Bill Belichick says he never sought an early departure from the North Carolina job

Bill Belichick says he never sought an early departure from the North Carolina job

By BOB SUTTON Associated Press

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Bill Belichick has denied reports that he’s been seeking an exit strategy from his North Carolina coaching role.

“Some of the reports out last week about my looking for a buyout and trying to leave here and all that is categorically false,” Belichick said Monday during his first public comments since a blowout loss to Clemson. “Glad I’m here. Working toward our goals and the process.”

Next up for the Tar Heels (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) is Friday night’s game at California (4-2, 1-1).

During the second of two off weeks in a three-week span, the subject of Belichick’s status and future with the Tar Heels was a hot topic, so much so that last Wednesday the university released brief statements from the coach and athletics director Bubba Cunningham reaffirming commitments between Belichick and the school.

“It’s a learning curve,” Belichick said Monday. “We’re all in it together, but we’re making a lot of progress.”

On Monday, there was double the media turnout compared to Belichick’s normal game-week availability. University chancellor Lee Roberts also attended along with high-ranking officials in the athletics department.

With only one game during a span of nearly a month, it has allowed off-field drama to command plenty of attention. Yet Belichick was spotted attending a high school game Friday night, perhaps an indication of normal in-season functions in terms of recruiting.

Belichick said the program has approximately 40 high school players committed for the next recruiting class.

Results on game days haven’t given Tar Heels fans much reason to be encouraged.

“Obviously we’re all a little frustrated with the results, but the only thing we can do is continue to work and improve,” Belichick said. “We’ve made a lot of progress. Right now, unfortunately, the scoreboard doesn’t reflect that, but I’m confident that it will.”

The former Super Bowl-winning coach disputed suggestions that there’s division within the team and a lack of progress.

“We’ve made a lot of improvements,” Belichick said. “I think that’s exciting for all of us to see, certainly for the individual players to see it, in the units that they work with. So I don’t know what kind of perspective some of those people have that are saying that.”

Offensive lineman Christo Kelly, who talked about the team coming together and buying into the process, said the Tar Heels shouldn’t be bothered by reports regarding Belichick.

“Some of that outside noise stuff doesn’t affect what we do day-in and day-out,” Kelly said.

Belichick referred to the Tar Heels as a developmental program, calling them similar to other teams he has overseen.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of programs where things started and where things ended up are honestly where they should go,” he said.

Belichick is in the first year of a deal that guarantees $10 million in base and supplemental pay for each of the next two seasons. Team general manager Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive who’s largely a partner with Belichick in this college endeavor, is making $1.5 million for each of the next two seasons.

Belichick defended Lombardi, who has been the subject of criticism stemming from some local media reports.

“I think Michael has done a great job of keeping the people close to the Carolina program up to date in what we’re doing, what our process is,” Belichick said. “We’re all working together. We’re all learning together.”

North Carolina has been blown out in three games against power conference opponents, including a 38-10 belting from Clemson in the most-recent game that resulted in a largely empty stadium in the second half. The Tar Heels surrendered 28 first-quarter points in that game.

Running back Caleb Hood announced last week that he was ending his playing career. Belichick said he had a conversation with Hood similar to ones he has had with many athletes through the years.

“For him, it was time, so I respect that,” Belichick said.

There was a light moment Monday when Belichick was asked about a phone call he made to ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit during the weekend. He said he was answering a text sent by Herbstreit, though the timing wasn’t ideal.

“I didn’t realize he was on the air,” the coach said.

Also last week, the school announced that cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins has been placed on suspension for violating rules connected to improper benefits. He’s on leave while the school “further investigates other potential actions detrimental” to the team and school.

This comes following months-long tabloid-level interest involving Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, who has been on the sidelines prior to games.

North Carolina effort wipes out $6.5B in medical debt for 2.5M people

North Carolina effort wipes out $6.5B in medical debt for 2.5M people

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than 2.5 million North Carolina residents are getting over $6.5 billion in medical debt eliminated through a state government effort that offered hospitals extra Medicaid funds from Washington if they gave patients the financial relief and implemented policies to discourage future liabilities.

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, the state health department secretary and other officials announced Monday results so far from what then-Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled 15 months ago as a first-of-its-kind initiative.

While helping almost one-quarter of North Carolina residents, Stein said the effort has exceeded expectations in giving individuals and families a second chance to succeed financially after medical crises. Officials previously estimated it could help about 2 million people get rid of $4 billion in debt. The debt that had been held by hospitals, and are usually difficult to recover, will be pulled from credit reports, the governor said.

“This is life-changing news for so many families,” Stein said, adding that recipients on average will have $2,600 erased. “No one chooses to have a heart attack or get diagnosed with a chronic condition — you just have to deal with it. Today’s announcement will free people from the financial stress so that they can focus on getting healthy.” Another news conference speaker described patients who avoided services or threatened to halt treatments to prevent debt from accumulating on themselves or their family.

Hospitals that agreed to participate have already alerted many patients to tell them their debt is essentially canceled, state health officials said Monday. And Undue Medical Debt, a national group working on the effort and taking over some hospital liabilities, plans to send 255,000 notices this week to other recipients.

The effort germinated from what’s called the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program, which state legislators approved in 2023 at the same time as expanded Medicaid coverage to working adults who couldn’t otherwise qualify for conventional Medicaid. Hospitals pay assessments to draw down billions of dollars in federal money.

The state Department of Health and Human Services last year proposed that ertain hospitals could receive higher program reimbursement levels to treat Medicaid enrollees if they agreed to medical debt initiatives. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services signed off on the plan details, and by August 2024 each of the roughly 100 acute-care, rural or university-connected hospitals that qualified decided to participate.

Under rules previously announced, the hospitals had to eliminate medical debt going back to early 2014 for patients who are Medicaid enrollees. They also would later have to eliminate other debt for non-enrollees based on income levels. And the hospitals were directed to discourage debt by doing things like automatically enrolling people in charity care programs or curbing certain debt collection practices. The $6.5 billion figure includes debt relieved directly through the initiative and through hospital policy changes to implement it, Stein’s office said.

Other state and local governments have tapped into federal American Rescue Plan funds to help purchase and cancel residents’ debt. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced in July that $429 million in medical debt had been erased for more than 352,000 state residents.

“North Carolina’s approach is completely unique,” said Jose Penabad, the Undue Medical Debt vice chair. Several states are following North Carolina’s use of Medicaid incentives closely, he added.

North Carolina debt eradication exceeded initial estimates in part because patients outside the population being targeted also had their debt eliminated, Stein said. Hospitals, for example, sometimes have eliminated debt for patients incurred at associated physician practices, said Jonathan Kappler, a state deputy health secretary. More debt will be eliminated in the future, he added.

State health secretary Dr. Dev Sangvai, told reporters the law approved by Congress in July that made cuts and policy changes to Medicaid won’t immediately affect the debt elimination initiative.

Some hospitals were initially hesitant about the debt relief efforts because of strings placed upon higher reimbursements, Cooper said last year. The North Carolina Healthcare Association, which lobbies for nonprofit and for-profit hospitals, said Monday in a statement that it’s concerned “recent and proposed government policies could add financial pressures” that prevent hospitals from expanding programs to help low-income patients.

Trump urges leaders to put ‘old feuds’ aside as he calls for a new era of harmony in the Middle East

Trump urges leaders to put ‘old feuds’ aside as he calls for a new era of harmony in the Middle East

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — President Donald Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East on Monday during a global summit on Gaza’s future, trying to advance broader peace in the region after visiting Israel to celebrate a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Hamas.

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us,” Trump said, and he urged leaders “to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past.”

The whirlwind trip, which included the summit in Egypt and a speech at the Knesset in Jerusalem earlier in the day, comes at a fragile moment of hope for ending two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

“Everybody said it’s not possible to do. And it’s going to happen. And it is happening before your very eyes,” Trump said alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Nearly three dozen countries, including some from Europe and the Middle East, are represented at the summit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited but declined, with his office saying it was too close to a Jewish holiday.

Trump, el-Sissi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signed a document that Trump said would lay the groundwork for Gaza’s future. However, a copy was not made public.

Despite unanswered questions about next steps in the Palestinian enclave, which has been devastated during the conflict, Trump is determined to seize an opportunity to chase an elusive regional harmony.

He expressed a similar sense of finality about the Israel-Hamas war in his speech at the Knesset, which welcomed him as a hero.

“You’ve won,” he told Israeli lawmakers. “Now it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”

Trump promised to help rebuild Gaza, and he urged Palestinians to “turn forever from the path of terror and violence.”

“After tremendous pain and death and hardship,” he said, “now is the time to concentrate on building their people up instead of trying to tear Israel down.”

Trump even made a gesture to Iran, where he bombed three nuclear sites during the country’s brief war with Israel earlier this year, by saying “the hand of friendship and cooperation is always open.”

Trump is on a whirlwind trip to Middle East

Trump arrived in Egypt hours late because speeches at the Knesset continued longer than expected.

“They might not be there by the time I get there, but we’ll give it a shot,” Trump joked after needling Israeli leaders for talking so much.

Twenty hostages were released Monday as part of an agreement intended to end the war that began on Oct. 7, 2023, with an attack by Hamas-led militants. Trump talked with some of their families at the Knesset.

“Your name will be remembered to generations,” a woman told him.

Israeli lawmakers chanted Trump’s name and gave him standing ovation after standing ovation. Some people in the audience wore red hats that resembled his “Make America Great Again” caps, although these versions said “Trump, The Peace President.”

Netanyahu hailed Trump as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House,” and he promised to work with him going forward.

“Mr. President, you are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace,” he said. “And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace.”

Trump, in an unexpected detour during his speech, called on the Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu, whom he described as “one of the greatest” wartime leaders. Netanyahu faces corruption charges, although several hearings have been postponed during the conflict with Hamas.

The Republican president also used the opportunity to settle political scores and thank his supporters, criticizing Democratic predecessors and praising a top donor, Miriam Adelson, in the audience.

Trump pushes to reshape the region

The moment remains fragile, with Israel and Hamas still in the early stages of implementing the first phase of Trump’s plan.

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement calls for the release of the final hostages held by Hamas; the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel; a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza’s main cities.

Trump has said there’s a window to reshape the region and reset long-fraught relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

“The war is over, OK?” Trump told reporters traveling with him aboard Air Force One.

“I think people are tired of it,” he said, emphasizing that he believed the ceasefire would hold because of that.

He said the chance of peace was enabled by his Republican administration’s support of Israel’s decimation of Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The White House said momentum is also building because Arab and Muslim states are demonstrating a renewed focus on resolving the broader, decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, in some cases, deepening relations with the United States.

In February, Trump had predicted that Gaza could be redeveloped into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East.” But on Sunday aboard Air Force One, he was more circumspect.

“I don’t know about the Riviera for a while,” Trump said. “It’s blasted. This is like a demolition site.” But he said he hoped to one day visit the territory. “I’d like to put my feet on it, at least,” he said.

The sides have not agreed on Gaza’s postwar governance, the territory’s reconstruction and Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm. Negotiations over those issues could break down, and Israel has hinted it may resume military operations if its demands are not met.

Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble, and the territory’s roughly 2 million residents continue to struggle in desperate conditions. Under the deal, Israel agreed to reopen five border crossings, which will help ease the flow of food and other supplies into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

Roughly 200 U.S. troops will help support and monitor the ceasefire deal as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private-sector players.

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Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

Education Department layoffs hit offices that oversee special education and civil rights enforcement

Education Department layoffs hit offices that oversee special education and civil rights enforcement

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new round of layoffs at the Education Department is depleting an agency that was hit hard in the Trump administration’s previous mass firings, threatening new disruption to the nation’s students and schools in areas from special education to civil rights enforcement and after-school programs.

The Trump administration started laying off 466 Education Department staffers on Friday amid mass firings across the government meant to pressure Democratic lawmakers over the federal shutdown. The layoffs would cut the agency’s workforce by nearly a fifth and leave it reduced by more than half its size when President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.

The cuts play into Trump’s broader plan to shut down the Education Department and parcel its operations to other agencies. Over the summer, the department started handing off its adult education and workforce programs to the Department of Labor, and it previously said it was negotiating an agreement to pass its $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department.

Department officials have not released details on the layoffs and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AFGE Local 252, a union that represents more than 2,700 department workers, said information from employees indicates cuts will decimate several offices within the agency.

All workers except a small number of top officials are being fired at the office that implements the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law that ensures millions of students with disabilities get support from their schools, the union said. Unknown numbers are being fired at the Office for Civil Rights, which investigates complaints of discrimination at the nation’s schools and universities.

The layoffs would eliminate or heavily deplete teams that oversee the flow of grant funding to schools across the nation, the union said. It hits the office that oversees Title I funding for the country’s low-income schools along with the team that manages 21st Century Community Learning Centers, the primary federal funding source for after-school and summer learning programs.

It will also hit an office that oversees TRIO, a set of programs that help low-income students pursue college, and another that oversees federal funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

In a statement, union president Rachel Gittleman said the new reductions, on top of previous layoffs, will “double down on the harm to K-12 students, students with disabilities, first generation college students, low-income students, teachers and local education boards.”

The Education Department had about 4,100 employees when Trump took office. After the new layoffs, it would be down to fewer than 2,000. Earlier layoffs in March had roughly halved the department, but some employees were hired back after officials decided they had cut too deep.

The new layoffs drew condemnation from a range of education organizations.

Although states design their own competitions to distribute federal funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, the small team of federal officials provided guidance and support “that is absolutely essential,” said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance.

“Firing that team is shocking, devastating, utterly without any basis, and it threatens to cause lasting harm,” Grant said in a statement.

The government’s latest layoffs are being challenged in court by the American Federation of Government Employees and other national labor unions. Their suit, filed in San Francisco, said the government’s budgeting and personnel offices overstepped their authority by ordering agencies to carry out layoffs in response to the shutdown.

In a court filing, the Trump administration said the executive branch has wide discretion to reduce the federal workforce. It said the unions could not prove they were harmed by the layoffs because employees would not actually be separated for another 30 to 60 days after receiving notice.

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

Living Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are freed as part of Gaza ceasefire

Living Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are freed as part of Gaza ceasefire

By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — All 20 living hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel walked free Monday as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that decimated the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Hamas said Monday it will hand over the bodies of four of 28 deceased captives, though it was not immediately clear when the rest would be released. Israel said it freed more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Speaking to parliament, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared he was “committed to this peace,” raising hopes that the ruinous war, which triggered other conflicts in the Middle East, might come to an end. But fundamental questions remain over when and how, whether Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza.

Cheering crowds greeted buses of released prisoners in the West Bank and Gaza, while families and friends of the hostages gathered in a square in Tel Aviv, Israel and cried out with joy and relief as news arrived that the captives were free.

U.S. President Donald Trump flew to the region and addressed the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. He later went to Egypt for a summit to discuss the U.S.-proposed deal and postwar plans with other leaders.

Speaking ahead of Trump’s address in the Knesset, Netanyahu pledged he was “committed to this peace” and noted that on the Jewish calendar “today … marks the end of two years of war.”

Despite ceasefire, a long road ahead for Gaza

While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners raised hopes for ending the deadliest war between Israel and the militant group. The ceasefire deal calls for a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, parts of which are experiencing famine.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage.

In Israel’s retaliatory offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the dead were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

The toll is expected to grow as bodies are pulled from rubble previously made inaccessible by fighting.

The war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its some 2 million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

Hostages and prisoners released

Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the hostage transfers at public screenings across the country. In Tel Aviv, families and friends of the hostages broke into wild cheers as television channels announced that the first group was in the hands of the Red Cross.

The freed hostages, all men, were later reunited with their families, and footage released by Israeli authorities showed tearful reunions.

When Bar Kupershtein was reunited with his family, his father, Tal, who has spent years in a wheelchair after a catastrophic car accident and stroke, fulfilled a promise he had made to himself and stood up for a few minutes to embrace his freed son.

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank rejoiced as buses carrying dozens of released prisoners from Ofer Prison arrived in Beitunia, near Ramallah.

“We’re just thanking God that it’s happened, he’s been released. Thank God,” said Farah Abu Shanab, whose uncle was freed.

Later, giant crowds were gathered to greet buses carrying other prisoners arriving at Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis.

The prisoners include 250 people serving life sentences for convictions in attacks on Israelis, in addition to 1,700 seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge. They will be returned to the West Bank or Gaza or sent into exile.

More than 150 prisoners were sent to Egypt by Israel and arrived at Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt early Monday afternoon, according to an Egyptian official, who had direct knowledge of the deal’s implementation. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

A painful chapter

The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization representing many of the hostage families, said it was “shocked and dismayed” that so few of the deceased hostages were imminently coming back.

An international task force will work to locate deceased hostages who are not returned within 72 hours, said Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the hostages and the missing.

The hostages’ return caps a painful chapter for Israel. Since they were captured, newscasts have marked their days in captivity and Israelis have worn yellow pins and ribbons in solidarity. Tens of thousands have joined their families in weekly demonstrations calling for their release.

Demonstrators accused Netanyahu of dragging his feet for political purposes, even as he accused Hamas of intransigence. Last week, under heavy international pressure and increasing isolation for Israel, the bitter enemies agreed to the ceasefire.

Trump in Israel and Egypt

In his Knesset speech, Trump told Israeli lawmakers their country must work toward peace after the war against Hamas and conflicts with Hezbollah and Iran.

“Israel, with our help, has won all that they can by force of arms,” Trump said. “Now it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”

His speech was briefly interrupted when two Knesset members staged a protest and were subsequently removed from the chamber. One held up a small sign reading, “Recognize Palestine.”

Despite the optimism expressed by Trump, many thorny questions remain. Among the most difficult is Israel’s insistence that a weakened Hamas disarm. Hamas refuses to do that and wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops completely out of Gaza.

So far, the Israeli military has withdrawn from much of Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis and other areas. Troops remain in most of the southern city of Rafah, towns of Gaza’s far north, and the wide strip along the length of Gaza’s border with Israel.

The future governance of Gaza also remains unclear. Under the U.S. plan, an international body will govern the territory, overseeing Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. Hamas has said Gaza’s government should be worked out among Palestinians.

In Egypt, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Trump were heading a summit with leaders from more than 20 countries on the future of Gaza and the broader Middle East.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort town to attend the meeting.

The plan envisions an eventual role for Abbas’ Palestinian Authority — something Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform program that could take years.

The plan calls for an Arab-led international security force in Gaza, along with Palestinian police trained by Egypt and Jordan. It said Israeli forces would leave areas as those forces deploy. About 200 U.S. troops are now in Israel to monitor the ceasefire.

The plan also mentions the possibility of a future Palestinian state, another nonstarter for Netanyahu.

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This story has been updated to correct that cheering crowds greeted prisoners in Beitunia, not Ramallah.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Truro, Massachusetts; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Jalal Bwaitel and Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank; Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece contributed to this report.

Simple Spiced Chai

Simple Spiced Chai

This simple spiced chai is the perfect warm drink for a cool fall day.

Ingredients

  • 1 black tea bag (or 1 tsp. loose black tea)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup milk (any kind)
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • A pinch of ground ginger
  • A pinch of cloves or nutmeg
  • 1 tsp. honey, sugar or maple syrup (optional)

Instructions

1. Boil the water
Boil the water with cinnamon, ginger, and spices in a small pot.

2. Steep the tea
Add the tea and let it steep for 3-5 minutes.

3. Sweeten it up
Stir in the milk and sweetener, then heat gently until warm (don’t boil).

4. Enjoy
Pour into a mug and enjoy on a cozy morning or as a warm way to wind down.

October 13th 2025

October 13th 2025

Thought of the Day

October 13th 2024
Photo by Getty Image

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket, it will help you grow intellectually.

Dowdle has 239 yards from scrimmage vs. former team as Panthers beat Cowboys on FG as time expires

Dowdle has 239 yards from scrimmage vs. former team as Panthers beat Cowboys on FG as time expires

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rico Dowdle went over 200 yards from scrimmage for the second straight week — this time against his former team — and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-27 in a wild back-and-forth game on Sunday.

Bryce Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards and threw two of his three touchdown passes to rookie Tetairoa McMillan to help the Panthers (3-3) improve to 3-0 at home.

Dowdle ran for 183 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers, who beat the Cowboys for the first time in three years at home. Dowdle spent five years with the Cowboys before signing with Carolina as an unrestricted free agent. He has 473 yards from scrimmage over the past two weeks, a franchise record.

McMillan hadn’t caught a touchdown pass in the NFL before Sunday after catching 26 over his three seasons at the University of Arizona, but broke through with TD catches of 19 and 2 yards.

Dak Prescott finished 25 of 34 for 261 yards and three touchdowns for the Cowboys (2-3-1). Dallas wasted a career-best game from George Pickens, who caught nine passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.

After the Cowboys tied the game with a field goal, Young drove the Panthers 71 yards in 15 plays in a drive that took up more than six minutes to finish the game. At one point, the Cowboys were trying to let the Panthers to score to get the ball back, but running back Trevor Etienne wisely went down after a first down before the end zone.

Young took a knee twice to set up Fitzgerald’s game-winning kick.

Young was 3 of 4 for 25 yards on the final drive, including a huge 7-yard completion on fourth-and-4 to Hunter Renfrow to move the chains. Dowdle added 22 yards on four carries.

Trailing 17-13 at halftime, Young found Dowdle alone along the left sideline for a 36-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to give Carolina its first lead of the game. He later threw a second TD pass to McMillan.

Young continued to struggle with first half turnovers, although this time it was no fault of his own.

McMillan allowed a pass from Young sail through his hands early in the second quarter and Donovan Wilson picked it off and returned it 31 yards to the Carolina 13. That set up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Hunter Luepke off a play-action fake on fourth-and-1 giving Dallas a 10-3 lead.

But McMillan, the No. 8 overall pick in the NFL draft, would make up for the mistake on the ensuing possession, breaking off his route and hauling in a 19-yard touchdown reception for his first career TD.

Carolina’s struggles to cover the tight end came back to haunt them in the second quarter as Jake Ferguson got free down the seam for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give Dallas a 17-13 lead heading into halftime.

Up next

Dallas: Hosts Washington on Sunday.

Carolina: Visits the winless New York Jets on Sunday.

Ironweed: The resilient perennial transforming North Carolina landscapes

Ironweed: The resilient perennial transforming North Carolina landscapes

By MIKE RALEY WPTF Weekend Gardener

We all want resilient plants for our landscape. Frankly we want something that is cost effective. A plant which fulfills that description and expectation is “Ironweed” (Vernonia noveboracensis). This seems to be the most common variety grown in North Carolina. Anne Clapp used to say: “A weed is a plant you don’t want in your yard,” but you definitely will want Ironweed! It is a popular and hardy herbaceous perennial that you’ll find in a lot of landscapes in North Carolina. Herbaceous means it does not have a woody stem and dies back to the ground after it flowers. By the way, “Ironweed” was named for the English botanist William Vernon who traveled extensively in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s.

Several native flowers I have written about in past articles are members of the largest plant family, the “Aster” family due to their flower structure which is made up of many small flowers or a cluster that appear to be a single bloom. Ironwood is another plant that belongs in this family. “Ironweed” is known to have tough sturdy stems which comes in handy for a flower that grows to a height of 6 to 8 feet.

“Ironweed” is found all over the “Tar Heel” state growing under various environmental conditions. They can grow in most any type of soil from sandy to clay to loamy. Loamy means it’s a perfect soil mix with all the nutrients and just the right pH which is on the acid side. Wherever you plant “Ironweed,” it will truly grow best in well-drained yet moist to wet soil. It just doesn’t want to sit in water all the time. I mean, who does! It prefers full sun to part shade for ideal growth. Ironweed actually grows along roadsides, near streams in pastures throughout the United States and Canada. However, it will look great in your yard because of the extraordinary flowers, clusters of deep purple. There are some striking specimens on my daily walking route where a neighbor has created a nature habitat that virtually covers most of the property surrounding their house. “Ironweed” blooms seem to last and last, at least through mid- summer into mid-fall. While it has an aggressive growth habit that can easily be controlled by dead-heading the flowers, “Ironweed” is not considered to be an invasive plant.

More and more people are planting pollinator gardens and “Ironweed” fits in there. Its flowers produce abundant nectar for bees of all kinds, butterflies and hummingbirds. Some varieties act as a host plant for some species of butterflies and the stems can support bees for nesting habitats. Cut these plants at the end of the growing season. Migrating birds enjoy a stop for a meal of “Ironweed” seeds produced at the end of the growing season.

In addition to Veronica noveboracensis there are a few other varieties to consider. “Veronica gigabytes” (larger flower heads than the standard for central North Carolina and usually found in the mountains), “Veronica angustifolia” also known as “Sandhills Ironweed,” “Vernonia glaucoma,” “Veronica lettermannii” and “Vernonia fasciculata.”

This is one sturdy plant that does not seem to be afflicted by insect or disease problems.

The Ironweed was selected as the 2004 NC Wildflower of the Year, which is a program managed by my friends at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens. I would say that is quite an endorsement. I’m sold!

Israel lays out plans for hostage release and prisoner swap expected on Monday

Israel lays out plans for hostage release and prisoner swap expected on Monday

By SAMY MAGDY, SARAH EL DEEB and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Israel said Sunday that it expected all of the living hostages held in the Gaza Strip to be released Monday, confirming the next phase of the breakthrough ceasefire deal with Hamas, as Palestinians awaited a long-promised surge of aid deliveries into the enclave.

The details emerged as the region prepared for U.S. President Donald Trump to visit Israel and Egypt — the latest in the swift flurry of developments since the ceasefire was announced last week, offering hope for an end to the two-year war.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have returned to Gaza City and the north of the Strip since Friday when a ceasefire between Israel Hamas came into effect. (AP Video)

“We are expecting all 20 of our living hostages to be released together at one time to the Red Cross and transported among six to eight vehicles,” Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said, noting that Israel did not expect militants to stage the exchanges in the same manner as previous rounds.

Bedrosian said the hostages will be driven to a military base to reunite with their families or, if needed, immediately to a hospital.

After the hostages are freed, Israel was ready to release about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and receive the 28 hostages believed to be dead. The military planned to hold a ceremony on their behalf in Gaza, Bedrosian added.

The dead are expected to be transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.

An international task force will start working to locate deceased hostages who are not returned within the 72-hour period, said Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing.

Officials have said the search for the bodies of hostages, some of which may be buried under rubble, could take time.

Meanwhile on Gaza’s borders, preparations were underway to ramp up aid entering the war-battered territory. The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza said the amount of aid entering the Palestinian territory was expected to increase Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.

Egypt said it was sending 400 aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday. Associated Press footage showed dozens of trucks crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing. The Egyptian Red Crescent said the vehicles carried medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and fuel. The trucks will head to the inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing for screening by Israeli troops.

Expanding Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian aid have triggered a hunger crisis, including famine in parts of the territory.

The United Nations has said it has about 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid ready to enter once Israel gives the green light.

Abeer Etifa, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said workers were clearing and repairing roads Sunday inside Gaza to make way for the deliveries.

Gaza Humanitarian Fund’s future in question

The fate of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli- and U.S.-backed contractor that replaced the U.N. aid operation in May as the primary food supplier in Gaza, remained unclear.

Food-distribution sites operated by the group in the southernmost city of Rafah and central Gaza were dismantled following the ceasefire deal, several Palestinians said Sunday.

The GHF had been touted by Israel and the United States as an alternative system to prevent Hamas from taking over aid. However, its operations were mired in chaos, and hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while heading to its four sites. The Israeli military has said its troops fired warning shots to control crowds.

A GHF representative said in a statement that some distribution sites might be temporarily closed during the transfer of hostages to Israel, but “there is no change to our long-term plan.”

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, which has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks of aid waiting outside in Egypt and Jordan, also had no clarity on its role in the scaled-up relief effort. A spokesperson for the agency known as UNRWA, Jonathan Fowler, said the organization was “standing ready” to contribute and has enough food in its warehouses for the entire Gaza Strip population for three months.

Preparations for Trump’s visit

Trump, who pushed to clinch the ceasefire deal, is expected to arrive Monday morning in Israel. He will meet with families of the hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, according to a schedule released by the White House.

Trump will then continue to Egypt, where the office of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said he will co-chair a “peace summit” Monday with regional and international leaders.

Timing has not yet been announced for the release of the Palestinian prisoners held in Israel who are to be freed under the deal. They include 250 people serving life sentences in addition to 1,700 people seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.

Dr. Mounir al-Boursh, head of the Health Ministry in Gaza, said he hopes the bodies of medical personnel who died in Israeli detention centers will be among those handed over. He called for the release of two doctors who were detained from Gaza during the war.

Gaza residents return home

Palestinians continued to move back to areas vacated by Israeli forces Sunday, although many were returning to homes reduced to rubble.

Satellite photos taken Saturday and analyzed by The Associated Press showed a line of vehicles traveling north to Gaza City along the strip’s coastline. Tents along the coast also could be seen near Gaza City’s marina, where many have been living to avoid Israeli bombardment of the city.

Armed police in Gaza City and southern Gaza patrolled the streets and secured aid trucks driving through areas from which the Israeli military had withdrawn, residents said. The police force is part of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

The ministry said in a statement Sunday that it would allow members of armed gangs not involved in the killing of Palestinians to turn themselves in as early as Monday, “repent and be pardoned.” As for others, it noted some gangs took advantage of the situation to carry out out extrajudicial activities.

The pause in fighting allowed first responders to search previously inaccessible areas for bodies buried under rubble. Health officials said 233 bodies were recovered and brought to hospitals since Friday, when the truce went into effect.

Yasser el-Bureis, who was at the morgue in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said Sunday that he and his relatives had finally retrieved the bodies of his two cousins killed months earlier as they tried to flee their homes.

“For five months, we didn’t manage to recover the bodies,” he said.

Hospitals have run short on supplies for both the living and the dead, including body bags.

Devastation from 2 years of war

The war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.

The war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its 2 million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

While both Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza welcomed the initial halt to the fighting and plans to release the hostages and prisoners, the longer-term fate of the ceasefire remains murky. Key questions about governance of Gaza and the post-war fate of Hamas have yet to be resolved.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X that he had instructed the military to prepare to begin destroying the network of tunnels built by Hamas under Gaza “through the international mechanism that will be established under the leadership and supervision of the U.S.” once the hostages are released.

___

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell and Sarah El Deeb in Cairo, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Abby Sewell in Beirut and Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.

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