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  • Browns QB Shedeur Sanders has a rough NFL debut after relieving the injured Dillon Gabriel

    CLEVELAND (AP) — Shedeur Sanders finally got the opportunity to show what he could do as an NFL quarterback.

    In one half of action, the Cleveland Browns rookie showed he still faces a steep learning curve.

    The highly publicized son of Deion Sanders entered with 12:43 remaining in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens after Cleveland announced that Dillon Gabriel was being evaluated for a concussion. Gabriel was ruled out later in the quarter.

    Sanders completed his first two passes, but not much went right after that. He went 4 for 16 for 47 yards with an interception and was sacked twice, finishing with a 13.5 passer rating as the Ravens rallied for a 23-16 victory.

    “I don’t think I played good at all. They gave me an opportunity. I didn’t do up to my expectations to get us a win. I have to take it on the chin,” said Sanders, who also scrambled three times for 16 yards.

    With Sanders behind center, Cleveland gained 44 yards on 28 plays with four first downs in six second-half possessions, going three-and-out twice.

    “We trust our guys to perform. He’s no different, you know, and playing a backup quarterback role, as we’ve talked about over the years, that’s tough to come in there, but we trust him,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I know there’s things that he’s going to want to do better, but that’s why we work.”

    Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who coached Shedeur in college at Jackson State and Colorado, was quiet on social media Sunday night after his son’s debut.

    Sanders became Cleveland’s backup behind fellow rookie Gabriel after Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 7. However, Sunday was the first time he led the huddle with the first-team offense or threw passes to Jerry Jeudy, Harold Fannin Jr. and Cedric Tillman.

    “I think I have heard his cadence like two or three times. I think going out of halftime, we all got on the line, and he said his cadence and we kind of got through it,” guard Wyatt Teller said. “Again, a lot of learning, but he played his heart off, put his heart out.”

    On his first snap, Sanders threw a 5-yard pass to Tillman. He completed both of his passes for 12 yards on his first drive but struggled with his footwork. He was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton and fumbled, with Teller recovering.

    Sanders threw his first interception on his second series. On third-and-10 at the Browns 17, Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy got pressure up the middle and hammered Sanders as he released the ball. The throw was off target and picked off at the 30 by Nate Wiggins, who returned it 14 yards.

    There was a four-series stretch where Sanders was 0 of 7 with an interception and took a sack.

    After Mark Andrews’ 35-yard touchdown run with 2:31 remaining put the Ravens on top, Sanders tried to lead a tying drive. He completed a 25-yard pass to Fannin on the first play. Three plays later, he connected with Jeudy for 10 yards to the Ravens 30.

    Sanders and the Browns drove to the Ravens 25 before the drive stalled. Sanders’ final pass intended for tight end David Njoku on fourth-and-5 was short as the Browns (2-8) dropped their third straight.

    Sanders did take one shot at the end zone on second-and-5, but missed a throw to Isaiah Bond.

    “He just kind of got thrown out there but I think he handled it well. We know what type of player he is and it was good to see him out there,” Tillman said.

    Ravens coach John Harbaugh said his team didn’t deviate much from its plan when Sanders came in, although they blitzed more often in an attempt to rattle him.

    “The game plan was going to be good for their offensive system and what they’re doing. We were not going to change that,” he said. “You don’t know how the quarterback’s going to look exactly, but you just have to take care of your own business.”

    A fifth-round pick by the Browns after some projected him to go in the first round, Sanders was inactive for Cleveland’s first five games as the emergency third quarterback after going 17 of 29 for 152 yards and two touchdowns in two preseason games.

    Sanders should get his first extensive practice with the first-team offense this week, depending on how long Gabriel remains in the concussion protocol. Stefanski said Sanders would get his first NFL start next Sunday at Las Vegas if Gabriel can’t play. Gabriel completed 7 of 10 passes for 68 yards in the first half in his sixth NFL start.

    The Browns have lost three straight.

    “I think it’s a lot of things, you know, we need to look at, during the week and go and just get comfortable, even throwing routes, you know, with Jerry (Jeudy) and throwing routes with all those guys,” Sanders said. “So I think that was my first ball to him all year. But other than that, I just think overall we just got to go next week and understand so then we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do.”

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    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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  • Voters’ anger at high electricity bills and data centers looms over 2026 midterms

    Voter anger over the cost of living is hurtling forward into next year’s midterm elections, when pivotal contests will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill to power Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.

    Electricity costs were a key issue in this week’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hotspot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission.

    Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue, as Democrats and Republicans gird for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.

    Already, President Donald Trump is signaling that he’ll focus on affordability next year as he and Republicans try to maintain their slim congressional majorities, while Democrats are blaming Trump for rising household costs.

    Front and center may be electricity bills, which in many places are increasing at a rate faster than U.S. inflation on average — although not everywhere.

    “There’s a lot of pressure on politicians to talk about affordability, and electricity prices are right now the most clear example of problems of affordability,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of politics and government and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

    Rising electric costs aren’t expected to ease and many Americans could see an increase on their monthly bills in the middle of next year’s campaigns.

    Higher electric bills on the horizon

    Gas and electric utilities are seeking or already secured rate increases of more that $34 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, consumer advocacy organization PowerLines reported. That was more than double the same period last year.

    With some 80 million Americans struggling to pay their utility bills, “it’s a life or death and ‘eat or heat’ type decision that people have to make,” said Charles Hua, PowerLines’ founder.

    In Georgia, proposals to build data centers have roiled communities, while a victorious Democrat, Peter Hubbard, accused Republicans on the commission of “rubber-stamping” rate increases by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of power giant Southern Co.

    Monthly Georgia Power bills have risen six times over the past two years, now averaging $175 a month for a typical residential customer.

    Hubbard’s message seemed to resonate with voters. Rebecca Mekonnen, who lives in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, said she voted for the Democratic challengers, and wants to see “more affordable pricing. That’s the main thing. It’s running my pocket right now.”

    Now, Georgia Power is proposing to spend $15 billion to expand its power generating capacity, primarily to meet demand from data centers, and Hubbard is questioning whether data centers will pay their fair share — or share it with regular ratepayers.

    Midterm battlegrounds in hotspots

    Midterm elections will see congressional battlegrounds in states where fast-rising electric bills or data center hotspots — or both — are fomenting community uprisings.

    That includes California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

    Analysts attribute rising electric bills to a combination of forces.

    That includes expensive projects to modernize the grid and harden poles, wires and substations against extreme weather and wildfires.

    Also playing a role is explosive demand from data centers, bitcoin miners and a drive to revive domestic manufacturing, as well as rising natural gas prices, analysts say.

    “The cost of utility service is the new ‘cost of eggs’ concern for a lot of consumers,” said Jennifer Bosco of the National Consumer Law Center.

    In some places, data centers are driving a big increase in demand, since a typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 homes, according to the International Energy Agency. Some could require more electricity than cities the size of Pittsburgh, Cleveland or New Orleans.

    While many states have sought to attract data centers as an economic boon, legislatures and utility commissions were also flooded with proposals to try to protect regular ratepayers from paying to connect data centers to the grid.

    Meanwhile, communities that don’t want to live next to one are pushing back.

    It’s on voters’ minds

    An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll from October found that electricity bills are a “major” source of stress for 36% of U.S. adults.

    Now, as falls turns to winter, some states are warning that funding for low-income heating aid is being delayed because of the federal government shutdown.

    Still, the impact is still more uneven than other financial stressors like grocery costs, which just over half of U.S. adults said are a “major” source of stress.

    And electric rates vary widely by state or utility.

    For instance, federal data shows that for-profit utilities have been raising rates far faster than municipally owned utilities or cooperatives.

    In the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid from Illinois to New Jersey, analysts say ratepayers are paying billions of dollars for the cost to power data centers — including data centers not even built yet.

    Next June, electric bills across that region will absorb billions more dollars in higher wholesale electricity costs designed to lure new power plants to power data centers.

    That’s spurred governors from the region — including Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Illinois’ JB Pritzker and Maryland’s Wes Moore, all Democrats who are running for reelection — to pressure the grid operator PJM Interconnection to contain increases.

    High-rate states vs. lower-rate rates

    Drew Maloney, the CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, a trade association of for-profit electric utilities, suggested that only some states are the drivers of higher average electric bills.

    “If you set aside a few sates with higher rates, the rest of the country largely follows inflation on electricity rates,” Maloney said.

    Examples of states with faster-rising rates are California, where wildfires are driving grid upgrades, and those in New England, where natural gas is expensive because of strained pipeline capacity.

    Still, other states are feeling a pinch.

    In Indiana, a growing data center hotspot, the consumer advocacy group, Citizens Action Coalition, reported this year that residential customers of the state’s for-profit electric utilities were absorbing the most severe rate increases in at least two decades.

    Republican Gov. Mike Braun decried the hikes, saying “we can’t take it anymore.”

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    Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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  • Jayden Daniels leaves game after Washington QB’s nonthrowing arm bends gruesomely

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Jayden Daniels was being dragged down by a defender when he stuck his left arm out and put his hand on the ground.

    That’s when a dismal night for the Washington Commanders turned downright horrifying.

    Daniels’ nonthrowing arm bent gruesomely, and the star quarterback had to leave Washington’s 38-14 loss to Seattle on Sunday night with 7:29 remaining in the fourth quarter. It’s the third — and perhaps the most significant — injury of the season for Daniels, who was in his first game back from a hamstring issue.

    “It’s really tough to see him go down. You just want him to stay positive,” Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “You don’t know what the result is. You just speak a lot of positivity into existence. He’s a very positive person so we’re just praying for the best.”

    AP AUDIO: Jayden Daniels leaves game after Washington QB’s nonthrowing arm bends gruesomely

    The NFL’s reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year exited with a significant injury late during a lopsided defeat. Correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh reports.

    Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Daniels injured his elbow. That was about the extent of the postgame update. Quinn didn’t have much of an explanation for why Daniels was still in the game. Washington was trailing 38-7 at the time.

    “Obviously like the hindsight, you don’t want to think that way, where an injury could take place,” Quinn said. “Obviously we’re more conservative in that spot to run and hand off and not have reads to go, but just the end result — obviously, I’m bummed.”

    In addition to the hamstring injury, Daniels also missed two games earlier this season with knee issues.

    Although an injury to Daniels’ non-throwing arm isn’t necessarily career altering, Commanders fans could hardly be blamed for immediately fearing the worst. It was on this same field about 13 years ago — against the same opponent — that Robert Griffin III went down with a severe knee injury at the end of his sensational rookie season for Washington. He never reached those heights again.

    The Commanders fell behind early Sunday and trailed 31-7 at halftime, and Daniels had to do plenty of scrambling. He ended up running for 51 yards on 10 carries, and the injury underscored the risk in doing that.

    “I think that’s his nature. He wants to be aggressive and make plays,” Quinn said. “He’s got confidence in the other players. I do know that. So it’s not like, ‘I have to do more, I have to do things that are outside of playing in that way.’ We also have to have everybody. Injuries happen and you hate it.”

    As a rookie last season, Daniels led Washington to the NFC championship game — its best season since 1991. Now the Commanders are 3-6 after four straight losses. If the season can be salvaged, it may have to be with Marcus Mariota at quarterback.

    During those moments when Daniels was slow to get up, however, it was the long-term future that seemed like the bigger issue.

    “I didn’t see what happened exactly. I just heard a pause and I kind of put my head down and prayed for him,” Commanders guard Sam Cosmi said. “You just don’t want to see that happen.”

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    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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  • OpenAI and Amazon sign $38 billion deal for AI computing power

    SEATTLE (AP) — OpenAI and Amazon have signed a $38 billion deal that enables the ChatGPT maker to run its artificial intelligence systems on Amazon’s data centers in the U.S.

    OpenAI will be able to power its AI tools using “hundreds of thousands” of Nvidia’s specialized AI chips through Amazon Web Services as part of the deal announced Monday.

    Amazon shares increased 4% after the announcement.

    The agreement comes less than a week after OpenAI altered its partnership with its longtime backer Microsoft, which until early this year was the startup’s exclusive cloud computing provider.

    California and Delaware regulators also last week allowed San Francisco-based OpenAI, which was founded as a nonprofit, to move forward on its plan to form a new business structure to more easily raise capital and make a profit.

    “The rapid advancement of AI technology has created unprecedented demand for computing power,” Amazon said in a statement Monday. It said OpenAI “will immediately start utilizing AWS compute as part of this partnership, with all capacity targeted to be deployed before the end of 2026, and the ability to expand further into 2027 and beyond.”

    AI requires huge amounts of energy and computing power and OpenAI has long signaled that it needs more capacity, both to develop new AI systems and keep existing products like ChatGPT answering the questions of its hundreds of millions of users. It’s recently made more than $1 trillion worth of financial obligations in spending for AI infrastructure, including data center projects with Oracle and SoftBank and semiconductor supply deals with chipmakers Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom.

    Some of the deals have raised investor concerns about their “circular” nature, since OpenAI doesn’t make a profit and can’t yet afford to pay for the infrastructure that its cloud backers are providing on the expectations of future returns on their investments. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last week dismissed doubters he says have aired “breathless concern” about the deals.

    “Revenue is growing steeply. We are taking a forward bet that it’s going to continue to grow,” Altman said on a podcast where he appeared with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

    Amazon is already the primary cloud provider to AI startup Anthropic, an OpenAI rival that makes the Claude chatbot.

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  • In their own words: What young people wish they’d known about social media

    It’s dangerous. It’s addictive. Get off your phone.

    Kids constantly hear about the downsides of social media from the adults in their lives, often in the form of dire warnings and commands. But these adults did not grow up with social media themselves.

    They didn’t get a phone handed to them as toddlers, just to keep them quiet in a restaurant. They didn’t join TikTok’s predecessor Musica.ly and do silly dances before they even learned to read. They didn’t have their schools shut down in a global pandemic, their connections to friends and peers relegated to phone and computer screens.

    Kids coming of age with social media are forging ahead in a whole new world. And now that they are getting older, they have some advice for their younger peers.

    Here’s what they wish they knew when they first got online.

    Bao Le, 18, sits for a photo on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

    You don’t have to share everything

    “It’s so easy to look at your friends’ stories and feel this feeling of FOMO, of missing out and comparing yourself, like: ‘Oh, my friend just got a new car.’ It’s like this overwhelming sense of comparison. But the things that people post on social media, it’s just the highlight reel, like the 1% of their life that they want to showcase to other people.”

    BAO LE, 18, a freshman at Vanderbilt University

    This article is part of AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.

    Doreen Malata, 22, a senior at University of Maryland, poses for a photo on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in College Park, Md. The Associated Press spoke with teenagers and young adults about their experiences on social media and what they wish they had known when they first got online. (AP Photo/Almaz Abedje)

    Doreen Malata, 22, a senior at University of Maryland, poses for a photo on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Almaz Abedje)

    Don’t take it too seriously

    “My main point of advice would be not to take it too seriously. Be yourself. I feel like what I was exposed to as a 12-year-old was much more limited than what is accessible to 12–year-olds nowadays. Younger kids want to be who they idolize. And when the TikTok stars or the social media stars are 20, 18, 16, they’re going to want to be like them. You’re getting younger kids that are now obsessing over products and brands, and it’s just getting really hard to be young. And it shouldn’t be really hard to be young. You should be enjoying childhood. And we shouldn’t be rushing to grow up. It’s OK to be 12. It’s OK to be young. It’s OK to enjoy childhood.”

    DOREEN MALATA, 22, a senior at the University of Maryland

    Sienna Keene, 17, poses for photos in Orinda, Calif., Monday, April 29, 2024. The Associated Press spoke with teenagers and young adults about their experiences on social media and what they wish they had known when they first got online. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

    Sienna Keene, 17, poses for photos in Orinda, Calif., Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

    “It seems like it would be really easy to just put your phone down and stop scrolling. But it is not. If there was advice that I could give to my younger self, it would be to tell my parents to set up time limits for me — even though I would have never said that when I was starting social media. Also, I personally would not let my kid have TikTok. I would try to resist it as long as I could. It’s so addictive.”

    SIENNA KEENE, 17, a high school senior in Orinda, California

    Ava Havidic, 18, poses outside her high school, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Tamarac, Fla. The Associated Press spoke with teenagers and young adults about their experiences on social media and what they wish they had known when they first got online. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

    Ava Havidic, 18, poses outside her high school, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Tamarac, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

    Take a social media detox

    “When you first get these apps, it hits you — like, BOOM, there is so much content. Styles, fashion models. It really impacts you heavily when you first get it, this feeling of: ‘How do they do it? How do they look like this? How do they get clothes like that?’ When you’re new to social media, these trends can overtake you. I started to use screentime (monitoring) on my phone and limit the amount of time I am on social media. I’ve been taking phone detoxes. On weekends, I’ll take a social media detox for 10 hours or the majority of the day. I’ll hang out with my family, ride my bike. I only have notifications for my messages and workspaces. I don’t have any notifications on for social media apps.”

    AVA HAVIDIC, 18, a high school senior in Broward County, Florida

    Lea Nepomuceno, 18, a freshman at George Washington University, poses on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Washington, D.C. The Associated Press spoke with teenagers and young adults about their experiences on social media and what they wish they had known when they first got online. (AP Photo/Almaz Abedje)

    Lea Nepomuceno, 18, a freshman at George Washington University, poses on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Almaz Abedje)

    You are the one in control

    “Often I hear the term “social media user,” but I felt like I was being used by social media. I had this routine of scrolling mindlessly through TikTok, just scrolling and scrolling and comparing myself to other people. It ultimately really affected my body image, my perception of what was considered beautiful or accepted into society. But the only thing I was getting out of social media was feeling fatigued, or I would feel sad.

    You can use social media to amplify your passions, but in order to do that you need to do a lot of work outside of social media, to discover who you are as a person, what matters to you and what contributions you can make to the world.”

    LEA NEPOMUCENO, 18, a freshman at George Washington University

    Mikael Makonnen, 18, a freshman at American University, poses for a photo in Washington, D.C, on Saturday, March 2, 2024, The Associated Press spoke with teenagers and young adults about their experiences on social media and what they wish they had known when they first got online. (AP Photo/Almaz Abedje)

    Mikael Makonnen, 18, a freshman at American University, poses for a photo in Washington, D.C, on Saturday, March 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Almaz Abedje)

    “I would say just don’t use it. It’s kind of a waste of time. You’re just having conversations about pointless things, random pop culture stuff. It just sucks your time. You’re not really getting anything out of it, just short-term satisfaction. It’s kind of meaningless. I know this is kind of outlandish, but I feel like there should be some sort of age limit because I don’t think children should be on the internet.”

    MIKAEL MAKONNEN, 18, a freshman at American University

    Nour Mahmoud, 21, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University, is shown on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Richmond, Va. The Associated Press spoke with teenagers and young adults about their experiences on social media and what they wish they had known when they first got online. (AP Photo/Almaz Abedje)

    Nour Mahmoud, 21, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University, is shown on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Almaz Abedje)

    “A lot of people make their life artificial so that they’re perceived in a certain way. And I think going into social media, I wish I knew it is a tool to learn from. There’s so much information, and you’re able to learn so much about different things. … I wish people had that outlook rather than the whole idea of other people viewing you and having to be seen a certain way.”

    NOUR MAHMOUD, 21, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University

    Madeleine Maestre, 18, a freshman at Santa Clara University, poses for photos in Santa Clara, Calif., Friday, May 3, 2024. The Associated Press spoke with teenagers and young adults about their experiences on social media and what they wish they had known when they first got online. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

    Madeleine Maestre, 18, a freshman at Santa Clara University, poses for photos in Santa Clara, Calif., Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

    It’s OK to put up boundaries and block someone

    “You can’t scroll on TikTok or look through Instagram without seeing supermodels who have edited their photos and are promoting unrealistic beauty standards. I don’t want to see these girls who pretend to be fitness influencers but are just promoting an eating disorder like “body checking” on my feed. That is one thing I wish I knew when I started: that it is OK to not want to look at that or want to consume it. It’s OK to protect yourself and your own body image. Another thing I wish I knew is that not everyone on social media is your friend. When you are young and impressionable and people are reaching out to you, just know that not everyone is as friendly as you think they are.”

    MADELEINE MAESTRE, 18, a freshman at Santa Clara University

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    Interviews by Almaz Abedje, Jocelyn Gecker and Barbara Ortutay

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  • Trump and Harris both support a bigger child tax credit. But which families should get it?

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Never before in a presidential election cycle has there been so much discussion of the child tax credit — a tool many Democrats and Republicans have endorsed as a way to lift children and young families out of poverty.

    Just three years ago, child poverty rates fell significantly when President Joe Biden’s administration raised the child tax credit and made even the poorest families eligible. But the expansion only lasted a year. Congress declined to renew it.

    There is hope for another increase in the tax credit, regardless of who wins Tuesday’s presidential election, but tension remains over who should qualify.

    Democrats seek a massive — and costly — expansion of the social safety net. Vice President Kamala Harris has pitched a major increase to the child tax credit as part of her presidential campaign. Rather than providing the benefit through a tax refund, she wants to send monthly payments to parents, even those who aren’t working and pay no income tax. Republicans have expressed support for increasing the tax credit but also concern that for some parents, it could become an incentive not to work.

    For all its economic prosperity, childhood poverty remains pervasive in the United States. Children under 5 are the age group most likely to encounter poverty and eviction, and more than one in six young people under 18 live below the federal poverty line. Meanwhile, it’s getting more expensive to raise a child, with the cost of groceries, child care and housing going up.

    “Expanding the child tax credit is the single most effective option on the table for reducing child poverty in America,” said Christy Gleason of Save the Children, a global humanitarian organization focused on the well-being of children. “Families are demanding it. Voters are demanding it.”

    Currently, the child tax credit gives families a $2,000 discount on their tax bill for every child under the age of 17 in their care. Families that pay less than $2,000 in income tax get a smaller benefit, and parents who are out of the workforce get none.

    Harris has made expanding the tax credit central to her campaign’s messaging on the economy. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has a resume that includes passing a state child tax credit.

    Former President Donald Trump doubled the amount of the child tax credit during his administration. His presidential campaign declined to provide specifics on his plans for the child tax credit except to say he would weigh significantly increasing it.

    Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, raised the possibility of increasing the child tax credit to $5,000 so that more parents can stay home with their children in an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation. But some Republicans have been leery about expanding it to parents who are not working outside the home.

    After voting down a child tax credit bill in August, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said for stay-at-home parents the benefit amounts to “cash welfare instead of relief for working taxpayers.”

    The stakes of that debate are high for parents who are unable to work because of a disability, or because they are caring for children or elderly parents. Many have been excluded from the benefit because they are not earning income.

    Kandice Beckford, 25, is among those. She was a medical assistant at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., last year when her pregnancy made her too sick to work, forcing her to quit.

    She was homeless even when she was earning a paycheck, bouncing between the homes of friends and relatives. When she left the hospital after giving birth in April, she still had no permanent place to stay. There was little she could do except connect with social service agencies — and pray.

    “I’m a godly woman, so I really tried to leave most of that in God’s hands,” Beckford said. “It was worrisome, but I tried not to let it overpower my life and my thinking.”

    Beckford’s story underscores the financial precarity many families — and single mothers in particular — face in raising children. If she doesn’t return to work this year, she won’t qualify for any benefit.

    The Harris proposal would make every household eligible regardless of income, providing $6,000 in benefits to families with newborns and $3,600 for each child after that. She wants to pay it out in monthly payments so families would not have to wait for a tax return. Harris plans to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans to pay for the plan, in part by allowing tax credits adopted under the Trump administration in 2017 to expire.

    As president, Trump doubled the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 and raised the income cap, allowing families earning up to $400,000 to receive the benefit. The child tax credit passed under his administration will expire at the end of next year. If the next Congress and president do not act, the credit will fall back to $1,000 a child.

    In 2021, as part of his American Rescue Plan, President Joe Biden expanded the credit to $3,000 per child — and $3,600 for children under the age of 6 — and made it available to every household with citizen children, regardless of their income. It cut child poverty in half by one measure. But those gains were erased when it expired.

    In September, Beckford finally got into a shelter for women and their children in Maryland and was connected with a social service agency that has helped her with many of the expenses a new baby brings, including a stroller and car seat, clothing and toys.

    When asked about her dreams for her daughter Inari, Beckford ticked off a list: She wants Inari to be smarter than her and to get “the best education there is to have.” Inari is already exceeding her development milestones, and Beckford is relishing in her growth.

    Her last wish was something that sounded basic, but has proven elusive for Beckford and so many other American mothers.

    “I want her to have a stable life,” Beckford said.

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    Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

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    The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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    This story has been corrected to note that Biden expanded the child tax credit in his American Rescue Plan, not the Inflation Reduction Act.

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  • Court approves Tupperware’s sale to lenders, paving way for brand’s exit from bankruptcy

    Court approves Tupperware’s sale to lenders, paving way for brand’s exit from bankruptcy

    NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a sale of Tupperware Brands on Tuesday, paving the way for the iconic food storage company to soon exit Chapter 11 protection and continue offering its products while undergoing a hoped-for revitalization.

    The sale given the court’s green light in Delaware still is subject to closing conditions. Under terms of the deal, a group of lenders is buying Tupperware’s brand name and various operating assets for $23.5 million in cash and more than $63 million in debt relief.

    Tupperware agreed to the lender takeover last week, pivoting from a previously planned asset auction. The brand said it expects to operate as The New Tupperware Co. upon completion of the deal.

    Going forward, customers in “global core markets” will be able to purchase Tupperware products online and through the brand’s decades-old network of independent sales consultants, but the new company is set to be “rebuilt with a start-up mentality,” Tupperware said.

    AP correspondent Lisa Dwyer reports a U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved a sale of Tupperware Brands.

    The specifics of how that will look are unclear. Tupperware did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ requests for further comment Tuesday.

    Tupperware once revolutionized food storage, with the brand’s roots dating back to a post-World War II mission of helping families save money on food waste with an airtight lid seal. The plastic kitchenware saw explosive growth in the mid-20th century, notably with the rise of direct sales through “Tupperware parties.”

    First held in 1948, the parties were promoted as a way for women in particular to earn supplemental income by selling the containers to friends and neighbors. The system worked so well that Tupperware eventually removed its products from stores.

    In the following decades, the Tupperware line expanded to include canisters, beakers, cake dishes and all manner of implements, and became a staple in kitchens across America and eventually abroad. But the brand struggled to keep up in more recent years.

    An outdated business model and rising competition contributed to some of the company’s challenges. When filing for bankruptcy last month, Florida-based Tupperware noted that consumers were shifting away from direct sales, which made up the vast majority of the brand’s sales, and increasingly favoring glass containers over plastic.

    While sales improved some during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when consumers cooked and ate at home more, Tupperware saw an overall steady decline over the years. Rubbermaid, OXO and even recycled takeout food containers snagged customers — as well as home storage lines at major retailers like Target, Walmart and Amazon.

    Financial troubles piled up in the meantime. In September’s bankruptcy petition, Tupperware reported more than $1.2 billion in debts and $679.5 million in assets.

    “This is a situation that was in urgent need of a vast global resolution,” Spencer Winters, an attorney representing Tupperware, said during a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing Tuesday. Winters called the sale agreement a “great outcome” that he said preserves Tupperware’s business, customer relationships and jobs.

    The sale agreements calls for Tupperware to become a privately held company under supportive ownership of the purchasing lender group, which includes investment firms Stonehill Capital Management and Alden Global Capital.

    Last week, Tupperware said the new company’s “initial focus” would be in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, South Korea, India and Malaysia, followed by European and additional Asian markets.

    Other closing conditions that must be met before the transaction is completed include an issue with a Swiss entity that still needs to be resolved, according to statements made in court Tuesday.

    _______

    AP Business Reporter Haleluya Hadero contributed to this report.

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    This story was first published on Oct. 29, 2024. It was updated on Oct. 31, 2024 to correct that Stonehill Capital Management and Alden Global Capital are investment firms, not hedge fund managers.

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  • Historic Jersey Shore amusement park closes after generations of family thrills

    Historic Jersey Shore amusement park closes after generations of family thrills

    OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — For generations of vacationers heading to Ocean City, the towering “Giant Wheel” was the first thing they saw from miles away.

    The sight of the 140-foot-tall (42-meter) ride let them know they were getting close to the Jersey Shore town that calls itself “America’s Greatest Family Resort,” with its promise of kid-friendly beaches, seagulls and sea shells, and a bustling boardwalk full of pizza, ice cream and cotton candy.

    And in the heart of it was Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, an amusement park that was the latest in nearly a century-long line of family-friendly amusement attractions operated by the family of Ocean City’s mayor.

    But the rides were to fall silent and still Sunday night, as the park run by Ocean City’s mayor and nurtured by generations of his ancestors, closed down, the victim of financial woes made worse by the lingering aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Superstorm Sandy.

    Gillian and his family have operated amusement rides and attractions on the Ocean City Boardwalk for 94 years. The latest iteration of the park, Wonderland, opened in 1965.

    “I tried my best to sustain Wonderland for as long as possible, through increasingly difficult challenges each year,” Mayor Jay Gillian wrote in August when he announced the park would close. “It’s been my life, my legacy and my family. But it’s no longer a viable business.”

    Gillian did not respond to numerous requests for comment over the past week.

    Sheryl Gross was at the park for its final day with her two children and five grandchildren, enjoying it one last time.

    “I’ve been coming here forever,” she said. “My daughter is 43 and I’ve been coming here since she was 2 years old in a stroller. Now I’m here with my grandchildren.”

    She remembers decades of bringing her family from Gloucester Township in the southern New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia to create happy family memories at Wonderland.

    “Just the excitement on their faces when they get on the rides,” she said. “It really made it feel family-friendly. A lot of that is going to be lost now.”

    There were long lines Sunday for the Giant Wheel, the log flume and other popular rides as people used the last of ride tickets many had bought earlier in the year, thinking Wonderland would go on forever.

    A local non-profit group, Friends of OCNJ History and Culture, is raising money to try and save the amusement park, possibly under a new owner who might be more amenable to buying it with some financial assistance. Bill Merritt, one of the non-profit’s leaders, said the group has raised over $1 million to help meet what could be a $20-million price tag for the property.

    “Ocean City will be fundamentally different without this attraction,” he said. “This town relies on being family-friendly. The park has rides targeted at kids; it’s called ‘Wonderland’ for a reason.”

    The property’s current owner, Icona Resorts, previously proposed a $150-million, 325-room luxury hotel elsewhere on Ocean City’s boardwalk, but the city rejected those plans.

    The company’s CEO, Eustace Mita, said earlier this year he would take at least until the end of the year to propose a use for the amusement park property.

    He bought it in 2021 after Gillian’s family was in danger of defaulting on bank loans for the property.

    At a community meeting last month, Gillian said Wonderland could not bounce back from Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the pandemic in 2020 and an increase in New Jersey’s minimum wage that doubled his payroll costs, leaving him $4 million in debt.

    Mita put up funds to stave off a sheriff’s sale of the property, and gave the mayor three years to turn the business around. That deadline expired this year.

    Mita did not respond to requests for comment.

    Merritt said he and others can’t imagine Ocean City without Wonderland.

    “You look at it with your heart, and you say ‘You’re losing all the cherished memories and all the history; how can you let that go?’” he said. “And then you look at it with your head and you say, ‘They are the reason this town is profitable; how can you let that go?’”

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  • Feeling like his old self again, Chris Godwin is flourishing in Tampa Bay’s offense

    Feeling like his old self again, Chris Godwin is flourishing in Tampa Bay’s offense

    TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Chris Godwin is back, even if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver who’s a model of consistency never actually went away.

    But nearly three years removed from a serious knee injury he feels is finally behind him, the longtime sidekick of Mike Evans is flourishing like never before.

    Entering play Sunday, Godwin led the NFL in receptions (43), ranked third in receiving yards (511) and was tied for the league lead in touchdown receptions (five) with Evans, Ja’Marr Chase, George Kittle and Allen Lazard.

    The Bucs (4-2), coming off a 51-point outburst against New Orleans in which Godwin had 11 catches for 125 yards and two TDs, host the Baltimore Ravens (4-2) on Monday night.

    Godwin’s strong start has followed an offseason in which he grieved the death of his father while also preparing for a move to slot receiver on the field, a role he filled earlier in his career.

    The position change has also helped the Bucs’ rejuvenated running game, which is benefitting from Godwin being an excellent blocker.

    “I think what I learned over the last four or five years, I’m really comfortable there. … It allows me to be involved in other ways instead of just catching the ball,” Godwin said.

    A third-round draft pick of the Bucs in 2017, Godwin is a four-time 1,000-yard receiver whose accomplishments are sometimes overshadowed by the remarkable consistency of Evans, the only receiver in NFL history to begin a career with 10 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

    Godwin was closing in on 100 receptions in December 2021, when a severe knee injury ended his season with 98 catches for 1,103 yards.

    And although he recovered well enough to catch 104 passes in 2022 and top 1,000 yards each of the past two seasons, it took Godwin until this year to begin feeling like he’s truly back.

    “I mean, he’s helping as much in the run game as he is in the pass game. … His (performance) speaks for itself,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said, reflecting on Tampa Bay rushing for 277 of the franchise-record 594 yards the Bucs gained at New Orleans.

    On one of his two touchdowns against the Saints, Godwin took a short reception from Baker Mayfield, broke two tackles and turned it into a 55-yard scoring play.

    Entering Sunday, Godwin led the NFL in yards after catch with 335, including 105 of the 125 yards receiving he had at New Orleans.

    “He’s healthy, he’s competitive, he’s out there having fun. He’s running, he’s catching, he’s blocking,” Bowles said. “You’ve seen the best of what Chris Godwin has right now.”

    Baltimore, which has won four straight following an 0-2 start, has the NFL’s top-ranked run defense. The Ravens are 31st against the pass and will be tested by Evans and Godwin, who coach John Harbaugh said pose “tremendous matchup problems.”

    “You single (Evans) up, he’s a problem. And then you have (Godwin) in the slot — if you single him up, he’s a problem,” Harbaugh said. “They’re both catch-and-run players; they’re both contested-catch players.”

    With Mayfield also off to a strong start in first-year offensive coordinator’s Liam Coen’s system, the Bucs have a top 10 offense and are averaging 29.7 points per game.

    One of the keys has been getting playmakers other than Godwin and Evans involved. Rookie Bucky Irving is the team’s leading rusher, and second-year pro Sean Tucker figures to get more playing time against the Ravens after scoring twice and accumulating 192 yards from scrimmage last week.

    “It’s one thing when a guy is going off because you feed the hot hand, right? But, if we’re able to spread the ball around, everybody gets involved,” Godwin said.

    “And then as the game progresses, you have so much more at your disposal than just the handful of plays that were working early on,” the receiver added. “So, when a team makes adjustments, now you have answers for it.”

    Just don’t ever expect the Bucs to forget Godwin is one of the answers.

    “Chris is a reliable guy,” said Mayfield, who marvels at the consistency of both Godwin and Evans, Tampa Bay’s career receiving and scoring leader.

    “It’s how smart he is, understanding the defense and the coverages, understanding what we’re trying to get done within our own concepts, and (he’s) a guy that is all about winning,” Mayfield said. “He’s playing really well, feels good (and) we have to keep him going.”

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  • Marriott agrees to pay $52 million, beef up data security to resolve probes over data breaches

    Marriott agrees to pay $52 million, beef up data security to resolve probes over data breaches

    Marriott International has agreed to pay $52 million and make changes to bolster its data security to resolve state and federal claims related to major data breaches that affected more than 300 million of its customers worldwide.

    The Federal Trade Commission and a group of attorneys general from 49 states and the District of Columbia announced the terms of separate settlements with Marriott on Wednesday. The FTC and the states ran parallel investigations into three data breaches, which took place between 2014 and 2020.

    As a result of the data breaches, “malicious actors” obtained the passport information, payment card numbers, loyalty numbers, dates of birth, email addresses and/or personal information from hundreds of millions of consumers, according to the FTC’s proposed complaint.

    The FTC claimed that Marriott and subsidiary Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s poor data security practices led to the breaches.

    Specifically, the agency alleged that the hotel operator failed to secure its computer system with appropriate password controls, network monitoring or other practices to safeguard data.

    As part of its proposed settlement with the FTC, Marriott agreed to “implement a robust information security program” and provide all of its U.S. customers with a way to request that any personal information associated with their email address or loyalty rewards account number be deleted.

    Marriott also settled similar claims brought by the group of attorneys general. In addition to agreeing to strengthen its data security practices, the hotel operator also will pay $52 million penalty to be split by the states.

    In a statement on its website Wednesday, Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott noted that it made no admission of liability as part of its agreements with the FTC and states. It also said it has already put in place data privacy and information security enhancements.

    In early 2020, Marriott noticed that an unexpected amount of guest information was accessed using login credentials of two employees at a franchised property. At the time, the company estimated that the personal data of about 5.2. million guests worldwide might have been affected.

    In November 2018, Marriott announced a massive data breach in which hackers accessed information on as many as 383 million guests. In that case, Marriott said unencrypted passport numbers for at least 5.25 million guests were accessed, as well as credit card information for 8.6 million guests. The affected hotel brands were operated by Starwood before it was acquired by Marriott in 2016.

    The FBI led the investigation of that data theft, and investigators suspected the hackers were working on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security, the rough equivalent of the CIA.

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  • Derrick Henry goes 87 yards for the longest touchdown run in Baltimore Ravens history

    Derrick Henry goes 87 yards for the longest touchdown run in Baltimore Ravens history

    BALTIMORE (AP) — Derrick Henry needed one play to make Baltimore Ravens history in prime time against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.

    Henry took their first offensive snap 87 yards to the end zone for the longest touchdown run in franchise history. The veteran running back now has five TDs in four games since joining Baltimore.

    It was the former Tennessee Titans running back’s third career rushing touchdown of 80 yards or more. Only Chris Johnson with six and Adrian Peterson with five have more.

    The 247-pound Henry reached 21.29 mph on the run, according to NFL NextGen Stats. That ties the fourth-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season.

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  • Cardinals rebuild goes backward in a humbling 42-14 loss to the Commanders

    Cardinals rebuild goes backward in a humbling 42-14 loss to the Commanders

    GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray only had a few moments to look downfield early in the third quarter before he was mauled by Washington’s Bobby Wagner and Daron Payne, taking another sack during a miserable day for the Arizona Cardinals.

    One ineffective play later, the quarterback trudged off the field as boos rained down from the home crowd.

    Arizona’s rebuild took a step backward in a demoralizing 42-14 loss to the Commanders on Sunday. The Cardinals (1-3) jumped to an early 7-0 lead, but were outplayed in virtually every facet for the next 3 1/2 quarters.

    “Something’s got to change,” Murray said. “We weren’t good enough today. They exploited our weaknesses, we didn’t play complimentary football. Every phase of the game, we’ve got to be better. That wasn’t the type of football we want to play.”

    Murray connected with rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 2-yard touchdown on the opening drive, but Washington responded with two straight touchdowns and Arizona wasn’t able to answer before it was too late.

    One reason the Cardinals’ offense stalled was that Harrison basically disappeared for the second and third quarters. He finished with five catches for 45 yards.

    “We’ve got to get our best players the ball,” Murray said. “When we’re doing good, you feel that.”

    Murray completed 16 of 22 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. James Conner had a 6-yard touchdown run to cut the Commanders’ lead to 27-14 late in the third quarter, which briefly made things competitive, but the Commanders responded with another touchdown drive, capped by a 10-yard throw from rookie Jayden Daniels to Terry McLaurin.

    Arizona’s defense had few answers to stop Daniels, the rookie who has dazzled the NFL through four games. He completed 26 of 30 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown, and also ran 9 yards for a touchdown.

    The Commanders ran for 216 yards, controlling the line of scrimmage from the outset.

    “We haven’t done a good enough job stopping the run,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. “We’re playing behind the 8-ball on defense all day and it’s a hard way to go. Give those guys credit, that’s a good offense. They’re well coached and made a bunch of plays.”

    Gannon is in the second season leading the Cardinals’ rebuild and this was one of the first true stinkers of his tenure. Even after losing games to the Bills and Lions over the first three weeks, players and coaches were generally excited about how they competed against two of the NFL’s better teams.

    There weren’t very many silver linings to take from Sunday.

    “That was the first time we’ve been beat like that,” Gannon said. “If you keep doing the same thing, you’re asking for the same result. We’re very process driven and I trust our process, but everyone’s going to have to take a good, hard look, point the thumb at themselves, starting with me, and we’ve got to make some adjustments.”

    The Cardinals have a 4-8 record since Murray — a two-time Pro Bowl selection — returned from a knee injury in the middle of last season.

    “It’s one game, the season’s not over,” Murray said. “We’ve just got to look in the mirror and get better. That’s what it comes down to because nobody’s panicking. We just got beat.”

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  • Capitals go into camp without T.J. Oshie and with a revamped roster around Alex Ovechkin

    Capitals go into camp without T.J. Oshie and with a revamped roster around Alex Ovechkin

    ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Tom Wilson looked around on the bench during an informal pre-training camp skate this week and saw a lot of unfamiliar faces.

    “I felt like the new guy,” Wilson said.

    More than a decade into his NHL career with the Washington Capitals, he’s actually one of the longest-tenured members of the organization and along with Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson the only players remaining from 2018 when they won the Stanley Cup.

    With T.J. Oshie now out with the same sort of chronic injury that sidelined Nicklas Backstrom nearly a year ago and after an offseason of roster turnover, the Capitals opened camp Thursday looking like a much different team than the one that squeaked into the playoffs and got swept in the first round.

    “You want to have a solid team to be able to make the playoffs and try to win the Stanley Cup,” Ovechkin said two days after turning 39 and three weeks away from his 20th season in North America. “The last few years we improve ourselves, but it was not enough, and I think everybody understand we need experienced guys who want to be part of it and I think they did a pretty good job.”

    Ovechkin goes into the season 42 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career record. The goal is to win while also helping the longtime captain and face of the franchise make hockey history.

    Enter center Pierre-Luc Dubois, winger Andrew Mangiapane, defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goaltender Logan Thompson acquired by trade and forwards Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh and defenseman Matt Roy signed in free agency.

    “It’s something I haven’t done in my career,” Carlson said. “There hasn’t been this much turnover, I don’t think — not even close — so, from that standpoint it’s great. It’s great to take on new challenges. I think we’re a lot better team after the changes.”

    And they may not be done. Back with Washington is Jakub Vrana, who was part of the Cup run six years ago and has since been traded, waived, gone through the player assistance program and sent to the minors and is in camp on a professional tryout agreement.

    “Washington is always going to be in my heart, and I always wanted to play here,” Vrana said. “This chance means a lot to me, things happen over the past few years, but that’s already put that behind me and I’m ready to see this as an opportunity to bounce back.”

    If Vrana makes the team, he could help fill the void left by Oshie’s absence, which has been expected since the spring when the 37-year-old winger said he’d only continue playing if he and doctors could find a permanent solution to back problems that kept knocking him out of the lineup. Oshie is expected to start the season on long-term injured reserve, and it would take a drastic turn of events for him to play another NHL game.

    “He has to look in the mirror and do what’s right for his health and his family,” Wilson said. “It’s been a battle for him the last couple years. … He’s been grinding. He’s been putting in a ton of work, flying all over the place, rehabbing a ton. His day to day has been a lot harder than the rest of the guys. He’s a true warrior.”

    Fourth-line center Nic Dowd noticed it’s quieter around the rink without Oshie, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t good energy around the Capitals, especially given all the additions.

    “Mentally, I’m really excited about what we’ve done with our team,” Dowd said. “It’s something to say like, OK good, we’re moving forward with trying to get better and we’re not just staying stagnant expecting different results with the same thing.”

    Still yet to get to camp is Swedish defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who new general manager Chris Patrick said was having visa issues.

    “It’s just trying to figure out what’s going on and getting this approved,” second-year coach Spencer Carbery said. “If you know someone in the U.S. government, please share because we don’t have any type of update.”

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    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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  • Gaming wins Del Mar Futurity, giving Bob Baffert his 18th career victory in the race for 2-year-olds

    Gaming wins Del Mar Futurity, giving Bob Baffert his 18th career victory in the race for 2-year-olds

    DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Gaming won the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity by 1 3/4 lengths on Sunday, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his 18th career victory in the Grade 1 race for 2-year-olds.

    Ridden by Flavien Prat, Gaming ran seven furlongs in 1:23.02 and paid $9.80 to win. The colt earned a credit toward entry fees for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at the same seaside track north of San Diego in November.

    “He relaxed well; he was a bit on his toes before the race so I kept him quiet,” Prat said. “Very straightforward, and leveled out nice. Bob just told me not to rush him and I thought I was in a good spot on my way around the corner.”

    Gaming improved to 2-0 in his young career, with earnings of $225,000.

    McKinzie Street was second and Citizen Bull, also trained by Baffert, finished third. The trainer’s third entry, Getaway Car, was fourth in the field of seven.

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    AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

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  • Democratic primary for governor highlights Tuesday’s elections in Delaware

    Democratic primary for governor highlights Tuesday’s elections in Delaware

    DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Democratic gubernatorial contest pitting Delaware’s lieutenant governor against the chief executive of the state’s largest county is the marquee race in Tuesday’s primary elections.

    Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who has held public office since winning a state House seat in 2002, is hoping to overcome a campaign finance scandal and succeed Democrat John Carney as governor.

    Hall-Long has been endorsed by Carney and Delaware’s Democrat Party establishment. But the two-term lieutenant governor is facing a tough primary challenge from New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. Former state environmental secretary Collin O’Mara also is seeking the Democratic nomination, but he has been overshadowed by the other two candidates.

    Meyer has raised substantially more money than Hall-Long this year, and his current campaign balance is about seven times higher than hers.

    Hall-Long reported raising about $582,000 this year, including roughly $52,200 in the three-week reporting period that ended Tuesday. She reported spending $1.18 million, including $182,000 in the three-week period.

    Meyer has raised about $1 million this year, including about $200,000 in the past three weeks. He has spent about $2.1 million, including roughly $1.2 million in the three-week sprint toward Tuesday’s primary.

    On the Republican side, House Minority Leader Michael Ramone is favored to win a three-way GOP primary for governor.

    Meanwhile, Carney, who is prohibited by law from seeking a third term as governor, has taken a step down on the political ladder and is eyeing the Democratic nomination for mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city. His opponent is former Wilmington city treasurer Velda Jones-Potter, who was also appointed to a two-year stint as state treasurer after then-treasurer Jack Markell defeated Carney in a 2008 primary and was elected governor.

    As of Friday, more than 24,000 Delawareans, including more than 17,500 Democrats, had already cast their votes in the primary, either by absentee ballot or in-person early voting at designated sites in each county.

    Other races of note on Tuesday include three-way Democratic primaries to succeed Hall-Long as lieutenant governor and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester as Delaware’s lone representative in the U.S. House. Rochester is seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by fellow Democrat Tom Carper, who endorsed her in announcing his retirement last year.

    Elsewhere, former state auditor Kathleen McGuiness is in a three-way Democratic primary for a state House seat held by retiring former speaker Pete Schwartzkopf. Schwartzkopf, a longtime McGuiness ally, has endorsed her to succeed him in representing the Rehoboth Beach area.

    McGuiness was convicted in 2022 on misdemeanor charges of conflict of interest, official misconduct and noncompliance with state procurement rules. A jury acquitted her on felony charges of theft and witness intimidation.

    After the trial, the judge threw out the procurement conviction. Delaware’s Supreme Court later vacated the official misconduct conviction but upheld the conflict-of-interest verdict, which involved the hiring of McGuiness’ daughter as a part-time employee in the auditor’s office.

    The trial marked the first time in Delaware history that a sitting statewide elected official was convicted on criminal charges, but the misdemeanor conviction does not prohibit McGuiness from holding public office.

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    McGuiness was prosecuted by Attorney General Kathleen Jennings, a fellow Democrat. In contrast, Jennings has refused to prosecute Hall-Long for campaign finance violations that led several top staffers to abandon her campaign and prompted election officials to commission a forensic audit.

    The audit found that during seven years as campaign treasurer for his wife, Dana Long wrote 112 checks to himself or cash, and one to his wife. The checks totaled just under $300,000 and should have been reported as campaign expenditures. Instead, 109 were not disclosed in finance reports, and the other four, payable to Dana Long, were reported as being written to someone else.

    The audit also found that Hall-Long and her husband had received payments totaling $33,000 more than what she purportedly loaned her campaign over several years, while not disclosing those loans on campaign finance reports.

    Hall-Long has disputed the audit’s findings and described the reporting violations as simple bookkeeping mistakes.

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  • Stakeholder in Trump’s Truth Social parent company wins court ruling over share transfer

    Stakeholder in Trump’s Truth Social parent company wins court ruling over share transfer

    DOVER, Del. (AP) — A federal judge in Delaware has ruled in favor of a firm seeking assurance that it will be able to sell its minority stake in the parent company of former president Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform.

    The judge on Friday granted summary judgment to Florida-based United Atlantic Ventures LLC in a lawsuit filed against Minnesota-based Odyssey Transfer and Trust Co., a business that handles securities transfers among registered shareholders.

    UAV is owned by Andrew Litinsky and Wesley Moss, former contestants on Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice” who also helped facilitate a merger that took Trump Media public in March.

    Since then, UAV and Trump Media have been battling in courts in both Delaware and Florida over UAV’s stake in the company. Attorneys for Trump Media assured a state judge in Delaware earlier this year that UAV was entitled to an 8.6% stake and would suffer no merger-related dilution. They now contend, however, that UAV is not entitled to its shares because of pre-merger mismanagement by Litinsky and Moss.

    Friday’s ruling involves UAV’s concerns that it will not receive its Trump Media shares, currently valued at about $350 million, from Odyssey when a post-merger lockup period expires Sept. 19. According to court filings, Odyssey told UAV earlier this year that it would be taking direction from TMTG and its lawyers.

    Image

    After Odyssey filed a lawsuit, the parties appeared to have reached a resolution, with Odyssey saying it would remove transfer restrictions on the share after the lockup period expires “without preference to any TMTG shareholder.” After seeking approval from Trump Media, however, Odyssey tried to change that language to “on the same basis as other similarly situated TMTG shareholders.”

    Trump holds about 115 million TMTG shares, or roughly 60% of the company’s outstanding shares.

    U.S. District Judge Gregory Williams questioned Odyssey’s conduct, noting that it claimed the language change was “immaterial,” while allowing it to scuttle settlement negotiations.

    “Even outside settlement negotiations, Odyssey’s conduct has been elusive,” Williams wrote.

    Williams ordered that when Odyssey is notified by TMTG of the expiration of the lockup provisions, it must promptly notify UAV, remove transfer restrictions on all shares and not interfere with the delivery of the shares.

    TMTG’s share price hit a high of $79.38 on its first day of trading but is now hovering around $17, closing Friday at $17.10.

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  • Maryland will participate in the IRS’s online tax filing program

    Maryland will participate in the IRS’s online tax filing program

    ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland is participating in the IRS’s Direct File program, a new free service that will allow eligible taxpayers to prepare and file their tax return online, state and federal officials announced Wednesday.

    Comptroller Brooke Lierman said the eligibility qualifications for the program have not yet been finalized for next year, but it’s estimated about 700,000 state residents could qualify.

    The IRS experimented with the free electronic tax filing return system this year. In May, the it announced it would make the system permanent and asked all 50 states and the District of Columbia to help taxpayers file their returns through the program in 2025.

    The IRS tried the Direct File project for the 2024 tax season on a limited basis in 12 states for people with very simple W-2s, an employee’s wage and tax statement.

    The comptroller’s office is partnering with the nonprofit Code for America to build a platform that will securely transfer information from a federal tax return to a state tax return. The office says that will enable Maryland residents with relatively simple tax returns to save time on paperwork and get their refunds faster.

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  • After millions lose access to internet subsidy, FCC moves to fill connectivity gaps

    After millions lose access to internet subsidy, FCC moves to fill connectivity gaps

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Biden administration is moving to blunt the loss of an expired broadband subsidy program that helped more than 23 million families afford internet access by using money from an existing program that helps libraries and schools provide WiFi hotspots to students and patrons.

    Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, told The Associated Press last week that the agency had voted in July to “modernize” a federal program known as E-Rate to fill at least some of the gaps left by the Affordable Connectivity Program, which gave families with limited income a monthly subsidy to pay for high-speed internet.

    “A lot of those households are at risk of disconnection,” Rosenworcel said after a visit to a Los Angeles elementary school. “We should be clear that it’s not always an on-off switch. It’s about sustainability.”

    The Affordable Connectivity Program, part of a broader effort pushed by the administration to bring affordable internet to every home and business in the country, was not renewed by Congress and ran out of funding earlier this year.

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    Mothers of students at Union Avenue Elementary School, which has a 93% Latino student population, told Rosenworcel that their need for the internet has never been greater. They said the cost of rent and food makes it hard to prioritize maintaining a continuous connection.

    After listening to the mothers describe using WiFi in a McDonald’s parking lot so they can take part in remote doctor’s appointments, pay bills, and provide their kids with an internet connection for their online homework, an emotional Rosenworcel called their stories “chilling.”

    “That family and that child are going to have a harder time thriving in the modern world without that connection at home,” she said.

    The E-Rate program, established in the 1990s, has provided more than $7 billion in discounts for eligible schools and libraries since 2022 to afford broadband products and services. According to a data analysis by the AP, it offered benefits to more than 12,500 libraries, nearly half of them in rural areas, and 106,000 schools.

    For the most recent round of funding, the E-Rate program was expanded to include WiFi on school buses. Starting next year, Rosenworcel said, the list of eligible products will expand to WiFi hotspots.

    The Affordable Connectivity Program was helping one in six families in the U.S. afford internet access. Rosenworcel said the decision to include WiFi hotspots in E-Rate was partly a response to the failure to extend the subsidies.

    “Every child needs internet access at home to really thrive,” Rosenworcel said.

    Alex Houff, who manages digital equity programs for the Baltimore County Public Library in Maryland, said the library began a WiFi hotspot lending program right before the COVID-19 lockdown began in 2020 with around 50 devices. She said the program has grown to include 1,000 devices, which still falls short of meeting demand. There are more than 160 people waiting to use a hotspot, Houff said.

    “Most of the time we were hearing from branches that their communities were borrowing these hotspots because it was their only source of connectivity,” Houff said.

    Affordability, Houff said, is the biggest barrier to connection. She said the library system would apply for E-Rate funding to double the number of hotspots it offers to patrons.

    The expansion of the program has not pleased everyone. The two Republicans sitting on the commission argued that E-Rate was meant to bolster and support internet access within the classroom, not at home or other places where students “might want to learn.”

    “The last I checked, schools, which have classrooms, and libraries, are physical locations with addresses; not philosophical, conceptual ideas of instruction or education,” Republican commissioner Nathan Simington said in a statement after the vote.

    Rosenworcel, who took over as chair of the FCC after President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 election, said the Republican members’ characterization of where the program ought to be applied was too restrictive.

    After the FCC voted to expand WiFi hotspots to school buses, a group of Republican senators endorsed a lawsuit challenging the agency’s decision. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who led the group of senators, said in a news release that the commission’s new rule was an overreach that would “harm children by enabling their unsupervised access to the internet.”

    Disagreements between political parties aren’t the only threat to E-Rate. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals — the same one where Sen. Cruz filed an amicus brief about WiFi on school buses — ruled at the end of July that the funding mechanism that supports E-Rate and other FCC-administered internet access programs, known as the Universal Service Fund, is unlawful.

    “There is a big cloud of uncertainty over the future of the Universal Service Fund right now because of this Fifth Circuit decision,” John Windhausen, the executive director of the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition. “It’s a horrible decision, and it’s totally out of line with past Supreme Court precedent and totally out of line with other appeals courts that have ruled in just the opposite way.”

    Further litigation is expected. The case could be taken up by the Supreme Court, Windhausen said.

    Chairwoman Rosenworcel said she’s confident in the integrity of the Universal Service Fund, saying the Fifth Circuit’s decision is “misguided and wrong.”

    “It’s done a lot of good for the United States to make sure, no matter who you are or where you live, you get access to modern communications,” Rosenworcel said.

    Rosenworcel said the FCC could mobilize quickly if Congress would simply renew the Affordable Connectivity Program, which might be the easiest way to address the need.

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  • Kroger and Albertsons defend merger plan in federal court against US regulators’ objections

    Kroger and Albertsons defend merger plan in federal court against US regulators’ objections

    PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Supermarket chain Albertsons told a federal judge Monday that it might have to lay off workers, close stores and even exit some markets if its planned merger with Kroger isn’t allowed to proceed.

    The two companies proposed what would be the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history in October 2022. But the Federal Trade Commission sued to prevent the $24.6 billion deal, alleging it would eliminate competition and raise grocery prices in a time of already high food price inflation.

    In the three-week hearing that opened Monday, the FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction that would block the merger while its complaint goes before an in-house administrative law judge.

    “This lawsuit is part of an effort aimed at helping Americans feed their families,” the FTC’s chief trial counsel, Susan Musser, said in her opening arguments on Monday.

    Musser said Kroger and Albertsons currently compete in 22 states, closely matching each other on price, quality, private label products and services like store pickup. Shoppers benefit from that competition, she said, and will lose those benefits if the merger is allowed to proceed.

    Customers also are wary of the merger, the lawyer said. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, for example, 278 shoppers wrote to the FTC to express their concerns about a combined Kroger and Albertsons, which would own five of the city’s eight supermarkets.

    But Kroger and Albertsons insist the FTC’s objections don’t take into account the rising competition in the grocery sector. Walmart’s grocery sales totaled $247 billion last year compared to $63 billion in 2003, for example; Costco’s sales have grown more than 400% in the same period.

    “Consumers are blurring the line of where they buy groceries,” Albertsons attorney Enu Mainigi said.

    Mainigi said Albertsons’ customers now spend 88 cents of every dollar at competitors that range from Aldi and Trader Joe’s to Dollar General. Albertsons can’t compete with larger rivals that have national scale, but joining forces with Kroger would help it do that, she said.

    Kroger attorney Matthew Wolf also defended the proposed merger.

    “The savings that come from the merger are obvious and intuitive. Kroger may have the best price on Pepsi. Albertsons may have the best price on Coke. Put them together, they have the best price on both,” Wolf said.

    The two sides also disagree on Kroger and Albertsons’ plan to sell 579 stores in places where their stores overlap. The buyer would be C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire-based supplier to independent supermarkets that also owns the Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly store brands.

    The FTC says C&S is ill-prepared to take on those stores. Laura Hall, the FTC’s senior trial counsel, cited internal documents that indicated C&S executives were skeptical about the quality of the stores they would get and may want the option to sell or close them.

    But Wolf said C&S has the experience and infrastructure to run the divested stores and would be the eighth-largest supermarket company in the U.S., if the merger plan goes through.

    The commission also alleges that workers’ wages and benefits would decline if Kroger and Albertsons no longer compete with each other.

    Before the hearing, several members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International union gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland to speak out against the proposed deal.

    “Enough is enough,” said Carol McMillian, a bakery manager at a Kroger-owned grocery store in Colorado. “We can no longer stand by and allow corporate greed that puts profit before people. Our workers, our communities and our customers deserve better.”

    The labor union also expressed concern that potential store closures could create so-called food and pharmacy “deserts” for consumers.

    For people in many communities across the U.S., when a grocery store shutters, “their only source of food actually is walking to the nearest gas station,” said Kim Cordova, the president of UFCW Local 7, which represents over 23,000 members in Colorado and Wyoming.

    Mainigi argued the deal could actually bolster union jobs, since many of Kroger’s and Albertsons’ competitors, like Walmart or Costco, have few unionized workers.

    U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson is expected to hear from around 40 witnesses, including the CEOs of Kroger and Albertsons, before deciding whether to issue the preliminary injunction. If she does decide to temporarily block the merger, the FTC’s in-house hearings are scheduled to begin Oct. 1.

    But Nelson’s decision will seal the merger’s fate, according to Wolf. He said the FTC’s in-house administrative process is so long and cumbersome that merger deals almost always fall apart before it’s through. Earlier this month, Kroger sued the FTC, alleging the agency’s internal proceedings were unconstitutional and saying it wants the merger’s merits decided in federal court.

    The attorneys general of Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming all joined the case on the FTC’s side. Washington and Colorado filed separate cases in state courts seeking to block the merger.

    Kroger, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, operates 2,800 stores in 35 states, including brands like Ralphs, Smith’s and Harris Teeter. Albertsons, based in Boise, Idaho, operates 2,273 stores in 34 states, including brands like Safeway, Jewel Osco and Shaw’s. Together, the companies employ around 710,000 people.

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  • Hunter Biden was hired by Romanian businessman trying to ‘influence’ US agencies, prosecutors say

    Hunter Biden was hired by Romanian businessman trying to ‘influence’ US agencies, prosecutors say

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden was hired by a Romanian businessman accused of corruption who was trying to “influence U.S. government policy” during Joe Biden’s term as vice president, prosecutors said in court papers Wednesday.

    Special counsel David Weiss’ team said Hunter Biden’s business associate will testify at the upcoming federal tax trial of the president’s son about the arrangement with the executive, Gabriel Popoviciu, who was facing criminal investigation at the time in Romania.

    The allegations are likely to bring a fresh wave of criticism of Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, which have been the center of Republicans’ investigations into the president’s family. Hunter Biden has blasted Republican inquiries into his family’s business affairs as politically motivated, and has insisted he never involved his father in his business.

    An attorney for Hunter Biden didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

    Prosecutors plan to introduce evidence that Hunter Biden and his business associate “received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion,” according to the filing. Popoviciu wanted U.S. government agencies to probe the Romanian bribery investigation he was facing in the hopes that would end his legal trouble, according to prosecutors.

    Popoviciu is identified only in court papers as G.P., but the details line up with information released in the congressional investigation and media reporting about Hunter Biden’s legal work in Romania.

    Popoviciu was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017 after being convicted of real estate fraud. He denied any wrongdoing. An attorney who previously represented Popoviciu didn’t immediately respond to a phone message Wednesday.

    Prosecutors say Hunter Biden agreed with his business associate to help Popoviciu fight the criminal charges against him. But prosecutors say they were concerned that “lobbying work might cause political ramifications” for Joe Biden, so the arrangement was structured in a way that “concealed the true nature of the work” for Popoviciu, prosecutors allege.

    Hunter Biden’s business associate and Popoviciu signed an agreement to make it look like Popoviciu’s payments were for “management services to real estate prosperities in Romania.” However, prosecutors said, “That was not actually what G.P. was paying for.”

    In fact, Popoviciu and Hunter’s business associate agreed that they would be paid for their work to “attempt to influence U.S. government agencies to investigate the Romanian investigation,” prosecutors said. Hunter Biden’s business associate was paid more than $3 million, which was split with Hunter and another business partner, prosecutors say.

    The claims were made in court papers as prosecutors responded to a request by Hunter Biden’s legal team to bar from his upcoming trial any reference to allegations of improper political influence that have dogged the president’s son for years. While Republicans’ investigation has raised ethical questions, no evidence has emerged that the president acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or his previous office as vice president.

    Hunter Biden’s lawyers have said in court papers that he has been “the target of politically motivated attacks and conspiracy theories” about his foreign business dealings. But they noted he “has never been charged with any crime relating to these unfounded allegations, and the Special Counsel should thus be precluded from even raising such issues at trial.”

    Hunter Biden’s trial set to begin next month in Los Angeles centers on charges that he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years during a period in which he has acknowledged struggling with a drug addiction.

    Prosecutors say they won’t introduce any evidence that Hunter Biden was directly paid by a foreign government “or evidence that the defendant received compensation for actions taken by his father that impacted national or international politics.”

    Still, prosecutors say what Hunter Biden agreed to do for Popoviciu is relevant at trial because it “demonstrates his state and mind and intent” during the years he’s accused of failing to pay his taxes.

    “It is also evidence that the defendant’s actions do not reflect someone with a diminished capacity, given that he agreed to attempt to influence U.S. public policy and receive millions of dollars” in the agreement with his business associate, prosecutors wrote.

    The tax trial comes months after Hunter Biden was convicted of three felony charges over the purchase of a gun in 2018. Prosecutors argued that the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

    He could face up to 25 years in prison at sentencing set for Nov. 13 in Wilmington, Delaware, but as a first-time offender he is likely to get far less time or avoid prison entirely.

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