Harbaugh's Chargers honor late Billy Ray Smith before practicing in San Diego

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jim Harbaugh brought the Los Angeles Chargers back to San Diego for two days of training camp practices at the cozy college stadium where he began his head coaching career 22 years ago.

Before quarterback Justin Herbert, safety Derwin James and the rest of the Chargers began their first padded practice of camp, the team held a moment of silence for former Chargers linebacker Billy Ray Smith, who died Wednesday at 64. His family said he died following a long battle with dementia caused by CTE.

“He was one of the great competitors in Charger history without question,” Harbaugh said shortly before practice started at 6,500-seat Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego. “And he was a great guy.”

The Chargers are wearing “BR” helmet stickers for the two San Diego practices to honor Smith, who played for 10 seasons after the Chargers made him the No. 5 pick in the 1983 NFL draft.

This is the second straight season the Chargers are holding two practices at USD, a hilltop Jesuit school about five miles west of the site where they used to play before leaving for Los Angeles in 2017.

Harbaugh, who played for the Chargers in 1999 and 2000, left his job as quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders to take over at USD in 2004. He went 29-6 overall in three seasons at the FCS school.

“It was just a lot of fun,” Harbaugh said. “Blessed is the best word I can come up with.”

Harbaugh went on to become head coach at Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers and Michigan. He led the Wolverines to the national championship to cap the scandal-plagued 2023 season. He was hired by the Chargers before the 2024 season and has led them to consecutive 11-6 seasons that each ended with a loss in the wild-card round.

Herbert was particularly sharp during 7-on-7 drills, when he hit Ladd McConkey for a 25-yard score.

“Ladd is about as athletic as it gets and we’ve talked about it all camp and in OTAs about getting the receivers in the position where they turn upfield and make something happen,” Herbert said. “I think getting him involved quickly with his athleticism, how he's able to break tackles, miss tackles and just get him upfield and getting him the ball, he's going to do big things.”

Herbert called 7-on-7 drills "beneficial. It doesn’t show the entire picture with the pass rush and timing, but as long as you treat it like a serious practice rep, you can get a lot of work in.”

James “sacked” Herbert during full-squad drills, getting to him but, as per protocol, not hitting the $262 million franchise QB in the gold jersey.

“Obviously, you can’t set the tone by getting the quarterback to the ground, but I can envision making the play. I love rushing the quarterback, I love covering, I love doing it all, honestly," James said.

“It felt good to get little thuds, get off blocks. You could tell it feels like football more. I’m happy to put the pads on for sure.”

Left tackle Rashawn Slater left practice with an undisclosed injury.

“I'm sure he wanted to be back out there,” Herbert said. “He probably was trying to get back out there and they probably limited him. I talked to him a little bit.”

Asked if there would be an update, the QB said: “Probably not from me. He said he wanted to be back out there.”

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Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. gestures during an NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. gestures at a news conference during an NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert speaks at a news conference during an NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert greets fans during an NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh during an NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the United States in retaliation for Brazil’s denial of visas last month for two American diplomats who sought to visit ahead of upcoming elections as well as what it said was Brazil's stalling on approving President Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador in Brasilia.

The State Department said the decision was a reciprocal response to Brazil’s actions, and officials said the step had been delayed several times to give Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva room to back down, something he did not do. Officials said, however, that it could be quickly reversed if Brazil takes appropriate action and accepts Trump’s ambassadorial choice.

Brazil's government in a statement responded by accusing the United States of not following international law in nominating its ambassador to Brazil. It said the U.S. government's decision to revoke the Brazilian ambassador's visa was politically driven with the aim of influencing Brazil's election in October.

Trump has had a fractious relationship for some time with Lula's administration, which has opposed him on numerous policies, particularly in the Western Hemisphere regarding Venezuela and Cuba. Their relationship also has been strained by Trump’s fondness for Lula’s first term successor and then predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest, and his son Flávio, who is Lula’s main opponent in the election.

Lula has spared Trump himself from criticism and claims they liked each other when they first met at the United Nations Assembly General in September of last year. The Brazilian leader has blamed Secretary of State Marco Rubio for some of the actions against his country.

Despite the revocation of her visa, Brazil’s ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti is not being expelled from the United States, said one State Department official, who like several others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic matter. The ambassador was previously a senior United Nations official.

She could be allowed to resume her official duties if the Brazilian government accepts Trump’s choice of former Florida House speaker Danny Perez to be U.S. ambassador to Brazil. Perez was nominated to the post in June and the official said Brazil had signaled it would not act on the appointment until after the first round of Brazil's election on Oct. 4.

Perez' nomination was submitted to the Senate on June 1. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted on July 22 to send his nomination to the full Senate, where a vote was expected by the end of this week.

Brazil's government said the U.S. should have asked for consent to send Perez in private, as established by the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, before the nomination was made public. It added the U.S. government's request to send Perez is still “under analysis.”

Brazil denied visas last month for Riley Barnes, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, and one of his top aides after reports emerged that the pair were going to criticize Lula or the election process.

The State Department denied the allegations and said the two had planned to visit Brasilia on July 27-30 to meet government officials, religious leaders and others about “election integrity,” religious freedom and freedom of expression.

It said the visit was routine and that “any insinuation of a ‘ploy’ to undermine a democratic nation’s election is a baseless lie.”

The Brazilian government on Tuesday stood by its assessment, saying the two Americans "were planning to visit the country to cast doubts about the integrity of the Brazilian electoral system, in an unacceptable attempt to interfere in the national political process.”

Last week, a top Brazilian diplomat told journalists the government was expecting a response from Rubio. The diplomat was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The same Brazilian diplomat told the AP on Tuesday, also under condition of anonymity, that the Lula administration is trying to figure out why the U.S. government is rushing to have an ambassador in Brasilia only months before October's election. The post in the Brazilian capital has been vacant since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

Lula, who is 80 and seeking his fourth term as Brazil's president, will face Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, whose father once served as Brazil's president and whose family has many ties with the Trump administration.

Sen. Bolsonaro and his brother, Eduardo, visited U.S. officials in Washington, including Trump, in late May. Shortly afterward, the Trump administration classified Brazil’s biggest drug-trafficking groups — First Command Capital and Red Command — as foreign terrorist organizations, a move Lula opposes.

The Trump administration also imposed an up to 37.5% tariff hike on thousands of Brazilian exports, which came into force Friday. The U.S. government claims the South American nation has unfair competition practices and fails to stop forced labor practices — both accusations rejected by the Lula administration as an attempt to sway the election to Sen. Bolsonaro.

Brazil's government said Tuesday's decision was not an isolated incident.

"It forms part of a deliberate escalation of hostile measures against Brazil, driven by ideological motives that are incompatible with a bilateral partnership that has always been guided by mutual respect,” the government statement said. “The improper intent to interfere in the forthcoming presidential election is also evident.”

Jair Bolsonaro has for years fed concerns about the country’s electronic voting system, without providing any evidence for his claims. He is now serving a 27-year prison sentence at home for an attempted coup. He has long insisted that the machines, used for a quarter-century, are prone to fraud.

Sen. Bolsonaro has recently repeated some of these claims, although he steered clear of those on Saturday when his Liberal Party confirmed him as a presidential candidate in Sao Paulo.

Brazil's government said it “has spared no effort to resolve these differences” with the U.S government.

Savarese reported from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks to supporters during the Workers' Party convention, where he was confirmed as the party's presidential candidate for the next election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)