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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. (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. (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. (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. (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. (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. (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. (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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October 20, 2025
Trump makes false claims about federal response as he campaigns in area ravaged by Hurricane Helene

VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Donald Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia.

The former president and Republican nominee claimed upon landing in Valdosta that President Joe Biden was “sleeping” and not responding to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who he said was “calling the president and hasn’t been able to get him.” He repeated the claim at an event with reporters after being told Kemp said he had spoken to Biden.

“He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying,” Biden said Monday.

The White House previously announced that Biden spoke by phone Sunday night with Kemp and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, as well as Scott Matheson, mayor of Valdosta, Georgia, and Florida Emergency Management Director John Louk. Kemp confirmed Monday morning that he spoke to Biden the night before.

“The president just called me yesterday afternoon and I missed him and called him right back and he just said ‘Hey, what do you need?’ And I told him, you know, we’ve got what we need, we’ll work through the federal process,” Kemp said. “He offered if there are other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.”

In addition to being humanitarian crises, natural disasters can create political tests for elected officials, particularly in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign in which among the hardest-hit states were North Carolina and Georgia, two battlegrounds. Trump over the last several days has used the damage wrought by Helene to attack Harris, the Democratic nominee, and suggest she and Biden are playing politics with the storm — something he was accused of doing when president.

Biden is defiant about spending time at his beach house

While the White House highlighted Biden’s call to Kemp and others, the president faced questions about his decision to spend the weekend at his beach house in Delaware, rather than the White House, to monitor the storm.

“I was commanding it,” Biden told reporters after delivering remarks at the White House on the federal government’s response. “I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I commanded it. It’s called a telephone.”

AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports Donald Trump is touring Hurricane Helene’s damage in Georgia, while blasting the Biden administration’s response to the deadly storm.

Biden received frequent updates on the storm, the White House said, as did Harris aboard Air Force Two as she made a West Coast campaign swing. The vice president cut short her campaign trip Monday to return to Washington for a briefing from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Trump, writing on his social media platform Monday, also claimed without evidence that the federal government and North Carolina’s Democratic governor were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” Asheville, which was devastated by the storm, is solidly Democratic, as is much of Buncombe County, which surrounds it.

The death toll from Helene has surpassed 100 people, with some of the worst damage caused by inland flooding in North Carolina.

Biden said he will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday to get a first-hand look at the devastation, but will limit his footprint so as not to distract from the ongoing recovery efforts.

During remarks Monday at FEMA headquarters, Harris said she has received regular briefings on the disaster response, including from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, and has spoken with Kemp and Cooper in the last 24 hours.

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“I have shared with them that we will do everything in our power to help communities respond and recover,” she said. “And I’ve shared with them that I plan to be on the ground as soon as possible without disrupting any emergency response operations.”

When asked if her visit was politicizing the storm, she frowned and shook her head but did not reply.

Trump partnered with a Christian charity to bring supplies

The Trump campaign partnered with the Christian humanitarian aid organization Samaritan’s Purse to bring trucks of fuel, food, water and other critical supplies to Georgia, said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary.

Leavitt did not immediately respond to questions about how much had been donated and from which entity. Samaritan’s Purse also declined to address the matter in a statement.

Trump also launched a GoFundMe campaign for supporters to send financial aid to people impacted by the storm. It quickly passed its $1 million goal Monday night.

“Our hearts are with you and we are going to be with you as long as you need it,” Trump said, flanked by a group of elected officials and Republican supporters.

“We’re not talking about politics now,” Trump added.

Trump said he wanted to stop in North Carolina but was holding off because access and communication is limited in hard-hit communities.

When asked by The Associated Press on Monday if he was concerned that his visit to Georgia was taking away law enforcement resources that could be used for disaster response, Trump said, “No.” He said his campaign instead “brought many wagons of resources.”

Katie Watson, who owns with her husband the home design store Trump visited, said she was told the former president picked that location because he saw shots of the business destroyed with the rubble and said, “Find that place and find those people.”

“He didn’t come here for me. He came here to recognize that this town has been destroyed. It’s a big setback,” she said.

“He recognizes that we are hurting and he wants us to know that,” she added. “It was a lifetime opportunity to meet the president. This is not exactly the way I wanted to do it.”

Trump campaign officials have long pointed to his visit to East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a toxic trail derailment, as a turning point in the early days of the presidential race when he was struggling to establish his footing as a candidate. They believed his warm welcome by residents frustrated by the federal government’s response helped remind voters why they had been drawn to him years earlier.

Trump fought with Puerto Rico and meteorologists while president

During Trump’s term as president, he visited numerous disaster zones, including the aftermaths of hurricanes, tornadoes and shootings. But the trips sometimes elicited controversy such as when he tossed paper towels to cheering residents in Puerto Rico in 2017 in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

It also took until weeks before the presidential election in 2020 for Trump’s administration to release $13 billion in assistance for the territory. A federal government watchdog found that officials hampered an investigation into delays in aid delivery.

In another 2019 incident, Trump administration officials admonished some meteorologists for tweeting that Alabama was not threatened by Hurricane Dorian, contradicting the then-president. Trump would famously display a map altered with a black Sharpie pen to indicate Alabama could be in the path of the storm.

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Fernando reported from Chicago, and Amy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Chris Megerian and Aamer Madhani in Washington, and Will Weissert in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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November 4, 2024
Pentagon audit says Boeing cleaned up on Air Force parts, including soap dispensers marked up 8,000%

WASHINGTON (AP) — Boeing overcharged the Air Force nearly $1 million for spare parts on C-17 cargo planes, including an 8,000% markup for simple lavatory soap dispensers, according to the Pentagon’s inspector general.

The Defense Department’s auditor reviewed prices paid for 46 spare parts on the C-17 from 2018 to 2022 and found that 12 were overpriced and nine seemed reasonably priced. It couldn’t determine the fairness of prices on the other 25 items.

The Office of the Inspector General said it reviewed the soap dispenser prices after getting a hotline tip.

Boeing disputed the findings.

“We are reviewing the report, which appears to be based on an inapt comparison of the prices paid for parts that meet aircraft and contract specifications and designs versus basic commercial items that would not be qualified or approved for use on the C-17,” Boeing said in a statement. “We will continue to work with the OIG and the U.S. Air Force to provide a detailed written response to the report in the coming days.”

The C-17 Globemaster is one of the military’s largest cargo aircraft. It can carry multiple military vehicles, large pallets of humanitarian supplies or, in extreme circumstances, hundreds of people. The Air Force flew C-17s nonstop for two weeks during the hectic August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, evacuating more than 120,000 civilians fleeing the Taliban.

Since 2011, the U.S. government has awarded Boeing more than $30 billion in contracts to purchase needed spare parts for the C-17 and be reimbursed by the Air Force.

Boeing is still trying to recover from financial and reputational damage caused by two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019 of its bestselling airline jet, the 737 Max.

This has been a particularly volatile year for the aerospace giant. It came under renewed scrutiny and federal investigations after a door plug flew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Federal regulators limited Boeing production of the plane.

In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to defraud the government for misleading regulators who approved pilot training rules for the Max. That plea deal is pending before a federal judge in Texas.

Boeing is on its third chief executive in five years, having hired an outsider who joined the company in August. Last week, Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion because of charges for several commercial, defense and space programs.

A strike by 33,000 union machinists is now seven weeks old and has crippled production of 737s, 777s and 767 freighters, cutting off much-need cash. New CEO Kelly Ortberg has announced roughly 17,000 layoffs, and the company will issue new stock to raise up to $19 billion to shore up its debt-laden balance sheet.

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Koenig reported from Dallas.

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October 31, 2024
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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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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September 29, 2024
Boar’s Head faces legal scrutiny over deadly deli meat listeria outbreak, USDA says

Boar’s Head, the deli meat company at the center of a deadly listeria food poisoning outbreak, is being scrutinized by law enforcement officials, the U.S. Agriculture Department disclosed in response to government records requests.

Officials with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service refused to share documents regarding the agency’s inspections and enforcement at the Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia, plus inspection reports from eight other company factories across the U.S.

The records — which FSIS acknowledged include dozens of pages of documentation — were withheld because they were compiled “for a law enforcement purpose, which includes both civil and criminal statutes,” according to a letter sent Friday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by The Associated Press. Releasing the records could “interfere with” and “hinder” the government’s investigation, the letter said.

The AP asked for records regarding the listeria outbreak that, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has killed 10 people and sickened at least 50 in 19 states since May. Listeria bacteria were initially detected in samples of Boar’s Head liverwurst and later traced to illnesses in people.

Previously released records revealed problems including mold, insects, dripping water and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment dating back at least two years. Boar’s Head earlier recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli meat distributed to stores across the country. This month, the Sarasota, Florida-based company said it has closed the Virginia plant and permanently stopped making liverwurst.

Boar’s Head is facing several lawsuits filed by victims and their families.

FSIS officials did not respond to AP’s emails seeking additional comment about the records. Justice Department officials declined to comment on potential legal actions against Boar’s Head.

This week, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro called on the Agriculture and Justice departments to “work closely” to determine whether to bring criminal charges against Boar’s Head in connection with the crisis. In response, USDA’s own internal investigators are reviewing the agency’s work and will decide by the end of the year whether to open an inquiry, according to Blumenthal’s office.

Past food poisoning outbreaks have resulted in criminal and civil penalties.

In 2020, Chipotle agreed to pay a record $25 million to resolve criminal charges over tainted food that sickened more than 1,100 people in outbreaks between 2015 and 2018. In 2015, former Peanut Corporation of America executive Stewart Parnell was sentenced to 28 years in prison after an outbreak of salmonella in his company’s peanut butter killed nine people and sickened more than 700.

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September 28, 2024
A federal judge in Texas will hear arguments over Boeing’s plea deal in a 737 Max case

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered a hearing next month over Boeing’s agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy in connection with the 737 Max jetliner, two of which crashed, killing 346 people.

Families of some of the passengers killed in the crashes object to the agreement. They want to put Boeing on trial, where it could face tougher punishment.

U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor set a hearing for Oct. 11 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Boeing is accused of misleading regulators who approved minimal, computer-based training for Boeing 737 pilots before they could fly the Max. Boeing wanted to prevent regulators from requiring training in flight simulators, which would have raised the cost for airlines to operate the plane.

The Justice Department argued in court filings that conspiracy to defraud the government is the most serious charge it can prove. Prosecutors said they lack evidence to show that Boeing’s actions caused the crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.

Relatives of victims and their lawyers have called the settlement a sweetheart deal that fails to consider the loss of so many lives. Some of the lawyers have argued that the Justice Department treated Boeing gently because the company is a big government contractor.

The agreement calls for Boeing to pay a fine of at least $243.6 million, invest $455 million in compliance and safety programs, and be placed on probation for three years.

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September 28, 2024
A Massachusetts woman accused of running a high-end brothel network pleads guilty

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts woman accused of operating a high-end brothel network with wealthy and prominent clients in that state and the Washington, D.C., suburbs pleaded guilty in federal court Friday.

Han Lee and two others were indicted earlier this year on one count of conspiracy to persuade, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution and one count of money laundering, according to prosecutors.

James Lee of Torrance, California, and Junmyung Lee of Dedham, Massachusetts, also were indicted.

Han Lee initially had entered a not guilty plea before changing her plea. She remained in custody and faces up to 25 years in prison for the two felonies.

Han Lee, 42, entered court dressed in an orange shirt and orange pants, her black hair tied in the back. She also relied on the help of a Korean translator. Lee said she was not a U.S. citizen and had gone as far as high school in her education.

She was told that by pleading guilty she could be deported from the country.

Scott Lauer, a lawyer for Han Lee, said she would remain in custody after the hearing but declined to comment further. A lawyer for James Lee declined to comment. A lawyer representing Junmyung Lee said his next court appearance has been rescheduled.

Authorities said the commercial sex ring in Massachusetts and northern Virginia catered to politicians, company executives, military officers, lawyers, professors and other well-connected clients.

Prosecutors have not publicly named any of the buyers and they have not been charged. Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy has said prosecutors are committed to holding accountable both those who ran the scheme and those who fueled the demand.

Some of the buyers have appealed to the highest court in Massachusetts in a bid to have their names remain private.

At one point through a translator, Han Lee said that she didn’t control the women, but agreed that she had persuaded them to engage in interstate travel to take part in prostitution.

The women who worked in the brothels were not identified or criminally charged and were considered victims, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said their evidence included witness testimony from women who worked at the brothels, sex buyers who made appointments or received services, physical surveillance and electronic evidence.

Han Lee maintained the operation from 2020 to November 2023. The money made at the brothels was sometimes kept in the freezer to be picked up, prosecutors said. They said she also helped train Junmyung Lee to help vet sex buyers.

The brothel operation used websites that falsely claimed to advertise nude models for professional photography, prosecutors allege. The operators rented high-end apartments to use as brothels in Watertown and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Tysons and Fairfax, Virginia, prosecutors said. Brothels were maintained at four locations in Massachusetts and two in Virginia.

Han Lee recruited women and maintained the websites and brothels, according to authorities, who said she paid Junmyung Lee, who was one of her employees, between $6,000 and $8,000 in cash per month in exchange for his work booking appointments for the buyers and bringing women to the brothels.

The operators raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars through the network, where men paid from approximately $350 to upwards of $600 per hour depending on the services, according to prosecutors.

Officials say Han Lee concealed more than $1 million in proceeds from the ring by converting the cash into money orders, among other things, to make it look legitimate.

According to court documents, the defendants established house rules for the women during their stays in a given city to protect and maintain the secrecy of the business and ensure the women did not draw attention to the prostitution work inside apartment buildings.

Authorities seized cash, ledgers detailing the activities of the brothels and phones believed to be used to communicate with the sex customers from their apartments, according to court papers.

Each website described a verification process that interested sex buyers undertook to be eligible for appointment bookings, including requiring clients to complete a form providing their full names, email addresses, phone numbers, employers and references if they had one, authorities said.

The defendants also kept local brothel phone numbers to communicate with customers; sent them a “menu” of available options at the brothel, including the women and sexual services available and the hourly rate; and texted customers directions to the brothel’s location, investigators said.

She is next due in court for sentencing on Dec. 20.

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September 27, 2024
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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September 19, 2024
LL Flooring, formerly Lumber Liquidators, is going out of business and closing all of its stores

NEW YORK (AP) — LL Flooring, the hardwood flooring retailer formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, is going out of business.

Less than a month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Virginia-based company says it is now “winding down operations” after failing to find a buyer in recent negotiations with prospective bidders. That means all of its remaining stores will soon close their doors.

LL Flooring expected to begin to begin the process this week, with closing sales at hundreds of stores slated to start Friday. The retailer says store closures should be completed over the next 12 weeks, with timing varying by location.

“This is not the outcome that any of us had hoped for,” LL Flooring CEO Charles Tyson wrote in a letter to customers. “As we begin to wind down operations and close our stores, we are committed to doing so as smoothly as possible to minimize the impact on you, our associates and the communities we serve.”

LL Flooring touted more than 400 stores earlier this year. By the time of its Chapter 11 petition, the company said it would be continuing forward with closer to 300 locations, with closing sales already beginning at 94 stores. But now, the closings will effect all remaining stores.

Scores of workers are set to lose their jobs as a result. The company had about 1,970 employees as of its August 11 bankruptcy petition, according to court documents, 99% of whom were working full time in the U.S. across retail, corporate and distribution roles.

LL Flooring’s history dates back more than 30 years. The brick-and-mortar retailer, founded by Tom Sullivan, got its start in 1993 as a modest operation in Massachusetts, later expanding operations nationwide.

Known for decades as Lumber Liquidators, the company officially changed its name to LL Flooring at the start of 2022 — in a move following years of turmoil. The retailer faced expansive litigation after a 2015 segment of “60 Minutes” reported that laminate flooring it was selling had illegal and dangerous levels of formaldehyde. Lumber Liquidators later said it would stop selling the product, which was manufactured in China, and agreed to pay $36 million to settle two class-action lawsuits in 2017.

LL Flooring saw difficulty turning a profit over more recent years, with the company reporting loss after loss. Net sales fell 18.5% in 2023, according to a recent earnings report, amid declines in foot traffic and weak demand. In its Chapter 11 filing, LL Flooring disclosed that total debts amounted to more than $416 million as of July 31, compared to assets of just over $501 million.

Ahead of filing for bankruptcy, LL Flooring also saw a proxy battle earlier in the summer — centered around attempts to keep Sullivan off the board. In June, company leadership wrote a letter urging shareholders to vote for other nominees, accusing Sullivan of “pushing a personal agenda.” But LL Flooring later confirmed that the founder and his proposed nominees were elected at its annual shareholder meeting in July.

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September 8, 2024
Deal reached with Norfolk Southern to expand rail service in parts of Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — State officials approved a deal Tuesday with Norfolk Southern to expand commuter and passenger rail services in southwestern and northern Virginia.

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority announced that the agreement would extend a passenger rail into the New River Valley, allowing state officials to run passenger trains between Roanoke and Christiansburg on the private rail company’s main rail line, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

With access to the line, state officials said, they could add passenger services to Norfolk Southern’s Cambria Yard station in Christiansburg, which served as a passenger terminal from 1904 to 1979.

Officials with the state authority said they also purchased Norfolk Southern-owned rails in Northern Virginia, which could bolster efforts to increase commuter rail stops between Prince William County and Washington, D.C. Officials said they plan to add train service during the evenings and over weekends.

“We are excited to deliver these benefits as we continue to accelerate results not only in these two regions, but across the entire Commonwealth,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a statement.

In a news release, Rail Authority Executive Director DJ Stadtler thanked Norfolk Southern for partnering with the state. “We look forward to finalizing this agreement, which will make passenger rail a viable option for even more Virginians,” Stadtler said.

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August 29, 2024
Energy Department awards $2.2B to strengthen the electrical grid and add clean power

The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced $2.2 billion in funding for eight projects across 18 states to strengthen the electrical grid against increasing extreme weather, advance the transition to cleaner electricity and meet a growing demand for power.

The money will help build more than 600 miles of new transmission lines and upgrade about 400 miles of existing lines so that they can carry more current.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the funding is important because extreme weather events fueled by climate change are increasing, damaging towers and bringing down wires, causing power outages.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas on July 8 and knocked out power to nearly 3 million people, for example. Officials have said at least a dozen Houston area residents died from complications related to the heat and losing power.

The investments will provide more reliable, affordable electricity for 56 million homes and businesses, according to the DOE. Granholm said the funds are the single largest direct investment ever in the nation’s grid.

“They’ll help us to meet the needs of electrified homes and businesses and new manufacturing facilities and all of these growing data centers that are placing demands on the grid,” Granholm said in a press call to announce the funding.

It’s the second round of awards through a $10.5 billion DOE program called Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships. It was funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021. More projects will be announced this fall.

Among the ones in this round, more than 100 miles of transmission line in California will be upgraded so that new renewable energy can be added quickly and as a response to a growing demand for electricity. A project in New England will upgrade onshore connection points for electricity generated by wind turbines offshore, allowing 4,800 megawatts of wind energy to be added, enough to power about 2 million homes.

The Montana Department of Commerce will get $700 million. Most of that will go toward building a 415-mile, high-voltage, direct current transmission line across Montana and North Dakota. The North Plains Connector will increase the ability to move electricity from east to west and vice versa, and help protect against extreme weather and power disruptions.

The Virginia Department of Energy will get $85 million to employ clean electricity and clean backup power at two data centers, one instate and one in South Carolina. The DOE chose this project because the data centers will be responsive to the grid in a new way: They could provide needed electricity to the local grid on a hot day, from batteries, or reduce their energy use in times of high demand. This could serve as a model for other data centers to reduce their impact on a local area, since they place such high demand on the grid, according to the department.

“These investments are certainly a step in the right direction and they are the right types of investments,” said Max Luke, director of business development and regulatory affairs at VEIR, an early-stage Massachusetts company developing transmission lines capable of carrying five times the power of conventional ones. “If you look at the scale of the challenge and the quantity of grid capacity needed for deep decarbonization and net zero, it’s a drop in the bucket.”

According to Princeton University’s “Net-Zero America” research, the United States will need to expand electricity transmission by roughly 60% by 2030 and may need to triple it by 2050.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental 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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August 6, 2024
ACC to use Apple’s iPads on football sidelines and in coaching booths for video playback this fall

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference will collaborate with Apple to bring iPad technology to the sidelines and coaching booths for the upcoming season.

In an announcement Monday, the ACC said all 17 football members — a group that includes new arrivals California, SMU and Stanford — will have access to league-provided iPad Pro and iPad Air models allowing them to view video playback. That comes after the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel in April approved the use of in-game video.

In a statement, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips made an “unparalleled prioritization of technology” going back to its design of a new gameday operations center. It will assist in football replays as part of the headquarters move to Charlotte last year.

The ACC’s first game this season is Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland, featuring Florida State and Georgia Tech.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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July 17, 2024
Amazon debuts its headquarters complex in Virginia as it brings workers back to office

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Amazon unveiled the first phase of its new headquarters complex in Virginia Thursday, a pair of gleaming, amenity-packed office towers that its leaders hope will persuade employees accustomed to working from home during the pandemic to happily return to the office.

The grand opening of the Met Park office complex in Arlington’s Crystal City neighborhood near the nation’s capital marks the biggest milestone in the headquarters project since the company announced in 2018 that it would build a second headquarters complex in northern Virginia to complement its existing headquarters in Seattle.

Initially, plans for the “HQ2” project called for Amazon to bring 25,000 jobs each to both northern Virginia and New York City. But opposition to the incentive package in New York helped derail those plans, and the Arlington complex became the sole site for HQ2.

At Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremonies, Amazon emphasized its efforts to ingratiate itself to the region. The company committed hundreds of millions of dollars to help preserve affordable housing in the region, and the project includes a 2.5-acre (1.01-hectare) park, fenced dog run and playground. Amazon even replicated its well-known banana stand from its Seattle headquarters, offering free fruit to workers and visitors.

Generally speaking, local leaders have welcomed Amazon and the high-paying jobs it has brought. Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey praised the company’s willingness to partner with the county, particularly on affordable housing.

“We looked to Amazon to learn about our community’s values and embrace them as their own. I want to commend Amazon’s leadership for doing exactly that,” he said.

Still, the changes have not been without some aggravation. Some community activists have complained about rising rent and gentrification. During construction, piledriving occurred in the first half of 2020, during the worst of the pandemic. Neighbors stuck in their homes pleaded for relief from the noise, to no avail.

Amazon also designed its headquarters to appeal to its employees. The project launched before the pandemic disrupted office culture. Earlier this year, Amazon announced it is pausing the second phase of the HQ2 project, though state and county leaders remain confident that the delay is only temporary.

In February, Amazon said it will require all its workers to return to the office at least three days a week, prompting 30,000 workers to sign a petition asking the company to reconsider.

In a tour of the complex Thursday, John Schoettler, Amazon’s vice president of global real estate, said the company tweaked the designs to incorporate changes designed to accommodate a post-pandemic workforce. The towers feature dedicated suites to accommodate group projects and open spaces dubbed “centers of energy” designed to facilitate collaboration.

“This was designed pre-pandemic, but we were constantly gathering information from our employees” to accommodate their needs,” Schoettler said.

The finished product includes rooftop gardens, pool and foosball tables, outdoor electric grills — Amazon says the building uses no fossil fuels — high-quality dining options and a “dog wall” that shows photos of workers’ pets.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, himself a former corporate chieftain, seemed genuinely impressed by the complex as he toured it.

“I don’t want to cause any intracompany tensions,” he said, “but I wonder if this should be renamed HQ1.”

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June 16, 2023
Delaware taps artificial intelligence to evacuate crowded beaches when floods hit

Delaware’s low elevation mixed with crowded beaches and limited exit routes make the state particularly vulnerable to massive flooding, but officials hope an influx of federal infrastructure money will trigger future evacuation plans automatically via artificial intelligence.

The Biden administration was set to announce a total of $53 million in grants Thursday to Delaware and seven other states aimed at high-tech solutions to traffic congestion problems. Although the money comes from the infrastructure law the president signed in 2021, many of the programs — including the $5 million for flood response efforts in Biden’s home state — have evolved since then.

“What’s new is the predictive analysis; the machine learning,” U.S. Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt, Delaware’s former transportation secretary, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Because now we have access to all this data, it’s hard for us as humans to figure out what is data and what is actionable information.”

Delaware officials pull off evacuation-type procedures every week during the tourism season, with long lines of cars headed to the beaches on weekend mornings and back at night. But flooding presents a unique problem — including standing water on roads that can make the most direct routes out of town even more treacherous than simply sheltering in place.

“What you don’t want to do is make the decision too late and then you have vehicles caught out,” said Gene Donaldson, operations manager at the state’s 24-hour Transportation Management Center.

Delaware’s transportation department, which controls more than 90% of roads in a state with the lowest average elevation in the country, is tasked with implementing evacuation plans during high water — a bureaucratic nightmare considering how quickly conditions can change.

“For humans to monitor thousands of detectors or data sources is overwhelming,” said George Zhao, director of transportation for Arlington, Virginia-based BlueHalo, which has worked with Delaware on developing the software.

That’s where AI comes in. Rather than sending a crew to the scene to block an impassable road, the system uses sensors to detect weather threats — and even can predict them. Then, it sends the information directly to drivers through cellphone alerts while broadcasting them simultaneously on electronic highway signs.

The amount of data keeps growing, with many automated cars now able to not only inform their drivers of the dangers ahead but also feed the system to warn others.

Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology tested an earlier version of a flood prediction analysis system on the Mississippi River between 2019-22. Steve Corns, an associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering who co-authored the study, said the system was able to detect in minutes what used to take hours.

But now, Corns said, the capabilities are even more advanced and useful — provided they’re adequately funded so the technology doesn’t become obsolete.

Previous legislation had awarded more than $300 million in congestion relief grants, and Bhatt said the agency received $385 million in applications for the $52.8 million in the latest batch under the infrastructure law. He said that “shows huge appetite” for innovative solutions to tackle traffic problems.

Other payouts in this round of grants include $14 million for machine learning traffic prediction and signal timing in Maryland and $12.7 million to retrofit Ann Arbor, Michigan’s traffic system with cellular technology that could become a national template. It also includes $11.6 million to expand a microtransit service in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

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May 26, 2023
FACT FOCUS: Fake image of Pentagon explosion briefly sends jitters through stock market

An image of black smoke billowing next to a bureaucratic-looking building spread across social media Monday morning, with the claim that it showed an explosion near the Pentagon.

The posts sent a brief shiver through the stock market as they were quickly picked up by news outlets outside the U.S., before officials jumped in to clarify that no blast actually took place and the photo was a fake.

Experts say the viral image had telltale signs of an AI-generated forgery, and its popularity underscores the everyday chaos these now increasingly sophisticated and easy-to-access programs can inflict.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

CLAIM: An image shows an explosion near the Pentagon.

THE FACTS: Police and fire officials in Arlington, Virginia, say the image is not real and there was no incident at the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters across the Potomac from the nation’s capital.

Despite this, the image and claim was spread by outlets including RT, a Russian government-backed media company formerly known as Russia Today. It was also widely shared in investment circles, including an account bearing Twitter’s signature blue verification check mark that falsely suggested it was associated with Bloomberg News.

“Reports of an explosion near the Pentagon in Washington DC,” the Russian state news agency wrote in a since-deleted tweet to its more than three million followers.

RT confirmed it took down the tweet and “covered the official position from the Pentagon on the matter” after verifying the reports were inaccurate.

“As with fast-paced news verification, we made the public aware of reports circulating and once provenance and veracity were ascertained, we took appropriate steps to correct the reporting,” the company wrote in an emailed statement Tuesday.

Still the timing of the fake image, which appeared to spread widely just after the U.S. stock market opened for trading at 9:30 a.m., was enough to send a ripple through the investment world.

The S&P 500 briefly dropped a modest 0.3% as social media accounts and investment websites popular with day traders repeated the false claims.

Other investments also moved in ways that typically occur when fear enters the market. Prices for U.S. Treasury bonds and gold, for example, briefly began to climb, suggesting investors were looking for someplace safer to park their money.

The image’s rapid spread prompted the Arlington County Fire Department to take to social media to knock down the rumors.

“@PFPAOfficial and the ACFD are aware of a social media report circulating online about an explosion near the Pentagon,” the agency wrote, referring to the acronym for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency that polices the Pentagon. “There is NO explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon reservation, and there is no immediate danger or hazards to the public.”

Capt. Nate Hiner, a spokesperson for the fire department, confirmed the agency’s tweet was authentic but declined to comment further, deferring to the Pentagon police force, which didn’t respond to email and phone messages.

Misinformation experts say the fake image was likely created using generative artificial intelligence programs, which have allowed increasingly realistic, but oftentimes flawed, visuals to flood the internet recently.

Inconsistencies in the building, fence and surrounding area are imperfections typically found in AI-generated images, noted Hany Farid, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in digital forensics, misinformation and image analysis.

“Specifically, the grass and concrete fade into each other, the fence is irregular, there is a strange black pole that is protruding out of the front of the sidewalk but is also part of the fence,” he wrote in an email. “The windows in the building are inconsistent with photos of the Pentagon that you can find online.”

Chirag Shah, co-director of the Center for Responsibility in AI Systems & Experiences at the University of Washington in Seattle, cautioned that spotting fakes won’t always be as obvious.

Society will need to lean more on “crowdsourcing and community vigilance to weed out bad information and arrive at the truth” as AI technology improves, he argued.

“Simply relying on detection tools or social media posts are not going to be enough,” Shah wrote in an email.

Before the explosion hoax, the biggest Beltway intrigue on Wall Street’s mind Monday morning was whether the U.S. government will avoid a disastrous default on its debt.

But as the market is becoming increasingly reactive to headline-grabbing news, misinformation can be especially damaging when it’s shared by outlets even vaguely deemed as credible, said Adam Kobeissi, editor-in-chief at The Kobeissi Letter, an industry publication.

“A lot of these moves are happening because of high frequency trading, algorithmic trading, which is basically taking headlines, synthesizing them and then breaking them down into a trade on a millisecond basis,” he explained by phone, noting that much of the market is now automated. “It’s basically like you’re pulling a trigger every time a headline comes out.”

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Associated Press business reporters Stan Choe and Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York contributed to this story.

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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.

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May 23, 2023