Longtime WRAL anchor Charlie Gaddy dies at 93

Longtime WRAL anchor Charlie Gaddy dies at 93

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) — Charlie Gaddy, one of North Carolina’s most recognizable broadcasters and a longtime anchor on WRAL-TV, has died at age 93.

Before beginning his television career, Gaddy worked for a time at WPTF, the flagship station of the North Carolina News Network. In a 2024 interview marking WPTF’s 100th anniversary, he recalled the early days of local radio programming, including a show called Ask Your Neighbor.

“It was just something that somebody came up with as an idea, and they tried it to see how it would work,” Gaddy said. “And it worked beautifully. It was a very popular program and lasted a long time. But that’s how it started.”

Gaddy was born in Biscoe, North Carolina, attended Guilford College, and served in the U.S. Army. He became a household name across central North Carolina during his years anchoring WRAL’s evening newscasts, known for his calm demeanor and trusted presence.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine, Trump envoy says

Putin agreed to let US, Europe offer NATO-style security protections for Ukraine, Trump envoy says

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war.

“We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He added that it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that “we welcome President Trump’s willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. and the ‘Coalition of the willing’ — including the European Union — is ready to do its share.”

Witkoff, offering some of the first details of what was discussed at Friday’s summit in Alaska, said the two sides agreeing to “robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing.” He added that Russia said that it would make a legislative commitment not to go after any additional territory in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy thanked the United States for recent signals that Washington is willing to support security guarantees for Ukraine, but said the details remained unclear.

“It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said, “But there are no details how it will work, and what America’s role will be, Europe’s role will be and what the EU can do, and this is our main task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees.”

Witkoff defended Trump’s decision to abandon his push for Russian to agree to an immediate ceasefire, saying the president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made.

“We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,” Witkoff said, without elaborating.

“We began to see some moderation in the way they’re thinking about getting to a final peace deal,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted there would be “additional consequences” as Trump warned before meeting with Putin, if they failed to reach a ceasefire. But Rubio noted that there wasn’t going to be any sort of deal on a truce reached when Ukraine wasn’t at the talks.

“Now, ultimately, if there isn’t a peace agreement, if there isn’t an end of this war, the president’s been clear, there are going to be consequences,” Rubio said on ABC’s “This Week.” “But we’re trying to avoid that. And the way we’re trying to avoid those consequences is with an even better consequence, which is peace, the end of hostilities.”

Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security adviser, said he did not believe issuing new sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire, noting that the latter isn’t off the table but that “the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal.”

“The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to table will be severely diminished,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

He also said “we’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement” and that getting there would not be easy and would take a lot of work.

“We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remains some big areas of disagreement. So we’re still a long ways off,” Rubio said.

Zelenskyy and Europeans leaders are scheduled to meet Monday with Trump at the White House. They heard from the president after his meeting with Putin.

“I think everybody agreed that we had made progress. Maybe not enough for a peace deal, but we are on the path for the first time,” Witkoff said.

He added: “The fundamental issue, which is some sort of land swap, which is obviously ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians — that could not have been discussed at this meeting” with Putin. “We intend to discuss it on Monday. Hopefully we have some clarity on it and hopefully that ends up in a peace deal very, very soon.”

Republicans look to make a U-turn on federal commitment to electric vehicles for the Postal Service

Republicans look to make a U-turn on federal commitment to electric vehicles for the Postal Service

By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A year after being lauded for its plan to replace thousands of aging, gas-powered mail trucks with a mostly electric fleet, the U.S. Postal Service is facing congressional attempts to strip billions in federal EV funding.

In June, the Senate parliamentarian blocked a Republican proposal in a major tax-and-spending bill to sell off the agency’s new electric vehicles and infrastructure and revoke remaining federal money. But efforts to halt the fleet’s shift to clean energy continue in the name of cost savings.

Donald Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, said canceling the program now would have the opposite effect, squandering millions of dollars.

“I think it would be shortsighted for Congress to now suddenly decide they’re going to try to go backwards and take the money away for the EVs or stop that process because that’s just going to be a bunch of money on infrastructure that’s been wasted,” he said.

Beyond that, many in the scientific community fear the government could pass on an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to global warming when urgent action is needed.

Electrified vehicles reduce emissions

A 2022 University of Michigan study found the new electric postal vehicles could cut total greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 million tons over the predicted, cumulative 20-year lifetime of the trucks. That’s a fraction of the more than 6,000 million metric tons emitted annually in the United States, said professor Gregory A. Keoleian, co-director of the university’s Center for Sustainable Systems. But he said the push toward electric vehicles is critical and needs to accelerate, given the intensifying impacts of climate change.

“We’re already falling short of goals for reducing emissions,” Keoleian said. “We’ve been making progress, but the actions being taken or proposed will really reverse decarbonization progress that has been made to date.”

Many GOP lawmakers share President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Biden-era green energy push and say the Postal Service should stick to delivering mail.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said “it didn’t make sense for the Postal Service to invest so heavily in an all-electric force.” She said she will pursue legislation to rescind what is left of the $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act allocated to help cover the $10 billion cost of new postal vehicles.

Ernst has called the EV initiative a “boondoggle” and “a textbook example of waste,” citing delays, high costs and concerns over cold-weather performance.

“You always evaluate the programs, see if they are working. But the rate at which the company that’s providing those vehicles is able to produce them, they are so far behind schedule, they will never be able to fulfill that contract,” Ernst said during a recent appearance at the Iowa State Fair, referring to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense.

“For now,” she added, “gas-powered vehicles — use some ethanol in them — I think is wonderful.”

Corn-based ethanol is a boon to Iowa’s farmers, but the effort to reverse course has other Republican support.

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, a co-sponsor of the rollback effort, has said the EV order should be canceled because the project “has delivered nothing but delays, defective trucks, and skyrocketing costs.”

The Postal Service maintains that the production delay of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, or NGDVs, was “very modest” and not unexpected.

“The production quantity ramp-up was planned for and intended to be very gradual in the early months to allow time for potential modest production or supplier issues to be successfully resolved,” spokesperson Kim Frum said.

EVs help in modernization effort

The independent, self-funded federal agency, which is paid for mostly by postage and product sales, is in the middle of a $40 billion, 10-year modernization and financial stabilization plan. The EV effort had the full backing of Democratic President Joe Biden, who pledged to move toward an all-electric federal fleet of car and trucks.

The “Deliver for America” plan calls for modernizing the ground fleet, notably the Grumman Long Life Vehicle, which dates back to 1987 and is fuel-inefficient at 9 mpg. The vehicles are well past their projected 24-year lifespan and are prone to breakdowns and even fires.

“Our mechanics are miracle workers,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union. “The parts are not available. They fabricate them. They do the best they can.”

The Postal Service announced in 2022 it would deploy at least 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028, including commercial off-the-shelf models, after years of deliberation and criticism it was moving too slowly to reduce emissions. By 2024, the agency was awarded a Presidential Sustainability Award for its efforts to electrify the largest fleet in the federal government.

Building new postal trucks

In 2021, Oshkosh Defense was awarded a contract for up to 165,000 battery electric and internal combustion engine Next Generation vehicles over 10 years.

The first of the odd-looking trucks, with hoods resembling a duck’s bill, began service in Georgia last year. Designed for greater package capacity, the trucks are equipped with airbags, blind-spot monitoring, collision sensors, 360-degree cameras and antilock brakes.

There’s also a new creature comfort: air conditioning.

Douglas Lape, special assistant to the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers and a former carrier, is among numerous postal employees who have had a say in the new design. He marvels at how Oshkosh designed and built a new vehicle, transforming an old North Carolina warehouse into a factory along the way.

“I was in that building when it was nothing but shelving,” he said. “And now, being a completely functioning plant where everything is built in-house — they press the bodies in there, they do all of the assembly — it’s really amazing in my opinion.”

Where things stand now

The agency has so far ordered 51,500 NGDVs, including 35,000 battery-powered vehicles. To date, it has received 300 battery vehicles and 1,000 gas-powered ones.

Former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in 2022 the agency expected to purchase chiefly zero-emissions delivery vehicles by 2026. It still needs some internal combustion engine vehicles that travel longer distances.

Frum, the Postal Service spokesperson, said the planned NGDV purchases were “carefully considered from a business perspective” and are being deployed to routes and facilities where they will save money.

The agency has also received more than 8,200 of 9,250 Ford E-Transit electric vehicles it has ordered, she said.

Ernst said it’s fine for the Postal Service to use EVs already purchased.

“But you know what? We need to be smart about the way we are providing services through the federal government,” she said. “And that was not a smart move.”

Maxwell Woody, lead author of the University of Michigan study, made the opposite case.

Postal vehicles, he said, have low average speeds and a high number of stops and starts that enable regenerative braking. Routes average under 30 miles and are known in advance, making planning easier.

“It’s the perfect application for an electric vehicle,” he said, “and it’s a particularly inefficient application for an internal combustion engine vehicle.”

____

Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

‘Naked lady’ spider lilies bring surprise blooms

‘Naked lady’ spider lilies bring surprise blooms

By MIKE RALEY WPTF Weekend Gardener

Every regular co-host on the WPTF Weekend Gardener has discussed with delight, at one time or another, the attributes of the “naked lady” spider lily or Lycoris radiate. I have read that the name “Lycorus” refers to the mistress of the Roman leader Mark Anthony. Of course, there are other names for this popular bulb: “Cluster amaryllis”, “Equinox flower”, “Hurricane lilies”, “Magic lily”, “Resurrection lily”, and “Surprise lily”. Yes, this extraordinary perennial bulb is in the amaryllis family and is a native of China, Korea and Japan, but there are varieties that are native to the southeastern U.S. including North Carolina. “Coastal Spiderlily” and “Hammock Spiderlily” have that distinction. All of the above grow well in central and eastern North Carolina. They are a little iffy in the mountains since they don’t particularly like cold weather and would work better there in containers that can be moved indoors.

Unfortunately, I rarely see spider lilies planted in landscapes on my neighborhood walks or in other locations. Just here and there. This is a shame since they are such old fashion bulbs that you might find still popping up at your grandparents’ property in August and September. More of us need to plant them. They make great pass-along plants. Our “Weekend Gardener friend Steve from Garner shared some with listeners and me at a remote. I think they look best in a perennial border with ground covers, annuals or other perennials.

Why are they called naked ladies and where does the surprise come in? Spider lilies just pop up out of the ground with the red or pink funny looking, spider-like bloom perched on top. Just sitting up there without any leaves to speak of. The narrow leaves are more noticeable when the flowers fade. The foliage hangs around into early winter. The hurricane name comes from their propensity to bloom during hurricane season.

Spider lilies grow best in full sun to part shade and prefer soil that is well draining. Use a good organic matter mixed into whatever kind of soil you have in your landscape. Don’t plant them too deeply, about 4 to 6 inches. The top or neck of the bulb should be near the surface of the soil. They will naturalize through underground bulb off-shoots. Planting them in late summer to early fall seems to work best, using a couple of inches of mulch might help no matter where you plant them. Divide these bulbs just after blooming. They multiply every year if they are content. Dividing also prevents overcrowding.

Fertilize in spring with a balanced slow-release nitrogen. Don’t overdo it. We tend to over fertilize and over water our plants, especially when they are newly planted.

Drought doesn’t seem to bother spider lilies. The folks at NC State tell me some spider lily varieties are not deer or rabbit friendly because of chemicals they contain. The same can’t be said for voles however. They love chomping on bulbs of all kinds.

I focused on the “naked lady spider lilies” because they are, well, different. There are all kinds of extraordinary, colorful spider lily varieties and cultivars. We mentioned a few above. Check with Campbell Road Nursery or Logan’s if you are in Raleigh. Shop local nurseries if you can, and also check some of your favorite catalogs for some of these fun flowering bulbs.

Chimaev wins UFC middleweight belt by unanimous decision

Chimaev wins UFC middleweight belt by unanimous decision

By PATRICK ROSE Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Khamzat Chimaev continued his dominance in the UFC, capturing the middleweight belt on Saturday night by defeating Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319.

With a smile on his face, Chimaev (15-0) shot out of his corner in the first round with a takedown of Du Plessis (23-3) in the opening seconds and had Du Plessis on his back for almost the entire first round.

Despite the ground control by Chimaev, Du Plessis avoided significant damage in the first round.

Chimaev continued with takedowns in the second and third rounds, and Chimaev’s grappling skills took their toll on Du Plessis in the third round, where Chimaev landed a series of blows while Du Plessis was on his back.

Chimaev continued the ground game on Du Plessis in the fourth round.

Chimaev, who has alluded a championship fight since joining the UFC in 2020, gave credit to Du Plessis for challenging him.

“That guy is tough to finish. Respect that guy. (Du Plessis) was the only champion to say ‘I’m in.’ This guy has a big heart,” said Chimaev.

Du Plessis showed life late in the fifth round with a takedown and attempted a guillotine, but it was too little too late.

For most of the fight, it was a complete domination of the former champ.

“Nobody wants to be in a crucifix getting punched in the head like that. It’s got to be the most frustrating, suck the heart and soul out of you. Just getting dominated on the ground like the way he did is no fun for everybody,” UFC president Dana White said.

All three judges scored the fight 50-44.

“At the end, I went for it, had the back. I can almost taste the victory. He beat me fair and square tonight; he was the better man tonight. I’ll be back,” said Du Plessis.

The UFC returned to Chicago for the first time in six years, making it the highest-grossing event at the United Center.

The main card featured two spinning elbow first-round finishes by Carlos Prates and Lerone Murphy.

In the co-main event, Murphy (17-0-1), who took the fight on three weeks’ notice, held off an early rush from Aaron Pico (13-5) with a right spinning elbow to end Pico’s night with a loss in his UFC debut in the featherweight division. Murphy, with his brilliant finish, put himself in a position to face Alex Volkanovski for the featherweight belt.

Prates (22-7) won spectacularly in the first round with the ninth spinning elbow finish in UFC history by knocking out Geoff Neal (16-7), rebounding from his loss to Ian Machado Garry in April.

It was the first time Neal suffered a knockout loss. White promised Prates a fight in his home country on Oct. 11 in Rio de Janeiro.

Michael Page (24-3) dropped Jared Cannonier (19-10) by knocking him down with a right hand in the first round and sent him back to the ground in the second round with a combination to win by unanimous decision in the middleweight fight.

Timothy Elliott (22-13-1) opened the five-fight main card with a guillotine finish in the second round over Kai Askura (21-6). Askura had his way with Elliott most of the first round by outstriking the veteran, but a late takedown in the first round changed the momentum, leading to an upset win for Elliott in the flyweight division.

European leaders to join Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for White House meeting with Trump

European leaders to join Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for White House meeting with Trump

KYIV (AP) — European leaders will join Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his crucial meeting with President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.

The move in relation to the key White House meeting on Monday is an apparent effort to prevent a repeat of the heated encounter Zelenskyy faced when he met Trump in February.

The European leaders’ presence at Zelenskyy’s side, demonstrating Europe’s support for Ukraine, could potentially help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Zelenskyy risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Trump says he wants to broker with Russia.

Von der Leyen, head of the European Union’s executive branch, posted on X that “at the request of President Zelenskyy, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow.”

Category 4 Hurricane Erin buffets northern Caribbean islands but not forecast to hit land

Category 4 Hurricane Erin buffets northern Caribbean islands but not forecast to hit land

By DÁNICA COTO and RUSS BYNUM Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Erin exploded in strength and became a major storm in Atlantic waters just north of the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day and bringing heavy rains and high winds to islands in the region.

The first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, Erin reached Category 5 status before weakening somewhat and becoming a Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Hurricane Erin exploded in strength to a Category 5 storm in the Caribbean on Saturday, rapidly powering up from a tropical storm in a single day, the National Hurricane Center said. (AP Video)

Late Saturday night, the center reported that Erin was “undergoing structural changes” but was still “formidable” as its rain and winds buffeted Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The storm’s center was about 145 miles (230 kilometers) north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and it was heading toward the west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph). It was not forecast to make a direct hit on land.

Hurricane center director Mike Brennen said Erin grew into a “very powerful hurricane,” with its winds gaining 60 mph (96 kph) in about nine hours.

Forecasters predicted it will remain a major hurricane into the coming week.

Erin close enough to land to trigger flooding, landslides

The storm’s center was forecast pass north of Puerto Rico, according to the National Hurricane Center. Nevertheless, it said, heavy rain in some areas could trigger flash flooding, landslides and mudslides.

Tropical storm watches were issued for St. Martin, St. Barts and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The National Weather Service in San Juan issued an alert for Saturday night for nearly two thirds of Puerto Rico, warning of 50 mph (80 kph) winds and urging people to shelter in safe structures. Power was knocked out to about 130,000 customers in the territory.

Locals and tourists walked and shopped as usual earlier in the day in Puerto Rico’s capital. Restaurants were busy, and despite warnings to avoid beaches, people could be seen in the water.

Sarahí Torres and Joanna Cornejo, who were visiting from California for a Bad Bunny concert, said they decided to go to the beach and wade in because the skies were calm.

“The weather looked fine, so we came out,” Torres said.

The U.S. government deployed more than 200 employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies as a precaution. Puerto Rico Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña said 367 shelters were inspected and ready to open if needed.

Officials in the Bahamas also prepared shelters and urged people to monitor the storm’s progress.

Powerful rip currents could affect the U.S. East Coast from Florida to the mid-Atlantic next week, despite the eye of the storm forecast to remain far offshore, Brennan said.

An ‘incredible’ race from tropical storm to Category 5

Hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry said Erin gained strength at a pace that was “incredible for any time of year, let alone Aug. 16.”

Lowry said only four other Category 5 hurricanes have been recorded in the Atlantic on or before Aug. 16.

The most powerful storms tend to form later in the year, with the hurricane season typically peaking in mid-September.

In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma rocketed from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in less than 24 hours, according to National Hurricane Center advisories from that time. Wilma weakened to a Category 3 hurricane before striking Florida. And in October 2007, Hurricane Felix took just over a day to go from a tropical storm to Category 5.

Including Erin, there have been 43 hurricanes that have reached Category 5 status on record in the Atlantic, said Dan Pydynowski, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, a private forecasting company.

“They’re certainly rare, although this would mark the fourth year in a row that we’ve had one in the Atlantic basin,” Pydynowski said.

Warming climate linked to storms strengthening faster

Scientists have linked rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapor and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly.

Storms that ramp up so quickly complicate forecasting and make it harder for government agencies to plan for emergencies. Hurricane Erick, a Pacific storm that made landfall June 19 in Oaxaca, Mexico, also strengthened rapidly, doubling in intensity in less than a day.

Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 and is expected to be unusually busy. Six to 10 hurricanes are predicted for the season, including three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph).

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Bynum reported from Savannah. Georgia. Associated Press writers Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia and Ivelisse Rivera in San Juan contributed.

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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.

August 17th 2025

August 17th 2025

Thought of the Day

August 17th 2024
Photo by Getty Images

It’s true that time flies…but remember you are the navigator.

C.J. Stroud’s TD pass helps Texans defeat Panthers 20-3 in preseason

C.J. Stroud’s TD pass helps Texans defeat Panthers 20-3 in preseason

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) — C.J. Stroud found Nico Collins for a touchdown pass on his second drive Saturday in Houston’s preseason win over the Carolina Panthers.

But he was unhappy with himself because he overthrew him on a deep ball on the Texans’ first drive, which was his preseason debut.

“He’s one of a kind, man,” Stroud said. “He’s a unicorn, fast, strong … route-running, release at line of scrimmage — he has it all. So it’s my job to connect with him and I owe him one from today.”

Despite that misfire the Texans (1-1) still came away with a 20-3 win.

Stroud, who sat out in last week’s 20-10 loss at Minnesota, played two series Saturday, going 6 for 8 for 44 yards. The Texans punted on their first possession before Stroud found Collins on the 5-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to cap the second drive and make it 7-0.

Collins is coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons after he led the Texans with 68 receptions for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing five games with an injury.

Nick Chubb ran five times for 25 yards in his Texans’ debut after spending his first seven seasons in Cleveland. Chubb played with the starters with Joe Mixon out recovering from a foot injury he sustained this offseason.

Stroud, who has led the Texans to the postseason in both of his first two seasons, has a new offensive coordinator this year in Nick Caley after the former Patriots and Rams assistant was hired this offseason following the firing of Bobby Slowik.

“It was great, he’s still learning a lot,” Stroud said. “First time play caller, he handled it great. He’s very communicative. He loves to wire guys up and bring juice and I think it’s a great thing for offense and I’m excited to work with him.”

Carolina’s Bryce Young, the first overall pick in the 2023 draft when Stroud was taken second, failed to move the offense in two drives. He was 0 for 2 and was sacked once Saturday after directing the offense for two drives with a TD pass in last week’s 30-10 loss to Cleveland.

“Obviously, for us 1’s you want a different result,” Young said. “It (stinks), but that’s preseason football. You kind of get that sample size. Obviously, you want to go well early, get it done fast. We didn’t get it done today. Of course, we will go watch film tomorrow and go from that.”

Young won’t get any more work this preseason with coach Dave Canales saying he wouldn’t play his starters in the final preseason game next week for the Panthers (0-2).

Andy Dalton replaced Young and was 2 of 4 for 22 yards before leaving with what Canales said was a right elbow sprain. Canales said they’d know more about the injury after further testing Sunday.

Canales wasn’t too worried about Saturday’s results, but talked to his team about being better.

“A lot of good work out there,” he said. “To me, to sum it up, it was a day of almosts. I just kind of challenged the group like: ‘Are we going to be almost good? Are we going to make the plays when they’re there to be made?’”

Rookie Ryan Fitzgerald’s 52-yard field goal cut the lead to 7-3 about two minutes before halftime.

Ka’imi Fairbairn made a 41-yard field goal just before halftime and added a 35-yard kick early in the third quarter to push the lead to 13-3.

The Texans intercepted third-string quarterback Jack Plummer on consecutive drives in the second half. Damon Arnette grabbed the second one and three plays later the Texans made it 20-3 when British Brooks scored on a 1-yard run.

Arnette, a first-round pick in 2020, is attempting a comeback after his career was derailed by legal troubles and he played just 13 games over two seasons before being released by the Raiders. He hasn’t appeared in a regular-season NFL game since 2021 and last played for the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks.

Sitting out

Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn didn’t play because of a thumb injury and left guard Damien Lewis also sat out because of a shoulder injury.

Up next

Panthers: Wrap up the preseason Thursday night when they host Pittsburgh.

Texans: End their preseason Saturday at Detroit.

August 16th 2025

August 16th 2025

Thought of the Day

August 16th 2024
Photo by Getty Images

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which have never happened.” – Mark Twain

No deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine after Trump rolls out red carpet for Putin

No deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine after Trump rolls out red carpet for Putin

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump failed to secure an agreement from Vladimir Putin on Friday to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, falling short in his most significant move yet to stop the bloodshed, even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started it.

They were expected to give a joint news conference at the end of their talks but took no questions from reporters and offered scant details. Instead, Putin said they had hammered out an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.” Trump said they had made “great progress” at their summit, but there were still sticking points.

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” the U.S. president said. He said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders to brief them on the talks, which lasted about two hours.

Trump, who for years has balked at American support for Ukraine and expressed admiration for Putin, had pledged confidently to bring about an end to the war on his first day back in the White House. Seven months later, after berating Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and stanching the flow of some U.S. military assistance to Kyiv, Trump could not bring Putin even to pause the fighting, as his forces make gains on the battlefield.

Trump had offered Putin both a carrot and a stick, issuing threats of punishing economic sanctions on Russia while also extending a warm welcome at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, but he appeared to walk away without any concrete result on ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

The U.S. president had wanted to show off his deal-making skills, while Putin had the opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia’s gains, block Kyiv’s bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow’s orbit.

“We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,” Trump said. “And there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”

He continued: “We didn’t get there.”

Zelenskyy and European leaders were excluded from Trump and Putin’s discussions, and Ukraine’s president was left posting a video address before the meeting in which he expressed his hope for a “strong position from the U.S.”

Putin thanks Trump for his ‘friendly tone’

For Putin, just being on U.S. soil for the first time in more than a decade was validation after his ostracization following his invasion of Ukraine.

His meeting with Trump may stall the economic sanctions that the U.S. president had promised unless Moscow worked harder to bring fighting to a close. It may now simply lead to more meetings, giving his forces more time to make progress on the battlefield.

Putin thanked Trump for the “friendly” tone of their conversation and said Russia and the United States should “turn the page and go back to cooperation.”

He praised Trump as someone who “has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia has its own national interests.”

“I expect that today’s agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S.,” Putin said.

Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, Trump ended his remarks by thanking Putin and saying, “we’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.”

When Putin smiled and offered, “next time in Moscow,” Trump said “that’s an interesting one” and said he might face criticism but “I could see it possibly happening.”

Trump and Putin had greeted each other with warm handshake, chatting almost like they were old friends., and gripped hands for an extended period of time on a red carpet rolled out at the military base. As they chatted, Putin grinned and pointed skyward, where B-2s and F-22s — military aircraft designed to oppose Russia during the Cold War — flew overhead. The two then shared the U.S. presidential limo known as “The Beast” for a short ride to their meeting site, with Putin offering a broad smile as the vehicle rolled past the cameras.

It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close U.S. allies and belied the bloodshed and suffering in the war Putin started in Ukraine. Although not altogether surprising considering their longtime friendly relationship, such outward friendliness before hours of closed-door meetings likely raised concerns from Zelenskyy and European leaders, who fear that Trump is primarily focusing on furthering U.S. interests and not pressing hard enough for Ukraine’s.

Not a one-on-one meeting

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said shortly before Air Force One touched down that the previously planned one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin would be a three-on-three discussion including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Putin was joined by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.

The change seemed to indicate that the White House was taking a more guarded approach than it did during a 2018 meeting in Helsinki, where Trump and Putin met privately with their interpreters and Trump then shocked the world by siding with the Russian leader over U.S. intelligence officials on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 campaign.

Zelenskyy’s exclusion was also a heavy blow to the West’s policy of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” and invites the possibility that Trump could agree to a deal that Ukraine does not want.

War still raging

Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their demands for peace. Putin has long resisted any temporary ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies and a freeze on Ukraine’s mobilization efforts, which are conditions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.

The meeting comes as the war has caused heavy losses on both sides and drained resources. Ukraine has held on far longer than some initially expected since the February 2022 invasion, but it is straining to hold off Russia’s much larger army, grappling with bombardments of its cities and fighting for every inch on the over 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line.

Alaska is separated from Russia at its closest point by just 3 miles (less than 5 kilometers) and the international date line.

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It continues to play a role today, as planes from the base still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into U.S. airspace.

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Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Jonathan J. Cooper in Washington, Elise Morton in London and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

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