By GARY GERARD HAMILTON, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A Biblical series reaching No. 1 on a major streaming service may seem as unlikely as a shepherd boy killing a 9-foot giant with a single stone from his slingshot. But Michael Iskander demonstrates that believing in something can turn the seemingly impossible into reality.

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“The story of David is pretty wild, and I think there’s a reason why it’s resonated for so many years,” said the former Broadway actor, who, in his first major TV role, plays the “House of David” titular character. “People have come up to me from all walks of life — not just Christians — and they talk about how much they love it.”

“House of David,” which loosely follows the life of the shepherd boy and the well-known events familiar to religious believers, like his fight with a lion, killing Goliath and ascending to become king of Israel, sling-shot its way to the top of Prime Video after debuting in February without much social media fanfare or extensive press. The streaming service says more than 44 million viewers worldwide have watched the series based on the heroic character recognized in the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths.

The series is part of a growing number of Hollywood faith-based projects reaching beyond religious audiences thanks to stunning cinematography, high-impact action sequences and suspenseful plots. A lane for “House of David” was created thanks to the major success of “The Chosen,” a series based on the life of Jesus Christ, and more are coming: “Joseph of Egypt,” based on the popular story of the boy who was sold into slavery by jealous brothers before rising to ruler or Egypt, is in the works.

“We see these Biblical figures and we think they’re so much larger than life,” said the 23-year-old Egyptian-born actor, who recently converted to Catholicism from Coptic Orthodoxy. “My personal goal was to bridge that gap and to show people … they make mistakes just like us.”

While “House of David” originally premiered on Prime Video, season two will debut Oct. 5 exclusively on the new Wonder Project subscription service that costs an additional $8.99. The season will eventually arrive on the main platform at a later date.

Iskander spoke to The Associated Press about his upcoming album, the debate about roles devout religious actors should take, and cantankerous sheep. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: What drew you to the role of David?

ISKANDER: David is known for being the Psalm writer, and the poet. But he was also a warrior. He became a king. And so, this man has so many aspects to his life.

Famously Bathsheba: cheating on his eight wives with the wife of one of his soldiers, and then covering that up by killing that soldier. And yet, that guy is known as the man after God’s own heart. How does David get that title? You discover that the whole point of the story of David is about the heart, how a heart after God can lead you to defeating giants.

AP: How did you train to become a shepherd for this role?

ISKANDER: The sheep hated me, like, they wanted nothing to do with me. They saw me from like a mile away and they started running. And the shepherd would have to kind of calm them down. And eventually, they weren’t too scared.

Him giving me advice on how to take care of sheep, it informed me about the types of things that David would do. And so, even that, I started to understand David more.

AP: There’s always the discussion about the content of roles that devout followers should take, whether they involve sex scenes or gratuitous violence. Have you thought about future projects?

ISKANDER: My faith always comes first. That’s No. 1. And so, I guess I look at everything through that lens. I don’t see why there should be a separation between art and faith. I’m very lucky with David. I get to worship when I go to work — that’s a blessing. I hope more people are inspired by faith in their art.

I think humans are very complex beings and we can’t tell our story without telling some of our downfalls. I have a line that I don’t cross, but I don’t think we should be afraid to dive into the complete nature of humanity.

AP: Can you tell me about your upcoming album based on music from the show?

ISKANDER: It’s been one of my dreams for the longest time to bring the Psalms to life and to put them to the original language.

I sent a little sample to the to the producers of the show and I was like, ‘Hey, can we do the show and the music of the show in Hebrew?’ And they loved it. Out of it arose these Psalms in Hebrew that were kind of sprinkled throughout the show, and they started to really resonate with people. And they were like, we want an album.

AP: Are you prepared to be known as David for the rest of your life?

ISKANDER: I don’t mind at all. If I’m known as David, then that would be a blessing.

Follow Associated Press entertainment journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Toyota is recalling nearly 400,000 vehicles because the rearview camera may not display when backing up, increasing the risk of a crash, federal traffic safety regulators said.

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Included in the recall are 2022-2025 Toyota Tundras and Tundra hybrids and 2023-2025 Sequoia hybrids. The number of automobiles in the recall total 393,838, with the non-hybrid Tundra making up more than half of them.

The camera display malfunction is caused by a software problem, which will be fixed with an update by dealerships free of charge.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 16. Owners can contact Toyota’s customer service at 1-800-331-4331. The numbers for the recall are 25TB10 and 25TA10.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration vehicle safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-888-275-9171), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN and SHELBY LUM

WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — The pumpkin in Tony Scott’s backyard weighs almost as much as a small car.

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He’s been tending to it for months, feeding it fertilizer and covering it with a blanket at night to keep it at a stable temperature. A roll of measuring tape wrapped around the pumpkin gives him a rough estimate of its size.

“I’ve never seen anything grow this fast,” said Scott, a semiconductor engineer from upstate New York.

Every year, growers like Scott push their pumpkins to the limit. They compete in annual weigh-offs with colossal fruits that are well over 2,000 pounds. Scott’s pumpkin took third place this year, coming in at 1,931 pounds.

Pumpkins aren’t the only crops that can get giant. Other members of the gourd family like squashes, cucumbers and watermelons are capable of a similar feat. But the orange behemoths are especially massive and have earned a place of honor at fall festivals and Halloween fairs.

How to grow a giant pumpkin

A giant pumpkin starts off as the perfect seed. Growers choose seeds that have yielded large pumpkins in the past or test new ones. Scott and many other growers rely on the tried-and-true Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds.

After that, it comes down to the right combination of water, nutrients and care.

Giant pumpkins can guzzle hundreds of gallons of water in a day and make their own food from sunlight just like regular-sized plants do. Their internal plumbing system is more robust, allowing them to drink up sugary water and nutrients faster.

A measuring tape encircles Tony Scott’s pumpkin he grew in his Wappingers Falls, N.Y., backyard on Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

As the leafy patch begins to expand, growers remove smaller pumpkins so all the water and nutrients funnel into a single fruit.

“That helps make it extra big in a way that you might not see in the wild,” said Aleca Borsuk, a plant scientist at the New York Botanical Garden.

Because of gravity, giant pumpkins grow wide but not tall. They often resemble lopsided, lumpy pancakes. Scott’s pumpkin is also lighter in color because he covers it with a tarp during the day, protecting it from sunlight which can ripen and harden the skin. He waters it using an overhead sprinkler system.

Can giant pumpkins grow forever?

“The answer is no,” Borsuk said. No matter how big a pumpkin gets, it’ll eventually mature and its natural aging cycle will kick in.

Tony Scott’s pumpkin sits in his Wappingers Falls, N.Y., backyard on Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Scott has nurtured giant pumpkins for eight years. It still blows his mind watching them inflate, putting on around 40 pounds to 50 pounds a day. He sets up reflective panels and even a fake wolf cutout to ward off hungry deer and other intruders looking for an orange-colored snack. Woodchucks have nibbled on the pumpkin’s vines in previous years.

After the all-important weighing competition, Scott shows off the giant pumpkin at various themed events and drives it around on a trailer. Eventually, he donates it to be displayed or carved.

On the way to events, he often gets stopped by people who ask what he’s got in the back.

Tony Scott stands with the pumpkin he grew in his Wappingers Falls, N.Y., backyard on Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

“The first question they ask is, ‘Is it real?’” Scott said. “Where would you buy a fake pumpkin this big?”

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.

By STEPHEN WADE, Associated Press

Dr. Mark Harper recalls his first cold-water swim in the south of England 20 years ago. It was August, but the initial jolt from the plunge took his breath away.

The shock to his system lasted a minute or two until he was “recombobulated and able to think about something other than the cold,” Harper says. A surprise sensation soon replaced his discomfort.

“I remember getting out of the water the first time and feeling so good,” Harper, an anesthesiologist who has since researched the potential risks and rewards of taking a nippy dunk. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

FILE – Revelers enter the cold water during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, file)

Claims about the benefits of cold-water immersion date back centuries. Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third American president, wrote toward the end of his life about using a cold foot bath daily for 60 years. He also owned a book published in 1706 on the history of cold-water bathing.

While evidence is building around the positive health effects of swimming in chilly water, bathing in ice or taking cold showers, scientific confirmation is still lacking.

But Harper, who became a regular cold-water swimmer after his initiation, said there are strong signs that people can derive mental health benefits from the activity. He mentioned a positive effect on depression and general well-being.

“For now, we have a very strong base, but not hard evidence, that cold-water immersion is effective for mental health,” Harper told The Associated Press.

Boosting mental health

Harper said his own early experiences with cold-water swimming piqued his professional curiosity. As a physician, he wondered if the brief bodily shock had clinical uses for treating depression. He cited the biological phenomenon of hormesis, in which a stressor introduced at a low dose creates a positive response.

Muscles and bones put under stress —for example, with weight-bearing exercise — also respond and grow.

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Harper acknowledged that the positive effects he’s observed may be the result of the placebo effect, a phenomenon in which people who are given a medicine they think will help them report responding to the treatment even if it had no active ingredients.

In the case of cold-water immersion, the benefits may come from meeting people, the exercise itself, or simply accepting a challenge and accomplishing it, which improves self-confidence, he said.

“Personally, I think it’s all of those things, and the cold has an additive effect,” Harper said. “I think we have a good physiological basis for that. The basic science tells us the cold has a very strong effect on the body.

“What we’re talking about is an intervention, when it’s used clinically, that produces beneficial effects on mental health. So in a way it doesn’t matter which aspect is generating the positive effects.”

Harper cited what he said was a common reaction among first-timers who have taken the plunge.

They often say “the fact that I’ve done this means I can do anything,” he said. “It’s quite a confidence builder and it’s something people stick to because they enjoy it so much.”

Know the risks when you start

Dr. Mike Tipton, a physiologist at the University of Portsmouth in England who has studied extreme environments, authored a paper along with Harper and two more researchers several years ago. The title highlighted the potential advantages and dangers of stimulating the body with a sudden drop in temperature: “Cold Water Immersion: Kill or Cure.”

“Like other environmental constituents such as pressure, heat and oxygen, cold water can be either good or bad, threat or treatment depending on circumstance,” they wrote after reviewing the research then available on the topic.

One of their findings: The activity presents dangers. Deaths from cold-water immersion are not uncommon. The shock of frigid water can cause people to hyperventilate and drown. But Tipton told The AP the risks can be managed with common sense and precautions.

How cold, how long?

You do not need to go to extremes to get a potential payoff. Entering water at a temperature of 68-59 degrees farenheit and staying for only a few minutes is sufficient.

Tipton explained if the water is colder than that, you may get more benefit — but limit your exposure.

“If you ask me what protocol you would follow if you thought this was going to be doing you good, I wouldn’t go in water much below 54F, and I wouldn’t stay in for much more than two minutes,” Tipton said.

Tipton and Harper both said that any benefits from cold-water immersion come from the body’s cold-shock response: the sudden fall of skin temperature, the release of the stress hormones, the release of endorphins, and the anti-inflammatory effect.

Tipton cautioned against long spells in an ice bath.

“Sitting in water for as long as I can fills me with horror,” Tipton said. “This could destroy small nerves, blood vessels in extremities and could result in amputation the same way frostbite can.”

Harper, who has swum as long as four-hour stretches in open water, advised vigilance.

“People think it’s got to be super cold, super long and the longer the better,” Harper said, “and that’s wrong.”

Be safe. You’re a tropical animal

Tipton said he’s not trying to be the “fun police” but suggested caution and a medical screening if you take the plunge. He said humans are considered “tropical animals” who need to adapt to the cold and are better suited to warm conditions.

A human’s resting body temperature is about 97.7 to 99.5 degrees farenheit. Because of that, cold-water immersion is stressful and carries risks for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Not to mention the risk of drowning.

“We don’t want to stop people doing it, but we want to make sure they do it in a way that maximizes the benefits and minimizes the risks,” Tipton said.

He suggested swimming in a life-guarded area, or going with experienced outdoor swimmers. He also suggested knowing the body of water you’re swimming in. Hazards, among others, include tides, temperature, depth and pollution.

“Understand that taking a tropical animal and putting it in cold water is probably the greatest stress that most people will experience in their life,” Tipton said.

He suggested entering the water in a controlled fashion instead of jumping in.

“Be sensible about it,” he said. “Incremental is the key.”