Minnesota United at Los Angeles Galaxy

When: 8 p.m. CT Saturday
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, Calif.
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 73 degrees, clear skies, 8 mph east wind
Betting line: MNUFC minus-160; draw plus-260; L.A. plus-160

Form: Fourth-place Minnesota (16-7-10, 58 points) beat Kansas City 3-0 on Oct. 4, then had last week off during the international window. Last-place Galaxy (8-18-9, 27 points) beat Dallas 2-1 last weekend to help its effort to avoid the Wooden Spoon, the fan-led trophy given to the team with MLS’ worst record.

Flashback: The Loons’ win over K.C. set a few milestones: the 16th victory set a new club record for regular-season wins; Joaquin Pereyra’s second-half goal was the 500th in club’s MLS history and his assist gave him a club-record 16 total assists in a season; Dayne St. Clair’s clean sheet was his 10th of the year, a personal best.

Recent matchups: The Loons are returning to the place they were bounced from the MLS Cup Playoffs last November. Galaxy rolled to a 6-2 semifinal win and went on to win MLS Cup. In regular-season action in March, MNUFC got a two goals from Kelvin Yeboah, but Christian Ramirez and Carlos Garces each scored in a 2-2 draw.

Context: Going into Decision Day, MNUFC is one point behind third-place LAFC and two behind San Diego, so the Loons can still finish as high as second. Galaxy might be down and out, but LAFC goes to Colorado, which is fighting for the ninth and final spot. San Diego travels to Portland, which is trying to hold onto the sixth spot. Jockeying for spots will have all four of those teams engaged.

Quote: “For ourselves, more than anything (and) less a reflection on who we may end up playing (Seattle is the fifth seed and most likely playoff matchup), we want to finish as high in the table as we can,” head coach Eric Ramsay said this week. “We want to do ourselves real justice in that sense.”

Update: Yeboah has been out with a hamstring injury since Sept. 17, but the striker returned to training sessions late last week. “I feel like he will be in good shape for the weekend,” Ramsay said Tuesday. “If we can push a return to play, we want him back and in good rhythm as soon as possible. We are not taking a long-term picture in that sense because there isn’t a long-term picture at play.”

Absences: Carlos Harvey (knee) is out. Ramsay said Harvey has been working out on a treadmill and is close to a return to the practice field. The center back/midfielder might be back in time for the first-round series, which start next weekend.

Scouting report: The Galaxy have allowed the second-most goals (65) in MLS this season, so this would be a great time for Yeboah to snag a goal and boost his confidence before the postseason.

Prediction: Galaxy have been decent after their dreadful start to the season, but Minnesota has much more to play for on Saturday. If Loons score early, L.A. players might start day-dreaming about their upcoming vacation destinations. MNUFC win 2-0.

By JOCELYN GECKER, AP Education Writer

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day’s workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence.

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After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: “Are we going to be replaced with AI?”

That remains to be seen. But for the nation’s 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world’s largest technology companies. The two groups don’t always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America.

Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance.

AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets.

“There is no one else who is helping us with this. That’s why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world,” Weingarten said. “We went to them — they didn’t come to us.”

Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an “agnostic” approach that means any company’s AI tools could be used in a training session.

Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000.

Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachers

With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years.

The National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of “microcredentials” — online trainings open to the union’s 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA’s senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year.

“We tailored our partnership very surgically,” Bilal said. “We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop.”

Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills.

The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve “global dominance in artificial intelligence.” The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up.

Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft’s home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools.

Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging.

The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what’s best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

“These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake,” Lake said.

Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a “healthy dose of skepticism” about the role of tech companies.

“While it’s easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences,” Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI’s possible impact on critical thinking. “We have to be careful. It’s early days.”

Teachers see new possibilities

At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city’s largest, employing about 7,000 teachers.

The day started with a pep talk.

“We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that,’” trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. “But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world.”

Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado.

Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word “amazing” to describe what she saw.

“It can save you so much time,” she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary.

“With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, ‘I’m bored.’ Everything is boring,” Aguirre said. “If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you’ve just got to do that.”

Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before.

As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students’ names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students’ reading levels. All in a matter of seconds.

“I can give my students access to things that never existed before,” Simone said. “As a teacher, once you’ve used it and see how helpful it is, I don’t think I could go back to the way I did things before.”

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.

By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has seized survivors after a strike Thursday on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, the first since President Donald Trump began launching deadly attacks in the region this summer, according to a defense official and another person familiar with the matter.

The people confirmed the strike Friday on the condition of anonymity because it has not yet been acknowledged by President Donald Trump’s administration. It is believed to be at least the sixth strike since Augus, and the first to result in survivors who were picked up by the U.S. military. It was not immediately clear what would be done with the individuals.

This strike on Thursday brings the death toll from the Trump administration’s military action against vessels in the region to at least 28.

The survivors of this strike now face an unclear future and legal landscape, including questions about whether they are now considered to be prisoners of war or defendants in a criminal case.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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By SIBI ARASU and JENNIFER McDERMOTT, Associated Press

The U.S. has succeeded in blocking a global fee on shipping emissions as an international maritime meeting adjourned Friday without adopting regulations.

The world’s largest maritime nations had been deliberating on regulations to move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels. But U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia and other countries vowed to fight any global tax on shipping emissions.

On Thursday, Trump urged countries to vote “No” on the regulations. The International Maritime Organization adjourned its meeting Friday.

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