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

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

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

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.

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

Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase placed on paid leave as part of MLB sports betting investigation

Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase placed on paid leave as part of MLB sports betting investigation

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting.

Clase, a three-time All-Star, becomes the second Guardians pitcher to be placed on leave in connection with a sports gambling probe. Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31.

It was unclear if the cases were related. The Guardians said in a statement the organization “(has) been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted.”

The 27-year-old Clase is 5-3 with 24 saves in 48 games this year, but he also has a career-high 3.23 ERA. The right-hander led the AL in saves each of the previous three years and was believed to be on the market ahead of this week’s MLB trade deadline.

“I’m not happy. This stinks,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before Monday night’s 8-6 loss to lowly Colorado. “It’s a different part of our game now because it’s legal. Two of our guys are being investigated — and it hurts. It’s an unfortunate situation.”

Major League Baseball has been monitoring sports gambling more closely since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 struck down a federal law that had barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states.

MLB said in a statement that Clase — per an agreement with the players’ association — had been placed on leave while the league “continues its sports betting investigation.” It declined further comment.

A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined comment Monday night.

Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, said he was informed of the situation involving Clase on Sunday. He met with his coaching staff and the players before the series opener against the Rockies.

“You’re shocked, you’re upset, you’re frustrated. But I thought our guys, they did fine,” Vogt said. “It was a long day for our guys, for everybody. So we’re ready to get here tomorrow and get back after it.”

Cleveland dropped to 52-54 with the loss to Colorado. Cade Smith blew a save opportunity when the Rockies scored four times in the ninth inning.

Vogt said the plan is to go with a closer-by-committee approach for now.

“He’s a part of the team,” Smith said of Clase before the game. “It sucks for him to be not here today.”

The Ortiz investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the right-hander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.

The pair of Cleveland pitchers on leave comes after MLB suspended five players for gambling in June 2024, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.

Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez — received one-year suspensions.

Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by MLB in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games, and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league’s investigation.

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AP freelance writer Brian Dulik in Cleveland contributed to this report.

Healthy Orange Creamsicle Shake

Healthy Orange Creamsicle Shake

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: N/A

Serving Size: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 orange
  • 1/2 cup of ice
  • 3/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • optional: whipped cream

Directions

  1. Peel orange.
  2. In a blender, blend orange, greek yogurt, ice, vanilla extract and honey until smooth.
  3. Top with whipped cream if you’d like and enjoy this quick and refreshing summer dessert!
July 29th 2025

July 29th 2025

Thought of the Day

July 29th 2024
Photo by Getty Image

You can’t change someone who doesn’t see an issue in their actions. You can only change how you react to them.

Former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will run for Senate in 2026

Former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will run for Senate in 2026

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper will run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, giving Democrats a proven statewide winner in an open-seat race that is expected to be one of the most competitive 2026 contests.

Cooper made the announcement Monday with a video released on social media and his campaign website. The former two-term governor will immediately become the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley plans to run for the GOP 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 the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, passed on the seat.

Cooper’s candidacy is a big recruiting win for Democrats, who see the seat as a top pick-up opportunity in what will be a challenging year. 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.

Trump endorsed Whatley on his Truth Social platform Thursday night, posting that should he run, “Mike would make an unbelievable Senator from North Carolina.”

Video focuses on the middle class

Cooper’s video announcement emphasized the middle class, which he said is in danger of being eliminated in America with unfavorable election outcomes next year. With no mention of Trump, Cooper said “politicians in D.C.” are “running up our debt, ripping away our health care” and “cutting help for the poor,” even as they “give tax breaks to billionaires.”

“That’s wrong. And I’ve had enough,” Cooper added.

Ex-U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel already has been campaigning for the Democratic nomination for months. Reached by phone, Nickel said he would release on Tuesday a statement about his political future. Party primaries would be March 3.

State Democrats anticipating Nickel would stand aside quickly rallied around Cooper.

Cooper “is one of the best champions North Carolina has ever had, and we are confident he will flip this seat in 2026,” state Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said in a release. Current Democratic Gov. Josh Stein also endorsed Cooper on Monday.

Cooper’s political history goes back to 1980s

Cooper, 68, has been on statewide ballots going back a quarter-century — serving 16 years previously as attorney general before being first elected governor in 2016.

With a political career going back nearly 40 years, Cooper has had a knack for winning in a state where the legislature and appeals courts are now dominated by Republicans. State law barred Cooper from seeking a third consecutive gubernatorial term. He spent the spring on a teaching gig at Harvard.

“I never really wanted to go to Washington. I just wanted to serve the people of North Carolina right here, where I’ve lived all my life,” Cooper said in the video. “But these are not ordinary times.”

State and national Democrats were longing for Cooper to join the race well before Tillis announced June 29 that he would not seek a third term. That news came 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,

North Carolina Democrats on Senate losing streak

Democrats haven’t won a Senate race since 2008 in North Carolina, where independent voters tend to vote Republican in federal elections. Statewide races can be financially exorbitant because there are so many television markets — hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be spent in the race.

As governor, Cooper steered the state through the coronavirus pandemic, Hurricanes Helene and Florence and a law that became an early flashpoint in the culture wars over access to public restrooms by transgender people. That “bathroom bill” was rolled back early in Cooper’s first term, and the state’s economy soared during Cooper’s tenure.

While Cooper also managed to work with Republican lawmakers to get Medicaid expansion approved and a landmark greenhouse gases law enacted, he fell short in stopping legislation that widely expanded private school vouchers and narrowed abortion rights.

Cooper’s perceived accomplishments raised his national profile in 2024, making him a potential running mate for Kamala Harris until he said it “just wasn’t the right time” for him and for North Carolina.

Republicans panning Cooper’s long record

Republicans on Monday immediately jumped on Cooper’s vast political record in an attempt to paint him as having radical views.

The Senate Leadership Fund, the campaign arm of Senate Republicans, released a social media video blasting in part Cooper’s gubernatorial vetoes of legislation that barred transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams in schools and that directed sheriffs to comply with federal immigration agents’ requests to detain certain jail inmates. The bills ultimately became law after veto overrides.

Republicans also have cited a gubernatorial administration they say was slow to respond to Helene and executive orders that restricted businesses and school instruction too long during the pandemic. As for the roaring state economy, Republicans credit themselves through lower taxes and deregulation.

“There are people you trust in the driver’s seat. Roy Cooper isn’t one of them,” the National Republican Senatorial Committee said in its own video. “Roy Cooper isn’t just off course — he’s a wreck.”

Tillis’ retirement announcement heartened far-right Republicans and strong Trump supporters who have been unhappy for years with his willingness to challenge Trump’s actions and his Cabinet agency choices.

Republicans had deferred to Lara Trump, who is a North Carolina native, North Carolina State University graduate and a popular former RNC co-chair with Whatley during the 2024 election campaign. She posted on the social media platform X on Thursday that she would not seek the Senate seat. Another potential candidate, first-term Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., said over the weekend he would seek reelection instead.

Wall Street coasts for now ahead of a week packed with potential flashpoints

Wall Street coasts for now ahead of a week packed with potential flashpoints

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted through a quiet Monday after the United States agreed to tax cars and other products coming from the European Union at a 15% rate, lower than President Donald Trump had earlier threatened. Many details of the trade deal are still to be worked out, and Wall Street is heading into a week full of potential flashpoints that could shake markets.

The S&P 500 was nearly flat and edged up by less than 0.1% to set an all-time high for a sixth straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 64 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.3% to its own record.

Tesla rose 3% after its CEO, Elon Musk, said it signed a deal with Samsung Electronics that could be worth more than $16.5 billion to provide chips for the electric-vehicle company. Samsung’s stock in South Korea jumped 6.8%.

Other companies in the chip and artificial-intelligence industries were strong, continuing their run from last week after Alphabet said it was increasing its spending on AI chips and other investments to $85 billion this year. Chip company Advanced Micro Devices rose 4.3%, and server-maker Super Micro Computer climbed 10.2%.

But an 8.3% drop for Revvity helped to keep the market in check. The company in the life sciences and diagnostics businesses reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected, but its forecast for full year profit disappointed analysts.

Companies are broadly under pressure to deliver solid growth in profits following big jumps in their stock prices the last few months. Much of the gain was due to hopes that Trump would walk back some of his stiff proposed tariffs, and critics say the U.S. stock market looks expensive unless companies produce bigger profits.

All told, the S&P 500 added 1.13 to 6,389.77 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 64.36 to 44,837.56, and the Nasdaq composite rose 70.27 to 21,178.58.

More fireworks may be ahead this week. “This is about as busy as a week can get in the markets,” according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

Hundreds of U.S. companies are lined up to report how much profit they made during the spring, with nearly a third of the businesses in the S&P 500 index scheduled to deliver updates. That includes market heavyweights Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft. Those companies have grown so huge that their stock movements can almost dictate what the overall S&P 500 index does. Microsoft alone is worth $3.8 trillion.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on interest rates.

Trump has been angrily calling for the Fed to cut interest rates, a move that could give the economy a boost. But Fed Chair Jerome Powell insists that he wants more data about how Trump’s tariffs are affecting the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move. Lower interest rates can fuel inflation, and the economy only recently came out of its scarring run where inflation briefly topped 9%.

The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that Fed officials will wait until September to resume cutting interest rates, though a couple of Trump’s appointees could dissent in the vote. The Fed has been on hold with interest rates this year since cutting them several times at the end of 2024.

This week will also feature several potentially market-moving updates about the economy. On Tuesday will come reports on how confident U.S. consumers are feeling and how many jobs openings U.S. employers were advertising. Wednesday will show the first estimate of how quickly the U.S. economy grew during the spring, and economists expect to see a slowdown from the first three months of the year.

On Thursday, the latest measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve prefers to use will arrive. A modest reading could give the Fed more leeway to cut interest rates in the short term, while a hotter-than-expected figure could make it more cautious.

And Friday will bring an update on how many more workers U.S. employers hired during June than they fired.

Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market ahead of all that action. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.41% from 4.40% late Friday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, rose to 3.92% from 3.91%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped in Europe following the announcement of the trade deal’s framework.

Chinese stocks rose as officials from the world’s second-largest economy prepared to meet with a U.S. delegation in Sweden for trade talks. Stocks climbed 0.7% in Hong Kong and 0.1% in Shanghai.

Indexes were mixed across the rest of Asia, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% for one of the world’s bigger losses.

___

AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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.

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