FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WPTF) – Fayetteville State University is experiencing another year of record enrollment while also posting some of the strongest academic gains in its history, school leaders announced Tuesday.
For the fourth straight year, FSU reached an all-time high enrollment with 7,628 students, surpassing last year’s record of 7,100 by more than 500. The freshman class is the largest since 2007 with 820 students, who arrived with an average GPA of 3.32.
The university also reported a 78% student retention rate, a 15-point increase since 2021.
“At Fayetteville State University, it’s more than just numbers, but the quality within our numbers,” Chancellor Darrell T. Allison said. He credited affordable tuition, high-demand programs and a focus on graduating students in four years or less.
Part of the growth has been fueled by FSU’s inclusion in the NC Promise program, which began covering the university in 2022. The initiative, backed by the General Assembly, lowers in-state tuition at participating institutions to $500 per semester and $2,500 for out-of-state students.
Provost Monica T. Leach said undergraduate programs in business administration, nursing and forensic science remain strong, while newer offerings in cybersecurity, sports and fitness management, computer science, construction project management and supply chain management are seeing notable growth.
The school also enrolled more than 2,500 military-affiliated students this year, the highest in its history, and continues to serve more than 1,100 transfer students annually.
Pamela Baldwin, vice chancellor for strategic enrollment and student success, said FSU’s efforts are focused on making education affordable and flexible. “Growth alone is never enough; what matters is what we do with it,” she said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Golf caddies, blackjack dealers and house painters are among the jobs covered under the Trump administration’s preliminary list of occupations not required to pay income tax on their tips under Republicans’ new tax cuts and spending bill.
A bit more unexpected? Podcasters and social media influencers will also be excluded from forking over a portion of their tips, according to the list released Tuesday by the Treasury Department.
The provision in the law signed by President Donald Trump in July eliminates federal income taxes on tips for people working in jobs that have traditionally received them. It’s temporary and runs from 2025 until 2028. It applies to people who make less than $160,000 in 2025.
The Yale Budget Lab estimates that there were roughly 4 million workers in tipped occupations in 2023, which amounts to roughly 2.5% of all jobs.
The administration was required to publish a list of qualifying occupations within 90 days of the bill’s signing. The full list of occupations is located on the Treasury Department website.
They are broken down into eight categories, including beverage and food service; entertainment and events; hospitality and guest services; home services; personal services; personal appearance and wellness; recreation and instruction; and transportation and delivery.
Among other jobs exempted from tax on tips are sommeliers, cocktail waiters, pastry chefs, cake bakers, bingo workers, club dancers, DJs, clowns, streamers, online video creators, ushers, maids, gardeners, electricians, house cleaners, tow truck drivers, wedding planners, personal care aides, tutors, au pairs, massage therapists, yoga instructors, cobblers, skydiving pilots, ski instructors, parking garage attendants, delivery drivers and movers.
A report from the Budget Lab shows that the effects of the law would be small, given that tipped workers tend to be lower income. More than 37% of tipped workers, or over one third, earned income low enough that they faced no federal income tax in 2022.
“The larger and far more uncertain effect would stem from behavioral changes incentivized by the bill, such as substitution into tipped employment and tipped income, which would increase the bill’s overall cost,” states the report, which was written by Ernie Tedeschi, the director of economics at the Budget Lab.
Congressional budget analysts project the “No Tax on Tips” provision would increase the deficit by $40 billion through 2028. The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimated in June that the tips deduction will cost $32 billion over 10 years.
Only tips reported to the employer and noted on a worker’s W-2, their end-of-year tax summary, will qualify. Payroll taxes, which pay for Social Security and Medicare, would still be collected along with state and local taxes.
Polling shows Americans have panned the big bill. Half U.S. adults expect the new tax law will help the rich, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Most — about 6 in 10 — think it will do more to hurt than help low-income people.
Artificial intelligence chatbot makers OpenAI and Meta say they are adjusting how their chatbots respond to teenagers asking questions about suicide or showing signs of mental and emotional distress.
OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, said Tuesday it is preparing to roll out new controls enabling parents to link their accounts to their teen’s account.
Parents can choose which features to disable and “receive notifications when the system detects their teen is in a moment of acute distress,” according to a company blog post that says the changes will go into effect this fall.
Regardless of a user’s age, the company says its chatbots will attempt to redirect the most distressing conversations to more capable AI models that can provide a better response.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
The announcement comes a week after the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life earlier this year.
Jay Edelson, the family’s attorney, on Tuesday described the OpenAI announcement as “vague promises to do better” and “nothing more than OpenAI’s crisis management team trying to change the subject.”
Altman “should either unequivocally say that he believes ChatGPT is safe or immediately pull it from the market,” Edelson said.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, also said it is now blocking its chatbots from talking with teens about self-harm, suicide, disordered eating and inappropriate romantic conversations, and instead directs them to expert resources. Meta already offers parental controls on teen accounts.
A study published last week in the medical journal Psychiatric Services found inconsistencies in how three popular artificial intelligence chatbots responded to queries about suicide.
The study by researchers at the RAND Corporation found a need for “further refinement” in ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude. The researchers did not study Meta’s chatbots.
The study’s lead author, Ryan McBain, said Tuesday that “it’s encouraging to see OpenAI and Meta introducing features like parental controls and routing sensitive conversations to more capable models, but these are incremental steps.”
“Without independent safety benchmarks, clinical testing, and enforceable standards, we’re still relying on companies to self-regulate in a space where the risks for teenagers are uniquely high,” said McBain, a senior policy researcher at RAND and assistant professor at Harvard University’s medical school.
Artificial intelligence chatbot makers OpenAI and Meta say they are adjusting how their chatbots respond to teenagers asking questions about suicide or showing signs of mental and emotional distress.
OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, said Tuesday it is preparing to roll out new controls enabling parents to link their accounts to their teen’s account.
Parents can choose which features to disable and “receive notifications when the system detects their teen is in a moment of acute distress,” according to a company blog post that says the changes will go into effect this fall.
Regardless of a user’s age, the company says its chatbots will attempt to redirect the most distressing conversations to more capable AI models that can provide a better response.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
The announcement comes a week after the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life earlier this year.
Jay Edelson, the family’s attorney, on Tuesday described the OpenAI announcement as “vague promises to do better” and “nothing more than OpenAI’s crisis management team trying to change the subject.”
Altman “should either unequivocally say that he believes ChatGPT is safe or immediately pull it from the market,” Edelson said.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, also said it is now blocking its chatbots from talking with teens about self-harm, suicide, disordered eating and inappropriate romantic conversations, and instead directs them to expert resources. Meta already offers parental controls on teen accounts.
A study published last week in the medical journal Psychiatric Services found inconsistencies in how three popular artificial intelligence chatbots responded to queries about suicide.
The study by researchers at the RAND Corporation found a need for “further refinement” in ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude. The researchers did not study Meta’s chatbots.
The study’s lead author, Ryan McBain, said Tuesday that “it’s encouraging to see OpenAI and Meta introducing features like parental controls and routing sensitive conversations to more capable models, but these are incremental steps.”
“Without independent safety benchmarks, clinical testing, and enforceable standards, we’re still relying on companies to self-regulate in a space where the risks for teenagers are uniquely high,” said McBain, a senior policy researcher at RAND and assistant professor at Harvard University’s medical school.
NEW YORK (AP) — Graham Greene, a trailblazing Indigenous actor whose long and successful career on the big and small screen included an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Kicking Bird in “Dances with Wolves,” has died. He was 73.
Greene died Monday in Stratford, Ontario, after a long battle with “a lengthy illness,” Greene’s agent Michael Greene wrote in a statement provided to The Associated Press.
“He was a great man of morals ethics, character and will be eternally missed,” he wrote. “God bless you. You are finally free.”
Born in June 1952 in Ohsweken, Ontario, on Canada’s Six Nations Reserve, Greene worked as a draftsman, high steelworker, welder and carpenter before becoming an actor in the 1970s, beginning with the 1979 Canadian drama series “The Great Detective” and 1983 film “Running Brave.”
He is best known for his landmark role as Kicking Bird in the 1990 film “Dances with Wolves.” Greene’s 1991 Oscar nomination was one of 12 the movie earned. It won seven, including the top prize of best picture and best director for Kevin Costner. Greene also starred as Arlen Bitterbuck in the 1999 Tom Hanks project, “The Green Mile.”
Greene had a storied career, also appearing in 1994’s “Maverick,” 1995’s “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” 2012’s “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” and 2017’s “Wind River.” He also acted in many critically acclaimed television programs, including “Reservation Dogs,”“1883,”“The Last of Us” and “Tulsa King.”
In 2000, Greene’s “Listen to the Storyteller” won a Grammy for best spoken word album for children. He also starred as elder Chief Rains Fall in the massively popular 2018 video game “Red Dead Redemption 2.”
He was also nominated for an Independent Spirit award for the 2002 film “Skins,” which documented life on the Lakota Sioux reservation.
Greene broke barriers for Native actors, demonstrating through his singular talent that Indigenous stories should and must be told by them.
Tributes poured in. “Graham Greene was one of the best to ever do it. He lived on the screen in an absolutely unparalleled way. He made everything he was in better. Funnier. Deeper. Memorable,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Lily Gladstone wrote on Instagram. “It’s hard to find any suitable words to express what his work meant, but his impact is unparalleled and expansive. I wish I could have met him. I probably would have thanked him.”
Costner posted on Instagram a scene from “Dances with Wolves” in which his and Greene’s characters are learning to communicate with one another. “He was a master at work and a wonderful human being,” Costner said of Greene’s work on the film. “I’m grateful to have been witness to this part of his lasting legacy.”
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who played Indigenous teenager Bear Smallhill on “Reservation Dogs,” also expressed his appreciation. The FX comedy-drama smashed caricatures and stereotypes of Native Americans, who since the earliest days of film and TV have often played supporting roles or been portrayed as bloodthirsty killers standing in the way of white, westward expansion.
“You showed us it can be done and how to leave your mark. Trail blazing for every young native actor just dreaming,” Woon-A-Tai posted on Instagram. “Thank you for seeing something in me and sharing your knowledge throughout our friendship. Teaching me everything I know about this industry and more. I could never repay you. I’m grateful to have worked with you, gotten to know you, and call you Uncle.”
Greene is survived by his wife, Hilary Blackmore, and his daughter Lilly Lazare-Greene and son Talo.
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This story first moved Sept. 2, 2025. It was updated Sept. 3, 2025, to update with a statement from his agent and update Greene’s survivors.
STRAFFAN, Ireland (AP) — Rory McIlroy watched Novak Djokovic handle boisterous spectators during a win at the U.S. Open and is ready to follow the tennis star’s lead at the Ryder Cup held in the United States this month.
A hostile and partisan crowd is set to greet McIlroy and the European team at Bethpage Black for the Sept. 26-28 matches as the Americans look to regain the cup two years after losing in Rome.
Djokovic had to deal with a similar environment during his U.S. Open quarterfinal match against home favorite Taylor Fritz and handled it well, even blowing kisses at one point to the fans rooting against him.
McIlroy liked what he saw from Djokovic, who gave Europe’s golfers a motivational speech in their team room before the victory at the 2023 Ryder Cup about dealing with high-pressure moments.
“He’s been the best at handling that,” McIlroy said Wednesday at the Irish Open, being staged at The K Club — the venue of the 2006 Ryder Cup — this week. “He’s had to deal with it his whole life, whether it’s playing against an American in New York or playing against Roger (Federer) or Rafa (Nadal).
“He came and spoke to us a little bit about that stuff last time in Rome. So maybe taking a leaf out of his book and channeling that energy the right way. But again, all we can do is control our reaction and our emotions to it. I think the less we play into it, the better it is for us.”
McIlroy, who will be competing in his eighth Ryder Cup, used Robert MacIntrye — a rookie in Rome and now a regular contender for events on the PGA Tour — as an example to back up his belief that “pretty much every player on the team is more accomplished than what they were two years ago.” The Northern Irishman believes Europe has a “wonderful opportunity” to win a Ryder Cup on the road for the first time since 2012.
“They have a very strong team,” McIlroy said of the Americans. “They’re going to have a pretty raucous crowd on their side and on a golf course that a lot of them know pretty well from previous tournaments there.
“So make no mistake, we know we’re up against it and we know we’ve got a tall task on our hands, but I love the team that Luke has assembled.”
Stick to golf, Rory
McIlroy branched out into acting this year, securing a small role in golf-related movie “Happy Gilmore 2.”
One reviewer feels he needs to work on those skills.
Shane Lowry, another member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team and also teeing it up at The K Club, was asked what he thought about his close friend’s performance.
“My daughter watched that the other day,” Lowry said with a smile, “and said Rory’s such a bad actor.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An estimated $1.4 billion lottery jackpot will be up for grabs Wednesday night thanks to dozens of drawings without a big winner.
No one has won the grand prize since May 31, and the 41st drawing on Wednesday will be just one fewer than the record set last year.
All of that losing stems from Powerball’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million, though lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes. There are three drawings each week.
The $1.4 billion jackpot is for a winner who opts to receive 30 payments over 29 years through an annuity. Winners almost always choose the game’s cash option, which for this drawing would be an estimated $634.3 million.
Powerball tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This recipe is such an easy way to get cozy and an even easier way to have great leftovers.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
3 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
1. Prep the squash Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and then line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the butternut squash on the baking sheet face up and lightly coat each half with olive oil on the inside. Then, sprinkle each half with salt and pepper.
2. Roast the squash Turn the squash face down on the baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven until it is tender and cooked through, about 40 to 50 minutes. Set the squash aside and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Build the soup base Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, warm 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat until simmering. Add the onion to the pot and cook until translucent. Then, add the garlic to the pot and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Then, place the cooked garlic in a blender and use a large spoon to scoop the butternut squash flesh into the blender. Add the nutmeg, salt and black pepper to the blender. Carefully pour in 3 cups vegetable broth, and do not fill the container past the maximum fill line. Blend on high until the soup is creamy and warmed through.
4. Season it up Pour the soup back into the pot and make sure it is warmed to your liking. Then, add the smoked paprika and top with some more pepper.
5. Serve it hot Spoon into bowls and enjoy right away!
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s ready to order federal authorities to mobilize and combat crime in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition from elected leaders and many residents in both cities.
Asked by reporters in the Oval Office about sending National Guard troops to the nation’s third-largest city, Trump said, “We’re going in,” but added, “I didn’t say when.”
“I have an obligation,” the president said. ”This isn’t a political thing.”
President Donald Trump said he will send federal law enforcement to combat crime in what he called the “hellhole” cities of Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition from state and local officials in both cities. (AP Video)
Local officials in Baltimore have joined Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in similarly opposing federal law enforcement intervention.
Trump has already sent National Guard troops into Los Angeles and Washington, where he’s also federalized the police force. He has said he plans similar moves in other Democrat-run cities even as a federal judge on Tuesday deemed the California deployment illegal.
Trump criticizes leaders in Chicago
The president praised Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser for working with federal forces, but repeated his criticism of Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat. Trump said he’d love to have Pritzker call and say, “Send in the troops” — even though the two-term governor has repeatedly said he won’t be doing that.
He said if Pritzker would “call me up, I would love to do it,” Trump said. “Now, we’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it. Because I have an obligation to protect this country and that includes Baltimore.”
He added, “Baltimore’s a very unsafe place”
Pritzker deemed Trump’s comments to call him for help as “unhinged.” The two have been locked in an escalating war of words for days as Trump called Chicago “the world’s most dangerous city” earlier Tuesday.
“No, I will not call the president asking him to send troops to Chicago,” Pritzker said Tuesday at a news conference with Johnson and other leaders. “I’ve made that clear already.”
Illinois notified of federal plan
The state received its first contact about federal intervention on Saturday when the head of the Illinois State Police got a call from Gregory Bovino, chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro, California, sector, saying immigration agents would come to Chicago, according to Pritzker. The governor said no further details were offered.
Pritzker urged the public not to let the presence of federal agents spark tensions in the city but asked residents to look out for neighbors, and to film interactions with federal agents and share them publicly.
“Authoritarians thrive on your silence,” he said. “Be loud for America.”
The Governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago said in unison Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s law enforcement intervention in Chicago is unwelcome. (AP Video: David Martin)
Even without knowing exactly what is coming, the city’s organized activist network began circulating protest schedules, vowing to demonstrate within hours of troops or federal agents arriving.
The measures are familiar in a city that has long tried to counteract Trump’s bid to deport more people, including adding more staff at a hotline to report immigration arrests.
Dozens of pastors write a letter to Trump Tuesday saying the focus should instead be on underfunded schools and unemployment.
“To the faithful of Chicago, I say this: prepare your hearts for resistance,” the letter said.
Crime in Chicago
Johnson said violence in the city stems from guns on the streets that are trafficked to Illinois from neighboring states, including Republican-led Indiana.
“Chicago will continue to have a violence problem as long as red states continue to have a gun problem,” Johnson said.
Echoing a trend in other major U.S. cities, Chicago’s violent crime has dropped significantly overall, though it remains a persistent issue in parts of the city.
Recently, the Trump administration has renewed interest in the city’s daily crime log, including using a spate of shootings during the Labor Day weekend as justification for increased military presence.
Chicago’s homicide rate is 21.7 per 100,000 residents in 2024, according to analysis of federal crime data by the Rochester Institute of Technology. It cites seven other major U.S. cities — St. Louis, New Orleans, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Indianapolis and Richmond, Virginia — with higher rates.
Chicago reported 573 homicides in 2024, the most of any U.S. city that year. But violent crime dropped significantly in the first half of the year, representing the steepest decline in over a decade, according to city data. Shootings and homicides were down more than 30% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same time last year.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has said the city and state will sue once the federal intervention begins.
Trump says intervention in Baltimore is necessary
Trump’s comments about Baltimore being included in his obligation to protect the country follows local officials in that city and Moore opposing federal law enforcement intervention.
Moore spokesman David Turner said, “While we try to decipher exactly what the President meant today, the Governor has been consistently clear: The use of the National Guard for municipal policing is theatrical and not sustainable.”
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott listed some of the city’s recent accomplishments in curbing gun violence. Scott has repeatedly accused the president of using racist rhetoric and targeting Black-led cities, like Baltimore and Chicago.
“Here’s the reality in Baltimore,” Scott wrote on X, noting that Baltimore homicides have reached historic lows amid sustained declines including the lowest number of homicides on record for the month of August.
Trump said his efforts in Washington have ensured it “is now a safe zone. We have no crime.”
The White House announced separately Tuesday that more than 1,650 people have been arrested since the Trump administration first mobilized federal officials on Aug. 7.
“This was a beautiful thing that happened in Washington,” Trump said “because we showed that it could be done.”
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Associated Press writers Lea Skene in Baltimore and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report. Tareen reported from Chicago.
