If the late, great astronomer Carl Sagan were still around, and dabbling in the fantasy football arts, he’d point out there are billions and billions of difficult decisions to be made while crafting faux gridiron teams.

Figuring out the top rookie from the Class of 2025 is not one of them.

His name is Ashton Jeanty. He singlehandedly carried mid-major Boise State into the College Football Playoff last season, And he’s going to be doing nearly all of the major lifting for the mostly minor Las Vegas Raiders offense.

Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns last season. The Raiders, and Jeanty’s fantasy backers, would be quite pleased with half that. That’s possible thanks to a much improved offense led by new quarterback Geno Smith and sophomore tight end Brock Bowers.

Here’s how our list of top 15 newcomers looks in early August:

1. Ashton Jeanty (Raiders RB)

Need another reason for optimism? Jeanty proved quite proficient as a pass catcher over his last two seasons in Boise, logging 66 receptions for more than 700 yards and six touchdowns. Even more reason why this rookie will be taken in the first round of every fantasy draft, including yours.

FILE – Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty (2) carries the ball in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Laramie, Wyo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

2. Omarion Hampton (Chargers RB)

This North Carolina standout tallied more than 4,000 total yards and 33 TDs in his last two years as a Tar Heel, and he’ll likely be the No. 1 run option in Jim Harbaugh’s offense. Former Steeler Najee Harris could challenge for goal-line carries, but Hampton is going to be Justin Herbert’s favorite running option for a while.

FILE – North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton (28) carries the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Florida State, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Colin Hackley, File)

3. Travis Hunter (Jaguars WR)

Why do we rate the Heisman Trophy winner so highly, when he’s believed to be a better defensive standout than offensive threat? Because we don’t believe Jacksonville gave up so much draft capital to take a shutdown cornerback. They need him on offense to help revive the career of QB Trevor Lawrence. Hunter’s upside as a receiver? All-world.

FILE – Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter, left, pulls in a pass ahead of Baylor linebacker Keaton Thomas during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

4. Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers WR)

The former Arizona standout could be set up for fantasy stardom. After 26 TDs in his three years in Tucson, McMillan comes to a Carolina team in need of a No. 1 receiver, and with a quarterback (Bryce Young) who made great strides at the end of last season. He’ll challenge former Viking Adam Thielen for the title of Young’s Favorite.

FILE – Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) reaches for the ball over West Virginia cornerback Garnett Hollis Jr. in the second half during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)

5. TreVeyon Henderson (Patriots RB)

Henderson is one of two RBs on this list who led Ohio State to the national championship. Henderson is set up for more immediate success in an improved New England offense under new head coach Mike Vrabel. HIs main competition, Rhamondre Stevenson, had but one TD run in his last seven games of ‘24.

Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts (0) pursues Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) during the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

6. Matthew Golden (Packers WR)

This former Texas standout may have landed in the perfect spot. Green Bay QB Jordan Love has had plenty of No. 2 and No. 3 receiver types, but they haven’t had a true No. 1 since Davante Adams left town. Golden could eventually prove to be that, though for now he’s one of many mouths to feed in the Packers’ receivers room.

Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden (2) makes the catch against Arizona State defensive back Keith Abney II (1) during the first half in the quarterfinals of a College Football Playoff, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

7. Tyler Warren (Colts TE)

Our next two picks are tight ends, and the ex-Penn State star should step right into the Indy lineup. He caught 104 passes and ran 26 times as a senior in Happy Valley, and he could eventually emerge as the top pass-catching option for the Colts’ QB, who we’re guessing will be Daniel Jones before too long.

FILE – Penn State tight end Tyler Warren (44) hurdles Maryland defensive back Kevis Thomas (25) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File)

8. Colston Loveland (Bears TE)

Some consider this Michigan product a better pro prospect than Warren, mostly because he’ll be playing for Chicago’s new coach, offensive whiz Ben Johnson. Loveland’s problem, at least initially, is he’s behind TE Cole Kmet on the depth chart, and lags behind D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze as Bears receiving options.

Northwestern linebacker Xander Mueller (34) tackles Michigan tight end Colston Loveland (18) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

9. Kaleb Johnson (Steelers RB)

While all the talk in Pittsburgh has been about offensive additions Aaron Rodgers and D.K. Metcalf, this Iowa rookie could have as much impact on the team’s 2025 fortunes. He had more than 1,700 total yards and 23 touchdowns last season in Iowa City, and he could quickly supplant Jaylen Warren as the Steelers’ No. 1 back, especially near the goal line.

Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson (2) runs from Northwestern defensive back Devin Turner (8) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won 40-14. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

10. Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers WR)

Talent-wise, you could argue this former Buckeyes star is the second-best talent in this class. His problem is Tampa Bay already has Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Two perennial all-pros. But the latter suffered an ugly dislocated ankle to end his ‘24 season and might not be 100 percent to start. That could be the opening Egbuka needs.

Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) is tackled by Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., bottom left, and defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

11. R.J. Harvey (Broncos RB)

There was a lot of hype about this guy who tallied more than 4,500 total yards in his last three seasons at Central Florida, with 47 touchdowns. Looked like a sure starter in Sean Payton’s run-first offense. But then the Broncos added former Chargers standout J.K. Dobbins. We’re guessing Harvey may have to wait until Dobbins goes down with injury, as is his wont.

Central Florida running back RJ Harvey, left, is tackled by Utah cornerback Smith Snowden (2) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

12. Luther Burden III (Bears WR)

Burden has also received a lot of hype because of Ben Johnson’s success with slot receivers (see Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown). But there are an awful lot of mouths to feed in Chicago, and no guarantee that QB Caleb Williams will suddenly regain his Heisman Trophy form as a pro.

Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III (3) catches a touchdown pass over Vanderbilt cornerback Tyson Russell (8) during overtime of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

13. Tre Harris (Chargers WR)

While Harris posted solid numbers at both Louisiana Tech and Mississippi, his fantasy hype is mostly tied to the fact that, thanks to the surprising retirement of Mike Williams, he was boosted up the Chargers’ wide receiver depth chart, though he’ll have to edge out the newly-signed Keenan Allen for Los Angeles’ No. 2 receiver spot behind ‘24 rookie stud Ladd McConkey.

Mississippi wide receiver Tre Harris (9) is hit by Florida defensive back Dijon Johnson (27), forcing an incomplete pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

14. Cam Ward (Titans QB)

He’s clearly the best rookie quarterback prospect. By a mile. And he’ll clearly be a big improvement at the position for Tennessee. But by any standard there are at least two dozen better options at the position. Has no fantasy value except in the deepest of dynasty leagues.

Miami quarterback Cam Ward (1) looks to pass as Florida State defensive lineman Sione Lolohea (13) defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

15. Quinshon Judkins (Browns RB)

TreVeyon Henderson’s Buckeyes teammate had the misfortune to be drafted by one of the league’s perennial trainwrecks. Then he was arrested last month on a domestic violence charge. The latter is very likely to lead to a suspension. But even if that is a ways down the road, it’s already a good time to forget about this alleged abuser.

Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins (1) runs with the ball against Notre Dame during the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Other notable rookies

Cam Skattebo (Giants RB), Jaydon Blue (Cowboys RB), Jayden Higgins (Texans WR), Dylan Sampson (Browns RB), Jack Bech (Raiders WR), Jaxson Dart (Giants QB), Kyle Williams (Patriots WR), Jaylin Noel (Texans WR),  Savion Williams (Packers WR), Woody Marks (Texans RB).

Arizona defensive back Gavin Hunter (10) tackles Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo (4) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)

Coming up

August 17: Veterans we’re not especially high on this fantasy season.

August 24: Veterans we’re rating higher than experts’ consensus.

August 31: Our annual Nipsey Russell-inspired NFL Preview.

(Screen grab from YouTube)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising on Wall Street Thursday, even as President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs kicked into effect on dozens of countries.

The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher in early trading and sitting just a bit below its record, which was set late last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 254 points, as of 9:31 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.

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Worries are still high that Trump’s tariffs are damaging the economy, particularly after last week’s worse-than-expected report on the job market. But hopes for coming cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve and a torrent of stronger-than-expected profit reports have been overshadowing the concerns on Wall Street, at least for now. Lower interest rates can give the economy and investment prices a boost, though the downside is that they can also push inflation higher.

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate on Thursday in hopes of bolstering the sluggish U.K. economy.

The U.S. tariffs that took effect Thursday morning were also already well known, as well as lower than what Trump had initially threatened. Some countries are still trying to negotiate down the tax rates on their exports, and continued uncertainty seems to be the only certainty on Wall Street. All the while, the U.S. stock market faces criticism that it’s climbed too far, too fast since hitting a bottom in April and left prices looking too expensive.

The latest reports on the U.S. economy came in mixed, meanwhile, which left Treasury yields relatively stable in the bond market.

One said that slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, which could be an indication of rising layoffs. But the number remains within its recent range.

“There is nothing to see here!” according to Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “These are not nearly recession readings.”

A separate report said that productivity for U.S. workers improved by more during the spring than economists expected. That could help the U.S. economy grow without adding more pressure on inflation, which is particularly important when Trump’s tariffs look set to increase prices for all kinds of things that U.S. households and businesses buy.

On Wall Street, Apple again helped lead the market amid hopes that its massive size can help it navigate the new economy Trump is trying to fashion. Its stock rose 1.8% after its CEO, Tim Cook, joined Trump at the White House on Wednesday to say it’s increasing its investment in U.S. manufacturing by an additional $100 billion over the next four years.

DoorDash climbed 7.3% after the food delivery app topped Wall Street’s profit expectations for the latest quarter. It attracted new customers and saw the total number of orders increase.

Duolingo, the language-learning app, soared 31.3% after it crushed Wall Street’s expectations. The company said its subscription revenue grew 46% over the same period last year.

They helped offset a drop for Eli Lilly, which fell 11% even though the drugmaker reported a stronger profit than analysts expected. Analysts said some investors were disappointed with results that Lilly provided for a late-stage study of orforglipron, its potential pill version of the popular weight-loss drug Zepbound.

Intel slipped 1.2% after Trump called for its CEO to resign, while accusing him of being “highly CONFLICTED,” though he gave no evidence.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

Stocks rose 0.2% in Shanghai and 0.7% in Hong Kong after China reported that its exports picked up in July, helped by a flurry of shipments by businesses taking advantage of a pause in Trump’s tariff war with Beijing.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6%. Toyota Motor’s stock fell after it cut its full-year earnings forecasts largely because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but Sony rose after the entertainment and electronics company indiciated it’s taking less damage from the tariffs than it had expected.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.22%, where it was late Wednesday.

AP Business Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

By SHARON LURYE, Associated Press Education Writer

Lesley Mathis knows what her daughter said was wrong. But she never expected the 13-year-old girl would get arrested for it.

The teenage girl made an offensive joke while chatting online with her classmates, triggering the school’s surveillance software.

Before the morning was even over, the Tennessee eighth grader was under arrest. She was interrogated, strip-searched and spent the night in a jail cell, her mother says.

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Earlier in the day, her friends had teased the teen about her tanned complexion and called her “Mexican,” even though she’s not. When a friend asked what she was planning for Thursday, she wrote: “on Thursday we kill all the Mexico’s.”

Mathis said the comments were “wrong” and “stupid,” but context showed they were not a threat.

“It made me feel like, is this the America we live in?” Mathis said of her daughter’s arrest. “And it was this stupid, stupid technology that is just going through picking up random words and not looking at context.”

Surveillance systems in American schools increasingly monitor everything students write on school accounts and devices. Thousands of school districts across the country use software like Gaggle and Lightspeed Alert to track kids’ online activities, looking for signs they might hurt themselves or others. With the help of artificial intelligence, technology can dip into online conversations and immediately notify both school officials and law enforcement.

Educators say the technology has saved lives. But critics warn it can criminalize children for careless words.

“It has routinized law enforcement access and presence in students’ lives, including in their home,” said Elizabeth Laird, a director at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Schools ratchet up vigilance for threats

In a country weary of school shootings, several states have taken a harder line on threats to schools. Among them is Tennessee, which passed a 2023 zero-tolerance law requiring any threat of mass violence against a school to be reported immediately to law enforcement.

The 13-year-old girl arrested in August 2023 had been texting with friends on a chat function tied to her school email at Fairview Middle School, which uses Gaggle to monitor students’ accounts. (The Associated Press is withholding the girl’s name to protect her privacy. The school district did not respond to a request for comment.)

Taken to jail, the teen was interrogated and strip-searched, and her parents weren’t allowed to talk to her until the next day, according to a lawsuit they filed against the school system. She didn’t know why her parents weren’t there.

“She told me afterwards, ‘I thought you hated me.’ That kind of haunts you,” said Mathis, the girl’s mother.

A court ordered eight weeks of house arrest, a psychological evaluation and 20 days at an alternative school for the girl.

Gaggle’s CEO, Jeff Patterson, said in an interview that the school system did not use Gaggle the way it is intended. The purpose is to find early warning signs and intervene before problems escalate to law enforcement, he said.

“I wish that was treated as a teachable moment, not a law enforcement moment,” said Patterson.

Private student chats face unexpected scrutiny

Students who think they are chatting privately among friends often do not realize they are under constant surveillance, said Shahar Pasch, an education lawyer in Florida.

One teenage girl she represented made a joke about school shootings on a private Snapchat story. Snapchat’s automated detection software picked up the comment, the company alerted the FBI, and the girl was arrested on school grounds within hours.

Alexa Manganiotis, 16, said she was startled by how quickly monitoring software works. West Palm Beach’s Dreyfoos School of the Arts, which she attends, last year piloted Lightspeed Alert, a surveillance program. Interviewing a teacher for her school newspaper, Alexa discovered two students once typed something threatening about that teacher on a school computer, then deleted it. Lightspeed picked it up, and “they were taken away like five minutes later,” Alexa said.

Teenagers face steeper consequences than adults for what they write online, Alexa said.

“If an adult makes a super racist joke that’s threatening on their computer, they can delete it, and they wouldn’t be arrested,” she said.

Amy Bennett, chief of staff for Lightspeed Systems, said that the software helps understaffed schools “be proactive rather than punitive” by identifying early warning signs of bullying, self-harm, violence or abuse.

The technology can also involve law enforcement in responses to mental health crises. In Florida’s Polk County Schools, a district of more than 100,000 students, the school safety program received nearly 500 Gaggle alerts over four years, officers said in public Board of Education meetings. This led to 72 involuntary hospitalization cases under the Baker Act, a state law that allows authorities to require mental health evaluations for people against their will if they pose a risk to themselves or others.

“A really high number of children who experience involuntary examination remember it as a really traumatic and damaging experience — not something that helps them with their mental health care,” said Sam Boyd, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Polk and West Palm Beach school districts did not provide comments.

An analysis shows a high rate of false alarms

Information that could allow schools to assess the software’s effectiveness, such as the rate of false alerts, is closely held by technology companies and unavailable publicly unless schools track the data themselves.

Gaggle alerted more than 1,200 incidents to the Lawrence, Kansas, school district in a recent 10-month period. But almost two-thirds of those alerts were deemed by school officials to be nonissues — including over 200 false alarms from student homework, according to an Associated Press analysis of data received via a public records request.

Students in one photography class were called to the principal’s office over concerns Gaggle had detected nudity. The photos had been automatically deleted from the students’ Google Drives, but students who had backups of the flagged images on their own devices showed it was a false alarm. District officials said they later adjusted the software’s settings to reduce false alerts.

Natasha Torkzaban, who graduated in 2024, said she was flagged for editing a friend’s college essay because it had the words “mental health.”

Natasha Torkzaban stands outside Lawrence High School, where she and other students have filed a lawsuit against the school district’s use of digital surveillance software, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Lawrence, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

“I think ideally we wouldn’t stick a new and shiny solution of AI on a deep-rooted issue of teenage mental health and the suicide rates in America, but that’s where we’re at right now,” Torkzaban said. She was among a group of student journalists and artists at Lawrence High School who filed a lawsuit against the school system last week, alleging Gaggle subjected them to unconstitutional surveillance.

School officials have said they take concerns about Gaggle seriously, but also say the technology has detected dozens of imminent threats of suicide or violence.

“Sometimes you have to look at the trade for the greater good,” said Board of Education member Anne Costello in a July 2024 board meeting.

Two years after their ordeal, Mathis said her daughter is doing better, although she’s still “terrified” of running into one of the school officers who arrested her. One bright spot, she said, was the compassion of the teachers at her daughter’s alternative school. They took time every day to let the kids share their feelings and frustrations, without judgment.

“It’s like we just want kids to be these little soldiers, and they’re not,” said Mathis. “They’re just humans.”

This reporting reviewed school board meetings posted on YouTube, courtesy of DistrictView, a dataset created by researchers Tyler Simko, Mirya Holman and Rebecca Johnson.

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 JONEL ALECCIA, Associated Press Health Writer

Most Americans get more than half their calories from ultra-processed foods, those super-tasty, energy-dense foods typically full of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, according to a new federal report.

Nutrition research has shown for years that ultra-processed foods make up a big chunk of the U.S. diet, especially for kids and teens.

For the first time, however, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed those high levels of consumption, using dietary data collected from August 2021 to August 2023.

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The report comes amid growing scrutiny of such foods by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who blames them for causing chronic disease.

“We are poisoning ourselves and it’s coming principally from these ultra-processed foods,” Kennedy told Fox News earlier this year.

Overall, about 55% of total calories consumed by Americans age 1 and older came from ultra-processed foods during that period, according to the report. For adults, ultra-processed foods made up about 53% of total calories consumed, but for kids through age 18, it was nearly 62%.

The top sources included burgers and sandwiches, sweet baked goods, savory snacks, pizza and sweetened drinks.

Young children consumed fewer calories from ultra-processed foods than older kids, the report found. Adults 60 and older consumed fewer calories from those sources than younger adults. Low-income adults consumed more ultra-processed foods than those with higher incomes.

The results were not surprising, said co-author Anne Williams, a CDC nutrition expert.

What was surprising was that consumption of ultra-processed foods appeared to dip slightly over the past decade. Among adults, total calories from those sources fell from about 56% in 2013-2014 and from nearly 66% for kids in 2017-2018.

Williams said she couldn’t speculate about the reason for the decline or whether consumption of less processed foods increased.

But Andrea Deierlein, a nutrition expert at New York University who was not involved in the research, suggested that there may be greater awareness of the potential harms of ultra-processed foods.

“People are trying, at least in some populations, to decrease their intakes of these foods,” she said.

Concern over ultra-processed foods’ health effects has been growing for years, but finding solutions has been difficult. Many studies have linked them to obesity, diabetes and heart disease, but they haven’t been able to prove that the foods directly cause those chronic health problems.

One small but influential study found that even when diets were matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber and micronutrients, people consumed more calories and gained more weight when they ate ultra-processed foods than when they ate minimally processed foods.

Research published this week in the journal Nature found that participants in a clinical trial lost twice as much weight when they ate minimally processed foods — such as pasta, chicken, fruits and vegetables — than ultra-processed foods, even those matched for nutrition components and considered healthy, such as ready-to-heat frozen meals, protein bars and shakes.

Part of the problem is simply defining ultra-processed foods.

The new CDC report used the most common definition based on the four-tier Nova system developed by Brazilian researchers that classifies foods according to the amount of processing they undergo. Such foods tend to be “hyperpalatable, energy-dense, low in dietary fiber and contain little or no whole foods, while having high amounts of salt, sweeteners and unhealthy fats,” the CDC report said.

U.S. health officials recently said there are concerns over whether current definitions “accurately capture” the range of foods that may affect health. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department recently issued a request for information to develop a new, uniform definition of ultra-processed foods for products in the U.S. food supply.

In the meantime, Americans should try to reduce ultra-processed foods in their daily diets, Deierlein said. For instance, instead of instant oatmeal that may contain added sugar, sodium, artificial colors and preservatives, use plain oats sweetened with honey or maple syrup. Read food packages and nutrition information, she suggested.

“I do think that there are less-processed options available for many foods,” she said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.