NFL on the verge of selling media assets to ESPN for an equity stake in the network, AP sources say

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By JOE REEDY, Associated Press

The NFL and ESPN are expected to announce an agreement next week under which most of the league’s significant media holdings would go to the sports network.

People familiar with the transaction said the multibillion-dollar deal would give the NFL an equity stake in ESPN.

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized. It was first reported by The Athletic.

The NFL and ESPN had no comment.

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The NFL has been trying to sell its media properties for nearly five years. ESPN and the league have been involved in on-again, off-again talks for the past three years.

The proposed move comes as ESPN is expected to soon launch its direct-to-consumer service, possibly before the end of August. The service would give cord cutters access to all of ESPN’s programs and networks for $29.99 per month. Most cable, satellite and viewers who have streaming services will receive the service for free as part of their subscription.

ESPN would get access to the popular RedZone channel, as well as NFL Network and an additional seven regular-season games (six international and a Saturday afternoon late-season contest).

A couple of weeks ago, ESPN announced that NFL Network host Rich Eisen’s three-hour program would air on ESPN Radio as well as stream on Disney+ and ESPN+. “The Rich Eisen Show” is not affiliated with NFL Network.

ESPN has carried NFL games since 1987 and “Monday Night Football” since 2006. Under the current TV contract, it will have the 2027 and 2031 Super Bowls for the first time.

NFL Network started in November 2003 and was the second major pro league to have its own network. NBA TV started in 1999, MLB Network in 2009 and NHL Network in the United States in 2007.

Senate delays August recess for now as Trump presses for more confirmations

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By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — A stalemate over the pace of confirmations has delayed the Senate’s yearly August recess, for now, as President Donald Trump declares that his nominees “should NOT BE FORCED TO WAIT” and as Democrats slow the process by forcing procedural votes on almost all of Trump’s picks.

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Caught in the middle, Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he will keep the Senate in session over the weekend, at least, to hold confirmation votes while also negotiating with Democrats to speed up consideration of dozens of nominees. The two sides haven’t come to agreement yet, and it’s still unclear if Trump, who has been publicly calling on Republicans to cancel their break, would be onboard with any bipartisan deal.

Thune said Friday he was leaving some of the negotiations to Trump and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“That’s how this is going to get resolved,” Thune said. “We’ll see where that leads.”

Senators in both parties are eager to leave Washington for their annual break, when many of them tour their states to talk to constituents. Republicans in particular are eager to return home and sell the massive tax and spending cuts package they passed in July as Democrats vow to use it against them in the 2026 midterm elections. The House, which has no role in the confirmation process, fled Washington a week ago.

But Trump has other plans.

“The Senate must stay in Session, taking no recess, until the entire Executive Calendar is CLEAR!!!” Trump posted on social media Thursday night, after a meeting with Thune at the White House. “We have to save our Country from the Lunatic Left. Republicans, for the health and safety of the USA, DO YOUR JOB, and confirm All Nominees.”

Thune said this week that Republicans are considering changing the Senate’s rules when they get back in September to make it easier to quickly approve a president’s nominations — and to try and avoid a similar stalemate in the future. Democrats have blocked more nominees than usual this year, denying any quick unanimous consent votes and forcing roll calls on each one, a lengthy process that takes several days per nominee and allows for debate time.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Friday that Senate GOP leadership was “going back, drafting a specific rule for us to react to” as they try to plot a path forward.

It’s the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn’t allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days, and with longer hours, this year to try and confirm as many of Trump’s nominees as possible.

Democrats have little desire to give in, even though they too are eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation. Schumer has said Democrats have blocked quick votes because, “historically bad nominees deserved historic levels of scrutiny.”

There are more than 150 nominations on the Senate calendar, and confirming them all would take more than a month even if the Senate does stay in session, if Democrats draw out the process.

The standoff is just the latest chapter in an ever-escalating Senate fight over nominations in the last two decades. Both parties have increasingly used stalling tactics to delay confirmations that were once quick, bipartisan and routine. In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s judicial nominations. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Still, Thune says, the Democrats’ current delays are a “historic level of obstruction.”

In his first year as leader, Thune has worked with Trump to quickly confirm his Cabinet and navigated complicated internal party dynamics to pass the tax and spending cuts package, which Trump sees as his signature policy achievement.

Yet the president is applying increasing pressure on Thune and his conference, trying to control the Senate’s schedule and calling out three Republican senators in social media posts this week — including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the senior-most Senate Republican who worked closely with Trump to confirm his picks for Supreme Court in his first term.

Trump criticized Grassley for keeping with Senate tradition and working with home state Democrats on some judicial confirmations, saying that he got Grassley re-elected “when he was down, by a lot.”

Opening a committee hearing on Thursday, Grassley defended the practice and added that he was “offended by what the president said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”

Trump also criticized Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley for working with Democrats on a stock trading ban for lawmakers. And in a post late Thursday, he counseled Republicans to “vote the exact opposite” of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, a moderate who has worked with Democrats on spending bills this year and frequently opposes Trump.

Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributedto this report.

Online creators, led by MrBeast and Mark Rober, want to raise $40 million for clean water access

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By JAMES POLLARD

NEW YORK (AP) — Online creators from dozens of countries, led by MrBeast and popular science YouTuber Mark Rober, are launching a $40 million fundraiser to build water quality projects around the world.

The monthlong crowdfunding campaign, touted as the biggest YouTube collaboration and called #TeamWater, promises to rally their combined 2 billion subscribers around combating unsafe water sources. Funds will primarily benefit WaterAid, an international nonprofit that builds community-tailored infrastructure ranging from solar-powered wells to rainwater harvesting systems.

More than 2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water as of 2022, according to the United Nations. Organizers want to put a dent in that figure by providing sustainable access for 2 million people — and instilling new generations with a lifelong commitment to advocacy.

Joining #TeamWater are smaller creators and some of the biggest names online such as streaming giant Kai Cenat, trendy YouTubers the Stokes Twins and sports entertainers Dude Perfect. Whether they are filming serious explainers or silly water-themed challenges, creators are encouraged to produce content that is authentic to their brand.

Water access was identified as a solvable issue that could also unite their mass global following. But MrBeast CEO Jeff Housenbold acknowledged they are better awareness builders than infield executors So, they sought a partner with global reach, existing community partnerships and long-term change-making abilities.

That led them to WaterAid. The organization first started talking with MrBeast’s team two years ago, according to WaterAid America CEO Kelly Parsons.

She said WaterAid typically engages communities for up to a year designing the proper solution. That work sometimes involves training local water technicians.

“It all begins and ends in the communities we work with and through them to ensure design that lasts,” Parsons said. “It’s about people more than about plumbing.”

While WaterAid would did not provide a list of all the places where funds would go, countries include Colombia, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Malawi and Kenya. Charity partners GivePower and the Alok Foundation are also helping implementation in rural Kenya and Brazil, respectively.

U.S.-based projects include an atmospheric water generator for an assisted living facility in Jackson, Mississippi, where the fragile water system nearly collapsed three years ago. The nonprofit DigDeep is helping fix crumbling infrastructure in the small town of Rhodell, West Virginia.

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Alex and Alan Stokes, whose 129 million subscribers make them one of YouTube’s biggest channels, filmed in a Nepalese village where the campaign is building a 15,000-liter tank. The trip recalled their own upbringing in a Chinese town where their grandfather walked miles to fill 5-gallon water jugs.

“Being there in person was definitely one of those experiences that brought it all back for us,” Alex said. “(We) saw these kids there and it just reminded us a lot of our childhood as well.”

The multi-platform drive follows the 2019 #TeamTrees and 2021 #TeamSeas campaigns, which reportedly drew more than $50 million altogether. That money helped plant millions of trees and remove millions of pounds of waste from bodies of water.

Those humanitarian efforts, however, drew criticism that they promoted oversimplified solutions to complicated issues and applied Band-Aids instead of addressing the main drivers of forest loss or ocean pollution.

“Ideally, you would not use philanthropy simply to take away the symptoms of whatever is the problem,” said Patricia Illingworth, a Northeastern University philosophy professor who writes about ethics in philanthropy. “But, rather, you would want to address the root cause.”

Matt Fitzgerald, a digital campaign strategist who has organized the efforts, said the campaigns were never intended to be the “end all be all.” He hopes they serve as an entry point for deeper commitments.

While the previous two campaigns were about “a fist-bump, Mother Earth-style of environmentalism,” he said, this one seeks to center people while still “keeping the planet top of mind.”

“No matter how big a mass internet mobilization moment might be, real progress on these issues demands people continuing to pay attention and continuing to stay involved,” Fitzgerald said. “To me, the way you do that, is you reach people’s hearts before you try to convince them with their minds.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Trump demands official overseeing jobs data be fired after dismal employment report

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By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday called for the firing of the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

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Trump in a post on his social media platform alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired.

“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”

Friday’s jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated.

McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants.

Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and in June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%.

“No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” Trump wrote. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”

The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent U.S. market indexes about 1.5% lower Friday.

While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors — with millions of dollars at stake — have always accepted U.S. government economic data as free from political manipulation.