Every Sunday, Kevin Cusick makes his predictions against the latest Las Vegas point spread, the way God intended …

Vikings at Bears (even)
J.J. McCarthy’s regular season debut comes almost 20 months after the Minnesota quarterback’s last collegiate game. That national title game was so long ago that, in the time since hoisting the trophy, his Michigan team has been found guilty of several thousand NCAA violations.
Pick: Bears by 3

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, left, talks to quarterback J.J. McCarthy before an NCAA college football game against Michigan State, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

Lions at Packers (even)
All eyes are on Micah Parsons as the star edge rusher makes his Green Bay debut. While Parsons may need a pregame shot because of his ailing back, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will need about a dozen shots while watching on TV back in Dallas.
Pick: Lions by 3

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is interviewed prior to the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 22, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

Steelers at Jets (+3½)
Vagabond quarterback Aaron Rodgers makes his Pittsburgh debut against his ‘24 team. Many Jets fans considered him a toxic presence, which is something they have some expertise with, considering those fans watch games in the middle of a New Jersey swamp.
Pick: Jets by 3

Aaron Rodgers gestures as the leaves the seventh tee box prior to the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course on July 10, 2025 in Stateline, Nevada. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Giants at Commanders (-6½)
Journeyman quarterback Russell Wilson is making his first start for his latest team in New York. He has tied Aaron Rodgers for the NFL record for most teams that no longer want him.
Pick: Commanders by 3

Russell Wilson #3 of the New York Giants looks on before a NFL Preseason 2025 game between New York Jets and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 16, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants won 31-12. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)

Ravens at Bills (-1½)
Buffalo’s Bills begin their final season at their Orchard Park home. It’s been a historic 53-year run at that stadium as it played host to only a single Bills player ever found liable for a double homicide.
Pick: Ravens by 3

Laviska Shenault Jr. #15 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates with teammates after catching a pass for a two-point conversion during the fourth quarter of the NFL Preseason 2025 game between the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Aug. 09, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

Raiders at Patriots (-3½)
New New England coach Mike Vrabel was seeing red after what he called “rats” leaked internal Patriots information to the press. This surprised many because the only confirmed rat that the Pats’ organization has employed recently is currently working in North Carolina.
Pick: Raiders by 3

Mike Vrabel head coach of the New England Patriots speaks to players on the bench during the third quarter of the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Aug. 16, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Titans at Broncos (-6½)
Tennessee rookie quarterback Cameron Ward, the No. 1 draft pick, makes his first NFL start. His fans fear that if he soils himself with an embarrassing debut performance, he’ll be immediately compared to Arch Manning.
Pick: Broncos by 3

Cam Ward #1 of the Tennessee Titans warms up during the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Minnesota Vikings at Nissan Stadium on Aug. 22, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Bengals at Browns (+5½)
It’s been a busy first week in Cleveland’s quarterback room. Starter Joe Flacco studied the game plan against Cincinnati for hours, and bench-warmer Shedeur Sanders studied TikTok for hours and texted his dad to request an increase in his allowance.
Pick: Bengals by 3

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders #12 of the Cleveland Browns reacts after leaving the game during the fourth quarter of an NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field on Aug. 23, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Rams 19-17. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

49ers at Seahawks (+1½)
Sam Darnold begins a new era in Seattle. His Vikings run fell apart in his 17th game in Detroit and the subsequent playoff loss to the Rams. His Pacific Northwest run might begin to fall apart in this game’s second quarter.
Pick: 49ers by 3

Texans at Rams (-2½)
Matthew Stafford is a bit iffy because of a bad back and other maladies common to aging quarterbacks. Los Angeles fans are not used to seeing their QB in a fragile physical state … except for when he was on Cocktail No. 14 at their Super Bowl championship celebration.
Pick: Rams by 3

Matthew Stafford (L, Center) of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates on stage during the Super Bowl LVI Victory Parade on Feb. 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

Dolphins at Colts (even)
This battle between 2024 failures is the first good indication on whether this will be another disappointing season in Indiana. Of course, most Hoosier sports fans are currently much more obsessed about the social media stream of Caitlin Clark.
Pick: Dolphins by 3

Injured Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever cheers on her team during their game against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center on Aug. 31, 2025 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Other games

Buccaneers at Falcons (+1½)
Pick: Buccaneers by 3

Cardinals at Saints (+3½)
Pick: Cardinals by 7

Panthers at Jaguars (-3½)
Pick: Panthers by 3

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) runs with the ball past Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (94) during an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Record

Last season
197-88 straight up (.691)
158-126-1 vs. spread (.556)

All-time (2003-25)
3828-2108 straight up (.645)
2918-2887-145 vs spread (.503)

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.

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By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added just 22,000 jobs last month as the labor market continued to cool under uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

The Labor Department said Friday that hiring decelerated from 79,000 in July. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, also worse than expected and the highest level since 2021, the Labor Department reported Friday.

When the department put out a disappointing jobs report a month ago, an enraged President Donald Trump responded by firing the economist in charge of compiling the numbers and nominating a loyalist to replace her.

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Talking to reporters Thursday night at a dinner with wealthy tech executives, Trump had seemed to shrug off whatever hiring numbers would come out Friday. “The real numbers that I’m talking about are going to be whatever it is, but will be in a year from now,’’ the president said.

Factories shed 12,000 jobs last month, the fourth straight month that manufacturers have cut payrolls. Construction companies cut 7,000 jobs, and the federal government 15,000.

Labor Department revisions cut 21,000 jobs off June and July payrolls and revealed that employers had actually cut 13,000 jobs in June, the first monthly job losses since December 2020.

Workers’ average hourly earnings rose 0.3% from July and 3.7% from August 2024, exactly what forecasters expected. The year-over-year figure is nearing the 3.5% that many economists see as consistent with the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target.

The U.S. job market has lost momentum this year, partly because of the lingering effects of 11 interest rate hikes by the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023 and partly because President Donald Trump’s policies, including his trade wars, have created uncertainty that leaves managers reluctant to make hiring decisions.

“The labor market is showing signs of cracking,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said before Friday’s report. “It’s not a red siren alarm yet, but the signs keep growing that businesses are starting to cut workers.’’

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits — a proxy for layoffs — rose last week to the highest level since June, though the number of claims remained within a healthy range.

The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Wednesday that U.S.-based employers have announced more than 892,000 jobs cuts this year through August, more than the 761,000 reported for all 12 months of 2024.

In a sign that U.S. hiring gains are limited and fragile, nearly 80% of new private sectors jobs this year have been created in just one industry: healthcare and social assistance, a Labor Department category that spans hospitals to daycare centers.

After seeing the weak July jobs numbers, Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, baselessly claiming the hiring report had been rigged to hurt him politically.

He has nominated a partisan idealogue, E.J. Antoni, to replace her. But for now, pending Antoni’s confirmation by the Senate, the jobs report is in the hands of the acting BLS commissioner, William Wiatrowski, a career Labor Department official.

Economists and others familiar with how the jobs numbers are collected have expressed confidence that Labor Department procedures will keep the data are safe from political interference.

The revisions are standard practice, and necessary because many companies surveyed by the government submit their responses late or correct what they’ve already sent in.

Government economists are also contending with a big drop in the share of companies that respond to the surveys. A decade ago, about 60% of companies surveyed responded. Now only about 40% do.

And it’s an international problem for data collectors, especially since COVID-19. The United Kingdom even suspended publication of an official unemployment rate because of inadequate responses.

“I remember being at an international conference where the chief statistician of the Russian Republic was complaining about how the Russians don’t want to complete their surveys,” William Beach, BLS commissioner from 2019 to 2023, said in an interview last month. “What could he do? If you can’t compel completion in Russia, you can’t compel it anywhere.’’

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s signing of an order to implement lower tariffs on automobiles and other Japanese imports as a step that addressed uncertainty for key industries.

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The reduction to 15% from the previous 25% was agreed between the two sides on July 22.

“Tariff negotiations between Japan and the United States was the top priority for the government and we have put all our effort into achieving an agreement in a best possible way as soon as possible,” Ishiba said Friday. “The way it was achieved … is just excellent.”

The step on tariffs comes as the Japanese prime minister faces pressure from right-wing rivals within his party to resign over its July election loss.

In Washington, Japan’s top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and his U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also signed a joint statement, confirming a $550 billion Japanese investment in U.S. projects.

Akazawa said Trump’s order brings down tariffs on automobiles and auto parts to 15% and that there will be no stacking on the existing rate, and so-called reciprocal tariffs on most other goods are also set at the same rate without stacking. He said aircraft and aircraft parts will be excluded from reciprocal tariffs.

FILE – Export vehicles are parked at Daikoku Pier in Yokohama, near Tokyo, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

The two allies agreed on the deal in July but Japanese officials discovered days later the preliminary deal had added 15% on existing rates and objected. Washington acknowledged the mistake and agreed to fix and to refund any excess import duties paid.

Akazawa said he expected the order to take effect within two weeks.

Ishiba said Akazawa carried the prime minister’s letter to Trump, stating his wish to build “a golden era of Japan-U.S. relations” together, and inviting the president to visit Japan.

He welcomed the deal as a result of his consistent push for investment instead of tariffs and stressed that “it is important to implement the agreement faithfully and promptly.”

By ANGELA HART/KFF Health News and DEVI SHASTRI/The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Trump administration is taking its immigration crackdown to the health care safety net, launching Medicaid spending probes in at least six Democratic-led states that provide comprehensive health coverage to poor and disabled immigrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is scouring payments covering health care for immigrants without legal status to ensure there isn’t any waste, fraud or abuse, according to public records obtained by KFF Health News and The Associated Press. While acknowledging that states can bill the federal government for Medicaid emergency and pregnancy care for immigrants without legal status, federal officials have sent letters notifying state health agencies in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington that they are reviewing federal and state payments for medical services, such as prescription drugs and specialty care.

The federal agency told the states it is reviewing claims as part of its commitment to maintain Medicaid’s fiscal integrity. California is the biggest target after the state self-reported overcharging the federal government for health care services delivered to immigrants without legal status, determined to be at least $500 million, spurring the threat of a lawsuit.

“If CMS determines that California is using federal money to pay for or subsidize healthcare for individuals without a satisfactory immigration status for which federal funding is prohibited by law,” according to a letter dated March 18, “CMS will diligently pursue all available enforcement strategies, including, consistent with applicable law, reductions in federal financial participation and possible referrals to the Attorney General of the United States for possible lawsuit against California.”

The investigations come as the White House and a Republican-controlled Congress slashed taxpayer spending on immigrant health care through cuts in President Donald Trump’s spending-and-tax law passed this summer. The administration is also pushing people living in the U.S. illegally off Medicaid rolls. Health policy experts say these moves could hamper care and leave safety net hospitals, clinics and other providers financially vulnerable. Some Democratic-led states — California, Illinois and Minnesota — have already had to end or slim down their Medicaid programs for immigrants due to ballooning costs. Colorado is also considering cuts due to cost overruns.

At the same time, 20 states are pushing back on Trump’s immigration crackdown by suing the administration for handing over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to deportation officials. A federal judge temporarily halted the move. California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, who led that challenge, says the Trump administration is launching a political attack on states that embrace immigrants in Medicaid programs.

FILE – California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks during a news conference in Ceres, Calif., April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

“The whole idea that there’s waste, fraud and abuse is contrived,” Bonta said. “It’s manufactured. It’s invented. It’s a catchall phrase that they use to justify their predetermined anti-immigrant agenda.”

Trump administration targets immigrants

Immigrants lacking permanent legal status are not eligible to enroll in comprehensive Medicaid coverage. However, states bill the federal government for emergency and pregnancy care provided to anyone.

Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., expanded their Medicaid programs with their own funds to cover low-income children without legal status. Seven of those states, plus Washington, D.C., have also provided full-scope coverage to some adult immigrants living in the country illegally.

The Trump administration appears to be targeting only states with full Medicaid coverage for both kids and adults without legal status. Utah, Massachusetts and Connecticut, which provide Medicaid coverage only to immigrant children, have not received letters, for instance. CMS declined to provide a full list of states it is targeting.

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Federal officials say it is their legal right and responsibility to scrutinize states for misspending on immigrant health coverage and are taking “decisive action to stop that.”

“It is a matter of national concern that some states have pushed the boundaries of Medicaid law to offer extensive benefits to individuals unlawfully present in the United States,” CMS spokesperson Catherine Howden said about the agency’s probe of selected states. The oversight is intended to “ensure federal funds are reserved for legally eligible individuals, not for political experiments that violate the law,” she said.

Health policy researchers and economists say providing Medicaid coverage to immigrants for preventive services and treatment of chronic health conditions staves off more costly care for patients down the road. It also tamps down insurance premium increases and the amount of uncompensated care for hospitals and clinics.

Francisco Silva, president and CEO of the California Primary Care Association, said the Trump administration is threatening to drive up health care costs and make it more difficult to access care.

“The impact is emergency rooms would get so crowded that ambulances have to be diverted away and people in a real emergency can’t get into the hospital, and public health threats like disease outbreaks,” Silva said.

California has taken a health-care-for-all approach, providing coverage to 1.6 million immigrants without legal status. The expansion, which was rolled out from 2016 to 2024, is estimated to cost $12.4 billion this year. Of that, $1.3 billion is paid by the federal government for emergency and pregnancy-related care.

As California rolled out its expansion, the state erroneously billed the federal government for care provided to immigrants without legal status — details that have not previously been reported and that former state officials shared with KFF Health News and the AP. The state improperly billed for services such as mental health and addiction services, prescription drugs and dental care.

Jacey Cooper, who served as California’s Medicaid director from 2020 to 2023, said she discovered the error and reported it to federal regulators. Cooper said the state had been working to pay back at least $500 million identified by the federal government.

“Once I identified the problem, I thought it was really important to report it and we did,” Cooper said. “We take waste, fraud and abuse very seriously.”

It’s not clear whether that money has been repaid. The state’s Medicaid agency says it does not know how CMS calculated the overpayments or “what is included in that amount, what time period it covers, and if or when it was collected,” said spokesperson Tony Cava.

California has an enormously complicated Medicaid program: It serves the largest population in the nation — nearly 15 million people — with a budget of nearly $200 billion this fiscal year.

Matt Salo, a national Medicaid expert, said these types of mistakes happen in states throughout the country because the program is rife with overlapping federal and state rules. Salo and other policy analysts agreed that states have the authority to administer their Medicaid programs as they see fit and root out misuse of federal funds.

And Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the Trump administration’s actions “persecute a minority that’s unpopular with the powers that be.”

“The Trump administration cannot maintain that this effort has anything to do with maintaining the fiscal integrity of the Medicaid program,” Cannon said. “There are so much bigger threats to Medicaid’s fiscal integrity, that that argument just doesn’t wash.”

Immigrants’ Medicaid under attack

National Republicans have targeted health spending on immigrants in different ways. The GOP spending law, which Trump calls the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” will lower reimbursement to states around the country in October 2026. In California, for example, federal reimbursement for immigrants without legal status will go to 50% for emergency services, down from 90% for the Medicaid expansion population, according to Cava.

The Trump administration is also scaling back Medicaid coverage to immigrants with temporary legal status who were previously covered and announced in August that it would provide states with monthly reports pointing out enrollees whose legal status could not be confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security.

“Every dollar misspent is a dollar taken away from an eligible, vulnerable individual in need of Medicaid,” CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said in a statement. “This action underscores our unwavering commitment to program integrity, safeguarding taxpayer dollars, and ensuring benefits are strictly reserved for those eligible under the law.”

States under review say they are following the law.

“Spending money on a congressionally authorized medical benefit program that helps people get emergency treatments for cancer, dialysis and anti-rejection medications for organ transplants is decidedly not waste, fraud and abuse,” said Mike Faulk, deputy communications director for Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown.

Records show Washington Medicaid officials have been inundated with questions from CMS about federal payments covering emergency and pregnancy care for immigrants without legal status.

Emails show Illinois officials met with CMS and sought an extension to share its data. CMS denied that request and federal regulators told the state that its funding could be withheld.

“Thousands of Illinois residents rely on these programs to lawfully seek critical health care without fear of deportation,” said Melissa Kula, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, noting that any federal cut would be “impossible” for the state to backfill.

Shastri reported from Milwaukee.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.

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.