Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud reunite at joint practice, reflect on NFL journeys

Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud reunite at joint practice, reflect on NFL journeys

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) — Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud will be forever linked after the quarterbacks were taken first and second, respectively, in the 2023 NFL draft.

But long before they became NFL stars, the two California natives became friends when they competed in both football and basketball in middle school.

On Thursday, the two reunited when Stroud’s Houston Texans hosted Young’s Carolina Panthers for a joint practice ahead of Saturday’s preseason game.

The quarterbacks were all business during drills, with both players making some nice throws during the two-hour workout. Afterward, they took some time to catch up and chat.

“To see where he’s at right now, I’m super proud of him. It means a lot,” Young said. “I’m always rooting for him. That’s my guy. When practice is going, I’m rooting for our defense. I’m hoping we make every play. That’s all that matters. But before and after I try not to take it for granted, us being able to live our dreams and be here. It’s special.”

Stroud said the two never specifically talked about their NFL dreams together as children but said competing against Young at such a young age made him a better player.

“When we focus on like the NFL or the NBA, it’s hard to do because (at that age) there’s so many people trying for that,” Stroud said. “But like me and him, I feel like our process was just getting better, getting better, getting better, getting better. So, I think that was our mindset and it’s cool to be in these moments.”

The Panthers were criticized in 2023 for selecting Young, who struggled as a rookie as the team went 2-15. Meanwhile, Stroud led Houston to the postseason after a three-year absence and was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Neither player likes talking about the what-ifs when it comes to that draft, and Young insisted Thursday that he’s happy with how things turned out.

“I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,” he said. “I’m sure C.J. would say the same thing. God doesn’t make mistakes. Everything happens for a reason. So, I’m super grateful to be a Panther.”

As their NFL careers have blossomed, Stroud and Young have remained close. Young was asked to describe the best thing about Stroud as a friend.

“I’ve seen him have ups and downs,” Young said. “I’ve seen him have so much success at this level (and) throughout all that he’s been the exact same person … and I know a lot of people on this team and everyone tells me how great of a leader he is, how much he means for this team, offense, the entire team, entire unit, the person he is. So, I think just his ability to be that same person, regardless of what his circumstances are is one of the things that I admire most.”

Stroud also praised Young’s consistency as a friend and lauded him for the improvement he showed last season.

“He’s a heck of a player, one of the best players I’ve ever seen in my life,” Stroud said. “And I just think he needs some help around him too. But I’m just really proud of that guy, just the same way he said about me, for every up and down, every valley and peak he’s stayed the same guy, stayed loyal and stayed a friend and brother, so very appreciative.”

While Stroud has had much more success so far after taking Houston to the playoffs in each of his two seasons, he remains irked that one of Carolina’s two wins in 2023 came against the Texans and hopes to have a rematch with Young one day.

“He beat me my rookie year, still don’t like that,” Stroud said. “When we cross those lines, we’re competitive, we want to do well and see our teams win. So hopefully we get to match up next year or maybe in the Super Bowl or something. I don’t know. But don’t put that on ESPN, I know how y’all do.”

Androids dance, rock, shimmy and sway at opening of World Humanoid Robot Games

Androids dance, rock, shimmy and sway at opening of World Humanoid Robot Games

By FU TING Associated Press

Humanoid robots danced hip-hop, performed martial arts and played keyboard, guitar and drums at the opening ceremony of the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Thursday evening.

The competition begins Friday with more than 500 humanoid robots in 280 teams from 16 countries, including the U.S., Germany and Japan, competing in sports including soccer, running and boxing. The event comes as China has stepped up efforts to develop humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence.

The World Humanoid Robot Games have opened on Beijing. The event sees machines compete in sports such as soccer and boxing. (AP Video)

During the opening ceremony, the robots demonstrated soccer and boxing among other sports, with some cheering and backflipping as if at a real sports event.

One robot soccer player scored a goal after a few tries, causing the robot goalkeeper to fall to the ground. Another player fell but stood up unassisted.

The robots also modeled fashionable hats and clothes alongside human models. In one mishap, a robot model fell and had to be carried off the stage by two human beings.

Teams from robot companies and Chinese universities including Tsinghua University and Peking University are competing in the games. Three middle schools are also participating.

China’s official newspaper People’s Daily quoted a government officer in Beijing as saying that every robot that participates “is creating history.”

The event will last three days, concluding on Sunday. Tickets sold to the public range from 180 yuan ($25) to 580 ($80).

___

Olivia Zhang contributed to this report from Beijing.

August 15th 2025

August 15th 2025

Thought of the Day

August 15th 2024
Photo by Getty Images

Why not go out on the limb… that’s where the fruit is.

Most US stocks fall after a disappointing inflation update, but Big Tech keeps Wall Street steady

Most US stocks fall after a disappointing inflation update, but Big Tech keeps Wall Street steady

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Most stocks fell on Wall Street Thursday after a disappointing report said inflation was worse last month at the U.S. wholesale level than economists expected. But gains for Amazon and some other influential Big Tech companies helped mask the losses.

Seven out of every 10 stocks within the S&P 500 fell, though the index edged up by less than 0.1% to set another all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 11 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite dipped by less than 0.1% from its record set the day before.

The inflation report said that prices jumped 3.3% last month at the U.S. wholesale level from a year earlier. That was well above the 2.5% rate that economists had forecast, and it could hint at higher inflation ahead for U.S. shoppers as it makes its way through the system.

The data forced traders to second guess their widespread consensus that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next meeting in September. Lower rates can boost investment prices and the economy by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow to buy houses, cars or equipment, but they also risk worsening inflation.

“This doesn’t slam the door on a September rate cut,” but it may raise some doubt, according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

Traders now see a 7.4% chance that the Fed may hold rates steady in September, according to data from CME Group. A day earlier, they were betting on a 100% certainty that the Fed would cut its main rate for the first time this year.

Higher interest rates drag on all kinds of companies by keeping the cost to borrow high. They can hurt smaller companies in particular because they often need to borrow to grow. The Russell 2000 index of smaller U.S. stocks tumbled a market-leading 1.2%.

Thursday’s disappointing data followed an encouraging update earlier in the week on prices at the consumer level. A separate report on Thursday, meanwhile, said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. That’s a good sign for workers, indicating that layoffs remain relatively low at a time when job openings have become more difficult to find.

But a solid job market could also give the Fed less reason to cut interest rates in the short term.

The data helped send Treasury yields higher in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.28% from 4.20% just before the data reports’ release and from 4.24% late Wednesday.

On Wall Street, Tapestry tumbled after the company behind the Coach and Kate Spade New York brands showed it’s feeling the pressure of tariffs.

It detailed how much profit it could lose in its upcoming fiscal year because of tariffs and duties, and its forecast for profit fell short of analysts’ expectations even though its forecast for revenue came in above. Its stock fell 15.7%, despite it also reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Deere fell 6.8% even though the machinery maker likewise delivered a better profit than expected. There, too, the focus was on where profits are heading. It cut the top end of its forecasted range for profit this fiscal year and said its customers “remain cautious amid ongoing uncertainty.”

On the winning side of Wall Street was Fossil Group, which jumped 29.8% after the seller of watches and other accessories reported better profit than expected. It also announced a plan to strengthen its finances, while trimming its forecast for how much it expects worldwide net sales to fall this year.

Big Tech stocks also helped mask Wall Street’s losses. Amazon rose 2.9% to add to its gains from the prior day when it announced same-day delivery of fresh groceries in more than 1,000 cities and towns.

Because Amazon is so huge, with a market value of $2.45 trillion, the movements for its stock carry much more weight on the S&P 500 than the typical company’s.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 1.96 to 6,468.54 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 11.01 to 44,911.26, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 2.47 to 21.710.67.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Asia and Europe ahead of a key meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

___

AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

A way-too early guess at who will make the College Football Playoff this season

A way-too early guess at who will make the College Football Playoff this season

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer

It is a well-versed group of athletic directors, former coaches and players along with a sports writer, who will be armed with statistics, analytics, charts and graphs and enough highlights to start their own college football network as they settle into their work on the College Football Playoff selection committee.

In the end, though, the sport’s method of determining a champion – or at least deciding who gets the right to play for the championship – comes down to a matter of opinion.

Now in its second year with an expanded bracket, 12 teams will make the playoff to close out the 2025-26 season. Five of those slots will go to conference champions. The rest will be at-large bids to be handed out by the 13-person committee.

Here’s a far-too-early prediction at where they will end up, and what the toughest choices will be before the bracket comes out on Dec. 8.

Conference champions

There’s no debate over this: The five conference champions with the best ranking from the committee will make the playoff. But in a change from last year, the top four won’t be guaranteed first-round byes.

Best guess here says these champions will be:

Southeastern: Texas, with Arch Manning, is the favorite. But Georgia wins a rematch of a Nov. 15 showdown with the Longhorns in the SEC title game that won’t have all that much riding on it, CFP-wise, since, after all, these both look like top-four teams.

Big Ten: Penn State coach James Franklin is 1-10 against Ohio State. Buckeyes have two Heisman Trophy hopefuls in Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin. Game is at the Horseshoe and Ohio State is the reigning national champion. Another Michigan upset could factor in all this, of course, but Ohio State wins the conference.

Atlantic Coast: Miami is a dark horse. Clemson has the goods and quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Big 12: Let’s assume, just because they’re a Power Four conference, that this league will produce one of the four best-ranked conference champions. But not by much. Kansas State has QB Avery Johnson returning, which could be enough to win a conference in which at least six teams, including defending champ Arizona State, have a chance.

Group of Five: If Boise State, sans Ashton Jeanty, wins at Notre Dame on Oct. 4, the Broncos are in. If not (more likely), then let’s assume Tulane takes care of business at home against both Duke and Northwestern and makes the playoff.

At-large and in charge

Texas: Longhorns split against Bulldogs with another matchup potentially in store?

Alabama: Hard to imagine the Tide losing four games again this season (or the committee overlooking any ugly number in the ‘L’ column if they do, regardless of their strong schedule.)

Oregon: QB Dante Moore chose Oregon, then UCLA, then Oregon again, and if he lives up to expectations, the Ducks could go far.

Penn State: CFP semifinalists last season, the Nittany Lions try to, once again, take advantage of the second chance the playoff offers.

Miami: QB Carson Beck came over from Georgia, but this defense will need to improve.

Notre Dame: The Irish game against better-than-expected USC on Oct. 18 will be the equivalent of a playoff play-in.

Mississippi: If only to save us from another Lane Kiffin social media barrage. But seriously, this program had one of the best transfer-portal hauls in the country. The Rebels are also getting used to winning 10 games a year and you can’t ignore that forever.

And the matchups are …

The bye teams: No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Clemson.

The first-round matchups, on campus:

No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Alabama: This will be the conspiracy theory game. Tulane, probably ranked about 16th, will take the spot that could’ve gone to yet another SEC team. (Did you know Tulane was once in the SEC?) Meanwhile, Alabama might be good enough to be ranked fourth but the committee wanted to assert its independence by not handing byes to three SEC teams.

No. 11 Kansas State at No. 6 Oregon: The fifth, final and probably most decisive of the Big 12 vs. Big Ten matchups in 2025.

No. 10 Mississippi at No. 7 Penn State: They met in the Peach Bowl in 2023. Now, Ole Miss gets a cold welcome to the big time.

No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Miami: They play a regular-season game Aug. 31. You can’t ever get enough of a good thing.

DeSantis announces plans for second immigration detention facility dubbed ‘Deportation Depot’

DeSantis announces plans for second immigration detention facility dubbed ‘Deportation Depot’

By KATE PAYNE Associated Press/Report for America

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison in north Florida, as a federal judge decides the fate of the state’s holding center for immigrants at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

DeSantis announced Thursday that the new facility is to be housed at the Baker Correctional Institution, a state prison about 43 miles (69 kilometers) west of downtown Jacksonville. It is expected to hold 1,300 immigration detention beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000, state officials said.

After opening the Everglades facility last month, DeSantis justified building the second detention center by saying President Donald Trump’s administration needs the additional capacity to hold and deport more immigrants.

“There is a demand for this,” DeSantis said. “I’m confident that it will be filled.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has trumpeted Republican governors’ efforts to expand immigration detention capacity, calling Florida’s partnership a model for other state-run holding facilities.

DeSantis touted the relative ease and economy of setting up the north facility at a pre-existing prison, estimating the build-out cost to be $6 million. That’s compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars the state has committed to construct the vast network of tents and trailers at the south facility in the rugged and remote Florida swamp.

“This part of the facility is not being used right now for the state prisoners. It just gives us an ability to go in, stand it up quickly, stand it up cheaply,” DeSantis said of the state prison, calling the site “ready-made.”

It could take two to three weeks to get the facility operational, according to Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the agency in charge of building the immigration facilities.

The state had announced plans to “temporarily” close the prison in 2021, due to persistent staffing shortages.

“A building that’s been dormant now for a couple of years is going to have some unforeseen challenges,” Guthrie said when estimating the construction timeline.

Among the renovations needed: air conditioning, which is not required under Florida’s standards for its prisons, despite the state’s sweltering climate.

Staffing at the site will be handled by the National Guard and state contractors “as needed,” DeSantis said. The state’s National Guard had been called on to help run the state’s prisons for more than two years due to chronic staff shortages, before being mobilized to support the state’s immigration enforcement efforts.

DeSantis pledged that detainees at the new facility will have “the same services” that are available at the state’s first detention center.

Attorneys for detainees at the Everglades facility have called the conditions there deplorable, writing in a court filing that some detainees are showing symptoms of COVID-19 without being separated from the general population. Rainwater floods their tents and officers go cell-to-cell pressuring detainees to sign voluntary removal orders before they’re allowed to consult their attorneys.

“Recent conditions at Alligator Alcatraz have fueled a sense of desperation among detainees,” the attorneys said in the court filing.

Conditions at the hastily built detention center were outlined in a filing made Wednesday ahead of a hearing Monday over the legal rights of the detainees. Civil rights attorneys want U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz to ensure that detainees at the facility have confidential access to their lawyers, which the lawyers say they haven’t had.

They also wanted the judge to identify an immigration court that has jurisdiction over the detention center so that petitions can be filed for the detainees’ bond or release. The civil rights attorneys say they’ve been told regularly that federal immigration courts in Florida don’t have jurisdiction over the detainees held in the Everglades.

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Associated Press writer Mike Schneider in Orlando contributed to this report. Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Quick and Tasty Pasta Alfredo

Quick and Tasty Pasta Alfredo

This easy Alfredo sauce gives a great homemade touch to any pasta, and it’s a super quick fix with no roux required!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
  • 1, 8 oz package cream cheese
  • 6-8 oz grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 box pasta of your choice
  • (optional) a basil leaf and sun-dried tomato for garnish

Instructions

1. Melt butter and cook pasta
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. In a separate large saucepan, boil pasta as directed on the package. Save 1/4 cup of the pasta water and drain the noodles, then set them aside.

2. Incorporate cream cheese
Add the cream cheese to the melted butter and stir occasionally until combined.

3. Thicken it up
Slowly add the milk to the melted butter and cream cheese mixture, then add in the parmesan.

4. Season
Add the seasonings to the mix.

5. Serve it hot
Mix the Alfredo sauce into the pasta and enjoy right away with an optional basil and sun-dried tomato garnish.

KIX Kitties and K9s: Meet Suzy!

KIX Kitties and K9s: Meet Suzy!

You’ll quickly fall in love with this one-eyed cutie! Suzy is a sweet, silly, playful girl looking for her forever home! She can take a little bit to warm up to people, but once she builds trust with you she is your shadow and best pal. She follows her foster parents from room to room, and gives a loving boop of her nose so they know she’s right behind them. She loves giving kisses too 🙂 she needs someone who is patient and willing to work for her trust!

Second Chance Pet Adoptions
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(919) 851-8404

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August 14th 2025

August 14th 2025

Thought of the Day

August 14th 2024
Photo by Getty Images

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius

Wall Street ticks higher after a rally wrapped around the world

Wall Street ticks higher after a rally wrapped around the world

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks ticked higher on Wednesday after a rally spurred by hopes for lower U.S. interest rates wrapped around the world.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 463 points, or 1%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to its own record set the day before.

Treasury yields eased in the bond market as expectations reached a virtual consensus that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting in September. Lower rates can boost investment prices and the economy by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow to buy houses, cars or equipment, though they risk worsening inflation.

Stock indexes in Asia jumped in their first trading after Tuesday’s better-than-expected report on U.S. inflation triggered a jump in bets that a cut to interest rates is coming. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leaped 2.6%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.3% and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.1%.

Indexes also rose in Europe, though the moves were more modest after they already had the chance to trade on the U.S. inflation data the afternoon before. Germany’s DAX returned 0.7%, and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.7%.

On Wall Street, stocks of companies that could benefit most from lower interest rates helped lead the way. PulteGroup climbed 5.4%, and Lennar rose 5.2% as part of a broad rally for homebuilders and others in the housing industry. Lower rates could make mortgages cheaper to get, which could spur more buying.

The hopes for lower interest rates are helping to drown out criticism that the U.S. stock market has broadly grown too expensive after its big leap since hitting a low in April.

One way companies can make their stock prices look less expensive is to deliver strong growth in profits, and Brinker International rose 1.6% after becoming the latest to report stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company behind the Chili’s brand said it saw more customers coming to its restaurants, and it’s also making more profit off each $1 in sales.

“Chili’s is officially back, baby back!” CEO Kevin Hochman said.

HanesBrands climbed 3.7% after it agreed to sell itself to Gildan Activewear for $2.2 billion in cash and Gildan stock. The deal would combine North Carolinas’ HanesBrands with Canada’s Gildan, and Gildan’s stock that trades in the United States rose 11.8%.

Bullish soared in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange and rose 83.8% in its first day of trading. The cryptocurrency exchange’s CEO is Tom Farley, who used to be president of the NYSE Group.

On the losing end of Wall Street were grocery stores and delivery companies, which fell after Amazon said it will offer fresh groceries to customers in more than 1,000 cities and towns through same-day delivery. Kroger fell 4.4%, and DoorDash dropped 3.8%, while Amazon rose 1.4%.

Cava Group sank 16.6% after the Mediterranean restaurant chain reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit topped forecasts. It also cut its 2025 forecast for an important underlying measure of restaurant sales.

CoreWeave lost 20.8% after the company, whose cloud platform helps customers running artificial-intelligence workloads, reported a larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 20.82 points to 6,466.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 463.66 to 44,922.27, and the Nasdaq composite added 31.24 to 21,713.14.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as expectations built for coming cuts to interest rates by the Fed.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.23% from 4.29% late Tuesday and from 4.50% in mid-July. That’s a notable move for the bond market.

President Donald Trump has angrily been calling for cuts to help the economy, often insulting the Fed’s chair personally while doing so.

But the Fed has been hesitant so far because of the possibility that Trump’s tariffs could make inflation much worse. Lowering rates would give inflation more fuel, potentially adding oxygen to a growing fire. That’s why Fed officials have said they wanted to see more data come in about inflation before moving.

On Thursday, a report will show how bad inflation was at the wholesale level across the United States. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated a touch to 2.4% in July from 2.3% in June.

___

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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