As young quarterback J.J. McCarthy has navigated the highs and lows of training camp, it’s sometimes easy to forget that he has been without his No.1 receiver Justin Jefferson for pretty much all of it.

After suffering a hamstring injury in the early stages of training camp, Jefferson has been sidelined for the past few weeks as the Vikings operated out of an abundance of caution with their best player.

The wait finally game to an end on Monday afternoon at TCO Performance Center as Jefferson returned to practice.

“It feels great to get back into the normal routine,” Jefferson said. “I’ve been itching for it.”

It wasn’t full participation for Jefferson right away as he continues to work his way back to full strength. He took part in warmups and individual drills before sitting out during 7-on-7 drills and 11-on-11 drills.

That was enough for Jefferson after being away from the game he loves for so long. He emphasized that the hardest part was watching his friends compete knowing he couldn’t be a part of the competition.

“I’m a kid at heart,” Jefferson said. “I want to be out here with the guys. I want to be playing football. I want to be in the mix.”

Now he’s back on the field where he belongs.

Here are more takeaways from Day 16 of training camp:

How is McCarthy?

After his best performance of camp last week against the New England Patriots, McCarthy experienced some growing pains in his first time going back against his teammates in practice.

There was a throw along the sideline that got tipped by cornerback Isaiah Rodgers and picked off by safety Josh Metellus. There was also a throw over the middle that was intercepted by linebacker Blake Cashman.

Though he made a couple of mistakes he’d certainly like to have back, McCarthy looked sharp at times while continuing to show confidence in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage.

Who stood out?

It’s probably time to acknowledge the connection that tight end T.J. Hockenson has developed with McCarthy. They have been on the same page in practice regardless of the situation and that has resulted in chunk plays on a daily basis.

This was no different as McCarthy found Hockenson a number of times during 7-on-7 drills with pinpoint precision.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see McCarthy lean heavily on Hockenson in the early stages of this season. It’ll be helpful for him to have a security blanket with a 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame when the play breaks down.

Quote of the day”

“I viewed it as a chance to open up some of my thinking in some of the parts of the game that don’t always get talked about. Maybe provide some insight and hook some people out there to become more fans of the Minnesota Vikings. It was an incredible positive. I had a blast.”

— Head coach Kevin O’Connell, on being mic’d up during the exhibition game Saturday.

Injury report

There was no sign of safety Harrison Smith, and edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel continued to sit out. Neither of those absences seem to be long term in nature, however, and Smith and Van Ginkel are expected to be ready to go for Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.

Meanwhile, receiver Jalen Nailor is being considered week to-week with a hand injury, which is probably the biggest concern. It’s unclear if the Vikings will look outside of the building to add depth to that position group.

What’s next?

There are only a couple of practices left in camp. The exhibition game against the Tennessee Titans on Friday night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville will effectively put a bow on the summer.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 16: Justin Jefferson #18 of the Minnesota Vikings poses for a photo with K’Lavon Chaisson #44 of the New England Patriots after the NFL Preseason 2025 game at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 16, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

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By MARK BANCHEREAU

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — On a recent evening in Senegal ‘s capital of Dakar, an imam named Ibrahima Diane explained to a group of men why they should be more involved in household chores.

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“The Prophet himself says a man who does not help support his wife and children is not a good Muslim,” the 53-year-old said, as he described bathing his baby and helping his wife with other duties.

Some of the 14 men chuckled, not quite sold. Others applauded.

Diane was taking part in a “school for husbands,” a United Nations-backed initiative where respected male community members learn about “positive masculinity” in health and social issues and promote them in their communities.

In Senegal, as in many other West African countries with large rural or conservative populations, men often have the final say in major household decisions, including ones related to health.

Women may need their permission for life-changing decisions on accessing family planning or other reproductive health services, along with hospital deliveries or prenatal care.

Following his sessions at the school for husbands, Diane regularly holds sermons during Friday prayers where he discusses issues around gender and reproductive health, from gender-based violence to fighting stigma around HIV.

“Many women appreciate my sermons,” he said. “They say their husbands’ behavior changed since they attended them.” He said some men have told him the sermons inspired them to become more caring husbands and fathers.

Habib Diallo, a 60-year-old former army commando, said attending the sermons and discussions with the imam taught him about the risks of home births.

“When my son’s wife was pregnant, I encouraged him to take her to the hospital for the delivery,” Diallo said. “At first, he was hesitant. He worried about the cost and didn’t trust the hospital. But when I explained how much safer it would be for both his wife and the baby, he agreed.”

No more barking orders

The program launched in Senegal in 2011 but in recent years has caught the attention of the Ministry of Women, Family, Gender and Child Protection, which sees it an effective strategy to combat maternal and infant mortality.

“Without men’s involvement, attitudes around maternal health won’t change,” said 54-year-old Aida Diouf, a female health worker who collaborates with the program. Many husbands prefer their wives not be treated by male health workers, she said.

The classes for husbands follow similar efforts in other African countries, particularly Niger, Togo, and Burkina Faso, where the United Nations Population Fund says it improved women’s access to reproductive health services by increasing male involvement, growing the use of contraceptives by both men and women and expanding access to prenatal care and skilled birth attendants.

Discussions for men also have focused on girls’ rights, equality and the harmful effects of female genital mutilation.

The program now operates over 20 schools in Senegal, and over 300 men have been trained.

In some communities, men who once enforced patriarchal norms now promote gender equality, which has led to a reduction in the number of forced marriages and more acceptance of family planning, according to Senegal’s ministry of gender.

Men join the groups after being recruited based on trust, leadership and commitment. Candidates must be married, respected locally and supportive of women’s health and rights.

After training, the men act as peer educators, visiting homes and hosting informal talks.

“My husband used to not do much around the house, just bark orders. Now he actually cooks and helps out with daily tasks,” said Khary Ndeye, 52.

Still too many dying in childbirth

While maternal and infant deaths in Senegal have declined over the past decade, experts say it still has a long way to go. It recorded 237 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2023, while 21 newborns out of every 1,000 died within their first month. The U.N. globally wants to reduce maternal deaths to 70 deaths per 100,000 live births and newborn deaths to under 12 per 1,000 by 2030.

One key problem was that many women have been giving birth at home, said El Hadj Malick, one of the Senegal program’s coordinators.

“By educating men about the importance of supporting their wives during pregnancy, taking them to the hospital and helping with domestic work at home, you’re protecting people’s health,” Malick said.

He said he still experiences difficulty changing mindsets on some issues.

“When we just talk to them about gender, there is sometimes tension because it’s seen as something abstract or even foreign,” Malick said. Some men mistakenly believe such talk will promote LGBTQ+ issues, which remain largely taboo in much of West Africa.

“But when we focus on women’s right to be healthy, it puts a human face on the concept and its becomes universal,” Malick said.

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The 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 MARIA SELENE CLEMENTE, ANDREA ROSA and NICOLE WINFIELD

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV spent the last Sunday of his summer vacation with several dozen refugees, homeless and poor people and the church volunteers who help them, celebrating a special Mass for them and inviting them into the Vatican’s lakeside estate for a lunch of lasagna and roast veal.

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Welcoming them for the luncheon, Leo said he was happy to “break bread” with them “in such a beautiful place that reminds us of the beauty of nature, of creation, but also makes us think that the most beautiful creature is the one created in the likeness, in the image of God, which is all of us.”

The guests included around 110 people cared for by the local Caritas church charity, and the volunteers who run the diocese’s shelters, clinics and social service offices. Many had attended Mass with him in the nearby St. Mary sanctuary of Albano.

In his homily, Leo celebrated the “fire of charity” that had brought them together.

“And I encourage you not to distinguish between those who assist and those who are assisted, between those who seem to give and those who seem to receive, between those who appear poor and those who feel they have something to offer in terms of time, skills, and help,” he said.

In the church, he said, everyone is poor and precious, and all share the same dignity.

Leo, the former Robert Prevost, spent most of his adult life working with the poor people of Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and then as bishop. Former parishioners and church workers say he greatly reinforced the work of the local Caritas charity, opening soup kitchens and shelters for migrants and rallying funds to build oxygen plants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The luncheon was held at the Borgo Laudato Si’, the Vatican’s environmental educational center in the gardens of the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo. The center is named for Pope Francis’ 2015 landmark environmental encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be).

Local caterers provided a menu of lasagna, eggplant parmesan and roast veal. For dessert, the menu called for fruit salad and sweets named for the pope, “Dolce Leone.”

Guests at Leo’s table included Rosabal Leon, a Peruvian refugee who has been in Italy for a few months, along with her husband and two children. One of his other luncheon companions was an 85-year-old Roman, Gabriella Oliveiro, who lives on her own, organizers said.

Leo is expected to wrap up his vacation Tuesday and return to the Vatican, but there are indications he plans to use the Castel Gandolfo retreat regularly as an escape from Rome, resuming the tradition that Pope Francis had eschewed in favor of staycations at the Vatican.

Leo’s older brother, John Prevost, told NBC’s Chicago affiliate that the pope found the getaway relaxing and had actually hoped to read a book during his vacation — the pope likes legal thrillers — but hadn’t found the time. He did, however, make use of the estate’s tennis court and swimming pool, he said.

Prevost, who speaks daily with the pope to compare notes on the New York Times daily Wordle puzzle, said he understood the thing Leo missed most about being pope was not being able to drive.

“Driving to him is totally relaxing,” Prevost said, adding that when they were together, his little brother would always insist on driving himself. “Absolutely, because otherwise then he would criticize my driving,” Prevost said, chuckling.

In the interview, Prevost revealed the pope’s favorite pizza — pepperoni — and candy: Peeps.

Rosa reported from Albano, Italy, and Winfield from Rome.

Associated Press religion coverage 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.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada is set to plead guilty next week in a drug trafficking case that accuses him of ordering torture, plotting murders and flooding the U.S. with cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs.

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A Brooklyn federal judge on Monday scheduled an Aug. 25 change of plea hearing for Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. The development comes two weeks after federal prosecutors said they wouldn’t seek the death penalty against him.

Zambada, 77, pleaded not guilty last year to drug trafficking and related charges, including gun and money laundering offenses.

Under Zambada and co-founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s leadership, prosecutors allege, the Sinaloa cartel evolved from a regional player into the largest drug trafficking organization in the world.

Judge Brian M. Cogan’s order on Monday didn’t provide details about Zambada’s guilty plea and didn’t list the charges he’s expected to plead guilty to. The same judge sentenced Guzmán to life behind bars after he was convicted on drug trafficking charges in 2019.

Messages seeking comment were left for Zambada’s lawyers. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn declined to comment.

Zambada was arrested in Texas last year after what he has described as a kidnapping in Mexico.

Sought by U.S. law enforcement for more than two decades, he was taken into custody after arriving in a private plane at a Texas airport with Guzmán’s son, Joaquín Guzmán López. Guzmán López has pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago; his brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, pleaded guilty last month.

According to prosecutors, Zambada presided over a vast and violent operation, with an arsenal of military-grade weapons, a private security force akin to an army, and a corps of “sicarios,” or hitmen, who carried out assassinations, kidnappings and torture. Just months before his arrest, he ordered the murder of his own nephew, prosecutors said.

On Aug. 5, prosecutors told Cogan in a letter that Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed them not to pursue the death penalty for Zambada.

Associated Press reporter Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.