EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Soon after Mike Vrabel was hired as head coach of the New England Patriots earlier this year, his counterpart with the Minnesota Vikings, Kevin O'Connell, called with a invitation.
Joint practice, our place. Just like we did it before.
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) takes part in drills during a joint NFL football training camp with the New England Patriots, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) takes part in drills during a joint NFL football training camp with the Minnesota Vikings Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) takes part in drills during a joint NFL football training camp with the Minnesota Vikings Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) runs with the football after catching a pass during a joint NFL football training camp with the Minnesota Vikings Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) catches a pass against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) takes part in drills during a joint NFL football training camp Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Two years after Vrabel brought the Tennessee Titans to Minnesota for some valuable training camp work against another team, he took the Patriots this week for two days of drills against the Vikings in advance of their preseason game.
“There’s a reason why the Patriots are here: It starts with their head football coach and their organization itself,” said O'Connell, who's starting his fourth year in Minnesota. “I've got so much respect for Vrabes and our relationship over the years.”
O'Connell was a rookie backup quarterback with the Patriots in 2008, the last of eight seasons Vrabel played outside linebacker for them. Vrabel, a 14-year NFL veteran, coached the Titans for six seasons and spent 2024 as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns.
Asked about his impression of O'Connell as a player, Vrabel was ready with a quip before the teams took the field on Wednesday afternoon.
“He wasn't as good as Tom Brady,” he said, with a deadpan expression.
Vrabel and O'Connell were far from the only connections between the two teams. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores spent 15 years with the Patriots organization in various roles. Stefon Diggs is the highest-profile Patriots player who previously was with the Vikings, but that list also includes backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs and center Garrett Bradbury.
Bradbury, like his former head coach O'Connell, mentioned the word “relationships” when assessing his return to a facility where he trained for six seasons after being drafted in the first round in 2019 out of North Carolina State.
“On one hand, it feels like I never left. On the other hand, I’ve got another jersey on and some new teammates,” Bradbury said. “A lot of people here mean a lot to me and helped me the last six years, so it’s good to see everyone again.”
Bradbury was released with one season left on his contract, part of Minnesota's push to revamp the interior of the offensive line after it was overwhelmed in the wild card round loss to the Los Angeles Rams that left O'Connell's playoff record at 0-2. He didn't want to leave, but he's found invigoration in his new surroundings.
“I think it should be mandatory that everyone play for at least two organizations because you get to re-prove yourself, reinvent yourself,” Bradbury said, recounting advice he received from a former player after he was let go. “You get to meet a lot of people, make awesome friends and see different ways of doing things.”
NFL coaches have grown to much prefer the controlled setting of joint practices over exhibition games during which to test their players against different opponents. When the Patriots hosted the Washington Commanders last week, a couple of fights occurred — and Vrabel even jumped into one scrum to try to break it up before emerging with a bloodied nose.
The Patriots and Vikings had no such trouble, perhaps a sign of the respect between the two organizations. Because he felt the energy level was lacking, Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins said later, the eighth-year journeyman decided to punt the ball into the bleachers after a long touchdown pass from Drake Maye.
Maye had plenty of pressure in full-team drills that likely would've resulted in sacks during games, but with no tackling allowed he was able to let several deep passes rip down the field that hit their intended targets. Former Vikings wide receiver Diggs caught one of them at the sideline with Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. in coverage. Another one of the highlights went to rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson on a well-designed wheel route that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels might well like to dial up again this season.
“It’s hard to catch him when he’s in the open field,” Maye said.
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) takes part in drills during a joint NFL football training camp with the New England Patriots, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) takes part in drills during a joint NFL football training camp with the Minnesota Vikings Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) takes part in drills during a joint NFL football training camp with the Minnesota Vikings Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) runs with the football after catching a pass during a joint NFL football training camp with the Minnesota Vikings Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) catches a pass against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) takes part in drills during a joint NFL football training camp Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
President Donald Trump posted Wednesday on social media that anything less than U.S. control of Greenland is “unacceptable,” hours before Vice President JD Vance was to host Danish and Greenlandic officials for talks.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote.
On Iran, Trump's threat to impose a 25% tax on imports from any countries doing business with the Islamic Republic could raise prices for U.S. consumers and further inflame tensions in a country where inflation is running above 40%.
And as Senate Republicans face intense pressure from Trump to vote down a war powers resolution Wednesday aimed at limiting him from carrying out more military action against Venezuela, an AP-NORC poll conducted after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s Jan. 3 capture found that 56% of U.S. adults think Trump has overstepped on military interventions abroad, while majorities disapprove of how he's handling foreign policy.
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Although he doesn’t always follow through, Trump seems intent on doubling and tripling down whenever possible.
“Right now I’m feeling pretty good,” Trump said Tuesday in Detroit. His speech was ostensibly arranged to refocus attention on the economy, which the president claimed is surging despite lingering concerns about higher prices.
Trump has repeatedly insisted he’s only doing what voters elected him to do, and his allies in Washington remain overwhelmingly united behind him.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Kiersten Pels predicted that voters will reward the party this year.
“Voters elected President Trump to put American lives first — and that’s exactly what he’s doing,” she said. “President Trump is making our country safer, and the American people will remember it in November.”
It’s only two weeks into the new year, and Trump has already claimed control of Venezuela, escalated threats to seize Greenland and flooded American streets with masked immigration agents. That’s not even counting an unprecedented criminal investigation at the Federal Reserve, a cornerstone of the national economy that Trump wants to bend to his will.
Even for a president who thrives on chaos, Trump is generating a stunning level of turmoil as voters prepare to deliver their verdict on his leadership in midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
Each decision carries tremendous risks, from the possibility of an overseas quagmire to undermining the country’s financial system, but Trump has barreled forward with a ferocity rattling even some of his Republican allies.
“The presidency has gone rogue,” said historian Joanne B. Freeman, a Yale University professor.
▶ Read more about the turmoil Trump is creating ahead of this year’s votes
Nearly half of Americans – 45% – want the U.S. to take a “less active” role in solving the world’s problems, the new AP-NORC poll found.
About one-third say its current role is “about right,” and only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say they want the country to be more involved globally.
Democrats and independents are driving the desire for the U.S. to take a “less active” role. At least half of them now want the U.S. to do less, a sharp shift from a few months ago.
Republicans, meanwhile, have grown more likely to indicate that Trump’s level of involvement is right. About 6 in 10 Republicans — 64% —say the country’s current role in world affairs is “about right,” which is up slightly from 55% from September.
About half of Americans believe the U.S. intervening in Venezuela will be “mostly a good thing” for halting the flow of illegal drugs into the country, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
And 44% believe the U.S. actions will do more to benefit than harm the Venezuelan people. But U.S. adults are divided on whether intervention will be good or bad for U.S. economic and national security interests, or if it simply won’t have an impact.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats and independents to see benefits to the U.S. action, particularly its effects on drug trafficking. About 8 in 10 Republicans say America’s intervention will be “mostly a good thing” for stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the country.
▶ Read more about the poll’s findings
Most U.S. adults -- 56% -- say President Trump has “gone too far” in using the U.S. military to intervene in other countries, according to a new AP-NORC poll conducted from January 8-11, after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s capture.
Democrats and independents are driving the belief that Trump has overstepped. About 9 in 10 Democrats and roughly 6 in 10 independents say Trump has “gone too far” on military intervention, compared to about 2 in 10 Republicans.
The vast majority of Republicans — 71% — say Trump’s actions have been “about right,” and only about 1 in 10 want to see him go further.
▶ Read more about the poll’s findings
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington, as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Trump said in a social media post on Monday he would impose a 25% tax on imports to the United States from countries that do business with Iran. The sanctions could hurt the Islamic Republic by reducing its access to foreign goods and driving up prices, which would likely inflame tensions in a country where inflation is running above 40%.
But the tariffs could create blowback for the United States, too, potentially raising the prices Americans pay for imports from Iranian trade partners such as Turkish textiles and Indian gemstones and threatening an uneasy trade truce Trump reached last year with China.
The Trump administration has offered scant details since announcing the new tariffs targeting Iran. It’s also unclear what legal authority the president is relying on to impose the import taxes. He invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify his most sweeping tariffs last year. But businesses and several states have gone to court arguing that Trump overstepped his authority in doing so.
▶ Read more about Trump’s threat of new tariffs
The Smithsonian Institution gave the White House new documents on its planned exhibits Tuesday in response to a demand to share precise details of what its museums and other programs are doing for America’s 250th birthday.
For months, Trump has been pressing the Smithsonian to back off “divisive narratives” and tell an upbeat story on the country’s history and culture, with the threat of holding back federal money if it doesn’t.
By Tuesday, the Smithsonian was supposed to provide lists of all displays, objects, wall text and other material dedicated to this year’s anniversary and other purposes. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III told staff, in an email obtained by The New York Times and The Washington Post, that “we transmitted more information in response to that request.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, leaving it unclear whether it was satisfied with the material it received.
▶ Read more about the Smithsonian
Trump said Wednesday that anything less than U.S. control of Greenland is “unacceptable,” hours before Vice President JD Vance was to host Danish and Greenlandic officials for talks.
In a post on his social media site, Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. “needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security.” He added that “NATO should be leading the way for us to get it” and that otherwise Russia or China would.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Greenland is at the center of a geopolitical storm as Trump is insisting he wants to own the island, and the residents of its capital, Nuuk, say it is not for sale. The White House has not ruled out taking the Arctic island by force.
▶ Read more about Trump’s comments
President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
