Seahawks keep key part of offense with Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s record-setting extension

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider saidJaxon Smith-Njigba's record-setting contract extensionshows the team's commitment to keep winning.

Seahawks Njigba Football

Smith-Njigba signed his extension with the Seahawks on Wednesday. The four-year, $168.8 million deal, with $120 million guaranteed will make the 24-year-old the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, and should help put to rest any Seattle fans' concerns with the team going up for sale shortly after the Seahawkswon their second Super Bowl, and first under owner Jody Allen.

"She's like, let's go win another one; let's get after it," Schneider said of Allen. "There's another world out there that is coming. We're getting ready for it. As of right now, we are just keep ripping like we always have."

The franchise's latest move keeps Smith-Njigba under contract with Seattle through the 2031 season. Smith-Njigba's deal surpasses that of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, whosigned a $161 million extension with $112 million guaranteed last March.

The reigningAP NFL Offensive Player of the Yearadmitted there's a level of satisfaction with his new contract after setting the team record foryards receiving(1,793) and receptions (119) in a single season.

"This proves that I'm good for a long time. You know what I'm saying?" Smith-Njigba said. "I guess that's what it proves."

Coach Mike Macdonald, Schneider and the rest of the Seahawks front office would love to keep as many players as possible, but retaining Smith-Njigba was a priority the whole franchise could get behind.

"Obviously draft and retain, I mean, this is a great example of drafting and developing and keeping it in-house," Schneider said. "And that's been our priority since we got here in 2010. So that hasn't changed."

Both Seattle's roster and coaching staff have changed a bit since the Seahawks hoisted the Lombardi trophy six weeks ago.

Key free agents such as running back and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III (Chiefs), safety Coby Bryant (Bears), linebacker Boye Mafe (Bengals), cornerback Riq Woolen (Eagles) and wide receiver Dareke Young (Raiders) have all moved on.

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It's unclear yet how Seattle intends to replace Walker's production, whether that's by committee with the likes of Emanuel Wilson, who was signed in free agency after three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, George Holani and Kenny McIntosh, or if the injured Zach Charbonnet will become the main option once he's healthy.

Seattle's offense will be led by a new coach infirst-year offense coordinator Brian Fleury. Smith-Njigba is eager to work with Fleury, who intends on utilizing an offensive scheme similar to that of former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who is now the Las Vegas Raiders head coach.

"Definitely ready to see what we're gunning toward and just get in the same language and get together," Smith-Njigba said. "So I'm excited for new opportunities."

A little more than five months remain untilthe Seahawks will open the NFL season. It did not take long for Seattle to turn into Smith-Njigba's home, which only made it easier for the Texas native to secure his future in the Pacific Northwest.

Macdonald has noticed Smith-Njigba leading by example.

"He's not the guy that's breaking every huddle, every team meeting and everything like that," Macdonald said. "But, what he does every day, what type of teammate he is, to the guys in that locker room, I mean, that speaks volumes, and that's where he does his talking."

Though the franchise still has to sort out its roster and who will own the team at some point, it's clear what Smith-Njigba hopes the Seahawks can accomplish in the 2026 season.

"The only thing better than one Super Bowl is two," Smith-Njigba said. "So just working to get there, whatever my team needs from me, I make sure I get it done."

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 26, 2026

Seahawks keep key part of offense with Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s record-setting extension

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider saidJaxon Smith-Njigba's record-setting contract...

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Lewis Hamilton makes it clear he's back in the F1 chase: 'I've not lost what I had'

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Lewis Hamilton said he finished a recent morning training run and returned to his hotel sweating to find some otherFormula 1drivers just getting up.

Japan F1 GP Auto Racing

He was pleased.

"I know that none of the drivers I'm racing against have trained as hard as I have and given it what I have, especially at my age as well," the 41-year-old Hamilton said Thursday at the Suzuka circuit, site of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

"I love that — that I still have that drive to push myself."

Hamilton is F1's most decorated driver. He's won the most races (105), claimed the most poles (104) and has been on the podium 207 times. And the British driver is tied at seven withMichael Schumacherfor world championships.

But he's extra motivated after an abysmal first season with Ferrari after record-setting seasons with Mercedes. He didn't win a single race and didn't make a single podium. He finished four times in fourth place.

Hamilton was suddenly an also-ran, an uncomfortable spot for the series' most high-profile driver and its most familiar face for two decades.

It's early in the season but Hamilton seems to have found a remedy. He has a competitive car,finished third two weeks agoin the Chinese Grand Prix and he's tuned out critics.

"Just not letting all the (words) coming out of people's mouths get in the way of knowing actually who I am and what I'm able to do," he said. "I've not lost what I had."

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Mercedes haswon the first two races— one each for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli — with Ferrari the other team that has fared well under this season's sweeping new rules.

F1 cars are using hybrid power units that are divided 50-50 between electric power and internal combustion power. Adding to thechangesare lighter, more nimble chassis.

Some drivers have chafed under the new rules, and themost outspokenhas been four-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull. He and others have called the racing "yo-yo racing" with cars pulling ahead, only to be overtaken as power seems to ebb and flow.

"It's making the racing better but at times it's artificial," Verstappen teammate Isack Hadjar said Thursday.

Added Hamilton: "A lot of the drivers are not enjoying it, I'm just personally enjoying it."

For Hamilton, that comes down to having a car this season "that can fight for wins." He also said being battered last season by bad results has increased his drive, though he repeated several times he'd never lost his confidence.

"It's a natural part of a process as an athlete," he said. "You'll go through seasons like that and (in) some of the most trying times. One of the most important things is getting back up and that's what I've done this year."

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 26, 2026

Lewis Hamilton makes it clear he's back in the F1 chase: 'I've not lost what I had'

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Lewis Hamilton said he finished a recent morning training run and returned to his hotel sweating to ...

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Where is the Rocky statue now? Philly Art Museum moves landmark

Whether you're commuting to work via the parkway, visiting Philadelphia's latest art exhibits or trying to get your cardio in, chances are you've seen the iconicRock Balboastatue at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps.

Well, the landmark homage to an iconic fictional boxer is on the move — at least temporarily.

Here's what you need to know.

Where is the Rocky statue now? Philadelphia rocky statute moves

On Wednesday, March 25, The PMoA team moved the famous bronze statue from the base of the museum steps to feature it in an upcoming exhibit inside the building.

The figure, created by A. Thomas Schomberg in 1980, will be included in the museum's "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments" exhibition, which will be viewable to the public beginning on April 25, the museum said.

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Can I still see the Rocky movie statue in Philadelphia?

While the statue from outside the museum will be moved temporarily until August, the steps will not go bare.

According to the museum,Sylvester Stallone'sRocky statue, from the actor's private collection, will be on loan to the city, positioned at the top of the steps.

Where is the Rocky statue going? Rocky statue position on Philadelphia Museum of Art steps

While the statue will be back on the famous steps come August, the display is going to look different.

According to the PMoA, when the city's statue returns outside, it will be relocated permanently to the top of the steps rather than the bottom.

Kaitlyn McCormick is a Philadelphia-based reporter writing for the Philadelphia Metro Connect Team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Where is the Rocky statue now? Philadelphia Museum of Art moves icon

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 26, 2026

Where is the Rocky statue now? Philly Art Museum moves landmark

Whether you're commuting to work via the parkway, visiting Philadelphia's latest art exhibits or trying to get yo...

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Cuban president says Raúl Castro involved in US talks that are in early stages

HAVANA (AP) — Former Cuban PresidentRaúl Castrois involved in talks between the island and the United States, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Wednesday.

The talks, which Diaz-Canel said are in the early stages, come at a time of increasing tensions between the two nations, with Cuba plagued bynationwide blackoutsresulting from a crumbling power grid and an ongoing oil blockade implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened tariffs on any country that provides oil to Cuba. Trump recently said he'd have "the honor of taking Cuba" soon.

The talks overall are being handled collectively by the Cuban government, Díaz-Canel told Spanish leftist leader Pablo Iglesias in a videotaped interview that lasted more than an hour and was shared by state media. Though Diaz-Canel became president in 2018, 94-year-old revolutionary leader, brother of Fidel Castro, is still considered the most powerful person in the nation.

Iglesias was in Cuba as part of a delegation of some 600 activists from 33 countries who arrived last weekto deliver humanitarian aid.

"A process of conversations that leads to an agreement is a long process," Díaz-Canel told Iglesias, who produced the interview for his crowdfunded TV channel, Canal RED.

"First, we must build a channel for dialogue. Then, we must build common agendas of interests for the parties, and the parties must demonstrate their intention to move forward and truly commit to the program based on the discussion of those agendas," Díaz-Canel said.

In late January, Trumpthreatened tariffs on any countrythat sells or provides oil to Cuba as he pushes for a change in the island's political model.

Although the initial threats were formally softened, the embargo has remained in place, and the island has not received any fuel shipments in the past three months.

Prolonged power outages and a near-paralysis of economic and social life are the visible consequences on the island, which in the last week experienced two nationwide blackouts that left millions without electricity as Cuba's power grid continues to crumble.

The U.S. has said that Cuba was in negotiations, and Trump has threatened that he would take over the island soon.

Díaz-Canel was more nuanced in his response and said his officials and those from the U.S. State Department "held recent talks."

He also addressed speculation surrounding the role thatCastro, would be playing a role in these overture.

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"The other thing they've tried to speculate about is that there are divisions within the leadership of the revolution," Díaz-Canel said, not clarifying who he was referring to.

Castro "is one of those who, along with me and in collaboration with other branches of the (Communist) Party, the government, and the State, has guided how we should conduct this dialogue process, if this dialogue process takes place," the president added.

He noted that Castro is "the historical leader of this revolution, even though he has relinquished his responsibilities," and that he maintains a "prestige earned with the people" due to "historical recognition that no one can deny."

Raúl Castro, who succeeded his brother, Fidel, as president, led historic talks with former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2014 that led to the reopening of embassies and re-establishment of diplomatic relations.

Trump has opposed such policy, tightening sanctions even further, exacerbating a deep economic crisis to the extreme of the current energy blockade.

Meanwhile, Francisco Pichón, resident coordinator of the United Nations in Cuba, warned that if the situation continued to spiral it could provoke a "humanitarian crisis". Pichón and other officials said it would require $94 million to address the island's energy crisis and hurricane damage from last year.

The crippled energy grid was slated to cut off 96,000 people, around 11,000 of them children, from getting surgeries they need, and cause 30,000 minors to fall behind of their vaccine schedules, he estimated.

It's already cut around a million people who depend on water deliveries from trucks, off from access to water.

The Un officials highlighted the desperate need for fuel to enter Cuba, but also solar power as a potential solution to keep schools and hospitals up and running and to pump water for irrigation.

"If the current situation continues and the country's fuel reserves are depleted, we do fear an accelerated deterioration with the possible loss of lives," said Francisco Pichón, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Cuba.

Follow AP's Latin America coverage athttps://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 26, 2026

Cuban president says Raúl Castro involved in US talks that are in early stages

HAVANA (AP) — Former Cuban PresidentRaúl Castrois involved in talks between the island and the United States, Cuban Presi...

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Two British men detained in a suspected antisemitic hate crime are released on bail

LONDON (AP) — British police said Thursday that two men arrested in connection with anarson attack that destroyed four ambulancesowned by a Jewish charity have been released on bail as they continue to investigate the suspected antisemitic hate crime.

The two British nationals, aged 45 and 47, were detained Wednesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, London's Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement. The men were released under strict bail conditions and will be closely monitored, police said.

Authorities on Wednesday described the arrests as an important breakthrough in the case, but noted that three people were visible in the closed-circuit camera footage of the attack.

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"We continue to work to try and identify all of those involved in this appalling attack and the investigation team is working around the clock to do this,'' said Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London.

Police are investigating a claim of responsibility by a group with potential links to Iran but have not declared the matter to be a terror attack.

The blaze early on Monday morning in Golders Green, a London neighborhood with a large Jewish population, destroyed four ambulances belonging to the volunteer organization Hatzola Northwest, which provides emergency care to residents of the area. Oxygen cylinders in the vehicles exploded, breaking windows in an adjacent apartment block.

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 26, 2026

Two British men detained in a suspected antisemitic hate crime are released on bail

LONDON (AP) — British police said Thursday that two men arrested in connection with anarson attack that destroyed four am...

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