Bryson DeChambeau put a charge into the Ryder Cup crowd. Europe has snuffed it out

Bryson DeChambeau put a charge into the Ryder Cup crowd. Europe has snuffed it out

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau brought panache to the Ryder Cup. Europe delivered the points.

Bethpage Black hardly lived up to its rowdy reputation in a subdued start Friday to these contentious matches. Europe was largely responsible for that by taking big leads in the opening three matches and nearly getting another clean sweep in foursomes.

All that saved the Americans from an even deeper hole than 3-1 was Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, and even that was a chore. They lost a 3-up lead through 11 holes and had to battle to the 18th hole to secure the point.

“It’s not exactly what we wanted, but we know the Ryder Cup is going to be ebbs and flows, and I’ve got a lot of faith in our boys,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said.

The Americans had a 1-up lead in that anchor match through 14 holes when they walked under a huge U.S. flag and across Old Swamp Road, just in time for Air Force One to fly low over the 15th fairway with President Donald Trump on his way to the Ryder Cup.

It was an amazing scene, and Europeans could only look to the blue sky and smile at the spectacle of the first sitting U.S. president at this event.

Not that it shook them any. They looked in control, as usual, especially on the scoreboard.

DeChambeau won the first hole with a 344-yard drive over the trees that riled up a massive grandstand that was filled two hours before the start. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton took it from there in a 4-and-3 victory for the first point.

Ludvig Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick, already 3 up through six holes, lost only two holes as they sailed to a 5-and-3 win over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley. Scheffler, the No. 1 player in golf, now has gone five straight Ryder Cup matches without winning a full point.

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood — the famous “Fleetwood Mac” pairing from Rome — delivered another decisive point and didn’t even cross Old Swamp Road. They ended it on the par-3 14th against outmatched Harris English and Collin Morikawa.

Trump arrived just before the afternoon fourballs began, the Americans in dire need of not falling too far behind. They already had dug a hole. Only two teams in the current format dating to 1979 have come back from a 3-1 deficit in the opening session.

Bradley walked alone up the 15th fairway, listening to a few New York fans call out, “You should have played.” He had contemplated being the first playing captain in the Ryder Cup since 1963.

The crowd only got loud at the end when Cantlay and Schauffele, all square against Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland, won a nail-biter. MacIntyre had to back off his tee shot on the 17th when one fan yelled out “Hit the ball!” to the notoriously slow Scotsman.

The fans cheered loudly when MacIntyre missed a 9-foot par putt to fall 1 down, and they booed Europe on the 18th.

Otherwise, it was relatively quiet except for pockets of cheers from Europeans in their yellow and blue, cheering big putts by Hatton and Fitzpatrick, and Fleetwood’s tee shot into 6 feet on the par-3 eighth that led to birdie and a 5-up lead.

This wasn’t what Bradley had in mind when he showed up 90 minutes before the opening shot, grabbed a microphone to address the crowd and said, “Let’s (expletive) go, boys!”

The chanting and singing so typical of the start at the Ryder Cup was flat and somewhat disconnected, one side of the grandstands starting one cheer while the other had something else going.

And it was vulgar at times, particularly when McIlroy was shown on the video board warming up on the range. Even during regular play on this New York public course, the most common four-letter word in golf that starts with “F” is not fore.

All that lusty cheering for DeChambeau and Justin Thomas didn’t last long. There was little to cheer for so much of the morning.

European captain Luke Donald had his team play three-hole matches ahead of Rome to inspire a fast start. They swept the opening session at Marco Simone and never looked back. That seemed to work at Bethpage Black, too.

“I think we talk about fast starts a lot,” Fleetwood said. “Luke has always drilled that into us since being captain, and that’s what you want to do. That’s the ideal.”

Hurricane Helene hit the reset button on one town’s goal of becoming an outdoor tourism mecca

Hurricane Helene hit the reset button on one town’s goal of becoming an outdoor tourism mecca

By ALLEN G. BREED and BRITTANY PETERSON Associated Press

OLD FORT, N.C. (AP) — Morning mist is still burning off the surrounding mountains when they appear: Small groups of helmeted riders on one-wheeled, skateboard-like contraptions, navigating the pitched streets, past the 30-foot granite Arrowhead Monument on the town square.

They are among the 400 or so people converging on this Blue Ridge foothills town for FloatLife Fest, which bills itself as “the ORIGINAL and LONGEST RUNNING” gathering dedicated to motorized Onewheel boards. Swelling Old Fort’s normal population by half, the mid-September festival is injecting much needed money and hope into a town still recovering a year after it was inundated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

“We should definitely come back again,” says Jess Jones, a 34-year-old marine biologist from Edinburgh, Scotland. “The vibe and the welcome that we got there was really nice.”

That the festival occurred at all is a tribute to the area’s natural beauty, and the resilience of its people.

Signs of progress are mixed with still-visible scars from Helene in this town about 24 miles (39 kilometers) east of Asheville. Most of Old Fort’s shops have reopened, even as workers continue clawing away at a debris pile downtown and some homes remain unlivable.

Like other businesspeople in this tourist-dependent mountain region, bike shop owner Chad Schoenauer has been banking on a strong fall leaf-peeping season to help get him back on track after Helene. But many seem to assume Old Fort is still a wasteland.

“‘Oh, I didn’t know that you were open,’” he says is a typical reaction.

Helene’s floods and landslides interrupt outdoor tourism makeover

When Helene swept through, Old Fort was well on its way to remaking itself as an outdoor destination, especially after furniture manufacturer Ethan Allen laid off 325 workers when it converted its factory there into a distribution center in 2019.

“When the Ethan Allen layoff happened, local leaders started coming together and saying, `How do we use these beautiful natural assets that we have to diversify the manufacturing economy?’” says Kim Effler, president and CEO of the McDowell Chamber of Commerce.

Named for a Revolutionary War-era stockade, the town decided to become a world-class destination for hiking, running, horseback riding and, most notably, mountain biking.

“We have a red clay that makes some of the best trails in the country,” FloatLife founder Justyn Thompson says. “The trails are epic.”

In 2021, the G5 Trail Collective — a program led by the nonprofit Camp Grier outdoors complex — got the U.S. Forest Service to agree to 42 miles (68 kilometers) of new multi-purpose trails. The effort began paying dividends almost immediately.

“For every trail that we were able to open, we saw a new business open up in town,” says Jason McDougald, the camp’s executive director.

The collective had just completed the 21st mile (34th kilometer) of trail when Helene, in Schoenauer’s words, hit “the reset button” by washing away trails and damaging businesses.

When the storm blew through on Sept. 27, 2024, the Catawba River converged with the normally placid Mill Creek, leaving much of downtown under several feet of muddy water.

Schoenauer, who opened his Old Fort Bike Shop in 2021, says it took two days before he could make it to town to assess damage to the business housed in a refurbished 1901 former general store.

“I was numb coming all the way here,” he says. “And as soon as I got off the exit, I started crying.”

The water rose more than 3 feet (1 meter) inside the shop, leaving behind a 10-inch (25-centimeter) layer of reddish-brown mud. The beautiful heart pine floors buckled.

Schoenauer says he suffered about $150,000 in uninsured losses.

At the Foothills Watershed mountain biking complex along the Catawba, the storm took 48 large shade trees and an 18,000-square-foot (1,672-square-meter) track built with banks and jumps.

“We had a septic field, a brand-new constructed septic field for the business that was destroyed,” says Casey McKissick, who spent the last three years developing the bike park. “Never been used; not even turned on yet. And it all went right down the river.”

McKissick says the business didn’t have flood insurance because it was too costly, and the threat of a catastrophic event seemed too remote.

The damage amounted to $150,000. Worse yet was the loss of eight months of business, including last year’s foliage season.

“We lost that really critical fourth quarter of the year, which is a beautiful fall,” McKissick says.

Blue Ridge Parkway closure slows visitors’ return

Gov. Josh Stein recently announced that travelers had spent a record $36.7 billion in the state last year. But that boom eluded the counties worst hit by Helene.

Visitor spending in Buncombe County — home to Asheville — was down nearly 11% last year compared to 2023, according to the state Department of Commerce.

In McDowell, tourist spending dropped nearly 3% in that same period. Effler says this June and July, foot traffic at the county’s largest visitor center was down 50% from last year.

She blames much of that on damage to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is consistently one of the most-visited of the national parks. About 35 miles (56 kilometers) of the North Carolina route — including long stretches in McDowell County — aren’t slated to reopen until fall 2026.

McDougald says nearly every trail in the Old Fort complex was damaged, with landslides taking out “300-foot sections of trail at a time.”

They’ve managed to reopen about 30 miles (48 kilometers) of trail, but he says about that many miles remain closed.

Schoenauer reopened his shop in December, but traffic was down by about two-thirds this summer.

“My business, revenue-wise, has shifted more to the repair side,” he says. “People trying to still recreate, but use the bike that they have just to keep it going and have some fun.”

The Watershed complex opened in June, but without the planned riverfront gazebo and performance stage. And they’ve moved the bike jumps to higher ground.

“It’s changed our way of looking at the floodplain, for sure,” McKissick says.

___

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Simple Chicken Parmesan

Simple Chicken Parmesan

This chicken parmesan recipe is simple but delicious! You can pair it with some pasta and veggies for a great lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup marinara sauce of your choice
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Prep the Chicken and preheat oven
Pound the chicken breasts so they are even (each should be about 1/2 inch thick). Then, season both sides with salt and pepper. Additionally, preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Make the breading
In one bowl, beat the egg, and in another bowl mix the breadcrumbs and Parmesan with the basil and red pepper flakes.

3. Coat the chicken
Dip each chicken breast in the egg, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture.

4. Cook the chicken
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through.

5. Bake the chicken
Place cooked chicken in a baking dish, then spoon marinara sauce over each piece and top with mozzarella. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

5. Serve and enjoy
Serve with pasta, veggies, or your choice of side and enjoy!

Simple Chicken Parmesan

Simple Chicken Parmesan

This chicken parmesan recipe is simple but delicious! You can pair it with some pasta and veggies for a great lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup marinara sauce of your choice
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Prep the Chicken and preheat oven
Pound the chicken breasts so they are even (each should be about 1/2 inch thick). Then, season both sides with salt and pepper. Additionally, preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Make the breading
In one bowl, beat the egg, and in another bowl mix the breadcrumbs and Parmesan with the basil and red pepper flakes.

3. Coat the chicken
Dip each chicken breast in the egg, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture.

4. Cook the chicken
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through.

5. Bake the chicken
Place cooked chicken in a baking dish, then spoon marinara sauce over each piece and top with mozzarella. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

5. Serve and enjoy
Serve with pasta, veggies, or your choice of side and enjoy!

September 26th 2025

September 26th 2025

Thought of the Day

Photo by Getty Image

The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle: Preparing for challenges in advance makes them easier to meet.

He was a loan mortgage officer. Now Ben Griffin is in the Ryder Cup

He was a loan mortgage officer. Now Ben Griffin is in the Ryder Cup

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Ben Griffin is in the Ryder Cup, a remarkable rise that is certain to be an inspiration to thousands of American golfers who are good enough to at least dream.

Griffin laughed when asked how many careers he might have ruined in the process.

“You mean all the loan officers who think they can make it to the PGA Tour?” he said.

That’s where the 29-year-old Griffin was four years ago, working a 9-5 job on a slow day in the real estate business about the time Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas were making a push to qualifying for the last Ryder Cup held on U.S. soil.

There he was on stage at Bethpage Black for the opening ceremony, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, two other tournaments where he was runner-up to Scottie Scheffler, and currently No. 11 in the world golf ranking.

“It’s really crazy,” Griffin said. “I haven’t had a lot of time to think about everything I’ve achieved, which is probably not a bad thing. I’ve just kept my head down and I’ve been playing golf. It’s been an incredible journey. Every guy out here has a different journey, whether it’s making the Ryder Cup or becoming a major champion. Mine is unique.”

His journey includes his parents losing their home and private country club membership during the real estate crash in 2008 when he was 12. So he played at Finley Golf Course, where the University of North Carolina played. That turned out to be an advantage when Griffin went on to play for the Tar Heels.

He had a plan back then. Finish school, go to the developmental tour, get his PGA Tour card.

It all sounded so simple until the road became a grind, the credit card balance soared and the discipline was lacking — he said he didn’t have a drinking problem, but he drank like he was still in college. And that was a problem.

“It’s important to chase your dreams,” Griffin said. “It’s important to be a realist with your dreams. But also, it’s important to do the right things to achieve your dreams. I wasn’t doing the wrong things. … But some off-course stuff, you come out of college and you still want to be a college kid.”

This was a talent with reason to dream. He competed against Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in the Wyndham Cup while on the American Junior Golf Association. He won three times at North Carolina and set school records for lowest 54-hole score and season scoring average.

Scheffler said the idea Griffin was a mortgage loan officer four summers ago and now he is a Ryder Cup teammate is “kind of a weird thing to think about.”

“I grew up with Ben. He always had the talent to make it out here,” Scheffler said. “He’s been a tremendous putter for as long as I’ve known him, and his ball-striking has really come around, and he’s also picked up some speed. He’s never lacked confidence.”

But he suffered burnout after one failed season on the Korn Ferry Tour, endless Monday qualifiers, mini-tours and limited opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. He reached a point of burnout in 2021 and became a licensed mortgage loan officer at CIMG Residential Mortgage in his hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

And then a phone call that summer changed everything.

A friend invited him to a member-guest at Highland Springs in Springfield, Missouri. Griffin picked up a club for the first time in what felt like forever and shot 63. The friend flew him back out for a Korn Ferry Tour qualifier a few weeks later at the same course. He shot 65 to get in, though he missed the 36-hole cut.

Golf was back in his blood, and he left for Q-school in the fall of 2021 about the time the Americans were heading to Whistling Straits. This time, he had financial backing from a chance meeting with Doug Sieg, the CEO of wealth management firm Lord Abbett & Co.

It took him a year through the Korn Ferry Tour to get his PGA Tour card — his rookie season began as the American team was headed to Italy two years ago for the Ryder Cup.

Griffin still wears the Lord Abbett & Co. logo on his shirt — just not this week. He is dressed in the red, white and blue of Team USA in the ultimate team event.

“If you’re motivated and you have the right resources behind you and you have self-belief, you can chase your dreams and achieve them,” he said.

North Carolina Medicaid patients face care access threat as funding impasse continues

North Carolina Medicaid patients face care access threat as funding impasse continues

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Medicaid patients face a threat of reduced access to services — before separate changes approved within President Donald Trump’s spending-reduction law are implemented — as an impasse over state Medicaid funding extends further.

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, whose administration oversees Medicaid for 3.1 million people in the ninth-largest state, confirmed Thursday that starting next week the state program will lower reimbursement rates for doctors, hospitals and other medical providers.

Stein said it wasn’t too late for the Republican-controlled legislature to solve the problem, adding that the rate cuts can be reversed. If no solution can be found soon, many doctors may decide to leave the Medicaid program, leaving Medicaid enrollees in precarious positions, a physician said at the news conference.

“This will lead to longer wait times, delayed diagnoses and worse health outcomes for the patients of our state, especially for those who live in rural communities and who are already marginalized and underserved,” Dr. Jenna Beckham said at a health care clinic in Raleigh.

Stein’s administration has said for several weeks that additional Medicaid funds approved by the General Assembly this summer were still $319 million short of addressing population changes and rising health care costs, and without a fix rate reductions would take effect Oct. 1. GOP lawmakers couldn’t agree on a way forward this week as the two chambers failed to agree about spending on two health care projects.

With the legislature next scheduled to meet Oct. 20, Stein said the state Medicaid agency couldn’t delay further to avoid deeper future reductions, and he blamed lawmakers in the process. The broad reductions range from 3% for home health and ambulance services to 10% for hospitals, nursing homes and hospice care.

“They put their political disputes ahead of our people’s health,” Stein said at Alliance Medical Ministry. “Their disagreements have nothing to do with Medicaid. It’s hard for me to express the gravity of their failure.”

Republican lawmakers said such unilateral action by Stein was unprecedented so early in the fiscal year, and insist the rate cuts — which could prompt some providers to reduce services or stop seeing Medicaid enrollees — aren’t needed.

“The governor has decided with very little notice to threaten not us but the North Carolina residents needing health care with massive cuts that will begin months before they have to,” GOP Rep. Grant Campbell of Cabarrus County, a physician, said on the House floor this week.

Stein and Jay Ludlum, a deputy health secretary who leads North Carolina Medicaid, said Thursday that unlike recent years no additional federal funds are anticipated to close the shortfall.

House and Senate Republicans this week offered and passed competing bills that increased Medicaid funding another $190 million annually — an amount that Stein said the agency could accept until early 2026. But legislators left Raleigh without a final measure, deepening animosity while a state government budget is also three months late.

The Senate bill included language that also directed $208.5 million in previously received federal money be allocated to help build a standalone children’s hospital in Wake County by two university medical schools and for rural health investments. The House version left them out.

Senate Republicans said they and House counterparts had agreed in 2023 to authorize funding for the hospital and rural health initiatives, and project leaders are counting on what is now a third portion of funds, Senate Majority Leader Michael Lee told colleagues. But House Republicans now have second thoughts about both projects and said they should be discussed within broader budget negotiations.

House Speaker Destin Hall said there are already several children’s hospitals in the state and some colleagues have asked, “Why would we give hundreds of millions of dollars to a new hospital in Wake County that’s doing pretty good economically?” Senate leader Phil Berger said the House is to blame for threatening Medicaid services because they aren’t sticking to its previous decisions on the hospital and rural health care projects.

Stein and his Democratic allies have said Trump’s spending-cut law he signed in July threatens Medicaid enrollment for hundreds of thousands of residents and the health of rural hospitals. While Republican lawmakers have downplayed the threat, diminishing funds from Washington have placed them in a more cautious fiscal posture.

Man who opened fire on ICE facility hoped attack would give agents ‘real terror,’ FBI says

Man who opened fire on ICE facility hoped attack would give agents ‘real terror,’ FBI says

By SEAN MURPHY and COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — The gunman who opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas, killing a detainee and critically wounding two others, left behind a note saying that he hoped the attack would “give ICE agents real terror,” the FBI director said Thursday.

The post by Kash Patel on the social platform X offered the first hint of a motive behind the shooting on Wednesday that targeted the ICE building, including a van in a gated entryway. The detainees were in the van. No ICE personnel were wounded.

The assailant, who authorities said fired indiscriminately from a nearby rooftop, was involved in a “high degree of pre-attack planning,” Patel said, and agents have seized electronic devices, handwritten notes and other evidence from a Dallas-area home.

“One of the handwritten notes recovered read, ‘Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?’” Patel wrote, quoting an apparent abbreviation for armor-piercing bullets.

The gunman had also downloaded a document titled “Dallas County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management” containing a list of Homeland Security facilities, Patel said.

Hours before the shooting, the assailant conducted multiple internet searches for ballistics information and video of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah university campus this month, Patel said. Last month, the man searched for apps that tracked the presence of ICE agents, he added.

Joshua Jahn, 29, was identified as the shooter by a law enforcement official who could not publicly disclose details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

On Wednesday, Patel posted a photo on social media showing a bullet found at the scene with “ANTI-ICE” written on it. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered more security at ICE facilities across the U.S., according to a post by the DHS on X.

The attack was the latest high-profile targeted killing in the U.S. It happened two weeks after Kirk was killed by a shooter on the roof of a building at Utah Valley University and as heightened immigration enforcement has prompted a backlash against ICE agents and fear in immigrant communities.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association called the shootings “a stark reminder that behind every immigration case number is a human being deserving of dignity, safety and respect.”

“Whether they are individuals navigating the immigration process, public servants carrying out their duties, or professionals working within the system, all deserve to be free from violence and fear,” the group said in a statement.

FBI says attack was ‘act of targeted violence’

Authorities have given few details about the shooting and did not publicly release the names of the victims. The FBI said it was investigating the shooting as “an act of targeted violence.”

The gunman used a bolt-action rifle, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Edwin Cardona, an immigrant from Venezuela, said he was entering the ICE building with his son for an appointment around 6:20 a.m. when he heard gunshots. An agent took people who were inside to a more secure area and said there was an active shooter.

“I was afraid for my family, because my family was outside. I felt terrible, because I thought something could happen to them,” Cardona said, adding that they were later reunited.

The ICE facility is along Interstate 35 East, just southwest of Dallas Love Field, a large airport serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and blocks from hotels.

Who was the gunman?

Hours after the shooting, FBI agents gathered at a home in suburban Fairview, outside Dallas, that public records link to Jahn.

The house sits on a tree-lined cul-de-sac in a neighborhood dotted with one- and two-story brick homes. The street was blocked by a police vehicle, and officials wearing FBI jackets could be seen in the front yard.

A spokesperson for Collin College in nearby McKinney, said via email that a Joshua Jahn studied there “at various times” between 2013 and 2018.

In late 2017, Jahn drove cross-country to work a minimum-wage job harvesting marijuana for several months, said Ryan Sanderson, owner of a legal cannabis farm in Washington state.

“He’s a young kid, a thousand miles from home, didn’t really seem to have any direction, living out of his car at such a young age,” Sanderson told the AP.

Calls for an end to political violence

Shortly after the shooting and before officials said at least one victim was a detainee, Vice President JD Vance posted on X that “the obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop.”

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who represents Texas, continued in that direction, calling for an end to political violence.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, an advocacy group, said the shootings are “a heartbreaking reminder of the violence and fear that too often touch the lives of migrants and the communities where they live.”

Noem says ICE agents have been targeted

Noem noted a recent uptick in targeting of ICE agents.

On July 4, attackers in black, military-style clothing opened fire outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, federal prosecutors said. One police officer was wounded. At least 11 people have been charged in connection with the attack.

Days later, a man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents leaving a Border Patrol facility in McAllen. The man, identified as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, injured a responding police officer before authorities shot and killed him.

In suburban Chicago, federal authorities erected a fence around an immigration processing center after tensions flared with protesters. President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up immigration enforcement in the Chicago area, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

Dozens of immigration field offices across the country house administrative employees and are used for people summoned for check-in appointments and to process people arrested before they are transferred to long-term detention centers. They are not designed to hold people in custody.

Security varies by location, with some in federal buildings and others mixed with private businesses, said John Torres, a former acting director of the agency and former head of what is now called its enforcement and removals division.

___

Williams reported from Detroit. Associated Press journalists Jack Brook in New Orleans; Mike Balsamo in New York; Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; and Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

No. 8 FSU’s visit to Virginia, No. 16 Georgia Tech’s trip to Wake Forest headline ACC slate

No. 8 FSU’s visit to Virginia, No. 16 Georgia Tech’s trip to Wake Forest headline ACC slate

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer

Things to watch this weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference:

Game of the week

No. 8 Florida State (3-0, 0-0 ACC) at Virginia (3-1, 1-0), Friday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

The Seminoles opened the year with an expectations-altering win against Alabama, then cruised past East Texas A&M and Kent State by a combined score of 143-10. Things figure to be tougher against the Cavaliers, at least for the FSU defense.

Virginia has scored at least 31 points in every game and ranks fifth nationally in total offense (564.5) in its fourth year under Tony Elliott. Its lone loss came at N.C. State.

This season marks 30 years since Virginia upset then-No. 2 FSU at home to hand the Seminoles their first-ever ACC loss after a 29-0 start. The Cavaliers have unveiled throwback uniforms to that 1995 win for the occasion.

The undercard

No. 16 Georgia Tech (4-0, 1-0) at Wake Forest (2-1, 0-1), Saturday, noon ET (ESPN)

There is a buzz in Atlanta, with the Yellow Jackets having won at Colorado and coming off a win against preseason ACC favorite Clemson. Now they’ll travel to Winston-Salem to face the Demon Deacons, who got off to a 2-0 start in first-year coach Jake Dickert’s rebuild but fell to N.C. State in their league opener.

Duke (2-2, 1-0) at Syracuse (3-1, 1-0), Saturday, noon ET (ACC Network)

It’s difficult to know for sure what to expect with the Blue Devils and Orange. The Blue Devils continually undercut their chances of an upset against then-No. 11 Illinois with miscues and turnovers and fell behind big in a loss at Tulane, but responded by rallying past N.C. State. As for Syracuse, Fran Brown’s team is coming off an impressive win against Clemson but lost starting quarterback Steve Angeli to a season-ending injury.

Impact players

— N.C. State RB Hollywood Smothers. The transfer from Oklahoma has nearly matched his rushing total for last year’s debut with the Wolfpack. He’s sixth nationally in rushing yardage (125.8 per game) entering this weekend’s visit from Virginia Tech.

— California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had the Bears off to a 3-0 start before last weekend’s shutout loss at San Diego State. The freshman has thrown for 988 yards and six TDs entering Saturday’s trip to Boston College.

Inside the numbers

The league has three ranked teams in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, headlined by No. 2 Miami. … Louisville (3-0) hits the road Saturday to face Pittsburgh (2-1) in the ACC opener for both teams, with the Panthers having won three of five meetings since the Cardinals joined the ACC for the 2014 season. The Cards have lost the last three meetings at Pitt. … Stanford (1-3) hosts San Jose State on Saturday with a chance to start 2-0 at home for the first time since 2018. … Miami, Clemson, North Carolina and SMU have open dates this week.

One year later, western North Carolina still recovers from Hurricane Helene

One year later, western North Carolina still recovers from Hurricane Helene

SPRUCE PINE, N.C. (NCN News) — It has been one year since the worst storm to ever hit North Carolina devastated the western part of the state.

Hurricane Helene was not even on the list of storms to worry about at first. It made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on Sept. 27 as a Category 2 hurricane before beginning a long trek inland. By the time it reached the Appalachian Mountains, it was a tropical storm still packing high winds and heavy rain.

Western North Carolina had already seen significant rainfall before Helene arrived, setting the stage for catastrophic flooding. Meteorologists predicted once-in-a-thousand-year flooding, and they were right. Some weather stations from Mount Mitchell to Asheville recorded more than 30 inches of rain, in addition to days of rainfall leading up to the storm.

On Sept. 25, forecasters placed the region under tropical storm warnings. Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency. Mount Mitchell State Park and others closed, and the Blue Ridge Parkway shut down. Hundreds of roads were impassable, and more than 2,000 landslides were reported in North Carolina.

In a rare, coordinated release, the National Hurricane Center and NOAA warned of the inland flood threat and asked media outlets to emphasize the risk. Helene’s impact was every bit as intense as predicted.

The South Toe Township of Yancey County received 31 inches of rain. Mount Mitchell recorded wind gusts over 100 mph in a part of the state that rarely sees such conditions. Sixty-three stream and river gauges logged record water levels. The South Toe River in Yancey County and the Ivy River in Buncombe County each broke their previous flood records by nearly nine feet.

In Mitchell County, the smallest county in the state, the normally calm Toe River rose 35 feet, overflowing its banks and flooding homes and businesses in small towns like Spruce Pine. Luther Stroup, who owns Stroup Hobby Shop, recalled watching the river rise to within inches of his shop and home. He said the community went without power, sewer, phones or water for 22 days.

Areas in the Black Mountains were especially devastated. Black Mountain police reported neighborhoods in Montreat and Swannanoa “destroyed including homes on fire, along with numerous fatalities.” The village of Chimney Rock was also largely swept away in the floodwaters.

Across the region, more than 400 roads closed and more than 200 rescues were carried out. In total, 108 people died and hundreds more were injured in North Carolina.

A year later: Recovery

Recovery has been uneven. Ninety-six percent of small business owners across western North Carolina reported Helene hurt them, hitting during peak tourist season and leading to widespread event cancellations. Even mining and computer parts manufacturing in Spruce Pine were disrupted, causing global supply concerns.

Sharon Decker, senior advisor of the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, said the community stepped up when it was needed most. Neighbors and churches delivered food, water and supplies to people who had lost everything. The storm also forced the region to confront its aging infrastructure and to begin planning for future disasters.

Gov. Josh Stein said six out of seven businesses have not returned to pre-Helene revenues. Still, Decker noted restaurants, tourist attractions and farms are coming back, and leaders hope tourists will return as well.

Decker praised bipartisan efforts to secure funding for repairs to businesses, homes, roads and infrastructure. Stein has pushed for additional state and federal support. But recovery is expected to be a long-term process.

Officials are also coordinating with schools, nonprofits and community groups to build volunteer and resource databases to be better prepared next time.

Decker said her hope is that the sense of community sparked by Helene’s devastation — people going above and beyond to help one another — remains even after recovery is complete.

“We’re better as a nation and state when there are disasters,” Decker said. “And as a state, we’ll be more prepared in the future for storms like Helene.”

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