Football season looms with no clear guidance in athlete battles to win more eligibility from NCAA

Football season looms with no clear guidance in athlete battles to win more eligibility from NCAA

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Sports Writer

The stream of lawsuits across the country from college athletes trying to grab another season of eligibility appears ready to fizzle out for a bit.

With fall football practice cranking up this week, players still hoping for a judge allowing them to take the field may be left waiting for a ruling that likely won’t help them compete again.

“We’re at a point in the summer where I think any athlete out there is going to know that it’s probably too late to file a case and be able to get relief on it,” said Sam Ehrlich, a professor of legal studies at Boise State studying the 2021 Alston ruling’s effect on college athletics.

Relief on a larger question surrounding eligibility may be a while coming, too: In cases from California to Wisconsin, judges have provided inconsistent results for players seeking legal help for another season, and it may very well be a topic settled for good by a higher court.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is perhaps the highest-profile athlete to win his court fight. The New Mexico State transfer sued the NCAA last fall, arguing that his junior college years should not count against his eligibility, citing the potential losses in earnings from name, image and likeness deals. U.S. District Judge William Campbell Jr. in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction, ordering the NCAA to allow Pavia to play.

The NCAA is appealing Campbell’s decision but granted a blanket waiver that will allow an extra year of eligibility for Pavia and other athletes who played at non-NCAA Division I schools before enrollment if they were going to exhaust their eligibility this year.

Pavia won. Others, such as Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean, have lost or are in limbo.

Practice starts Wednesday for Southeastern Conference members Vanderbilt and Tennessee. Chris Bellamy and Targhee Lambson are among four football players waiting on the same federal judge who gave Pavia another season of football last December.

Some schools have helped by filing waivers. Others wait and hold a spot, letting the athlete fight the legal battle.

“They’re just kind of in limbo in the transfer portal because schools don’t really know whether they’re going to have eligibility,” Ehrlich said. “It’s a really weird situation right now.”

The NCAA would like Congress to grant limited liability protection to help address all the lawsuits over eligibility. NCAA President Charlie Baker noted in June that athletes had five years to play four seasons for about a century, a situation that changed recently. Baker told The Associated Press then that the NCAA has won more of these cases than the association lost.

“But the uncertainty it creates, the consequences of this for the next generation of young people if you play this thing out, are enormous,” Baker said. “Moving away from an academic calendar to sort of no calendar for college sports is hugely problematic.”

Duke coach Manny Diaz thought such eligibility issues would be addressed after the House settlement, which took effect July 1.

“All I have been told is once they got House out of the way they are going to double back on a lot of these oddities and make sure eligibility is tied into a college career,” Diaz said at ACC media days. “We don’t want nine-year guys playing the sport.”

Thanks to the extra season added to careers for the coronavirus pandemic, the college eligibility calendar has been scrambled a bit. Pavia will be playing his sixth season after starting with two at New Mexico Military Institute, a junior college, then two more at New Mexico State.

Fullback Hayden Large played three NAIA seasons at Dordt before transferring to Iowa, where he will be playing his sixth season this fall after being granted another year.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz sees a simple solution in giving players five years to play five seasons. He’s also in favor of players who start in junior college having an extra year, even as he sees the need for a limit even if he doesn’t know what that should be.

“If a guy during his first year ends up being able to play five or six games, why not let him play?” Ferentz said. “It’s all about creating opportunity, in my mind. I’ve never understood the rationale for not doing that.”

Ehrlich is attempting to track all lawsuits against the NCAA, ranging from the House settlement;name, image and likeness litigation; college athletes as employees; and Title IX lawsuits, along with other cases. Ehrlich has tracked more than a dozen lawsuits involving eligibility, and common factors are hard to come by.

He saw three very different rulings from judges appointed by President Donald Trump. Standards of evidence for a preliminary injunction also have varied from judge to judge. Three cases have been appealed, with other motions helping delay some waiver requests.

Ehrlich said there remains the chance a case lands before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I don’t see these cases drying up anytime soon,” Ehrlich said.

Super Simple Shrimp Tacos

Super Simple Shrimp Tacos

Preparation Time: 1 hour

Cooking time: 8 minutes

Serving Size: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 16 frozen shrimp
  • 4 flour tortillas
  • 1 lime
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 tbsp. avocado oil or cooking oil of choice
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • optional: hot sauce and other toppings of your choice

Directions

  1. Thaw shrimp in a bowl of cold water for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight.
  2. Slice avocado and set aside.
  3. In a bowl with a lid, combine shrimp with spices and shake until shrimp are coated evenly.
  4. Sauté shrimp in a saucepan on medium heat with avocado oil or cooking oil of your choice for 3 minutes on each side or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees f.
  5. Turn down the heat and warm each tortilla for about 15 seconds on each side.
  6. Assemble tacos with 4 shrimp each, some sliced avocado, a squeeze of lime juice and (optional) hot sauce/other toppings of your choice.
July 28th 2025

July 28th 2025

Thought of the Day

Photo by Getty Images

Don’t cry over spilled milk.

US-EU deal sets a 15% tariff on most goods and averts the threat of a trade war with a global shock

US-EU deal sets a 15% tariff on most goods and averts the threat of a trade war with a global shock

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — The United States and the European Union agreed on Sunday to a trade framework setting a 15% tariff on most goods, staving off — at least for now — far higher imports on both sides that might have sent shock waves through economies around the globe.

The sweeping announcement came after President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Their private sit-down culminated months of bargaining, with the White House deadline Friday nearing for imposing punishing tariffs on the EU’s 27 member countries.

“It was a very interesting negotiation. I think it’s going to be great for both parties,” Trump said. The agreement, he said, was “a good deal for everybody” and “a giant deal with lots of countries.”

Von der Leyen said the deal “will bring stability, it will bring predictability, that’s very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Many facets will require more work

As with other, recent tariff agreements that Trump announced with countries including Japan and the United Kingdom, some major details remain pending in this one.

Trump said the EU had agreed to buy some $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest $600 billion more than it already is in America — as well as make a major military equipment purchase. He said tariffs “for automobiles and everything else will be a straight across tariff of 15%” and meant that U.S. exporters ”have the opening up of all of the European countries.”

Von der Leyen said the 15% tariffs were “across the board, all inclusive” and that “indeed, basically the European market is open.”

At a later news conference away from Turnberry, she said the $750 billion in additional U.S. energy purchases was actually over the next three years — and would help ease the dependence on natural gas from Russia among the bloc’s countries.

“When the European Union and the United States work together as partners, the benefits are tangible,” Von der Leyen said, noting that the agreement “stabilized on a single, 15% tariff rate for the vast majority of EU exports” including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

“15% is a clear ceiling,” she said.

But von der Leyen also clarified that such a rate wouldn’t apply to everything, saying that both sides agreed on “zero for zero tariffs on a number of strategic products,” like all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials.

It is unclear if alcohol will be included in that list.

“And we will keep working to add more products to this list,” she said, while also stressing that the “framework means the figures we have just explained to the public, but, of course, details have to be sorted out. And that will happen over the next weeks.”

Further EU approval needed

In the meantime, there will be work to do on other fronts. Von der Leyen had a mandate to negotiate because the European Commission handles trade for member countries. But the Commission must now present the deal to member states and EU lawmakers, who will ultimately decide whether or not to approve it.

Before their meeting began, Trump pledged to change what he characterized as “a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.”

“I think both sides want to see fairness,” the Republican president told reporters.

Von der Leyen said the U.S. and EU combined have the world’s largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars and added that Trump was “known as a tough negotiator and dealmaker.”

“But fair,” Trump said.

Trump has spent months threatening most of the world with large tariffs in hopes of shrinking major U.S. trade deficits with many key trading partners. More recently, he had hinted that any deal with the EU would have to “buy down” a tariff rate of 30% that had been set to take effect.

But during his comments before the agreement was announced, the president was asked if he’d be willing to accept tariff rates lower than 15%, and he said “no.”

First golf, then trade talk

Their meeting came after Trump played golf for the second straight day at Turnberry, this time with a group that included sons Eric and Donald Jr. In addition to negotiating deals, Trump’s five-day visit to Scotland is built around golf and promoting properties bearing his name.

A small group of demonstrators at the course waved American flags and raised a sign criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who plans his own Turnberry meeting with Trump on Monday.

Other voices could be heard cheering and chanting “Trump! Trump!” as he played nearby.

On Tuesday, Trump will be in Aberdeen, in northeastern Scotland, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new course.

The U.S. and EU seemed close to a deal earlier this month, but Trump instead threatened the 30% tariff rate. The deadline for the Trump administration to begin imposing tariffs has shifted in recent weeks but is now firm and coming Friday, the administration insists.

“No extensions, no more grace periods. Aug. 1, the tariffs are set, they’ll go into place, Customs will start collecting the money and off we go,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told “Fox News Sunday” before the EU deal was announced. He added, however, that even after that “people can still talk to President Trump. I mean, he’s always willing to listen.”

Without an agreement, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.

If Trump eventually followed through on his threat of tariffs against Europe, meanwhile, it could have made everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States.

“I think it’s great that we made a deal today, instead of playing games and maybe not making a deal at all,” Trump said. “I think it’s the biggest deal ever made.”

___

Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Cincinnati and Samuel Petrequin in London contributed to this report.

Virginia Tech is reviewing claim that coach tried to lure NC Central player into transfer portal

Virginia Tech is reviewing claim that coach tried to lure NC Central player into transfer portal

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Virginia Tech is looking into an allegation by North Carolina Central’s coach that a Hokies assistant improperly tried to lure running back J’Mari Taylor into the transfer portal last season.

Virginia Tech released a statement on Saturday saying it was made aware of the allegation a day earlier.

ESPN reported that the allegation surfaced when N.C. Central coach Trei Oliver was asked Friday what was the most ridiculous moment he has faced in coaching. Oliver responded that he discovered a Virginia Tech assistant coach on the sideline for one of the Eagles’ games in 2024 and said that assistant was trying to contact his running back. Taylor, a star RB, eventually transferred to Virginia.

WRAL News reported that Oliver told reporters: “Virginia Tech was actually on my sideline recruiting our running back. That was pretty bold. I couldn’t believe it.”

Oliver said he was told the Virginia Tech assistant was “just down here visiting.” Added Oliver: “But I knew what it was.”

In its statement provided to The Associated Press, Virginia Tech said: “We were made aware Friday afternoon of a public comment suggesting a potential NCAA rules concern involving a member of our coaching staff. This is the first time the issue has been brought to our attention, and no concern has previously been shared with us through any formal channel.

“Virginia Tech takes all NCAA rules seriously and is committed to conducting our program with integrity. We are reviewing the matter internally and will address any findings appropriately.”

Renaming of military bases stirs debate over Confederate ties

Renaming of military bases stirs debate over Confederate ties

By FERNANDA FIGUEROA Associated Press

In 2023, amid a national reckoning on issues of race in America, seven Army bases’ names were changed because they honored Confederate leaders.

Now, those same bases are reverting back to their original names, this time with different namesakes who share Confederate surnames — the Army found other service members with the same last names to honor.

The move is stirring up conversation in and outside military circles. Skeptics wonder if the true intention is to undermine efforts to move away from Confederate associations, an issue that has long split people who favor preserving an aspect of southern heritage and those who want slavery-supporting revels stripped of valor.

Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, a civil rights group, said the latest renaming is a “difference without a distinction.”

The wiping away of names that were given by the Biden administration, many of which honored service members who were women or minorities, is the latest move by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to align with Trump’s purging of all programs, policies, books and social media mentions of references to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of the Army responded to emailed requests for comment.

Confederate names return

Federal law now bars the military from returning to honoring Confederates, but the move restores names know by generations of soldiers. Following the election of President Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery, 11 southern states seceded from the United States to form the Confederacy, or the Confederate States of America, to preserve slavery an institution that enslaved millions of African Americans. Their secession led to the Civil War, which the Confederates ultimately lost in 1865.

By restoring the old names with soldiers or figures who were not Confederates, “they are trying to be slick,” Morial said.

For example, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, which was changed to Fort Liberty by the Biden administration, was the first to have its original name restored, in June. The Army found another American service member with the same last name, a World War II soldier. Hegseth signed an order restoring the name in February.

“By instead invoking the name of World War II soldier Private Roland Bragg, Secretary Hegseth has not violated the letter of the law, but he has violated its spirit,” Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., wrote in a statement opposing the defense secretary’s “cynical maneuver.”

In March, Hegseth reversed the 2023 decision changing Fort Benning in Georgia to Fort Moore.

The same name restoring process applied to the additional seven bases: Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Pickett and Fort Robert E. Lee in Virginia, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Rucker in Alabama.

Other name changes

Last week, Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry announced that he was restoring the name of the state’s largest National Guard training site.

In a social media post announcing the name, Landry wrote that in Louisiana, “we honor courage, not cancel it.” Attached was what seemed to be an AI-generated image of a headstone with the word “Wokeism” on it.

“Let this be a lesson that we should always give reverence to history and not be quick to so easily condemn or erase the dead, lest we and our times be judged arbitrary by future generations,” Landry wrote.

Bases aren’t the only military assets being renamed. In late June, Hegseth announced that the USNS Harvey Milk would be renamed after a World War II sailor who received the Medal of Honor, stripping the ship of the name of a killed gay rights activists who served during the Korean War.

Critics express concern over Confederate associations and inefficiency

Morial said there are other ways to recognize unsung heroes instead of returning a base to a name that has long been associated with Confederate leaders.

“No county on Earth would name its military based after people that tried to overthrow the government,” Morial said. “So, why are people holding on to these names?”

Stacy Rosenberg, associate teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, said she is concerned with the inefficiency of renaming bases. She said the cost of changing signages across seven bases could be used for something else that might have more impact.

There is no immediate cost estimate for changing all the signs at the bases.

Rosenberg said it made sense to move away from Confederate heroes as namesakes but that the latest move seems like a way to appeal to Trump’s political base.

“I think what we really need to consider is does whoever the base is named after have such a service record that warrants the honor of having their name associated with that base?” Rosenberg said.

Angela Betancourt, a public relations strategist at Betancourt Group and a United States Air Force Reservist said the ongoing renaming of military bases is a form of branding for what each administration views the military should represent.

While she understands why people are upset about military bases reverting to a name associated with the Confederacy, Betancourt said that should not take away from the new namesake’s heritage and legacy.

“It doesn’t mean it’s not a good thing to do,” Betancourt said. “There’s certainly heroes, especially African American and diverse heroes, that should be honored. I think this is a good way to do it.”

______

The Associated Press reporters Lolita C. Baldor, John Hanna and Sara Cline contributed to this report.

Heat advisories and warnings issued for Southeast and Midwest as temperatures and humidity soars

Heat advisories and warnings issued for Southeast and Midwest as temperatures and humidity soars

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

It’s always hot in the summer in the U.S. Southeast, but even by the standards of Florida and the Carolinas, the steamy heat wave on tap for the region Saturday into the coming week is a little extreme.

The National Weather Service issued heat advisories for a large swath of the East Coast from central Florida to Virginia through much of the weekend. Highs in the upper 90s F (mid 30s C) were forecast for central Florida, with heat indexes reaching 105 degrees F to 110 degrees F (40.6 C to 43 C). The outlook was similar up through Georgia and the Carolinas into Virginia.

Extreme heat warnings were out for much of eastern North Carolina, as far inland as Raleigh, and extending into a corner of South Carolina, including Myrtle Beach. Forecasters warned of dangerously hot conditions with temperatures approaching or exceeding 100 F (38 C) in some areas on Sunday and heat indexes up to 115 F through Sunday evening.

“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. the weather service advised. “Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Stay cool, stay hydrated, stay informed.”

The weather service said several major metropolitan areas in the Southeast — including Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina, Greenville-Spartanburg in South Carolina, and Atlanta in Georgia — were expected to face an extreme heat risk for several days, with minimal overnight relief. It said over 30 million people would likely be affected at the peak of the heat wave through midweek.

A hot, humid weekend was also in store for the Midwest. Extreme heat watches were out for eastern Nebraska, western Iowa and southern Minnesota. Heat indexes were expected to reach 96 F (36 C) on Saturday and go even higher on Sunday in Minnesota.

And an extreme heat warning was out for the St. Louis, Missouri, area through Tuesday evening, with highs around 99 F (37 C) and heat indexes around 110 F forecast for Monday and Tuesday.

Parts of Iowa were hit by storms Saturday morning that dumped between 2 and 5 inches (5 to 13 centimeters) of rain in some areas and triggered flash flood warnings.

Company involved in Coldplay KissCam drama hires Gwyneth Paltrow as spokesperson

Company involved in Coldplay KissCam drama hires Gwyneth Paltrow as spokesperson

BOSTON (AP) — Astronomer — the company whose CEO resigned after being caught on a KissCam at a Coldplay rock concert embracing a woman who was not his wife — is trying to move on from the drama with someone who knows the band pretty well.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who was married to Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin for 13 years, announced Friday on X that she has been hired by Astronomer as a spokesperson.

Astronomer, a tech company based in New York, found itself in an uncomfortable spotlight when two of its executives were caught on camera in an intimate embrace at a Coldplay concert — a moment that was then flashed on a giant screen in the stadium.

CEO Andy Byron and human resource executive Kristin Cabot were caught by surprise when Martin asked the cameras to scan the crowd during a concert earlier this month.

“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Martin joked when the couple appeared on screen and quickly tried to hide their faces.

In a short video, the “Shakespeare in Love” and “Ironman” star said she had been hired as a “very temporary” spokesperson for Astronomer.

“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days and they wanted me to answer the most common ones,” Paltrow said, smiling and deftly avoiding mention of the KissCam fuss.

“We’ve been thrilled that so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation,” she said. “We will now be returning to what we do best — delivering game-changing results for our customers.”

When footage from the KissCam first spread online, it wasn’t immediately clear who the couple were. Soon after the company identified the pair, and Byron resigned followed by Cabot. The video clip resulted in a steady stream of memes, parody videos and screenshots of the pair’s shocked faces filling social media feeds.

Online streams of Coldplay’s songs jumped 20% in the days after the video went viral, according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company.

Comic-Con salutes James Gunn and gets first looks at ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ and new ‘Star Trek’ forays

Comic-Con salutes James Gunn and gets first looks at ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ and new ‘Star Trek’ forays

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Director James Gunn got an ovation from thousands for “Superman” in the most fitting place of all — Comic-Con.

Among the highlights of day three of the San Diego pop culture spectacular was a sincere tribute to the director who’s now helming Warner Bros.’ DC Comics screen universe, even if John Cena played it for laughs.

It came at a panel on the forthcoming Season 2 of DC’s HBO series “The Peacemaker,” and Cena appeared in the title character’s full comic costume and grand helmet, leading the legions in the kind of exaggerated drama he was perfect at provoking in his wrestling days.

It was Gunn’s first time in front of a crowd in the weeks since “Superman” was released and has earned more than $200 million in North America.

“Today has been the most fun day I’ve had in a year,” Gunn told the crowd at the end of the session.

“Superman” was his first film as captain of the DC ship, but his first foray was in 2021’s “The Suicide Squad,” which spawned the “Peacemaker” TV series.

The crowd saw scenes from Season 2, which arrives in August and sees Cena entering another dimension where he gets to be a cool version of the hero instead of the often pained and pathetic version that’s typical of the character. Some characters from “Superman” will make appearances.

That panel followed another rousing showcase in Hall H, where star Ryan Gosling and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller showed scenes from their forthcoming science-comedy space adventure “Project Hail Mary.”

The scenes from the film set for release in March included a look at Rocky, a faceless, stone-shaped alien who becomes Gosling’s unlikely partner in an attempt to save the universe from ecological disaster.

Saturday morning cartoons in Hall H

Wile E. Coyote is getting his day in court — and theaters.

The stars of “Coyote vs. Acme” delivered a rousing presentation Saturday morning of a movie that at one point wasn’t going to be released but is now bound for theaters in August 2026. The underdog story – both of the movie and Coyote — was a running theme of the panel. But rather than direct ire at Warner Bros., the real-world studio that shelved the project, the panel focused on the fictional Acme Corp.

“This is purely an Acme decision … and I am saying this for legal purposes,” moderator Paul Scheer said at the start of the panel.

The movie is a hybrid of animation and live action and is based on a 1990 New Yorker article that satirized a legal complaint filed by Coyote against Acme, the maker of the TNT, detonators, rocket shoes, catapults and other products that consistently backfire during the Coyote’s fruitless attempts to catch the Roadrunner.

Laughter filled Hall H as some 6,000 watched a montage of Coyote being blown up, flattened and falling into chasms in a scene set to Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt.” Coyote is replaying the moments in his lair when an ad for a personal injury lawyer appears on TV.

They also played six minutes of the movie, including a scene of opening statements in the case in which Coyote’s lawyer, Will Forte, accidentally unleashes a rocket skate into the courtroom, setting Coyote and the judge’s robes on fire. Cena plays a slick Acme lawyer who wins over the jury, which includes a cartoon character, quickly.

Forte said he didn’t think the movie would ever get to audiences.

“I’m pretty speechless. You think back to the journey that this movie has taken. I had kind of given up hope at a certain point,” Forte said. At one point, his comments were interrupted by a man playing an Acme lawyer who stormed into Hall H with cease-and-desist letters.

Director Dave Green said the movie conforms to famed animator Chuck Jones’ rules for the struggle between the Coyote and Roadrunner, which include the bird always staying on the road and the Coyote being ultimately more humiliated than hurt when he falls, is crushed or gets blown up by TNT.

The movie, which features cameos from numerous Looney Tunes characters like Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety and Bugs Bunny, will be released on Aug. 28, 2026. Ketchup Entertainment teamed up with Warner Bros. on the film and in the release of “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.”

Also on Saturday morning, the cast of “Bad Guys 2” teasing new footage from the movie and describing how they recorded their characters.

Marc Maron, who plays Snake, joked he asked to be tied up as he performed his lines on the floor. “The depth of the character should read a little more this time,” he said.

The film, based on the graphic novel series by Aaron Blabey, introduces a new crew of animal criminals, the Bad Girls played by Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne and Maria Bakalova.

‘Star Trek’ ventures to new places

Paramount showed off its first footage from a new series, “Starfleet Academy,” which stars Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti.

The show follows cadets as they go through training, with Hunter serving as chancellor of the academy.

It will arrive in 2026, the 60th anniversary year of the original “Star Trek” series.

Paramount+’s other “Star Trek” series, “Strange New Worlds,” also shared updates.

The crew of the USS Enterprise are being turned into puppets for an upcoming “Strange New Worlds” episode, Paramount announced Saturday. The puppets will be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Season 3, which follows the adventures of the Enterprise under the command of Capt. Christopher Pike, is being released on Paramount+.

What’s happened at Comic-Con 2025 so far

An estimated 135,000 people — many in costumes — are expected to attend Comic-Con 2025, which runs through Sunday in downtown San Diego.

So far, fans have gotten previews of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,”the upcoming FX series “Alien: Earth” and “Predator: Badlands,” which will be in theaters in November.

Crocosmia: From Sweet Melissa’s grandparents to your garden

Crocosmia: From Sweet Melissa’s grandparents to your garden

MIKE RALEY WPTF Weekend Gardener

We have enjoyed growing the very colorful Crocosmia-“montbretia” or “Coppertips”- a summer-blooming flower that reminds me of a miniature gladiola. Crocosmia grows from corms which are sort of like bulbs that store nutrients. Crocus, Dalias, Anemones, and Gladiolus do too. We have had them in our landscape for decades. This flower grew abundantly in Sweet Melissa’s grandparents’ landscape in Pittsboro and she transplanted a few bulbs to our yard. The few are now many. Melissa’s paternal grandparents, Marvin and Myrtle Reeves were special people. Everyone who knew them said so. That makes our crop of Crocosmia extra special.

The Crocosmia is a native of South Africa and not North Carolina. There are seven species of Crocosmia, if I count correctly, many cultivars and a few hybrids according to N.C. State University horticulturalists. I have normally seen this bulb, including Melissa’s grandparents, in a “fiery” red-orange color. There are also yellow varieties. It is a hybrid variety and is appropriately known as Crocosmia “Lucifer”! It is safe to say this variety in mass will light up your garden like a brush fire, if it is content. One of my very learned horticulture friends told me this was awarded the Award of Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society. I would give it the “Weekend Gardener” award too! There are varieties like “Dixter Flame” which is much smaller than “Lucifer” and Golden Fleece. This variety has golden, star-shaped flowers.

Crocosmia loves full sun and blooms prolifically when planted there, but will tolerate partial shade. Like just about every plant I have encountered, it prefers well-drained soil. The sunniest part of our yard is in the front and it has a slight slope to the grade. That is where our Crocosmia resides, and they have been coming back year after year and will eventually naturalize in your yard. I like low maintenance and Crocosmias are just that. Plant corms 2 to 3 inches deep, maybe 3 inches apart in spring or fall. Add a little organic matter to clay or sand.

If you follow the rules, Crocosmia does need some maintenance. Cut off the bloom when it fades. Proper deadheading will ensure more blooms. You should let the leaves die back. This will allow the corms to store energy. Later you can cut the foliage to the ground.

Most gardeners are into dividing bulb flowers and those with corms should find time in spring for this chore. Recommend tackling this task every 3 to 4 years. And since we live in the south, provides perfect opportunity to carry on the tradition of pass-along plants.

We always love a plant that can be added to a pollinator garden and Crocosmia is just such a flower. They will attract hummingbirds, of course, bees, and certain types of butterflies. They are also a good choice for a perennial border and container garden.

Spider mites are about the only insect pest we hear about that seems to attack Crocosmia. This plant is considered deer-resistant too.

Once in a great while, your Crocosmia may have to deal with a fungus.

We just let ours grow and thrive or not. It’s every plant for itself in my yard. So plant some “other worldly” “cosmic” Crocosmia and think of Melissa’ grandparents every time you see them. That’s what I always do.

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