By BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press

Eight female athletes filed an appeal Wednesday of a landmark NCAA antitrust settlement, arguing that women would not receive their fair share of $2.7 billion in back pay for athletes who were barred from making money off their name, image and likeness.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement last week, clearing the way for direct payments from universities to athletes and the end of the NCAA’s amateurism model.

The athletes who appealed the settlement competed in soccer, volleyball and track. They are: Kacie Breeding of Vanderbilt; Lexi Drumm, Emma Appleman, Emmie Wannemacher, Riley Hass, Savannah Baron and Elizabeth Arnold of the College of Charleston; and Kate Johnson of Virginia. They have standing to appeal because they previously filed objections to the proposed settlement.

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Ashlyn Hare, one of the attorneys representing the athletes, said in a statement that the settlement violates Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education.

“We support a settlement of the case, but not an inaccurate one that violates federal law. The calculation of past damages is based on an error that ignores Title IX and deprives female athletes of $1.1 billion,” Hare said. “Paying out the money as proposed would be a massive error that would cause irreparable harm to women’s sports.”

The House settlement figures to financially benefit football and basketball stars at the biggest schools, who are likely to receive a big chunk of the $20.5 million per year that colleges are permitted to share with athletes over the next year. Some athletes in other sports that don’t make money for their schools could lose their partial scholarships or see their roster spots cut.

“This is a football and basketball damages settlement with no real benefit to female athletes,” Hare said. “Congress has expressly rejected efforts to exempt revenue-generating sports like football and basketball from Title IX’s antidiscrimination mandate. The NCAA agreed with us. Our argument on appeal is the exact same argument the conferences and NCAA made prior to settling the case.”

The appeal was filed by the law firm Hutchinson Black and Cook of Boulder, Colorado, and was first reported by Front Office Sports. It would be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY, Associated Press

All 12 members of the board overseeing the prestigious Fulbright scholarships on Wednesday resigned in protest of what they call the Trump administration’s meddling with the selection of award recipients, according to a statement.

A statement published online by the board members said the administration usurped the board’s authority by denying awards to “a substantial number of people” who already had been chosen. Another 1,200 award recipients who were already approved to come to the U.S. are undergoing an unauthorized review process that could lead to their rejection, the board members said.

“To continue to serve after the Administration has consistently ignored the Board’s request that they follow the law would risk legitimizing actions we believe are unlawful and damage the integrity of this storied program and America’s credibility abroad,” the statement reads.

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Congress established the Fulbright program nearly 80 years ago to promote international exchange and American diplomacy. The highly selective program awards about 9,000 scholarships annually in the U.S. and in more than 160 other countries to students, scholars, and professionals in a range of fields.

A message seeking comment was left with the State Department, which runs the scholarship program.

The resignations were first reported by The New York Times.

The intervention from the Trump administration undermined the program’s merit-based selection process and its insulation from political influence, the board members wrote.

“We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute,” the statement said. “It is our sincere hope that Congress, the courts, and future Fulbright Boards will prevent the administration’s efforts to degrade, dismantle, or even eliminate one of our nation’s most respected and valuable programs.”

Award recipients are selected in a yearlong process by nonpartisan staff at the State Department. The recipients who had their awards canceled are in fields including biology, engineering, medical sciences, and history, the board members said.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration ratchets up scrutiny of international students on several fronts. The administration has expanded the grounds for revoking foreign students’ legal status, and recently paused scheduling of new interviews for student visas as it increases vetting of their social media activity. The government also has moved to block foreign students from attending Harvard as it pressures the Ivy League school to adopt a series of reforms.

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.

DENVER — A hop farm on the Western Slope in Colorado is open its doors to the public, giving people an up-close-and-personal chance to see how this crucial ingredient is grown — and to taste it at the source.

For eight years, Billy Goat Hop Farm has operated a 32-acre plot off Highway 550 in Montrose, Colorado, where it grows up to a dozen different hop varietals. Though it has hosted a locally beloved beer festival since 2022, it is now rolling out new options that will allow drinkers to visit throughout the summer and fall.

Those include farm tours, a Friday night event series and even a campground where people can sleep among the bines (the long stems of hop plants). And yes, craft beer made with Billy Goat hops is expected to be served onsite to help give campers a sense of place.

By opening the farm to the public, co-owner Audrey Gehlhausen hopes to provide a glimpse not just into a farm that is important to the beer industry, but to the agriculture industry as a whole, especially at a time when independent farms are dwindling in Colorado.

“Creating a community space that’s welcoming for kids and dogs will hopefully help bring awareness to agriculture, where the ingredients in your beer are coming from, and hopefully be a pivot that can help keep us alive,” Gehlhausen said.

That is, in part, what inspired Gehlhausen and partner Chris DellaBianca to develop The Down At the Hop Yard Campground. The duo created 12 campsites along the perimeter of the hop trellises that can accommodate tents, cars, and vans. The campground features flushable toilets, potable water, hot showers and a communal fire pit.

While RVs are welcome, Gehlhausen noted that campsites do not have electric or water hookups, and there is not a dumping station. All sites can fit vehicles up to a maximum of 30 feet long. Reservations cost $25 per night on HipCamp.

Hop harvest typically takes place in early to mid-August, meaning the bines will be tall, lush and at their most aromatic by June or July, Gehlhausen said.

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Campers and day trippers can now book a tour of the hop farm any day of the week. Tours cost $10 per person if they include at least three people. Any fewer than that will require $30 per tour. Add on a beer tasting for an extra $5 per person. Tours are available by appointment only; contact Billy Goat Hop Farm directly to schedule a time.

If you’d rather just pop in for a beer, Billy Goat launched its open house series, Fridays at the Farm, on May 23. From 2 to 9 p.m. every Friday until October, the farm will have a food truck onsite and serve beers made with its signature hoppy product. It is also debuting new beverages — non-alcoholic hop waters and hard seltzers called Hop Drool — for thirsty patrons this summer.

Guests can bring their kids and dogs, and enjoy yard games against the backdrop of the San Juan Mountains. At least once a month, there will also be a live bluegrass jam.

Gehlhausen said Billy Goat hopes to add more special events, and that its signature beer festival, Fresh Fest, will return on Sept. 20.

By JESSICA DAMIANO

Many of us think of rice as a plant that grows in flooded fields, and that’s because the kind of rice we’re most familiar with — the long-grain, wetland variety called lowland rice — can be considered semi-aquatic, although it’s technically a grass.

Lowland rice would be challenging to grow in a home garden, but another, less common variety can be cultivated more easily in typical backyard conditions.

Duborskian rice, a Russian short-grained dryland, or “upland” rice, is a highly ornamental plant that can even be grown in containers, where its 2-foot-tall green and gold panicles will lend height and beauty to the center or rear of mixed planters.

But if grown as a crop, cultivating rice from your plants can be a fun activity for adventurous gardeners.

Start by making space

When determining how many plants to grow, consider that it takes approximately 10 plants to produce 1 pound of rice. Since each plant occupies only 1 foot of garden space, a 10-by-10-foot plot will hold 100 plants, which will yield roughly 6 to 10 pounds of rice in a season.

Harvested Duborskian rice is displayed in Southern Tasmania, Australia on March 8, 2025. (Linda Cockburn via AP)

In the absence of purchased starter plants, seeds are best sown directly into the garden in May or June in frost-free zones. Elsewhere, they should be started indoors four weeks before the danger of frost has passed. Expect seeds to germinate in five to seven days.

A 24-hour water soak before sowing will hasten germination. Indoor starts are best aided by a heat mat.

Four-week-old seedlings should be transplanted outdoors at the same time it’s considered safe to plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in your region.

Taking care of your rice plants

Select a sunny spot and enrich the soil with a generous amount of compost before planting.

Since the rice requires a high level of nutrients, fertilize every two weeks with a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer.

Space plants 1 foot apart to ensure adequate circulation between them, as they will need to be pollinated by wind. You might also surround plants with netting to protect them from birds. Keep the surrounding soil free of weeds throughout the growing season.

Separating the rice from the chaff, and other steps

Your rice will be ready to harvest in about 105 days. You’ll know it’s ready when the seed heads appear dry but haven’t yet dropped their seeds. At that point, cut plants down to ground level and hang the stalks up for a few days to dry further.

Linda Cockburn holds a Duborskian rice plant seed head in Southern Tasmania, Australia on April 1, 2023. (Linda Cockburn via AP)

But that’s not the end of it. Rice will have to be removed from its stalks, and each grain’s tough outer shell, called a hull, will need to be removed. On commercial farms, they have equipment to do this, but since you’re growing rice at home, you will have to do it manually.

Tie the cut ends of the dried stalks together, then place a screen (an old window screen will do) over a wheelbarrow. Rub the seed heads against the screen until the grains fall off into the wheelbarrow. If this sounds too complicated, you can achieve the same results by beating the tied bunch of stalks onto a clean sheet that you’ve laid on the ground.

Once the grains have been separated from their stalks, scoop them up and remove the hulls in batches using a mortar and pestle (put the kids to work!) If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can hit them with a rubber mallet, but it’s a delicate balance to remove the hulls without crushing the rice.

The next step is to separate the proverbial rice from the chaff (the hulls). The easiest way to accomplish this is to use a fan to blow the light-as-air hulls away. You can’t eat the hulls, but they can be added to compost piles or used as mulch.

This undated image provided by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co./rareseeds.com shows harvested Duborskian rice. (Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co./rare seeds.com via AP)

If you’d like to save rice for replanting next year, put some aside before removing the hulls; they’ll need to be intact for the seeds to germinate.

To enjoy the fruits of your labor, cook the grains as you would any rice and enjoy it in sweet or savory recipes. It’ll be good, but not likely as good as the story you’ll be able to tell about that time you grew your own rice.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.