by Steve Reed CHARLOTTE, N.C.  — Ben Johnson said he slept well Saturday night at the Bears’ team hotel, sensing that quarterback Caleb Williams was more than ready for the season opener. Chicago’s coach had good instincts. Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, looked like a league MVP candidate on Sunday, throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns and running for 65 yards and two more scores as the Bears trounced the Carolina Panthers 59-37 in the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history. “I could kind of tell (Saturday) night when we did our quarterback meeting…

by Dyepkzah Shibayan ABUJA, Nigeria — Two Nigerian nationals have been killed in South Africa, Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said, as tensions run high between the two countries over anti-immigrant protests. The ministry said one of the victims, James Uchechukwu Nwankwo, was killed after “gruesome interrogation techniques” by South African police officers in Cape Town, on Sept. 5. The statement did not identify any suspects or provide a possible motive in the death of Taiwo Michael Fakunle, a bishop, who was killed at his residence in Kensington, Johannesburg, on Sep. 4. South African police did not immediately respond to a request…

by Jonathan  Landrum Jr. and Jessica Hill LAS VEGAS — The murder trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur is headed to closing arguments after the defense rested Thursday following testimony from three former Las Vegas police officers. Jurors are scheduled to return Monday for closing arguments before beginning deliberations in the only prosecution brought in the killing of the hip-hop icon. The presentation of evidence ended after nine days of testimony. Davis, 63, did not take the stand. Shakur was riding in a BMW on Sept. 7, 1996, when a white Cadillac pulled…

by Bill Barrow and Patric Whittle PORTLAND, Maine  — President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada is escalating as the midterm elections approach, threatening Republican efforts to address voters’ economic concerns in a year when control of the U.S. Senate hinges on states along the border between the United States and its northern neighbor. The dispute flared over the weekend after negotiations broke down, leading Trump to raise tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian imports. Canada plans to announce tariffs of its own on Tuesday, and the spiraling conflict could lead to higher prices and scrambled supply chains for Americans…

by Jessica Hill LAS VEGAS — Jurors on Thursday heard Duane “Keffe D” Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur. Davis, who said in the interview that he was also in the car with Anderson, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas. At the time of the interview, his nephew had been dead for a decade. Davis said the white Cadillac he and Anderson were riding in with two other men pulled up alongside a car with Shakur inside, along…

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have signed veteran defensive end Marcus Davenport and defensive back Deantre Prince. The Bears also waived running back Coleman Bennett in moves announced Monday and waived tight end Nikola Kalinic with an injury designation. Davenport played the last two seasons with Detroit, but was limited to 10 combined games due to chest and triceps injuries. The 29-year-old played the 2023 season with Minnesota after starting his career in New Orleans. Davenport had a combined 10 1/2 sacks his first two seasons with the Saints and in 2022 played under Dennis Allen, now…

by Jessica Hill LAS VEGAS — Some members of Tupac Shakur’s family stepped out of the courtroom Tuesday before prosecutors showed photos from his autopsy at the Las Vegas trial of the man charged in the killing of the rap giant. Others remained in the courtroom to face the grim facts of what happened to his body. The grisly photos came on the second day of testimony in the trial of 63-year-old Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is charged with orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer in opening statements called…

by Mark Mengonfia MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States, authorities in the West African country said Tuesday, in one of the largest such arrangements under the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on immigration. The deportees will be received within a year, with the first batch of 20 expected on Thursday, Liberia’s Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah told reporters. The 1,200 deportees will include Africans as well as nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, Piah said. Under a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of…

by Greg Beacham LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is legally contesting her siblings’ plan to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% minority ownership stake in the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, according to a letter obtained Monday by The Associated Press. ESPN and The Athletic first reported that the siblings had voted to sell the family trust’s remaining interest in the 17-time NBA champion team purchased by their father, Jerry Buss, in 1979. The decision would end Jeanie Buss’ tenure as the Lakers’ governor because that job requires at least 15% ownership of the team.…

by Jessica Hill LAS VEGAS  — A prosecutor said Monday that while few have been willing to speak about the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is the “one person who has a hard time being silent.” “Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors at the start of Davis’ Las Vegas trial. “Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.” Davis, 63, could get life in prison if he’s convicted of…