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AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Amazon Prime Video will stream two hours of coverage during the first and second rounds of the Masters beginning next year.
The Masters will stream on Prime Video from 1-3 p.m. ET daily on April 9 and 10, leading into ESPN’s coverage both days from 3-7:30 p.m.
“Working alongside Amazon in this capacity is an exciting opportunity for the Masters Tournament and its fans,” Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National and the Masters, said in a statement. “We are proud of our longstanding partnerships with CBS Sports and ESPN, who have set the highest standard for broadcast coverage of the Masters. The addition of Amazon will only further our abilities to expand and enhance how the Tournament is presented and enjoyed.”
Paramount+ will stream the third and fourth rounds on April 11 and 12 from noon-2 p.m. ET before CBS takes over beginning at 2 p.m.
With the addition of Prime Video, primary broadcast and streaming coverage of the Masters will be at least 27 hours, up from 18 hours last year.
“It’s an honor for all of us at Amazon to become a broadcast partner of the Masters Tournament and to provide fans additional hours of live coverage of this treasured event,” Jay Marine, head of Prime Video U.S. and Global Sports, said in a statement. “We are humbled and proud to begin our relationship with Augusta National Golf Club, and we cannot wait to get started.”
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers increased their spending at a better-than-expected pace in August from July, helped by back-to-school shopping, even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs are starting to hurt the job market and lead to price increases.
Retail sales rose 0.6% last month from July, when sales were up a revised 0.6%, according to the Commerce Department’s report. In June, retail sales rose 0.9%.
The August performance, announced Tuesday, was also likely helped by the continued efforts by Americans to keep pushing up purchases ahead of expected price increases.
The retail sales increases followed two straight months of spending declines in April and May.
Excluding auto sales, which have been volatile since Trump imposed tariffs on many foreign-made cars, retail sales rose 0.7% in August. Sales at auto vehicle and parts dealers rose 0.5%.
The data showed solid spending across various other outlets. Business at electronics and appliance stores was up 0.3%, while online retailers had a 2% increase. Business at clothing and accessories retailers rose 1%.
And business at restaurants, the lone services component within the Census Bureau report and a barometer of discretionary spending, rose 0.7%.
“This is further evidence that we shouldn’t underestimate the strength of the consumer,” Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman wrote in a note Tuesday. “Back-to-school shopping was a key theme in August, as evidenced by the strong clothing and electronics sales.”
Government retail data isn’t adjusted for inflation, which rose 0.4% from July to August, according to the latest government report. That was faster than the 0.2% pace the previous month. So that could have inflated the sales figures as well.
Inflation rose last month as the price of gas, groceries and airfares jumped while new data showed applications for unemployment aid soared, putting the Federal Reserve in an increasingly tough spot as it prepares to cut rates at its meeting this week despite persistent price increases.
Consumer prices increased 2.9% in August from a year earlier, the Labor Department said last week, up from 2.7% the previous month and the biggest jump since January. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1%, the same as in July. Both figures are above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Core prices rose 0.3% for the second straight month.
Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers — companies, government agencies and nonprofits — added just 22,000 jobs last month, down from 79,000 in July and well below the 80,000 that economists had expected. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, the highest since 2021.
Major retailers including Walmart, Macy’s and Best Buy recently reported their quarterly results, underscoring that shoppers are still buying, but are choosy. Some have raised prices but many, including Home Depot and Macy’s, have described the hikes as modest.
Still, so far, shoppers haven’t felt the big sting as some economists predicted earlier in the year as many retailers had ordered goods ahead of tariffs and absorbed a big chunk of the costs as they came in, worried about passing on any hefty price increases to consumers.
The price gains have also been gradual enough to mute changes in consumer spending behavior, Walmart CEO Doug McMillion told analysts last month after the nation’s largest retailer reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings results.
But Walmart and others said they expect to see costs increase as they replenish inventory at post-tariff levels.
Jewelry maker Pandora hasn’t announced specific price increases, but Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik said in a call with analysts last month that the company is monitoring the scenario.
He noted that “the U.S. consumer will eventually have to bear the brunt of these tariffs,” but added, “it’s not just on jewelry, it’s on many product categories. So the big question mark is, what happens with inflation in the U.S., unemployment rates, all sorts of other macro drivers, and I think this is ahead of us.”
By MELANIE LIDMAN, JON GAMBRELL and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military began its ground offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, slowly closing in on the Palestinian territory’s largest city in another escalation in the war. Thousands of people streamed out of the city in vehicles laden with their belongings, but hundreds of thousands more remain.
The conflict has already decimated much of the Gaza Strip and roiled the Middle East for nearly two years, and the new operation likely pushes any ceasefire farther out of reach. The military wouldn’t offer a timeline for the offensive, which it says aims to “destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure,” but Israeli media suggested it could take months.
The operation began the same day that independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel fiercely rejected the allegation, calling the experts’ report “distorted and false.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that “Gaza is burning” as the operation began, and heavy bombardment battered the city overnight and into the morning.
Israeli forces have carried out multiple large-scale raids into Gaza City over the course of the war, causing mass displacement and heavy destruction, only to see militants regroup later. This time, Israel has vowed to take control of the entire city.
Long lines of cars and trucks strapped with mattresses and other belongings stretched down Gaza’s coastal road, as people fled the city. Some crowded on top of vehicles, while others made their way on foot.
On a brief visit to the region, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that there was a “very short window of time in which a deal can happen” to end the war.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines, said that the “main phase” of the Gaza City operation had begun, with troops moving in from the city’s outskirts toward its center. Airstrikes have pounded Gaza City for some time in the leadup to the operation, knocking down towers in the city.
The official said the Israeli military believes there are approximately 2,000 to 3,000 Hamas militants left in Gaza City, as well as tunnels used by the militant group. Hamas’ military capabilities have been vastly diminished over nearly two years of war, and nowadays it mainly carries out guerrilla-style attacks, with small groups of fighters planting explosives or attacking military outposts before melting away.
An estimated 1 million Palestinians were living in the Gaza City region before warnings to evacuate began ahead of the offensive, and the Israeli military estimates 350,000 people have left the city.
A U.N. estimate on Monday, however, said that over 220,000 Palestinians have fled northern Gaza over the past month.
By the end of the current operation, an Israeli military graphic suggested its troops hope to control all of the Gaza Strip except for a large swath along the coast.
Palestinian residents reported heavy strikes across Gaza City on Tuesday morning, with hospitals in the city saying there were at least 69 deaths.
Shifa Hospital received the bodies of 49 people, including 22 children, according to Dr. Rami Mhanna, a hospital official, who said dozens of wounded had also come into the facility. Al-Ahli Hospital received 17 bodies, and Al-Quds three.
“A very tough night in Gaza,” Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, Shifa’s director, told The Associated Press. “The bombing did not stop for a single moment.”
Several women gathered at the hospital’s morgue, where AP footage showed many dead in body bags.
“How long will we remain like this? We’ve had enough,” said one of the women, who identified herself as Um Ahmed Zaqout. “Throw us into any country. Enough of this torture here.”
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deadly strikes but in the past has accused Hamas of building military infrastructure inside civilian areas, especially in Gaza City.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Forty-eight hostages, fewer than half believed to be alive, remain in Gaza.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many were civilians or combatants. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, says women and children make up around half the dead.
Overnight, families of the hostages still being held in Gaza gathered outside of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence, pleading with him to stop the Gaza City operation.
Some pitched tents and slept outside his home in protest.
“I have one interest — for this country to wake up and bring back my child along with 47 other hostages, both living and deceased, and to bring our soldiers home,” Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held in Gaza, shouted outside Netanyahu’s residence.
“If he stops at nothing and sends our precious, brave, heroic soldiers to fight while our hostages are being used as human shields — he is not a worthy prime minister,” Zangauker.
Israel believes around 20 of the hostages, including Matan, are alive. Hamas has said it will only free remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
On a visit to Israel, Rubio suggested that there might still be time for a negotiated end the war.
“At some point, this has to end. At some point, Hamas has to be defanged, and we hope it can happen through a negotiation,” he said. “But I think time, unfortunately, is running out.”
He continued on to Qatar, where he met with its ruling emir. Qatar is incensed over an Israeli strike last week that killed five Hamas members and a local security official.
Rubio thanked Qatar, which has been a key negotiator in efforts to reach a ceasefire, for playing that role, according to a statement from his office, which did not directly acknowledge the Israeli strike. He also highlighted the countries’ close ties.
Arab and Muslim nations denounced the strike at a summit Monday but stopped short of any major action targeting Israel, highlighting the challenge of pressuring Israel into changing course.
Egypt, which has had a peace deal with Israel for decades and has also served as a mediator in the war in Gaza, appears to be losing its patience with Israel.
Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, described Israel as “an enemy” in a fiery speech at the Qatar summit Monday. It was the first time an Egyptian leader used the term since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979, said Diaa Rashwan, head of Egyptian government’s State Information Service.
Qatar’s emir also used unusually strong language to denounce Israel at the summit.
Egypt was the first Arab country to establish ties with Israel and their peace treaty is seen as a cornerstone for stability in the volatile region.
“Egypt is being threatened,” Rashwan told the state-run Extra News television late Monday.
El-Sissi’s “enemy” comment played prominently across Egyptian newspapers’ front pages on Tuesday and while Cairo has taken no steps to change its status with Israel, the Egyptian government likely is trying to signal just how seriously it takes Israel’s recent actions.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Munich, Germany, and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
By BOB THOMAS Associated Press
Robert Redford, the Hollywood golden boy who became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters, died Tuesday at 89.
Redford died “at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” publicist Cindi Berger said in a statement. No cause of death was provided.
After rising to stardom in the 1960s, Redford was one of the biggest stars of the ’70s with such films as “The Candidate,” “All the President’s Men” and “The Way We Were,” capping that decade with the best director Oscar for 1980’s “Ordinary People,” which also won best picture in 1980. His wavy blond hair and boyish grin made him the most desired of leading men, but he worked hard to transcend his looks — whether through his political advocacy, his willingness to take on unglamorous roles or his dedication to providing a platform for low-budget movies.
His roles ranged from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward to a mountain man in “Jeremiah Johnson” to a double agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his co-stars included Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. But his most famous screen partner was his old friend and fellow activist and practical joker Paul Newman, their films a variation of their warm, teasing relationship off screen. Redford played the wily outlaw opposite Newman in 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” a box-office smash from which Redford’s Sundance Institute and festival got its name. He also teamed with Newman on 1973’s best picture Oscar winner, “The Sting,” which earned Redford a best-actor nomination as a young con artist in 1930s Chicago.
Film roles after the ’70s became more sporadic as Redford concentrated on directing and producing, and his new role as patriarch of the independent-film movement in the 1980s and ’90s through his Sundance Institute. But he starred in 1985’s best picture champion “Out of Africa” and in 2013 received some of the best reviews of his career as a shipwrecked sailor in “All is Lost,” in which he was the film’s only performer. In 2018, he was praised again in what he called his farewell movie, “The Old Man and the Gun.”
“I just figure that I’ve had a long career that I’m very pleased with. It’s been so long, ever since I was 21,” he told The Associated Press shortly before the film came out. “I figure now as I’m getting into my 80s, it’s maybe time to move toward retirement and spend more time with my wife and family.”
Redford had watched Hollywood grow more cautious and controlling during the 1970s and wanted to recapture the creative spirit of the early part of the decade. Sundance was created to nurture new talent away from the pressures of Hollywood, the institute providing a training ground and the festival, based in Park City, Utah, where Redford had purchased land with the initial hope of opening a ski resort. Instead, Park City became a place of discovery for such previously unknown filmmakers as Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson and Darren Aronofsky.
“For me, the word to be underscored is ‘independence,’” Redford told the AP in 2018. “I’ve always believed in that word. That’s what led to me eventually wanting to create a category that supported independent artists who weren’t given a chance to be heard.
“The industry was pretty well controlled by the mainstream, which I was a part of. But I saw other stories out there that weren’t having a chance to be told and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I can commit my energies to giving those people a chance.’ As I look back on it, I feel very good about that.”
Sundance was even criticized as buyers swarmed in looking for potential hits and celebrities overran the town each winter.
“We have never, ever changed our policies for how we program our festival. It’s always been built on diversity,” Redford told the AP in 2004. “The fact is that the diversity has become commercial. Because independent films have achieved their own success, Hollywood, being just a business, is going to grab them. So when Hollywood grabs your films, they go, ‘Oh, it’s gone Hollywood.’”
By 2025, the festival had become so prominent that organizers decided they had outgrown Park City and approved relocating to Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027. Redford, who had attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, issued a statement saying that “change is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival.”
Redford was married twice, most recently to Sibylle Szaggars. He had four children, two of whom have died — Scott Anthony, who died in infancy, in 1959; and James Redford, an activist and filmmaker who died in 2020.
Robert Redford was born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on Aug. 18, 1937, in Santa Monica, a California boy whose blond good looks eased his way over an apprenticeship in television and live theater that eventually led to the big screen.
Redford attended college on a baseball scholarship and would later star as a middle-aged slugger in 1984’s “The Natural,” the adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s baseball novel. He had an early interest in drawing and painting, then went on to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, debuting on Broadway in the late 1950s and moving into television on such shows as “The Twilight Zone,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “The Untouchables.”
After scoring a Broadway lead in “Sunday in New York,” Redford was cast by director Mike Nichols in a production of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park,” later starring with Fonda in the film version. Redford did miss out on one of Nichols’ greatest successes, “The Graduate,” released in 1967. Nichols had considered casting Redford in the part eventually played by Dustin Hoffman, but Redford seemed unable to relate to the socially awkward young man who ends up having an affair with one of his parents’ friends.
“I said, ‘You can’t play it. You can never play a loser,’” Nichols said during a 2003 screening of the film in New York. “And Redford said, ‘What do you mean? Of course I can play a loser.’ And I said, ‘OK, have you ever struck out with a girl?’ and he said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he wasn’t joking.”
Even as Redford championed low-budget independent filmmaking, he continued to star in mainstream Hollywood productions himself, scoring the occasional hit such as 2001’s “Spy Game,” which co-starred Brad Pitt, an heir apparent to Redford’s handsome legacy whom he had directed in “A River Runs Through It.”
Ironically, “The Blair Witch Project,” “Garden State,” “Napoleon Dynamite” and other scrappy films that came out of Sundance sometimes made bigger waves — and more money — than some Redford-starring box-office duds like “Havana,” “The Last Castle” and “An Unfinished Life.”
Redford also appeared in several political narratives. He satirized campaigning as an idealist running for U.S. senator in 1972’s “The Candidate” and uttered one of the more memorable closing lines, “What do we do now?” after his character manages to win. He starred as Woodward to Hoffman’s Carl Bernstein in 1976’s “All the President’s Men,” the story of the Washington Post reporters whose Watergate investigation helped bring down President Richard Nixon.
With 2007’s “Lions for Lambs,” Redford returned to directing in a saga of a congressman (Tom Cruise), a journalist (Meryl Streep) and an academic (Redford) whose lives intersect over the war on terrorism in Afghanistan.
His biggest filmmaking triumph came with his directing debut on “Ordinary People,” which beat Martin Scorsese’s classic “Raging Bull” at the Oscars. The film starred Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore as the repressed parents of a troubled young man, played by Timothy Hutton, in his big screen debut. Redford was praised for casting Moore in an unexpectedly serious role and for his even-handed treatment of the characters, a quality that Roger Ebert believed set “the film apart from the sophisticated suburban soap opera it could easily have become.”
Redford’s other directing efforts included “The Horse Whisperer,” “The Milagro Beanfield War” and 1994’s “Quiz Show,” the last of which also earned best picture and director Oscar nominations. In 2002, Redford received an honorary Oscar, with academy organizers citing him as “actor, director, producer, creator of Sundance, inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere.”
“The idea of the outlaw has always been very appealing to me. If you look at some of the films, it’s usually having to do with the outlaw sensibility, which I think has probably been my sensibility. I think I was just born with it,” Redford said in 2018. “From the time I was just a kid, I was always trying to break free of the bounds that I was stuck with, and always wanted to go outside.”
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Associated Press journalists Hillel Italie, Jake Coyle and Mallika Sen contributed to this report. Bob Thomas, a longtime Associated Press journalist who died in 2014, was the principal writer of this obituary.
This recipe is a crowd-pleaser and a super easy way to make a warm, delicious appetizer from scratch.
1. Prep the oven and cheese
Freeze the mozzarella sticks for about an hour (so they don’t melt too quickly in the oven). During this time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees f.
2. Prep the coating process
Set up three medium-sized bowls: one with the flour and spices, one with the eggs (beaten), and one with the bread crumbs.
3. Dip the cheese
Dip each frozen string cheese stick in the flour, egg, and bread crumbs in that order.
4. Freeze again
Freeze the coated string cheese sticks for 30 minutes to ensure they keep their shape in the oven.
5. Bake
Place the coated cheese sticks on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway, until the mozzarella sticks are golden and crispy.
6. Serve and enjoy
Serve immediately with your favorite marinara or other dipping sauce.
The mind often forgets, but the heart always remembers.
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rose to more records on Monday at the start of a week that could show whether the U.S. stock market’s big recent rally has been overdone or prescient.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and topped its prior all-time high, which was set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to its own record.
Tesla helped lead the way and rose 3.6% after Elon Musk bought stock worth roughly $1 billion through a trust. The electric vehicle company’s stock price came into the day with a slight loss for the year so far, and the purchase could be a signal of Musk’s faith in it.
Alphabet was the single strongest force lifting the S&P 500 after gaining 4.5%, which brought the total value for Google’s parent company above $3 trillion. Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple are the only other companies on Wall Street worth that much.
The market’s main event for the week will arrive on Wednesday. That’s when the Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on interest rates, and the unanimous expectation is for the first cut of the year. Such a move could give a kickstart to the job market, which has been slowing.
Stocks have already run to records on the assumption that a cut is coming on Wednesday, though. Expectations are also high that the Fed will keep lowering rates through the end of this year and into 2026. That creates the possibility for disappointment in the market, which would mean drops for stock prices, if the Fed doesn’t end up slashing rates as aggressively as traders expect.
That’s why more attention will be on what Fed Chair Jerome Powell says in his press conference following the decision than on the decision itself. Fed officials will also release their latest projections for where they see interest rates and the economy heading in upcoming years, which could provide another potential flashpoint.
What’s keeping the Fed on guard is a possible jump in inflation because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. That’s because lower interest rates can give inflation more fuel and send it even higher. And inflation has already proven difficult to get under the Fed’s 2% target.
Another threat for Wall Street is if the job market slows too much. In that case, a recession could create a downturn in corporate profits that’s steep enough to swamp the benefits that lower interest rates bring in the near term.
Trump, meanwhile, has pushed angrily for cuts to interest rates. He’s often attacked Powell personally, nicknaming him “Too Late,” and is trying to remove one of the Fed’s governors from its board.
“‘Too Late’ must cut interest rates now, and bigger than he had in mind,” Trump wrote on his social media network Monday, using his trademark all-caps style.
On Wall Street, Intel rose 2.9% after trimming its forecast for expenses this year. The move came after it completed the sale of a 51% stake in its Altera business to the Silver Lake investment firm.
That helped offset a 24.7% drop for Hain Celestial, which reported a larger loss for its latest quarter than it did a year earlier. Interim CEO Alison Lewis said the owner of “better-for-you” brands like Terra chips is making moves to stabilize sales “as we recognize our performance has not met expectations.”
Alaska Air Group lost 6.7% after the airline said high fuel costs will likely cause its third-quarter results to come in at the low end of its forecasted range. It also cited higher expenses for overtime pay and passengers’ compensation after bad weather and air-traffic control issues led to difficult operations in the summer, though it saw strong airfare trends thanks to demand for premium seats.
Nvidia edged down by less than 0.1% after China accused the chip company of violating its antimonopoly laws. Chinese regulators did not mention a punishment for Nvidia in a one-sentence statement on the matter but did say they would carry out “further investigation.”
All told, the S&P 500 rose 30.99 points to 6,615.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 49.23 to 45,883.45, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 207.65 to 22,348.75.
In the bond market Treasury yields eased, continuing their downward run on expectations for cuts to rates by the Fed.
The latest discouraging data on the economy came Monday from a report showing manufacturing activity in New York state is shrinking, contrary to economists’ expectations for continued growth. It’s the first month of contraction since June.
The next economic update will arrive Tuesday, when the U.S. government will say how much shoppers spent at U.S. retailers last month.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.03% from 4.06% late Friday.
In stock markets abroad, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.9%, while indexes moved more modestly across the rest of Europe and Asia.
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AP Writers Yuri Kageyama, Matt Ott and Ken Moritsugu contributed.
By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dave Canales benched Bryce Young two games into the 2024 season for ineffectiveness following a flurry of turnovers resulting in Carolina losing its first two games by a combined margin of 73-13.
More than six quarters into this season it looked as if Canales might be answering similar questions about Young’s future.
The Panthers fell behind 27-3 to the Arizona Cardinals and appeared on the verge of getting blown out for the second straight week. Young had two turnovers on the first two drives, one that was returned for a touchdown.
And then something clicked.
Young got going in the second half against Arizona, rallying the Panthers to 27-22 with three second-half touchdown passes. The Panthers, aided by a recovered onside kick and a few costly penalties on the Cardinals, had several chances to pull off the largest comeback in franchise history — but Young never managed to complete a single pass on the final drive and Carolina dropped to 0-2.
But even though Young failed to complete the comeback, he still displayed the resilience and fight that general manager Dan Morgan and Canales have been looking for from the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick as he continues to work through the maturity process in Year 3.
Young completed 35 of 55 passes for a career-high 328 yards and three touchdowns against Arizona.
This time, he won’t be benched.
“He makes some magical plays,” Canales said. “It’s the mistakes that we have to continue to clean up.”
However, getting the Panthers into the win column became more of a challenge for Young on Monday.
Canales announced that guard Robert Hunt, who signed a $100 million contract last season, and center Austin Corbett are headed to injured reserve. Hunt tore his left biceps, while Corbett has a grade 3 MCL left knee sprain, which normally means a tear ligament.
That’s a huge blow to the offensive line, once considered the strength of the team.
Canales wouldn’t completely rule out either from returning, but it’s clear that would be a long shot.
There were some questions about whether wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, a Pro Bowl selection in 2021 with the Las Vegas Raiders, would be able to make it back from a severe case of ulcerative colitis which kept him out of last season and a hamstring injury he sustained earlier this year. Even Renfrow had his doubts. But the team’s slot receiver, who failed to make the final roster cut before re-signing with Carolina after it traded Adam Thielen, showed he still has the ability to get open. Renfrow caught seven passes for 48 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona.
Turnovers. They continue to be an issue with the Panthers, who have five in two games — all of those belonging to Young. Young’s fumble on the opening possession resulted in an Arizona defensive touchdown and an early 7-0 deficit. He then threw an interception on the second drive.
Soon, the Panthers trailed 20-3 at halftime and never had a chance to establish the run game.
“We have to eliminate the mistakes,” Canales said. “Two weeks in a row … early, self-inflicted wounds. … We’re not able to play the complementary football that we’re looking for to be able to mix the runs, the play actions.”
WR Tetairoa McMillan. The No. 8 overall pick in the draft is clearly Carolina’s No. 1 option in the passing game. McMillan has 11 receptions for 186 yards this season, including six catches for 100 yards — some of which included some nifty moves after the catch — against Arizona. McMillan has yet to find the end zone, but it’s coming soon. The rookie is too talented not to score a bunch, and he showed that knack in college when he caught 26 TD passes in three seasons with the Arizona Wildcats. The Panthers simply need to design a few more plays — and look his way — more when they’re in the red zone.
Xavier Legette. Carolina’s 2024 first-round draft pick is floundering in Dave Canales’ offense. He could wind up losing his starting job to Brycen Tremayne (3 catches, 48 yards) or veteran David Moore if his production doesn’t improve. Legette was targeted eight times by Young on Sunday, but finished with one catch for minus-2 yards. For the season Legette has 8 yards on four catches despite being targeted 15 times.
With Corbett and Hunt headed to IR, Cade Mays will start at center and Chandler Zavala at guard. Because of past injuries, both have starting experience with the Panthers. Mays has 15 starts in three seasons, including eight at center last season, and Zavala has nine in two years.
20 — Percent of games (6-24) the Panthers have won with Young as their starting quarterback.
The Panthers host Interstate-85 rival Atlanta on Sunday in their home opener.
By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that a North Carolina law that made it a crime for felony offenders who vote before they have completed their sentences without knowing they were breaking the law is unconstitutional.
A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday unanimously upheld a trial judge’s decision that found the law was discriminatory and harmed Black ex-defendants disproportionately.
At issue was a law against voting by felony offenders who were still serving sentences. In 2023, lawmakers updated the law so that, starting in January 2024, a person convicted of a felony had to know it was against the law to vote for it to be considered a crime.
But the old law wasn’t repealed and became the focus of the lawsuit originally filed in 2020. The plaintiffs — groups representing poor residents and Black union members — said that people could still be subject to prosecution for voting before 2024 under the old rules.
Melvin Montford, executive director of the North Carolina A. Phillip Randolph Institute, praised the ruling, saying it confirms “that this law was born out of racism and has been wielded to intimidate and disenfranchise Black voters.”
The decision means “this remnant of Jim Crow can no longer be used as a weapon against our communities,” he added.
The state constitution says a person convicted of a felony can’t vote until their rights of citizenship are restored “in the manner prescribed by law.” A felony offender can’t vote again until they complete their punishments, which include incarceration, probation, parole and other close supervision. Their rights are then automatically restored, but a person must reregister to vote.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs sided in April 2024 with the plaintiffs and blocked enforcement of the pre-2024 law. The State Board of Elections, a lawsuit defendant, appealed, and oral arguments at the 4th Circuit were held in Richmond, Virginia.
The 4th Circuit panel found as credible arguments by the plaintiffs that the pre-2024 law requires them to use time and resources to educate people eligible to vote but remain fearful about re-registering again for fear of prosecution.
Evidence was presented showing the law had originated in 1877, placing harsh penalties on disenfranchised felony offenders. State attorneys acknowledged the state’s racially biased history. But they contended the ratification of a new North Carolina Constitution in the early 1970s — with several race-related provisions eliminated — created “a legally significant historical break” from the original 1877 statute and a reenactment in 1899.
But U.S. Circuit Judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, writing the opinion, still found that the law retained a discriminatory taint — its origins dating to the decade after the Civil War when Black voting had initially been expanded.
There’s been no substantive change to the pre-2024 law since 1899, and the elections board has conceded the 1899 law is “indefensible,” Benjamin wrote.
“The fact that prosecutions under the Challenged Statute could not be brought for future conduct is of no consequence,” she added. Circuit Judges Jim Wynn and Pamela Harris joined Friday’s opinion. The three 4th Circuit judges were nominated to their current positions by Democratic presidents.
A state Department of Justice spokesperson said Monday the agency is reviewing the decision. Appeals to the full 4th Circuit or U.S. Supreme Court are possible.