whose career has included working as a White House staffer in Barack Obama’s administration. In 2022, Nickel narrowly won a swing-district election over Republican Bo Hines, who had received Trump’s endorsement in the GOP primary.

Nickel hinted in Tuesday’s statement about future political endeavors. “Public service is a part of who I am and you’ll hear more from me soon,” he said.

Tillis announced his decision not to seek another six-year term after Trump threatened to back a primary candidate against him as Tillis opposed Medicaid reductions in the president’s tax break and spending cut package.

To retake the majority in 2026, Democrats need to net four seats, and most of the contests are in states that Trump easily won last year. Trump won North Carolina by about 3 percentage points, one of his closest margins of victory.

Max Homa and Sahith Theegala played in the Presidents Cup. Now both might miss PGA Tour postseason

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

The Wyndham Championship is the last chance for players to qualify for the PGA Tour’s postseason. It’s also a reminder that so much in golf still must be earned.

Sahith Theegala and Max Homa are two examples, both of them part of the winning American team at the Presidents Cup last year in Montreal.

Theegala, who finished at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup last year and picked up a $7.5 million bonus, had not finished in the top 10 until running into neck trouble in May. He withdrew from three tournaments, including the PGA Championship, to rest it.

He returned at the British Open and missed two straight cuts. Now he is No. 144 and needs nothing short of a victory at the Wyndham Championship to qualifying for the postseason.

Homa has been in a slump for 15 months, and he started this year with a new coach and new equipment. He feels progress in his swing, but not his results. Now he’s at No. 106, and likely needs a runner-up finish to have any hope of extending his season.

Adding to the stress for Homa is his wife is due with their second child next week. He was not eligible for the U.S. Open or British Open. He is still grinding.

“My wife is very, very pregnant right now so really like to win one of the next two so I could skip an event coming up just so I could keep the stress level low in our household,” he said at the Barracuda Championship, held opposite the British Open.

He tied for 45th at the Barracuda, and he tied for 39th in Minnesota.

Three players from the International team in the Presidents Cup are outside the top 70 going into the final regular-season event — Adam Scott, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Tom Kim.

The FedEx Cup standings going into the Wyndham Championship show some 20 players who were in the playoffs a year ago now outside the top 70. That includes Billy Horschel and Will Zalatoris, both out with injuries.

Among the players in the top 70 who missed the postseason last year are U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, two-time winner Brian Campbell and Chris Gotterup. They are among nine players who have won on the PGA Tour this year and are inside the top 70. Winning always helps.

Scottie Scheffler, meanwhile, will pick up $18 million without playing this week.

The PGA Tour has redistributed the FedEx Cup bonus money so the leader of the FedEx Cup after the regular season gets $10 million, along with $8 million from the Comcast Business Top 10. He is assured of both.

LIV to South Africa

The Saudi-backed LIV Golf League is making it increasingly clear it is going to markets around the world. Its biggest draw is in Adelaide, Australia. Now it is adding South Africa.

LIV has announced LIV Golf South Africa has part of its 2026 schedule in a multi-year commitment. It will be the first time the fledgling league goes to South Africa, the fifth continent on which it has been played since LIV launched in 2022.

Steyn City in Johannesburg will host the new event on March 20-22, one week after The Players Championship. Steyn City most recently held the Jonsson Workwear Open in 2023, which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Meanwhile, Sports Business Journal reported this week the total prize fund for LIV events will be increasing by $5 million to $30 million, with $10 million devoted to team competition. There would still be a $20 million purse ($4 million to the winner) for the individuals.

Hall of Fame to St. Andrews

St. Andrews will be hosting the British Open for the 31st time in 2027, a week that will include another World Golf Hall of Fame induction.

The shrine is now located at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, where the USGA has a second headquarters. Padraig Harrington led the induction class at Pinehurst in 2024.

The next induction will be at St. Andrews, which previously held a Hall of Fame ceremony in 2015 when Mark O’Meara, Laura Davies and David Graham were among those inducted. Davies missed out when her flight from the U.S. Women’s Open was delayed. She at least arrived in time for the reception.

“There is no better connection to golf’s rich history and the origins of the game than at St. Andrews,” said Mike Trostel, director of the World Golf Hall of Fame. “We are thrilled to celebrate the next class of golf’s greatest figures at the home of golf and are grateful for the collaboration with our partners at The R&A.”

The Hall of Fame induction is now every two years. It will return to Pinehurst in 2029, when the USGA has the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open in consecutive weeks.

Magic number

Golf’s magic number is starting to lose some of its magic.

Brett White became the latest player with to shoot 59, doing so in dramatic fashion by making a 50-foot eagle putt on the last hole. That got him into a three-way playoff that he won in the Commissionaires Ottawa Open on the PGA Tour Americas.

This was one day after Philip Barbaree Jr. shot 59 in Ottawa. It was the second time two players shot 59 or lower in the same tournament. Cristobal Del Solar (57) and Aldrich Potgieter (59) did it at the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia on the Korn Ferry Tour last year.

Yes, it’s still a big deal to have any sub-60 score in tournament golf. But it’s happening with greater frequency. White had the fifth sub-60 round this year on tours around the world. There were nine such scores a year ago.

The last time no score of 59 or lower was recorded on any tour was 2012.

On The Move

The Constellation Furyk & Friends tournament on the PGA Tour Champions was quickly established as a popular spot being held at Timuquana in Jacksonville, Florida, a Donald Ross design along the St. Johns River.

That ends this year, and the tournament is moving in 2026 some 60 miles south to Ocean Course at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, a Jack Nicklaus signature design where Michelle Wie in 2003 won the Women’s Amateur Public Links at age 13. It also hosted PGA Tour Champions events in 2007 and 2008.

“We are incredibly grateful to Timuquana Country Club and the entire Jacksonville community for an unforgettable five years,” said Jim Furyk, host of a tournament that has raised more than $5 million for charity since 2021.

“We’re proud of what we’ve built and excited for the opportunity to continue growing at Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa.”

Divots

The Senior British Open will return to Gleneagles next year for the second time. Darren Clarke won in 2022 when it was last held at course that hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup. … Rio Takeda and Ayaka Furue have played 18 of the 19 tournaments on the LPGA schedule this year. Both missed only the LPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek. … Three players who won opposite-field events this year are not among the top 70 in the FedEx Cup — Karl Vilips, William Mouw and Garrick Higgo.

Stat of the week

Joaquin Niemann has five wins in the LIV Golf League this year. He has not finished in the top 10 in his other six LIV events.

Final word

“It’s the first time I think I’ve ever cried happy tears on the golf course.” — Mia Hammond, the 17-year-old from Ohio after winning the Greater Toledo Classic. She is the second-youngest winner on the Epson Tour.

Union Pacific and Norfolk seek 1st transcontinental railroad through a massive merger

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific wants to buy Norfolk Southern in a $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S, and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers across the country.

The proposed merger, announced Tuesday, would marry Union Pacific’s vast rail network in the West with Norfolk’s rails that snake across the Eastern United States. The combined railroad would include more than 50,000 miles of track in 43 states with connections to major ports on both coasts.

The nation was first linked by rail in 1869, when a golden railroad spike was driven in Utah to symbolize the connection of East and West Coasts. Yet no single entity has controlled that coast-to-coast passage.

The railroads argue a merger would streamline deliveries of raw materials and goods nationwide by eliminating delays when shipments are handed off between railroads. The AP first reported the merger talks earlier this month a week before the railroads confirmed the discussions last week.

Any deal would be closely scrutinized by antitrust regulators that have set a very high bar for railroad deals after previous consolidation in the industry led to massive backups and snarled traffic.

But Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena, who would lead the combined company, said the expanded railroad will more seamlessly get lumber from the Pacific Northwest, plastics from the Gulf and steel from Pittsburgh to their destinations. And he promised to avoid past merger mistakes.

“It’s great for America,” Vena said. “We’re going to be able to move products quicker, faster, more efficiently, better service, better for our customers in that we are going to be able to give them a product that allows them to win in the marketplace.”

Rail deal would have broad impact

If the deal is approved, the two remaining major American railroads — BNSF and CSX — will face competitive pressure to merge as well. The continent’s two other major railroads — Canadian National and CPKC — may also get involved. The Canadian rails span all of that nation and cross parts of America. CPKC rails stretch south into Mexico.

Some of the benefits of the deal should trickle down to consumers if the railroads are able to streamline shipments because that will help keep costs down, said Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau. But, he said, “there is that potential that there’s going to be some service disruptions.”

Some big shippers like chemical plants in the Gulf remain wary of lessening rail competition, but Amazon and UPS may see benefits of potentially faster, more reliable delivery. They, along with unions and affected communities, will have a chance to weigh in before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.

The nation’s largest rail union, SMART-TD, quickly opposed the merger over concerns of jeopardizing progress that Norfolk Southern has made in safety and labor relations since its disastrous 2023 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The union said that Union Pacific’s record is troubling on safety, and treatment of workers.

Railroads optimistic about chances for approval

There’s speculation that this deal might win approval under President Donald Trump’s pro-business administration, but the STB is currently evenly split between two Republicans and two Democrats. The board is led by a Republican, and Trump will appoint a fifth member before this deal will be considered.

Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George said the “stars are aligned” right now for this deal with railroads that have a lot of connections, and the ongoing expansion of domestic manufacturing. “Then on top of that, you’ve got a political situation where the administration and the STB have both changed to maybe be a little more open minded to combinations that help the country grow,” he said.

CFRA Research analyst Emily Nasseff Mitsch thinks the odds favor approval though the deal will face intense scrutiny.

Union Pacific is offering $20 billion cash and one share of its stock to complete the deal. Norfolk Southern shareholders would receive one UP share and $88.82 in cash for each one of their shares as part of the deal that values NS at roughly $320 per share. Norfolk Southern closed at just over $260 a share earlier this month before the first reports speculating about a deal.

Shares of both railroads fell more than 3% Tuesday.

More consolidation could follow

U.S. railroads have already undergone extensive consolidation since the industry was deregulated. There were more than 30 major freight railroads in the early 1980s. Today, there are only six major, or Class 1, railroads.

Western rival BNSF, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has the war chest to pursue an acquisition of CSX, to the east, if it chooses. CEO Warren Buffett is sitting on more than $348 billion cash and the consummate dealmaker may want to swing for the fences one last time before stepping down at year’s end, as planned.

Buffett downplayed reports that he had enlisted Goldman Sachs to advise him on a potential rail deal, but he rarely uses investment bankers anyway. Buffett reached an agreement to buy the parts of the BNSF railroad he didn’t already own for $26.3 billion in a meeting with its CEO more than 15 years ago.

History of problems after past rail mergers

Yet there’s widespread debate over whether a major rail merger would be approved by the U.S. regulators, which have established a high bar for consolidation in the crucial rail industry.

That’s largely due to the aftermath of industry consolidation nearly 30 years ago. A merger between Union Pacific and Southern Pacific in 1996 led to an extended period of snarled traffic on U.S. rails. Three years later, Conrail was divvied up by Norfolk Southern and CSX, creating serious backups in the East.

“We’re committed to making sure that doesn’t happen in this case,” George said. He added that the railroads will spend the next two years planning for a smooth integration before this deal might get approved.

But CPKC merger was approved two years ago

Two years ago, the STB approved the first major rail merger in more than two decades, allowing Canadian Pacific to acquire Kansas City Southern for $31 billion to create the CPKC railroad.

There were compelling factors in that deal, however. For one, it was the two smallest major freight railroads. The new railroad, regulators reasoned, would benefit trade across North America.

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern said they hope to get approval for the deal by early 2027. They expect to eliminate $1 billion in costs annually, and Vena said there should be no cost in union jobs. Revenue is also expected to jump.

On Tuesday, Norfolk Southern reported a $768 million second-quarter profit as volume grew 3%, up from $737 million a year ago. Results were affected by insurance payments the East Palestine derailment and restructuring.

Without the one-time factors, Norfolk Southern made $3.29 per share, just shy of the $3.31 per share that Wall Street expected.

___

Associated Press writer Wyatte Grantham-Phillips contributed to this report.