By GEOFF MULVIHILL and DAVID A. LIEB, Associated Press

The Democratic governors of California and Illinois are threatening to leave the National Governors Association because of its silence on President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops across state lines despite objections from the receiving states’ leaders.

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“If we cannot come together, on a bipartisan basis, on this basic principle of state sovereignty, what purpose does the National Governors Association serve?” California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked in a letter to the nation’s other governors.

The bipartisan governors’ group, founded in 1908, advocates for issues on which governors find common ground and hosts meetings where they can exchange ideas. Separate Democratic and Republican governors’ associations take more partisan positions and help finance campaigns.

Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both potential 2028 presidential candidates, contend Trump’s troop deployments should be a matter of concern for all governors. But some Republican governors have supported Trump’s actions, and the national governors’ group has not taken a position.

“I’m not sure the policy issue of whether the Constitution allows for federal involvement in the state and the National Guard is something that the NGA would want to tackle,” said Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, who co-chairs the organization’s task force on emergency management and public health.

The Democratic governors of Kansas, Michigan and Minnesota already have left the NGA this year. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said she didn’t think the roughly $100,000 annual dues paid by the state were a good investment and encouraged the group to push back against canceled federal grants.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks before the official signing ceremony of the Belgian Economic Mission of the West coast of the United States on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in San Francisco (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool)

Some Democrats see Guard action diminishing states’ role

The bipartisan governors’ organization is far from the first institution to face division and doubts over how it should respond to sweeping changes in Trump’s second term. Since returning to office, Trump has been using executive power in ways that presidents usually don’t.

This week, he has attempted to deploy Texas National Guard members to Chicago and California Guard members to Portland, Oregon, to protect federal immigration facilities and personnel amid what Trump describes as out-of-control crime. Democratic officials in those states have sued over the efforts, as has California. So far, judges have blocked the deployment in Oregon but haven’t stopped it in Illinois.

Newsom and Pritzker have argued the National Guard deployments are not just a policy difference but an infringement on state sovereignty that must be condemned.

“The credibility of the National Governors Association — and our integrity as state executives — rests on our willingness to apply our principles consistently, regardless of which administration attacks them,” Pritzker said in a letter Monday to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, the chair of the National Governors Association.

Stitt did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from The Associated Press. But he said in a news conference last month that the group should steer clear of areas where there’s not a consensus and leave those to the Democratic Governors Association and Republican Governors Association.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who authorized the call-up of 400 Texas National Guard members, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. On Monday, he posted a cartoon on his X account showing the Democratic governors of California, Illinois and New York telling Trump, “LEAVE OUR CRIME ALONE.”

FILE – President Donald Trump addresses the National Governors Association dinner and reception in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 22, 2025, in Washington. (Pool via AP, File)

Bipartisan group doesn’t always weigh in

The National Governors Association bills itself as a beacon of bipartisanship, which means it stays out of a lot of the thorniest battles. Some topics where governors have found common ground include disaster preparedness, workforce development and expanding broadband access.

Last week, Stitt and NGA vice chair Wes Moore, the Democratic governor of Maryland and a possible 2028 presidential candidate, condemned the then-looming federal government shutdown, calling for dialogue but not a specific policy solution: “We urge federal leaders from both sides to work to set aside political games and pass a budget that reflects the values and promises states commit to every day.”

But no unity has emerged on Trump’s immigration and crime-fighting policies.

Kehoe said no one has asked him to sign onto a statement denouncing Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to states against a governor’s will. Earlier this year, Kehoe successfully pushed for a state makeover of the St. Louis Police Department oversight board despite the objections of the Democratic mayor, citing crime as justification.

“Certainly Chicago could use some help,” Kehoe said. “I would hope that Governor Pritzker would welcome help to keep his citizens safe.”

Associated Press writers John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, and Trân Nguyễn in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is one of the more transparent coaches in the NBA, if not all pro sports. If you listen close enough, his plans become rather apparent.

On Monday, Finch effectively detailed the broad rotational decisions Minnesota will make given the current roster status when the regular season begins.

Asked how you keep players on a deep roster happy, Finch pointed to role acceptance before laying out his plans.

“We feel like we know we’re going to have an (eight-to-nine man) rotation, for sure,” Finch said. “Probably could push to 10. But whoever plays at nine and 10 might be different every night amongst a small group of guys.”

So the top eight looks to be locked in. Seven of those players are back from Minnesota’s top eight from a year ago. The only remaining spot belonged to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who joined Atlanta via a sign-and-trade deal in the summer.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) dribbles during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

 

Asked about replacing Alexander-Walker within many of Minnesota’s best lineup combinations from a year ago, Finch pointed to Terrence Shannon Jr.

“We feel TJ can bring us a lot of things. We feel like he’ll drive winning, too.” Finch said. “What those lineup combinations work out to be exactly, we’re not 100% sure. I do love the fact you have Donte (DiVincenzo) and Naz (Reid), who are like two starter-caliber players that are in the unit, so they should drive winning. You put them in a lot of different combinations and they end up being net positive. So hopefully they’ll be able to carry some of these young guys when they’re playing alongside of them, and we feel confident they will.”

Everything is subject to change with weeks remaining in camp. One injury would throw a wrench in everything. Minnesota’s entire rotation was blown up on the eve of camp a year ago, when the team traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks.

But assuming the top eight consists of Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley, Reid, DiVincenzo and Shannon Jr., who emerged in the Western Conference Finals, that leaves what sounds like a small batch of potentially inconsistent minutes for everyone else to split.

One or two of Rob Dillingham, Jaylen Clark, Joan Beringer and possibly Bones Hyland could be competing for the remaining 15 to 20 available minutes a night depending on matchups or who’s playing well.

Those uncertain roles aren’t easy to excel in, particularly for young players, but they’re often the reality for guys on top-tier teams.

“So they gotta be ready,” Finch said. “They gotta stay sane and stay focused on what the main task is. That is trying to advance this team and win.”

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By Nina Heller, CQ-Roll Call

WASHINGTON — When Alana Abbott showed up to the Capitol on Monday morning, she thought she’d at least be able to go inside and look at the gift shop and take a tour.

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But for her and others traveling to Washington, D.C., over the past few days, the government shutdown has made that impossible. Tourists are instead greeted by a sign saying the visitor center is closed due to a lapse in appropriations, along with a Capitol Police officer reinforcing that message.

Abbott came from Georgia with her mom and her son and had been planning their trip for three months. As members of Congress clash over how to fund the government for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, visitors like them are caught in the middle.

“It’s just kind of disappointing,” she said.

Her family has been staying busy going to the Smithsonian museums, which are still open — for now. The Smithsonian announced last week that its museums and the National Zoo have enough unspent funds from the prior fiscal year to remain open through Oct. 11.

Abbott and her mom are both teachers, and were looking forward to telling their classes about the trip. “We knew a lot of things were going to be closed, but you’re hopeful something stayed open. But it does stink,” she said.

While the hallways are typically filled with people of all ages visiting from all over the world, the Capitol now resembles less a tourist attraction than a ghost town, save for the remaining members, congressional staff and journalists walking around. The Capitol Visitor Center, where tourists line up for tours led by red-coated guides, is a shell of its normally bustling self. And in the Rotunda, usually filled with visitors gazing up at George Washington floating above them in Constantino Brumidi’s famous fresco, it’s more of the same.

Emily Farnsworth and her family knew a shutdown could affect their trip from Utah, but they decided to come anyway and do what they could. So far, that’s meant visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, she said. But it’s also meant a canceled White House tour, too.

“It’s pretty frustrating. It’s like, what are the odds? I’m pretty bummed,” she said.

When the government partially shut down from late December 2018 into January 2019, tours of the Capitol were still running without disruption because the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill had already been passed and signed into law. But without that funding in place this time around, the shutdown has left tourists looking in from the outside.

“This is our nation’s capital and we can’t even go in and see all of the stuff that our nation stands for, unfortunately,” said her mom, Miley Farnsworth.

While staff-led and guide-led tours are currently on pause, members of Congress can still give tours themselves — which is what happened to a group of eighth-graders visiting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office.

“The organizers let them know that they weren’t able to get into the Capitol because the Capitol tours were canceled, [and] the congresswoman was like, ‘Oh, I’ll escort them myself,’” said Karla Santillan, spokesperson for the New York Democrat.

Not every part of the Capitol is off limits. Visitors with gallery passes, obtained from the offices of senators and representatives, will still be able to watch action unfold on the Senate or House floor. And constituents can still make their case to their elected representatives by entering the office buildings that ring the Capitol itself.

But the shuttered Capitol Visitor Center is the main entry point for tourists, funneling them through a security screening and a short film about the history of Congress and representative democracy. The U.S. Botanic Garden and the Library of Congress, two popular attractions on the Capitol campus, are also closed to the public.

According to the Architect of the Capitol, 60 percent of the building’s visitors come between March and July. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last week that around 7,000 people visit the Capitol every day. But for now, it will continue to be a series of locked landmarks and empty halls until the government is back open.

“For people who are passionate about government stuff, it is unfortunate that they don’t have some of the things manned, that people can still come. You spend a lot of money and people are planning trips here and visitor centers are not open, so it is frustrating,” Miley Farnsworth said.

©2025 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By ANNE M. PETERSON

Laura Youngson didn’t expect to focus so much on soccer cleats when she organized a group of women to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and play a high-altitude match.

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The point of the 2017 game was to highlight inequality in sports for women and girls. On that front, Youngson achieved her goal with the match becoming the subject of a documentary and landing the group in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Still, something bothered Youngson as the match unfolded. Glancing at the athletes’ feet, she was struck that all the women were wearing men’s or boy’s soccer cleats instead of gear that was designed specifically for them. The realization led her to launch IDA Sports, which makes soccer cleats for the unique athletic needs of women.

“There was this real commercial gap for performance footwear for women,” said Youngson, whose IDA cleats are worn by players including Washington Spirit midfielder Courtney Brown. “As the game is growing, we’re in this moment when everything’s professionalizing, but the footwear wasn’t really keeping pace, so I wanted to go and change that.”

IDA is among a growing number of companies founded in recent years to prioritize women in sports.

Laura Youngson, CEO of IDA Sports, poses for a photograph at a store in Regent Street, in London, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

These aren’t just lifestyle or athleisure brands. Moolah Kicks, for instance, makes women’s basketball shoes designed specifically for women’s feet and counts Courtney Williams of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx as one of its partners. Lindsay Housman founded Hettas, a performance running shoe company. Saysh, Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix’s running shoe company, allows buyers to make free exchanges when their size changes during pregnancy.

Beyond shoes, Liv Cycling makes performance bicycles for women and there’s even Indiana Fever partner Sequel tampons, which have spiraled grooves that help prevent leaks during strenuous activities.

The companies are entering the market at a time when interest in women’s sports is intensifying.

The WNBA has shattered attendance records recently, lifted by the star power of players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. National Women’s Soccer League teams are worth 29% more this year than they were a year ago, with both Angel City and the Kansas City Current now valued at over $250 million. Several new pro sports leagues have formed in recent years, including the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the 3-on-3 Unrivaled basketball league. The Women’s Professional Baseball League is set to launch next year.

Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10), front, is fouled by Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0), middle, during the first half of a WNBA basketball game Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Overall, women’s sports generated global revenue of $1.88 billion in 2024 and is projected to rake in $2.35 billion this year, according to consulting firm Deloitte. Commercial revenue, including s ponsorships and merchandising sales, surpassed $1 billion globally for the first time last year.

No more ‘shrink it and pink it’

All that growth means more opportunities for women-owned brands — and a chance to reject the “shrink it and pink it” mentality in which companies were criticized for taking men’s products and selling them to women by making them pretty rather than functional.

“Marketing is all about understanding the needs of consumers,” said Dae Hee Kwak of the Center for Sport Marketing Research at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. “So thinking of the needs of the women’s sports fan and athlete, who understands them better than women, right?”

Washington Spirit midfielder Courtney Brown warms up with cleats that read “IDA” before a NWSL soccer match against Bay FC on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy)

Leela Srinivasan, CEO of the sports marketing and sponsorship platform Parity, said men’s products simply weren’t built for women’s bodies.

“Women in motor sports will tell you that even the way the seat belts are designed, they don’t fit right, they don’t fall in the right places,” Srinivasan said. “You talk to Lynn Saint James, the motor sports legend, about how she couldn’t reach the pedals. Nothing has been designed with women’s bodies in mind.”

Bonnie Tu, who founded Liv Cycling, experienced that problem with bicycles.

“Whenever I’d go for vacation, I would take a bike from the hotel,” Tu said. “Most of the time, I would get myself hurt because the bike doesn’t suit me well. Because most of the bikes are meant for men, no matter if it’s a mountain bike or it’s road bike, it was all for men.”

Youngson similarly looked at biomechanical needs when designing cleats for IDA, resulting in a product that features a wider toe box, narrower heel and shorter studs than men’s boots.

Washington Spirit midfielder Courtney Brown warms up before a NWSL soccer match against Bay FC on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy)

For those who have spent decades in and around women’s sports, these shifts represent a profound change. Natalie White, who founded Moolah Kicks after playing basketball in college and working on the business side of several WNBA teams, recalled always playing the sport in boy’s and men’s shoes.

“It wasn’t until I was a senior in college and I saw an advertisement that had more top WNBA players holding out men’s shoes that it really hit me, ‘Oh, my God, this is crazy.’ When you begin your career, through pro, you’re not only going to be playing in equipment that isn’t fit for you, but you’re going to be promoting it?” White said. “Oh my gosh, crazy.”

The bigger shoemakers, including Adidas and Nike, have developed women’s soccer and basketball shoes in recognition of the growing market and the needs of the female athlete. Sabrina Ionescu has a signature shoe with Nike and, this past summer, Adidas released its first player edition of Adidas’ F50 Sparkfusion cleat with NWSL star Trinity Rodman.

Women want products without pandering

Kwak said that in addition to products made specifically for them, women also value authenticity as consumers. And that means working with women’s leagues, athletes and sometimes causes involving equity and social justice.

IDA, for example, has partnered with the players’ unions for both the NWSL and the Gainbridge Super League, a top-tier domestic professional women’s soccer league that launched last year.

Laura Youngson, CEO of IDA Sports, poses for photographs at a store in Regent Street, in London, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Coalition Snow, a women-led ski and snowboard company based in Reno, Nevada, not only makes sure of safe and fair working conditions throughout its supply chain, it also uses recycled material for packaging and partners with a nonprofit to plant trees in rural Kenya for every board or pair of skis sold.

Liv Cycling sponsors women’s racing teams and competitions, like the Tour de France Femmes, in addition to community clubs. Athlete involvement in the creation of products helps, too. It’s really what personalizes these companies compared to the sporting goods giants.

But it’s all about taking that first leap, Youngson said.

“As the game grows and professionalizes, it should be attractive to brands,” Youngson said. “So then you’re going, ‘Why aren’t you doing it?’ Because the money’s there, the game’s there. Why can’t we have all of this choice around us in the same way that the men’s game has?”

AP Sports Writer Alyce Brown contributed to this report.